Is the Ship Still Burning?

What a question! However, it is one that I must ask. For a lot of you students who went to camp, I know that the Lord did a work in your lives. I watched a lot of you as you listened to the message on Saturday morning and Saturday night. I saw a resolve in your faces that this is it; I am going to change from the old way of doing things to the new. The tears that flowed from some of your faces were tears of relief that finally “someone feels my pain and I don’t have to hide it anymore.” Then on Saturday night, many turned those tears into action with the burning of the ships. What a powerful experience! I know that the Lord was looking down on all of you who participated and He could do nothing less than smile. Because He, who knows all things, was able to do what He had planned from the foundations of the earth. He wanted to set some of you free from the bonds of slavery, which is sin. I was moved to see a lot of you burn whatever ship you needed to get to where the Lord wanted you to be. The question now is “Is the Ship still burning, or have you put it out?”

What was it like coming back from Winter Chill this year knowing that you preformed an act unto the Lord? Has this camp experience been turned into just that, an experience? Has the oil of the Lords Holy Spirit dried up? Are you starting to crack and become dry all over again? If so, we have missed the mark.

One of the phrases we want to convey to MSM this year is “turning camp retreat experiences into ‘NORMS’ ”. What do I mean by that? You know many times when we go off to camps and retreats we have these great experiences, and no doubt they are real moves of God for some of us. For some they are just good “get aways”, but for the most part they are wonderful times with the Lord. However, when we get home we tend to slip back into the same old ways and habits we had before we left. This is where we have to make a stand within our own being. We have to make up in our own hearts that we are going to be different in the ways we need to be; especially in the areas where we let God deal with us at the camp or retreat. This will help us turn the experience into a “NORM”.

Think about it, if I allowed the Lord to touch me in my heart in the area of anger and bitterness and then He gave me joy and peace, I don’t want to pick that junk back up when I return from camp. So that means I need to do something to turn the experience into a “NORM”. What was happening when the Lord touched me? I was worshipping and praying and seeking Him in His word. Guess what, those are the ingredients to turning your experience into a “NORM”. I need to find myself in worship and prayer and His Word to keep my fire alive. The last thing you want is to allow the fire that’s burning your ship to go out. Do whatever you need to do to keep it burning. You want this “NORM” to last a lifetime.

So, how do you do it? Let’s take the three things I mentioned before - worship, prayer and God’s Word. These three are awesome because you need these in your life to stay a “Contagious Christian”.

· PRAYER is you speaking to your Father in a way only you know how. This helps your relationship to stay authentic. When you talk to your Daddy you tell Him your deepest heart issues. When you do that He is able to respond to you in a special way; a way that is only for you.

· WORSHIP enters you into the Lord’s presence and gets you face to face with Him. At this point you are able to experience the joy and peace of an authentic relationship.

· GOD'S WORD - This is the means in which you not only listen, but you can read what the Father is telling you about your burning ship. When you discover that your burning ship is something that has kept you from hearing or receiving His Word for you, being in His word will keep the fire white-hot.

This would be a “NORM” for a person in this situation. For some it might be just staying connected with those in MSM. For some it might just be going to church on Sunday morning. Whatever the situation, whatever you need to do, TURN the experience into a “NORM” not only for yourself but also for your student ministry. Let the experience of camp last all year.

I ask you again “Is the ship still burning?” I hope it is, but if it isn’t, put more wood on the fire. :)

Him Alone,

Amos Gray