While I have been away I had hoped to post something every day – something I had been challenged by each day at the GFA Conference. But things got busy and getting an internet connection got harder so that didn’t happen. But as I travel home and begin to reflect on the last week I’ll post some thoughts.
Families of Fire – Conference theme
Since it is taking me two days to get home (not that I’m travelling all that time but lots of wait-over time) I have time to sit back and reflect on what I have heard but most importantly what it is that God wants me to remember – what is it that He has put on my heart.
The theme of the conference was Families of Fire: Raising families on fire for Jesus.
Isn’t that our heart cry!
Going to conferences often change you – they are often a mountain top experience with God and you walk away changed. But often unless you think about that change it disappears into the busyness of life as you come down that mountain. I have that opportunity to sit, reflect, pray and record the things that God has laid on my heart over the last few days.
I asked God to give me one thing that I could carry home and it wasn’t until the very last session that I knew what God was challenging me with – More! More of Him, more of family, more of the body of Christ, more of God’s priorities. This isn’t a to-do list though there are things in my life that I need to change and ‘do’ in order for me to have MORE but first of all is the truth that I need more of Jesus in my own life. My own relationship with Jesus has to be growing and alive – I have to be on fire for Jesus.
Unfortunately the allogory with fire is a limited one – as are all allagories we use. In our human world fire has its positives – it helps purify, it gives warmth and light, it is powerful – but there is also the negative such as bush fires which destroy and devastate. So when we think of fire it isn’t a consistent – we tend to see fires start and then they are put out, or they eventually die out. I don’t believe that is the fire of God though – He wants our fire to be consistent – we need to be continually on fire for God, passionate about His love and always spreading his love further and further afield (rather than being extinguished!)