I raise my white flag. (Passion 2012)

No clever or witty title here. I've recently returned from Passion. It's a four day conference held in Atlanta for university aged students to gather for days of powerful messages and worship. The whole experience is so hard to sum up...needless to say, everyday offered a message that God intended for me to hear. The first day, the man who leads the Passion conferences, Louie Giglio,spoke about how Christ intercedes in our lives at just the right moments. He referenced Luke 7:11-17, in which Jesus raises a man from the dead. When Christ sees the dead man, he touched the coffin and told the dead man to get up. Because Christ is powerful and fully God, the man arose. Like the man in the story, we are dead in our sin. Christ is telling us to "get up" and through Him, we can be risen from the death that our sinful nature brings us. We are dead until we accept Christ. We are dead until Christ reawakens us and transforms us. We need to die to ourselves and be made new in Christ. We're alive, alive, alive in Him.

I needed so desperately to awaken. After this first message, it was obvious that God had me at that conference for a reason.

After that, we separated into our community groups. We discussed Ephesians 2:1-9, focusing on the grace that God bestowed on us and how we are constantly falling short. I will always fall short of what the Lord wants when I allow the enemy to blind me to God's truth.

The next day, the second session basically reiterated what Louie talked about in the first session; Christ is constantly interceding in our lives. Beth Moore spoke on Luke 8:40-53. Christ was ready to heal a dying girl, and in the middle of this story, he heals a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. He was in the middle of healing a dying girl, and stopped to heal a woman of faith. We're surrounded by a greater narrative, yet Christ still chooses to intercede and raise us from our sleeping state and satisfy our need for the Lord. The thing that spoke to me the most was when Beth, clearly being used as a mouthpiece to God, said that "there is no way that my own suffering is unseen by God. Even when I can't hear or feel Him, He is sovereign and because of this I can be assured that He's still there." After weeks, even months of silence from the Lord, I could hear Him speaking to me through this woman. When I lay down the things from my heart that need the most healing (these things that deafened me to God's voice) He will set me FREE. I will walk in His freedom when I trust He will intercede for my needs.

A big part of the conference focused on freedom. Passion's Do Something Now campaign focused on human trafficking. Today, there are 27 million people enslaved in the world. As Christians, we cannot stand by and watch as this injustice continues around us. We are called by Christ to help His people, and stop modern slavery. Our goal for the entire conference was to raise 1 million dollars for the movement. We raised over 3 million. I am so blessed to have started my year praising the Lord with a generation of believers that are willing to stand against injustice and put Christ before themselves. Witnessing complete and utter surrender to the powerful and sovereign God has refueled my devotion to my Savior. 

The last session of the second day was lead by Francis Chan. I highly respect this man of God. He's just so human. One of the main things he spoke about was believing fully in, and reading the Word of God. That His Word and news is true. That there is no shame in this powerful, faithful, real, true God. It's so important to know His word to be able to discern from His truths and the enemy's lies. I should not be blindly following someone else for reference. I (or anyone else) should be careful of my own heart, reading His word in context, not twisting certain verses to justify my own selfish, twisted desires. It's so important to take God's word seriously. I need to be obedient to His commands. I need to trust that through the blood cleansing sacrifice of Christ grants me everlasting life and I there is no need to be ashamed of His beautiful promises.

John Piper was one of the last guest speakers at the conference. There's something quite refreshing about being challenged about my faith mentally. He represents what it means to worship God not only with the heart or soul, but with the mind. I feel like I often neglect that aspect of my faith and love. Worship isn't simply singing a few songs. It's living out your life in reverence and love to our Holy Creator. I almost let a tear slip as he described the sovereignty of God. He wasn't even close to fully grasping the full picture of God, but that's part of what makes the Lord so mighty. I wouldn't want to serve a God who could be easily summed up in a few words.  Most importantly, his message of freedom through Christ is what did me over. Being satisfied in the gift Christ has given me, breaking away from the enslavement of sin and becoming enslaved to His righteousness is what will set me free. How I long for this freedom. Truth be told, I have been in a valley for what seems like a long time. But when I think about the supremacy of Christ, His authority, His providence, all of His glory...I realize how entirely broken I really am. I need to rely on God to draw me nearer to Him, to bind me up, to transform my soul. When this transformation occurs, I hope that my heart will become so large, so full of Christ and His love, that sin become small and insignificant. Because compared to the goodness of the Lord, sin is very small. It has no sting, and the death it causes has no victory. His glory is so beautiful. I have been resurrected in Christ and I am alive in Him.

I'm not really sure how to wrap this up. I could talk about the last day, about the worship, about Louis' last inspiring words. What I think is most important, however, is to bring up the feeling as I left the conference. Something that is still resonating within me at this very moment. God is bigger and more powerful than anyone in that conference. He is bigger than the crowds, He is more than the Dome could contain, He is wiser than the speakers, He is more beautiful than the songs could ever proclaim. I am small, but a part of something so much greater than myself. I'm a part of a larger body, of a beautiful bride of Christ.I get to celebrate this day and life that the Lord has made. The plans He has for His children will shine His glory to all of creation. I am blessed to be a part of this experience only through His loving grace and mercy.

 (This young man did a wonderful cover of one of the songs presented at the conference.  

It's called "White Flag" by Christ Tomlin.)

Dear Lord,
For once there is no coherent, eloquently phrased prayer here. You know the current desires of my heart, and I ask that you change them to be your desires. I pray that I will have the courage and boldness to proclaim your truth to those that I encounter. I ask that I will be consistent in your word. I ask for wisdom to apply your word to my life and live by action. I want to be free in you. Bring me to life, if you will, and allow me to become a slave to your righteousness. Rid me of myself. Ruin me. Break me. Do whatever it takes, and draw me nearer to you. I ask for the strength to be reminded of your presence. I ask for your grace to get through the days ahead and the need to cling to you. I praise you so much for your constant grace, your mercy, your freedom, you providence, your sovereignty, your righteousness, your goodness, your holiness, your kindness, your love, your teaching, your wisdom. I praise you for being the great I AM, for simply being God. I thank you for loving a wretch like me and I thank you for these trials. It's in your precious son's name I pray,

Amen.


What did the tie say to the hat?
You go on a head, I'll just hang around.
(: God bless!