ON CHURCH AND A LOVE-LESS LIFE (two unrelated topics in one entry)

AWESOME CHURCH!

I just got home from after church dinner with friends!

Church was awesome! Yesterday, Ross (the scheduled worship leader for today) and I were on the phone for quite a time talking about an issue that is beyond our control which we both felt as a call coming from God to trust Him more. We were both worried about how the worship services will turn out, but we found ourselves having received a special invitation from the Spirit to bow in prayer and surrender what is beyond our control to begin with. In many ways it felt like it was the Lord's way of shaking us up, which He does once in a while to keep us steady with our walk and trust.

Last night when we prayed, I remember exactly saying, "God, this is an invitation for us to trust you greater. You are up to something and we expect You to do a mighty work in our midst tomorrow, we will worship in a way we've never worshipped before."

Today, He did. We had some minor glitches, but they all pale in comparison to how the Lord caused worship to rise from people's hearts.

One of our ministerial staff came up to me this afternoon and said, "I attended the 9AM, and let me say, worship was amazing! For some reason, there was a greater sense of excitement to praise God!"

That comment was a direct assurance that God answered our prayer. The issue that is beyond our control which concerns us is still present, but we have a hope- that it is not beyond the control and reach of the God we trust.

October is Missions Month at church and we have an amazing line up of activities. Incidentally, our theme is Let All the Nations Worship You based on Revelation 7:9-10. Today, we had a couple of families from India showcasing their country and informing people how to better pray for that nation. We had a film showing about the Mouk Tribe of Papua New Guinea.

Next Sunday, I lead worship and for the first time we're singing, God of the Ages, an original song by Travis Doucette of Liberty University! I'm so stoked!

A NOTE FROM AN ANONYMOUS SENDER.

Checking my email tonight, I found this note from a girl who doesn't want for her name to be made known even to me. I just hung up the phone- I spoke with Joy about this and she kinda flipped in a weird but good way saying I should run a radio show of sorts! I figured it is okay to run this on my blog since the girl's identity is withheld.

Pastor Las,

i know you are a very busy person but i believe that you care for the needs of the people...

obviuosly, i am a girl, as the name suggests .: ) it has been a long time since i had a relationship, i am fully recovered..few yrs had passed, the guy is happily married but he is not saved...i am a christian--still single and loveless since i became christian...some of my non-christian friends still think I am not yet over him..it hurts me that some of my well meaning friends think of me that way...i had always felt that i will never find somebody who will love me..the ones i like are all taken..i kinda envy some of girls who fool around but still found good guys to marry them. do i need to be embarassed if i dont have a boyfriend for so long?

maybe you cant relate because you are in love with the short hair lady right? or I think it's the pretty piano girl (?). not sure. just heard from friends.thanks for your time.

My two cents.

I know many Christian people who would make great spouses and yet they are not married. These folks have put God first, they are (or have been) involved in ministries (both "professionally" and in the church) and are personally and spiritually stable and mature. By the Christian community standard, they've done everything right. And yet they remain alone. And while they are certainly not miserable, this is not their first choice — they long for marriage and family life, and yet, they are happy with life and in God.

A boyfriend or a girlfriend will not define who you are, your relationship with Christ will. Let God tell you who you are to Him and believe it with all your heart.

Don't think that the older you get, the less likely it is that you will find someone. "God is not bound by odds!" so a girl named Sarah says. While Sarah was still working at a college, she attracted the attention of a godly man. He sought her out, even learning of her character through her friends. Mark and Sarah married when she was 29. Today the couple serves together as missionaries in Lithuania.

As you pass the average marrying age, it can be tempting to panic. It's helpful to remember Paul's words in Romans 11:36: "For from him and through him and to him are all things." All things. As you cultivate godly attitudes and avoid damaging lies, you allow the Lord to pour out the things He has for you. That way, when the right person comes along, you'll be ready.

It's okay to date. But among believers, dating relationships should be conducted with clear intentions (determining the couple's suitability for marriage), in a timely manner (no dating indefinitely for recreation alone), with oversight (either from the woman's parents or surrogate parent[s]) and with purity (no sexual activity before the wedding).

By the way, the pastor who's in love with the short hair girl is one of the youth pastors. So, the letter sent to me must've been meant for him.

Somebody else is in love with the pretty piano girl, so the note must've been meant for that somebody. She's a friend. Our closeness has been mistaken many times by a lot people for something else though.

At any rate, I gave my two cents anyway! God bless.

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