New Week...New Opportunity...

Monday morning...
Another week...
Another opportunity to get right all the things I missed last week.
That's my take on life.
You mess up...
You realize you missed something that God wanted you to do...
You back up and make yourself available for the coming week.
Thank goodness that God's gives grace for our mess ups..
Don't get me wrong....grace is not a divine excuse for my failure...
Grace is what draws me back onto the path to chase this Jesus.
Grace is a force...
Grace is a power...
Grace is THE presence of God in my life.
For what purpose?
That I can be who God created me to be.
Anything else?
Oh yeah...to do what God has called me to do.
Gotta love me some Grace this morning.

Saturday night was special for me.
Seth Barber was suppose to speak, but called to let me know that he'd come down with the "creepin' crud" and would not be able to make it.
"I'm up!"
Headed to the church to find out what God wanted me to teach on.
I'm always very aware that a message is not required for every meeting. Sometimes it's more about a time of ministry.....or an extended time of worship where we can just be with God. If I've learned anything over the past 18 years, it is that what God has to say is far more important than me coming up with a message just because we think that is the way church should operate. In fact some of my best messages (at least in my mind) have come when I stood up with nothing to say. Scary? You bet. There is that subtle pressure that comes that tells us we should say something. But you don't...you wait.
Out of nowhere, a verse comes to your mind and you turn to it. You still don't know where you're going with it, but you somehow know it is what God is wanting to say. So off you go....
Such was Saturday  night.

Ephesians 6...armor of God.
Whose armor? God's
Whose strength? God's
What's my part in all of this?
Stand. 
Stand?
Yep. Stand. Don't give ground. Don't back up. Don't cut and run. We are in Christ, and He is in us (John 15:5)-- "Yes, I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do  nothing."
When I am in Christ....turning will and life over to His care...I am able to face what ever comes my way. But when I allow my thoughts....past behavior to take back over, I move outside the will of God and I can do nothing on my own.
Well, I don't know it is entirely true...I actually can do a lot of things outside of Christ.
I can lie...
I can cheat...
I can manipulate people...
I can create destruction on an epic level...
I can destroy relationships...
And on, and on, and on.....
But in Christ, I have peace. Peace that enables me to face the day.
Such a thing should be worth fighting for, shouldn't it?
IF such a peace and relationship were offered to us, would we not do anything to keep it?
I would.

We had a good group Saturday night. Todd Bagley lead worship. Different feel to the music...different flavor...same God. As the music filled the room, there were several who began to cry. All were first-timers to VRC. I don't know what they expected when they came in, but I don know that they left having been touched by God. My prayer is that they continue to chase Him.

This is why we gather every Saturday.
TO meet with God...
And to introduce others to Him that may never have truly encountered His presence.
VRC has been meeting for 29 months, this past Saturday.
We have yet to have a service where someone didn't run into God for the first time. We have yet to have a service where His presence didn't manifest and touch us all.
Nothing we did...
Nothing we can do...
He shows up, and does what He does so well....change lives.
Truth be known, all i do is unlock the door, set up the chairs, and make sure there is toilet paper on the little "rolly" things. 

I am grateful that God has given us a place to meet with Him.
I am grateful to everyone who makes up the core leadership of VRC.
I know that this meeting is not going to last forever. There will come a day when God says it's time to close it down and move on to something else. But until that day comes...until I hear those words from God...we will always gather at 7 p.m. every Saturday for Vineyard ReCovery church.

God on you....
Michael b.