“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
-Ephesians 5:14
I can count on one hand the times I've cleaned the inside of an oven; I'm talking 
about REALLY cleaning the oven. My first time at the job would be unforgettable.
At our first house, we had an old oven in dire need of cleaning. I sprayed Easy-Off liberally so that my job would be effortless. I got a scrubbing pad and began to clean. Using my elbow grease, I rubbed the wet cloth back and forth in a rhythmic motion cleaning the sides of the oven followed by the top and bottom.
I saved the back of the oven, the place most hard to reach for last. As I was going through the cleaning motions, I was arrested. A jolt of electricity flowed through my arm and through my entire body.
I had been unaware that a bulb at the back of the oven was broken so that there was no barrier between voltage and me.
For minutes I was unable to speak or move. Only my heart moved as it pumped wildly.
What started as a simple and monotonous task proved to shake my world rendering me speechless and astonished.
I guess you could call it an awakening.
There was power in that oven I had no idea existed.
I like the word "Awaken". I think it carries power too. It's a word I liken to the phrase "Snap out of it"! Leave the ordinary behind.
It's a word I think we're hearing more of in spiritual circles...and I'm glad. I believe there's a call for Christians to awaken. We attend Bible Studies and Worship services and we pray, but so often we're going through the motions.
Apparently a group of Lamar students have been arrested by the power of some holy voltage.
A conference is being put together by these Lamar students, some of Nederland FBC's very own. It's called Awaken. Here is a snippet of their mission statement:
Lamar University has over twenty-five different Christian-based organizations on campus. The goal and purpose of the Awaken 2012 Conference is based on Ephesians 5:14: Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Awaken’s mission is to challenge students to rise up to a greater purpose. There will be power and encouragement when all organizations and believers on campus come together to worship and praise the living God together. God has been moving at Lamar University in incredible ways the past couple of years, and God will do immeasurably more through this conference.
Check out their website and be blessed by how God is working. You'll also find ways you can be a part.