UNPLANNED BUT PLANNED

On Friday night, Jim had the honor of helping a young man give his life to God. Right on our front porch, he knelt down and asked the Lord to change Him. He was desperate for a different life. He knew he couldn't keep on living as he had been.

Tonight, Jim had the privilege of baptising that young man. For us, it was totally unplanned. For God? Planned since before the foundation of the earth was created.

God was the one who gave Martin life. God is the one who has been working, often behind the scenes, to bring him to this place. It came as no surprise to God. He's been speaking into Martin's spirit, woo'ing him to lay down his heavy burdens, calling him to a life filled with abundance and peace.

What a joy it was for us all, including the visiting team from Belmont College, to be a part of this amazing time. And we just didn't get the blessing of one baptism, but two!

Mark, one of our long-time neighbors, also took the important step tonight of identifying himself with Christ Jesus through baptism.

And what else could we do after these two public professions of faith and new life but celebrate! With prayer and praise --- with our voices, instruments, and even dance --- we thanked God for His goodness and asked Him to keep moving in our hearts and in the hearts of all of those still needing to come to the Father to experience His life changing love.

Please join us in praying for these two young men. Satan is not happy to lose Mark and Martin. We know they are going to be attacked and tempted. Pray that they will be strengthened and firmly established in the faith. Pray that they will not settle for anything else but going all the way with the Lord. Pray that they will only say "yes" to the Lord and "no" to old addictions, habits, and ways that will try to pull them back to the ways of death and destruction. And pray for the We Will Go family that we will be able to love, support, and disciple them, especially these crucial first days, weeks, and months.

Pray also that more and more people will come to the Lord. So many that we know and love are trapped in addictions, abusive relationships, mental confusion, and spiritual darkness because they aren't walking in a relationship with the perfect Father, our loving God who wants to give them life and life more abundantly than they could ever imagine.

And please pray for the visitors who come to serve at We Will Go on a daily basis. Pray that they will be drawn to the Lord, for the first time if they aren't followers of Jesus, and strengthened in their faith if they know Him. Over and over again, we see people come here and then leave with a fresh vision of how God wants them to walk out their faith.

I've said it before but I'll keep saying it, I am continually blown away by this life that God has called us to. What an incredible blessing to see lives changed and light overtaking the dark in this city.

Hallelujah! God reigns! What an amazing and glorious Lord He is!

 

^{3-6 "}How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

^7-10 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
^11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
^13-14 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life."

--- Ephesians 1: 3-14 (The Message translation of The Bible)