How, then, can they call on the name of the one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?

Sunday, November 17, 2013

It was a bit of a reality check arriving in Florida to an incredibly humid, rainy Saturday. Especially because I had spent the past week in the beautiful autumn of Talladega, Alabama where the air was crisp and cool. I was loving wearing my boots and scarves and hiking on the trails. Also, I enjoyed having a full bed to myself which was firmly planted on the ground, as opposed to the questionable stability of my top bunk, and its groanings whenever I moved.
We traveled about 8 hours by van to AL for the annual YWAM Southeast Conference, where many bases in the region come together for a week of teaching worship and fellowship.
Jim Stier spoke for the week and focused on the Kingdom of God. One thing he said that really struck me was "we often focus on getting from earth to heaven rather than bringing heaven down to earth." It is such a good reminder of the reality that we are called to bring and establish the Kingdom of God on earth. 
I've been struck over and over by the incredible revelation that God wants to use us. God wants to use me to bring the Kingdom, to heal the sick, to save the lost. God doesn't need us. Because of love, he desires relationship and uses us to bring people to Him. Aaah. Just gets me every time. 
Isn't it so incredible that God doesn't just love us to love us. He loves us to love others. He doesn't just heal us and make us whole so we can experience freedom, but so that we can have the authority and power to bring freedom to others and all the world. 
I am so amazed every time by the forgiveness and kindness of God. In my DTS, we had a week on strongholds. This was a whole week where we identified areas where the enemy has a "strong-hold" in our lives. These things manifest themselves in more ways that I ever could have imagined. Pride, fear, passivity, unforgiveness and unbelief are just a few.
 I had a time on the last day in Talladega where I just came before God in surrender and rebuked the lies of the enemy in my life. I cried. Then I shouted from the mountain-top (I mean, I was on the the top of the hiking trail so kind of literally) declaring the victory of God and the defeat of the enemy. It's incredible the power of God when we surrender and bring sin into the light. I am so thankful for a God who desire for his children to be clean and whole and close to him. I am so amazed every time by the goodness and faithfulness he relentlessly displays in my life. Life is better unhindered.
Sorry if my posts always seem a little preachy, but I do want you to feel a part of what God is doing in my life and what he's teaching me. I pray that you experience the fullness of God and pursue all that he has. It's incredible, let me tell you.