.

It's 1:39am. Saturday. Another awesome night at Fellowship the night before. The 7 of us sat in a circle on the uncluttered area of the church stage. Pastor Ed used the perfect illustration for his message: "What's in your backpack?" Some answers were a laptop, a bible, a notebook, an iPod, chapstick, the list goes on for a bit. The real question was, "What's in your heart?" Well... there's confusion. Resentment. Agitation. Ten year old grudges. Worries. Burdens. Maybe heartfelt memories. But of course, there's sin. Pastor Edward's message was unclouded. Surrender & lay it all down at the foot of the Cross. It's pretty crazy how we need it repeated to us just about 799x a year. Maybe more? And it's funny how some of us feel we would rather stay in our comfort zones, stick to the Baby Christian Stage. Then just chill & wait for God to magically do his thang on us, even though we know deep down our hearts that we are so desperate for the Lord. Lay it all down. Why? Well, because we don't need them. They slow us down in our service to the Lord. And they are definitely undesirable. But I do know one thing I desire more than anything. The One Thing that I want to overflow in my heart -- That's Jesus. But I cannot take him in without giving him my cares. If we don't do this -- we cannot worship, we cannot lead, we cannot secure the Word in our hearts, we cannot serve. When you clean up your backpack, it's light and it's straightened out. That's how we want our hearts to be. Yeah -- we all want it, and we all need it. The message is loud and clear. What is it going to take for us to surrender our whole being? Whole, not part. Our God is a God who saves - there is none like Him. I don't know about you, but I want peace in my life, not destruction. That is why I trust the Lord. Let His grace & joy overflow within you. Life is too short. So remove all the things and sorrows of the world from your heart, and once you ask the Lord to come in, He will replace them with things of eternal value. Now ask yourself, What's in your heart?