North Crestview Campus eLetter
Hello Crosspoint Family,
I don’t often get the chance to write to you all, so let me start with what’s on my heart more than anything else: God is moving and He is up to something good here at Crosspoint North Crestview! If you haven’t made it out to one of our Prayer Gatherings on the last Thursday of the month, I hope you’ll plan to join us at the next one on October 29 from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
This is the second letter I’ve had the privilege to write as your Worship Minister, and I’ve been praying about what to share with you all week, but let me start by saying this: I’m not good at writing. Quiz me on math and I’ll ace it. Give me a song to sing or play and I’ll do it, no problem. But ask me to write an essay or a paper (or a church eLetter) and you’ll get wide eyes and a panicked look that says, “Please don’t do this to me.” Haha!Â
Why don’t I think I’m good at writing? I suppose it’s because it doesn’t come naturally to me like math or music does. It takes me hours to write one page. In fact, I divided the time it took to write this eLetter by the amount of sentences I wrote (did I mention I actually love math?) and it averaged out to over 6 minutes per sentence… and that is including the sentences that only have one word in them! Wow.Â
Regardless of how I feel about my writing skills, I want to make it clear that I am so thankful to have the opportunity to share my heart with you! As I prayed into this, I felt led to share 1) A bit of my personality (mission accomplished), and 2) A few of the things that God has been showing me lately in my personal prayer time. I hope that some of these insights will encourage you as much as they have encouraged me!
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The central ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify and reveal Christ to us (John 16:13-14). We cannot truly worship Jesus unless the Holy Spirit works in us first (1 Corinthians 12:3). I have begun to pray daily that the Holy Spirit would open the eyes of my heart and glorify Christ to me, that I might know him and see him as my greatest treasure.
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We can develop a deep love for God even though we can’t see him. It’s hard to be attached to someone we don’t see. One thing that we can do to intentionally grow closer to God is to view every good thing in our lives as a gift from him (James 1:17). For example, when I’m outside in nature, or when my husband holds my hand, or when I’m enjoying beautiful music, I take a moment to let the joy of that moment settle in my heart, thank God for it, acknowledge His presence and love, and say (in my heart or out loud), “I love you, too.”
- We need pure joy. Pure joy is found is God’s presence (Psalm 16:11). As humans, “what we crave is shaped by what we consume. Overindulgence in junk food causes us to lose our appetite for healthy, nourishing food. Sin dulls our hunger for God. It numbs our taste for the truth. It slowly replaces our desire for what gives life – which is God – with cravings for things that cannot satisfy” (Vince Miller, Project 23 Ministries). I have begun to pray daily that God would purify my heart and lead me to enjoy and dwell on things that are good and pure (Philippians 4:8).
If you’re reading this, I am praying for you. I pray that the Holy Spirit will glorify Christ to you in a new way, that your love for God would grow stronger and become more deeply rooted, and that you will seek out the pure joy that can only be found in Jesus.
Even though writing isn’t my strength, I’m grateful for this opportunity to share, pray, and encourage. I honestly have a feeling that God might be asking some of you to do something that you think you might not be very good at in order to accomplish his purposes. If he is, I encourage you to lean into his presence, listen for his voice, and feel free to be you. He delights in you.
With love and joy,
Mary Morgan, Worship Minister
