Healing Stream

What a week! Following the messages this past weekend (July 5 & 6), God has been up to come amazing things in people's lives. At the conlusion of every Celebration, many determined to move forward in complete honesty about their lives with a trusted friend or leader. Confession of sin openly to another human being is a challenge and I believe that many more people are being convicted by God of the truth that has been set out before them. I anticipate growing movement as God works in lives.

I have had voice mails and emails telling me that God is at work in people's lives. People are seeking times of confession with their friends, fellow small groups members, and church leaders. This week I have seen people confess issues of sexual sin, illegal drug use, long held bitterness, fear of intimacy with God and the sharing of past hurt, abuse and pain that has held people in bondage for many years. One person shared with me how this whole "Real People" idea of Christianity was completely new to them. That they had always been taught that everything personal was to remain that way, but now God is giving them the desire to grow deeper -- in their relationship to God AND people! WOW!

It hit me that when we say that some things should remain "personal" that what we really often mean is that we want to keep it quiet and not deal with it, even on our own. This really does nothing to bring us closer to Jesus, it keeps us in bondage and we often don't even know it.

I am excited about what God is up to! Keep listening to Him! Don't let the challenge to apply James 5:16 become something you heard, thought was true, but let it die from your memory banks. It is powerful stuff! It is life-changing! God wants you forgiven AND free!