Meet Kerry. She is one of my dear friends from college. We met at Impact, a camp for incoming freshmen at Texas A&M. She and I became fast friends. Kerry is the kindest, most gentle-hearted woman. I’m sure you will discover that as you read her precious letter. 

In her own words: I am a singer-songwriter, worship leader, wife to an amazingly godly man, and a mom to hilarious kiddos and a sweet but socially awkward dog that keep me humbly in need of a Savior. I’m just doing my best to seek the Lord and rest in His grace so I don’t become a crazy lady. I am passionate about pursuing and knowing truth, and I’m passionate about the Church being a breath of fresh air to the world. 

Dear precious Church Family, those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

You are chosen and our Father cherishes you. By His grace, not by our goodness, He has rescued us and forgiven us for our sins. He is a kind God.

As a Family, there are things that we are often noted for doing wrong. Yet, as I think about you, I can honestly say that overall I am filled with joy. You are passionate. You aren’t satisfied with going through the motions. You want to do something.  You want to be a world-changer. And you are searching. I love that about you. You are constantly searching for more. You are looking for more opportunities; you want to be more effective; you want to be more genuine; you want to have more joy; you want to know more about our Father.

I praise the Lord for your eagerness to desire more, especially in your knowledge of Him. You are remarkable, and you are God’s. He cares about you. He wants you to know Him deeply, and He wants you to trust Him no matter what.

However, I am concerned that we, as a Family, are primarily seeking to understand God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ more through the ideas of strangers. We are basing our beliefs about Him on ideas that “sound good,” ideas that “make us think,” ideas that we “feel in our hearts” are right. My brothers and sisters, we are not seeking to know the Lord through His gift of the Word.  I affectionately urge us all to consider the gift of God’s Word and to continually increase our knowledge and love for our Lord by studying the Bible. Then, as we approach great questions and great ideas, we can see if those ideas make God great, if they magnify Christ’s sacrifice, if they have a high view of His Word, and if they even agree with God’s words. Are the things we are reading pushing us closer to the Lord? We must look carefully at what we read and how we live. We must be wise and make the best use of our time.

Difficult circumstances will come our way to test our faith. Wearisome cultural issues will cause us to question if God is who He says He is; if God is even knowable.  Family, we are vulnerable. We are incredibly vulnerable. We must be humble disciples of Christ who can stand firm in the Lord regardless of what circumstances come our way.

For this reason I pray that our Father would give us the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of our hearts would be informed, that we may know the hope to which He has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and also the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.

I pray that we would be recognized as those who know our Father well and as those who love our Father with determined, passionate love. May that love joyfully propel us to live out our purpose — our purpose of displaying the hope of the glory of Christ no matter what.

My Family, be a world-changer, a community with incredible, impactful love and faith. Seek Christ through His Word! Set your hope fully on who He says He is—the One who is above all authority and power; the One who has shown us humble, sacrificial love; the One who strengthens our hearts through His Spirit; the One who calls us to live our lives in a way that declares His goodness; the One who wants us to know Him with all our hearts, souls and minds.

Psalm 119:37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways.

With so much love,
Kerry