All I can say is, “What an amazing day at Charity!!!!” Watching people respond to the nudging of the Holy Spirit is such an emotional experience for me. So, here are a few things that God encouraged me with today.

1. It was great to see the baptismal waters stirred for the 3rd week In a row and we have 4 more to baptize next week. Seeing lives changed never gets old.
2. Tate’s message was so challenging and I was overwhelmed with thankfulness for the staff that God has assembled at Charity. They are all so committed to a life of outstanding character and integrity both publicly and privately. That is refreshing.
3. The night of worship was the absolute best time with our church family and friends. Experiencing that level of intimate worship with the church family you love so much is such a special experience that cannot be explained. I can only imagine what heaven will be like. I can’t wait.
4. The generosity of God’s people is humbling. We had a goal of $2,000. This is enough money to provide a set of kitchen appliances for a poor area of Nicaragua where kids only eat 3 or 4 times a week on average. The offering tonight was over $2,800. God bless those who gave sacrificially.
5. Finally, I believe our church is blessed with some incredible talent. The opening acoustic set blew me away and it set the tone for a spirit filled night of worship. Seeing so many teenagers and young adults overflowing with worship showed me that the next generation has an amazing heart for worship. I’m confident that as we fan the flame of worship in their hearts they will continue to be engaged in the worship experience and ministry of the church.

I am so ready for next week. So, grab a friend this week and tell them they are coming with you to the best place to worship on this side of heaven and I’ll see you at Charity.

A living sacrifice,

Pastor Marty

God has really used Acts 15:19 this week to shake me up. I want to share it with you in several translations so you can fully see what Luke was trying to get across to his reader as he recorded a conversation regarding some religious disagreements.

ESV – “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,”

NIV – “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”

God’s Word Translation – “So I’ve decided that we shouldn’t trouble non-Jewish people who are turning to God.”

In this passage, there were some Pharisees, who had become followers of Jesus, trying to make the Jewish Law of circumcision necessary for Gentiles (non-Jewish people) to come to Christ. They wanted to impose their traditional measure of spirituality on those who were coming to faith in Christ even though there was no spiritual value to the practice at all.  There is little doubt these Pharisees were doing so because that was the normal religious practice for them and they probably thought everyone should hold the same view on circumcision they did. They were convinced that it was a godly practice and must be right for everyone.

Peter stood up and made a presentation about why they needed to reconsider their logic. They were wanting to make an issue over something that could potentially create a boundary between the lost and Jesus. He reminded them of where they had been prior to following Christ. He then told them not to let their traditions and personal measure of spirituality hinder anyone from becoming a follower of Jesus. Eventually James stood up and proclaimed that they should be very careful about making it unnecessarily difficult for people to come to Christ. These men were making the case that there was no religious tradition more important than ensuring that the Gospel message was made available to everyone.

As I have meditated on this verse this week I have asked myself, “What have I done or what am I doing that is standing in the way of someone coming to Christ?” That question has caused me to examine almost every move I’ve made this week.

I’ve also asked myself whether or not our church has any religious roadblocks that make it more difficult for people to come to Christ.

God forbid that we would ever put any tradition or preference above the priority of the lost coming to know Christ. God forbid that we would ever be a church that is more concerned with a form of godliness than we are about reaching the godless. God has called us to be united in our goal of reaching the lost by any means possible. To do so, we must constantly examine our methodology and make sure we are not creating or even overlooking roadblocks that stand in the way of the lost coming to Christ.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Marty