Overcoming Stress

Hello, Friends! This past week we talked about practical ways to share our faith at IV large group. Before I dive into a post about this though, I would like to share on a topic that we all deal with - especially as college students. I feel burdened to write, and much of what I am going to share comes out of an experience God took me through in college. 

When I was a sophomore in college, I was majoring in chemistry (note the 'was' haha!). Chemistry was pretty difficult. I liked it, and I plugged away at it, but it did not really come naturally. I did understand what was being taught but the understanding came pretty slowly. The chemistry class I was in became like something of a 24/7 job. I thought about it all the time and even reasoned problems through in my mind while I slept - and you could probably argue that I wasn't sleeping. Stress, as defined from the Google search engine, is "a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances." Well, that was me. Stressed out to the MAX. There was no relaxing. And there was definitely no peace. I worried about every grade in that chemistry class. I was so anxious every time I turned in a homework. I was equally as anxious about getting the homework back. I managed to get a solid B and sometimes and A on the homework sets.

One time, as I was working on a homework and feeling anxious and tight and fatigued, I felt like God got my attention. He told me something like this: "You know, Lisa, you worry about every grade and every homework in this class, but in the end, things turn out fine. You get a passing grade. Why don't you work hard without the anxiety (and trust Me instead). Things are going to work out fine no matter what your attitude is in this situation."

Yes, God wants you to know the same truth that He told me. We can express it in many ways I am sure, but the bottom line is this: You know that you are working hard. God has not brought you to college to fail. Work hard, trust the Lord, and He will bring you through your classes every semesters. Matthew 6:27 says "Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life." (NIV) No! We can't! In fact, we lose time by worrying. I worried to the point of obsession I'm sure. It was not healthy at all. Psalm 127:2 says "It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep." (RSV) I believe I took this to heart in grad school. I was able to go to bed by 10 or 11 every night. 

So yes, we have to work hard in college. Let work be work, and take the stress out of it by trusting in God to sustain you and work through you. He created everything you are studying. Ask Him to open your eyes and heart to what you are studying. Do what it takes to be able to labor in the day and rest at night. For me, it was overcoming procrastination and forming some better study habits. Instead of starting the homework assignment a few days before it was due (or the day before it was due), I started an assignment the day it was given - sometimes two weeks in advance even if it was reading through the problem and thinking about it the first day (that's how math worked). And if you haven't considered it all ready, pray and ask God whether you are in the right major. I soon discovered that chemistry was not for me because it did not come easy. Math came easier to me, and I found pleasure in it. You may remember the story of Eric Liddle, an Olympic runner, who would not run on Sundays, because of his faith. He once said that "God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure." What has God made you to do? What do you do that, when you work in it, it gives you pleasure - a pleasure from God because you are doing what He created you to do?

 

Today, search your heart. Seek God in prayer. He will show you the way. And I hope that you find out what I did - that there is no need to stress over school work. God will get you through. He will take care of you, and He intends for you to succeed. 

Witnessing: A Reflection by Nathan Holden

Hello fellow IVers, sorry the blog is a little late this week.  I know you were all waiting with bated breath. 

Last week Steven spoke about witnessing as part of our IV community but he started out by reminding us of our position in relation to God.  We are sinners that have fallen hilariously short of the standard God has set for us.  See Romans 3:23 for verification.  We truly do deserve nothing but his wrath and yet, by and large, we get his grace, mercy and blessing.  And all we really have to do to get what He has to offer is merely accept Him into our lives as lord and master.  First and foremost.

It’s really important to remember this when we think of witnessing.  I mean think of how hard it is to not tell everyone you know about a really great gift or the amazing deal you just got at some store, even when those people really don’t care to hear it.  It really is okay to be excited about the gift we have in Jesus.  Whether it’s a passive or active witness be excited about it. 

If you’re at work or in class realize that from the perspective of God’s Kingdom you are there because He has lead you there.  I don’t personally think that our main focus in the classroom or the workplace should be proselytizing since we are in those places to learn or work.  However, you can be excited that you are there when everyone else is grumbling, not swearing when everyone else is, not getting drunk on the weekends when everyone else is.  Being the apple in a sea of oranges is a witness in and of itself because eventually one of the oranges is going to ask why you aren’t a citrus fruit.

And when it comes to actively witnessing understand that you are in good company when you feel afraid, insecure, or anything else.  Every one of the Disciples surely felt the same and they had spent three years with Jesus in person.  Its okay to feel nervous but don’t let that stop you.  Jesus died for all and in all honesty we were that unsaved person once too.  Just think of where you’d be if someone hadn’t made the effort to tell you about the love of Jesus. 

The two best pieces of advice I believe I ever gotten about actively witnessing are to not try to convince people that your way is right and to not invite people to church.  When you try to convince someone that you’re right and their wrong honest witnessing soon becomes arguing and at that point the truth of the Gospel doesn’t matter.  It quickly becomes a “my team is better than your team” conversation of which there can be no winner.  Finally, remember you aren’t inviting people to church which is often what they think you are doing.  At least in my experience that’s what they seemed to have been thinking.  Tell them about Jesus and what He’s done for you and what He’ll do for them.     

Cinnamon Rolls: A Reflection of Christian Community

Hello Everyone! Yes! You read the title exactly. Cinnamon rolls represent a model for Christian community. If you were not sure of that before last week's IV, I sure hope you are now...James certainly hopes you are convinced. Not to mention that the craving for a cinnamon roll grew so much during large group we all had to go get one afterwards - haha. In all seriousness, the illustration of baking is great. Each ingredient plays a big part in making the roll into a cinnamon roll. And we all are the ingredients in God's kingdom - making up a sweet aroma to represent Christ and his community, the church. InterVarsity is a small representation of this at UNM. It's not always easy, but as we work at it, applying Colossians 3 to our lives, and walking through trials together, we will gel, and grow...maybe even into a sweet roll with Jesus as the icing. However you want to view it, God is the master baker, the great physician etc., God is the leader of us all. How we grow in Christian love for one another is up to us and the choices we make daily towards each other. It is answering "Yes" to the little things God asks of us that will build into one well baked IV group.

 from filmandfood.com

Yes. Implant the visual firmly in your mind. Christ desires us to dwell in unity. 

For further reading & study see Colossians 3, I Corinthians 12:12-13, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

God Wants Me to Change the World?

Hi all. Last week we talked about world changers in large group. We heard from Rachel how God used her and her friends, with all their history, to lead a global project this past summer. We also followed Matthew to the end of Jesus' time with him and the rest of the disciples. It is amazing to think that Matthew started out at the bottom of society, someone hated by everyone for taxing their money and not being true to the Jewish culture. Tax collector was a negative term to describe worthless and evil people. Jesus called Matthew, and Matthew followed Him right away, in his home, with his friends, to the end of Jesus time on earth, and beyond. Rachel and her friends are a modern-day tangible example of this very same thing. One liked to stir things up and cause interruption, and another kept a good impression on the outside but was insecure on the inside. What God is trying to tell us is this: it does not matter what your past, what people have called you and labeled you, what you have done to yourself or what you call yourself. God wants to take your life story, renew you in His love and identity, and make something awesome out of it. Matthew is the writer of one of the four gospels in the Bible. Rachel allowed God to transform her, go on staff with InterVarsity and transform the UNM campus. What could God do through you?

We all come from different places. Some of us have been wounded and hurt by others. Some of us have made wrong choices that we are dealing with to this day. None of us is without sin. The glorious thing about being a follower of Christ, is His plan to redeem everything in our lives. God wants to make things right in your life. For me, personally, I have met some of the most harsh and some of the kindest people. Jesus is the best of them all. He is the kindest and strongest person you could ever have in your heart and life - the one to complete you, make you whole, and make you a world changer. God changed Matthew from despised in society to cherished in His kingdom. Wherever you are in your relationship with God. Take a few moments to consider where you are in life, where God wants to take you and how He wants to make you into a world changer. The impact could can be right in your town. It could go across the world through you or those you disciple. It does not matter where you and your influence go. It is about souls in need of a savior.

Psalm 1:1 says that those that are rooted in God and away from wrong influences are "like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither." Just remember that you may not be changing the world all the time, but you will do it at the right time and stay in healthy balance all year long when you are close to God, in His word daily, and hearing from Him. So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, "As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6-7 RSV)

Renewing...Your Habits?

Hello fellow IVers! (Is that a word?) So you might be wondering where the next post has been. Maybe you have been tapping your toe impatiently waiting for this post to show up. Maybe you really don't care at all. I was contemplating the lateness of this post...am I late? Or...maybe I am forming a new habit. If you look at my other blogs, there is at most one post a month. Yes, I reasoned (with myself), I am forming a new habit. This reminds me of the topic we discussed at Large group #2 last Thursday. We talked about renewing our campus and starting Matthew Parties (small groups). Maybe this concept of a small group is new to you. Maybe going deeper into the bible with fewer people is something you have never experienced before. Maybe you were weirded out by the term Matthew party. Since when did Christians get to have fun and throw a party? Well, if you are saved, you and I have a lot to party and celebrate. Everything Christ has done for our lives is a reason to be thankful - no condemnation about it, just a fact.

Back to habits and renewal. Some of us have been brought up by our parents or communities to study the Bible together, and some of us are just getting started. What are you going to do, older Christian, to stay strong, and help others dive into God's word? Do you need to create any new habits? What about those of you who are new to this whole Matthew Party idea? What habits do you need to form to stay committed to the desire in your heart to learn more about God and grow in helping others learn more about God?

In a word, what are you going to do to be renewed and to renew your campus? Renew, from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary means "to make like new : restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection, to make like new : restore to freshness, vigor, or perfectionto do again to begin again." The definition from Google says "resume (an activity) after an interruption." This doesn't have to be a big action, this can also be changes in your heart. There will almost always be people that oppose your desire and actions to change. It will require you to step out in faith. Although you can't see the change in yourself or what will happen in the future, God will be there in your present moment and in that future moment too. This life is about Jesus, right? Do not be afraid to be a follower of Christ. Step out. Be the laborer in the harvest that God wants you to be. Whether you need to start with being renewed or you need to start with renewing your campus, let God's renewal begin in your life today.