God is here, and He can be trusted. That was the message today that we wrestled with from several different angles. Jim Johnson kicked off the morning unpacking more of Daniel’s story from Daniel 1:8-9. What really connected from this story with students was the way Jim helped us see that when we meet Daniel in scripture, we meet a character thrust into a scene where he had to deal with being punished for a lot of stuff he didn’t do. Ever been there? Daniel, however, shows us what to do when life throws difficult circumstances at you. He was resolved, (See Daniel1:8-9) and he submitted himself to the work that God was doing in, through, and around him. Daniel was faithful in the part that he lived, and he trusted God to come through in doing what only He could do. Later Jesus echoed this same thought; Matthew 10:16 records Him saying, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” That’s the tension we walk in as we follow Jesus through difficult circumstances. But as we walk we know that above all God is with us in those circumstances, and he can be trusted.

Trevor Devage wrapped up the night challenging students to understand that “God loves us enough to let us in just as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us there” as he spoke about Zaccheaus (Luke 19) and the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10). He also shared a great quote by Kyle Idleman; “You will not be amazed by grace until you are stunned by your own sinfulness.” And finally, The Aaron Pelsue Band led us in a song that was new for us called “The Scandal of Grace” by Hillsong,  that has some pretty awesome lyrics that sum up the quite well:

Grace, what have You done?
Murdered for me on that cross
Accused in absence of wrong
My sin washed away in Your blood

Too much to make sense of it all
I know that Your love breaks my fall
The scandal of grace, You died in my place
So my soul will live

Oh to be like You
Give all I have just to know You
Jesus, there’s no one besides You
Forever the hope in my heart

Death, where is your sting?
Your power is as dead as my sin
The cross has taught me to live
And mercy, my heart now to sing

The day and its trouble shall come
I know that Your strength is enough
The scandal of grace, You died in my place
So my soul will live

Oh to be like You
Give all I have just to know You
Jesus, there’s no one besides You
Forever the hope in my heart

And it’s all, because of You, Jesus
It’s all, because of You, Jesus
It’s all, because of Your love
And my soul will live

Oh to be like You
Give all I have just to know You
Jesus, there’s no one besides You
Forever the hope in my heart