Sunday, January 27, 2008

one way God gets the glory he deserves

I just got back from a retreat with the high school group at my church. It was an intense 3 days of a ban on cell phones and other common distractions. I feel like the Lord really moved in the lives of myself and others that came. I know the Lord convicted my heart about a great many things and I am sure he has done the same for most, if not all, of those who was part of the retreat. But I wanted to talk specifically about how I got to experience one way in which God gets the glory he deserves. Last night we had a time of worship as the last thing before bed. What made it special was that we had a time earlier to deal with some sin and guilt in smaller groups. I had a time with some a few good friends to just confess sin, pray for each other, and simply embrace the fact that grace is already ours. All this brought an overflow of emotions within a ton of people there. And this brought heartfelt worship directly to God as we sang some humble songs. That alone is a beautiful expression of people just giving God exactly what he deserves from screwed-up human beings. But there was more to it. I got to hear from two separate people that seeing people worship like that brought them to a place of humble gratitude toward God. So some sang out of their hearts, and some watched while praising God for what they were seeing. If that isn't a glimpse of heaven, I don't know what is.