"I will glorify my Name"

On Sunday evening, as the second hand moved closer and closer to 12, I found eagerness turning into disappointment. I could hear "In Christ Alone" being played in the conference room as I waited to greet people by the front door of the Brandon House Hotel in New Ross. I had to face the realization that, though we had a decent turnout, not a single person I prayed would be there had shown up. The individuals in my mind that I had laughed and talked with multiple times throughout the week, some that told me they would be there, the individuals I had interesting conversations with on the street, not one of them had come.

It was at this moment that I realized that God certainly knows better how to glorify His Name than I do. That is an obvious statement, but sometimes we forget it; we think that He's not interested in doing so. Yet, within the Trinity, this has been priority #1 for God from eternity. I, on the other hand, rarely throughout the day seek first the glory of the Lord. God has revealed to me recently how much I do indeed struggle with this. Even as I write this, I confess that I want you, the reader, to think me intelligent, insightful, courageous and caring. Even in wanting people to come Sunday night, there lies the ulterior motive that I look good if they come, better if they get saved and join the church. To be fair, this was not the primary reason I wanted them to be there, but it does show that God is infinitely better at seeking His glory than I.

Peter must have thought Jesus didn't have the Father's glory in mind when He explained to the disciples that he would suffer many things. But, then, nothing could have been further from the truth. Of course, Peter and the other disciples didn't see the full glory of Jesus until after they'd already thought he'd be

en defeated.

When I talked with James and others after the meeting, it helped me view the event in a more encouraging light, though I know great things happened that I may not see until I am with the Lord. There were 154 chairs set up and my estimate is that just over half of them had bums in them. The eighty or so people that were there attended the largest gathering at which the true gospel was preached in County Wexford in probably hundreds of years. (I pray that statement does not come off as arrogant, I will soon devote an entire blog post to defining the true gospel.) I know of at least two men who were greatly inspired by the meeting and expressed that they want to be part of what the Lord is doing at Grace Church. Both men call themselves believers, but hearing Miles preach the gospel had a great effect on them last night.

One of the men has a wife and two children. I touched base with a man from Ethiopia named Abraham who told me there are six or eight African Christians meeting on Sunday mornings. I got his e-mail and am hoping to start a partnership with these men. There may be differences in our theology and styles, but I believe, especially in this town, that true believers need to be unified. Most everyone I talked with afterwards called the meeting "a great success". Indeed it was, as the gospel was preached and hearts were moved. The Lord glorified His Name and I was reminded that He always will.