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| Baptism on Sunday |
In college I remember looking at my syllabus's thinking, "There is no way we're going to cover all this." Some how we would. I would get all the projects done and all the exams passed. One class, specifically, was the bain of my existence. Anatomy. I had to memorize, what seemed like, every piece of the human body. Thousands. Of. Parts. With the help of my wonderful wife I passed by one point. That was a huge moment of victory for me.
Sunday September 11, 2011 was another one of those days. I had the privilege to baptize one of the students we had been working with at Reality for several months. It was so mind blowing to see God work in a person's life and actually change them. I could tell she was growing because she started making the right, but often more difficult, choices.
Those kind of victories are why we do the things we do at Oceanside. Why are we starting a new Saturday night service? To be able to have a hip service for cool people. No. We're doing it to reach a type of person that may not be reached any other way. Why do we offer movie tickets to guests who come to Reality? So they can see a movie. No. So that when we have 37 students at Reality because they want movie tickets and hopefully a few stay and we can actually make a difference that will last for eternity.
I think I used my life verse last week, but I love it so much, I'm going to use it again. Deal with it. Brothers and sisters, I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14
Look at you life and figure out what you consider victory. Would God put your victory in His win column? If not, examine how you can change that and get victory for God. The rest of this week serve God and run as hard as you can, lengthening your stride so that can pass the finish line proudly. Enjoy the victories and learn from your defeats.
In Closing...
