Who's Judging Who?

Today is the first day of the new year-2012!!

And Sunday. One of my favorite days of the week...because in 2011, almost a year ago we started visiting a church called Four Corners that meets in the Alamo bar in downtown Newnan for church services.

No, I am not kidding.

For some people that is bizarre, maybe even offensive. To me, it's brilliant. I have felt the presence of God since the first service we attended and I am still hungry to be more in love with Christ today, which was such a huge answer to prayer because my soul felt stagnant and there was a giant need for change. For the first time in such a long time I feel at home, at peace, knowing I am right where God wants me to be. It was a hard move for us, because we LOVE LOVE the people from our previous church and the amount of Biblical "giants" that we were able to listen and learn from was phenomenal. But, when you feel God calling you to move, you get restless until you find where it is that He wants you. That's when we found Four Corners, and I love the story of how Four Corners came to be. If you want to hear the whole story our Pastor told it in today's service and they post the sermons online. I really feel like we are part of a family at Four Corners and knowing there are people I can come to and depend on is so precious in life-something that only happens when Christ is at the center of it.

One thing that really stood out in today's sermon was how Pastor Alex said he used to care so much about what people thought of him-as if they would be the ones sitting on the throne of God judging him, instead of God himself. He said in seminary he realized that the ministry of Jesus involved actually being FRIENDS (not acquaintances or people we look down on) with prostitutes, poor people, sick people, etc. He realized that the only friends he had were believers...in the name of Jesus! He decided he needed to change that and start being more like Jesus in who he befriended. So, he went to work at the Alamo-and while working there God told him that church would be held in the Alamo...and 3 years ago that's exactly what happened.

Today was our last day of service in the Alamo-and I am pretty sad about that. I know that God has grown Four Corners to the point where we definitely need a bigger facility and has provided in big ways in order to make that happen. I am very glad for our friend Pastor Alex and Jana Early because I know this will relieve some of the stress of preaching THREE services back to back every single week (I have NO earthly idea how he manages to do that, especially with two kids the ages of ours!) So, it's a wise move, a necessary one...all the same though, I will miss having church at the Alamo. I never thought I would have an attachment to a bar, but I do. I am very thankful for the owner of the Alamo, Amy Murphy, because even thought I have never met her, she has changed our lives and the lives of countless others by allowing us to use The Alamo to meet to worship in.

Being the first day of the New Year I have been thinking about what I want my life to be like more than normal and today's sermon really hit home for me. I don't let what other's think control me but I do worry about what people may say or think about me if I was in the wrong place or hanging out with the wrong people. That is going to change in 2012. I will not let fear of what others say or think of my get in the way of genuinely loving people and showing people what Christ would be doing if he was still walking the Earth. Because, if we let him,  He is walking, talking, LIVING here on Earth through the Holy Spirit in US. Let 2012 be a year of living genuinely, for Christ, serving Him because He served us first, Loving others because He didn't turn anyone away, remembering that people need to know we bleed too, we are not just prototype Jesus clones, we are human and only do good through the help of Christ in us.

Happy New Year!