Dear friends
There is a saying
that goes, 'there is nothing quite like home!' And never has it been more true
than right now for me. Don't get me wrong, travelling to faraway places for the
sake of the Kingdom truly is a privilege and always will be, but after 36 hours
in transit, in airports and planes, there really was nothing else quite like
home.
Unfortunately for
many they have become more interested in finding the fault of home rather than
the evidence of God's grace at home. I am so grateful for the record in Acts
11:
21 And the hand of the Lord was with
them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of
this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to
Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he
exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,
24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a
great many people were added to the Lord.
What an example
for us to follow. Barnabas, being sent to see what was happening could easily
have seen all the holes in the work being done, but instead, he went with the
purpose of trying to see what God was doing there. And in this he recognized
the grace of God and in so doing; many were added to the Lord.
Here, by
recognizing the evidence of God’s grace and not the lack of the people,
released the work of God amongst the people.
Unfortunately,
too often, we celebrate everywhere else but home, both our family and our local
church. We look critically at each other and the lack of the people, or of the
leadership, or of our spouse, or of our children, rather than looking for the
evidences of God's grace.
Friends, may I
encourage you today to retrain yourself to look for what God is doing if you have
become critical and your thoughts are tending to wanting to be anywhere else
but at home. It is to your family, both physical and spiritual that you have
covenanted yourself and if you want to see more of the life and power of God at
work, let us take our cue off of Barnabas who went to see the evidence of God's
grace and released the life of his Father.
It truly is good
to be home and I am incredibly excited to see you all on Sunday and to share
something of the life of God in me as we worship together both in the morning
and as we launch an evening congregation.
Much love to you
my friends,
Rich
