The Question???

We just ended a great weekend at Briar Ridge. This weekend we had sixteen youth and a total of thirty-five people at the ministry. Most of us came in Friday afternoon and had a quick devotion before separating and grouping up to get to know each other. We had a pretty full bunk house and everyone looked forward to what was going to happen.

Most of us woke up Saturday morning to a rainy hunt. We got in the woods after sunrise and some of us hadn’t even made it to the stand by the first and only kill of the morning. We all straggled in and had a late morning breakfast. Our afternoon devotion was instead one of the greatest testimonies that I have ever heard. A man named Matt came from Tennessee and told us about his experience in a tornado during his sophomore year of college. It’s amazing that God can keep you through so much. You see he doesn’t always keep us from pain and trouble, but he will always give us the strength to overcome if we trust in him.

We stayed around camp for a little while longer, and then it was back to the stands. We had another doe down and headed back in for the evening meal and devotion. That evening we learned that we are all vessels, some for honor and some vessels of dishonor. The difference in the vessel is what you choose to fill it with. Are our lives filled with things that honor God, or things that are selfish and don’t bring honor or happiness to anyone but ourselves.

Part of our group had to leave early Sunday morning due to sickness. And Sunday morning some of the rest of the boys went on a final rainy hunt. We all gathered together after the hunt for a final devotion. And after a prayer and a few final words we all headed home.

The most important part of the weekend for me was the messages. And truthfully, the last message hit me the hardest. You see we all kept breaking off into groups and I would bounce from one to another, trying to spend time with everyone who came. And I heard so many questions… why does God do this, what’s the reason for that, I suppose the one that made me smile the most was “Do you think we will eat meat in Heaven?”   You know we all have questions. And some may seem pretty important, and some maybe not so much. But the most important question that was asked this weekend was in the final message… “Whose side are you on?” It’s the most important question we will ever answer, and we answer it with everyday decisions, and hopefully with one important prayer. We have to decide whether we are on Christ’s side, because if not we are against Him. We have to answer the question, Are we Going to Live for Christ or for ourselves? Are we going to be a vessel used to honor God, or are we just going to be a vessel full of whatever we can put in us? You know they say inside of us is an empty space waiting to be filled by God, but truthfully as children we start filling up that spot. To clean it out we have to ask God to Create in us a Clean Heart and Renew a Right Spirit within us. I pray that everyone reading this has already decided which side we are on… but if you haven’t may I invite you to choose the winning side now. The side of Christ, we may not have the biggest army, and at times it may seem we are the weakest, but in our weakness his strength is what we lean on. If you need us to pray for you or with you, please feel free to send us a note or an email. We love each of you and we pray that this ministry is a blessing to all who are touched by it.

Love in Christ,

Briar Ridge