Joint Colleges

Just back from Joint Colleges weekend in Wicklow which is a meeting of the CU's in the Republic of Ireland for prayer, preaching, worship etc. It really was a special weekend and an immensely enjoyable experience. Meeting peers who have Jesus at the centre of their lives is such a huge encouragement that I can't even begin to put it into words. It's just so great to have a couple of 'days off' from the world where we can regroup and refocus on God. Weekends like this seem to always be over before they're started and by the time Sunday evening comes and you're back home, you wonder was it all just a dream! It also helps me realise that I need to be continually sensitive to the Holy Spirit and the work that He wants to do in my life. I need to strive to never, ever deny Christ, not even in the 'smallest' way. At the end of the day, it is God working through us, not us working ourselves, so we need to be always aware of Him and where He is guiding us.
Jesus really was present among us this weekend. I could see Him in those I talked to, at times very vividly. There were some who I talked to who were really on fire for Him and if I came to the weekend feeling slightly put out, He has reignited me by bringing me into contact with these people. The awesome plan of God really struck me when I saw His children gathered in one voice to worship Him; all having travelled along totally different roads in their lives to be there and all crossing paths momentarily this weekend to get a tiny sample of what heaven will be like. And now that it's over and I/we go back to the 'normal' life of college for another while, I pray that I will not forget what God has thought me this weekend, that I will not forget the love that He has shown me through my brothers and sisters in Jesus.
Something that was more firmly established in my mind was the way in which I came to know my Lord Jesus: it was not in an 'Old Testament style dramatic' appearance, it was by others allowing themselves to be used by Jesus to reveal himself to me. (Which of course couldn't have been more dramatic!) I realise that this is why I have to be completely willing to allow Him to work through me: that those around me may see Him in me and be drawn to the light.
One point that was made over the weekend that really struck me was an answer to the question of 'How did sin enter the world?' It's a question that I've had great difficulty understanding but I think the following illustration made it much easier for my mind to grasp: (my apologies for my poor retelling)
-A light bulb creates the light, not the darkness
-It's when there is an absence of the light that darkness appears
-Love can only exist in the presence of choice
-God gave people choice
-People chose to push God (the light) away
-This created a void where God (the light) should be - sin (darkness)

I think that's enough typing for tonight.

Psalm 1
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in His law he meditates day and night.