I keep almost choosing God but never fully. Why does it feel so hard?

King Agrippa heard Paul out and said, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28) — the saddest "almost" in scripture. Almost is hard precisely because it's close enough to feel costly but far enough to keep your old life intact. Pastor L. Blake said God's biggest ask isn't perfection — it's that you'd stop holding back from a love that has been choosing you long before you started weighing your options. The step is small. It's just yours to take.

I feel like I have to fix myself before I can come back to God. Is that true?

No — and the very first picture in the Bible says otherwise. After Adam and Eve fell, God Himself made them coats of skin and clothed them (Genesis 3:21). They didn't sew their own. The covering came from God's hand, foreshadowing the Lamb. You don't walk in cleaned up. He's been preparing the covering for you since before the foundation of the world.

I don't know what God's "intent" for my life is. How do I figure it out?

Start with what God has already said about you — not what you've achieved or failed. Genesis 1 calls creation "very good" before anyone proves anything. Pastor L. Blake put it simply: "With God, we have and are everything." Before you chase the specific calling, settle the underlying truth — you are wanted, chosen, and covered. The specifics tend to clarify once that's settled.

I've grown distant from church and I'm not sure I can come back. What if I've drifted too far?

Pastor L. Blake's opening story was about a horse and a trainer who learned to move as one. When the partnership broke, the trainer didn't give up — he started over again. "He started over again" — that's the line he kept circling. God's pattern isn't to wait you out; it's to come find you. The way back is shorter than you think.

I'm tired of "trying to be Christian." Is there a different way?

Stop trying to be Christian and start letting yourself be His. Pastor L. Blake's message kept landing on choice — not your performance, but God's. "He's choosing you right now," he said, "and he will continue to choose you because that's the nature of the God we serve." The Christian life isn't about white-knuckling your way to worthiness. It's about resting in the One who never stopped picking you.

SABBATH · MAR 22

God's Biggest Ask

Pastor L. Blake

Originally streamed on YouTube

You're never as alone as it feels — God has been covering you since before you knew His name, and He's still choosing you now.

God's Biggest Ask · Pastor L. Blake

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Questions this message meets

I keep almost choosing God but never fully. Why does it feel so hard?

King Agrippa heard Paul out and said, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28) — the saddest...

King Agrippa heard Paul out and said, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28) — the saddest "almost" in scripture. Almost is hard precisely because it's close enough to feel costly but far enough to keep your old life intact. Pastor L. Blake said God's biggest ask isn't perfection — it's that you'd stop holding back from a love that has been choosing you long before you started weighing your options. The step is small. It's just yours to take.
I feel like I have to fix myself before I can come back to God. Is that true?

No — and the very first picture in the Bible says otherwise. After Adam and Eve fell, God Himself made them co...

No — and the very first picture in the Bible says otherwise. After Adam and Eve fell, God Himself made them coats of skin and clothed them (Genesis 3:21). They didn't sew their own. The covering came from God's hand, foreshadowing the Lamb. You don't walk in cleaned up. He's been preparing the covering for you since before the foundation of the world.
I don't know what God's "intent" for my life is. How do I figure it out?

Start with what God has already said about you — not what you've achieved or failed. Genesis 1 calls creation...

Start with what God has already said about you — not what you've achieved or failed. Genesis 1 calls creation "very good" before anyone proves anything. Pastor L. Blake put it simply: "With God, we have and are everything." Before you chase the specific calling, settle the underlying truth — you are wanted, chosen, and covered. The specifics tend to clarify once that's settled.
I've grown distant from church and I'm not sure I can come back. What if I've drifted too far?

Pastor L. Blake's opening story was about a horse and a trainer who learned to move as one. When the partnersh...

Pastor L. Blake's opening story was about a horse and a trainer who learned to move as one. When the partnership broke, the trainer didn't give up — he started over again. "He started over again" — that's the line he kept circling. God's pattern isn't to wait you out; it's to come find you. The way back is shorter than you think.
I'm tired of "trying to be Christian." Is there a different way?

Stop trying to be Christian and start letting yourself be His. Pastor L. Blake's message kept landing on choic...

Stop trying to be Christian and start letting yourself be His. Pastor L. Blake's message kept landing on choice — not your performance, but God's. "He's choosing you right now," he said, "and he will continue to choose you because that's the nature of the God we serve." The Christian life isn't about white-knuckling your way to worthiness. It's about resting in the One who never stopped picking you.

Read the heart of this message

Pastor L. Blake opened with an unusual story — a Danish horse named Hugan and his trainer Brent Banderup, masterclass partners in dressage. The point wasn't the horse. It was the partnership: the trust, the alignment, the way one honored the other. That, he said, is what God has been after with us since Eden.

Three movements anchored the message. With God, we have and are everything — Genesis 1 declared creation "very good" before any of us earned it. God ensures we are always covered — when Adam and Eve fell, God Himself made coats of skin (Genesis 3:21), foreshadowing the Lamb that would be slain. God is choosing you right now — not because of your strength or readiness, but because that is the nature of the God we serve.

He landed on King Agrippa's reply to Paul: "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28). Almost isn't enough. God's biggest ask isn't perfection or performance — it's that you'd stop standing at the door and step in, into a love that has been with you since before the foundation of the world.

The Scriptures Pastor opened

GENESIS 1:31 · kjv

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
GENESIS 3:21 · kjv

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
ACTS 26:27-28 · kjv

King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

If this spoke to you, also hear…

doubt · identity · belonging · grace · returning · god's love · purpose