Horizons 2015 was the week of July 5-10 on the campus of Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, TN. We were a part of a record breaking Christian leadership camp. Over 950 plus campers (6th-12th grade teens) and 250 plus staff spent the week studying, worshiping, praying, serving, fellowshipping, and loving God. We had 21 campers, Allen Jones and myself attend. It was an awesome week!
Our theme for Horizons 2015 was Inside -Out. Jesus’ sermon on the mount in the book of Matthew provides believers in Him some of the most powerful teachings in all of history. Jesus challenged His followers to rise above the righteousness of the religious leaders by internalizing their faith in Matthew 5-7. We are challenged even to this day to live our faith on the inside and the outside, to have an “inside-out” faith.
Often times it may seem on the outside that everything is great. We have it all figured out. We put on a front that appears to everyone that we are living the perfect Christian life. But deep down, on the inside, we may not be executing the principles set forth before us by God’s Word. The outside may be positive, but on the inside, we are living a negative life.
But our righteousness must start from the heart. We must have a righteousness that begins from the inside. The inside (our heart and soul) influences everything else.
Matthew 15:18 “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart…”
The things that we say, the things that we do, the things that we watch, the things that we listen to, the places we go, they all come from within our hearts. What makes up our hearts will be what determines the things that we focus our time and energy on.
In I Chronicles 22 David is instructing the leaders of Israel to help Solomon in construction of the temple. How were they supposed to do this? I Chronicles 22:19 “Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God…” We should always have our mind and heart set on the Lord our God all the time.
-Nick Pace
