This past week I had the privilege of going to camp with our youth group! This was the first year I was able to go and I was excited beyond words!
Getting on the bus (see, told you I was excited…the moment was picture worthy!)
The speaker at the camp was Jason Petty:
aka: “Propaganda”
The theme of the week was: SELFLESS
Sometimes it’s so easy to get used to hearing the same thing over and over that we stop really listening. This wasn’t a new topic for me…I’ve heard many messages preached about this before, but when this week started, I prayed that God would show me something new and reveal Himself in a NEW way to me….and He did.
Propaganda said something that really stuck out to me. He said “At the foot of the cross the ground is even.” My goodness, that’s good stuff! That means that no matter what our past is, no matter what kind of upbringing we’ve had, when we come to Jesus, we are all the same. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve known Jesus either! Just because someone might have known Jesus their whole life, that doesn’t mean they are “more good” than someone who just met Him.
He preached on the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 (which was really great). Then the last night He talked about 3 things we can do to be selfless:
1. Give with no strings attached
(Are you ok with giving to someone without getting anything in return?)
2. Desiring the best for others
(Can you genuinely rejoice when someone else succeeds?)
3. Mourn with those who mourn
(Can you really walk with others through their pain?)
I guess the thing I really took from the week was how important it is to view others like Jesus does, understanding that He sees all of us the same, no matter what stage of life we are in. I feel like once we understand that, it’s a lot easier to think of others more highly than ourselves.
It’s easy to get into a mindset where we dwell on what WE want, what’s important to US, OUR hurts, OUR wants. When someone offends us, we suddenly feel like WE “deserve” something, that the world should suddenly revolve around US and OUR needs.
What we should be doing is praying that God would help us to see everyone the same, not putting our needs above anyone else’s. Everyone is going through something. People fail us, but real maturity comes when we can put ourselves aside and put others first. What is your motive (why do you do what you do)?
John 3:30 says: HE must become greater; I must become less.
It’s all about perspective. Sometimes it’s hard to set aside our own feelings and emotions in order to view the world through someone else’s eyes. The more we understand that our time on earth is shorter than our time in eternity, the more our perspective will change.
Luke 9:23 (the voice)- If any of you want to walk My path, you’re going to have to deny yourself. You’ll have to take up your cross every day and follow Me.
Here are some pictures from camp, just for fun:
And here is a video: (click below)
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