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.