BrianIngraham.com | ASPIRE

I was laughing on the inside yesterday. First of all, it was mothers day here in Scotland. Secondly, we had many visitors at church because we were doing some baptisms. Thirdly, our passage for the week was God destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. You try tying baptism and mothers day into a message on Sodom and Gomorrah and see if it doesn’t send you laughing on the inside. (if you want to hear the message click HERE.)

Even though it seems like a terrible idea, God moved.

My favorite part was baptizing 6 people (three in the morning and three in the evening.) I always find it so powerful when we baptize people. I look each one in the eyes and ask them if they have dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ. I look them in the eyes and ask them if they are going to follow Jesus NO MATTER WHAT all the days of their lives. Each of them answered unswervingly, “Yes.”

It is powerful to see changed lives. It is amazing to hear what God is doing in their lives. And it is an honour to be apart of what God is doing in them. May God continue this good work that he has begun in them and carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

What a great day!

I can see again.

For several months I have been feeling excited and yet ‘buried’ by all the wonderful things happening here in Scotland. The ReAwakening Conference, the rapid growth of the church, an expanding speaking schedule among the Christian Unions in Glasgow, not to mention the amazing opportunity to speak at a missions conference in Seattle a few days ago. Amazing things. And I can honestly say, I have enjoyed every one of these opportunities and have felt God’s strengthening and assistance during this time.

During all this I have had two lingering concerns. First, I felt like I was living an unsustainable pace of life. I kept telling myself once I get past this next thing it will get easier, but then something else would come up. Second, I felt so buried by the pressures of the moment that it was all I could do to get by week to week. I was working so hard on the tasks at hand that I could not work on the big picture.

Since returning from Seattle a week ago, my wife, my team, and the elders have encouraged me to slow down and return to a healthy pace. So I am and it is working. In fact, I feel better than I have in months. I can see again, meaning, I have ideas again about the big picture. They are just now trickling in, but I expect the healthier my life pace becomes the more clearly the big picture will become. The more I see about what is next, the more excited I get for this great life God has called us to, as we run hard to advance God’s kingdom in this great nation.

Thank you for sustaining us with your prayers.