Month: July 2017

If there is one truth above all others that has changed my life, it is this – God is good. A few years ago, I was teaching a class at a prison. Several times, I made the remark, “God is good.” The guys would then say, “all the time!” That wasn’t the first time I had heard that saying spoken out. I had heard it in church gatherings too. Many times. It has always bothered me. Not that there is anything wrong with that statement. It is true. God is good all the time. What bothers me is the fact that “all the time” ever had to be added on to it in the first place. I’m not completely sure why it was added, but I suspect it was due to a belief that God wasn’t good all the time. Sometimes He could be good and sometimes he could be mad, depending on what kind of mood He was in that day.

But I have a greater suspicion that it was meant to correct a misunderstanding of the very nature of God. When I say, “God is good”, I’m saying that is who He is.

Can you imagine how it would sound if I was introduced to a crowd and this happened? “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Kevin.” The crowd responds, “all the time!” That would be absurd. Of course I’m Kevin all the time!

There is no aspect of God’s nature that has been more misrepresented than that of His goodness. For example, He has been accused of putting diseases on people, causing automobile accidents, sending deadly storms, earthquakes, and the list goes on. If you or I, as parents, were to do anything like that to one of our children, we would be arrested for child abuse!

We need look no further than Jesus Christ to see what the goodness of God looks like. Jesus was the exact representation of the Father (Heb.1:3) and we know what he did with sickness and storms.

“Whatever you think you know about God that you can’t find in the person of Jesus you have reason to question. Jesus Christ is the fullest and most precise revelation of the Father and His nature that could ever be made known.”

Bill Johnson

It is quite telling that Jesus healed everyone who came to Him for that purpose, yet we create whole doctrines of belief (or unbelief) over the fact that someone didn’t get healed when we prayed for them. Why aren’t all those who are sick healed when we pray for them? I don’t know. Why are innocent children killed? I don’t know.  Why do bad things happen to good people? I don’t know.

This I do know – The Lord is good and his mercy endures forever. That will be the thought I choose to think when I’m faced with adversity. I will agree with David when he said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”  I choose to remember this – No matter what happens, He is good.

When I realize that I can walk into any situation where there is seemingly the absence of good and bring good in, change happens. In order for this to be a reality, we need to constantly be aware of His goodness to us. How can we maintain this awareness?

By remembering.

Memories are powerful. Painful memories can drive us into depression and hopelessness, distorting our view of God’s goodness. Memories of the faithfulness of God and the times He has saved, healed and delivered give us hope. We transmit that hope to others by declaring those testimonies, thus releasing the possibility for it to happen again.

The One who is good lives in me. I have the privilege and responsibility to release that goodness wherever I go. I challenge you to keep a journal of the good things God has done for you and talk about them. And then be ready to be put in places where those good things are needed. Someone needs to encounter this good God we boast about.

Remember the good.

Be the good.

He is good.

 

Kevin

Imagine that you have never been to EYC and someone says to you, “Come go with us to youth camp.” What would your expectation be? A bunch of energetic teenagers with a few young folks in their twenties and thirties sprinkled in to maintain some sense of order and give a little guidance to the kids? Days filled with organized activities and a little free time to go swimming, play volleyball, or just hanging out with friends? A short little chapel service in the evening with a couple of songs and a cool speaker with an impressive multi-media presentation?

You might be surprised or in shock at what you would actually witness at EYC (Experience Youth Camp). One thing that might look unusual would be the wide range in age of the EYC staff. Our oldest staff member, Joanne Godfrey, is 85 years old. Our youngest staff member this year was 20. We have staff members in their twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties, all of whom pay their own fee, take a week out of their busy lives, some even using vacation time that they have built up at their places of employment.

I am 58 years old. I have been a part of this camp since 2000. In that time span I have missed only three. I am addicted. There are many things I love about EYC – the relationships we’ve built through the years, the new ones formed each year, family, worship that is indescribable, but the most beautiful thing is watching teenagers encounter the living God. Youth from all kinds of neighborhoods, from dysfunctional families, and even good church kids who might otherwise never get to be in a setting like this where 400 people are going hard after God in worship.

This year was different. Every year is different and unique, but this year’s camp was a major turning point. Many teenagers were saved. Over 70 received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues for the first time. There were so many physical healings, I lost count. This healing didn’t happen by kids getting in a prayer line and having hands laid on them. They did it! They were activated by putting into practice what they had been taught through the week by our camp speaker, Jessika Tate. Kids asking Holy Spirit how He wanted to heal and then obeying, no matter how strange the method may have seemed. After all, Jesus did some out-of-the-ordinary things too (The last time I checked, we were supposed to be following Him, right?).

On the Sunday morning after camp, there were several kids who testified of deep emotional healing too. Two in particular stood out. A young teenage boy, whose mother had birthed a stillborn child recently, shared how his heart had been healed by forgiving God (even though God was not responsible for it). He had blamed God. A girl, whose mother had died from cancer four years ago, told how she had never been able to mourn or cry over the loss of her mother. God touched her heart and she was able to cry for the first time.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matt. 5:4

I wept as I listened to them. These two, along with hundreds others, will never be the same.

We have a team of intercessors who come to our camp every year. While the rest of us adult staff members have various assignments, these ladies have one – prayer. On Wednesday night during the evening service, they were asked to come on stage. They each prayed over the campers and the Joanne Godfrey, our oldest intercessor, released a mantle of intercession to them. Many of the students took it. From that night on, these ladies were rock stars. Some campers were even asking them to sign their t-shirts. Amazing! Incredible! I’ve run out of words.

So now you know why this 58 year-old man still goes to youth camp.

With love for this generation,

Kevin