This weekend MSP, Peanut, Meboeck, and most of our youth group went to Summit Lake for our Fall reatreat this past weekend. It was sooo amazing. God definately was working in me this weekend. I was able to confess old sins and leave them at the cross without picking them up again. I was baptised in the Holy Spirit. I felt this connection with God, and all the old questions I had like "is God really real?" faded away. I know, that i know, that i know God is Real and that he truelly loves and cares for us all. It was just an amazing experience.
Throughout this God showed me that i have to continue to read my bible, which i haven't been doing. It's the word of God, the living water that is supposed to nourish our souls and allow us to grow spiritually. You can't just read the bible once and say "allright, im never going to read it again" just as you can't say "oh... i watered this plant today, so ill never need to water it again." Just like if you don't water that plant, it will begin to die, so shall our faith begin to die if we don't continue to read God's word.
Another thing God revealed to me is how crucial going to church and being a member of the body of Christ is. The body of christ can be compared to an actual body. Each person has a part to play: a hand, a foot, an ear, an eye. People to reach out to people and bring them, people to go out and find people, to listen, to see people in need.
Somtimes people get unsatisfied with their place in the body od christ. They dont want to be a "hand" anymore, they want to be the "eyes," or the "ears," or anything else besides what God has called them to do. Well, if everyone wanted to be a foot, then what would happen is that all the body of Christ could do, is walk. It couldnt reach out to people, to look, or listen, or speak to other people. Each person may have a different calling from God. different does not mean better or worse... it means: different. God made each of us different for a purpose: so that together, each of our separate talents and abilities will make a strong Body that can do many more things that each of us could do on our own.
Going to church as often as possible is also crucial. Again, the body of christ can be compared to a tree. If you want to be separate, and be by yourself, it's like you are a branch, cutting yourself from the tree. Eventually that branch will die. It is cut from the life. God wants us to grow together and help one another through the trials and tribulations that we face. God wants us not to be separate from the tree... but to be part of it.
Another thing, being a christian is not just a one time decision. People cannot accept christ one day and then for the rest of their lives do whatever they want to and live a life of sin. Being a christian, is being a follower of christ. People can decide Not to follow christ after they have been following him. Like in the game "follow the leader" the ones following CAN decide not to follow the leader if they want to. In the same way, people who once were christians can become "non-christians." Each person has to make a daily commitment to following Christ, and making the Lord the center of their lives.
One last thing. Worship. Worship is more than just singing praise and worship songs, and clapping your hands, and dancing. Worship is what you spend your time thinking about, talking about, the things that you do most of the time. You can worship somethign without even concioulsy knowing you are worshipping it. Did you know you can wosrhip your car? Yes, you can. People who spend their time obsessing about it, washing it, cleaning it, talking about it: it becomes like and idol in their lives. We need to make God the center of our attention, not just SOME of the time, but ALL of the time.
God knows we are not perfect, and we WILL make mistakes, we are human after all. But trying and attempting to be as christlike as we can in these sinful and human bodies, is being a christian, being a follower of christ to the best of our abilities.
I just felt ihad to say those last things. Im not condemning anyone. And i don't mean to come of as harsh.
God is Real, God is awsome, God is glorious, and God sent his son to die for us, and even as terrible as we are sometimes, he loves us no matter what. And that unconditional love is incomprehensible.
