Saturday, January 1

brain=pudding

happy new year!
i'm back from encounter and it was ahmazing. getting to see all of my wonderful friends from school and project was wonderful. the worship was really really great too. and i feel like so much was mentioned and i learned a whole stinkin lot.
one thing that really struck me (and i think us all) was a presentation of a drama called 'the Bema seat.' it was about how in heaven we will receive reward for our service for Christ and his kingdom. that all our sin will not be seen, so it is not judgement in the traditional sense that implies condemnation. it's reward/recognition for things one has done to further the kingdom of God, for faith or not giving in to persecution, stuff like that. like i said, it is nothing about condemnation or bringing up all the things you've screwed up. but it does make you think about what eternal impact you're having. what your motivations are. the drama wasn't just about the judgement, but also about how much we'll be praising and worshipping God in heaven. like that all the people that got crowns threw them down before the throne. it was really thought provoking.
that plus all the other sessions and lessons were really great. i have a lot to process. things like asking myself what my motives really are for doing a lot of what i do. and we had some time to talk as a campus about what we want to bring back. and it all comes down to a heart issue. we can plan all the things in the world, but if our hearts aren't in it and we're not grasping the Holy Spirit and letting Him work through us, nothings gonna really happen.
there's so much. and my brain is pudding right now. from the overwhelming amount of thoughts and the lack of sleep. and it sounds weird, but i wonder if this brain pudding is kind of a blessing because i don't have the energy to think about all the things that crowd my brain.
the theme of the conference was 'your life changed changes the world.' something i really want to do is take the time to process and read over everything from this week and take it back. to think about my motivations before going through with something, to pray a whole lot, and to trust God with my life and let his Spirit control me. its a daily decision and living it out. so there's a lot on my brain.
one of my favorite songs from this week is 'our great God'
eternal God, unchanging, mysterious and unknown. your boundless love unfailing in grace and mercy shown. bright seraphim in ceaseless flight around your glorious throne, their voices raised both day and night in praise to you alone. hallelujah! glory be to our great God! hallelujah! glory be to our great God! Lord, we are weak and frail, helpless in the storm. surround us with your angles, hold us in your arms. our cold and ruthless enemy, his pleasure is our harm. rise up, oh Lord, and he will flee before our sovereign God. hallelujah! glory be to our great God! hallelujah! glory be to our great God! let every creature in the sea and every flying bird. let all the mountains, all the fields, and valleys of the earth. let all the moons and all the stars throughout the universe sing praises to the living God who rules them by His word. hallelujah! glory be to our great God! hallelujah! glory be to our great God!
another favorite is 'we are changed'
not any government on earth, no law that God has given, no will of man, no blood, no birth can raise a soul to heaven. we are changed, no longer in chains. once were enslaved but the Son has come and conquered the grave, so we are changed. we are changed, not by the things we've arranged, not by the works our hands have done. it's through your Son that we are changed.
good stuff.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You pegged my two favorite things about the week too!

The Bema Seat presentation was so humbling.

And that Fernando Ortega song is one of my all time faves. Loved hearing it again.