Little me, I cannot imagine a more precious community than the diverse, earnest, humble community that we live in at Emmaus. I will always remember these years to be broken and rich.
This week is also Holiness Emphasis Week, and our friend Pastor Larry Lain and his wife are here for the week, preaching all the services and a few extra, to boot. God's Word through him yesterday was so pertinent, as he addressed God's commands NOT as a set of rules, but as a guide for how we can draw closer to our God.
Two things he said in particular touched me profoundly, and I love sitting with the staff and watching students across the chapel light up as the Spirit stirs their hearts alongside.
One, Larry noted that "Repentance has become my friend. I can go to God and say, What can I repent of today? It's not a duty or an obligation, it's a delight to repent of one more thing, bringing me one step closer to Jesus. I'm just that much closer to Jesus through repentance, just that much more like the character of God."
What a powerful practice for growth this new year...Lord, search me out, show me...what can I repent of today?
Later, he challenged us all to dig deeper into holiness than simply what we do...but who we are.
"If we're going to step into the kind of holiness that God requires to change, to save a nation, we have to press into the heart. We have to let God change our hearts, we have to let God change our attitudes. That is when the holiness of God begins to play."
Press into the heart with me today, friends. Let Him press in...it is where He longs to work.
Quick aside: THIS is the Bible reading plan I did in 2019 (split into five days a week instead of seven, just the grace I needed to keep up!) and I LOVED it. I'm back at week one for 2020, and just wanted to share it if you're looking for a great plan! (And if you weren't looking, do this with me...there is nothing we need this new year like His Word!)
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