Read John 10:7-10 before moving any further. Go on, open it up, read it!

The shepherd was a common figure for Jesus’ original audience. They would have immediately recognized all that this metaphor suggested. We miss a lot of this because we are not 1st Century shepherds. But John 10:10 is pretty hard to miss.

Do you know Christ-followers who seem to live in a constant state of anger, misery, and/or bitterness? They tend to make their faith all about rules… what to do, what not to do. These rules become their God. They seem to suck the life out of a room as well as giving Christ-followers a bad reputation.

God’s intent is not for our lives to be stale and boring. John 10:10 is only one piece of support for that, but there are plenty more. God desires us to live a full life, a life that’s purpose is something BIGGER than ourselves. If we surrender to His greater purpose, we will always have purpose, mission, adventure, and passion. Passion is the heart set free to pursue that which is truly worthy.

Persecution is a reality for nearly two hundred million Christians around the world. Daily, they risk their lives simply because they believe in Jesus. They could surrender, or convert, or quit but the love of Jesus is worth the sacrifice. For many of them, this road leads to death.

This summer, MOVE invites us on a journey around the world. From the jungles of Colombia to the war-torn streets of Baghdad, LOVE COSTS EVERY THING tells the real-life stories of Christians standing firm in the face of death. Though persecution is severe, the faithful continue to rise. The church is advancing. God’s people are risking it all in the name of love. And it is worth it, because love costs every thing.

Here’s a short preview of the film our students got to see this past week at MOVE.

We’re packing up tonight, coming home tomorrow, but this is only the beginning! Many of our students have made commitments for this coming year. . . to surround themselves with other Christians, bring breakfast to their teachers once a month, adopt a single mom and their family for the year, lead a middle school small group, memorize Matthew 5-7, do the Daniel Fast for 10 days, I could go on and on! And the best part is, we’re in this together. If nothing else, we learned this week that our lives are about SOMETHING BIGGER than us. As we studied John the Baptist, we saw that everything in his life pointed to SOMETHING BIGGER. Everything in his life was about Jesus… he never took the attention for himself, but always pointed it back to Christ.

God will use our life, and if we really want our lives to matter, they will always point back to Him! Our students are not coming home the same. My request to you… if you know one of these students well, or you are his/her parent, ask them what they’ve committed to and create a way to help them out. We’re not in this alone.

See you tomorrow!

So it’s dodgeball day, but it was a little shortlived. So we are making the most of it and playing ultimate frisbee instead.

We’re getting ready this morning to head into our last day. Yesterday, we looked at Daniel 1-3 and studied through the testimony of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego. Our speaker, Josh Howard, led us to 3:16-17,

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Then he said this statement, “Did you catch that? Even if. Even if. Even if. Even if God didn’t do what they wanted, they still would not serve other gods. Even if. We live in a world of only if. God, I will worship you only if… 

• My parents stay together
• I can still be popular
• I can wear whatever I want
• I like my minister
• I don’t have to sacrifice anything
• No one close to my dies
• My friends still love me
• I don’t have to give up anything
• I can still have the standard of living I want.”

What are some of your “even ifs?” Even if ____________, I will serve my God. Even if ________, I will remain faithful. Josh challenged us with that very thought last night. And as the night closed out, this phrase ran across the screen, “Speak, for Your servant is STANDING.”  As we head into today, we are getting ready to study the life of John the Baptist. In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist says that he is not even worthy to carry the sandals of Christ. If John the Baptist isn’t worthy, what does that make us? Please be in prayer for us today as we close out the day strong. Also, feel free to leave comments and tell us some of your “even ifs,” as well.

And here are some photos for your enjoyment. 🙂

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Today we had some extended recreation time and took off for the beach. Be jealous… very very jealous. 🙂

Good morning! Did you notice the time on this post is a little later than usual? 🙂

Yesterday we read the Word, said the Word, heard about the Word, talked about the Word, encouraged others with the Word. . . it was ALL about the Word. Our speaker last night, Jayson French, took us to two main passages in Revelation 10:10 and Ezekiel 3:2-4. Giving us lots of Biblical history, and all the while grilling a steak on stage during his sermon (yes, seriously!) he talked about how many people go their entire lives just smelling the word, being around the Word, but never actually “eating” the Word… never letting it get inside of them and change them from the inside out. And if there is any reason that people go to conferences like this, and wonder why two weeks later they remain unchanged, it’s because they don’t “eat the Word.”

He shared about how he believes this Book brings life, how he knows this Book changes people, and how he believes it is stronger than any double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), he went through a series of circumstances he or others were facing and then asked, “What does the Word have to tell me about that? What does the Word say to me about that?” Then, something pretty incredible happened. People all throughout the stadium began standing up and reading Scripture. Some shouting it, in fact. And at the end, these words came across the screen, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is SEEKING.” After the main session was over, we shared the Word. Students shared what was on their heart, what they were struggling with, and then we all looked up Scripture to share with them. If you haven’t caught on already, our students began starving for the Word last night… and some for the first time.

Today we are moving into day 4, and we’ll be looking at the life of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We’re watching a film produced by CIY & Voice of the Martyrs called LOVE COSTS EVERY THING, which brings focus to the persecuted church all throughout the world. It’s going to be a big day.

Anne

Good morning again! We’re headed into Day 3 here at MOVE. Yesterday we took a deep look into the life of Rahab and Joshua. Rahab’s change began when she hung a scarlet cord outside her window. Our students were asked this question: If the red chord is a symbol of calling on God’s help, where do you need the red cord in your life? Is it a habit? Relationship? Fear? Past regret?  We learned that in order for Rahab to experience rescue, she had to first come to obedience. Rescue requires obedience. Grabbing hold of the red cord and calling on God for help is the first action of faith. Our students received red ribbon and took them to our main session, where they were given an opportunity to attach their “red cord” onto a stream of other red cords, symbolizing that they were a piece of God’s bigger story for their lives. At the end of the night, this phrase ran across the screen,“Speak Lord, for your servant is TRUSTING.”

Today we are diving into the life of Josiah, from 2 Kings 22 & 23. Through the life of Josiah, we see that he knew how to respond to God’s word. The bottom line today is for us to not only understand the importance of God’s word, but that we would be familiar with it and know how to respond.

Thanks for praying for us this week. Keep it up. I can’t wait to see how studying the life of Josiah changes us.

Anne

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It really is as beautiful as it looks!

Good morning! We’re moving into our second day here at MOVE and things are gearing up. Last night, we had our first main session and heard all about Samuel’s encounter with God. Awakened in the middle of the night, Samuel received his first calling–a call that would alter the way he lived from that day forward, a call that would last a lifetime. God called Samuel three times before Samuel understood who was actually speaking to him. God calls us to all sorts of things: big things, small things, and even some seemingly impossible things. In 1 Samuel 3:9, God clearly called Samuel, and Samuel responded by saying, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” 

This question was asked: WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO? What voices are the loudest in your life? What voices have the most influence? Parents, coaches, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, youth leaders, teachers, etc.? And, does God’s voice matter?

Last night we studied Samuel, and today we’re looking at the life of Rahab from Joshua 2. God has every intention of using all of us, but first, we have to surrender to Him. The challenge for our students today is to begin with confession. Please pray for all of us today as we continue to seek out God’s voice and ask Him to speak clearly to us.

As we continue throughout the day, we’ll post pictures (and who knows, maybe even a video)! Thanks for tuning in.

Anne