Here I am sitting in my bedroom in Albany. I’ll go to bed after I finish this blog. I have three Sozos scheduled tomorrow, so I definitely need a good nights sleep. It was an easy drive down. I drove down with a friend from Bethel Atlanta and we had a good conversation, which helped pass the time. We were able to stop and eat at Longhorn’s Steak House in Albany. We are all pretty much staying at different places. I am at a couple’s house whose history parallels Julia’s and mine. We both were originally Baptist. We both were impacted greatly by TD and Dudley Halls ministry. We probably attended conferences at Shoco Springs AL together in the late 80’s. They were at a conference at Atlanta Vineyard when we were there and also at the conference. They saw Jack Derre at First Methodist Marietta when we did. They were impacted by John Wimber and now Bill Johnson, just like I was. It was amazing. We probably talked for over two hours about our families and histories. Julia and I had met her when she was out at Redding for the Sozo leaders conference. Julia had helped set up her sozo at RiverStone when she came to our conference. It’s amazing to watch God work. He sets things in motion and it’s lie we just find ourselves in these situations. Also our friends Jerry and Dedra were their pastors here in Albany for three years. There is probably more if I could remember all the details. Also the good news is I am able to connect onto wireless Internet so I can post this tonight instead of having to try a place tomorrow. That is if this connection stays up. I think it from the house next door.
There are two things that you have no control over when you come on a trip like this. The first is where you stay. What are the accommodations and how do you relate with the hosts. This time it is great so I’m one for one. The second is the food, Where and what are you going to eat. Personally, I had rather be on my own to fine restaurants so I could eat what I choose to eat. But that’s not the case this weekend. They are going to have lunch and dinner for us at the church. This could be good, or it could be bad. I’ll reserve my answer for later, but I don’t have a good feeling about this arrangement. Well, we will see soon enough. But it really doesn’t matter in the long run. We will have fun and minister to these people. They are all very nice, and very hungry for more of God and His love. I sense that tomorrow is going to be a special day and I want to be open to anything He wants to do through me.
As we were talking tonight I could see so much of my history and so much of the path that we have been on for almost thirty years. What is it that keeps you going for so long? What is it that takes you to the finish line when others fall away? Why have so many of my friends over the years have chosen to settle at a comfortable place while Julia and I pressed on ahead. The first thing that I think of is passion. You have to have passion to keep going after something. Whether it’s running or skating or being good in acting. To be the best and to continue when others drop out requires passion; passion to be the best, passion to see God move, passion for more. We have had that passion since that Marriage Encounter weekend. But it requires more than passion. It requires commitment. The type of commitment that will cause you to keep going after God when you don’t see any results. Commitment that will cause you to not stop, even when every one is telling you that you are crazy. Commitment that will have you continue to climb the mountain even when you see mountain after mountain ahead.
Passion and Commitment, they really go hand in hand. To get where God is calling us as believers, we need both of these traits. The passion comes from knowing His love for us. His love that is unconditional and forgiving, The commitment comes from knowing the calling and destiny that He has placed upon it. It comes from knowing that the footprint that He has for us to fill is so big that we will never be able to fill it unless we have His presence on our lives. Tonight as I go to sleep, I am going to thank Papa for giving me such a deep passion for Him and His Kingdom. I am also going to thank Him for showing me my destiny to keep my commitment steady. And as I fall asleep I am going to ask Him for MORE. Because there is always more in the Kingdom, and I know that I will need it.
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