Yesterday I went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York with a group from LU! It was extremely exhausting and i just got back to campus about 2 hours ago, but I can not go to sleep. I'm so amazed by what God is doing in my life, I just can't sleep!
So yesterday's conference was called "A Day of Renewal" and the title definitely fit the events! We arrived in NYC around 6am and then went out to breakfast, around 8:30am we went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle learning center and had an amazing time of prayer and fellowship with our Heavenly Father, we also had a teaching and a large group devotional which was amazing! I had never done a large group devotional, and it's not at all what I had expected to see! Everyone began by praying aloud and then randomly people from all over the room would read scripture, begin songs and pray. It was amazing. After that session we went over to the actual Brooklyn Tabernacle and we had another amazing time of worship, prayer and teaching. The Brooklyn Tabernacle itself is AMAZING! I was completely in awe of how beautiful this church was and how amazing the art was. After this session we went out for pizza in a New York Pizzeria! It was delicious. We then made our way down to Times Square (riding the metro there of course! :) ). Times Square was overwhelming but awesome all at the same time. There was so much going on and so much to look at, I felt like I needed to take a picture of every single little thing because there was so much going on. After wandering around Times Square a little bit, our group ran into 2 men who were speaking about the Bible, but they were speaking about it incorrectly. The guys in our group began talking to them and speaking to them about the Bible. They had very similar views down to very small situations, but the biggest matter that was the problem is that they did NOT believe in a relationship with Christ. Our entire group tried to witness to these men and as I read scripture that God had laid on my heart I felt the real feelings of spiritual warfare. I'm not sure when the last time I had felt that way was, but it was real and others in my group confirmed it. The two men were named Arcemedies and Antony. It was heartbreaking to see how sure they were of their facts they could pull from the Bible yet so unsure of what exactly the Bible was saying! The two men would proof-text, which is pulling random scriptures from random places in the Bible, making one point from different verses, ignoring the story around the verses completely. Throughout trying to prove to these men why Jesus is salvation and he is the ONLY way for salvation, my spirit became weary. The guys in the group asked if they could pray for the two men and they strictly said no and that prayer is between "your God, and you, only." This last comment made me even more skeptical of these two men and what exactly they stood for! I have met so many non-Christians who would appreciate a prayer or two, even if someone doesn't believe in God, wouldn't they want Him on their side... just in case their atheistic views are wrong? I will continue to pray for these two men and I pray always that others will be put into their lives and will be able to share the good news of Christ with them again! Leaving Times Square, our group was in shambles, talking about the men and what we had said, and how God can use the little things we said for good in the long run. It was amazing and I grew way closer to my brothers and sisters in Christ through witnessing to these two men. We then arrived at the Brooklyn Tabernacle for the final service of the day, which was a Prayer Service. It was amazing how everyone in the entire, HUGE church could worship on one accord, and how beautiful it sounded. We worshiped, prayed and worshiped again. I loved how the Church all came together as one, and it wasn't even a sunday morning! I wrote down many of the requests of my heart and many that had been laid on my heart that day by the requests of the Brooklyn Tabernacle congregation and pastoral staff. I was so amazed by how God's Spirit surrounded that place, in the midst of darkness, He was there!
God is so powerful, so amazing, so worthy of all our worship!
He is all knowing, unchanging, so loving!
He has a plan and a purpose for me and I am committed to following it all the days of my life.
I am excited for what today brings, what tomorrow brings, and what the years to come bring!
God is completely in control of my life and He is completely in control of my requests and needs.
I rest in the arms of my Heavenly Father!
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
"Finally brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance."
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