Here, again.

There's a stirring deep within me,

could it be my time has come-

When I'll see my gracious Savior,

face-to-face when all is done?

Is that His voice I am hearing,

"Come away my precious one!"

Is He calling me?

Is He Calling me?

I close my eyes, the song ringing in my ears. When I open them I am in the dark - sitting on a hard, smooth rock, overlooking a valley: I'm at the baptistery. The leaves rustle in the cool, night breeze. The crickets sing their praises, too, and it is the most beautiful sound in the world. I look up at the stars, and see a comet - as if God is saying, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." The crisp air is so refreshing. Why, God? Why do we have to leave this place? You've given the most beautiful friends here, the most beautiful Christian family - I could not ask for more.. yet I have to leave? This moment here is not sufficient. I want more. I close my eyes, and again ask, "Why?"

I open my eyes and I am sitting on a hard, smooth wooden chair. The room is warm, and the computer screen stares back at me. A friend sends an instant message, worried about this thing and that thing. I help him and in the meantime he is helping me just as much. This is why, God. The places that I've been, the things that I've done, the praise that I've given, the Word that I've learned.. All in preparation for this moment and so many more to come. God is sufficient - here, there, everywhere. I am Christian. I asked God why, and He answers - each time humbles me more than the last. There is a world beyond the baptistery, beyond a camp ground. One can't save a soul that isn't lost - that's why we leave and go back to the rest of the world. To save the rest of the world.

Is He calling me?

You bet He is.

2 Peter 1:3-11

3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Assignment

This was written for an assignment in my Jesus & the Gospels class. It was about how we became a Christian. I haven't posted in a few days, so I thought I would share this. It is pretty short for a college paper. Enjoy=]


Given this assignment, the class was told, in a nutshell, that this will be a “conversion story.” What did I have to be converted to or from? I grew up around Christianity, so I always considered myself a Christian. However, as I dug deeper I thought about my life and how “untraditional” it has been since the day I was born, which has affected how I see God now. I really have converted; it was not from one denomination to another, from disbelief to being intrigued about something I had no idea about. It was my leaving the world behind and finding the meaning for life: Christ.

I was brought into this world to a mother who grew up with God-fearing parents and a father who had been supporting himself since he was sixteen years-old. A mismatched pair, they divorced when I was two and that is where any kind of normalcy ended for me. I cannot count how many towns I have lived in, nor recall the name of the eight schools (+) attended from Pre-kindergarten to senior year of high school. The only consistency was the visit to Coleman, where my brothers and I spent every other weekend with our unreligious Dad. He has always lived there, as do my mother’s parents. On “dad weekends”, as we called them, my grandparents would pick us up for church. They would make sure we said grace before each Sunday meal and gave us small, pocket-sized Bibles. Because of their efforts, there was never a time when did I not believe in God, but I did not know what it meant to live for Him. With moving from town to town, I lacked the foundation to grow in the Word. Mom believed strongly in prayer and taught us good moral, but did not know how to instill the knowledge of the Bible. I actually learned what faith is and how to rely fully on God through a summer church camp I attended sponsored by my grandparent’s church.

Lake Cisco Christian Camp. Try saying that ten times fast! This is a place that has captivated me since I was in fourth grade. I have not missed a summer there since the first time I went. Last summer was my first year to be a counselor. I was baptized there three time. I know, I know.. “There is one body...one faith, one baptism...” (Eph. 4:4-5, NIV). The way I look at them, though, is that two-thirds of those baptisms were simply me getting dunked in chlorinated, dead bug-infested water. When I was thirteen years-old, I was walking around camp with two girlfriends who had been baptized. As we walked they seemed to have concerned looks on their faces. I asked what the matter was, and almost instantaneously they asked, “Kandys, have you ever thought about being baptized?” Just as fast I replied, “Nope!” Needless to say I was baptized later that evening. Just because, really. The following year, every one was so excited in this spiritual high. Two of my best friends decided they were going to be baptized into Christ, one of which had already done so. I thought, “We can all get baptized together because we are best friends! That would be so cute!” I continued to sin without worry, living as if I were the one who was invincible rather than God.

In the next five years God became evermore evident. It dawned on me that this world really IS NOT my home, and I really am just passing through! This is not my life to live, and what kept coming to mind was Phil. 1:21-22 (NIV), stating, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!” I began to comprehend the meaning of such a deep commitment. I understood that baptism is neither about the water, nor that Aaaah-just- been-saved feeling when you are pulled out. More than anything it is not about making your conscience clear. Baptism is a dedication of life; a vow of everlasting commitment; desire to live whole-heartedly for Christ in every thing, with out a second thought. Christianity is not a social club; it is a way of life. Once I understood this, I knew it was time. In June, 2008, I was baptized by my best friend, Matt, with 100% assurance that there were no take-backs.

I converted transformed (Rom. 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”) myself from a worldly being into that of someone who longs to better themselves in Christ. Though I still struggle, God is in every day, in the simplest moments. Whether getting a call from a friend I had just been thinking about or answering a prayer by curing a disease before it is even found by doctors. C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, "I believe in Christianity as I beliebe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

I second that