Feeling the care in charismatic

My brother took me to a modestly charismatic service at the sister church of the one he goes to out in Chicago. It was out in Aurora near Colfax with about fifteen people as the total congregation. I was open to the experiance because my brother took me and warmed me up to what it might be like.

Early on I had a quick decision to make: The preacher was kicking things off melodramatically (in impression), Should I resist and evaluate the differences or try to paise God unified to this congregation? Although no loud vocal expressions came from me, I was moved to tears for the majority of the service. The praise songs were formatted so differently. We sang amazing grace but only the first verse like eight times, then every once in a while they'd sing the (400 years post) Chris Tomlin verse/refrain "my chains are gone..." Intermittant with prayer.

The sermon was a doosie about this passage in Revelations about the seven lampstands that represent the churches Jesus walks among in the end times. In Rev 2:4 Christ tells them that their first love is gone. The pastor broke down how these churches stood upright in the laws about how things are in the new covenant with God. But Jesus is asking what happened to the love we shared: the repentant heart. Meaning that good deeds and faith was still evident, but the love that saved us from our wretchedness and how we used to cling to Jesus has been traded for "crusty good deeds". Return to the love, the love affair shared with Jesus paired with our repentant heart. I like the visual of that love being the tarzan vine we use to jump across the trench of Adamness into righteousness as a child of God.

So after that message, we prayed and as the pastor started out loud others joined, I stayed focused on what the pastor was saying. He talked about how he used to stay wide awake in his bed curled up around the Bible for hours. He ask for a return to that. Or how he used to soak in prayer with the Holy Spirit while his life was drowning in temptation. He wants that resolute drive to Christ renewed. He pleaded for his return to that state of relying on God...

It was then that I revisited my memories of the day I got saved and what that felt like: How mind-resting it felt, my heart felt calm for the first time and who I was became sufficient. I recalled how Jesus' yoke has changed all of me and that i still willingly carry that yoke. I dissected all those nifty baby steps to growing for God's workmanship and will. I dwelled on memories of how God turned things around to apropriate blessings rather that pile on problems.

So when the chruch service turned into a campy christmas segment complete with footage from the movie the Nativity Story, I viewed with eyes of a child, I was captivated by the wonderous faces of the wise men upon seeing the Messiah. Even the montage of Christs' life struck me. The mounting of Jesus on the cross made me clinch my palms as His opened with the saving blood.

The service ended with a song being repeated many times. Still it provoked me to wonder about how much more I could be loving Jesus. The aftereffects of the service included me feeling wiped out, ready to lay in bed awake and be in the Bible for hours. Alone with the most perfect form of love I will ever know: Jesus Christ. I think He puts the care in charismatic. My time of praying isn't soft spoken anymore; its is spoke out proudly, urgently and sincerely.