Rex.Espiritu.net - a blog vox

It was over twelve years ago when I began to entertain the idea of committing myself to attending a Promise Keepers conference in one of about a half dozen venues where thousands of men would be gathering to praise and worship God together and consider what it means to seek the Lord in becoming a man of integrity.  In many ways, my journey of the Christian life as I have been experiencing it has been marked by particular events in which I sensed anew the Lord calling me to begin again in making a commitment to Christ.  I can remember going to a number of Billy Graham crusades, “altar calls�, and other worship services at which I felt led to come forward and commit or recommit myself to God anew in Jesus.  Whether outwardly manifested physically or quietly displayed in stillness, there was an inward reality that was happening to me in those holy moments of God’s grace upon my life in Christ. 

The Scripture passage comes to mind that says that all the promises of God find their “Yes!� in Jesus Christ.  Today, I want to say, “Yes!� once again to the “Yes!� of God in my life and in our life together.  The Lord God, Who is faithful, is a promise keeping God.  God is the ultimate Promise Keeper upon Whose grace we can rely and trust in for our salvation and sanctification as we would seek to become more and more like Jesus, continually being and becoming conformed to the very image of Christ. 

The truth of this Word being proclaimed in my life was lived out once again this past week as I accompanied some of our young people to a Confirmation Retreat at Camp Pyoca.  There in the environment of a Presbyterian Church (USA) camp and conference center, I remembered my own personal commitment made long ago at another PCUSA camp as one teenager among others in Christ who confirmed their baptism in the Lord and commenced the next part of their faith journey to go deeper in their walk as a member of the body of Christ. 

It was such a joy for me to engage with our youth for Christ that it reawakened in me a yearning to recapture, or better yet be captured and captivated once again by God’s grace in my own life’s journey of faith in Jesus.  It was really quite beautiful and sweet and energizing and exhaustingly wonderful all at the same time to witness the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of other brothers and sisters coming alive in Christ.  It gave me such hope for the future being sown in the young life being birthed in each of the youth I was privileged to take there that I am encouraged to keep on keeping on with the promises God has led me in through my own walk by faith. 

As such, I want to thank the parents of each of our commencement and commitment class participants for giving me the honor and blessing of leading these children of God and for entrusting them to the Lord in our life together in this place.  [And thanks, too, to each and every one of the confirmands.]  I also want to invite the fathers and sons in our congregation as fellow brothers in Christ to join with me in attending this year’s Promise Keepers men’s conference in Cincinnati, Ohio this coming August 17-18 for a Friday evening and Saturday of glorifying God and enjoying God’s powerful presence together with other men seeking to serve God with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love.  I yearn and long for us to come back to our first love of Jesus as men of God called to begin once again in the commencement of our commitment to the Lord and one another in Christ. 

Registrations can be made online at www.PromiseKeepers.org or by calling the toll-free number by phone at 1-866-PROMISE. 

Let’s take our lives to the limit where the adventure of significance begins.  May the flood of God’s energizing love and grace be made manifest in and through us as we recommit our lives to the Lord of life together in this time and place.  To God be the glory. 

In Christ,

Pastor Rex

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 15th, 2007 at 9:29 am and is filed under perspectives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.