Recently, Holy Spirit has reminded me of the excitement that comes when a child is born. New life brings a buzz to every family. Parents, brothers and sisters, grand parents, aunts and uncles, cousins - everyone wells up with pride over the new addition. When Jennifer and I celebrated the birth of our first son, Gabriel, we did not focus on what we were giving up to nurture the new life God had entrusted to us. On the contrary, we were filled with excitement, hope, expectation and renewed devotion to our growing family. With each of our boy’s birth, we celebrated all over again.

You know, it’s the same way in God’s Kingdom. In Luke 15:10, Jesus said,

“That’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”(MSG)

Did you get that? Heaven throws a party! Over one soul! Heaven must be throwing some kind of party over the new lives turning to God at The ROCK!

I have to say that I have a renewed excitement for church. Do you want to know what has me all excited about my church? I have a new anticipation for what is going to happen each week in our services. It is fueled by the increasing number of stories of changed lives at The ROCK. My excitement is energized as I see more and more people giving their lives to God.

The letters, emails, phone calls and conversations relating HUGE dreams, overwhelming joy, renewed excitement about coming to church and rekindled passions for God continually remind me of this awesome new season of blessing God has us in. The buzz of new life is growing. We have been blessed with new life, fresh vision and a clear direction.

The cool thing is that, if you give in, this buzz is infectious. Everything is contagious. Just as frustration breeds frustration and negative attitudes breed more of the same, so does excitement breed excitement. Big dreams pave the way for even bigger dreams and BUZZ breeds more BUZZ.

In I John 2:16-17, we read,

“Practically everything that goes on in the world - wanting your own way,
wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important - has nothing to do
with the Father. It just isolates you from Him. The world and all it’s wanting,
wanting, wanting is on the way out - but whoever does what God wants is set for
eternity. (MSG)

What does He want? In Luke 10, Jesus was asked by a certain man how to have eternal life. Jesus’ answer was very uncomplicated, “What is written in the Law? What is your interpretation of it?” The man?s reply was, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (NKJV) God’s own son said the way to heaven was by loving our God with everything AND loving our neighbor as much as we love ourselves.

Too often, we forget the second part of that verse and love ourselves (our desires, our wants, our own ways) more than we love our neighbors. But just as I was filled with new hope, destiny, joy, responsibility, delight, anticipation and adrenaline with each of our son?s birth I am excited about our new life at The ROCK!

My prayer is that as we continue to allow Christ to write the story of our lives you will become infected with the buzz of new life at The ROCK! Are you feeling the buzz? I think a great “unofficial” slogan for our church should be,

?I got buzzed at The ROCK!?

Why not? Heaven?s pretty buzzed about what?s happening, why shouldn?t we?

You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter
that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it ? not with
ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into
human lives ? and we publish it. We couldn’t be more sure of ourselves in this ?
that you, written by Christ himself for God, are our letter of recommendation.
We wouldn’t think of writing this kind of letter about ourselves. Only God can
write such a letter. His letter authorizes us to help carry out this new plan of
action. The plan wasn’t written out with ink on paper, with pages and pages of
legal footnotes, killing your spirit. It’s written with Spirit on spirit, his
life on our lives! - II Corinthians 4:2-6 (MSG)

I invite you to send me an email at buzz@rockwilmington.com and share your buzz with us all. What is God doing in your life? How is He using you? What great things are happening in your life? Has He saved you? Has He done something great in your life, family, marriage, job, ministry or health? How is God writing the story of your life with the Ink of His living Spirit? Send me an email and tell me about it.

Clear your calendar and join us this Sunday, June 18 at 10am as we welcome Karen Wheaton and Chosen. You can find out more about Karen’s ministry over at karenwheaton. com. Don’t miss their ministry this Sunday. It’s gonna be awesome! FO SHIZZLE (translation: FOR SURE)!

I love my God, my life, my growing spiritual family and I Love My Church!

Can you hear that? That is the BUZZ of NEW LIFE at The ROCK!
I got buzzed. Did you?