Monday
It is such a blessing to be here among the leaders of our church. It is definitely an honor to meet these men and the families who stand behind them. It’s amazing how much wisdom they have yet how much they still have to learn. It’s also been great to see the different sides to them. It’s been cool to see the pastors laid back and having fun, wrestling and having water fights. We get to see what the Pastors are like on the other side of the pulpit. I think a lot of times people forget that pastors are still real people. This retreat helped me realize that. They definitely deserve this retreat. I’m gaining a new respect for pastors.
Today, we ended our first meeting early so Elder Gallimore decided to use the extra time we had to have a testimony session. It was a time for anyone to share a testimony or a verse that had encouraged them. It was also a time to sing songs. It was such a blessing to hear the different testimonies and bible promises and to sing the songs that portrayed the way God had been leading us thus far. There was one testimony that stuck out to me. I don’t think I’ll forget it for a long time. One of the pastors stood up to share a testimony. I am pretty familiar with this pastor. I went to school with his daughter and I am very familiar with his preaching. I was surprised to hear him stand up and pour out his heart telling us that he was struggling with God and that he’s been tempted to quit the ministry. It was so touching to see him so vulnerable. I know for a fact that he was speaking on behalf of at least half or even more of those pastors in that room. He had lost hope and even his spirituality. Instead of spending time on his knees pleading for his spirituality, he spent it watching TV and not giving his family the proper attention. He is still in the ministry by God’s grace and spiritually recuperating. Hearing his testimony reminded me that I need to keep our pastors in prayer because the devil is probably after them more than anyone being they are the leaders of our church.
I think I’m going to be so bold as to say that tonight probably played a huge part in my spirituality. Tonight, Louis Torres shared a presentation about Orion and different galaxies in the Universe. In the presentation, I learned of a planet called Arcturus. It is thousands of times bigger than the sun. The crazy thing is that Arcturus travels about 925,000 miles an hour through space. It’s been traveling at that speed since creation and the crazy thing is that it hasn’t collided with any stars or other planets. The thing is huge! It’s amazing to see how God keeps the universe in perfect motion. The presentation changed my perspective on things, including my own spirituality. God takes care of bigger things like keeping these planets from colliding and keeping them in harmony w/the rest of the galaxy. If he can keep the planets from colliding, surely he can keep my life under control. If only I would realize how big and powerful he really is. I really don’t have to bear my burdens alone but I do anyway because I don’t have faith believing that God really can relieve my loads. The thing is God can take care of them. He delights in doing so. The thing I still can’t grasp is the fact that after creating the whole universe and the wonderful things in it, he creates the earth and calls it, “very good.” Of the smallest of his creations, he’s so pleased with us. We are the apple of his eye. It is so humbling. I feel so small.
Today was the last day of the retreat and we were given a charge. To me, the charge challenged me to apply everything that I’d learned these past few days to my life from now on. After the Orion presentation I can’t live the same. How can people not believe that there is a God? It’s my job, my duty, my calling to tell people about the God of the Universe. Not of just the many galaxies and the things that we can see only through a telescope, but he’s the God of this world too. The crazy part is being the God of everything is not too much for him. The wonderful thing is that he delights in it. He takes pleasure in caring for his creation, especially us. Learning these things are going to change the way I live my life. I’ve been taking God for granted. Being at this retreat was like meeting God for the first time and realizing that I can’t live without him. Growing up Adventist can be tough because you take for granted the things that you’ve been learning since your childhood. I’ve always hated the fact that I thought this way. I know the Lord understood what I felt because he showed me what it’s like for unbelievers to believe for the first time. It’s a wonderful feeling. I want other people to experience these things for themselves.
Today I was on facebook, and I was looking at the profile of one of my childhood friends. I went to elementary school with her and I thought she was going to school in
Today was my first small group study since Christmas break. It was nice to see my group again. Tonight, the study was on the Sabbath. To my horror, the study was not going well at all. The girls weren’t understanding anything and for some reason my partner wasn’t able to explain anything clearly. All I could do was pray. We ended up going way over the time we usually do. At the end, my partner asked if anyone had any questions or comments. Both girls spoke up, asking questions about the parts they didn’t understand. My partner asked me if I could try to explain it to them. I sent up a quick prayer before I opened my mouth. I started to answer their questions and now I don’t remember half of what I said. One of the girls asked a question wondering why it mattered that we worship on Saturday or Sunday. She didn’t think it was that important. I started telling her about how God blessed the Sabbath and how the 24 hour period of the Sabbath is holy. I told her more of which I can’t remember now but after I explained it to them, one of the girls said, “Oh that makes sense. I guess I do believe in the Sabbath.” I almost died! I couldn’t believe it. Both girls finally understood and I could tell that they were thinking about it. Now they are in the stage where they think it’s inconvenient to switch from Sunday to Sabbath. I know for a fact that they were both convicted and I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work on their hearts.
Today I received a response from my elementary school friend at U of M. She told me that she’d love to get together and that she really wants to hear more about my ministry. I was not expecting that but I’m so glad the Holy Spirit told me to contact her. She gave me her phone number and we will be getting together soon. I hope she’ll be able to come to the evangelistic series and I hope to rekindle an old friendship. God is good!
I was reflecting on this past week and I would have to say that this has been the best week of my experience at CAMPUS so far. This week has been so transforming for me. God has been working on my heart and my perspective on evangelism and ministry has truly changed. Now I have a sense of urgency and a passion which is an answer to prayer because I’ve been praying for a change of attitude towards ministry for a long time. I’m glad he answered that prayer.
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