Yesterday (Sunday, August 12, 2007), I had the privilege of assisting in the new birth of Michael Powell. Mike is 19 years old physically, and yesterday he was born from above by surrendering his will to God's, and by being immersed into Jesus for the forgiveness of his sins and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
Mike did not come to this decision lightly. He and I spent hours talking about this decision and what it means to have Jesus as the Lord of his life. See, lots of folks want Jesus to be their Savior, but few truly want Him to be their Lord. That means that we have to submit our wills, our desires, our wants, and our very lives to Jesus. Mike understands that while he will still struggle with some sins that he admitted he struggles with, he wants to turn them over to Jesus and ask for the supernatural help that comes from submitting to the Lordship of Jesus.
The 29 members of Mike's family in Christ (including his mom, brother, and grandmother) who gathered at our house yesterday for the baptism serve as a great testimony for the love of Jesus and the love of Mike that runs through the folks of Vero Christian Church. It was cool to see every available member of the college age Bible study group there (a couple are out of town and another was at work, otherwise the entire rest of the group was there for the baptism). It was cool to see "old family friends" there to support Mike's Mom, Grandmother, Brother and of course, Mike. It was cool to see Elders and Deacons as well as jut "plain ole" members of the VCC congregation gathered for this celebration.
It is a celebration that has been a fairly regular occurrence at VCC over the past several months, and one that we intend to make at least a weekly occurrence as we reach out to those who are seeking something deeper in their lives.
Mike is a baby in Christ. He will stumble, and he will fall. He will be frustrated, and he will fail. He will also be forgiven and restored. He will be loved beyond measure. He will grow in his walk with the Lord Jesus. It is a life worth living. In fact, it is the ONLY life worth living.
I praise God for the privilege of being a small part in the big story known as the life of Michael Powell. May God encourage and strengthen Mike daily, and may He use me as one means of encouragement.
I promise to post my second observation from Dan Gilliam's book, God Touches, within the next 24 hours. It is a doozy, and may well find its way into a sermon I am to preach on August 26th. As such, I would love to get some feedback from some of you once it is posted.
Be God's,
Scott
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