This has been a good week for me so far. Sunday was father's day, brought with it pretty good attendance at services. (Preachers always like good attendance, right?) Ministry Monday brought a good team meeting as we took our next steps in seeking God's direction for our ministries. Tuesday evening at the "bad box" class was busting at the seams, with 45 adults and students and another 9 children in attendance that night. Lots of excitement kicked of the week for us before we left on Wednesday to come down to Cincinnati for a few days.
We traveled down on Wednesday afternoon, stayed for Thursday and Friday morning and, as I write this, we are preparing for the trek back to Valpo tonight. Why would we take the time out of a week like this to drive down to Cincinnati and back? Simple. We wanted to live out Hebrews 10:24.
The King James version renders Hebrews 10:24 in this way: "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:" Michael Little enjoys this translation the best because it tells us to "provoke" one another on to love and good works. The Message renders this Greek word as "encourage." The New International Version calls it "spur." I'll let you decide which translation you prefer. All of them are trying to tell us the same thing. "Think about ways to move one another along in your walk together with God, which will express itself through your love and good deeds" (Pete's Perspective)
This week, Traci and I came to Cincinnati to attend, for a day anyway, the North American Christian Convention. It's a gathering of Christians from all over the country who come together to encourage one another in their walk together with God. There are speakers, worship sessions, break out groups, and lots an lots of booths where ministries from around the world share their story and help people get involved. It's the perfect place to get provoked (encouraged... spurred...) to move on to the next step in your walk and ministry. Traci and I are always refreshed by this time. We brought two students along with us who spent time with students their age. They also checked out Christian Colleges and missions that matched their areas of interest.
Traci and I always enjoy talking to old friends here as well. One friend was getting ready to move to Africa. She will be homeschooling the children of someone else we know who is Indian, trained as a doctor here, and is now moving to Africa to minister there. Other friends caught us up on ministries that are taking place all across the United States. One of the speakers we listened to brought a message of hope from India. Booths we visited reminded us of work in Europe, Asia, Africa, and all over this continent as well. These kinds of events stoke my fire and get me energized to do my part of God's plan. I come back home even more excited about empowering one more to walk together with God.
What provokes, encourages, or spurs you on? I'm asking God to show you so God's fire will burn hot and His light will shine brightly through you as well.
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