I’ve just been re-energized in my spiritual life! Only a couple of weeks ago, I was feeling depressed and really down in many ways, but that all changed when I went to the Midwest Baptist Conference’s Leadership Retreat in Champaign, Illinois.
The first night there, I was challenged by a message by Jim Botts about how Jesus wants us to get out there and tell other people about him. I’ve been frustrated that my church hasn’t been doing that very effectively, and so I was really moved by his message. However, when I tried to talk with my wife about it, something wasn’t clicking with my thought process.
We actually had an argument about it!
But then, the next night, God brought clarity to me through the second main speaker of the retreat. Gary Rohrmayer of Midwest Church Planting and Your Journey Resources said in his first main point that “the practice of spiritual disciplines is directly related to hearing God’s voice.”
It was like one of those revelations where you hear something that you’ve known for a long time but haven’t really gotten from your head down into your heart, you know? I got a strong sense that my ministry was more about my personal connection with God than any other methodology I could implement in a church. It was a complete release! Now, not only was I freed from the pressure of performance and efforts to coerce people to share their faith with others, but I was also given something tangible and simple that I could work on–my own spiritual condition!
This might not seem much to you, but it was a revelation for me, and I’m so grateful to God that he gave it to me.
I hope your relationship with God is profound and significant this week.
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