Life Seen With A Sunday Kind Of View

8:02 a.m.

Slept in this morning. Got up at a little before 5:30. I can remember when sleeping in meant getting up at 9 or 10 a.m. Not anymore. Two cups of coffee and a yogurt and I'm well on my way to face Sunday. 

Acts 2:42 
They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's supper and in prayer.

Being connected with others who are on this journey of following Jesus is where real life is found. This common relationship we share with others is the focal point of everything in our lives. Or at least should be. Our  salvation binds our conversations. Our salvation has us pointed in the same direction. Our salvation is the common language that fuels our intent and motive. In other words, it's all about Jesus, what He has done to us and for us, and where He is leading us.

It was so cool last night at VRC. I love the fall of the year when the shadows deepen and night comes early to downtown. I love to stop and take in the view of the room and the sounds that surround me before the service starts. Last night, I watched as two brothers stood side by side talking and laughing. Both have come from terrible, deep darkness and have found new life in Christ. To a passerby, the two brothers would cause no reason to pause and reflect on what they were doing. But to me, they were tangible evidence of the miracle working power of Christ. This same Jesus we read about has reached down into darkness beyond darkness and taken up these two brothers. Something our society wasn't able to do. Something that intellectual minds weren't able to accomplish. But here they were.....smiles and laughter....gratitude and thankfulness. Their journey so far has taken them farther than they thought possible. But isn't that the way Jesus works. Real-deal-promise-a-real-promise miracles in our midst. Who'd thunk it.

People come in and take their seats. We set the room with tables and chairs, and if you were on the outside looking into the room, you might think it was you were seeing a coffee shop or a bistro. Never would have pegged it for a church. Church? On Saturday Night? Yep! I've always done church on Saturday night, save for two years when we first got to Rapha when we met on Sunday mornings. Last night's worship was blues oriented. Now when the blues is usually sung, it is a cry of pain and suffering. Love lost and relationships gone. A cry with no direction other than to lament ones suffering. But when we sing the blues on Saturday night, it is that same cry but there is a direction and purpose to our words. We are crying out to God. We are declaring that He, God, can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Opening song...The Father's Love, a declaration that we are the recipients of a love that is beyond description. "People let me tell you 'bout the Father's Love, demonstrated on Calvary."
Next came a declaration from God....I Will Take Care Of You- "I know you've been hurt /  by somebody else / I can tell by the way /  that you carry yourself /  if you will let me / here's what I wanna do/  I will take care of you / care of you /  I will take care of you.
Debbie, our keyboardist, came up with a new killer arrangement of No More -  the cry of a heart that has decided to follow Jesus. Going back to the old life and the old ways was no longer an option. 

The message was the second in our series of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Mostly taken from John Chapter 15, we saw the need to be connected to Him. That all life and nourishment to walk it out comes from Christ. In this interchange between us and Him, we find that He works inside of us to change our character. Removing old destructive patterns and thoughts that manifested in wrong behavior, we now find that we are producing a new life. A new life that is made possible by the fruit of God's Holy Spirit at work in us. We are being transformed and our character is being reconstructed in a new way of seeing life and dealing with it.

All in all, it was a good evening.
Much ministry....
Much love in the room.
Guess what?
The good Lord willing, we'll get to do it again next Saturday.
How cool is that?

God on you...
mb