Together For The Gospel

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the T4G conference, where with 10,000 (rough estimate) others, I had the joy of praising my God and Savior in song, in preaching, and in fellowship with friends past and present. Perhaps, it was a small view of what heaven will be like when we sing with the choirs of angels! Everyone should have the opportunity to sing with a group that large!

One of the "perks" of going to this conference is the large stack of free books they give to all who attend! In the past, they would have a crew place the books on the chairs before the next session would begin, but with a new venue, this was not possible. The creative alternative was to create what they called "The Zero Dollar Bookstore," where each attender was given a card to take and redeem at each station for that free book (19 free books in all). As I got to think about it, this is just like our salvation, offered as a free gift to all who will believe. Romans 6:23 tells us "The wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Salvation, like those books, is a free gift, but it is only free if it is accepted. As the conference neared a close, I noticed stacks of books still available at the Zero Dollar Bookstore and wondered how many attendees did not know they were free and how many heard but did not respond. God's gift of salvation is free and available to those who believe. Is there someone we need to tell? Do we need to stop and thank God once again for His free gift? Books are a great gift, especially for a pastor, but they are nothing when compared to the greatest gift of all!

Just another tool

I am not a writer, nor am I a reader! I wish I was both, as they seem to be somewhat important when you are a pastor! I have learned to read books and am learning to write sermons, but to write a blog seems to be a step beyond my comfort zone. In part, it seems prideful to think that anyone would care about the thoughts of an ordinary pastor, and even to write this may look to some that I am fishing for the "Oh, no, we like what you write" kind of encouragement! It is truly with a profound sense of humility and a proper amount of that familiar overwhelmed feeling, that I seek to begin this blog to share what I am learning, how God is teaching me, stretching me, and further humbling me. Simply put, this is just another tool that perhaps God can use in the life of someone who reads, or quite frankly, in the life of the writer. I cannot promise how often new posts will be written or whether they will prove helpful to you. I can say that it is my prayer that God will use this blog for the growth and development of those who will read as well as the writer, himself! May God be glorified in everything we do!