Stepping Out In Faith

Stepping Out In Faith was the name of my first blog that I wrote years ago. It seems to be a theme in my life for the past 10 years or so. Well, last night I went to a concert with a friend of mine. She was going to this concert by herself if she had to. I volunteered to go with her. The artist was a Christian rapper. Okay, not the type of music I normally listen to, but I was willing to go where I felt God leading.

I hadn’t really listened to much of Rare Of Breed’s music to get a feel for his message, but if his music meant that much to her, I was sure it would be okay. I hadn’t prepared myself for what the environment might be, what kind of people might be drawn to his music until we sat in the car talking for awhile as we waited for the crowd to begin showing up.

I’m ashamed to say that I found myself being judgmental, exactly what most non Christians hate about Christians. As the crowd by the door grew, I saw people standing in line smoking, most had tattoos, there were even a couple of people with ankle monitors on. What had I gotten myself into, I thought?

I have gone to conservative churches all of my life, so I was a bit surprised at what I found inside those doors. I found a true outpouring of God’s love! I saw people who were desperately seeking the only thing that could fill the empty hole in their heart. Never have I seen people at the altar all throughout the evening. This was an AMEN church! There were people yelling amen and hallelujah all night long. The preaching was Bible-based, but it was coming from people who had been broken, down and out, at the lowest when they found Jesus. I still can’t really relate to that because that’s not how I experienced it. Oh, sure there have been tough times, but not like these people have experienced. Many in the crowd, as those on stage, had been drug addicts, alcoholics and maybe other dark lives. What I witnessed was a true outpouring of God’s love and those who needed to know God that were finding him here in this little church in a midwestern small town. The Spirit of God was in the house, I was sure of that.

Thank you, God, for opening my eyes. I’m just wondering now what you want me to do with it. Talk to me, I’ll be listening…

In Faith,

Pam