It's hard to know where to begin talking about Disciple Now weekend. So much has happened in three days that it may take multiple posts to cover it all.
The students were awesome. My group of middle school boys were everything I thought they would be, from sweating and stinking to beating the crap out of each other with boxing gloves. Literally. We had two black eyes, three cut foreheads and a busted lip. And they loved it. They never once got mad at each other, they just kept on playing.
As you can see from the pictures on the right, nine boys have about the same power as a category 4 hurricane. And the same respect. Everything was fair game at Benji's house and, amazingly, there was no property loss.
I want to say thanks to all the leaders for doing a great job. I love and admire each of you and count it a blessing to serve with you. Knowing your hearts for our church and the student group is a source of strength and joy for me. You are truly the spirit of JGen.
I believe something wonderful happened this weekend. I prayed for D-Now for over two weeks that God would do something life-changing in someone's heart. That He would show Himself to someone and lead them closer to Him and His desires. I believe that miracle happened. I can't wait for the coming days as we hear testimonies about the ways God moved in people's hearts and lives.
For me, D-Now showed me alot. The most important of these being that God has me where He wants me. But He wants me to give more to it. He is doing marvelous things at SCBC and I praise Him for letting me be involved. But He also demands more from me. I need a more biblical way of living so that He can be seen.
Speaking of seeing God, at the New Year's service Benji challenged us to ponder what we wanted this year. I was immediately drawn to Job 42:5 which says,
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.
I believe I have seen God in 2008 in ways I never imagined. He has revealed Himself to me on a personal level and literally touched my heart. But I'm not satisfied. I want to focus this year on seeing Him more. "May the vision of You be the death of me" was a line in a worship song this weekend and it made me crumble. I've never felt so singled out. That has been my prayer for months and this weekend God let me know that we all will be seeing more of Him. Our Jacob curriculum spoke to me in Genesis 32:30:
For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.
Jacob had to deal with consequences of his actions and the actions of others. But he came to see God as his own. He came full circle with Esau. And he came to the death of himself for God's purposes and glory.
I confess here and now that I pray for my death. The death of my ways, my desires and my glory to Him so that I can be delivered. So that He can be glorified in His ways and His desires.
I pray for the heart that God touched this weekend. I pray for the one that made the tough decision to make changes for Him. I pray they know they are not alone. That God is calling all of us to do the same.
