Most rewarding 60 minutes in the mall.

Connie and I were in the mall the other day meeting Denae and Will (our grandson) for lunch. Lance and Olivia happened to be in town as well and we all were just doing different things in the mall. I gladly took Will in his stroller and we just walked the mall while the others shopped. This turned out to be great because he went to sleep almost immediately which meant that all I had to do was keep moving. To my utter shock and amazement I was stopped three times in less than an hour by three adults who recognized me and asked if I was “SEX ED.” I had brief conversations with all three of them which basically consisted of “Oh, I remember so much of what you taught us,” “Thanks, for what you do. You helped me so much.” “Do you still teach students like you used to?” “When I have kids I hope that you are still doing the Sex Ed thing.”

Let me just say that was the most rewarding 60 minutes that I have ever spent in the mall in my entire life. All I could do was look at Will and think about his future and thank God for being able to raise a godly daughter who married a godly man and praise God that both of them practiced what I teach and were virgins on their wedding night.

Let me be totally honest here. As I have turned 50 this year it makes you think about the past and the future as it relates to the present. God just allowed me to see that my past has positively affected the future. He also told me to stay faithful, faithful, faithful and this power to influence the future would increase.

COME ON FRIENDS . . . DO NOT STOP OR BACK UP WE ARE WORLD CHANGERS!!!!

Prov 4:20-22
20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
NKJV

As I begin my 16th year of speaking in schools I am more excited than ever with all the possibilities that this year will hold for us. I know that this is my call to the youth of America, to bring the truth about sexual purity before them so that they can find a long healthy life. As you well know the “ABSTINENCE ONLY” message is under severe attack in the American public school system (as is all Biblical truth) but we will not stop or back up in the face of this opposition.

Thanks for reading!
Ed


Matt 5:13-16

Youth Camp - "THE EXPERIENCE"

We just finished our (Connie & I) first Youth Camp with our students at Generations Church. Youth Camp is an "experience" that we all need to have. It gets us away from the routine of our lives. It gets us out of the cycle we are in. It stretches us out of our comfort zones in worship, Word, & relationships.

We had some students that this was either their first or second time to ever go out of town and spend the night for several days. They were just in awe of the atmosphere at Mo Ranch (near Kerrville, TX). They were stretched in their worship, pulled into an introspective look at their lives, called to make life altering decisions, thrust into new relationships with each other, and challenged to go home and be a world changer.

We had 3 students in attendance who had made a choice to be followers of Christ the week before at our Sunday service. This meant that Youth Camp was like a compressed boot camp for them. Rules, time tables, worship twice a day, preaching twice a day, drama workshop, and last but not least was the river all afternoon.

The raw hunger that we saw at camp just reminded me of what it might be like if someone had been in prison for several years and then released. At first they were all feeling one another out to see if we can live in such close quarters and get along. Will I fit in and whom will I fit in with? You could see in their eyes a wariness like a dog who has been beaten and it is not sure whether or not you are going to do the same. As we worshipped you could see the hunger spreading from one to the other as they began to sense the love of God sweep them up into His arms and love them. The walls were coming down moment by moment day by day. Before long they were open to God through worship and the Word, but more importantly they were loving each other. For most of these students they live less than ideal home lives and seem to be always waiting for the other shoe to drop and crush their hopes and dreams. This was no dream all the food you wanted, all the love you could stand, people who were caring about you unconditionally, and intense spoken direction right into your circumstances. JESUS WAS AS CLOSE AS THE MENTION OF HIS NAME. JESUS WAS REAL AND NOT JUST A RELIGIOUS IDEAL!! The prisoners are free to live and free to love. Their battles are all about how they see themselves. Will they believe what Jesus says about them and refuse to believe what the world and their circumstances tell them?

Raw thirst . . . . Raw hunger . . . where are they? Why am I not hungry like that in everyday life. Because I let the cares and distractions of my world carry me down a polluted river called the world. Let's rise above these base desires and give ourselves over to a Savior who tells us "those that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled." Fill us Lord! Let me drink from the well that never runs dry of pure sparkling water that cleanses and refreshes me.

All in all youth camp is an "experience" that most of us have had and we have fond memories of it. The "experience" probably was not meant to last because we have to come back to the real world and live. However God has proven to us that He is there and knows the intimate details of our lives so let's live for Him. Let's follow Him. Let's trust Him. Let's believe Him. Let's obey Him. We can all do these things without being at camp. Then next summer will come and we love the "experience" again. Plus we will look back and know that we have come so far but He is willing to take us to even great heights.

Do not miss camp Sunday. It will be life changing.

Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no one pursues,But the righteous are bold as a lion. NKJV

Believing,

Ed