All Things New!
Dear Friends,
What an exciting few months it has been for our 343 Family! We hope you have enjoyed our inspiring preview gatherings at the Defoor Centre. It has been wonderful to experience God together this fall. Note that Sunday we will NOT meet at the Defoor Centre. Instead, we invite you to join us for an informal gathering for coffee and discussion about upcoming plans for 343 Ministries. Kids are welcome, and we'll have a fun morning planned for them as well. Please contact us for the location!
Meredith and I are both excited to see glimpses of what is ahead for our 343 family. We have several opportunities coming up that we can’t wait to share with you. God is doing something new and unique! His process often takes waiting, listening, and asking Him for guidance. Our first inclination is often going, doing, and conquering on our own. We invite you to wait, listen, and ask with us.
Our vision is to help you grow
so that you will make a bigger impact in your life.
Jesus said to John, "Look! I am making all things new!" (Rev. 21:5). That verse reminded me once again that following God's leading requires that we keep our eyes locked on Jesus in order to discover the new things that He wants to do in our lives.
In Revelation 21:5, notice that Jesus begins by saying "Look!" Jesus commanded John to stop what he was doing and to turn his eyes toward Jesus. In my haste to accomplish tasks quickly, I begin working and when I run into an obstacle or cannot finish a task I ask Jesus to bless me and my task so that I can finish it. The problem with the order of those events is that my tasks become directed by my agenda and not God's plan for me. I have to learn to "look" to Jesus first for the right direction in which to proceed.
Secondly, Jesus says, "I am making all things new." I so often think that I must be the one to manufacture energy to make sure that things keep operating in my life. But isn't that exhausting after a while? Jesus reminds John that it is not John's job to create things, rather Jesus is the One who creates through us. More than that Jesus is the One who creates all the "new things" in our lives that will help us to grow spiritually. That is why we need to look to Him daily.
As we consider the "new things" that Jesus is doing with 343 Ministries, we are encouraged that He has created "new things" already! In addition to our Sunday Morning gatherings, our Men's Study and High School Study have continued to grow. We're also excited about our Kids Choir ministry and our Youth Choir ministry which are both prayerfully continuing to be developed... stay tuned!
As always, our prayer is that God will continue to increase our ability to help more kids, youth, and adults in Buckhead to grow in their spiritual lives. As we look to Jesus together, we are confident that He is making us new in all kinds of ways so that we will all become more like Him in all we do!
Looking to Jesus with you!
Todd