Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The weekend that was...

Wow!!! What a weekend! From Thursday night ‘til Sunday morning God supplied everything we needed to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. This weekend two of our elders shared what God had laid on their hearts and they both did an outstanding job. Scott shared with us on Thursday night as we celebrated with a communion service and foot-washing. He shared how we should be focused on serving each other and how that love and service should reach out to the community. As Scott talked about Jesus washing the feet of the disciples he mentioned several times how here in America we don’t usually come across too many “dirty” feet as we have so many paved roads and we all wear shoes. As I started washing the feet of others I soon realized that Scott was right. The feet I was supposedly “washing” were already pretty clean.

Then it happened. One of the kids from the “neighborhood” came up and asked if she could have her feet washed also. As I poured water over her feet I saw the amount of dirt and filth falling into the basin. As I wiped her feet down I noticed the towel I was using turning black from the grime. All I could think was even here in America with our paved streets and shoes to wear ther e are some who need a simple act of love. It reminded me there is never a moment when we don’t need a Savior. All of us. The nicely dressed. The ones in rags. The church people who know how to “behave” in church and the ones who simply know that if they come on a Wednesday night they will get a free meal and a chance to play some ball.

But it did not end there. He came up and asked me if he could wash my feet. Someone I have intentionally invested in. Someone I have made it a goal to serve. This person who I have tried to pour into was now pouring what he had into me. In a moment he was Jesus to me. He was serving me. He was investing in me. I can not even begin to describe how overwhelming it was to have someone you are intentionally discipling turn around and disciple you in just a moment.
But that was just Thursday.

Sunday morning we had our Sunrise Service at the church. I’ll be honest I was not looking forward to it. We did not get much sleep Saturday night and then I got up at 5 am to get to the church on time. I know some of you get up at 5 am all the time but I do not. In any case, as we were setting things up outside for the service all I could think about was how I could get out of being at the Sunrise Service next year. What excuse could I come up with…mmmmmmm. Then another one of our elders, Paul, shared the message God had laid on his heart. Wow!!! All I can say is…it’s all about God. It’s all about what God is doing and what God wants and what God is providing. It’s not about us…all we need to do is obey and watch what God does. If you were there and were not encouraged and motivated in some way to view Jesus as not only your Savior but your Lord then you didn’t listen to the same message I did.

The regularly scheduled worship service was packed. We had chairs lining each aisle and an extra cluster in the front. God used Allison to write a beautiful service as we walked through the 7 statement Jesus made on the cross. As we observed the death of Jesus we ended that time celebrating His resurrection from the grave leading into the baptism of 15 individuals. Wow!!!
To say it was a good weekend doesn’t really seem to do it justice. God is good. He always has been and always will be. However your weekend looked God is always deserving of praise because He is God and we are not. I encourage all of you to praise Him in some way today. Don’t wait.

2 comments:

jazztheo said...

He is risen!

theodude said...

He is risen, indeed!