A Movement in Asbury

 On February 8, 2023, students at Asbury Christian University had a chapel service. Since then, they have not stopped worshipping. There are no “celebrity” pastors or adults demanding that they do this. People are going there from all over America trying to discover what is happening there. Some people call it a revival. Some people say it is not a revival unless you feed the poor. (Why do Americans love to quote Judas?) Some say it is just kids being over emotional. Why do humans placate what God is doing? The answer is that humans do not understand the heart and work of God. In this small Christian college in Kentucky, God is working on the hearts of the students. Maybe, just maybe, we should allow God to do His work without our interferences.

I have no idea what is occurring in Kentucky at that small Christian college. I do know that it is a tough time to be a young person in our society. Everyone is screaming from all directions of how young people must think and believe. As a former youth pastor, I have grieved the students who have walked away from God because they are pulled to the desires of their flesh, whatever those desires may be. What I do know is that I have to allow God to work. 

God doesn’t need us telling him how to revive someone’s heart. God needs to do his work of reviving hearts. We must pray. Many people claim that Christians don’t know who Jesus is because Jesus hung out with sinners and had dinner with them. While that is true, they also don’t continue reading the Bible with a few verses later in which Jesus tells the Pharisees that he came for the sick not the healthy. Jesus didn’t come to hang out with the sick but to heal them. In Kentucky, some hearts are being healed because they chose to hang out with Jesus. 

What I have discovered in the past few years is that I must listen to the voice of God over the voices of humans who think they know the voice of God. I also discovered that before I can do any act of service or goodness, God must heal my heart. 

People are coming to Jesus at this chapel meeting in Kentucky. People are on their knees praying. God is moving through the people to heal their hearts. The movement is growing to other Christian universities that are now having their own spiritual gatherings. The beauty of it is indescribable. Instead of wondering or criticizing, maybe it is time that we join them in this movement.

As a teacher of high school students and a former youth pastor, I am thrilled that it is young people leading the way with this movement. Young people are not the church of tomorrow, but they are the church of today. I hear wisdom from young people all the time. These young people are learning the Word of God in their classes. I remember my Bible college days. I learned so much of how to read and understand the Bible. I remember conversations with other students who were learning with me. My time at Bible college was one of the best growth periods in my walk with Jesus. 

Here in Southern California, our church camp resides in our mountains. God’s beautiful creation surrounds you there. With mountain peaks, trees, animals, and stars in the sky. The presence of God is felt by all who enter. Worshipping on that mountain was indiscernible and incredible. The young people with me always had their hearts healed at that camp. I did too. 

The young people in Kentucky are having a healing of their hearts. No matter what else is occurring, their hearts are being healed. If one person decides to live their life for Jesus, it is worth it. The changes may not happen within a few weeks or even a few months or years, but change will happen. Let us embrace it. Let us join in at our own churches in this country. Let Jesus heal our hearts. 

Starting the New Year...Again

 Starting the New Year usually begins with the anticipation that this year will be better than the previous year. We set goals and create plans to make the New Year better. Then, life hits, and we begin to crumble and slowly we begin to let go of our goals. We lose hope. Then, we repeat the same process the following year. I know this because I used to do this until I created manageable goals with addendums. That helped, especially this year when life hit in the beginning of January. 

In the beginning of my Christmas break, I sat down and created a list of detailed goals for the New Year. I set goals for each month, as I want to grow with my goals. Although the list seemed daunting, I knew it wasn’t. The New Year started, but my goals had to take a backseat to life events. 

My mom’s health was failing since the fall, but in December it worsened. When my mom passed on January 10th, I had to reset and do life differently. It was because of this event that I realized that it’s great to set goals for the New Year, but we must give ourselves grace for when life hits. So, no matter where your New Year starts, you can always start a New Year with goals and begin a process in life that will create a healthier life for yourself. 

Although I never told him, one of my pastors in 2014 challenged me. In the beginning of the message, he quoted statistics of how people do not keep resolutions. He actually said no one kept them. I saw that last statement as a challenge. Someone has to be keeping them because people keep hoping that they can keep them as they keep making them. So, I made a resolution that year to write every day and have a daily quiet time. I made a change that year that fixed everything. 

In 2015, as a I made the resolution to write every day, I made an addendum. I decided that if I missed a day, I would start all over the next day. Although I would claim that I never gave up and I was persistent, the truth was when I messed up, I gave up before 2015. So, I created the addendum to keep me going. In 2015, I created that addendum to give myself grace. Even though I didn’t have to use the addendum that year, it gave me less stress because I knew my goal was more than just writing every day. My goal was to improve my life with my writing. 

I didn’t miss a day of writing or a daily quiet time in 2015, and that year my writing improved. I kept that goal. The addendum stays, and this year, that addendum was necessary. So, if you made resolutions or goals and have not kept them, give yourself an addendum to start over in this new month of February. 

It is important for us to give grace to ourselves. Sometimes, the hardest person to forgive is yourself. Jesus gives grace, and we must give ourselves grace when we mess up. Life hits. It always will. Give yourself a fresh start every month, or even every week, or if necessary, every single day. You are worth it.