An Answer to Prayer

I'm so excited right now! I've been praying to God these past few weeks/months for Him to weigh my heart down with a particular passage of scripture. I feel that God is moving in my heart bringing out different passions and desires and I was looking for an encouraging word of scripture that could help affirm what I was feeling. Well, lately part of my reading time has consisted of me hopping around the Psalms reading old favorites and other much less familiar ones. And each time I would do this I would think about Psalm 119, but wouldn't want to start it as it's so long and whenever people hear its name they just groan. But today, I took the plunge and began to go through it... and it's just what I'd been praying for. If only I'd known that voice in the back of my head to read "the long one" had been God's gentle nudging.

Here is the part that really hit home the most from the 50 verses or so that I've tackled so far,

"How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Deal bountifully with your servant,
that I may live and keep your word.
Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
I am a sojourner on the earth;
hide not your commandments from me!"
Psalm 119: 9-19 (ESV)

The first two lines, verse 9, really jumped out and from there the passage continued to cry out to me. I felt like my heart and desires of what it is to be a person of God are right there. This is my prayer to God of who I want to be, as well as God speaking right back to me. These are my desires, or the desires I yearn for God to burden heavily on my heart. One sin I continuously have in my heart is that of underestimating God. This passage just shows how he can blow away your desires with something way better - better than what we flawed people could ever imagine. I love every time God does this. I only really got to verse 41, so I'll post more later when I've gotten farther in. And probably more on this passage, but sleeps is awaiting.

A Taste of Heaven

This weekend friends who I worked with at Camp two years ago came back to Illinois to celebrate the wedding of Kayla and Josh, two fellow colleagues and friends. Many stayed at my home for the weekend, and we had another of what we've come to call, "tastes of heaven." Christian friends coming from South Dakota, Florida, Indiana and Illinois were again able to fellowship together and praise Him for three short days. Then they left to go back home and once again we were separated by hundreds of miles. It was back to missing these beloved friends, sisters and brothers in Christ.

Sometimes it's hard to make people understand how dear these friends really are. Only having spent one summer together, I see the looks in peoples eyes as I describe the deep meaningful relationships that have formed and lasted from that summer at Camp Good News two years ago. But what they fail to realize is the power of the Holy Spirit to bond Christians together to further His kingdom. When Christians work together, diligently striving to glorify God's name, cool stuff happens. As Satan attacks the group again and again, God's love is shown to you through one person's servant heart, an others kind and uplifting note, etc. Together you become dependent on God's goodness to get through the day and not your own strength. It is these people who I miss.

And then today I realized that others will soon be added to this group of dear Christian brothers and sisters whose physical and spiritual presence I so miss. I'll soon be separated from those few close friends who together have striven to build up God's kingdom through Youth Group, bible studies, outreach ministries, as well as keeping each other accountable and focused on Christ. We've suffered through Satan's numerous attacks, and grown together in our realization of how great our God truly is.

As I head off to college, and these friends stay in town, hundreds of miles will separate me from even more of those who I've come to love in Christ. In a new town, a new school, and a new church, God is giving me an opportunity to discover and form Christian bonds with new citizens of His divine kingdom. This is the exciting part of my upcoming adventure. I get to meet new people who God called to be His workers. I get to build up His kingdom with new unique creations of God. I'm excited for this.

I'm also excited for heaven. Every time I get together with my friends from camp we realize that we're getting a little taste of heaven. Fellow believers from all over the world will get to fellowship and praise God for all eternity. What an amazing time that will be! And so I look towards heaven, when all my believing friends, those from both camp and home, and I - along with those we don't yet know - will get to celebrate God's grace together for all eternity.