A Night with Lauren Daigle

Jason and I, along with my parents have the privilege to attend Lauren Daigle's concert last Thursday evening. It was SO AMAZING! I absolutely love her music--it happened to be what really helped me get through our time of "puppy sadness"--I would find myself listening to her songs on the way to work, pouring tears over the fact that yes, we only lost our puppy but that He cares about my heartache and my sadness no matter what it is connected to. He gently reminded me of that through her music and it so ministered to my heart, just as I needed it to. There's just so much truth, hope, and goodness in her lyrics and those lyrics paired with her amazing voice--you can only imagine how great the evening was. 

Dad and I got VIP tickets while Mom and Jason had premiere tickets so we all go to sit in on a Q&A with Lauren before the show and then Dad and I got a chance to meet her. It was such a cool night and I am so thankful for the opportunity! 

I honestly wanted her to sing every song off of her album, but I know there wasn't time for that. But really, I would have stayed all night. 

Here are a few video clips from the night.
I love being in a room, full of people, all singing their hearts out to Jesus.

"Once and for All"
There is victory in my Savior's loss
And in the crimson flowing from the cross
Pour over me, pour over me
O let this be where I die
My Lord with thee crucified
Be lifted high as my kingdoms fall
Once and for all, once and for all

"O'Lord"

Though times it seems

Like I'm coming undone

This walk can often feel lonely

No matter what until this race is won

I will stand my ground where hope can be found

I will stand my ground where hope can be found

Oh, O'Lord O'Lord I know You hear my cry

Your love is lifting me above all the lies

No matter what I face this I know in time

You'll take all that is wrong and make it right

You'll take all that is wrong and make it right

The following two are "How Can It Be"

You plead my cause

You right my wrongs

You break my chains

You overcome

You gave Your life

To give me mine

You say that I am free

How can it be

Again, what a night. 

So very thankful for this woman and her God-given talent and her desire to glorify Him through her music. 

"All The Way My Savior Leads Me"

This was one of the songs that Jason and I had sung during our wedding ceremony. 

It's so full of truth, hope, and promises--something that a beginning marriage definitely needs. The particular version that we had was Chris Tomlin's (it's so beautiful!) I looked up the history of this hymn in my "Then Sings My Soul" book which has 150 of the world's greatest hymn stories. Miss Crosby has written some well known hymns (Blessed Assurance--another favorite of mine), poems, and other writings but this one in particular strikes a cord with me--not to mention it may have some sentimental value to us now. 

"ALL THE WAY MY SAVIOR LEADS ME"

Fanny J. Crosby {1875}

All the way my Savior leads me,

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy,

Who through life has been my Guide?

Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well;

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Cheers each winding path I tread,

Gives me grace for every trial,

Feeds me with the living Bread.

Though my weary steps may falter

And my soul athirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! A spring of joy I see;

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Oh, the fullness of His love!

Perfect rest to me is promised

In my Father’s house above.

When my spirit, clothed immortal,

Wings its flight to realms of day

This my song through endless ages:

Jesus led me all the way;

This my song through endless ages:

Jesus led me all the way.

"...that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." Colossians 1:9

When Fanny Crosby wrote, "All the way my Savior leads me, /What have I to ask beside?" she was expressing her own testimony of God's guidance. Even her blindness, she realized, was part of His plan. 

When Fanny was about six weeks old, her parents had realized with alarm that something was wrong with her eyes. The local doctor was away, but the Crosby's found a man--no one afterward recalled his name--who claimed to be a physician.  He put hot poultice on the baby's inflamed eyes, insisting it would draw out the infection. The infection didn't clear up, but white scars appeared, and in the months that followed the baby registered no response to objects held before her. As it turned out, Fanny was not totally blind.  Even in old age she could discern day from night. But, her vision was gone. 

Yet, this stimulated other gifts, such as her phenomenal memory. As a child, Fanny memorized whole sections of the Bible, including most of the Pentateuch, the four Gospels, all of Proverbs, and vast portions of other books. Whenever she wanted to "read" a passage, she just turned there in her mental "Bible" and read it, verbatim. "This Holy Book," she said when eighty-five, "has nurtured my entire life."

Years later, Fanny viewed her blindness as a special gift from God, believing He had given her a particular "soul vision" which equipped her for a special work. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me," she declared.  "How in the world could I have lived such a helpful life had I not been blind?" 

"Don't blame the doctor," Fanny said on another occasion.  "He is probably dead by this time. But if I could meet him, I would tell him that he unwittingly did me the greatest favor in the world."

Though this hymn expressed Fanny Crosby's lifelong testimony, it was prompted by a specific incident in 1874.  One day she didn't have enough money to pay her rent.  Just as she committed the matter to God in prayer, a stranger appeared at her door and pressed a ten-dollar bill in her hand before disappearing.  It was the very amount needed.  That night, she wrote the words to "All the Way My Savior Leads Me."

As I've mentioned before--a previous youth director of mine once said that most all hymns end with verses on heaven--either literally or metaphorically. I love the last verse of this song "Perfect rest to me is promised, in my Father’s house above. When my spirit, clothed immortal, wings its flight to realms of day--this my song through endless ages: Jesus led me all the way." What a testament and reflection of the hope we have as we trudge through this side of life. Thank God that we have Him to lead us, guide us, comfort us, and remind us that we've won! We win and we have this never ending hope and promise that's coming to us one day soon! Praise be to my God that loves me enough to bring me to Him, to lead me! 

"Doing Marriage East of Eden" Song of Solomon 5:2-6:3

On Wednesday evenings at church, my Dad is doing a series on Song of Solomon right now--and it has been awesome! Weren't expecting that? Maybe the words awkward, uncomfortable, or embarrassing crossed your mind? Yeah, seeing as how my father is teaching it, I would think you would think that--but it's been wonderful. 

As I just mentioned, this is a book of the bible that people tend to think of embarrassing, private, uncomfortable (just to name a few) but it's not. It's so beautiful and packed full of wisdom. This is the biblical insight to marriage and all the lovely (and hard) things that go along with it. 

This book was written to give us wisdom and believe it or not,  it is a book that's primary target audience is unmarried, single, young women--with the intentions of being used to prepare them for marriage. 

Even more so, it's ultimate goal is to show us the love of our Bridegroom, Christ. 

"We love and love well, only because Christ loved us."

Last night's lesson, above all the others,  really struck a chord with me. I've been thinking about it all day and I've re-read the handout a few times and I finally decided, it's too good not to share. 

From here on out, I'm sharing with you straight from the handout with a few side notes. 

"So far in our journey though Solomon's greatest song, when it comes to marriage, we've encountered more idealism than realism. Basically, chapters 1-5 have presented a polished, appealing, poetically stated picture of idealistic, Edenic love between a man and a woman. 

But now, in this next section of the song, we find ourselves EAST of Eden, and we've moved from the uniterrupted revelries of married life to the inevitable realism to that's not how it begins! Let's ask a couple of questions that may offer insight into what happens not if, but when, "sleeping beauty" wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and "prince charming" isn't all that charming, after all!

What is the poetry doing? (5:2-6)

She:

"I slept, but my heart was awake. 

A sound! My beloved is knocking. 

"Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one, 

for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night."

I had put off my garment;

how could I put it on?

I had bathed my feet;

how could I soil them?

My beloved put his hand to the latch, 

and my heart was thrilled within me. 

I arose to open to my beloved, 

and my hands dripped with myrrh, 

my fingers with liquid myrrh, 

on the handles of the bolt. 

I opened to my beloved, 

but my beloved had turned and gone. 

My soul failed me when he spoke. 

I sought him, but found him not;

I called him, but he gave no answer."

This is a story-poem, with literary embellishment, designed to create a mood and make a point. 

The mood here is tense; the point is conflict. It's part of the "post-honeymoon" life in a fallen world. 

Here we see that she hasn't clued him in to what the plans were for their "physical time" together, he didn't come home when he was supposed to, and now, she's mad! He leaves, and she goes out on to the streets to go after him. 

What's happening poetically is this: It's a mixture of insensitivity, selfishness, and revenge. He's being insensitive, she's being selfish (and he) and he wants to take revenge by leaving (can anyone relate to this? I hope you're all shaking your heads!) And, it gets really ugly in vs. 6-7. 

She:

"I opened to my beloved, 

but my beloved had turned and gone. 

My soul failed me when he spoke. 

I sought him, but found him not;

I called him, but he gave no answer.

The watchmen found me

as they went about in the city;

they beat me, they bruised me, 

they took away my veil, 

those watchmen of the walls."

Then we read vs. 9 and it brings a "note" of sarcasm from the chorus line (which by the way, where did they even come from!?)

Others:

"What is your beloved more than another beloved, 

O most beautiful among women?

What is your beloved more than another beloved, 

that you thus adjure us?"

Her "bridesmaids" are ridiculing her. They are basically asking her "what makes your man so great?"

Then, the beauty of vs. 10-16, from the wife, there's a top to bottom physical description of the man, almost unequalled in scripture. Here we see that she resists the temptation to tear him down in the presence of other women. (Can you say respect? Wow.)

She:

"My beloved is radiant and ruddy, 

distinguished among ten thousand. 

His head is the finest gold;

his locks are wavy, 

black as raven. 

His eyes are like doves

beside streams of water, 

bathed in milk, 

sitting beside a full pool. 

His cheeks are like beds of spices, 

mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. 

His lips are lilies, 

dripping with liquid myrrh. 

His arms are rods of gold, 

set with jewels. 

His body is polished ivory, 

bedecked with sapphires. 

His legs are alabaster columns, 

set on bases of gold. 

His appearance is like Lebanon, 

choice as the cedars. 

His mouth is sweet, 

and he is altogether desirable. 

This is my beloved and this is my friend, 

O daughters of Jerusalem."

I am a horiffic arguer. I don't do "well" in arguments/fights/tiffs, whatever you want to call them. So to hear this woman say all of these nice things, and to even call her husband her "beloved and her friend", was like a big ole slap in the face to me! What an amount of humility and grace it took for her to show us that. What an amount of grace it takes Our Lord to show us that, daily. Who are we to think that our spouses don't deserve that? Sheesh! I was feeling guilty, to say the least. 

Pressing on...

So, WHO found who? (6:1-3)

Others

"Where has your beloved gone, 

O most beautiful among women?

Where has your beloved turned, 

that we may seek him with you?

She

My beloved has gone down to his garden

to the bed of spices, 

to graze in the gardens 

and to gather lilies. 

I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine;

he grazes among the lilies."

Who cares who found who?

We don't know and it doesn't matter BECAUSE, love doesn't keep score (1 Corinthians 13)

Ugh, this is SO HARD! It's so easy and so natural to keep score. I know that's sad to say, but it's true. We can't do it! Don't fall in to that trap. It's nasty and it's never helpful! 

What lessons does the poetry teach us?

First lesson: Get Real

The REALISTIC rhythm of married life is one of frustration and delight (I loved this)

The idea of a perfect marriage is an idol, so don't worship it! Marriage will NEVER be perfect. Marriage is not God, only God is perfect. 

"Marriage is a tool for our sanctification" John Piper

Second lesson: Deny Self

The greatest obstacle to marital intimacy is selfishness. 

 My dad said that he and my mom both agreed that they never knew just how selfish they were until they got married. Boy, oh boy can I attest to that. I am a beast, a big, ole selfish beast...and I never even knew it. 

Growing marriages make the shift from selfishness to selflessness; and from egotistical "I" to the altruistic "I". In Song of Solomon, she is looking out for the good of her man. She goes after him and she speaks well of him, even when he's upset. 

We need to reflect redemptive love--we need to go after them, no matter if they "deserve" it or not! (Romans 5:1)

Here are 3 ways to be more selfless:

You should have open eyes--to what a gift you have in your spouse. We should have eyes of unconditional love. Our spouse should know we would NEVER not love them and we would NEVER leave them. 

You should have an open mouth--let your speech be honest, considerate, structured, tender, graceful, and forgiving.

You should have an open door--you need to be approachable, even in times of conflict. It's as simple as this: don't even give the silent treatment. God doesn't cut me off when I offend Him therefore, I have no right to cut anyone else off when they offend me! (it may sound silly, but it's TRUE!) Don't do it. It fixes nothing. 

Here are 2 benefits of self-denial:

It will make your marriage better. It can't help but to make it better!

It will mirror (as best a fallen sinner can) the heart of the gospel. 

Chapter 5 vs. 16 intimately points to Christ. And what is He the epitome of? (Philippians 2:6-8; Ephesians 5:21-33) The ultimate sacrificial, selfless love there is. 

"Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeliness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:6-8)

"Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of His body. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband" (Ephesians 5:21-33)

Like I said earlier, this stuck a chord with me, a deep, lasting, resounding chord. 

My prayer is that it does the same for you. 

"A Laughable Salvation"

A month ago, we had a guest preacher at church and I have to share his sermon. 

I've been meaning to...for a month now and I'm finally getting to take the time this Saturday morning to share a little biblical insight with you all from the mouth of Brian Sorgenfri. I've posted a few things from him before. He is a super talented preacher. The thing I love and loved (he was my RUF minister during college) about Brian's preaching is how he takes passages from the bible that you've probably heard multiple times and brings this new aspect to it. It almost never fails that I see he's doing a passage that I've read/heard before--then I always walk away thinking, "I've never heard it like THAT before though". I love it. It's this fresh lens to see God's word through and it's a privilege to hear this man share the gospel. 

Without further ado...

"A Laughable Salvation" from Judges 3:12-30

(picture from here)

"There are many passages in Judges that are "crazy" and you wonder why they are in the bible. Well, that's us.  We are messy and we are crazy and the only thing that's more relentless than our sin is Jesus's love and want for us. 

I. A laughable oppression:

"And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord.  He gathered himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel.  And they took possession of the city of palms.  And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years." (vs. 12-14)

It's interesting who God uses in this passage. 

It's laughable because they use the King of Moab. Moab was a weak foe in Israel's past. Eglon, the name of the king, literally means "fattened calf" and this man help them captive for 18 years. 

Moab was the first foe that Israel shouldn't have had to worry about--this is what make it all so laughable. 

The most dangerous stuff in our lives is the things people see as laughable--like good looks, good grade, success, our children, our marriages, money--it's the sin and idolatry that we don't see that will kill us. It's the stuff that's hidden under the good stuff. 

II. Laughable salvation:

"Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man.  The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab.  Now Eglon was a very fat man. And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute.  But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, "I have a secrecy message for you, O king." And he commanded "silence." And all his attendants went out from his presence.  And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." And he arose from his seat. And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.  

When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, "Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber." And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.  (vs. 15-25)

In comes Ehud, the man God chose to save Israel, was a Benjaminite (which means 'son of my right hand') and he was left handed--it's to be believed that his right hand was probably deformed or useless and HE is who God uses. 

He seemed so weak that the guards of Eglon just leave him with the king, unattended because they weren't expecting him able to do anything. 

God seeks, saves, and uses the nobodies and the shameful and He makes them heroes. 

God chooses the foolish things of the world to shame the strong. 

God uses what is laughable to save the world and bring people to Him--and when that happens, there is no other explanation other than that God and God alone did that. He saved that person, He loved that person, He used that person. 

Ehud escapes from the king's palace by going under Eglon's toilet and the guards wait so long that they are embarrassed--Ehud gets away so easily, with absolutely no struggle. 

So not only was the person chosen to save Israel laughable, but so was the way that he actually accomplished it. 

The way of salvation just seems laughable, it seems too easy--all we have to do is give up ourselves, realize that we aren't good enough, and only need Jesus.

Bring my sin and He will bring salvation and joy. 

The way we are saved is by the humiliation of Jesus Himself.  The laughing stock of the world because just that for MY salvation.  It seems laughable, but it's incredibly beautiful. 

III. Laughable Result 

Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah.  When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim.  Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. And he said to them, "Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand." So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over.  And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years." (vs. 26-30)

We are like the Israelites in this story. 

The end is secure, Jesus wins. The rest is just "mop up work"

Because we follow Jesus who didn't take power, but gave it away through humility--then it will continue through us with our weakness and humiliation. 

God uses the ordinary to save and convert people--you won't save people by being morally awesome--you will save people by repenting and loving them. 

What we do as Christians all seems laughable.  

We love unlovable people, we give away our money, we sit under the teachings of an ancient book, and that's laughable.

As Christians, we have to be laughable and be able to laugh.  

It's laughable when we reveal our greatest sins and Jesus STILL pursues us and loves us and is glad with us.  It's funny the kind of people He loves. 

When it "just makes sense" to us--we should worry. We should laugh in joy about what He's done. We should laugh with rejoicing. 

The Son Painting

In one of the classes Jason and I took at RYM last week, the teacher shared the best illustration. It's truly beautiful. 

There was a man who loved art. 

He was an avid art collector. 

He would travel the world and acquire new pieces to hang in his home.

His son would tag along on these trips.

Naturally, the son's love and interest in these fine art pieces grew as well.

It was "their thing". It was the way they bonded. 

Time passed and many exquisite pieces of art had been collected.

One day, the son was drafted into the army. 

He left his father and went to war. 

Time passed and there was a knock on the father's door. 

He was told that his son was missing in action and that he would be notified when they knew anything about his whereabouts. 

Days later there was a knock on the door and a young man was standing there with a large wrapped package. He told the father that his son died saving his life. 

He then asked if he could come in. 

The father invited him in and they spent the afternoon talking and admiring the art that the father and son had spent years collecting together. 

Before the solider left, he gave the father the package he brought. 

"It's nothing compared to what you have here but I thought you might like it" and as the father opened up the painting of his son, he could tell it was done by an amateur but the solider had captured his son's face perfectly. 

The father walked over to his most prized painting, took it down, and placed the painting of his son in it's coveted spot. 

Time passed and the father died. 

According to his will, they were going to auction off all of his art that he had collected with his son over the years. 

People came from all ends of the world to gain these pieces of art. 

The excitement in the room is palpable as they brought out the first piece of art. 

It was the painting of the son. 

The auctioneer starts off: "Ladies and Gentlemen, our first piece of art, do I hear $100?"

Silence. 

"Do I hear $50?"

Silence.

Time passes. 

Then someone speaks up: "Let's get on with it. We didn't come here for pieces of art like this done by an amateur. Let's get to the real stuff. The good stuff."

The auctioneer replies: "The auction does not proceed until this piece is sold. This one has to go first."

The crowd grumbles and you can feel the anger rising in the room. 

An older man speaks up: "'I'll give you $10 for it. I knew the boy and he was a nice kid"

"$10 going once, going twice, sold!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the auction is now over"

The crowd uproars in anger

"What do you mean the auction is over?"

"We just began."

"We haven't even gotten to the real art yet!"

They were furious. 

The auctioneer stands up and what he says silences the whole room. 

"According to the father's will. Whoever gets the painting of the son, gets it all. The auction is over ladies and gentlemen."

Y'all. I had tears in my eyes when he finished that story. 

That's God. 

That's Jesus. 

That's us. 

That's our lives.

The Father's will for our lives is that when we get The Son, we get it all. 

God's grace is astounding. 

It should bring us to our knees in thanks and make us sing praises. 

RYM-"Hope in a Hopeless Age"

This past week, Jason and I chaperoned our youth group to RYM for the 2nd year! (last year)

It was a pretty awesome week. Lakeland took the largest group we've ever had. We had 25 guys, 16 girls, and 7 chaperones--48 people! World record as far as we're concerned.

Riding on the bus will in fact make one crazy

The theme for the week this year was "Hope in a Hopeless Age". Which I thought was a great theme for high school aged kids (& adults all the same). We do indeed live in such a hopeless time, more so than we probably realize. We all need it, but where do we actually put our hope? Who or what do you put your hope in? 

I'll try not to overwhelm you with all of my notes but here are some of the key things that I learned/heard from Ricky during our large group sessions:

What is your hope? Eternal hope? Heaven is about being in a spiral of delight with God. God is delighted to have you in His presence and you are delighted to be in His presence and you are delighted, that He is delighted. That's a spiral of delight and we get caught up in that with God for eternity. 

The hope of glory is that we can enjoy this, even now. John 17:20-26 says that His precious prayer for us is that we would be with Him and see His glory. The reason I exist is to share in this spiral of delight with The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. 

Jesus came to get me. He came for you. He comes to us--and when you believe that, it changes you. It makes you want to love people...not for them to like or accept you, you will want to love and help them no matter what because of Jesus. 

Why is this world hopeless? 

Because of Genesis 3, because of the fall of man and not only did it happen in the Garden of Eden but it spread to every end of the earth that day & would effect everyone. 

We live in a very broken world and at it's very best, it will never satisfy me, ever. 

There is hope for this world. But, it's nothing we will find in this world. It's in the Lord who had mercy when it fell. 

Our churches are broken, our bodies are broken, our personalities are broken, our work place is broken, the Earth is broken--we need to talk to God about our brokenness because our hurts and brokenness hurt God too. He's been there. He's felt all of my brokenness personally when He died for me. He felt it more fully and wholly than I ever will (thanks be to God!) He voluntarily took it all, for me.  

The Resurrection is the true hope for this world. 

Brokenness is real, but so is the resurrection and our hope. 

We believe things, most of the time, because they make us feel better--but, we have to look at history because history triumphs inspiration. 

Most of us believe in the resurrection because our families do--we never questioned it--we just believed it.  IF we don't question that and come to figured out and believe that ourselves, it will never have the magnitude to carry us through this life. 

Don't hold on to the resurrection as tradition or inspiration, it's truth. 

Doubt is okay in the bible--look at "Doubting Thomas". But, we need to doubt honestly and be sure to not stop there because it's not okay to doubt things cynically (just because). It's not okay to doubt selfishly. 

There is very good reason to believe that Jesus got out of the tomb and is living with His Father:

The craziness of the claim--no one expected it. People stay dead! All but one, Jesus. 

The Jews began to call Jesus, Lord--Jews would have never just succumbed to that and called Jesus Lord.  

People die for this belief--Would you die for a lie? Every disciple but 1 died for this truth. 

Because Jesus' influence grew after He died--How many other religious leaders can you remember who's followers grew once they were gone?  

So what are we looking forward to?
A healed creation. Healed bodies. Healed emotions.  Healed relationships. Healed psyche (self image).

Amen and Amen. I am thankful for a lead speaker who was able to really able to relate to our kids and allow the Lord to use him to stir their hearts. 

Each day there's a large time frame of free time. There's so much to do. Go to the beach. Go to the pool. Play basketball. Play volleyball. Play Gaga ball. Take a nap. Walk around. Go to the book table. Go to the snack shop. Play Mega-Rec. I mean, we did it all! 

We also sign up for two elective classes throughout the week.
Mine were both really amazing.

One was "Freedom from the Paralysis of Doubt" with Joey Stewart.

Doubt is a major problem with Christians.
Too often, when asked the question "If you died today would you be with Jesus?" there's uncertainty.
But, praise Jesus, our confidence is not found in ourselves, it is in Jesus Christ ALONE.

Are you a true believer or a self deceiver?
Where is your foundation? What is it built on?
The false security of a bad foundation: We build our lives on things that will fail us.
We place our confidence in right answers & right actions and all that does is produce false security. 
We've made His laws "humanly achievable" which they aren't.  He does not demand that we do our best, He demands that we do His best and that's done only through Him. 
Jesus is the only solid foundation upon which we can build our lives and He alone fulfills God's demands for us. Jesus came and basically told me to enjoy His joy, forever through what He's done. 

Our struggle with sin
What is saving faith? It is knowledge and understanding of the gospel, agreement that the gospel is true, and trust and reliance in it. 
A life with Jesus is a life of struggle with sin. Regardless of our sins we need to know (and hold on to) the fact that God does not love me more because of a good day or less because of a bad day. He loves me because of Jesus, and Jesus alone. 

Union and Communion with Christ
You can never lose your salvation once you have it--bottom line. 
But, what are the benefits that Jesus has won for us?
The benefits we can enjoy now: God's love, peace of conscious, joy in the Holy Spirit, growing and persevering in the grace of God. 
The benefits we will enjoy in death: we will be made perfect in His holiness, we will immediately go into glory, and our bodies will have rest until the resurrection.
The benefits we will receive at the resurrection:  We will be raised up in glory, we will be openly acknowledged and acquitted, we will be made perfect and be in full enjoyment of God forever. 
A lot of people look at all of this and it's so abstract to them that they don't long for these things. We don't fully understand them and see the magnitude of it. The truth is, the full enjoyment of God that comes with the resurrection is better than anything this world can/will ever offer us. 
Jerry Bridges wrote: 'While our union with Jesus can't be taken away; the enjoyment of it comes from communion with God" 
Being in prayer and daily reading of The Word is God's way of drawing us closer to Him and His heart for us. When reading scripture, ask yourself "what does this scripture say about the heart of God for me; because of Jesus?"

Rest for the weary
 If we are not grounded in The Word of God, we will run when doubt and difficult circumstances come our way. 
We need to remember the truths about God and His heart for us. 
Remember His Goodness--Psalm 23:4-6
His power--Isaiah 40:12, 2 Timothy 1:12
His love--Zephaniah 3:17
When we doubt our salvation we are not doubting ourselves, we are doubting God and His promises. It is arrogant. It is saying that you understand the gospel and that it might be true for everyone else but what God did isn't big enough for you and your sins. God didn't pick and choose. What He did is big enough to cover ALL sins. 

My other class was entitled "The Hardest Prayer You'll Ever Pray" with Jean Larroux.

I was so excited about this class. It was all about The Lord's Prayer and the meaning of it all. I chose this one because as a congregation we recite that prayer every Sunday and I wanted a better understanding of it. 

Matthew 6:5-15

vs. 9-13--"This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name"

The two words, Heavenly Father change everything. When we see God as our father, it changes everything. "If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God's child and having God as his father.  If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means he does not understand Christianity very well." J.I. Packer

Think of the magnitude of calling the God of the universe, your Father. 

Jesus says, "Yes, He is holy!", "Yes, He has all power!", 'Yes, He is a consuming fire!", But when you address Him...When you are so bold as to even speak to Him...When you pray, you call Him Father; your Father. 

Does that change the way you pray?  We usually feel the need to talk to our parents, you want to talk to them and tell them things. God is greater than the worst father and the best father earth has to offer. 

When we are praying "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.." we are taking His name upon us and when we do that it must mean something. It's weighted; it's heavy. 

"Your kingdom come, you will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"

When we are praying "thy kingdom come" we are asking God to arrange the world as He meant it to be. To petition God to usher in His Kingdom is a request of rightful ownership--all that He created, all that He intended, all that He decreed, thy kingdom, thy monarchy, thy people, under thy hand--Thy Kingdom come.

The most sweet and most bitter truth of in the kingdom of God is that Jesus is coming back. 

There are two parts to this section of the prayer: a statement and a modifier.

The statement: "on earth". The modifier: "as it is in heaven".

When we pray, "thy will be done" we are essentially saying that whatever He decides is okay with you. It's as if we are saying, "I don't understand this, but I do trust Jesus".

When we pray "thy will be done," we are showing our submission to God's control, not giving Him permission to be in charge.

Asking God to make our lives just like He wants it to be is part of what makes this the hardest prayer you will ever pray.

"Give us today our daily bread. 

 In this prayer, we request that God only give us enough today to keep us dependent on Him tomorrow. 

When you look back in Exodus 16:1-5, 12-26 we read about the manna that would come daily to God's people and how they had to depend on God daily for the bread they would eat. Which then cause daily dependence on God. Why would God do that?  Because in Exodus 16:12 He says: "Then you will know that I am the Lord your God!"

God gives His people only enough to keep them dependent on Him--daily. 

Are we really ready to pray for daily bread? Are we ready to ask God  to only give us enough to keep us dependent on Him?

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors"

In the Lord's prayer, with regard to forgiveness, Jesus reverses the order and teaches us to pray saying: "forgive me like I forgive others."

Think about making that kind of request from God: "Dear God, I want you to forgive me, but please Sir, first look at my heart, look at how I have forgiven others, and then forgive me like that."...makes you think! 

When we forgive others we are showing them that we have tasted salvation and we want to share that with them. 

We need to leave justice to Jesus and show evidence of a forgiven heart by forgiving others. 

Jesus' point is that if we can not, do not, or will not forgive those who sin against us, then it's likely that we have not tasted or seen the true forgiveness of God in Christ."

This isn't hard praying, it's impossible praying...except that God served up our forgiveness first! 

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

Genesis 6:5 informs us that when we are left to ourselves we will chase our sins until it kills us--we've been freed, in Christ, from the consequence of sin, but we need to be freed from it's control as well.  Jesus is our master, our "debts" have been forgiven, and we live with Him, but many of us "sit on the porch chasing every car that comes by--it's in our nature. It is our basic instinct to sin. Without restraint man will naturally do the very thing that will end his life. 

Keep us from deceiving ourselves.

This is a prayer or protection for our souls from the very thing that almost killed us forever, sin. 

The only thing more attractive than our sin is God's grace and His mercy He's had on us. 

The world, the flesh and the devil will convince us of everything that God doesn't want us to believe. The devil doesn't care what you do, as long as you don't love Jesus. The only virtue sin has is its emptiness but for some reason, we are drawn to it. 

You abuse your body, abuse your heart, lust, worship your "idol" of the week, have deep discontentment, and discontentment with the fact that your heart is discontent, you repent, but take pride that you repented, and then repent of your repentance and hope God noticed how well you knew your sin...Who will deliver us from lives like that?

Jesus did. 

When we say Amen we are just as well signing a contract, we are committing, we are agreeing. 

Think about what we are agreeing to--

To call the God of the universe our Heavenly Father

To keep His name holy and set apart

To live for and desire His kingdom

To tell others about the return of the King

To let Him be the pilot, the co-pilot, and the air traffic control

To submit to His will

To content myself with daily bread

To ask for only enough today to keep me dependent on Him tomorrow

To measure out forgiveness the way He measured it to me

To have Him restrain my natural tendencies towards sin

To "protect me from the world, the flesh, and the devil

and to that you say, "amen, amen, and amen"

Something super exciting happened during our free time one day! We won our first sporting event at RYM! (at least since I've been going). Our volleyball team did some kind of awesome!

Look at these winners! So proud of our Lakeland team pulling out a W for us. 

Loved having this beautiful lady as a chaperon with us this year!

The ever so delicious Wednesday night BBQ.

Every church that comes to RYM is assigned a meal to either serve/clean up after or do both.

Thursday night is the "night out" at RYM where the groups get to go out and eat, shop, see a movie, whatever they please. Our group makes this night extra special and we give it a theme and then everyone (most everyone) dresses up accordingly. Some of our guys are still "too cool" for that. ;) This year's theme was cosplaying and/or superheros.

To end the week, RYM puts on a big ole' dance on the beach.
I love it and the youth love it just as much!

I am so thankful for the week I got to spend with the youth hearing wonderful teaching, singing amazing songs, having fun, playing on the beach, and worshiping together.

I want to end with this awesome video.

 Hearing hundreds of student's proclaim that they "are bound for the promised land" tops the charts of wonderful things to happen this past week!
What a joy it is to serve such a gracious, good God that gives us that promise!