I’m looking forward to being back in Wise County, TX next week. If you are in the area, hope you’ll make plans now to join me at Forged By Fire Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00 pm at the Decatur Football Stadium. There will by music, door prizes, and, I will be speaking. This event is sponsored by Wise Choices PRC and Fellowship of Christian Athletes of Decatur HS. For more info, call 940.391.7572.
A teen in my community committed suicide this week. I did not know him. But after counseling with teens who did, and, after attending a celebration service where I listened for well over an hour as friends and family shared funny and intimate stories about him, I feel like I have known him a lifetime.
I have known three people in my life who ended their own lives. You too may know someone who has done the same. Those of us left behind to try and make sense of it all are often left with a mix of emotions and questions for which it seems there are no answers. There is no way of ever fully knowing why a person chooses to end his/her life. But, I do know this – in most (if not all) cases, the person choosing to make this horrifically irreversible act is in pain.
Suicide doesn’t have to be the “way out.” If you or someone you know has these feelings, know this: God doesn’t want anyone to end his/her own life. Never. Ever. Not for any reason. He created everyone for purpose, great purpose. And, all suicide does is immediately end that purpose.
If you ever have feelings of considering suicide, go talk with someone immediately! Don’t wait. There is help. You can always call The Hope Line: 877.254.REAL.
You may know someone who has talked about suicide. If so, take what he/she says seriously. Allow this person to talk. Listen. If you are with this person, don’t leave him/her alone. Make a call and get help for him/her. Tell a friend, pastor, parent, or teacher. Call the National Suicide Hotline: 800.273.TALK.
What an amazing summer! Words cannot begin to describe how anointed the past seven weeks were. If you were at The Great Escapes Lee 1 or Lee 2, The Great Escapes Carolina, Diverge at Springhill, Super Summer in Kansas, The Big Ticket Music Festival in Michigan, or at Mayfield Lake Camp in Washington State then you know what God did that week; you know what God did in your life!
To my knowledge, there were more than 900 teens this summer who gave it all to Jesus and became a christian. Isn’t that phenomenal! I have heard from countless teens via Facebook and email this summer who were blown away with what GOD DID. I too have been blown away this week as I have taken some time to reflect on how visible He was at each camp and festival. God showed up in a big way everywhere and I am confident there are thousands of teens and adults (including me) who will never forget experiencing God in a very raw and real way this summer.
Obviously, the challenge at hand now is re-entry. The camp experience is a unique one with energy and a euphoria almost unlike any other. It’s easy for one to get caught up in it all, let go of inhibitions and feel freedom to worship, pray, and draw close to God. Now that you have returned home, it’s only natural that you may not feel that same “feeling” you felt while at camp. This is why it is important for you to remember those words I gave you at camp: GOD IS NOT A FEELING. GOD IS A CHOICE.
Don’t search for that same “camp” feeling. Instead, make the choice that you are going to continue worshipping, praying, and pursuing God just as you did for that one week while at camp. Read your bible, pray, and spend time with friends who will encourage you to do the same. Do this and do this often. It may not be realistic for you to do this everyday. But you can set goals to push yourself to work more each week to spend quality face-time with God.
If you haven’t started this process yet, go to Exodus 33-34 and begin reading the story of Moses and God. It is a great story of how God revealed Himself to Moses as Moses made the choice to spend time alone with Him. Exodus 34:30 says that “the skin of his (Moses) face glowed because He had been speaking with God.” This is proof that when we spend intimate time with God, our lives radiate Him to the world. Moses didn’t experience a feeling. He experienced God. You can too! But you have to do your part to get alone with God and let Him burn your skin with His presence.
The reality is summer camp is over. But the experience doesn’t have to end. God wants to continue speaking into your life, if you will make the choice each day to let Him. If you read on in Exodus, you will see that Moses often took time to be alone with God. That’s how he knew Him so well. I hope you’ll commit consistently to make the choice, just like Moses, to move past the feeling and step into the presence of the Holy God.
I promised all you Great Escape teens that I would post here on my blog the three points I gave you on the last day at camp. Here you go:
1. Time in the Word – Check out Psalm 119:9-11 and try it for yourself. God will prove Himself trustworthy if you apply the 1:1:1 Plan.
2. Time in Prayer -You want to know God like you know your best friend? Spend time talking to God like you do your best friend.
3. Time with friends who do the same - Proverbs 13:20 is a most amazing promise & warning from God. Live be it.
Keep applying these 3 principles and you will always live life “over the fence!”
56 men signed the Declaration of Independence. Their conviction for freedom resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. 12 had their homes destroyed. 2 lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had 2 sons captured. 9 of the 56 fought and died.
Freedom is not easily won. Jesus understood this. He came to Earth to give us freedom. He allowed Himself to be beaten and nailed to a cross for freedom. Your freedom. My freedom.
As I have been talking all summer about this freedom at our camps, 700+ teens have been set free from their sins. Romans 6:18 talks about this and John 8:32 says the truth will set you free. The truth is that Jesus came to set all prisoners free (and we are all prisoners to our own sins), as Psalm 146:7 says.
As our nation celebrates freedom today, take a moment to remember those men and women who selflessly gave their lives for freedom. And for Jesus, who too gave His life for our eternal freedom.
A few years ago I recorded a podcast about the many noises in our lives. I was reminded of that podcast (You can subscribe to my podcast at iTunes; entitled: Pause) this weekend as I floated in the pool at the hotel where I was staying. If you’ve ever spent any amount of time at a busy swimming pool, then you know how noisy it can be. The sounds of water splashing, young kids yelling “marco polo, “a lifeguard’s whistle, someone doing cannon balls off the diving board, and music cranking through the speakers are just a few of the noises you will most likely hear on any given day poolside.
For a moment, imagine you are floating in the deep end, hearing all those noises, and then…you take a deep breath and submerge yourself into the deep below the surface. What do you hear now? Nothing. And, in the silence you feel as though the weight of the world has been lifted don’t you, if only for a moment. It’s tranquil. Peaceful. Quite. If you could, you’d stay down there a long time wouldn’t you?
Life in the real world is a lot like those noisy moments at the pool. You probably have more noises than you realize that consume your day– school, friends, sports, music, parents, sibling rivalries, the Internet, movies, your cell phone, and more. Do you ever have intent in carving out time to escape the noise? You know, time to get away, unplug, refresh, listen to God, pray, and just disconnect from the life-pod? Maybe you welcome the noise. Maybe you enjoy the hustle and flow of a busy life. Maybe without the noise, life for you would seem “less.” Maybe, without the noise, you wouldn’t know what to do. Maybe without the noise, life would be…lonely.
Time and again in the New Testament we read were Jesus committed moments to get away from the noise of life and be with God. Mark 1:35 (NIV) says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Luke 5:16 (NIV) tells us that, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” He talked to God. He listened to God. He knew the very heart of God because He took time to make God a priority in His life. God too wants the same from you. He wants to share intimate time with you that will prove far more important than any noisy moment this world can offer you. But, you must first be willing to set aside the noises of your life so that you hear the voice of God as He speaks to you.
Why not take some time this week and get beneath the surface with Him? Commit now to make time and turn off the music, silence your phone, find a quite place and talk to God. Tell Him about your fears, your frustrations and your celebrations. Share your innermost feelings with Him. Talk to Him as if you were staring eyeball to eyeball with your very best friend. The cool thing is that you don’t have to worry about getting a sunburn when you swim into the deep with God. And, you can drown out all the distracting noises and learn to hear as He speaks to you, without ever having to worry about how long you can hold your breathe.
Here are a few questions for you to consider at the beginning of the summer. If you don’t take time now to develop a plan for getting into the deep with God, it probably won’t happen.
1. What is my plan of action to swim into the deep with God this summer?
2. How much time will I commit each week?
3. Where will I go? How long will I be there?
4. What noises will I disconnect from so that I can better hear the voice of God?
Here is a prayer you can consider praying to get you started:
“God, I want to spend more time with you this summer unplugged from the many noises in my life. I know that you want more time with me too. I want to commit now that I will spend time with you each week getting to know you more. Thank you for loving me so much that you desire to spend more time with me. I can’t wait to get to know you more this summer!”
One reason God created time was so there would be a place to bury the failures of the past. – James Long
Think about a regret you have from something you did today. Think about a regret you have from something you did last week. Think about a regret you have from something you did last year. Think about a regret you have from something you did that no one else knows about, maybe online, on a date or at a party. Now think about this – God knows about each of these regrets. He knows everything about you. That is kind of humbling isn’t it?
Moving past the past isn’t always an easy thing to do is it? You may have tried to do so over and again, only to still harbor feelings of hurt and regret. The guilt from regrettable choices can be like a journey through the wilderness. No matter how hard you try to escape, it seems you just keep wandering in an empty and barren place that feels desolate, lonely and overwhelming. And, those same thoughts sneak up on you when you least expect them, whispering to you that you will never be good enough, never be used enough, never be forgiven enough, never be godly enough – never be enough.
If you find yourself wandering through such a place today, be reminded of what God says to you in Isaiah 43:18-18 (HCSB), “Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”
God is a God of the new. He isn’t as concerned about where you have been as He is about where He desires you go from here. He is in the business of making all things new. That includes you. Today can be your day to walk – RUN – out of the wilderness and towards the future awaiting you in Him. Take your regrets to Him. Let Him silence the voices of yesterday. The past is the past. Today is a NEW DAY!
