Teacheable Moment at Unity Chirstian Music Festival

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind.
¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment,
    including every hidden thing,
    whether it is good or evil.

The other day at Unity Christian Music Festival, where Camp Living Waters had the privilege of setting up a display and promoting camp to thousands of people. I felt like I needed to take a walk. I headed over near the main stage and watched the group that was performing. God revealed a great teachable moment to me. I was leaning against the tree listening to the worship and people watching. I greeted several acquaintances and was searching the crowd for friends. I saw a couple walking down the sidewalk coming toward me. The women pulled something out of her pocket and a wad of money fell to the ground behind her. She kept walking and headed to her seat. I decided to watch and see what would happen. A teenage boy and his girl friend were walking along about 20 feet behind the women who dropped the money. The boy looked around picked up the money and put it in his pocket and headed past where I was standing. I said "the money you just picked up and put in your pocket belongs to the women standing over there". She was now looking for the money that she had lost. The boy looked at me and said yea I was going to take it over to the lost and found and he handed it to me. There was well over $100 in the folded  bills he handed me. I walked over to the women and gave her money back to her. She was very grateful.

As I reflected on the situation several thoughts came to mind.

1. Did the boy feel any remorse or regret for trying to keep the money that he saw fall from the ladies pocket?
2.  Did his girl friend say anything to him?
3. How many other people saw this unfold and did nothing?
4. Was there a time in my life that I would have done the same thing?
5. Who is watching me when I think no one is around?

I really don't know what the boy was thinking, but I do know that he saw the money drop from the women's pocket and put it in his with the intention of keeping it. He then lied when he was caught by saying he was going to take it to lost and found. I hope that God worked in his life that night by reminding him of what he did and that the next time faced with the same temptation that he would choose the right choice and return the money to the women himself. I would have loved to be able to sit and watch to see what would have happened if I had not intervened. I did not see if the girlfriend talked to her boy friend about his actions. I needed to get the money back to the woman before I lost her in the crowd. I wish I could have taken the time to talk with the boy.

Then I got to thinking that scripture says that God is always watching us. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. He knows what we are doing good or bad. We will be judged for everything we have done. I am also thankful that Christ died for me that I might be forgiven if I trust in Him.

check out more of what happened at Unity Christian Music Festival through their Facebook.

God's Provision of Hay!

I love to see the body of Christ at work. Living and working at a Christian ministry full time we get to see God orchestrate His plan and work in peoples lives on a daily basis. If we take the time to slow down and look we can all see God at work everyday.

Last year hay prices went through the roof. We were paying over $7.00 a bail at times. We need around 3,000 bales each year to feed Camp Living Waters horses. We are always looking for hay. This past winter I had a friend approach me from Mount Hope UB Church and said that they have a field that is not being used and that their small group from church wanted to plant and bail hay and give it to camp. There was a slight problem no one in the small group had equipment to mow, rake and bail the hay. They sought out local people to help with their project and bailed around 450-500 bails of hay. Then came the next challenge, moving 500 bails of hay from Carson City, Michigan to Camp Living Waters. I prayed and God put our friends from Kilpatrick Church on my mind. I called and asked if they would have trailers we could use to haul hay. A little while later I got a call that they had 3 trucks and trailers and 8 guys to come and help load and unload the hay. Everyone working on this project donated their time, talents and treasure to make this happen. It was all about honoring God and being good stewards of what he entrusts us with.

God took one man's idea and brought over 20 people together to provide hay for horses that will help over 80 campers this summer grow closer to God. While freeing up $3,500 of God's money to keep prices down so more campers can come to Camp Living Waters.

So, if you feel God nudging you to do something and you start to doubt you can make it happen. Move forward share your dream and your needs, and God will provide what you need to reach your dream.

Becoming John 3:16 Billboards

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 is one of the most recognized verses in the Bible. Most kids who have set foot in a church know this verse. You see it on bilboards, T-shirts, and at almost any sporting event you can see the sign held up some place in the stands. My prayer is that I can be a John 3:16 billboard. That when people see me I am pointing them toward Jesus. 

 

I have a 5 year old son named Brayden.Brayden sticks out in his classroom, because he is as big as most the 3rd graders. Not only is he huge he is also autistic and kind of talks funny. So he gets a lot of stares and gets made fun of at times. Even adults expect more out of Brayden because he is big. Trips to the store often earns us plenty of stares, looks and people shaking their heads.

But Brayden has some really cool things going for him. He loves Jesus. Jesus calms him and he knows Jesus helps him through hard times. We pray at bedtime and when we don’t Brayden struggles going to sleep. When we pray for him his mind slows down and sleeps almost instantly. We pray in the morning waiting for the bus and we ask Jesus to help him through the day. Brayden is starting to pray on his own. The other day he told his mom that he wanted to pray for the mean kids on the bus and then he did it. It is awesome to see him praying for me his mom and other people. Not when we ask him to, but when he feels led.

Brayden is the most caring and compassionate kid in his school. He is the first to help someone when they are hurt or drop something. He now gets hugs from all the other kids when he walks down the hall. He took a new kid on the bus back to the mean kids and said this is my new friend. He is new and don’t be mean to him. Brayden gets it. Brayden in his own way is living the way Jesus wants us to live. Although Brayden has not accepted Jesus in his heart, that we know of. He knows that he needs Jesus to make it through the day. Brayden knows he can’t do it on his own.  And neither can you or I. I am not a good person without Jesus in my life. He has changed me and he wants to change you.
 

When we accept the gift of Jesus he starts to make changes in our lives and we start to become like him. We should become billboards that point people to Jesus. We should be living John 3:16 signs at sporting events, to our neighbors and in our places of work. We also get to live with Jesus for eternity in heaven.

Circleing Circles

The staff at Camp Living Waters have been doing a study of the book Circle Maker by Batterson. It is a book about praying circles around your biggest dreams and greatest fears. It has been helping expand our thoughts on prayer.

 

We have been praying circles around camp, finances, staffing, building projects, campers, and friends battling cancer. We have seen God's hand at work in all these areas.

 

On the weekend of March 8th we were blessed to be serving the Elders from Banner of Christ UB Church. Saturday afternoon they blessed us by praying circles around ours. They prayed all over camp. It was a huge blessing and encouragement to our staff to see a retreat group taking the time to pray all over camp for the things we had been circling in prayer.  Thank you Banner Elders and thank you God for the answers you have given and those still to come.



Banner of Christ UB Church Elders

 

True Friends

“As soon as he was finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”             1 Samuel 18:1

How many friends do you have on Facebook? One hundred? Two hundred? A thousand? More? Now, think about why they are listed as your friend. Are they actually someone with whom you discuss issues of life, or take advice from? Can you describe those people, including their likes/dislikes, goals in life, struggles they are dealing with? Maybe you can, or maybe you have been sucked into trying to see how many people you can have listed as your “friend”.

It feels good to have lots of “friends”, but if you really needed help, how many of them would be able to come to your aid? There are lots of relationships in our lives. There are relationships that you have no control over, like your family. There are relationships that are not good influences in our lives. And there are relationships that we would be wise to keep. As Christians, we are called to be friendly towards all people, but friends with a few.

True friendships require a lot of work. A lot of time, energy, and investment go into them, so we can’t afford to have tons of friendships. They are carefully cultivated from the ground up. They are the people that we confide in and share our happy, sad, frustrated, and disappointed times with. They are the people we turn to for advice. When we need help, they are there for us.

Read 1 Samuel 18-20. A great Biblical example of one of these friendships is between David and Jonathan. What attributes do you like about David and Jonathan’s relationship? Are there people in your life that are like Jonathan? How many people can you call your true friend? If you can’t think of anyone, maybe you need to answer this question, “Who are your real friends?”

The Light Summons Saul to go All In

The Light

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way,  men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” Acts 9:1-5

Light has an amazing affect on things as it reveals to us the reality of situations. A doctor uses light to look down your throat the same way a dentist looks for cavities using a light or a mechanic looks at an engine. A common saying is that things are “brought to light.” We have to go through something similar with God, having all of our old life brought to the light in order to see where we are falling short.

Saul, later re-named Paul, was a murderer of Christians before he ever came to know Jesus. This passage is the pivotal point, in which, Jesus changes one of the greatest persecutors of that time. Jesus is calling Saul out, revealing his flaws. Meanwhile, Jesus is revealing His own power to the amazement of Saul and his companions. In the same moment, Jesus is beginning to light the way for Saul.

Camp gets very dark after the sun goes down. I’ve found myself nearly on the ground many times when I don’t have a light of some sort to help me along the way. Without a flashlight, I could end up anywhere! This is exactly what Jesus is trying to do for Saul, and you, light the way to life. Will you let Jesus light your way?

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

Blind!

And he said, “Who are you Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Acts 9:5-9

Light also has another effect on us from time to time. Going from darkness to light suddenly can blind us as our eyes adjust. It can even be a bit painful. When God suddenly reveals His glory to us, it also reveals our short-comings. This is a painful process that we need to go through in order to come closer to Him.

Saul rises to find that he is completely blind! How scary is that?! He hears the voice of Jesus telling him simply to go into the city and wait for directions. It takes a lot of faith on his part to do it because he’s been persecuting the followers of Jesus. Not only is he following orders from the Jesus whom not seconds before he was hating, but is now also blind and has to fully trust that God knows what is best.

We go through a very similar process when we become Christians.  God reveals His glory and we respond by following Him. Then we go through a period where we don’t know how to do something He’s asking us to do. We are, in essence, blind.

The key here is that Saul didn’t just give into woe and become a blind beggar on the streets. He simply trusted and did as he was asked. You see, God is going to ask you to follow Him to places that you may not understand or even see the purpose of. It is your choice to either become a blind beggar or follow God’s lead.

All In

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name?” Acts 9:19-21

So Saul goes into the city and waits for further direction, as Jesus had told him to. A man named Ananias receives a vision telling him to find Saul and lay hands on him for healing. Saul has such a horrible reputation that Ananias is shocked and asks him if this is the same Saul that had been killing Christians. The Lord’s answer in Acts 9:15—16 is really cool here, ‘But the Lord said to him (Ananias), “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”’

Saul had made so many suffer for the name of Jesus and now it was his turn. Now we know that Saul later became Paul who wrote a large portion of the New Testament and suffered in horrible ways for the name of Jesus. The great thing is this; There is such an awesome testimony to God’s power when a man who hates Jesus, comes to Him and gives up his life for Christ.

Even after all that he’d done to kill Christians, he immediately began proclaiming Jesus to the temple! He, of all people, knew that the persecutors were seeking to kill Christians, yet as soon as God’s glory was revealed, and he regained his sight, he went all in. There was no hesitation in Saul, he simply knew what he had to do. Our hope and prayer is that as you begin to follow Him, you’ll go all in for Jesus.

Following at a Price

Following at a Price

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” Matthew 4:18-19

Picture yourself out on a fishing boat, just doing your job. When someone comes up to you and asks you to leave your job and then follow him, would you do it? Would you be able to give up your job, your home, your family, just to follow someone you don’t know that well? Not knowing what would lay ahead for him, and not truly grasping what it would cost him, Peter decided he would give up his life to follow Jesus.

Peter had known Jesus for about a year at this point in his lifetime, but it’s still remarkable that he would willingly give up everything. Because Peter had faith that Jesus was the Messiah, he found the decision to follow Jesus fairly easy. Over the course of his life, Peter would do amazing things for God. He would continue to follow God, even to the point where he gave up his life for Him.

Over the course of His ministry, Jesus had other people that would follow Him to a certain point, but then would desert Him at the smallest sign of trouble or disagreement. In Luke 9:57-62 some people tell Him they will follow Him, but only after they have finished business back home first. However, Jesus tells them that in order to follow Him, they must drop everything and follow without looking back to the old life.

Are there things in your life that are keeping you back? Maybe you are afraid of what lies ahead. Maybe you just want to wait until you are older and better equipped to handle following after Jesus. But just as Peter, who was an uneducated fisherman, did miraculous things later in life, it only came from daily following after Jesus.

Take time today to pray and ask God to help you let go of those things holding you back and give you courage to follow after Him, no matter what the price will be.