Sunday Night Reflections

I cannot even begin to describe how I am feeling right now!

Today was an incredible day at NewSpring Church. We saw over 60 people surrender their lives to Jesus Christ…within this crowd of people was a lady who I have been praying for over a period of four years!!! When I found out I wanted to scream…all I could do was say, “Thank you Jesus.”

There are so many stories I could tell about today…like when I asked people to stand up if they wanted to receive Christ…and a man in a wheelchair put both hands in the air because he could not stand…but he was not going to let that come in the way of him meeting Jesus.

BUT…I will have to say that one of the most amazing stories I have ever heard in my life today was when Chelsea Stewart, daughter of the former professional golfer, shared her testimony from our stage–and said that despite this tragedy in her life that she can still say that God is both “good and amazing.” (You can download the message here.)

There was probably not a dry eye in the house…including mine. Many people were challenged to their core today–and came face to face with the fact that even when we don’t understand God…we should still trust Him because He is both “good and amazing.”

But…I will tell you what stood out the most to me–what rocked my world…REALLY rocked my world…

It was the way that Chelsea described her dad as loving her mom and also loving her and her brother in a way that was undeniable. Payne Stewart’s family didn’t doubt whether or not he loved them…

AND I WANT THAT FOR MY FAMILY MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD!!!

I want my wife to know that I love her…and that will always take effort on my part. There are days when I feel tired…but I need to do a better job of dancing with her in the kitchen. There will be days when I am mentally exhausted…but I need to listen to her and not try to drown out her stories with the television. If you are a dude–you know exactly what I am talking about.

AND…one day when Lucretia and I have children…I really want to be a good dad!!! I am begging God right now to allow me to be the kind of father that Chelsea described today–as I have already said–that hit me right between the flippin’ eyes.

AND…in order to do this…I’ve GOT to stop taking myself so seriously and begin to live a little more. God has been rocking my world with this reality all week long…and today He REALLY brought it home. (More on this later on during the week)

Chelsea did an outstanding job of sharing her faith…but I think we would all say that her story did so much more. I know for me it challenged the way I look at EVERYTHING…especially the way I treat my family and friends. If something tragic were to happen to me…I would want to be both missed and admired the way that Payne is both missed and admired even today.

AND…here is the thing that GETS ME…Payne isn’t just missed and admired by those who knew him from a distance, but also by those who knew him better than anyone. That means HE DIDN’T FAKE IT…because if he had then his legacy would not be as strong as it is.

God used this event to draw people to His Son, Jesus Christ, we saw this today…and I am sure that we will continue to see it for years to come.

As I said–today ROCKED me…we serve and “good and amazing” God–He reigns, despite our circumstances…and He can work out all things for the good. If you don’t believe me–just ask Chelsea.