Chris and I escaped to California for a much needed getaway and also to visit a church that we love called Bethel. Many of you may be familiar with the place, but for those that are not, all you need to know is that it is comprised of an amazing body of believers.

We stream their sermons and worship just about every week in our home because AMAZING. And we really just identify with them as a church because their priorities are as follows:

1. God (+Jesus+Spirit obviously..or maybe not super obviously since there are many churches that like to divorce certain aspects of the trinity. But that's a whooooole different ballgame.)

Yes. Their priority is God and all that he is and none of what he isn't. Their priority is the word and worship and community and prayer for people in their church and outside of their church and the nations and the sick and the poor and the every single thing you could possibly take to God in prayer. AKA-everything that occurs on this earth and within the hearts and bodies of people that are not as they are in the Kingdom.

We love that place.

People line up there literally up to an hour early on Sunday mornings just to get a seat or to wait in the front to worship. People literally wait in line and in the sanctuary as if their favorite band or performer was about to walk on in....which makes sense......because......Jesus. He's much better than any band or performer or teacher that you've ever waited in line to see. And he lives inside of us. And everyone there is very very very comfortable and familiar with that concept and they don't take it for granted and they don't quench the spirit and they let. him. do. His. thing. Open hearts and open minds. It's a beautiful thing what happens when that happens.

In case you're nervous about what "His thing" is..it's always good. The end.

It was impossible to walk into that place of worship and not feel compelled to smile. I encountered zero amounts of spiritual attack there. Zero distraction. Zero nightmares. Zero negative thoughts. If that isn't evidence of the fact that these people welcome God with open arms...I don't know what is. Darkness can not stand in the face of light. And that place is a super amazing testament to that fact.

We received tons of prayer (of course) and there were some definite highlights there. But mainly we just rested and soaked in truth. Mind blowing truth that comes in the form of great worship time and great teaching time and great prayer time.

Did we see people get healed? Sho' did. Did we hear truth? Sho' did. Did we have amazing worship time? Sho' did.

It's easy to come home and compare certain aspects of churches you love with others, and that's not what we're doing. We appreciate them and they are still a church made up of people who sin and struggle and certainly every church has flaws. But I think one of the main reasons they thrive (both as an inward church body and also (importantly) as a mission minded/outward focused body is that they are quick to believe what the bible says about who God is and who they are AND that knowledge of truth leads somewhere. It leads to transformation. It leads to mind renewal. It doesn't just sit unused in their brains. Again, they are so open to allowing truth to actually seep in and do something and take action.

Sometimes we have the tendency to wait on God and wait on God and wait on God to do something when he's instructed us that we are his hands and his feet and we have minds that he made and what are hands and feet good for? MOVEMENT! Taking physical steps forward. Getting out of this mental game where we pick apart the gospel with our brains and have philosophical debates and pray by ourselves and really we're supposed to do something. And that looks like a lot of different things...a lot of different things that that particular body of believers does really well. Because they let God take control. He's got the solutions, I tell ya.

It was inspiring.