My youth group went on what we call an "Encounter" last weekend, and it's basically a youth retreat where God does some crazy stuff. People get healed, our passion and love for Him is stirred up, and overall it's a pretty awesome weekend.
I think for me, what God did in me this last weekend was that he reminded me of His calling for my life, who I am in Him, and He definitely rekindled a passion for Him. All I can really say is, I'm excited for what God's doing at my school. We had over ten kids show up for prayer at lunch yesterday, and that was definitely encouraging. To see kids getting passionate for God and not only see but live out the truth that He's worth it... it's amazing. It's something as a leader that I love to see. That's one of the things that give me joy... seeing kids getting passionate for God. More than some emotion, more than a feeling, more than any temporal thing this world can give. We'll reap so much more when we pursue God and His kingdom; this world won't last forever.
It's amazing how far God's taken me, just in the past couple of weeks. Give Him a chance to do something in you... cause you never know what He'll do, and how great of an impact He can make on you. Not only to change you, but to change others. Change the world.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Ready for Revival
Do you ever have those times were you "randomly" get excited about what God's doing, and you can feel the Holy Spirit beginning to fill you up? I definitely love those moments; in fact, I'm having one of those moments right now.
I like how God is so faithful to us, He's there to meet us wherever we're at, and He, above anything else, loves us. Being a few weeks into my senior year I've gotten caught up in homework, work, and sports, among other things, and to be honest, my prayer life and time in the Word hasn't been that great for the past couple of months. I think it's easy for us to lose the vision that God's given us; lose sight of what He spoke to us and has planned for us. My prayer for myself and for you is that you hold onto the visions and promises that God has given you. Just as He is faithful, we need to be faithful. Faithfulness brings forth fruit.
I know for me personally, I'm more than ready to see revival at my school. With "nothing" happening (in a natural perception), it's easy sometimes to think, "Okay, God, where are you?" But I think we need to quit trying to "find" God, because He's there. It all comes down to His timing, and our obedience and patience, and waiting on Him. I'm not sure when things will start "booming" at my school, but I know by faith that things will get there. People are going to be saved, people are going to be healed, and God's glory will be shown. That's a prophetic statement, and also a promise from God that I know I can hold onto. It just takes one step of obedience at a time... and waiting on Him.
I like how God is so faithful to us, He's there to meet us wherever we're at, and He, above anything else, loves us. Being a few weeks into my senior year I've gotten caught up in homework, work, and sports, among other things, and to be honest, my prayer life and time in the Word hasn't been that great for the past couple of months. I think it's easy for us to lose the vision that God's given us; lose sight of what He spoke to us and has planned for us. My prayer for myself and for you is that you hold onto the visions and promises that God has given you. Just as He is faithful, we need to be faithful. Faithfulness brings forth fruit.
I know for me personally, I'm more than ready to see revival at my school. With "nothing" happening (in a natural perception), it's easy sometimes to think, "Okay, God, where are you?" But I think we need to quit trying to "find" God, because He's there. It all comes down to His timing, and our obedience and patience, and waiting on Him. I'm not sure when things will start "booming" at my school, but I know by faith that things will get there. People are going to be saved, people are going to be healed, and God's glory will be shown. That's a prophetic statement, and also a promise from God that I know I can hold onto. It just takes one step of obedience at a time... and waiting on Him.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
God, Grace, & So Much More
I wasn't quite sure what to title this blog, but God's been speaking a lot to me, and definitely doing a lot in me, and with the new school year having started, I figured it was time to write a new blog. So here goes...
Looking back on this summer, it's crazy to be out on "the other side" of all the difficulties, challenges, and victories I went through, and to see now why God allowed to happen what happened, and to see the drastic changes He did in me. I know one of the biggest things He did in me was teach me to be more dependent on Him. I know how easy it can be to become dependent ourselves, another person, or the world--many of us are financially stable, have both our parents, and are pretty well off. Know my heart when I say this, but some of us don't "need" God.
Crazy thing is... we do need Him. No matter how blessed, provided for, wealthy, taken care of, we are, we need Him. Everything isn't always going to be okay, and some day, we very easily could lose everything to our name: our family, our house, our possessions, our wealth, and so on. We need Him. And despite His not needing us, He wants us. Crazy, eh?
God's been showing me lately what it means to be in a relationship with Him. What it truly means. I read in a workbook called "Expericing God," that "Our relationship with God doesn't come from a quiet time with Him, but our quiet time with God comes from a relationship with Him." I didn't quite understand that until tonight... I spent some quiet time with God, in worship and in prayer, and you know what? I haven't had a decent "quiet time" in weeks--but when I took the time to spend some time with Him, He was faithful to be there. I spent time with Him because I knew that we had that kind of relationship. God doesn't come to us with an agenda, a set of rules, an expectation-- "Well, you have to read your Bible every day, and you need to pray for at least 60 minutes every night..."-- no. God's not like that. He loves us and appreciates any time He can get with us. And since He's always with us, well, aren't we always spending time with Him? Think about it. When you spend time with your brother or sister, for instance, you aren't always doing the same thing. Sometimes you watch TV, sometimes you go out for dinner, sometimes you play catch, whatever--you're not always doing the same thing, and it's not that way with God either. Sometimes you're praying, sometimes you're reading your Word, sometimes you're praying for someone, sometimes you're simply watching TV--and God's right there with you.
So let this be a challenge for you. Spend time with God--bring Him into everything that you do: sports, work, school, homework (yes, it is possible), working out... He's always there. And if you happen to not read your Bible one night, or spend time in prayer, don't beat yourself up. God doesn't. He doesn't put pressure or condemnation on us, so why should we?
Looking back on this summer, it's crazy to be out on "the other side" of all the difficulties, challenges, and victories I went through, and to see now why God allowed to happen what happened, and to see the drastic changes He did in me. I know one of the biggest things He did in me was teach me to be more dependent on Him. I know how easy it can be to become dependent ourselves, another person, or the world--many of us are financially stable, have both our parents, and are pretty well off. Know my heart when I say this, but some of us don't "need" God.
Crazy thing is... we do need Him. No matter how blessed, provided for, wealthy, taken care of, we are, we need Him. Everything isn't always going to be okay, and some day, we very easily could lose everything to our name: our family, our house, our possessions, our wealth, and so on. We need Him. And despite His not needing us, He wants us. Crazy, eh?
God's been showing me lately what it means to be in a relationship with Him. What it truly means. I read in a workbook called "Expericing God," that "Our relationship with God doesn't come from a quiet time with Him, but our quiet time with God comes from a relationship with Him." I didn't quite understand that until tonight... I spent some quiet time with God, in worship and in prayer, and you know what? I haven't had a decent "quiet time" in weeks--but when I took the time to spend some time with Him, He was faithful to be there. I spent time with Him because I knew that we had that kind of relationship. God doesn't come to us with an agenda, a set of rules, an expectation-- "Well, you have to read your Bible every day, and you need to pray for at least 60 minutes every night..."-- no. God's not like that. He loves us and appreciates any time He can get with us. And since He's always with us, well, aren't we always spending time with Him? Think about it. When you spend time with your brother or sister, for instance, you aren't always doing the same thing. Sometimes you watch TV, sometimes you go out for dinner, sometimes you play catch, whatever--you're not always doing the same thing, and it's not that way with God either. Sometimes you're praying, sometimes you're reading your Word, sometimes you're praying for someone, sometimes you're simply watching TV--and God's right there with you.
So let this be a challenge for you. Spend time with God--bring Him into everything that you do: sports, work, school, homework (yes, it is possible), working out... He's always there. And if you happen to not read your Bible one night, or spend time in prayer, don't beat yourself up. God doesn't. He doesn't put pressure or condemnation on us, so why should we?
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