Junior High Believe 2013

Last weekend I had the awesome privilege of going with the junior high youth group from Broadway to Christ in Youth's Junior High Believe in Peoria, Illinois. It was a wonderful two days of bonding with the students- 16 of them went- and the other adults. The conference was full of great worship, inspiring stories of young people who faced hard things, entertaining magic tricks that taught valuable lessons, beautiful artwork from an amazing artist  who taught himself to paint/draw, and life changing messages. The theme was The Presence- the Holy Spirit (Ru-ah). The speaker, Kurt Johnston, kept repeating the important prayer "Make Your Presence more present in me". The students had many opportunities to grow deeper in their faith and relationship with God and each other. However, I also heard God speaking to me in many ways.

The Holy Spirit is meant to be our helper. His presence is a strong, powerful, mighty force. When we are drowning or overwhelmed we can't save ourselves. We need help. We can't pull ourselves up no matter how hard we try. On my own I die but with God's presence I live. The message stressed that we can be alive, but not living life to the fullest- John 10:10. The devil is a life taker, but God is a life giver.

The Presence brings community. The story shared showed lots of people have people all around them and are still lonely. A community isn't superficial/surface relationships, but deep, rich, meaningful friendships. Going through life alone is not an option of healthy living. It is vital that we are connected to a healthy, thriving body or we will wither. Every part of the body is important and the body won't be at its best if each member isn't healthy and functioning. There is strength in community- we won't be easily defeated. We sharpen each other. Over time we individually get dull- the illustration was used that iron sharpens iron (using knives). It can be painful at times, but necessary. In a community I'm supported- we protect each other. The enemy goes after the solo weak person- not the ones in a pack. This session made me so thankful God placed me in a wonderful small group that is so supportive and encouraging. I've missed out on this kind of community for many years. No matter where God takes me I will remember the necessity of a strong, healthy community- to surround myself with Christian friends who point me to Christ.

The Presence also brings courage. Fear is one of the greatest forces/obstacles we ever face. I know from experience I have missed a lot of opportunities because fear held me back. The only cure for fear is courage through the Holy Spirit living in us. We choose to let fear consume and control us. With the power of the Holy Spirit we can choose to not let fear decide our actions.

These sessions about the Presence were very thought provoking. My prayer is that we will act on all we heard and change in the ways God has spoken to us about. I really enjoyed the fellowship I had with the other students/adults and feel God used it to open doors for further relationships to continue.