the good stuff about passion 2012.

i alluded to it before, but explaining Passion 2012 and all that went on is going to be difficult.

there just really aren't words for the way that the Spirit was moving and the way the Lord's love was so deeply revealed

but i will try my best, because i want to remember as much as i can forever.

bare with me as i unpack some of it here.  some will be quotes, some will be other thoughts.

during worship:

'worship without change is just a game.'

the first speech was louie giglio.

he talked about spiritual death and how in Luke 7:11 he makes a dead man come to life!

and how the time is NOW.  it's not later.  

this guy is being carried on a stretcher, and any of us have our own 'stretchers', whether that's wounds, relationships, ect., that our carrying us to our death.

i know i mentioned earlier that i knew my unforgiven attitude was playing into this.

we need to put the past behind us and move on.

Jesus can raise the DEAD!!  he can conquer anything we could throw His way.

louie then talked about how the theme for the Georgia Dome is "rise up".

and how that needs to be our motto as Christians, for Jesus. 

also, a Rabi {aka Jesus} was not to touch the unclean.  but He willing touches this man to make him come to life.  Jesus wasn't worried about what He was supposed to do.  but what He was called to do.

'we are DEAD without Him.  we weren't bad, un-churched, needed bailed out.  we were DEAD.  BUT, He made us alive again.  by grace. not of works, so we can't boast.'

'the Gospel is about who you are trusting your life with.'

next was beth moore

she was working in luke 8:40-55 (specifically the interruption in vs 43-48).

this is the women, and then child, who had been bleeding/sick for 12 years.

she was unclean and no one would touch her:

'but we cannot be unclean enough to make a mess of Jesus. our need for healing is bone deep.  we need cleansed.  and at the same time, we cannot forget we've been cleansed'

when everyone else didn't think of her as a priority, Jesus did....just as He thinks we are all priorities.

and how Jesus didn't make it hard for her to reach out.  He is reachable!:

'we don't have to sit and wait, we can reach out and grab on!'

but He is so so powerful.  He was touched by this women and power left him.  then He went and raised a dead man to life!  she had faith in Him.

'faith drove the touch that welcomed the healing'

christine caine (works with sex trafficing in Australia) spoke one afternoon.

she was in John 17:15 and Luke 10:30.

'Jesus interrupts ordinary things to do amazing things'

she discussed how it's easy to think of this as a statistic, 27 million slaves, but they all have names.

'the one thing Jesus went to the cross for was people.'

and as Christians, we were not called to have safety and comfort.  they aren't the goals of christianity.  we are to be lights.  and they work most effectively in darkness:

'we don't need to fear the darkness, we need to take the light into the darkness.'

on tuesday night, we had the amazing franis chan speak.

he talked a lot about scripture and how important it really is.

without being in the word, EVERY aspect of our lives are affect (prayer, ect).

it is important to not just listen to what others say about Jesus, but be discovering ourselves.

'look at someone's life to see if they remind you of Jesus, not just their accreditation'

we are to be prepared in all seasons. we can't believe the lies.

'you read the Bible and do what it says'

{this message really hit home as i have been believing a lot of lies the last several months}

the last big speaker before the last session was the john piper 

he is a genius anyways and so passionate and blew this message out of the park.

he talked about seeing and savoring Jesus Christ, how being satisfied in Him frees us from bondage, and how faith saves us from slavery.

'saving faith is being satisfied in all He is'

'He is supreme in every way over everything...there isn't a square inch on planet Earth where Jesus doesn't yell 'MINE''
'when you do what you want and it coincides with His will is true freedom.  having no regrets!'

'little hearts give little lusts big powers.  but big hearts give big lusts no power'

'it's a desire, not a decision'

he had so much more that i missed and can't take the time to write.  listen to his pod-cast!

ben stewart (the awesome leader of Glitter Green!) quotes throughout the whole entire week:

'your identity determines your activities and decisions and the type of person you are in this world'

'we are never free.  you always serve someone--either God or Satan.  we're slaves!  but you choose to which one'

'we are children of His wrath when we don't have His grace.  we're dead, we're lost.  and i can't fix me.  we're in a bad situation and can't get out alone'

'the gospel does not take me from 'bad' to 'good' but from DEATH to LIFE' 

'we're not beautiful, but ugly people united within a beautiful One'

'it doesn't matter what others think, only our owner can have the final say.  He made us, we are His.  He made us to do good.  that means our life is not a waste!'

'He didn't give all the gifts to one person--we need each other to fulfill the kingdom...when we walk in community it's a powerful thing!'

'if you love God, you love His children'

'to get his 'fruits' we must go to Him daily and hourly'

'be moment by moment dependent'

'the ability to love Him and see Him as lovely is a gift!'

'salvation is not the absence of the struggle with sin.  that's HEAVEN. that's why we want to go there.  one confirmation of life is that we do struggle'

'the trick for us to struggle well is to go after Him!  and the biggest defense is offense.  and the best offensive weapon is the Word of God'

the last morning louie ended things.

he was in Luke 7:11 and how we are to boldly proclaim the gospel.

but not with volume, but with confidence!

and the day that we're given life in Him is the way we start doing significant works.  we don't have to wait.

'brokenness is the bow that God uses to launch the arrow of healing'

'how do you minimize your fear? maximize the idea that i am already chained to the unchainable Jesus who will never be stopped and will always triumph!'

 

and one of my favorites--from ben:

'God spoke and the world came into being.  He didn't stutter.  He can speak clearly...ask Him to do so'

and one of my favorite quotes from our local group was from tim k.

'you know you have a long walk to where you're going when the door holders are cheering you on!' 

and i tell ya, ain't that the truth!  but they did a great job encouraging.

i hope this adds a little glimpse into Passion 2012.  

words honestly cannot do justice.

throughout the conference, we raised $3,066,607 to end slavery!
my God is BIG!