John,
I loved today’s meeting. There were so many good feelings, one would have to be dead not to have felt the life in them.
When Darren was singing his song about things that men consider holy, such as crosses, clothing for worship, ceremonies, holy looks, etc., I had this thought: Psalm 96:9 says, “O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him, all the earth.”
The thought I had was that beauty is the effect of what’s truly holy. When I saw the ladies dancing in the Spirit today, I thought how beautiful they were because what is inside of them is holy. The beauty of their dance was the effect. Amy French’s testimony was beautiful because of the effect of what is holy living in her. All the songs today were beautiful because of the effect of what is holy. Brother Coy’s faith and excitement for the truth is the effect of that holy thing living in him. I could go on and on.
The difference between what men call holy and what is truly holy is that what is truly holy is not only beautiful, but alive. (Crosses are neither beautiful nor alive, not even gold ones.)
I know these thoughts are not new. You have taught them to us many times. I just felt like I wanted to express what I was thinking and feeling during the meeting today.
Tom
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Good morning Pastor John,
I LOVED the meetings this weekend! The music, the testimonies, your message, the feelings…it was all wonderful!
Last night I went to bed and began to pray for different ones. My prayer started, Jesus please help… then a praise just burst out. My prayer became, Oh Jesus thank you! Thank you for helping us. Thank you for hearing our prayers, thank you for loving us! I woke up this morning just saturated feeling the goodness of God. I’m so thankful we serve a living God! A God who hears us, loves us, helps us and who is always near! Whatever we’re going through he is our answer, he is our help! He is our burden lifter… and I’m feeling light as a feather! I praise God from the bottom of my heart for us and our life together!
Michelle