Bluesky 13: Session 2

This week I had a cabin of 10 4th and 5th graders from very diverse backgrounds.  On Sunday night in our cabin devotional, it was clear that only one or two of them were Christians.  Many of them had very bizzare and confused beliefs, from forms of mixed polytheism, to relativistic spirit ism. Sometimes these beliefs included some warped image of Jesus, sometimes not.  A few didn't have belief of any sort.

Despite this challenging environment, the Holy Spirit really worked to confirm His word in many of their hearts.  By Tuesday night, when I asked them again if they believed Jesus was the Son of God, 9 out of 10 of them said that he probably was.  On Wednesday night we had the cross talk and explained the gospel to them.  After this, I got to have several awesome conversations with these campers.

One of them actually balled as he explained how amazing it was for God to love him so much that he died for him.  It's amazing to be a part of revealing the depths of God's grace to others!

Another started our conversation by explaining that he thought it was nice that Christ had died for him, but he didn't think that it was necessary for his "small" sins.  I got to explain why even our smallest sins earn us eternal punishment and after some difficult questions, he saw that he too needed Jesus.  I pray that God continues to give him a more accurate revelation of himself so that this child may know him in truth.

Another child was a very devout Jew, raised in Israel, fluent in Hebrew, and very knowledgable of the Torah.  All week, as we talked often about trusting Jesus, he would constantly ask, "What if you trust in God, but not in Jesus?" During our conversation, we talked more about who Jesus was and what his purpose was.  We also talked about how he would ultimately have to choose what to believe separately from his parents.  He told me that understood this, and though he didn't have the strength to do this yet, he might one day come to believe in Jesus.  As he continues to come to camp over the years, he will be given the opportunity to take this step!

Another boy came in saying that he used to believe in God, but now he believed in science.  Since I study a heavy science field and I could talked with him a lot about the science topics he was interested in, he knew he could trust me as I explained how science couldn't take the place of God.  In our continuing conversations, he asked a lot of questions and I did my best to answer them.  I shared with him Jeremiah 29:13, which says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." I promised him that if he would seek God with all his heart, that he would find Him, and told him how God demonstrated this in my life.  He said that he didn't care how long it took, but he would do this with all his heart!

Lastly, I talked with my camper from Session 1, who was in a different cabin this week.  On the first night of camp on session 1, he told me that he was sure that he was headed to hell.  On that Wednesday night, we talked about Romans 10:9 which says, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that Gid raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  He told me that though he believed that God raised Jesus from the dead, he was not able to die to himself in order to confess Christ as Lord and that it would take more time.  At the end of session 2, he told me that he was ready to confess Christ as Lord!

In the coming three weeks, the team will be spending a bit of time in Nairobi, a few weeks in Massailand, and a few days in Mombassa before coming back to camp.  Pray that we can accomplish God's purpose for us during this time and bring hope to people who desperately need it.

Bluesky 13: Session 1

This week, I got to be a counselor for some 7th and 8th grade boys.  The first night the campers opened up about where they were with the Lord.  Although they all came from Christian or semi-Christian backgrounds, several of them admitted that they were living in sin and acknowledged their separation from God.  Some said they knew they would go to hell if they died now.

As their counsellor, I felt that this was an awesome start to the week since it is impossible to understand the gospel without understanding our own sinfulness.  As the week progressed, we talked more about the goodness, holiness, and value of God. We even talked a bit about His wrath.  Then on Wednesday, we talked about the cross, and what it means in the context of our own treacherous actions.  The Holy Spirit truly worked through His word.

Several boys said that they understood  the gospel for the first time, and one boy accepted Christ for the first time!!!  Another boy repented from some of the sin in his life. Several prayed to be filled with the Spirit.  One of the boys told me that he finally understood the the best thing he could do with his life was glorify God for God's sake alone rather than his own sake!  The Holy Spirit revealed to him the truth of Mark 8:35.

(me and my campers from Session 1)

The week has also been neat because I have gotten a chance (during my very limited free time) to reflect and see how much I've grown in three years.  I can notice in my patience and wisdom in dealing with kids as well as my confidence in sharing the gospel.  It makes me thankful for those who have built me up and for the Holy Spirit's work in me.

This coming week I will have 4th and 5th graders mostly from the international school of Kenya. Many of them will be children of businessmen and diplomats from around the world.  Most have probably never heard the gospel.  Pray for me and for their hearts, that they me understand the love of God and that they may find life in Jesus.

Kenya 13: Week 1

Hello everyone!

I thought I would give everyone an update on how my trip to Kenya is going and how you can be praying for me.  For those of you who did not know, I am spending 10 weeks of my summer in Kenya volunteering as a camp counsellor and doing various short term projects.  

My trip began on May 23, and I will be back on August 1.  Today was the last day of staff training and tomorrow will be the first day of camp.  

This past week has been filled with training, team building, and fellowship between counselors.

(me and a fellow counsellor, John Allen from Texas)

This has really been a blessing to me, as I went into this trip not knowing any of my fellow team members beforehand.  We've prayed together, learned together, and spiritually and emotionally prepared ourselves and each other for camp.

This coming week, starting tomorrow, I will have a cabin of 8th grade boys.  Most of them will be missionary kids or kids with strong Christian parents.  However, many of them will not have made their faith their own.  Also, many of them struggle with their cultural identity.  They don't completely fit in in Kenya, but they also don't fit in in the US or wherever they are from.

Pray that they will experience the weight of the gospel and be challenged to follow Christ for themselves.  Pray also that I may be able to love them well and speak what they need to hear.  Pray throughout the summer that my heart would be continually transformed into that of a servant.   Thank you. God bless!

(view from the camp's rock climbing site)

The Holy Spirit's Anointing

What I am about to tell you is a really crazy story.  I don't know how to explain it, quantify it, or reason with it, and none of that matters to me.  What does matter is that it happened.

10/23/2011 (around 10:30 PM)

Seventeen months ago (to the day) I began praying for the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit to manifest itself in my life.  Today that prayer was answered.

On that day, May 23, 2010, the day traditionally celebrated as Pentecost and the day before I began my mission trip to Kenya I was given a divine appointment from God with a man who had been anointed by the Holy Spirit and inspired me to give serious consideration to the possibility of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible and a direct encounter with the Holy Spirit to become a part of my life.  Ever since then, my desire and prayer for these gifts have increased.  I have come away disappointed many times after asking God to anoint me with the Spirit but I was persistent and unwilling to give up on the idea that what was possible in the early church should be possible for me today.  Many of those times I thought that I had just neglected sanctification too much in my life and that is why God had not given me the experiences I had asked for.  But today, it happened.

Drew Martin, my roommate and ever so dear friend had been sharing recently an example of the power of God in his life that had completely destroyed lust in his life.  This is amazing gift and manifestation of the Holy Spirit in and of itself, but it fails to compare with what it would result in.  I have recently begun to experience a far stronger hatred for lust than normal, but so often I had failed to over come it through prayer or will.  I saw the work God had done in Drew's life and wanted it for myself, so that I could be purer and more holy and more pleasing to God.  I knew that some gifts of the spirit are passed on by the laying on of hands, so today when we were together in the apartment after watching the Princess Bride at Lauren's I asked Drew if he would come into my room, lay his hands on me, and pray that God would give me the same gift of complete freedom from lust.  What followed was indescribable.  I will try to describe it anyway.

Around a minute into his prayer the Holy Spirit came into the room.  I don't mean to suggest that He wasn't there before, but I do mean to say that came into the room giving us an experience of his holiness, love, and power in far greater magnitude and quality that either of us have ever dreamed of experiencing.  As He entered, I began breathing very deeply and trembling, paralyzed at His presence.  Drew felt the same and began to acknowledge the Spirit in the room in his prayer.  He was praying much louder than at first and couldn't control it.  Soon I began to feel Drew's hands on my back become hotter and hotter.  I thought that if God wanted to, he could use those hands to melt into me and kill me.  Even more impressive than the sensations was the overwhelming feeling of simultaneous joy and fear at His presence.  I now understand by experience the fear people had from angels and how joy and fear can be felt so easily together in the presence of God.  The entire event was amazing and crazy.  We were being anointed by the Holy Spirit.  I must say that this baptism was much cooler than the one with water.  After about 10-15 minutes the Spirit settled down on me though Drew continued to experience it for around 5 more minutes.  We then sat together marveling at the beauty and terror of God's presence and the amazing gift we had been given.  Then we read a few passages of Scripture that speak of the Holy Spirit and its gifts and power.  We have truly experienced the power of God and will never be the same.  This is one of the most important things that has ever happened to me.  I will not forget it.

This all sounds crazy.  The most amazing part of it was not that God can reveal himself to people, but that He chose to reveal Himself to me.  I'm just a kid who splashes around in spiritual puddles far more than I dig deep wells in God's love.  However,  I am so thankful and truly blessed.

What is even greater than this, based on the scriptures and stories of other people's encounters I am led to believe that this may only be the beginning.  God will probably manifest His power in us in other ways soon.  I am excited and eagerly anticipate seeing what God will do next.  I am His lowly servant, I pray that He will use me.

The Choice Has Been Made

Christianity really is different.

Sometimes I wonder how I stumbled into as close a relationship with You as I have (not that it's anything impressive for my sake).  It often seems like a lot of trouble.  It'll feel like You're stretching me too far for my own good.  Sometimes it even feels like I have no business trying to do what I'm trying to do.  After all, it is hard to imagine that I could really make a difference in Your enormous plans.

Plus it causes me stress and even grief on a daily basis.  It's the enemy's world out there and living in it with other people living in it while still trying not to be of it often seems like a worthless pursuit.  On top of all the other pressures of being a student and a person I'm supposed to be an example and a light to my peers? It's not always the easiest thing to be motivated to do.

Also, being in the presence of sin does a lot to a person whether they're actually tempted by it or not.  I remember being a freshman and seeing the difference between the presence of sin on campus and at home and the difference wore on me daily.  Just because I spend less time in the presence of this sort of sin does not exempt me from living in this world and being constantly more aware of the sin inside and outside of me.

Not to mention that some of the primary (though ill-founded) reasons I began to take Christianity seriously in the first place no longer exist.  And much of my motivation to be found deeper in You still remains suspect. Whether it be Christian friendships, religious pride, or even the enjoyment of having theological discussions, all present a temptation for me to feign my relationship with You, sometimes without my own awareness of doing so.


But You Lord, have a plan for all of this.  Even though I fall, fail, miss the point, and am unable to purify my own mind, You love me.  You have placed infinite worth on my life by paying for it an infinite price.  Nothing in all creation can change this love You have for me.  Thank You.

When I look back on my life I hope that I can say truthfully that I did everything for one reason alone: because I love You so much and because You loved me first and died to save me.

Certainly nothing else is worth it.


But with my pathetic human wisdom and my pathetic human commitment I lose focus so quickly and cannot see the true worth of Your love.  I end up subconsciously falling back on insufficient reasons.  I have no doubt that in Your sight it is as some sort of idolatry or hypocrisy.

Change my heart and make it all about You.  Then it becomes truly worth it.

The choice has been made.

There is no looking back.

I have stepped over the line.

I will not let up,

back up,

give up,

or shut up.

My focus is clear.

My path straight.

My God reliable.

I am a disciple of Christ.

May I be able to claim these words.

God of Heaven

Having not yet updated my blog since my summer plans have been secured, it's time that I refresh everyone on the basic details of my life.  I'm currently working as the youth intern for my home church FBC Augusta.  I get to work with my youth group discipling in various ways as well as help plan big events like camp, DNow, ect.  I have already gotten to experience many of the reasons God has put me here this year.

I hope to let you in on some of those some other time, but I mainly want to leave you with something else for now.

I know that it's a cool thing to do to put some song lyrics on your blog.  I wasn't so sure about this fad, but when I first heard this song from our youth's choir last Sunday, it truly inspired me and I wanted to share this.  It really captures for me the greatness of God.  I encourage you to open up this link in a new tab: God of Heaven to listen to the song while you read the lyrics.

God of Heaven
by Heather Sorenson


God of Heaven, God of all the earth and sky.Master of all nature.
Who gives birth to snow from heaven,
Holds the waves at ocean's edge,
Gives the orders to the morning,
Shows each dawn its place to shine?
God of Heaven, God of all the earth and sky.

God of Ages, God who wrote the Book of Time.
Sovereign Ruler, Alpha and Omega.
Saints before, He's guided safely.
History's pages signed by Him.
Author of our days and hours;
Things to come are held secure.
God of Ages, Alpha and Omega.

God of Power!  God who breaks the darkness.
Righteous Warrior, Champion of His children,
Goes before us into battle;
Good and evil bow to Him,
Those in bondage freed forever,
Victories won at  His command!

God who heals us, God who gives us peace and hope.
God who listens, Carries all our fragile
Dreams and heartaches, wins and failures;
Binds the broken; hides the weak.
New beginnings freely offered;
Who can make us whole again?
God who heals us, God of Power,
God of Ages, God of Heaven,
God of all the earth and sky.



Because God is challenging me in new (and completely unexpected to be honest) ways, it is great that I can lean on Him to be so Great when I'm not.


"This is what the LORD says,
'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight

declares the LORD

Jeremiah 9:23-24

4 Questions: Part 1

The most important thing about a man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.  We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.           A. W. Tozer

Last week at NavNight, the speakers challenged us with 4 questions in order to give each of us a better understanding of our own faith.  I decided that this would be a really interesting exercise to try here and could also give my friends a look into my faith.  So here goes...

1.  What attribute of God is most real to you?

It's really tempting for me to say something like His unconditional love or His faithfulness to his promises.  Even though those attributes are probably better, I think that the one that is most heartfelt for me is God's wisdom.  

"By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,

by understanding he set the heavens in place;"

Proverbs 3:19

One of the reasons I chose wisdom is because I feel like I've experienced it for a longer time than any of the others.  Even as a child, I was fascinated by the wonder of God's creation, and I took every opportunity to learn more about it and became quickly concerned with its accurate explanation and understanding.  Even now I see the understanding of God's creation a holy task, because in it we see the His wisdom.

Just as God's was wise in the way He planned the universe (if you can say that a being not limited by time plans), He is wise in planning my life.  Even without mentioning Jeremiah 29:11, (which when read in context only applies to Israel) we have an even greater promise that everything will work for our good.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28

Just imagine the wisdom it takes to make everything work for our good.  My wisdom isn't even sufficient to see how things are working for my good let alone making them work for my good.  Even worse, half the time, my own desires are not for my own good.

If I were asked what quality I pray for most, it would also be wisdom.  I see so many times where my understanding is inadequate, or even more telling, when I look back at my actions and see my foolishness in them.  Actions are a much bigger part of wisdom than we often think.  Jesus even said, "But wisdom is proved right by her actions."  Matthew 11:19  I want God to impart to me His wisdom, and the actions to back it up.

2.  What attribute of God is least real to you?


During NavNight I answered this question with passion, but I'd like to change my terminology to zeal.  I am changing it because in the Bible, passion is always associated with sinful desires; zeal is the quality that is associated with God.

"I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name."  Ezekiel 39:25


Zeal, which I will define as energetic and unrelenting enthusiasm for God's name, is the one quality that I struggle with the most.  It is a manifestation of the joy that is found in God.  Because I approached my faith so rationally and methodically towards the beginning, I fail so often in the realm of enthusiasm.  This is sad because it is even a commandment in the Bible.

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the LORD."  Romans 12:11


Although this is the quality that I struggle with the most, it is also the one that I have seen the most growth in recent years.  Much of this is because of a few key relationships that I formed in high school with people who's zeal was contagious.  Enthusiasm is almost by definition contagious and one of the main ways that I try to compensate is by spending my time around people who have it.  That is one of the reasons that I am so thankful for the great friends that I have around me, elevating my spiritual fervor.    Of course, I owe most/all of my growth in this area to God.  Zeal is very difficult to fake and every bit of it that I have can only come from Him giving it to me.

Now I want to talk a bit about how these two qualities are supposed to interact.  First, one caveat from Proverbs.

"It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way." Proverbs 19:2


This means that our zeal should be based on wisdom.  In other words it does no good to have zeal if it isn't based on knowledge.  But also notice that this verse treats zeal as the end and knowledge as the means, which means that zeal is one of the purposes of knowledge and not the other way around.  It is just as bad (if not worse) to posses the knowledge and not use it for its purpose.  We must have zeal and wisdom; spirit and truth.

"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and truth."  John 4:24