Amsterdam

This post will be more of an informative one as I will be sharing from our schools time in Amsterdam...

This past week our DTS traveled to Amsterdam for ten days to receive teaching from a YWAM ministry called "The Lighthouse" which is centered around bring the love of Jesus and hope through building relationships to those who are working in the red light district as well as reaching out to the tourists who come their to visit.  It was an intense time where God really confirmed things in my life regarding the future and showed me a lot of things in my life where I need to continually draw near to Him and be strengthened in knowing that my identity is rooted  and grounded in who He is.  I really felt like God gave me an overwhelming peace to take the next step to apply for a six week seminar focused on Human Trafficking and the Christian response which takes place with The Lighthouse next April.

I was really reminded of God's love and the importance it is to have close intimacy with Him.  I was challenged by the thought that prayer is not only when you are in the prayer room, but when you leave, Jesus goes with you and relationship with Him is meant to be a 24/7 thing.  I feel like God has been specifically highlighting how crucial it is as a Christian in today's society to be rooted in the word of God, The Bible.  One of our speakers, Sarah, mentioned how every night she falls asleep listening to her audio Bible, and how much of an impact that makes on her relationship with God and her familiarization with scriptures, even though she is asleep!  I was really challenged by that and have now started to listen to my Bible as I fall asleep.  Even though I have only done it for maybe four nights, I already notice how peaceful I feel when I can just let my mind relax and fall asleep to the voice of God,  There has been some big steps of Faith God has been implementing in my life and I am excited for the moment when I am released to share with you about them and to see how this journey with God continues to unfold.  

Through this week we were challenged in many areas, especially when it comes to our Idea of Justice.  We automatically look at situations of injustice through our own cultural glasses, creating our own biased.  When dealing with issues of injustice we need to take a step back and see the big picture of who is affected, what background do they come from, and see within the Culture what is right and fair.  As people who stand for Justice we need to realize that Justice is not convenient, we need to count the costs and realize the commitment it is going to take to fulfill whatever dream or vision you want to be a part of.  I am learning how much more I need to learn, and I am excited to continue to do research and know my stuff, so that I can represent what I stand for in its true light.  As we look at Justice we learn that it is right relationship,  when we love our neighbors as ourselves, and love the Lord our God with all of our heart soul mind and strength.  Justice also includes generosity.  Our God is really a generous God and we should take after our Father.  God calls us to "Radical Generosity".  Ultimately it comes back to Christ, The Word, and our relationship with Him.  Without that we will not have a clear picture of what Justice is.  One quote that I really loved from this teaching was "True peace is not merely the absence of war, it is the presence of justice." -Jane Addams

One of our speakers, Clara, talked about loving individual people, how Jesus calls us to step up for the ones placed in front of us.  The scripture tell us that we must love each other with the same love Christ has for us.  It is not to makes us feel stressed but to set the bar at Jesus and throughout life to aim for loving people with a Christ like love.  Clara also talked a lot about repentance, and I was really challenged to change my perspective on my failures and to see repentance as God highlighting an area of our lives in order to bring us into a greater freedom.  It also does not mean that we won't struggle with the insecurities we have faced in our lives but overcoming them means clinging to the victory we already have in the Lord.  Another revelation was just to think about the fact that we are saved! The realization that God stopped for us, He loves us! We do not need to be afraid of talking about our failures of our blind spots but humbling bring them into the light!  When we spend more time with Him the more time we want to spend with him.  The Holy Spirit is an all consuming fire, He is longing to enter that place of intimacy at all hours of the day.  When we draw near to the Lord He will draw near to us!  May our prayer be to love Jesus more today than yesterday, because we cannot love people without loving God and you cannot love God without loving people!  

I could honestly just write and write, there is so much I have learned this past week!! But for now I will close and will write some more posts over the next few days!  I hope that through what God has been showing me that you too can also draw nearer to Him and discover more of the love He has for you!  Be Blessed!