Dedicated to Jason C.Birthdays are a time to celebrate life. On Monday, February 11 ALIVE was the buzz word of the evening. Every Monday night I am at the same place...the Rosslyn Spectrum in Arlington, VA. A year ago the Frontline ministry of McLean Bible Church took a step of faith. As Todd shared in his sermon we "stepped away from the table." So much has happened in a year. Personally I have been blessed beyond measure through the staff, the small group ministry and the mission trip that I was a part of. I look back at my story and am in awe of all that God has done. And I am just one. The campus started with 250 people from our Tyson's campus. We are now typically over 500 strong...most services in overflow. Over 500 lives impacted with the message of God's love...over 500 lights walking out into the DC metro area sharing what we have experienced.
On Monday I sat with my Global Impact team. Sixteen of us went to Indonesia in August...sixteen lives forever intertwined. One of our team members was a new Christian when he signed up for our trip. I have been a Christian for 25 years and just went on my first foreign soil mission. Jason was a Christian for a few short weeks and stepped out in obedience. He was baptized Monday night during our one year celebration. The team had the privilige of being front and center. The campus pastor immersed him in the water with these words "dead to sin and raised to walk in newness of life." ALIVE. Eternally alive. The water did not change where Jason stands with God, yet the act is a celebration of the life he now lives.
Rewind back to the service...the worship was electric, the message was inspiring, but what sets Frontline Arlington apart is God's people. In a year we are beginning to understand the levity of the lives we live. We are engaging with each other through small groups, mission trips, service and corporate worship. We have taken our first steps away from the table and experienced the initial exhileration of firsts. What will next year's celebration look like? I pray that the firsts we have known this year will be but a memory. I pray that we will step forward with faith and run, not walk into the lives God has called us to share with. My devotion on Monday was from Joshua 3. This passage recounts the Israelites crossing the Jordan onto dry land. In verse 7 God makes His mission known..."I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel..." To the priests, I am sure the direction seemed crazy. They were to carry the ark of the covenant into the Jordan while the river was at flood stage. "Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away." Do you see it? God called them to step out...His presence (the ark of the covenant) was with them and as they were obedient His name was exalted. Just as He had parted the Red Sea for Moses, He stopped the rivers of the Jordan for Joshua. God wants to exalt you believer, He wants to make His name known through His divine power at work in your life. May next year's celebration include countless lives impacted by a campus fully engaged in the presence of God.
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