Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Is your fire burned out?

Some of our youth kiddos went to a youth conference this past weekend.  It was the first time in 10 years I hadn't been able to go... & I'll admit, I was a tad bummed out about it.  I always just enjoy getting to spend time with the kids, getting to build those relationships, plus I always get something out of the messages & conference myself.  Yes, I always say I'm like a teenager at heart anyways.  Though, I do feel my age when I think music is 'too loud' sometimes... so the age comes...

Even though I missed out, I was so excited to hear the stories from the kids on Sunday at church.  What they learned, what touched them the most, who was the biggest dork on the ride in the van... the important things.

There was one young lady in particular that was literally JUMPING with excitement about the weekend.  Literally was talking about how her life is changed & how she wants to change the world for everyone else... she wanted so badly for everyone to feel this amazement & excitement for our Savior, Jesus.

It really was similar to this... & I LOVED IT!!!

That's what its all about ... those sort of retreat conferences for teens...

To ignite that fire in their soul.

& I looked around the room & saw that while 7 kids went to this conference, there was a room of about 18 kids that didn't go for whatever reason.  Plans already made.  Couldn't afford it.  Didn't even sound like something they wanted to waste their time with.

These kids are the kids that yes, love Jesus.  & yes, some are there because their parents make them come.  But that 'fire' was missing from their eyes... they didn't JUMP in excitement about Jesus... their conversations didn't hold words of joy.

It made me think of how I look myself. 
Am I jumping in excitement for Jesus?
Am I always saying encouraging words that gear people towards our Savior?
Am I wanting to change the world by sharing His love?
Is my soul on fire?

I can honestly say that for the most part, yes... there is a spark... a flame...

but what about a FIRE?

Something that rages & roars...

& I thought about these kids that took the time out of their weekend to go, to learn.  They went out of their way... they went to learn... they went to seek Him.


We have to WANT it
We have to DO something about it...

We can't just sit down & drive along in our car & all of sudden, for no reason, feel on fire for Jesus totally out of the blue.

It takes a move on our part... of seeking Him... of reading His word... of listening to messages that touch our heart... of talking to friends who give us Godly advice...

its an active thing to get a fire going...

And I've been to enough conferences to know that those fires that are raging so wildly in those kids... they die down as fires do...

but you gotta poke at them, work at keeping them alive...


So, my question to you....
Is your fire raging for God?
What can you do to stoke that fire & get it moving?
Do you WANT to feel that excitement?.... are you willing to look for ways to get it?



4 comments:

  1. I absolutely loved going to conferences with the teens...more than I liked going with the adults. Everything was fresh and new for the teens and they would catch that fire and it would just take off. It helped keep me more excited just to see them excited. The church I'm part of now encourages the generations to mix so I go to the young adults' open mic nights and there's a youth conference coming up with some big name bands...might just do that, too. I'm still going to see "age-appropriate" ;) Beth Moore in May, but why not appreciate all that's out there to help us light the fire?

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  2. So wonderful to hear how God is working in the lives of young people. We too have a group of youth that attend, but the group that usually participates in retreats is small. The great thing about that is God sends who He wants to be there and does His work in and through them! AWESOME to see God at work and fires being set! Love how you said you gotta poke at them, working to keep them alive.....thank you for that reminder, not just for the children and youth that we work with, but for myself. Lord let me DIG INTO your WORD and KEEP my FLAME BURNING for YOU!
    Thank you for this post and the song is perfect!

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  3. I feel that way when I hear "I can only Imagine" by Mercy Me. It's a shame for the kids that can't afford to go to something so wonderful!

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  4. Oh, how I love this post and what you wrote is so very true! If we don't nourish our relationship with Christ, we can easily lose that enthusiasm for living for HIM! It's a moment-by-moment process of talking to Him every chance you get and trusting Him with all your heart and soul. Kids so need this today!

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