Follow Me Because I Follow Christ

Matthew 16:24 says: Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wants to come with me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."

        That is a very well known verse, however, we usually don't take time to really listen to what it is saying. If we want to follow Christ, we must first deny ourselves. We have to be willing to give up EVERYTHING we have for The King of Kings. Anything that He has for us, is so much better than what we have or could ever hope to have. 

       ***Taking up our cross is self denial. We need to refuse to settle for anything less that the very best... Which is God. It also means torture or persecution. Jesus went through so much for us... Are we willing to do the same for Him? No pain, no gain. Are we willing to suffer temporal pain for eternal gain? And lastly, it means death. We need to die to self, die to pride, die to sin, die to anything that goes against what God says*** 

       The last part is the most important part. (In my opinion.) We need to FOLLOW Him. Not just say we do, we really need to follow. That means waiting on His timing and not rushing it and going with what you had planned. It means being obedient to His calling and being willing to go where He wants you to go. Its trusting in Him even when things get tough. It's knowing that He wont fail you... EVER!! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We are called to be holy as He is holy. We can't do it on our own, and if we aren't committed to Christ, there is no way that we will ever be holy. As we draw nearer to Him, and let Him change us, that is when we will start looking more like Christ. Its not a pain free experience. He will stretch us and take us out of our comfort zone. He knows where our hearts are, but He is testing us to see if we will follow Him.

The saying "Follow me because I follow Christ" is very heavy. If we say it, we cant be hypocritical about it. The word "Christian" literally means "little Christ". So many of us "Christians" are going around and saying we are following Christ, but are living the exact opposite. We can't say we are living like Christ, while we are really living like the devil. It can't happen. If we don't look like what we are proclaiming, its time to take a step back, pray and see what isn't lining up with what we are saying. We cant expect people to want to be a follower of Christ if we are living the same way that they are. That is what drives people away from the church and from Christianity in general. We have such a double standard as Christians and tend to live hypocritically. Its time to change. Its time to get real with God. Its time to start living out your faith and truly start following Christ. 

(I wrote this with only myself in mind... However, I hope that it opened your eyes to how much this nation needs God. And it won't ever reach it unless we change first. Pray, "Lord, send revival... And start it in Me!"

We need God to change this nation.. but it won't happen without prayer. We need change, but we need God more.)

***www.markbatterson.com*** 

He washed my sins away!

Hey guys,

Its been a while since I have updated y’all. Since the last update, we have been to two other churches. We went to Goodlettsville, TN after Harrodsburg and we were there for 8 days. I stayed with Tara at Jeff and Mary’s home. They have a daughter, Katie, who is 19. God did some great things in Goodlettsville with the adults and in the kids.

After Goodlettsville, we went to Asheville, NC for Heart Cry for Revival. It was a conference that our team got to do worship for. That was a really great time seeking God as a team. Heart Cry was 4 days and then we left for Guyton, GA. We were at New Providence Baptist for 11 days. It is Danielle’s home church, so that was fun to have her family there. It was our last summit with Laine and Janet and their kids, so that was sad. But we had an end of the year party at Danielle’s house. We got to square dance, and sack-race and compete with corn toss and seed spitting. It was so much fun to learn how to square dance with the team.

We left Guyton and headed to Honea Path, SC. Me and Jodie are staying with Sam and Cathy’s home. We just got here two days ago and I am really excited to see how God is going to work in this church. This morning was the first morning of the summit and we had ten kids in Happy Heart.

I am praying that God gives us all energy and focus. This is our second to last summit of the year and its winding down fast. It has been a wonderful year and I am excited to see what is going to happen next year too.

Thank you for all your prayer and support. It really is a blessing.

Watch this video and read the lyrics.. its great http://proskuneo.org/2012/12/multilingual-worship-song-loue-haitian-creole-english/

Christ is Risen From the Dead

Hey guys! So last summit we were in Harrodsburg, KY at Harrodsburg Baptist Church. It started out really well and once again, there were at least two nights where Laine didn't preach. God really took over that church and moved in a great way. On the first Wednesday, there were a lot of people who went up to testify. Because of that, the night was very long. Us Happy Heart teachers decided to circle up and pray for everything that was going on in the sanctuary. We told the kids that they could come join us if they wanted, or they could finish their game. Every single child came over and joined our circle to pray. It was the coolest thing EVER! Each service that week went about 3 to 3 and a half hours. But God was moving so much. He worked so much in my host family too. It was really cool to see what God was doing in their lives.
    That summit I stayed with Amanda at Chad and Leanna's home. They had two kids. Logan is 16 and Joshua was 11. It was really great to get to know them and spend time with them. We ended up extending our summit for an extra day. And the super awesome thing was that all of the team got to sit in for the last night to see what God was doing. We got to partake in the Lord's Supper with everyone in the church.
   Right now we are on Spring break!!! We are in Johnson City, NC at The Barn at Buladean. We have a beautiful view of the mountains. I am rooming with Danielle, Hannah, and Sarah. So far me and Danielle have watched The Parent Trap on VHS :)
   God is so great and I am super excited for church tomorrow for Easter!

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave!

Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with him again
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave!

Stuttgart, AR

     This summit is in Stuttgart, AR. Tomorrow is our last day here, but this summit has been pretty good. We have been staying with Darren and Tricia. However, we ended up moving halfway through the week, because Dylan got the flu. So we moved in with Teresa and Bruce. They have two girls, Jenny and Samantha. We are once again back with Tricia and Darren and Dylan is doing fine. Instead of being in Happy Heart, I have been in Teens for the beginning and in service during main. I have really enjoyed getting to listen to what the teens are learning from Michael. On Sunday, we talk about salvation. He really put it in perspective of what it means to die to self.
     I got to see my parents this summit! I missed them so much! They came bearing pies :) They brought 9 pies, and a lot of love. I got to spend the night with them Thursday and Friday. They left on Saturday morning and made it home safely. It was really great to visit with them and to just have fun with family.
    Next summit we will be in Harrodsburg, KY. I am very excited about that summit. It seems like revival has already started. There has been many people saved already, and just some of the activities that have been going on, it gives me a new excitement. I know that God is working here and in all of the other places we have been and are going to go to.
    Please keep praying for our team as we only have 4 summits left this year. We need to finish well and not get distracted. Also that we will continue to walk with God daily and He will strengthen our faith.
Thanks for everything you do!!

Faithfulness None Can Deny

      This past summit went really well. We were in Hernando, MS. God did some really amazing things on the first Tuesday night. We ended up going for about 3 or so hours. God really moved in families. In Happy Heart, we had our biggest group at 34. It was so much fun to have that many kids, and it seemed like they understood the lessons too! I really enjoyed our host home. Andrea and Dave were generous enough to host three of us. They bought me a cheesehead! (Go Pack Go!) They have two children, Elizabeth and Joshua. It was awesome getting to know them.
      We are now in Stuttgart, AR. The summit just started yesterday. I am sitting in for main service and I am working with the teens during pre service. I really enjoy being in with the teens. I have made some connections with some of the girls already and I am excited to see what God will teach me. I am staying with Angela and Jodie at Tricia and Darren's home. They have two children, Dylan and Haley. I am very excited to see what God is going to do at this church!
       Laine and Janet are in Texas for the Vision Gathering, so we have a guest speaker for this summit. I cant believe how fast February went by! Its already March, which means we have about 2 and a half months left of traveling!
      Today during team meeting, God really put on my heart how important it is to please God and not man. Also that it is impossible to please God without faith. God has really been working with me on that one. I know that God is faithful because He has proven Himself time and time again. But I struggle with trusting that He will be faithful again... Time and time again He proves me wrong, He always comes through. Praise the Lord.
    I am super excited to see my family this week!!! I miss them and will send love with them for all of my "Rustonians"

Thanks for all your prayers!

White Flag

          This past summit was good. We were in Social Circle, GA. It was a quaint little town and I liked it. I stayed with Allison at CL ad Joyce's house. They were so sweet! Unfortunately they got the stomach bug that was going around and were not able to attend many services. Despite that, there were many who went up and testified about what God had been doing in their life. We had about 16 children in Happy Heart the entire time. Matt was sitting in again so it was just me and Angela, but we did it well! There was one night where I went home sick, slept for 4 hours and then went back to bed at 11:00 that night. I felt much better the next day. :)
          We are now in Hernando, MS. I am staying with Sarah and Hilary. We are staying at Dave and Andrea's house. They have two kids; Elizabeth, 13 and Joshua, 15. I am very excited for this summit to start and see what God is going to do here. In Happy Heart, we are going to have (estimated) 45 kids!!! That is the biggest group we have had all year! I have a good feeling about this summit and I know that God will do great things!
       So as I was getting ready this morning, Sarah was playing her music. The song White Flag came on. I absolutely love that song. Its a good reminder that we need to surrender daily! God has already won whatever battle we are going to face that day, and we need to surrender to Him and let Him fight it for us. What a great reminder! I appreciate all your prayers and will try to keep y'all updated more often.

Rediscover You

Hey Y'all! This past summit was really great! We had so many amazing testimonies of current addictions, and breaking addictions. It was amazing. I had never heard so many testimonies like that before. God was really working in that church. We had a big group of Happy Heart kids all week, which was awesome. And one of the kids, Jedadiah, wanted to auction a cow. So we let him :) He was pretty good at auctioning too. There were so many great times at this church. We are currently headed to Social Circle, GA for our next summit. It will be our 10th church of the travel year but our 3rd church of 2013. The time is going by so fast! I cant believe its February 1st already. In 14 days, we all have to tell Head Quarters if we are traveling again or not. I have already let them know that I will be traveling. God has really showed me that this is where He has me for the next year. I am so thankful and appreciative that I have y'alls prayers! (I have been pickin' up on the whole "y'all" thing) This past week we had a team meeting and Laine talked about faith.. It really hit me, I dont have faith and I need to. Its not something that happens over night, but God is definitely showing His faithfulness to me. He provides time after time and yet I doubt. I am asking Him to help me believe and trust Him. This week I heard this song again. It is called Rediscover You. The chorus is this: "You told me, look for You and I will find. So I'm here like I'm searching for the first time. Revive me, Jesus, make this cold heart start to move. Help me rediscover You"
I think its very fitting.
Thank y'all for everything!