Today while I was out running I suddenly became overwhelmed by emotion. So much so, that I has to stop running and walk. It was about halfway into my run I was feeling great, then all of the sudden, emotion. I began to think of God. Where I have been, what He has taught me, where he has brought me. I know He is writing a story, a poem, of my life, if I will but let him lead the way. This past weekend I attended a camp and ran into an old friend of the family who does quite a bit of missionary work. He began talking to my brother and I about knowing the Lord's will. The key he said is to be willing. To go where He wants you to go, to be what He wants you to be. God convicted my heart there and then that I needed to be willing. I sort of knew this before, but now it was made really clear to me. If you want to be used of God you must be willing to go where he sends. It does NOT mean you stand still and do nothing, It does mean that you are watching for His guidance in what you may think are the mundane things of life.
There was a special speaker at the camp. He talked about salvation. What it means to disciple your sons as younger brothers. Also, what it means to be a "standard bearer" and what it means to be and "image bearer". Standard bearers do what they do so that others may see how well they match the required standard (or what is perceived as the required standard). Image bearers, on the other hand, bear in themselves the image of God.
Another thing the speaker spoke of was how to know if you or your son has experienced salvation. He called it the "great change". It is marked by brokenness over sin. Not just a mental assent to the truth of Christ as Savior, but a broken heart over the blackness of your sin compared to the beauty and character of God. He told of his own salvation, how he prayed the sinner’s prayer, and went up for renewal many times, but it was not until he was 29 that he experienced the "great change".
I first prayed the sinner’s prayer at age 6. I also re-committed multiple times, but it was not until age 14 that I experienced the "great change". All the sudden my hidden sin(s) hit me square in my face; I knew that I deserved the wrath of a righteous, holy God. It was a very painful time for me, as my sister and parents can attest, I honestly never want to repeat it again. But, up until that time, I was self-righteous; believing I could keep my little sins and still be a Christian (after all I could repent of them and be forgiven, right?). God wanted to free me from the bondage I was in. Christ never left me during that time, even though half the time I felt as if I would never find Him.
The speaker ended with "we serve a God who is living today, and who still works." He is the one who works in people to save them.
I hope that this post is a blessing to someone out there. God is living and alive and willing (quite willing) to save.
