redeemed

 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7) 

I am continually humbled by God's grace and sovereignty. You see, I've made some huge mistakes. Nothing made sense to me because I wasn't seeking God's heart. I was going about life blindly, and I stumbled. I fell face first into the mud, and I wallowed in it for a good long while. I couldn't see a way out. I don't know when it was exactly, but God let me in on something. Nothing surprises Him. Nothing. This is incredibly humbling, humiliating, comforting and deeply saddening all at once. He knew I would screw up, but in His completely indescribable grace, He redeemed me. He's still redeeming me. 

I don't know exactly what that is going to look like? Why? I don't know the future, but I know that if I keep walking in obedience, He will guide my steps. Today, I had to come to grips with some of my mistakes. It involves some asking forgiveness, and I know it won't be easy. I'm not really looking forward to it, but I hurt some people. I was a jerk, and in a completely sly and passive and unfeeling way, I hurt them. I made excuses, and I let life and my own unmotivatedness get in the way. 

The thing is, I can't do this on my own. I have to empty myself, and allow the Spirit to speak in and through me. I hope healing will occur. Why am I telling you this? It comes down to this-- God corrects. God redeems. Read Hosea if you don't believe me. He pursues His own, and desperately wants to save them. The most amazing thing of it all is that I'm somewhere in that picture.

Despite my mistakes, there is hope. He can redeem me and my stupidity. He can turn it around for something great-- for His glory. Two things, I hope, involve Kennesaw State University. One is going back as a student and doing it for Him, Not for me and definitely not my ways. The other thing is something much grander than I. Something of Kingdom proportions. That thing is The Campus Church, a church plant on Kennesaw's campus. 

This is where redemption really comes into play in my life. This where the years of schooling for no apparent reason make sense. For some reason, beyond my understanding, God redeemed my ugly past and unusable time for this. All I have to do is obey Him.

Some prayer requests:

1. Pray for the KSU campus community. Pray for a revival.

2. Pray for The Campus Church leadership that they (we) submit our wills and ours lives to God. 

3. Pray for First Baptist Woodstock, our sponsoring church.

4. Never forget Haiti.

5. Pray for my friend Erica. She's in Paraguay in training for the Peace Corps. She'll be there, Lord willing, for 27 months.