In all your ways

Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

In all your ways - this phrase has been a point of spiritual growth for me since just before Christmas. Like many, I have been in pursuit of God's will in my life. "Lord show me what You want me to do - where You want me to be". I have been asking God to show me what He wants me to do, what His will is for me, and I believe He has. He has shown me a deeper application to a verse I've known since I was a kid Proverbs 3:5,6. The deeper application comes with the word acknowledge in verse six. To acknowledge is more of a polite gesture for us today, but I feel God's desire in the word acknowledge, is for me to be completely riveted to Him.

This idea is helping me see that seeking God's will for my life has never been His desire - but seeking Him in all of my life is His desire. This all seems a bit simple, but when we consider the way God asks us to have a relationship with Him, we begin to see how simply God wants this relationship to work.

In John 6:40 it says For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. 1 Peter 5:7 says Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. We believe - we have eternal life, we can dump all our anxiety on Him because He takes care of us. We really struggle with how simple God wants this relationship with Him to work.

Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

We have far too much of our own understanding being trusted, followed and acknowledged in our lives as the body of Christ. When in contrast the wisdom of God says lean not on your own understanding we somehow cannot resist building on our own short sightedness and arrogance. I want in myself to become a person who does not lean on myown understanding , but in every single area of my life may I become completely riveted to who God is, and to what He is doing. When we can do this we will see God's will as He makes our paths straight.

for what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees Duet. 10:12.

I want to be riveted to Him in all my ways

Thank You

Thank you all for taking part in this years worship retreat. It was a blessing to have Pastor Bruce and Pastor Dave lead in teaching. May we live the gospel, and may God use us all, to draw people to Him and to the hope that is only found in being set free.

Eric

Retreat outline

"An Adventure To Freedom"
Tentative Schedule

• 9:00 am - Worship - PRAISE - Being consumed with who God is and what He has done

• 9:15 am - Pastor Bruce - Our Offering of Worship part 1

• 10:00 am - Worship - DEVOTION - A willingness to give yourself consistently, completely and wholeheartedly to God

• 10:15 am - Pastor Dave Kessler - Dragon Gazing

• 11:45 am - Prayer and Worship - COMMUNION - Building a relationship with God by praying and listening

• 12:00 noon - El Ewe En Ci eightch

• 1:00 pm - Worship - ADORATION - Intimate, personal, loving worship

• 1:15 pm - Eric - Our Offering of Worship part 2

• 2:00 - 4:00 pm - Pastor Dave Kessler - The King's View

An Adventure To Freedom

I am excited to invite you to this years worship retreat. The retreat will be Saturday, September 15th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. We will be meeting at the Okemos Conference Center

This Sunday you will receive your copy of the book "Backyard Dwellers" by Pastor David Kessler. Pastor Dave will be our guest teacher during our retreat. As a team I am asking you to invest in reading this book BEFORE the retreat so we may get the most from our time with Pastor Dave. Our time together will also include teaching from Pastor Bruce, . . . and I may say a couple things.

Our focus this year is "An Adventure To Freedom" - the subtitle of Pastor Dave's book "Backyard Dwellers". My prayer is that through this study and teaching we will be better equipped to bring an offering of worship and a sacrifice of praise