Thanks for praying, friends!I'm bleary-eyed in Orlando typing a (hopefully) brief post on a friend's computer. My brain is tired, but my heart is full of the practical, Gospel-centered principles of peacemaking I've seen displayed over the last two days at the Peacemakers International Conference.
I've been learning all sorts of things...with many "Aha!" moments where things are clicking together for me. I've seen some very creative approaches to teaching. I heard powerful testimonies of how the Lord is igniting church's with a passion to display the Gospel's power in peacemaking.
Tonight the main official conference kicked off with a marvelous plenary session by Ken Sande. He challenged us all to make the Gospel (not the Law!) the center point in our lives, for it is in the Gospel that mercy, compassion, and grace are displayed and transformation comes. Speaking from Exouds 22-23 he pointed out that in this first extended revelation of himself, God revealed himself in terms of the qualities vital to a fallen, broken, stuck humanity being redeemed. This redemption would come to its pinacle at the Cross of Calvary where Jesus received in himself the PENALTY of sin.
The amazing truth is that in that moment of the crucifixion, cosmic justice was satisfied for ALL the sins of ALL God's people past, present, and future. Practically, this means that it is UNJUST for me to count my brother's sin against him when the Sovereign God has thundered forth "paid in full" about that same sin.
Many other marvelous things, but words fail me. The Caribe Royale conference center is really neat. I've met some marvelous people, including Ken Sande and tomorrow (I hope) Thabiti Anyabwile of the First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman Island, another plenary speaker. I had a cool conversation with Kerri, Peacmakers' annual conference manager. She told me that the conference in 2009 is in Dalls, and in 2010 is in Washington D. C.
Finally, I bought some helpful materials. Please pray that the Lord will guide me in effectively communicating in my 1) words and 2) life & ministry the power of God's peace in its vertical and horizontal dimensions. Pray also the Lord will give wisdom in bring the Biblical truths we've learned into the orbit of the RPCNA. God is good. And I am tired.
May the Lord bless you, and give you peace.
