Passion and Purity Recap

Praise God for the wonderful time we had at the Passion and Purity retreat this past weekend. God met us in every way through the speaking, worship and prayer ministry. Here's a quick thought about Gary's message from Saturday night. Last year, Gary spoke about dancing to end the retreat. When people are passionate about something, they often dance! Gary spoke of dancing before the Lord. This year, Gary spoke about passion causing us to have tears before the Lord. "Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy"! (Ps 126:5) Putting these two messages together, I'm reminded of a quote by Mike Bickle. He said that the Lord is "looking for a dancing bride with tears in her eyes." I want to be that way, dancing before the Lord with tears in my eyes. Tears because of my own sin, tears because people are suffering, tears because there are people who are lost in this world, tears over the astounding grace God has shown me in Christ. Let us be "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." (2 Cor 6:10) As John Piper says about this verse: "I don't want us to be a 'chipper' people, I want us to be happy, with tears running down our face."
Come back soon for pictures from P&P!