Passion 2012

“Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; The desire of our souls if for Your name and for the remembrance of You.” Isaiah 26:8

At the beginning of the New Year I got the chance to be apart of Passion 268. The Passion Conference is held annually, and for the past few years it has been in Atlanta, Georgia. Passion consists of thousands of college age students coming together to worship the Lord and exhaust themselves in fellowship and Bible study for four days. It was easily one of the most incredible and tiring experiences of my life. Everyday I sat with 44,000 other young people in the Georgia Dome and listened to the Word of God preached by Louie Giglio, Beth Moore, John Piper, and Francis Chan. We were lead in worship by Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, and other great worship leaders. Together, along with other who donated online, we raised over 3 million dollars to help stop slavery all around the world. At Passion I learned that there are 27 million slaves on this earth today. That is more than there has ever been before.  We were testimonies from people who have witnessed slavery first hand and from people who have dedicated their lives to putting an end to it.

Boldness.

 “My hope and prayer is that the body of Christ in America will awake with holy boldness, a boldness content neither with silence nor mere words but that backs up those words with action and results.”
Frank R. Wolf

Boldness is essential in the life of a Christ-follower. We must be bold in our testimony, in our speech, and in our lifestyle. Peter and John prayed a prayer for boldness in Acts 3. This was their prayer, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all BOLDNESS they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus...and they spoke the word of God with BOLDNESS.” The Lord worked so many miracles through the lives of Peter and John because of their boldness and their prayer for boldness. Paul also prayed a similar prayer in Ephesians 6. He prayed, “…and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth BOLDY to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak BOLDY, as I ought to speak.”

Do you see a pattern here? All of the great disciples of Jesus Christ had this characteristic in common. They had no fear here on this earth except the fear of the gospel not being made known. These men were beaten, thrown into prison, tortured, and even died all for the sake of making the word of God known. THAT is boldness. I realize that most of us will not be beaten for our faith. However, there are many martyrs around the world sacrificing their lives to make God known. But we are all called to step out of where we are comfortable and into a place where we are dependent on no one but the Lord. We are called to be that shining face that stands out in the crowd of careful and timid people to let the rest of the world know that WE.ARE.NOT.ASHAMED.OF.THE.GOSPEL.OF.CHRIST!

By: Caitlin Bradt

Becoming a Woman of Discretion

 “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.” –Proverbs 11:22

As the old saying goes, “you make the bed you sleep in.” Often times our circumstances are based on the decisions/actions we make stemmed from a lack of discretion. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary discretion is defined as “the quality of having or showing discernment or good judgment; ability to make responsible decisions.” In this chapter of Proverbs a gold ring in the snout (nose) of a pig is compared to the beauty of a woman that does not possess discretion. A beautiful, expensive ring serves no purpose in the disgusting snout of a pig; therefore, its value and significance are taken away. In the same matter, the beauty of a woman is minimized when discretion lacks in her character. As women professing godliness we should not desire to be labeled irresponsible, untrustworthy, or out of control. There have been many times in my life that I can honestly say I lacked discretion in areas ranging from clothing choices to more serious areas, such as dating. Some of those times I was able to get by with a minor bruise, but often I’ve been left with scars that have taken considerable amounts of time to heal.

How many times has something bad happened to you, as the result of poor decision-making, and you played the “Woe is me” card? Instead we should consider changing our perspective and seek to find out how could the outcome possibly been different or what could God possibly be teaching me through this?  Don’t get me wrong, not every choice you make will turn out the way you want it to and there will still be times that you slip up…you’re human.  Thankfully we have a Heavenly Father that is merciful and loves us! In seeking to have more discretion ask for the Lord to grant you wisdom, spend more time in prayer, and weigh the outcomes of your decisions before rushing into hasty ones. As you continue to seek out the Lord and grow in your relationship with Him you will be able to hear His voice more clearly. Moving in the direction that He leads will become an easier task for you. 

By: Sarah Joyner