Death and Freedom

"Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin..."

1 Corinthians 15:55-56a

The theme of the week in the DTS was Inner Healing. Three days of intense teaching followed by two days of public confession. Public confession! It always freaks everybody out. But it's so powerful. It's so freeing. And that's what this week is all about. It's all about getting rid of all your junk from the past and breaking those chains of sin that so easily entangle! It's all about freedom. True freedom. Sin taken by Jesus. Forgiven. Gone forever.

As DTS staff, this week is always so incredible to be a part of.

The theme of the week in my family was also freedom. Freedom from the burdens, struggles and troubles of this world. On the night of Wednesday, July 20, my grandpa, Herman Van Denend went to be with Jesus. It all happened really fast, he didn't suffer and miraculously wasn't in any pain.

It's so weird. So bizarre. But so good.

Honestly, I'm jealous of him. I want to be up there with him! He doesn't have to put up with any annoying, obnoxious, pain-in-the-neck situations, people or places. No more pain, hunger, sadness, disappointed dreams...what a lucky guy!
Don't get me wrong, I love my life. I wouldn't trade it for any other life. I have purpose and vision. Hope and a future. I love what I'm doing, who I'm with and where I'm at.

But this earth is not my home.  It never will be.


Death always pushes one to self-examination. 


What am I doing with my life?
How much time do I have left?
Am I making the most of the time I do have?
What about this, that and the other thing?


Here's the conclusion I've drawn this time around...


Death=Freedom. 


It does for me at least. It did for Grandpa.

"For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." 

Philippians 1:21 

But it all depends on who you know. If you know Jesus and have committed your life to Him, death is the best thing that could ever happen to you. But if you don't...it would definitely be the worst.
Isn't the contrast interesting? Death is something that happens to every single human on earth. It's going to be either the best or worst thing that could ever happen. Ever. 

"It is for freedom Christ set us free."

Galatians 5:1 

God is a God of FREEDOM. He doesn't want us to be tied down by anything. And I'm not. Neither are the DTS students. They're free from the guilt, shame and the condemnation that comes with sin. They can fully be themselves without having the worry of "if they only knew who I really was." The truth is, we all mess up. We all have some kind of junk to deal with. But God is so gracious. He's willing to see beyond our mistakes and love us for who we are.

And now Grandpa is free too. I can't wait to see him again. It's definitely not easy. It's hard to think that I won't see him again here on earth. But it's ok. Next time I see Grandpa I'll be home too.

I'm eagerly awaiting the day for God to call me home. Home to be with Him forever.

It's not the end. It's just the beginning.  

Love ya, Gramps!

Lesson #730

Hey there!
So this is going to be a quick one... I just want to take a minute to share something the Lord has been teaching me and really solidified in me this past week. So there's some food for thought!

The Word.
The Spirit.

I've seen both extremes.

I've seen crazy "Holy Spirit" people who get so caught up in emotions and end up hurting other people, giving God a bad reputation.

I've seen lifeless "Christian" people who are so busy analyzing and over thinking they limit God Almighty and keep themselves in a comfortable place.

But I'm finally realizing there is a balance that we need to have.

The truth is, we can't have the Word without the Spirit. And we can't have the Spirit without the Word. We desperately need both. The Word and the Spirit live and work together in perfect harmony. We need to have a solid Biblical foundation, and we need the Holy Spirit to help us understand it. We need Him to show us how life-changing the Word is. We need Him to bring that change into our lives. It's all too easy to stay where we're at. Too easy to remain unchallenged by the Word because we take out the Spirit, Who wrote the Word!! We can't do anything without God. He is the author and perfecter of the faith that we proclaim.

I've always had the tendency to ignore the Spirit because He made me uncomfortable. He challenged to too much. He pushed me too hard. So I would rely strictly on the Word. But I'm realizing that I was horribly mistaken. I'm so glad God is so patient. Several months ago I prayed that GOD HIMSELF would teach me about who He is. Specifically about the Holy Spirit. And He is. So thank you, Jesus!!! 

Week One: Complete.

What an incredible group God has brought together for this DTS!

So here's the run down:
13 Students, one more than Jesus'
12 disciples. We have
11 more weeks in the Lecture Phase. It's been
10 days since the first students arrived,
9 of them speak English as their first language.
8 are from the States
7 girls are living together in a little room.
6 nations are represented (Canada, USA, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Somalia).
5 staff members.
4 students whose native language is not English.
3 Latinos in the student body.
2 languages spoken on the base.
1 reason why we're here: to know God.

We're all walking through the process. We're all deepening our relationships with God. We're all learning. Some of us have more experience than others, but we're all in this together to push one another on into a deeper, more passionate, loving relationship with our precious Lord.

This group has already impressed me so much. You can just see the hunger in their eyes. They eagerly desire a more intimate relationship with God. And they just finished week one. I can't even imagine what God is going to do to satisfy the desire they have for Him, but I know He's going to do it in a big way.

So please pray for me and the other 4 staff members (Morgan, Jose, Marianela and Pedro) during these next 5 months! Pray for the students too! Pray that no matter what, that we'd always want more of God. Pray for wisdom and understanding. Pray for an increased faith. Pray for God to just do His thing and for us to hop on board with it.