A Little Slice of Heaven

Today I saw a little slice of heaven.

These kind of things just sneak up on you.  It's unfortunate to have to admit it, but I don't always expect to see God show up the way He did today at Rock of Ages.  In many ways it was your typical Sunday morning service--on the surface it looked pretty much the way it normally does:  lots of smiles, many conversations, interesting discussions in class, plenty of smiling faces during the service, healthy worship and prayer--even the message was reasonable good!!

But something was different. . .

I felt like God was doing something deep this morning, like He was helping us to take an important step toward an unseen goal that only He really understands.  I can only describe what I experienced and I can say that I felt the tangible presence of God through the Holy Spirit speaking out a message that resonated so deeply in my heart that it was hard to hold in.  He spoke a message of freedom, love and hope in a way that it began to make sense--and I mean real sense--that His Kingdom will advance, and lives will change and that He not only wants us to be involved but that it will happen.

It's been many years that I've had lingering doubts about whether I would see God move mightily among His people and even more so that I would see the love of Jesus Christ manifest in the world around me as the sons and daughters of God take to the streets with hearts transformed in love.  But today, I stood in the presence of the Living God and just knew in my bones that something is going to happen that I haven't seen before.  In fact, in a small but very significant way, I experienced the reality of God not only inviting us into this new reality but that He was actually making changes in people's heart to believe they could trust Jesus enough to live their faith in a new and very visible way in the world.

The presence of the Holy Spirit brought bucket loads of hope--and that is powerful stuff.

I'm sure that there will be days coming soon when struggles will arise and there will be tough slogging, but today was a milestone day in my mind--a day worth marking when God took the people of ROA to a place they hadn't gone before together.

If anyone from Rock is reading this I hope that you are incredibly encouraged because I saw our Heavenly Father bless us, and He will not stop until He accomplishes what is in His heart for us.

Jesus, take what was planted today and tend it as only you can.  Nuture the Truth, life and hope that You provided so abundantly.  Protect everyone that is under your care from the Evil One, and bring us all to a place where our hearts are so filled with your amazing love that we simply can't help but to declare You to all we encounter.

You are truly worthy of our praise!

BT