”I’m so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. The only credentials I brought to it were invective and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn’t know what I was doing-didn’t know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:12-14
As always, being at camp is a blessing and one of the hardest times of my year. There is so much going on in my mind, so many things pulling me in several different directions, and yet I am blessed beyond words and moved to tears daily. Each year that I go to camp, I enter with the expectation that the Lord will do great things through the counselors and bring more souls to him. I never come with the expectation that he will move through me and use me as a minister for him. I am constantly humbled by his ability to speak to me through our preachers, fellow staff members and the campers. Although, with each passing day, I am discouraged by my lack of and almost nonexistent communication with Loman, I am drawn to the Father in a way that only comes with complete focus on Him and hearing His voice in the silence.
This week, the most powerful message given was by my favorite, Joel Goddard. He is such an incredible man of God and most of all, He is humble. From the first strum of his guitar, I can feel the Holy Spirit moving through me and amongst the staff. So for this week’s post [I’ve decided to post at least once a week since I have limited internet connection at camp, maybe Loman will start posting more often, hint hint :)], I will be including the highlights from Joel’s message.
“In our valleys and points of persecution, we begin to figure out who we really are.”
“If we are not pruned, we will never fully bear the fruit we are intended to do. Everything about life with God is about seasons. He prunes us when it will do the least damage. If we don’t learn to enjoy pruning season, we will never appreciate fruitfulness.”
“Our joy does not come from how happy we are. Our joy is in those moments when God ties us to himself.”
Principles for Fruitfulness
- Cultivate your relationships with the Holy Spirit – spend time being quiet
- Repent of sins of omission and comission
- Count your figs – ensure that your life is producing good fruit
- Measure fruitfulness not busyness
- Learn from fruitful people
- Use your manure [fertilizer] – be careful what you plant!
Many thanks to Joel for such a powerful message!
Martin Living 