Getting away from busy

Pics here

This weekend, I went on a retreat with the Tribe. Of course, the point of a retreat is to get away from busy so you can reflect and hear God. I think this one was a bit too structured and full for my liking, but you can only do so much with one and a half days, anyway. Overall, it was still an awesome experience.

I don't know how long it's been since I've been in such raw nature. It was fun walking up the river. And even being surrounded by the trees while doing the ropes course was soothing (while I was on the ground :p). I wouldn't have thought it, but the rope swing was actually scarrier than zip line. For the record, I was in no great pain while swinging; I think it's a harness adjustment issue. After the ropes course, some crazy friends went for a freezing dip in the Frio river. One of them got a shell stuck in her foot, which cut the experience short for those that the cold didn't scare off; she's a fighter, and endured much more pain than I think I could extracting all the bits lodged up in her foot. Later, there was a baptism in the river; the experience was quite moving.

I think the most amazing times were when we were singing praise songs together; there was a unity in the air that was indescribable. A man came and shared with us about condemnation. God does not condemn the saved; Satan and man condemn the saved. By realizing this, we can lay down the burdens of shame that we carry to pursue an unhindered relationship with God. Seeing the response of my friends to this message brought tears of joy.

If you've spent much time listening to me in the past months (and for that I'd have to actually be talking...), you'd have heard me reference Hosea 6:6:

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings

This verse embodies the conflict between God and religion gone bad -- for the time it was written, for the time when Jesus quoted it to the Pharisees, and for our present age. During the retreat, another verse grabbed me:

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. -- 2 Chronicles 7:14

For a while now, I've been getting real torn up when I consider Israel's struggle between evil and holiness, but I couldn't figure out why. This weekend I realized that Israel's struggle mirrors that of the world today, and maybe even of the church today. In response, I've started to read through Kings and Chronicles, and plan to continue through the prophets. That probably bodes well for my blog, as well as my walk.