ALWAYS GIVE WITNESS | Rev. 12:11
BY CASSANDRA ACREE:
When I first attended IGNITE at St. Wendelin in July of 2013, that's when everything about my faith changed for me. I was going through a lot of life changes - graduating from high school and transitioning to college responsibilities, trying to figure out what I wanted my career/life choices to look like, going through a messy breakup that involved drama and heartbreak for many involved. And though I was in up to my eyeballs in ministry events with Dr. John Wood and Rachel Reinhart (Extraordinary Mission) I was just beginning to see what walking with the Lord really looked like.
When "Lord I Need You" was being sung, all the walls that I had worked so hard to put up to "protect" myself came crashing down. I realized how much I needed God in my life... to fix me, to heal me, to save me.
I felt the presence of Christ as clear as day, which was so real it was almost terrifying, but at the same time so comforting and exactly what I needed. Prior to this event, I don't think I really knew how to pray, or knew that I could have an intimate relationship with God. During that song, I remember being on my knees and crying while having my head bowed down from the shame and the emotional turmoil that had infected my heart, but then towards the end of Ignite, it's like God physically lifted me up. My posture straightened up and my cries had subsided, having felt the powerful healing and forgiveness.
There was also this indescribable light from above that was shining down on me - which seems kind of crazy to think about since it was dim lighted in the church and dark outside.
That night was when my faith became so real and so powerful, and when I ultimately decided that faith was not just something we did on Sunday's, it was something that I wanted to be the center of my life.
Though I have fallen so many times, the Lord has been so good to me, and has proven that it really does start with a moment, but progresses into a movement that has changed my life. And so having the honor and privilege of being apart of the worship teams for Ignites since then has been a tremendous blessing because I am reminded of the way that God took hold of my life that one summer evening... and I hope to be an instrument of God reaching into another person's life doing the same.
Thank you and God Bless!
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Cassandra Acree is a Catholic recording artist, a regular IGNITE worship leader, and on Dr. John Wood's Extraordinary Mission team. She'll be one of our coffeehouse musicians at PresenceForChristmas.com. Register now!
Share what God has done for you. Send 500 words or less to Alive@MassImpact.us
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