Sunday Scripture

Today I celebrate 12 years as part of a church family. It was a full dozen years ago on this Sunday of January of 2007 (the 21ST that year) that I anxiously and nervously walked in to a movie theatre less than 3 miles from home to attend a church service for a church I had been hearing about on the radio and reading about on the World Wide Web (before Myspace, WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc.).

Life Pointe Church in Homestead Florida was my first church family. I was immediately welcomed with love, hugs, and opened arms on that morning. Within 15 minutes I realized that I had a new home on Sunday mornings.

That was my church family for a little over 8 years from January 2007 to March 2015. I left Life Pointe to join another church family a mile down the road, and to resurrect my fantastic journey which had stalled at that point.

I am now a leader at Living Waters Full Gospel Church, a Reverend, and a Licensed Minister. I am a Pastor-In-Training. I am preparing myself for bigger and better things in my not-too-distant future. God’s plans.

But let’s go back to 2006. My salvation began unexpectedly late that summer during the latter part of August of that year. I wasn’t planning it. It just happened. That’s how God works. He had a plan for me, and it was executed magnificently. I was saved for about a month or two before I realized it. I didn’t even know what salvation was all about until He led me to His Word via His music and Scripture on a local Christian radio station.

I’m a firm believer that you can’t fully and effectively believe and follow God unless you are an integral part of a church family. I figured that out during my first 3 months on this fantastic journey. I used the next 2 months after that to find a church family online.

Just as our bodies have many parts, and each part has a special function – so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In His grace – God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy – speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others – serve them well. If you are a teacher – teach well. If your gift is to encourage others – be encouraging. If it is giving – give generously. If God has given you leadership ability – take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others – do it gladly. (Romans 12:4-8 NLT)

Don’t be an orphan on your fantastic journey. Find a church family that will help you grow in Christ. Find a church family that you can walk with, as you move forward at a steady pace towards eternity with God in Heaven.