One of the reasons I returned to the Philippines in January was to attend a conference called Come to the River (CTTR). Last year I was a part of this conference and I knew I had to return once again to soak in all the love and joy I experienced last year.
There are some events in life where you can see the hand of God orchestrating your footsteps to partake of his goodness and blessings. CTTR is one of those events.
Three speakers came from the U.S. to teach us from the Bible, the Word of God. These were lessons directed at the spirit inside each of the attendees. I was looking for a place where my spirit could drink and I found it at the river:
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1, KJV). Something about being with a room full of thirsty people, ready to drink from God’s river, the river of life, the river from whence flows all truth and beauty, revived my spirit.
The revival of the spirit is a multi-faceted affair; so let me pick a few encounters with the depths of my being to describe the overall experience. On one level, I was reminded of the profundity of God’s love in that he sacrificed a part of himself, his only son who is was/is perfect in every way, without blemish, to give his creation access once again to his presence.
Father God, Creator God, sent Jesus to the earth so we could spend time with him, in his presence, without obstruction. Because of the blood Jesus shed, anyone can freely go to the Father and be with him in his holy dominion. I was awed by this demonstration of love for where there is sacrifice, true and lasting love exists. The amount of your sacrifice determines the value of your love. God sacrificed it all to show his love for us, and I was humbled by this realization that forms the basis for why I am so complete in him.
Furthermore, I was brought back to the simple trust of childlike faith. One morning, Trina Hankins, wife and partner to Mark Hankins (traveling minister and author), challenged the young people in the audience to take their faith to a new level and to reach out to our world in the name of Jesus, shining his light on this generation.
It was particularly moving to see people of my age group on the other side of the world becoming vulnerable in spirit with one another before God. I fell to my knees, allowing the tears to spill over onto my cheeks as my spirit arose to the call to shine a light and to reach out to the hurting people of my generation. I remembered all the times as a pre-teen and teenager that I was brought to tears with over-flowing emotion because of the magnitude of God’s greatness and his faithfulness to remain a strong presence in my life, and I smiled because God has had me in his hands for a long time and will continue to strengthen me as I proceed.
Finally, I want to share how I caught the fire of the Holy Spirit, who Jesus entrusted to the believers when he returned to sit at the right hand of the Father. Last year I had an amazing awakening to the Spirit inside of me, which prepared me for the year to follow.
What I discovered this year was that I had allowed my spirit to become a little dry, a little weak; yet, the speakers encouraged me to reconsider who the Spirit is in my life and what it means to be “on fire” for God, like the disciples in Acts chapter 2:
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” When you let your fire go out, you cannot share the warmth with others. My goal for this year is to keep the fire stoked so I can apportion my excess to those in frigid need.
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