Mercy ME!

Last night I went to a Mercy Me concert at TRBC (for those of you from another planet, that’s Thomas Road Baptist Church :) ) and I was amazed at some things God taught me and showed me in that amount of time.

First of all, we got there, and decided to walk around to see what was going on, and ran into one of my best friends, Dana, and her husband and some folks that came with them. What a great time catching up and then having the opportunity to worship together! Love ya, Dana!

As the concert went on, I was convicted over and over again of how selfish and judgmental I can be when I should be compassionate and prayerful, especially for the lost. As the concert went on, the Spirit of the Lord was truly in that place, and it was an awesome worship experience. But Bart Millard, the lead singer for Mercy Me reminded us that concerts are great and as he said, we get the warm and fuzzies and we hug people we don’t know…but what do we do when we leave (fast forward to the parking lot after the concert - all the warm and fuzzies were gone and you were on your own!)? How do we treat each other when times are tough, when we are living only on the Spirit that lives in us? Do we love each other like we do when we are at a worship experience, or are we all about ourselves again and have tunnel vision?

Make your life a worship experience - make every breath you breathe be about praising Him and Him alone. I was reminded again last night that everything that happens is for His Glory…even the things that we think are awful, God will use got His glory. I have seen this evidenced in two people I know who are currently battling cancer. I watch people around me moan and groan and bellyache about every ache and pain they have - then I see these two people, so dependent on Christ for His healing power, however that might come, and they never complain. I watch them continue to come to church and praise God for the lives that He has given them, being uncertain of what might come as far as their health, but certain that Jesus is in every moment that they live, and they are assured of a place in Heaven with Him.

I have quietly watched them, and quietly learned.

I have also become so aware of the lost around me in the past couple of weeks, and how urgent it is to spread the Gospel - to live what I believe and show them that there is another way - The Only Way - and that is Jesus.

Let us continue to pray for God to change us moment by moment to be more like Him - and ask Him for the boldness required to live a life that is different…that shows…that completely belongs to Him.