Teacheable Moment at Unity Chirstian Music Festival

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind.
¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment,
    including every hidden thing,
    whether it is good or evil.

The other day at Unity Christian Music Festival, where Camp Living Waters had the privilege of setting up a display and promoting camp to thousands of people. I felt like I needed to take a walk. I headed over near the main stage and watched the group that was performing. God revealed a great teachable moment to me. I was leaning against the tree listening to the worship and people watching. I greeted several acquaintances and was searching the crowd for friends. I saw a couple walking down the sidewalk coming toward me. The women pulled something out of her pocket and a wad of money fell to the ground behind her. She kept walking and headed to her seat. I decided to watch and see what would happen. A teenage boy and his girl friend were walking along about 20 feet behind the women who dropped the money. The boy looked around picked up the money and put it in his pocket and headed past where I was standing. I said "the money you just picked up and put in your pocket belongs to the women standing over there". She was now looking for the money that she had lost. The boy looked at me and said yea I was going to take it over to the lost and found and he handed it to me. There was well over $100 in the folded  bills he handed me. I walked over to the women and gave her money back to her. She was very grateful.

As I reflected on the situation several thoughts came to mind.

1. Did the boy feel any remorse or regret for trying to keep the money that he saw fall from the ladies pocket?
2.  Did his girl friend say anything to him?
3. How many other people saw this unfold and did nothing?
4. Was there a time in my life that I would have done the same thing?
5. Who is watching me when I think no one is around?

I really don't know what the boy was thinking, but I do know that he saw the money drop from the women's pocket and put it in his with the intention of keeping it. He then lied when he was caught by saying he was going to take it to lost and found. I hope that God worked in his life that night by reminding him of what he did and that the next time faced with the same temptation that he would choose the right choice and return the money to the women himself. I would have loved to be able to sit and watch to see what would have happened if I had not intervened. I did not see if the girlfriend talked to her boy friend about his actions. I needed to get the money back to the woman before I lost her in the crowd. I wish I could have taken the time to talk with the boy.

Then I got to thinking that scripture says that God is always watching us. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. He knows what we are doing good or bad. We will be judged for everything we have done. I am also thankful that Christ died for me that I might be forgiven if I trust in Him.

check out more of what happened at Unity Christian Music Festival through their Facebook.

Becoming John 3:16 Billboards

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 is one of the most recognized verses in the Bible. Most kids who have set foot in a church know this verse. You see it on bilboards, T-shirts, and at almost any sporting event you can see the sign held up some place in the stands. My prayer is that I can be a John 3:16 billboard. That when people see me I am pointing them toward Jesus. 

 

I have a 5 year old son named Brayden.Brayden sticks out in his classroom, because he is as big as most the 3rd graders. Not only is he huge he is also autistic and kind of talks funny. So he gets a lot of stares and gets made fun of at times. Even adults expect more out of Brayden because he is big. Trips to the store often earns us plenty of stares, looks and people shaking their heads.

But Brayden has some really cool things going for him. He loves Jesus. Jesus calms him and he knows Jesus helps him through hard times. We pray at bedtime and when we don’t Brayden struggles going to sleep. When we pray for him his mind slows down and sleeps almost instantly. We pray in the morning waiting for the bus and we ask Jesus to help him through the day. Brayden is starting to pray on his own. The other day he told his mom that he wanted to pray for the mean kids on the bus and then he did it. It is awesome to see him praying for me his mom and other people. Not when we ask him to, but when he feels led.

Brayden is the most caring and compassionate kid in his school. He is the first to help someone when they are hurt or drop something. He now gets hugs from all the other kids when he walks down the hall. He took a new kid on the bus back to the mean kids and said this is my new friend. He is new and don’t be mean to him. Brayden gets it. Brayden in his own way is living the way Jesus wants us to live. Although Brayden has not accepted Jesus in his heart, that we know of. He knows that he needs Jesus to make it through the day. Brayden knows he can’t do it on his own.  And neither can you or I. I am not a good person without Jesus in my life. He has changed me and he wants to change you.
 

When we accept the gift of Jesus he starts to make changes in our lives and we start to become like him. We should become billboards that point people to Jesus. We should be living John 3:16 signs at sporting events, to our neighbors and in our places of work. We also get to live with Jesus for eternity in heaven.

Circleing Circles

The staff at Camp Living Waters have been doing a study of the book Circle Maker by Batterson. It is a book about praying circles around your biggest dreams and greatest fears. It has been helping expand our thoughts on prayer.

 

We have been praying circles around camp, finances, staffing, building projects, campers, and friends battling cancer. We have seen God's hand at work in all these areas.

 

On the weekend of March 8th we were blessed to be serving the Elders from Banner of Christ UB Church. Saturday afternoon they blessed us by praying circles around ours. They prayed all over camp. It was a huge blessing and encouragement to our staff to see a retreat group taking the time to pray all over camp for the things we had been circling in prayer.  Thank you Banner Elders and thank you God for the answers you have given and those still to come.



Banner of Christ UB Church Elders

 

Ephesians 2:10 Moments

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I was reminded this past weekend of the need to follow God’s nudges and prompts. I have posted before that I try to pray and live out Ephesians 2:10 every day. I ask God to fill my agenda and try to listen to Him when He adds things to it. I often get the feeling I need to stop some place or call someone. People around me think oh here goes Chad following a whim. I know that it’s not a whim but an Ephesians 2:10 moment. I love when God’s Spirit moves and I follow what He is nudging me to do. It brings great joy to me and often I just stand their shaking my head and thanking God for the miracle he just made happen.

I have Ephesian 2:10 moments everyday most of us do we just don’t realize how God is orchestrating those moments. This past Friday I was sitting in my office and God was putting someone on my mind. I had the thought I need to call. This is the point where we make or break God’s plan. Do I continue what I was doing or do I follow God’s nudge? This day I followed God’s nudge. I prayed for the person He laid on my mind and followed it up with a call. I got voicemail and left this message. “Hello________ just wanted to call and check in. God put you on my heart today and I just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you and prayed for you. No need to call back.” Back to the project I was working on and continued prayers.  Fast forward to Saturday morning. I had taken a break from serving groups and came to the office to check messages. I no more than sat down and the phone rang. It was the person returning my call. They said this is going to be hard for me to share with out crying. So I listened and they shared that when my call came to them that they were sitting with their family dealing with a serious matter. They said that my call was just what they needed at that time. They felt peace come over them as they listened to the message and they were able to look at the situation knowing that God was in control. After hearing the story and how God needed me to be a part of His plan I prayed with this person and went back to fix lunch for our group. I stood amazed and satisfied knowing I just had an Ephesians 2:10 moment.

Every time this happens God reminds me that I need to follow nudges that He gives me. We never know what we are needed to do. Knowing that God has things for us to do, that He has planned in advance we should be ready and willing to follow through. Follow his nudges and complete the to-do list God has for you.