This past week, as you know, I spent my time at Winter Youth Retreat. This had to have been the best year we have ever had. I always start out kind of like...meh it's just another retreat...the whole "fleshly" response to things. But I know that when I get there I will be blessed.
The theme for this year was "Loosing my mind, finding reality. Be real to me God." I knew there was more to this theme but didn't know what. Brother William Branham said that the battle of the mind was the greatest battle ever fought...and boy was he right.
When the group of 150 or more young people gather at this camp...great things happen. I feel completely confident that the faith of all of us coming together can accomplish anything.
The first night service started out great. The second night, though, you could really feel that something wasn't right. Satan was fighting us young people as hard as he could to keep us from receiving anything from God...but as I said before...the faith of the young people came together and broke through! There wasn't even an altar call and we all gathered up there, began praying, and God moved.
Every service after that was amazing. Everyone seemed so different this year. There was more of a desire to have Godly conversation instead of the shallow talk about the weather. People were holding devotions before and after service and even during meals.
The day everyone left camp was New Years Eve. 80 of us gathered at one house for pizza, then a few groups broke away and went to different friends houses around the area. One group in particular had a complete move of God that was enough to make the cops come and arrest them all! (Thankfully that didn't happen.)
The next day, which was this past Sunday, all of the young people that came to our church gathered in a back room and had prayer before service. The service continued as follows: amazing congregational worship, 2 hours of testimonies with a few song specials in between, then an hour or so of Bro. Paul preaching, and about another hour of everyone at the altar praying together and worshiping our amazing God.
Four hours of worship my friends. We haven't had a service like this since I was about 14. The presence of God was so strong, Bro. Paul couldn't even preach!
What an amazing way to start the year off. Every testimony raised my faith, every song increased my love for God, and every word Bro. Paul spoke gave me more of a hunger to serve the Lord and be closer to Him.
Most people think that a revival is some shouting, dancing, speaking in tongues service. But that's not it at all. A revival is a refreshing of the spirit of God in your very soul. It's like having God breathe new life into you.
All I have to say after a week like that is, I can't wait for the rapture to come so we can spend eternity with God and all of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
God bless you all friends. I pray that God blesses each and every one of you in this coming year. And may He come quickly.
"Keep your mind stayed on me, stayed on me, faithfully. And I will give you perfect peace, sweet release, if you'll just keep your mind stayed on me."