Sunday, February 27, 2011

New Names, New Hearts

It seems strange to say this, but I have finally moved on. A shift in heart, if you will. Since Mom's short visit, I have been thinking of home home more often than I have been thinking of my home heavenward. Not to say that old friends and families have been forgotten! I have slowly realized that they are gradually taking the 'back burner' because I can no longer physically serve them; I am only able to spiritually support them.

The end of last week has been so eventful, and yet incomparable to the start of this week. Though it has been a very, very long day for me, I feel like I've had a glimpse of what Pastor Richard meant when he said that my Sunday should be the culmination of my week of worship. My body is exhausted, just spent - but if you could speak with me, I'd tell you of an excitement and encouragement set in me by the Holy Spirit today.

Most of Saturday was spent sharing the struggles of the Jews as they lamented over the destruction of their city and mourned over their inability to see God in the midst of their sufferings as consequences for their sins. Lamentations practically made me cry!

This morning began with a refreshing openness of church leadership, talking about the church constitution and the desire to be a church firmly founded on Christ and keeping unity within this body of Christ. It was followed by Pastor Steve's heated message for us to decide how we will respond to Jesus the Christ, to the value we recognize in Him, and to the value we now hold in Him.

We studied Matthew 2 and the example set by the Magi approaching the baby Jesus. Well, perhaps baby no longer by then! But the wise men were more than just curious, they knew of God's plan to send a King and they acted on it at the appointed time; and they did much more than just give gifts. When these wise men and their foreign entourage entered Bethlehem, everyone must have known they were there and wondered what was going on. Imagine these folks of such high, respected standing come, and the first thing they did when they saw that star was to rejoice exceedingly with great joy! These finely dressed men fell at the feet of Jesus, a small toddler, and worshiped him as King. Then, after all these things, did they present their gifts that reflected their hearts. I especially loved Pastor Steve's quote of his dad, "Your walk talks louder than your talk talks." Amen!

The day just got better and better. Kind folks gave me a ride out to the chinese church, where it felt like there was an explosion of the congregation! I have literally never seen so many people there. By God's merciful hand, I was given no chance for shyness to be a stumbling block for what God would do amongst these people. The adults sought me out and were open and requesting an english bible study group, while the teens were more than forthright to greet me and introduce me to others. [Note: Wendy, the missionary here, had apparently been praying for help and God has faithfully remembered her faithfulness to Him by providing her two core families who have decided to stay in town for the long term and the couple stragglers like Sara and I.]

And just when I thought I couldn't take more "church," (oh how bad that sounds now, I can't believe that thought even passed through my mind!), I said my good-byes to Mr. Yang and was whisked back to GBC for their evening service. What perfect blessings for the evening: (and yes, I am starting with food...) 1. there were "snacks" for the evening sufficient enough to be a makeshift meal for a dinner-less me :)

2. I met Jennie and Troy, who are now my ride to Jenn's women's small group. Praise God, I am overjoyed! Thank you to those who have been praying for me in this regard. An answered prayer...check! :)

3. The guys from Teen Challenge were such a blessing tonight. Their testimonies of God's grace and mercy blew us away. These men undergo a compact year of what I can most concisely describe as "Christian Bootcamp" to see God change their lives at an about face from their struggles of addictions and crime. Their lives make me think of Wendy and how it's taken her a year to finally have a semblance of sufficient serving hands...and then how crazy it is for me to feel a little down over one snowstorm cancellation of the youth group. God is working in His time, not mine...just think of blessing #2!

And finally, 4. to spend the remaining daylight in pure worship with the one thought swelling in my heart that this grace which allows me to worship like this is so costly. It was delightful to rejoice in song, hands held high with melodies and harmonies...and a very expressive drummer... ;)

So, 40 minutes later, here I am still typing away. I feel the lead tugging at my eyelids and know I should sleep...but this, all this, I just had to share. Of course, these are just the highlights - a phone call would get more details :)

Labels: Food, Praise, Reflection, Sports

posted at 8:56 PM by Jo -