Tonight, Jesus met with us as we celebrated the 110th anniversary of One Mission Society. He is so good! Beth Kinlaw Coppedge spoke, starting by reading excerpts from 2 Corinthians 4-6. Then, she asked God to come and take over the time, to speak to us "nose-to-nose and face-to-face" and to speak to us and teach us by name and individually instead of in general. She asked Jesus to come not as our guest but as our host, and as she prayed, I could tell... this woman loves Jesus.
Praise God, through her, His Word penetrated my heart, and seemingly the hearts of many others there, and brought me to tears before she was even a quarter of the way through. My heart had been hungry for this teaching, and as she spoke, sharing about a desire for fresh healing, wisdom and annointing, I found myself yearning for it, too.
OMS is an organization that has a Wesleyan/Holiness background, and so, our speakers have been focusing on holiness and sanctification- some of which I can have a hard time sorting out or resting in... but tonight we digested the fact that Jesus wants all of us and he wants 100 percent-- why? So that He can dwell in us, and so we don't go reproducing who we are but instead who He is.
What a great time processing with the Lord about sanctification and His transforming power. His power to transform our hearts, mind, desires and even our belief in the lie that things can never be different.
A couple of weeks ago, a friend shared with me about being encouraged by the fact that we are not to temper or balance truth and emotions by reigning either in, but instead God calls us to be fully invested both in truth and an emotional relationship with Him. Last night was a great example of that for me.
I don't think I've ever heard a woman speak with such power, while maintaining such a sweet voice and tender spirit. Beth shared that she was caught up in her own needs and fears when God told her,
"Give those to me and let me make you bigger than your coping mechanisms."
Whoa... I don't know about you but I think that's good news!
I think the part that stood out most to me about all this was just the call to a love relationship with the Lord and a reminder that He is waiting for me to soak up His presence and spend time with Him in His word, and in the midst of serving him in full-time ministry, it is not a worker that he is looking for but a lover-- Wow, what a pointed reminder! He cares more about us having the intimacy of the presence of Jesus than us being busy serving.
I don't think I've ever heard a woman speak with such power, while maintaining such a sweet voice and tender spirit. Beth shared that she was caught up in her own needs and fears when God told her,
"Give those to me and let me make you bigger than your coping mechanisms."
Whoa... I don't know about you but I think that's good news!
I think the part that stood out most to me about all this was just the call to a love relationship with the Lord and a reminder that He is waiting for me to soak up His presence and spend time with Him in His word, and in the midst of serving him in full-time ministry, it is not a worker that he is looking for but a lover-- Wow, what a pointed reminder! He cares more about us having the intimacy of the presence of Jesus than us being busy serving.
What a generous blessing tonight was! I'm so thankful for the encouragement, depth and healing He provided for us tonight through His truth and presence.
I hope some of this translates and encourages you more than seeming like a whirlwind recap. Thank you for those of you who read along and journey with me. Thank you so much for those of you who pray as you read. Please pray over the next two days of our Missionary Reunion/ 110th Anniversary. May tonight just be the beginning of more deep moments with Him!
