Fall Retreat 2013 – Part 2

HC beachEarlier this week some students shared their impressions of the Fall Retreat (topic: “the Lord’s Recovery”.) We promised to post more, so here they are – more riches from the retreat!

“I was so touched when I learned that God is faithful, ALL the time, to lead us to the enjoyment of Christ. For a few years, I felt very out of touch with God, because I was living in Asia and I couldn’t get past the language barrier to truly love God and fellowship with the local saints, but the Lord brought me companions who felt the same way. My faith was restored and a part of myself that I didn’t know was empty became filled to the brim! Praise the Lord that He is faithful to bring us back to Him in love!”
Vivian S., Haverford College

“I enjoyed a ministry excerpt we read during the retreat: ‘Christ has to be formed in us. This means that we have to let Christ occupy every part of our being. Christ should occupy our mind, our thinking, our consideration…For Christ to occupy us in this way means that He is making His Home in us. In Ephesians Paul prayed that Christ might make His home in our hearts. Then in Gal 4:19 he expressed his desire for Christ to be formed in us. To have Christ formed in us is to have Christ grown in us in full.’ ”
Toby C., Temple University

“During the retreat, I enjoyed that the Lord wants us to give Him the first place in all things. Calling on His name, “Oh Lord Jesus!”, repeating short prayers to Him, or even singing hymns to Him are some practical ways to give the Lord the preeminence in our hearts. My favorite little prayer is: “My presence shall go with You and I will give You the rest.” If we are under the Lord’s presence, we will spontaneously give Him the preeminence, the first place, in all things.”
Connie C., UPenn

“I enjoyed how we should have a fresh relationship with the Lord each day. Some of us have been believers for many years, and it is easy to take for granted how every day is an opportunity to appreciate Him in a new way. In fact, we should renew our consecration to the Lord every day. The speaker at the retreat said that it is normal to tell the Lord every morning: ‘Lord, I give my whole life to you again. I give my whole being to you! Lord Jesus, I still love you! Thank you, Lord, for another day to love you more!’ no matter what our current situation is. We may be going through difficulties in our lives and be low in spirit, but just knowing that the Lord is always so fresh and available should motivate us to touch Him in a fresh way. Remember, each day is an opportunity to renew our consecration and love the Lord even more.”
Robin Z., Temple University

“For many of us this was not our first time at a Christian retreat, but somehow personally I felt like this was by far one of the most influential ones I’ve been to. At many retreats, we’re touched by the Lord while we’re there, but then after we’ve come back to our normal lives it’s so easy to go back to what we feel comfortable doing, and that might not please the Lord. But this time I came back feeling completely new and revived, as though I had left part of my old self and gained something new and permanent.
At this retreat, we learned about the Lord’s recovery. This can happen if we just constantly eat and drink of the Lord and treat Him as our first love. We need to regard Him as our friend, our father and companion and simply just enjoy Him! I was also really touched by the worship at the retreat, because all the brothers and sisters were really enjoying the Lord with the songs and from their praises it felt as if they were all beaming and shining. It was incredible. I felt extremely lucky to be part of them and to see young people actively searching and living for the Lord, when there are so many distractions and temptations around them.”
Brittney L., Bryn Mawr College