Romans and Daniel

Having to preach in a 3 day span on Romans 1 (at the Salt Company) and Daniel 10 (at Cornerstone this weekend) haven't left me with much time to post. Someone asked me today how long a sermon takes to prepare... about 10 hours/message. 

That's about 20 hours I didn't have to read magazines, hang out at coffee shops, surf the internet, and post on my blog...

Seriously, it has been a phenomenal week of ministry. I've said this before, but I wish everyone had the privilege of standing on that stage on Thursday nights and seeing the miraculous work of God that we call "the Salt Company." It's breathtaking to see over 700 students packed into a gym. Many of them with no idea why they came, but finding God in the process. One student was eager to tell me that a guy he led to Christ over the summer in China had led two of his friends (Chinese, of course) to Christ. Another freshmen wanted to tell me how eager he was to pursue full-time ministry- and that is why he came to Iowa State. 

This is sounding like some kind of cosmic joke. Is this really happening in the middle of Iowa?

Thankfully I only had one social blunder. This is the reason people avoid ministry altogether. There was a number of people waiting to talk to me after the message. This girl was standing there. So I initiated an introduction, "Hello, I'm Mark..." She replied in a German accent, "I'm Janeen- don't you remember me? You baptized me..." 

Oops. 

Sure enough, it all came back to me. Janeen was such a cool God story. She came to the U.S. because she was searching for something, and Jesus found her in Ames. I got to do her baptism and pray over her before she went back to Germany...

I view those awkward, "I'm an idiot" moments as an opportunity to simultaneously remember the limitations of my humanity and thank God that he is omniscient and not only remembers names and faces, but knows the hairs on their head. 

I wonder if Jesus ever forgot names.