Last night Crystal, Ben, Jaxon, Jeremy and I worshiped with The Belonging Co. in Rocketown. Wow is all I can say. We were lifted into the presence of God in a mighty way, and this morning I’m still coming down from the high.

God’s presence is a consuming fire, and it doesn’t matter where you are or what you are doing. He will show up when you call on His Name. He will move Heaven and earth to be where you are, and He doesn’t hold grudges when you’ve sinned against Him. The passage about forgiving others 70×7 does not mean you only get 490 forgives from Him. His love is unconditional, and when you turn from your sin He draws near as if you are sinless. We are sinless when we acknowledge the blood of Jesus upon the cross, and we are set free from every chain when we lean into the resurrection.

He’s not in the grave.

It’s time to rave.

Is evil among us? Of course it is, but it does not control us. We cannot keep silent about this God who has conquered sin. His love is everlasting and eternal. He does not usher in the second coming of Jesus because the Spirit is at work to save as many as possible. He is raising up churches like the one we went to last night to communicate to a thirsty people who only He satisfies.

How many times do I wake up in the morning intent on drawing close to this Father, but the distractions make me put the cart before the horse. I want a bigger, finer house. I want to make a certain amount of money with my business. I want my depression gone. I want. I want. I want. But I don’t want the things of Heaven. It’s not that I don’t want the things of Heaven. It’s that the things of earth cloud my vision of what God is trying to give me.

I am a sinful broken man angry at the world for not giving me what only God can give me. I am a man trying to serve two masters. It’s impossible. I will never sacrifice my family on the altar of my career, but I’ve sacrificed my God on the altar of countless things that would be too numerous to list here.

I think what is coursing through my mind right now is not so much the corporate worship from last night, but rather the mercy and patience of my Father as He looks down upon me with a love I cannot fathom.

Chloe was vomiting last night, and when I got home I vacuumed and mopped her bedroom and bathroom. She’s staying home from school today, and I’m able to be here with her because I take Mondays off. I was still sleeping when Carey was getting ready for work. She asked me to get up and make coffee. I thought to myself why can’t she make coffee. I got up begrudgingly and made coffee. I went back to bed, but my back started hurting so I got up shortly after she left.

The Spirit empowered me to pray God’s angels around her at work. Marriage is the hardest thing you’ll ever do. You don’t know this at the beginning because you can’t until you go through it. It takes an act of God to sustain a marriage through the hard stuff we go through. Building a strong marriage is larger than not having an affair. If you haven’t had an affair than here’s your pat on the back, but that’s not what a strong marriage is based on. A strong marriage is based upon the love of God working through two people who are broken beyond repair to love each other as Christ loves the church.

The church is broken beyond repair. Thank you Satan. But Christ, the Great Physician, brings healing and restorative power that heals others.

I don’t care how proud you are of your accomplishments. They are all dirty rags in the presence of the purity Christ represents in His accomplishments. You can have everything the world offers, but if you don’t have Jesus then you have nothing. Period. We are all law breakers. All 7 billion of us. We all need Jesus.

That’s what last night was about. That’s what yesterday morning was about. That’s what this very sentence is about.

What are you about?