I had a wonderful weekend. It was long and crazy but it was great. So I'll cover that in a series of posts. This post is about the retreat I went on with my youth group Friday night.
We had a great time and a phenomenal speaker. He was so good. So I thought I'd share with you a few take-aways from that.
His theme was "The Resurrection Life."
1. Our culture does not indicate the belief that Christ has risen from the grave. Americans are no longer following God as they used to. Our world is selfish, materialistic, and empty. All of these things are a result of the fall. It's hard to be a Christian and find that balance of being "in" and not "of." It's difficult to not let yourself be hollowed-out, numb, downcast, and discouraged. Sometimes it is hard for me to find God in the midst of all of this. It's hard to keep my face to the light and see hope. But- we are living for something GREATER than this world!! We are not living for this world but for our Savior! We are being commissioned to go out and do His work in this darkened world. We are living for something greater than this life. Much much greater. And all because our Savior conquered the grave do we have that hope of eternal life in a place where there are no more tears and no more suffering. So because our Jesus has risen we can find hope and joy in spreading the light of His redeeming love.
2. The next few thoughts come from Philippians 3: 7-14, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
- One of the benefits of following Christ is we have a specific destination. We do not need to wander around aimlessly because we have been given a goal and a call!
- In order to succeed in this journey of following Christ we must have an undivided heart. This was a really convicting thought for me as I know that my heart is not completely devoted to my Savior. I choose things of this world and my own selfishness over serving Him wholeheartedly.
3. During devotionals I wrote another poem. Surprise surprise lol. I was just praying and reflecting on who God is and what that means for me. I wrote it as though God is speaking to me, His daughter.
Trust me
I have overcome the grave
Trust me
I am mighty to save
Trust me
With your life, dreams, your all
Trust me
I will never let you fall
Hold fast
To the hope I give today
Hold fast
For I'm the only way
Hold fast
To the grace I freely give
Hold fast
And you may truly live
Believe
You are a daughter of the King
Believe
It is over you I sing
Believe
That You are my delight
Believe
I'll never let you out of sight
Find joy
In the promises I bring
Find joy
In every simple thing
Find joy
In what I have in store
Find joy
Daughter, sorrow is no more!
I feel like this poem sums up what it is God is teaching me, and who I am in Him.
Molly 4/18/09
So that was my retreat and what God spoke to me!!
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