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"Completion"
God is good! All the time! And all the time! God is good! I was having a hard time starting this column so I decided to just start praising God for what He’s done in my life. As many of you know (if you read the columns), I was in a car accident a few weeks ago. Well, my truck is now fixed and up and running again. Praise the Lord! I thank God for my family and my friends. I thank Him for my Pastor, my church and all the people that have been there for me in ministry. And I thank God for all of you that have supported this website and helped it to grow. I truly believe God is using us to remind people to “Put Him First.”
It was 2002 when we first started working on a project called “No Holding Back.” We were new to the music business so we had no idea what we were getting into. We thought we’d get in the studio, record a bunch of songs and put out an album and be on our way. All we knew was that we wanted to reach people for Jesus through our music. That was what we were called to do. We didn’t realize that it was going to be a long process of ups and downs and highs and lows. We didn’t realize the trials that were going to come our way.
It’s 2006 and just now we’re finally finishing up with this CD. I believe that God had to take us through a process to get us to where we are today. When you’re trying to do something great for God, there’s always going to be opposition. The enemy doesn’t want you to succeed. He’s going to try every trick in the book to get you to fail. That’s why it’s important to keep focused on Christ. That’s why it’s so important to be in prayer. That’s why it’s so important to be in the Word. Every great work of God starts in prayer and fasting.
I’ve learned a lot about myself through this whole process. I believe I’ve matured in a lot of areas. God has really been showing me things as of late. From the beginning, where we were on fire and really pushing to do this, to the middle where we kind of got sidetracked and off focus and started going our own separate ways, and until now, where we’re just about done and coming to “Completion.”
Truthfully, I had almost given up on ever finishing this CD. We had all these songs just lying around. Songs I really believed in. Songs I had poured my heart into. Songs I knew were going to touch people’s lives. But I had sort of filed them away and said, “Oh well, that was a waste of time.” I got kind of angry at God there for awhile too. I said to Him, “Why did you ever have me write these songs if they’re never going to be used?” And then God struck me with lightning. Just kidding, but He did humble me.
He said back to me, “Don’t you think I know what I’m doing. You know I’ve called you and you know I’ve chosen you. You know I’ve given you these songs to use for My honor and My glory. Why do you doubt? Have faith in me.”
I started to examine myself and see where we had failed in the past. Our focus had shifted from doing things for God to doing things for ourselves. We were busy doing shows and concerts and everything else but we had neglected setting aside time to “Put Him First.” When it all unraveled we found ourselves in confusion, not realizing why everything fell apart. We let the devil beat us down. I found myself so far away from God that I wasn’t even going to church at one point. I wasn’t praying no more. I wasn’t reading the Bible anymore. I wasn’t writing anymore. I wasn’t playing my guitar anymore. I was lost. I was hurting. I had no direction. And all that time, the enemy was lying to me. He kept showing me things in the past that I had started and never finished. He said, “This is going to be just like all of those other things you tried to do.” And after awhile, I started believing him. If you’re not praying and reading, then you’re not hearing from God. And if you’re not hearing from God, guess who you start hearing from.
It was about that time when I started going back to church and got back involved with the worship team. I started praying again and getting back in the Word. Then God opened the door for me to start writing for this website. He told me, “Be faithful where you’re at and I’ll bless everything you do.” Even in writing for this website the enemy tried to tell me that I would end up quitting, but guess what, next month will be 2 years that this website has been up and running.
God is so good. We are coming to “Completion” on this project and God has been so good to us. It really wasn’t until we truly “Put Him First” in our lives that we were able to do what He’s called us to do. That’s what I feel God is trying to show us this week. He wants us to finish the race that is before us. He wants to use us to our full potential. I know He’s called many of you and He has great plans for your life. He wants to see you succeed. He wants you to walk in the calling that He’s placed in your life. It’s only when you make Him your main priority that all these things will come to “Completion.”
w/muchluv,
geno
P.S. – More information about the CRS – “No Holding Back” CD will be available soon.
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