Passion Recap: Atlanta Memories

It seems as though Sundays and snow days have turned into my blogging days… They are the few moments when I have time to sit and think and actually write. I've been wanting to write about my experience in Atlanta for Passion 2014 ever since I got home last week, but I haven't gotten around to it until now. So here we go :)

It's pretty cool when you expect God to do great things, and then He goes and blows your mind by doing even greater things than you anticipated. Going into the weekend, I expected to see God go to work in some pretty awesome ways at the Passion Conference. He did… He definitely did.

First off, let me just say whenever you get a huge group of people in one place to worship our great God, it's an awesome time. There is nothing like having 20,000 people singing at the top of their lungs in praise to their Creator. That being said, we should get that excited and passionate (no pun intended… honestly) about worship whether we are in an arena packed with people or alone in our cars. But still, there's something refreshing about corporately worshipping with thousands of others. 

Throw in some great worship bands, and it gets even better :) Over the weekend we were blessed with the opportunity to worship with Chris Tomlin (who is AMAZING live), Kristian Stanfill, Crowder (who just sounds super cool… and is one of the few people I've seen who can rock a beard of that volume… haha), Kari Jobe, and Hillsong United. The worship times were absolutely incredible, and the final worship session on Saturday was my personal favorite, with everyone who led worship throughout the weekend back on stage to lead the whole place in a crazy awesome time of praise to our God.

It would take much too long to go into detail about everything that happened throughout the course of the weekend, but I will do my best to highlight some of the standout Passion moments for me.

Saturday morning, we had the pleasure of listening to Francis Chan lead a session. I absolutely love listening to that guy. He has such a great sense of humor, yet he is so wise. And I really loved what he had to say. He spoke from 2 Peter 1, emphasizing verses 5-10. He pinpointed the phrase "make every effort" (vs. 5), challenging us to make each day, each new opportunity, our best yet. He went through the list of Christ-like characteristics listed in the chapter, explaining practical ways to grow in these ways, building the character we as Christians are called to obtain. 

While talking about these characteristics (faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love), he kept going back to the phrase "make every effort." Make every effort to gain knowledge. Make every effort to stand strong and have self-control. Make every effort to love.

This challenged me personally, as recently I've felt God reminding me to not just pray, but to pray and then act. To make every effort. Hearing that again reenforced the realizations I've been making about my need to take action and not just expect things to happen. So props to God and Francis Chan on bringing a solid message. 

Another favorite session of mine from the conference came from Christine Caine, who was an excellent speaker! She used the great analogy of a photographic darkroom, comparing God preparing and equipping us for all He has planned for our lives to developing film —time spent in the "darkroom" allows God to fix our eyes on Him, to impress His image into us, and develop us into the people He has called us to be. 

She consistently reminded us that this being molded into His likeness isn't a quick snapshot, it is a long process (pronounced pro-cess from the mouth of the Aussie woman). I'm big on analogies, and I really enjoyed this session.

~

Our wonderful group of twenty young people made quite the memories in the speedy weekend road trip… Including waiting in line for over an hour in the freezing cold (do not be mistaken, Georgia in the winter time is NOT warm!!) to get floor seats, then stuffing our faces with nearly forty tacos only minutes before the arena doors opened, only to smuggle the leftover tacos (successfully!) into the arena… Telling riddles on the way home to pass the time (and laughing hysterically when someone desperately rode the struggle bus trying to explain a riddle… Haha!)… Midnight pizza and hang out nights in the hotel lobby… and crazy three a.m. room adventures that are best kept in our memories. 

'Twas a great, Spirit-filled weekend with some wonderful people. It's been a blessed opportunity to go, and I'm already looking forward to Passion 2015! 

~MM

The Gift of Grace

Grace.

It’s something I can’t really bring myself to fully understand. I feel like it’s a word that gets thrown around a lot in describing God and his redemptive mercies. But I don't think I'll ever be able to completely comprehend the endless free gift He’s bestowed upon us.

To me, grace is God’s mercy and compassion toward us; He had every right to write us off, punish, torture, and destroy us for our filthiness and incompetence, but He chose instead to surrender that right and love us anyway, making a way for us to be with Him and communicate with Him even though we are desperately imperfect.

It blows my mind that the perfect, holy, infinite God of the universe cares about me and loves me so much that He sent His only Son to die for my sins and pay the punishment that I deserve. He never stops loving me, extending grace and freedom to me no matter what I do, which makes no logical sense whatsoever.

But that’s God for you. He exceeds the small-minded perspective of us humans. His ways surpass all understanding, He’s far greater than we realize and loves us with a love impossible to comprehend. His is infinitely good. I am not. The fact that He still loves me and claims me as His own, despite my many faults, imperfections, and shortcomings, is incredible.

I’d been pondering the concept of grace this afternoon, trying to understand as much about it as I possibly could. I read through several different passages that address this gift, and the one that stood out to me the most came from Ephesians 2, which explains the humble and loving characteristics of God. Check this out:

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10)

There’s so much goodness packed into these verses. But I’ll come back to this.

An hour or two later, my boyfriend stopped in, and as we were talking, we began discussing how I was struggling to understand and accept the idea of God’s grace. It just blows my mind, how God, who is perfect and holy, would choose to extend His grace to me. It just feels so unlogical, and I feel so unworthy of this gift.

Noah brought up the verses from Ephesians I had read earlier, and used an analogy that made perfect sense to me.

He said that choosing not to accept God’s free gift of grace is like choosing not to open up a Christmas present, saying “thanks, that’s really nice of you to give me this and all, but, I just don’t really want to open it.”

That sounds ridiculous, right? We would never do that, blatantly turn down a gift from a loved one.

In the same way, God knows there is nothing we could ever do to earn His favor or His love. That’s what grace is; that’s why it is a gift. He is so excited for His children to "unwrap" this grace that is more incredible than any Christmas present. He simply wants us to accept the gift and be thankful. Not only has He given us this grace, he has raised us up, and seated us with Christ. How exciting is that? And who am I to turn down this offer?

No matter how many times we mess up, how many times I mess up or fall short, His grace is there. Nothing I do could change His love for me. That is unfathomable and so encouraging. But that doesn't mean I should take advantage of His grace and do whatever I want. Rather, God calls us obey and love Him, and to extend that grace and love to others.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)

Praise God for this wonderful gift, this great display of His infinite love, and that there’s nothing I could ever do to earn his favor or be removed from His love and grace. And for that I am thankful.

~MM

Lessons in Patience

Ahh. Christmas Break has spoiled me. I don't want it to be over. The extended amount of time to relax, not having deadlines, late nights, sleeping in, spontaneous adventures, fun in the snow, time to think, fun times with family and friends... I don't want it to end. It's been good though; I am quite thankful for all the memories I've made over break. And, although I hate the feeling of Christmas being over, there's something fresh and rejuvenating, hopeful and exciting about starting off a brand new year. 

January always makes me look forward to everything that is coming up in the next months, throughout the course of the year. Currently, I'm already counting down the days until graduation, numbering the months till my calculus exam (signifying the end of a strenuous and complicated course), looking forward to mission trips, summer adventures, beginning the next chapter of my life in college, meeting new people, and experiencing new places. These fresh beginnings even make me think beyond the scope of the year, imagining where I'll be next year this time, five years, even ten years from now. 

Through all my excitement, dreams, and restlessness, I've been accepting that God is trying to teach me patience. He's teaching me several things, but patience is toward the top of the list.

Nearly every part of me wants to skip ahead, be done with high school and move on with life. I am always ready to jump ahead, ready for the next thing before I'm finished where I'm at. And recently I've been wrestling with the concept of patience and waiting, wondering why all this waiting is necessary and why time seems to tick the slowest at the most inopportune times. 

As I anxiously ask these questions, I've been feeling God gently reminding me that I need to be patient and learn to wait, being content right where I'm at, so I don't miss out on what he's placed in front of me right now, on opportunities, relationships, and learning experiences that will help me grow. 

I feel like God has been telling me to stop worrying about the future and just enjoy the moment He's given me, because one day I'll look back and wish I could return to these days and relive this time of my life. And time is something I often take for granted, forgetting that another day is never guaranteed.

Through this recent struggle for patience, I have learned a significant truth: The act of patience brings about trust and reliance on God. 

Having to wait on God to unfold His perfect plans for me in His perfect timing causes me to lean on him for everything I need, and to know that He has already taken care of the unknowns and even the simplest details of my future. Take away the waiting, the anticipation of things to come, and I begin to rely on my own strength, thinking I have all the answers, and to try to have plan my life out far in advance. What a reminder to slow down, embrace the moment I'm given, and to make the most every day, because life is short, it is sweet, and it is a gift.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

-Philippians 4:6-7