You do say “Ask and I will give you the nations”…

 I am not asking for the nations. I am asking simply to be shaped into the woman you have called me to be, doing whatever you have called me to do with whoever you have called me to in order to complete the task. I am yours. 

[Notes from Senior High Camp with guest speaker Chet Caudill]

The disciples…all they did was get excited about something. This is a generation that wants to do something powerful for God. How much more should we do with our lives if have the fire of God within us? In Judges 6:11-12, Gideon was confronted by an Angel to lead freedom to his people. Gideon was given a calling in spite of his position- he was least in his family from the weakest clan in all of his people. Gideon was obedient and brought forth freedom from their enemies. 

God’s purpose is to save the lost. Christians need to identity with God’s purpose and embrace his plan (Gideon embraced God’s calling on his life). Believe that God can use you. Sustain your passion but I will urge you that you cannot live your Christian life solely off emotions. If you live your Christian life off emotions you will quit and give up. Are you willing to listen to God’s voice? We may not be able to see the end but we can see the beginning and see that God is with us. Will you be obedient to whatever he is saying? You may think that you are ordinary, unable, incapable, weak, too young, too old, or whatever else, but God can and will use you to do extraordinary things. 

[Notes from Senior High Camp with guest speaker Chet Caudill]

The idea of being branded is that cattle will be marked for life by its owner as to not get lost or stolen. My question to you is simply this: what marks you?  Are you marked by God because you live a godly life or are you marked by other things? Check out some great verses: Luke 3:16, Luke 24:49, and Acts 2:39. The people were patiently waiting for God to fill their lives with more of his love. The Holy Spirit is what they were waiting for…only they didn’t quite know that yet. When they were actually filled with the Holy Spirit, it came in FIRE. It was just them in a room waiting on God. After they were filled, they were empowered, emboldened, and passion was ignited in their hearts. 

You may ask why you even need the fire of God. The fire of God, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit, is for multiple reasons. The Holy Spirit is a comforter, counselor, confirmer, and convicter. Yes you can be a Christian with Spirit of God working in your life and yet still not be filled with the Holy Spirit. However, God offers more for believers when they wait on Him to be filled with his Holy Spirit. Are you being sensitive to the fact that God might want to do more in your life through his Holy Spirit? 

People can say they are “on fire” for God but often they are people that are super spiritual and self-righteous and are not acting in the Spirit but themselves. Others may very well be “on fire” for God. The real fire of God announces itself. It will not be forced (Acts 2:5-6). The real fire of God attracts attention to itself. Fire is attractive not to what it is burning but to its very self. The fire of God in your life draws attention to Jesus and not to you- Refer to those super spiritual people that I am sure you know (Acts 2:6-7 and Galatians 5:16). The real fire of God is aggressive…not in the sense of violence, etc. Instead it is something that needs to be used and shared with others.

Have you had a real encounter with God lately? The main thing about the fire of God- his Holy Spirit- is that is affects the area surrounding, meaning the fire in you needs to affect you and those around you (Acts 8:4 and Acts 11:19-20). 

 

 

 

[Notes from Senior High Camp with guest speaker Chet Caudill]

An identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis on oneself with the main thought of “I am confused”. In Romans 7:15-19, Paul was very conflicted in who he really was. He was honest with his struggles yet also with his desire to honor God. A perfect example of someone who could have had an identity crisis is that of Joseph [Genesis 37]. Joseph had a dream, is betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of a crime, and then imprisoned. Yet he remained faithful to God. Because of his faithfulness, he then became second in command in all of Egypt. He very easy could have given up and been caught up in those various identities. But those situations he was in and the circumstances he was faced with did not define him.

How can we get a hold of this? The devil is attempting identity theft against all mankind and will do whatever he can to convince you that you are someone you are not. We often define ourselves on what we have done. “I am…what I’ve done.” Successes and failures. Those are the very things so many people use to define who they are but in reality those things are temporal. The past is not necessarily an indicator of the future. The incredible thing is that God does not consult with our past [mistakes, failures, etc.] in order to write our futures. The reason Satan reminds you of your past is to keep you from who God wants you to be. Another area is that Satan will try to convince us to define ourselves based off our successes. When those talents, abilities, etc. are lost and no longer a part of our lives, we then have no idea how to think. We become insecure. Our insecurity arises when we really have no idea who we are. What do you see when you look in the mirror? What do you think of yourself when you fail or succeed? You ask the question often, I am sure of this: Who am I? …what I do? …what I’ve done?

Above all else you need to realize that regardless of what your past looks like and regardless of the good or the bad, you need to define yourself in the eyes of God. WHOSE I AM. God loves you, cares for you, and his son died for you. Check out some of these verses:

Genesis 1:26-27 –> Man is made in the likeness and image of God
Genesis 2:7 –> God created Man and gave breath

[Notes from Senior High Camp with guest speaker Chet Caudill]

There are things in life that will be obstacles and will hinder us from getting more of God. It is not a conviction issue but a sin issue- things that are definitely against the Word of God. In Numbers 13:28 the Israelite spies let their excuses- their “buts” get in the way. “But” was the very word  that hindered the people from entering into the Promised Land. The spies had everything in front of them in the Promised Land but because of fear they chose to remain in the desert. 

What makes you feel alive? What has God called you to? Are your excuses and doubts and fears [your “but”] getting in the way? Having a “but” can keep you from salvation, selling out to God, and God’s best in your life. Are you willing to wait for God’s best and go for it when he gives you the chance? Often we don’t believe he can give us the best so we bury our dreams in a graveyard of impossibility…Just like the Israelites.  We settle for less. If we trust in God and believe that he can do what he promises, go for the Promised Land in your life. 

Being deprived of the nutrients received in food will eventually render itself FATAL, despite the brief feelings of satisfaction. Just as there can be physical malnourishment, so it can be spiritual. 

I can take a look at my life and see a difference in my life- attitude, behaviors, among other things, when I am hungering after God and His Word taking in as much as I can. However, I can also see the near fatal moments of my life; those struggling to make-it-through moments. The times when I was trapped under some sin. The times when I was going nowhere. I have been, at times, spiritually anorexic. I am disheartened tonight as I think of people in my life that love God- that I do not doubt- however, I see a minimal amount of God actually present in their lives. Just as I neglected the Word, prayer, Godly community and became spiritually anorexic, so I see others- friends of mine- that are slowly but surely taking out the very life within themselves. They neglect the Word. Their friends are anything but Godly. Prayer is almost nonexistent. 

Please pardon me if I sound self-righteous. That is far my intentions. I say this with much concern deep within my heart because the road of those friends of mine seems grave. Slowly dying, starving their bodies of God and yet having no clue. Or worse, ignore the symptoms. Deny the symptoms. More than anything, I desire to see those I love and care for deeply and passionately in love with God; that the Love will create in them a new heart and they will become a NEW CREATION centered on God. Being spiritually anorexic to fit in with really anything (groups of friends, society, media, etc) will do nothing, I mean absolutely nothing for you. Temporary satisfaction is the best you can get. As I learned through painstaking experience, being spiritually healthy is, although an ongoing process, it is far worth going after. You become alive allowing for God to completely work His purpose deep within your life. He wants to do great things in your life.

I urge you, take a look at your life. Is there spiritual growth? If not, could you possibly be in a place heading toward spiritual anorexia? Ultimately, if you want God at all to be a part of your life, I challenge you to pursue God. 

Maybe this is sacrilegious, and I apologize for any offense this might give, but I believe that there is is something beyond the Cross- the very death that Christ endured…to the end. Beyond the forgiveness he offers. I have become aware of so many people around me that, despite their Christian faith or roots, they lack one thing…FREEDOM. Christ died on a cross and died a miserable, painful, and dehumanizing death. For you. For me. We deserved that death. We deserve nothing, yet gained everything. I have no idea what your story might look like. I have no idea what God holds in your future…but one thing I am sure of. It does not end at Christ’s death. That is only the beginning of a beautiful journey of so much more. Redemption. Stronger love. Deeper value. Purpose. Victory. 

Whatever you might be facing or struggling, I want you to understand something, something that is so crucial that it cannot be neglected. Sex addicts, alcoholics, porn addicts, liars, broken hearts, cheaters, the cheated, past hurt or anything in between… Christ did not stay in the grave. He rose from the dead, bringing forth a freedom and victory beyond the cross, beyond his death. No matter what you face, Christ can not only forgive you, but FREE YOU! You can have the victory, overcoming whatever your situation looks like. Whatever your struggle…Do not fret! Do not worry! 

CHRIST CAN SET YOU FREE! You can grab hold of victory in spite of how dark or hopeless it may be. See the resurrection that comes after forgiveness. Restoration and new life can be yours, and ultimately, victory.