Impartation - Preparation not Correction

There's really no proper way to put how awesome impartation was this year! I vaguely remember anything from last years conferences, but this year I went expecting lots -- and that's what I got! God is so good. I'll just highlight the main points that I really enjoyed from impartation:

Walk in the light God has already given you and you will go far!

1 John 1:5 says that God is light. We (mature believers) have a sufficient amount of light that God has already given us! Since Jesus is in us all we have to do is walk boldly in faith and expect Him to multiply! He will DEFINITELY show us the fruits of our labor if we just trust in Him. We have wisdom and God's word in our hearts, we know what we have to do. God will bless us for obeying him in everything we do. Doers of the word get results!

Sin and judgement is violation of light

As much as we all would like to believe were perfect good people, we all get caught in small lies sometimes. Keith Moore definitely gave me new perspective on this when he talked about it. Lies and deciet are nature of the devil! Even the smallest thing is breeding grounds for the devils work in our lives, honesty and humbleness can steer us clear of that path. I'm challenging myself to never lie, even when it comes to the small things just honor God and do everything with excellence! Somebody gets saved, the devil just lost one!

He can take a little and do a lot with it!

So often Christians have great desires in thier heart but fear actually acting on them. Either fear of rejection or failure, etc. We MUST remember that the spirit of the Lord is on us and has already anointed us! Whenever we humble ourselves before God, our great creator, He will always bring grace into the situation and change will come! It's sooo amazing to know that nothing is impossible with God! We have already overcome any challenge in our way because God is on our side and we choose not to yield to anything besides Him and His word. BE ACTIVE IN YOUR SPIRIT, NOT PASSIVE If we are constantly concious of our spirit, we will always be led in the right direction and deepen our relationship with God. Don't let things capture you! Confess redemption, freedom, and deliverance everyday!

The last night of Impartation after Keith Moore spoke I got a personal revelation to John 7. The Lord showed me this passage and I knew it was time to act on something that I had been dealing with ever since I was saved. I approached the situation with confidence and boldly went out in faith. God was already there working, and the joy and peace that came out of it was just amazing! I'm noticing the grace of God working actively in every area of my life. Living for God is such an amazing adventure! I definitely benefited from all the insight that impartation brought, I hope everyone else did too!

Hit up Doug and Keith:
http://www.dougjones.siteblast.com
http://www.moorelife.org

Silly emotions, my God is bigger than you!

"Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything." ~ 1 John:19-20

I feel like throwing something against the wall right now, very hard. That's what inspired me to write this post :). As much as we don't want to admit it, we all let emotions rule over us sometimes. They can be great when theyre positive, but when they're negative they can really mess with our mind. I recently saw a teaching that really spoke to me about this particular subject:

The speaker gave an illustration of a little boy standing on the edge of a diving board, heart pounding, everything in that boy pointing him to go back. The boy is at the very edge...the more he thinks about jumping the more his mind and emotions are saying turn around now. He's about to have a breakdown. But then the boy looks down. His mom is smiling at him with open arms ready to catch him when he jumps, encouraging him to keep going. The boy has faith in his mother so he jumps in and overcomes the negative emotions telling him he couldnt do it.

If you think about it whenever we are in times of struggling, anger, or frustration, God is there telling us to keep going! When we're on edge and it's taking every fiber of being in us not to burst, we have a God reaching out to us with open arms. God has created everything in this universe and beyond, he is so much bigger than this stupid useless emotion that is holding us back from bigger things. I hope this illustration was as encouraging to you as it was to me.

Just remember God is always on your side supporting you no matter what. Does it sometimes seem like when you pray its just routine and God is not really there? Unfortunately I think we all have times like that but his omnipresence is always there. Just imagine every time you pray you're kneeling at the throne and God is waving you over saying "i love you, come talk to me!" His love is relentless and ours should be too.

Our Awkward Generation

I've noticed, and i'm sure you have too, that "awkward" seems to make its way into almost every conversation or situation. It's usually unavoidable and can come by means of silence or words. We say awkward/odd things, we text eachother while were in the same room, and we spend hours living computer generated lives (facebook, twitter, farmville, etc.), we seem to connect better with people online rather then face to face. Is it that we are afraid to get to know someone because we don't want anyone to truly know us? It may be a scary question to ask yourself.

We have the newest fashion trends, we have the most advanced cosmetic surgeons, and we (America) have enough money to feed the world twice. We have more today than the world has ever had, yet we still choose to be empty and insecure. We are the awkward, non-committed, insecure generation. I don't know about you but i'm sick of it! We should be a generation of change! I think i've really been learning about people and thier fears. I think this awkwardness stems from people being afraid of real relationships. Some thoughts:

1.) Maybe because the divorce rate is higher than the marriage rate (over 50%). These days, kids see so many failed models of love and relationships and fear the same thing for thier lives.

2.) Maybe because we're so rich, others are out for our money and material things rather than our personalities.

3.) Maybe because we are so cosmetically enhanced, we don't believe other people like us for who we are but instead what we look like. We find ourselves tricked into these mindsets often.

Maybe. It seems like many people around me are afraid to be vulnerable. They would rather be cold and put up a wall, or take control of each situation to their benefit...usually because of the fear of rejection or being forgotten. Do you find yourself doing that? I know i catch myself doing it sometimes. This is what creates the perfect environment for "awkward" to fester in. So what's the answer to all of the "awkward" and what can we do to avoid it? This leads to bigger questions: what are these fears and what can I do to make it better? This might be blown out of proportion and deep thinking but I think sometimes people get so wrapped up in the ways of the world and lose sight of the most important: God. To be honest I've been here and there, done this and that to make myself happy. Before I knew Christ I would let my friends influence me, party, blow money carelessly, extreme diet, and try to walk in Paris Hilton's footsteps...all that stuff makes you feel more empty. The great thing is that God will leave you with real fulfilling joy and an amazing purposeful life! And when you know you're here living for something bigger than yourself, it's easy to let people in and love again.

So challenge yourself to let down that awkward guard. Talk to someone you wouldn't normally talk to, or be the one to start conversation when you're standing in a group of people doing the "awkward nod." The bible says to love your neighbors, building relationships with good people can bring awesome joy in your life. I hope you have some food for thought now :)

God is writing my life story.

There is someone very important to me, someone very real and my life revolves around Him. He is my best friend (James 2:23), my father (Psalm 68:5), and He loves me so much that He sent His son to die in my place for my sins (Romans 5:8). I don't have to be afraid or worry about anything because His perfect love drives it away (1 John 4:18). I have a big future ahead of me and I'm going to make a bigger impact than I know because He has it all planned out (Jer. 29:11). He gives me strength in everything I do, whether it's going to school and taking a hard test, going on a run that's all uphill, or dealing with others in a hard situation (Phil. 4:13). I'm young and can still do amazing things! (1 Tim. 4:12) He leads me through dark and stormy times and I know He will always be there when I hit the valleys of life (John 8:12). I can still be happy when my friends, parents, or other people mock my choice to follow God because I have a great reward waiting for me in heaven. Jesus dealt with the same thing (Luke 6:22,23). Life is hard and there are constant battles, but He already overcame the entire world! (John 16:33) In every opportunity God has given me in my walk with Him, I have taken it, and these opportunities have taken me amazing places! (Matt 7:7,8) It is on my heart to go into ministry and pray for His guidance (Matt 9:37,38). No one, not even satan can separate me from Gods amazing love (Romans 8:31). I don't understand everything God is doing in my life, but soon I will (1 Cor. 13:12). I don't need to compare myself to others, the mirror and the scale don't mean anything because God is my divine creator! (Gal. 6:4). My friends are my brothers and sisters in Christ and I am SO thankful that we can motivate and encourage each other ♥ (Hebrews 10:24). I love my mentors and leaders so much for keeping me accountable and kicking my butt if I screw up (Hebrews 13:17). I am using my spiritual gifts in all areas of my life to fulfill God's will for my life and serve in the lives of others (1 Peter 4:10). I'm living this life for one reason and one purpose: FOR HIM! He died for me, so I will live for Him. (Rev. 21:4)

AMEN.