the glory of the gospel

"Gospel" seemed to be the buzz word at Camp Eden two weeks ago... in all the sessions, in devos, in one-on-ones, it was everywhere! I realized that I often forget the glory of the gospel- the miracle of salvation, the victory over sin & death, the hope of Heaven! How do I do that? How does that happen? It doesn't make sense.

Anyway, it was so neat to watch God at work on the front lines, rescuing those trapped by the grip of Satan. Each day as I spent one-on-one time with my girls I had the privilege of laying out the gospel & the plan of salvation. What a beautiful opportunity. It only took a couple of days to realize that my whole cabin was on their way to a Christless eternity. But praise be to God- He saved every last one of them!

I hope I don't soon forget the events of Thursday night (at Eden). All week Elisabeth & I had been planting as many gospel seeds in our girls as we could, but it didn't seem to be clicking with them. Thursday night, however, it was after 11 & my girls couldn't sleep & Elisabeth was out of the room for a few minutes... so to kill time I started going around the room asking the girls to share what they were most afraid of. To my suprise, they each said they were most afraid of going to Hell. DING! DING! DING! Hello, open door! About that time Elisabeth joined us again and I filled her in on the girls' fear. We started to talk to the girls a little about how they can KNOW FOR SURE that they'll go to Heaven when they die. Elisabeth asked one of them if she'd like to go out on the porch and talk about it. Then another piped up, so I went with her. While I spoke with the one girl, 2 other girls had been added to the family. It was so fun to watch the joy of salvation fill the cabin. The excitement was contageous and one more girl decided it was time she talked things through as well, so she and Elisabeth headed to the porch! I stayed in the room and talked with the brand new believers. One said something like, "I know I should be tired, but I just feel SO ALIVE for the first time!!" Another asked, "Are we supposed to be happy or sad, because people keep coming in here crying?" When the last girl came in from the porch all the girls yelled with excitement "What happened!? Are you saved?" I had to laugh.

It was such a beautiful thing to watch the 180 deg. change in those girls' lives. They were excited to go to chapel and take notes and find the passages (with the help of the index). The last night of camp 3 of the girls stayed up late reading John and saying things like "I always thought this book was boring, but it's so cool!"

"I feel so ALIVE!" echoes in my ears even now. What a great thought. I'm reminded of John 10:10, "I have come that you may have LIFE and have it TO THE FULL." That life is in me! Romans 8:6 says "...the mind controlled by the Spirit is LIFE & PEACE."

Oh God, teach me the glory of the Gospel each day. Remind me of the riches of grace & the blessings of mercy. May the "old, old story 'bout the Savior come from glory..." never bore me. Father, put a song of salvation in my soul and on my lips, & may I always sing its tune.

impact 2010

I'm chillin' comfortably in a sweet hotel in Denver as I write. The mountains are in view- it's great, I love Colorado! It's crazy to finally be on the road with the team! I've been counting down the days for so long that it didn't seem like it would ever really come around. I'm excited though to get this show on the road.

I spent a lot of time last summer in Thessalonians and fell in love with Paul's heart for ministry. It's such a challenge to me as I head into the first official week of the tour. I want to serve like Paul served! It's so easy for me to get wrapped up in the world of "Numero Uno" and neglect the people and opportunities around me. My prayer for this summer is that I will fade into the background. I will always only fail when it's all about me. The simple truth in the matter is that it's not about me and I'm not needed in this equation. It's that clay pot concept again... 2 Corinthians 4:7 says "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." Verses 10 and 11 go on to say that "[we are] always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." Oh, that Christ would be manifested in ME! I am just an ordinary little pot made of clay, but what lies inside me is a treasure, what is within me is EXTRAordinary! God is beyond big, He's beyond good, and therefore I am left with no other options than to make much of the treasure I carry in this little clay pot. It is so exciting to know that the power that raised the dead to life and saves hopeless sinners is INSIDE OF ME and I have the privilege to proclaim it, to shout it from the roof tops (pun intended).
I can't wait to watch God Almighty work in my heart this week at Camp Eden and the weeks to come. I can't wait to watch God work in my campers' lives. May God get all the glory for what He will do!

grace