Thoughts on Worship

I don’t know if it is still there or not but I saw a billboard advertising a local church, I don’t know which one, when driving home on I-40 the other day.  It was a picture of a concert stage with the surrounding areas darkened to draw the eye on the people on stage and the slogan “church like never before”.  Now, as I said, I don’t know which church this is and the thoughts that follow really don’t have anything to do with whatever church the ad was for. 

As someone that has attended traditionally conservative churches (Southern Baptist, Pentecostal, and Lutheran) my first thought was what’s wrong with church before?  Hymns, Liturgies, alter calls, sermons that mention sin and Jesus.  In case you aren’t aware the church in America has congregations that mention neither sin nor Jesus if they can help it.  Anyway, I got to thinking that there really isn’t anything wrong with traditional services, yes I’m biased.  Some people prefer worshiping the Lord in a more reverent, subdued manner.  Absolutely nothing wrong with it.  But by the same token there are people that prefer more exuberant, active worship.  Absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Psalm 100:1-2

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.  Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

2 Samuel 6:14

David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might.

Hebrews 12:28

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.

Zephaniah 1:7

Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.

I remember having a conversation with a young man that had been told, on more than one occasion as it sounded, that he couldn’t worship in the way he did and be a Christian.  As we talked it didn’t seem that there was anything really wrong with his worship practices other than that they weren’t traditional enough for some.  Further, I remember a former pastor of mine stating, from the pulpit, that worship that wasn’t free in movement and overly emotional wasn’t sincere in his opinion.  It’s my personal opinion that to say there is exclusively one right way to worship the Lord is asinine.  Moreover, such comments really only serve to injure someone’s walk with God.  Literally, people that say these things are saying that your gift of worship to the Lord isn’t good enough or acceptable enough.

I think we can all agree that there are indeed ways to not worship the Lord.  I don’t believe it too much of a stretch to say committing an act that is clearly a sin can be considered worshipful unto the Lord.  Killing the infidel, getting stoned, drunk, sexual acts outside of marriage really cannot be considered worshiping the Lord no matter how you characterize it.  They are all contrary to Scripture in some way and you can’t worship a holy God by sinning against His holiness.

That said the Bible doesn’t say anywhere that I’ve been able to locate that THOU SHALT WORSHIP IN THIS WAY.  There is exceptional freedom in the Bible in how God’s people can worship Him.  Dost thou have a talent?  A singer, martial artist, mathematician, a writer, exceptional dental hygienist, or alligator wrangler?  Using your talent for the glory of the Father is an act of worship unto Him.  Feel compelled to dance when the praise band starts playing?  Go for it, particularly if all the brothers and sisters around you are of like mind.  In a mixed setting but still compelled to dance?  Go for it, but be respectful of practices of your brothers and sisters that believe in being still in worship.  (e.g.  Don’t force the still to be mobile if they don’t want.  If they are like me they are introverts and you are invading their personal bubble.  Respect the bubble.)  For those of you that believe in being still, go for it, be respectful of those who want to dance in those mixed settings.  (e.g.   Let them do their thing it’s just as pleasing to God as your stoic reverence.  Forcing them to be still will probably result in physical harm to their bodies.  Or a result in an Incredible Hulk like transformation in to a giant green rage machine on their part.)

Quite literally the manner in which we worship the Lord is not something non-believers need to see us bickering amongst ourselves about.  The manner in which we worship is secondary to the fact that we worship.

My parents told me about a church they were invited to attend services at one time.  During the service when it came time for the praise team to begin playing the Worship Leader grabbed her microphone and shouted into it “Are you ready to get your worship on?”  (As a side note, worship leaders don’t shout into your mics, it irritates your sound guys.  I speak from experience.)  From there the praise team proceeded to deafen the congregation through the unabashed abuse of the max volume setting.  Now I don’t know the sincerity of the members of that church and am not commenting on that in any way.  Honestly, my parents don’t remember much of anything about the church after that, probably because they couldn’t hear any of the sermon or they were still shell shocked from the sonic assault they had just survived.  The point is though there are people that sincerely enjoy that style of worship service and as far as I can tell there is nothing wrong, Scripturally, with it.  If that decibel level is how they are most able to give their most fervent praise to the Lord, well, then, okay. 

Since joining a Lutheran church I have discovered there is a term for things like this, adiaphora.  Adiaphora is something spiritually neutral or something that is not essential to the faith.  Are any of the following essential to faith in Jesus Christ: contemporary songs performed with an electric guitar, a chancel choir, or hymns sung a Capella by a congregation?  The answer is no.  Each of these are methods of expressing the greater faith that is essential to Christ.  A sincere believer worshiping and praising God with a sincere heart has an awful lot of methods for expressing that worship and praise.

We can debate whether or not churches select certain types of worship services because that is the truest and most sincere expression of their faith or because they are trying to market themselves to a certain audience to increase attendance and/or the size of the church’s wallet.  That however is a discussion for another day.  Moreover, don’t take this to mean I think our dear little IV chapter has a problem with this.  We, quite clearly I believe, don’t not have an issue in this area.  This is just something that “grinds my gears” about the “church” in America today and is, in part, why the “church” has the stigma it does with non-believers, in my opinion.

Basically I say all this to encourage us to be mindful of how our faith appears to others.  We as Christians are lights in the darkness with eyes on us at all times, even, probably most often, when we are unaware.  If we are picking at each other about thing like this, it will be a turn off to those who don’t believe.  I'm not saying to tone down you expressions of you faith because it might offend someone in our culture that worships the idol of political correctness.  Merely be discerning in what you are willing to fight about.  There most certainly are things we should take a stand on.  However, there are lots of little squabbles in the "church" in America today that amount to children in the back seat of a minivan fighting over whose picture of the TARDIS is better because they each used a different shade of blue.

Jonathan Gross on Faith

This last Saturday several of us gathered together for the apologetics Bible study that Lisa has been facilitating this semester. For this meeting we spent some time studying how the word "faith" is used in the Bible. Unsurprisingly, "faith" is found in a large number of verses, so we restricted ourselves to passages from Genesis up through Judges 5:15. Even with a relatively small cross-section of scripture, we found many underlying concepts regarding faith becoming clear from context. To give you a flavor of our time, let me briefly describe some of the concepts that stood out to me.

Faith is frequently talked about as an important component in a marital relationship. Breaking faith in this kind of a relationship is a serious thing (Exodus 21:8, Numbers 5:12, 27). This picture of faith in a marriage is extended to Israel's relationship to God in Joshua 24:14, where faithfully serving God requires putting away other gods just like marriage requires putting away other men/women.

There is also a legal sense of faith described several times in Leviticus (5:15, 6:2). Although we don't often use faith in a secular sense, there is still a legal concept of acting in good (or bad) faith that can help give us a more complete understanding of the word. Throughout the Law, breaking faith with God seems tied to breaking the covenant He established with His people.

The marital and legal aspects of faith have reciprocity in common. Both husband and wife are expected to remain faithful to one-another, and the covenant God established with His people lays down expectations for the behavior of both God and the people. While His people constantly break faith with Him, we have a perfect example of faithfulness in God Himself (Genesis 24:27, Deuteronomy 7:9).

There are certainly many more qualities of faith to be explored, so we plan to continue our study at the final meeting of this semester. I encourage you to come and learn about faith with us so we can all more faithfully answer others regarding the hope we possess (1 Peter 3:15)!

Theology 101: Thanksgiving

Hi Ya'll.  This is your IV Blog.  Yes, I have been MIA for quite a while.  Since the past is in the past, I thought it good to start writing again.  This month is November.  We often think about the major holiday at the end of the month, Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving, as you may know, started when the first pilgrims from across the ocean came to live in America and stopped to give thanks to God for helping them get through their first year in a new land.  Imagine coming to a new land across the ocean.  The ocean possibly does not have a name.  The land has no comforts.  There are no societies, clubs, universities, malls, and plowed lands.  There is no promise of food.  There are no freinds to welcome them to this new land.  As far as they know, they might be the only ones there.  The winter is cold, the summer is hot.  There is no air conditioning or heater.  They won't be able to run to the store or back to England if they forgot something.  In many ways, you as college students have left every comfort of family, home cooked food, and all things familiar to come get an education.  Some of us have not.  It is because of hard work by our families that we are able to enjoy comforts where ever we are.  Some of us, do not have any support, we are pulling ourselves along by our own efforts.  Whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, the Lord God says to give thanks.  

I Thessalonians 5:18 says "give thanks in all circumstances."

This is among a list of other commands.  Thanks means "an expression of gratitude" from Google's definition.  From the Webster 1828 dictionary, gratitude means

An emotion of the heart, excited by a favor or benefit received; a sentiment of kindness or good will towards a benefactor; thankfulness. Gratitude is an agreeable emotion, consisting in or accompanied with good will to a benefactor,and a disposition to make a suitable return of benefits or services, or when no return can be made, with a desire to see the benefactor prosperous and happy. Gratitude is a virtue of the highest excellence, as it implies a feeling and generous heart, and a proper sense of duty.

God wants us to realize what He has done for us.  We really do have reason to be thankful to Him for providing for us.  We have many comforts in life.  There is always food nearby.  We have His help in every trouble.  We can ask Him for anything.  Jesus gave thanks when He broke bread and established the practice of communion with His disciples.  He gave thanks before multiplying the 5 loaves and two fish.  In the Old Testament, God commanded a sacrifice of thanksgiving with real animals.  God deserves our praise, but we must accept this and understand it for ourselves.  We must understand what God has done for us as individuals, and also as families, peoples, countries etc.  It is good to give thanks for it moves our eyes off ourselves and onto God who is to be Lord of our lives.  Thanks.  Thanksgiving.  Gratitude.  What has God done in your life?  Have you thanked him for it?  It is right to give thanks and praise.  

Theology 101: Salvation

Hello IV'ers!  Welcome back to another semester of IV epicness.  Last year, this blog focused on themes and reflections from the talks given during large group.  While I hope to do some reflecting on the large group talks, the main focus of the blog this semester is going to be basic theology and the teachings most basic and foundation to our faith in Christ.  I may also break down big words like propitiation from time to time.

So, the topic for today's blog post is salvation.  From Webster's 1828 dictionary, salvation means

1. The act of saving; preservation from destruction, danger or great calamity.
2. Appropriately in theology, the redemption of man from the bondage of sin and liability to eternal death, and the conferring on him everlasting happiness. This is the great salvation.

A quick word search on Biblegateway.com returns 129 verses in which salvation appears.  A great number of these references are in the psalms where the psalm writers talk about God being our salvation.  What are we saved from?  What is it about us that needs to be saves?  When we trust in God for salvation, for him to save us, we trust and believe Him for several things.  We believe what God says about us - that we sinned against Him by disobeying his commands, that we are desperately in need of this salvation because we cannot save ourselves, that we need to be saved from the spirit of the world.  We trust in God to save us from ourselves, from continually sinning, and from the devil and his forces.  We trust that God accomplished this salvation through Jesus' death on the cross.  Romans 1:16 says "For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith."

Salvation is God's saving work in our hearts.  When we are saves, instead of being thieves, liars, cowards, adulterers and following through with other wrong behaviors, God saves us from these acts.  He saves us from the hurt and pain these actions cause.  He causes us to focus on him.  Salvation, being saved, is where we start our walk of faith with him.

Next time, I hope to cover more of the verses on salvation.  Until next time, check out the links to the verses on salvation from Bible Gateway above.

Thoughts on IV talks and the Resurrection

Hi Fellow IV'ers!  Yes, that's a new term for us all.  As we come upon Easter Sunday and remember our risen Savior, I wanted to recap the a few things from the IV talks we have had.  I wasn't there this past Thursday so I apologize for not including anything from it here. We did, though, have the illustrious Steven Seibert and Mark Charles come and talk to us.  From crazy freshman stories to feasting unto the Lord, there is no one way to honor God this Easter.  But these two reminded us of some core values.  Steven reminded us through his lessons learned in IV to go back to the basics - read your bible and love your neighbor.  There is no greater way to hear God's voice than to read what He is thinking in the Bible.  The Bible is a supernatural book.  For when we read it, God comes and meets with us.  In it He tells us how to love our neighbor.  Mark Charles opened up an Old Testament scripture in Deuteronomy 14 where God gives a very different perspective to tithing than the one given from church leadership using Malachi 3:10.  The thing about scripture is that it cannot be separated from itself.  When studying a topic, every scripture must be taken into account - its context, cultural influences, etc.  Many times we get the "Our church isn't doing well so give us money" talk.  Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins.  He died to give us new life.  I don't always consider the money talk to give life, in fact I think it drains the life out of the church.  Money should be given from a glad and willing heart.  The scriptures tell us to give cheerfully and to the work of God's kingdom.  It is great when there are programs at church that can be done with tithed money, but there is also work going on in the mission field and elsewhere.  My point is this, as Mark Charles tithed to God and made a feast in honor and faith to God, so to, that is what we are to do with our actions.  We read the bible in honor and faith to God.  We give money to the work of God's kingdom, whether to the church or missions, in honor and faith to God.  All of this is done by saying "yes" to God (another thing Steven learned while at IV).  Where does God want your time, talent, and money to go?  Maybe He wants you to tithe to organizations that feed the poor.  Maybe He wants your money to help orphans and widows.  Maybe beyond your money, He want you to use your time and talents in these places.  Maybe He wants you to shine His light in the work place, and show that life is not all about the next promotion but about living a full life unto Him.  There is more purpose than getting bogged down in the things the church and others can demand of us.  It requires listening to His voice.  He may send us into the church, but at the core, everything needs to start with Christ.  The basis for what we do needs to start in our hearts, dying to ourselves, and rising with Christ to walk in the life He has for us.  Maybe you are not there yet.  Start by saying yes to God at the basic level.  "Yes, God, I will give my life, time, money and talents to You."  Maybe you are there, you know that God has spoken to you and you are in His will in a big way.  Continue to say "yes" to God.  Whether at one end or somewhere in between, say yes to God.  Read or reread the resurrection story of how He died and rose again for you.  Learn to love your neighbor as Christ did.  Say,yes to Him and honor him with feasting and gladness this resurrection Sunday.

Ravi Zacharias (apologetist) on Life's Inescapable questions Part 1 of 2

Today I heard a great message on tough questions from Ravi Zacharias which I believe will be very helpful to you.  Take 30 minutes out of your day to listen and be edified in the truth.

http://www.rzim.org/let-my-people-think-broadcasts/lifes-inescapable-questions-part-1-of-2/

Global Project: China

Hi Friends. How are you? This is Lisa here. I apologize for the lack of posts as of late. No excuses are available, but reasons abound...sickness, class for work that occurred on Thursday are the two I can give you.  Well, this post was supposed to come out a few days before the deadline for the Global Project (GP) to China.  Since the deadline has past for this years GP, I would like you to read it as if you were considering going to China...or somewhere else.  It is Steven Russel's testimony on going to China last year.

Hello friends! I hope you’re having a great start of the semester. I am writing this little note to you because I feel God has put it on my heart to share with you that Saturday is going to be an epic day. Saturday is the deadline for applications to go on a GP with IV. Well at least the deadline to apply to go to China. I was blessed with the opportunity to go last year and I hope you go. I really want to encourage you though that God is with you no matter what decision you make. But oh how going on a GP will rock your world in all the right ways. If you are unsure if whether or not God wants you to go keep in mind that He gives us freedom to live this life as we decide. Plus I will throw in there that Jesus did kind of send us all out into the world as His people to make disciples of all nations. So read this over and pray about it. I really hope God sends you out to His people somewhere. Take a leap of faith with the knowledge that Jesus is on your side no matter what and make a decision that could change your life as well as the lives of the countless other people God will send your way. A really cool analogy is that life is a journey. I think that it shows how each of us starts somewhere and we end up somewhere else or perhaps in the same place but changed. One thing that really sticks out to me in this life is how none of us have the same experience in life. Everyone has their own individual journey that they have to navigate. But gradually however through lots of discovery we get our feet under us and become able to survive and manage everyday life. Not only that but it is what we overcome and have victory over and sometimes defeat that shape who we are. There is a really effective tool however that the enemy uses and that is fear. It shows its face in different places but its effects are always the same: inaction, hesitation, isolation, and a loss of confidence. Jesus took away our fears. Death has certainly lost its sting. Something however about the nature of a journey is that it is filled with choices. I think that fear is a choice even though it may not seem like it to you right now. It seems to me that people living in today are living in a bubble of comfort created by fear. Everything is as it has been and that is how it should always be because it is safe. For me this is very interesting because it describes my life as well as Mr. Bilbo Baggins (clever Mr. Tolkien). Adventure is something that terrifies and exhilarates. Change is a close relative of adventure. Change is just a fact of life. Did you ever think that we can not help but experience change at every moment in life? We each can get in routines but nothing ever happens quite the same twice. Something is different. A little change is enjoyable to tolerable for most of us. A lot of change can be stressful and difficult as well. We can get set in our ways. But have you ever thought that it was interesting how God created such a large and diverse world? I mean it really speaks to me about who God is. Didn’t He know that we would feel uncomfortable experiencing new things? I wonder. Change can scare some of us or it can unleash some of us. I think that we were meant to be blank slates at the start and through our experiences here on Earth become transformed into something completely new and awesome. We all start as something and end up as something else. You are uniquely intentionally made by God crafted through the sometimes bitter forges of life. There is so much to experience and do its crazy! You can do anything that you want. I know that it can be scary and uncomfortable but that’s okay! The first step is always the hardest in my opinion. I like to think of myself as the main character in my story with God with me the whole time. I hope for you that you don’t let that fear keep you from seeing all there is in life to experience. If I told you that peaches were evil and that you should never eat one how totally wrong and sad it would be if you never bit into a big fat peach and felt the juices running down your face and tasted the good natural sweet flavor that it has to offer. Praise God for peaches! Praise God for life and the experiences waiting for us to be had. I think that it is totally true that there is no place like home but what if your home keeps changing? Where does God call home and what does that look like? What if you don’t have a home? Where would you go? We are at a stage in our life where we may be getting our first taste of being away from home. It is fun and different and at the same time scary. Pretty soon though you’re living life swimming with the current. I think that there is nothing wrong with going with the flow but I don’t think that we were supposed to stay there. I think that adventure is one way that God can teach us and show us who He is as well as who we are and how He has a heart for those who feel out of place and lost even. By going and putting yourself in a position to feel just that, you will better understand how people feel when they come to this country for the first time or how that child feels when they meet their new foster family. So I guess if you boil it down there is a lot to gain such a friend or an experience, or a revelation about God or yourself and what that means for you. What is there to lose? In my opinion nothing that matters, but we often hold onto so tightly those things which really have little actual value. But you have to weigh those things and see if it is worth going, I did in my own way. As you may or may not know I went to China last summer on IV’s Global Project. It was an amazing experience that I would love to tell you all about sometime but what I want to share with you is my experience around making the decision to go. So the story begins at the annual IV Christmas party. I was blessed with an amazing assortment of gifts in the white elephant gift exchange. One of those gifts was a pin that said Taiwan. I took this as a sign to go to China because I prayed that God would give me a sign so that I would know He wanted me to go in response to Rachel asking me if I wanted to go minutes earlier. So at this point the details kind of get a little foggy because in my mind I had already decided to go but I think I told her I would think about it and get back to her. So I came back to school in the spring after break and Urbana and I let Rachel know that I wanted to join her and the other people going on this awesome adventure. That’s pretty much it for me. For the duration of the trip however I was paralyzed by the fear that I was not actually supposed to be going. I landed in China and one of the thoughts in my head was that I was not meant to be here. But you know what was going through my head that was even more apparent? It was something like this, “Holy crap!!! I’m in China!!!! This is Chinese candy!!! These are probably Chinese people!!!! Aaaah!!!!”. The excitement of seeing all these different people and different things and different smells was like someone screaming at me, “Does is matter??? You are here!!! Live it up!!!”. I don’t know how people picture Jesus in their minds but I like to think of Him as the coolest hippy in the world. He is that guy that is just content and happy with where He is and is going to live it up. I thank you for reading this. I really hope that you choose to go serve the Lord. China was a stepping-stone for me but the awesome thing about that is there were people who were impacted in a really awesome way because I chose to make them a part of my journey. I love you and want to let you know Jesus loves you either way. But there are wonders out there that would change your life. Grace and Peace! Sincerely, Steven

Hearing or Following God?

Hi Y'all.  We have a post from our very own Jonathan Gross (the guy with the Jesus hair):

Last week at Charge Stephen Siebert challenged us with the question: is it more difficult to hear God or to follow God?

My answer to the question came quickly: I have more difficulty following God. I can think back to instances in my life where I understood (or strongly suspected) God wanted a certain action out of me. Times when I was to pray for someone, confess a sin, or give up material possessions. Too often I have convinced myself that my friend suffering from a headache didn't actually need my prayers, or that the lady on the other side of the counter would take offense at my offer. Too often I have decided to trust in my own resolve to overcome my weaknesses, instead of trusting the power of God in the presence of my fellow Christian. And too often I have concluded that loosening my grip on worldly goods is a slippery slope that will leave me destitute and unable to “really” help people.

By God's grace I have been able to break that pattern at times. It hasn't always been pretty. I have memories etched into my brain of people refusing my prayers and taking advantage of me financially. Sometimes it has been beautiful, though. Last semester I shared how God brought me healing from addiction through confession. Similar steps of faith in different relationships have brought the most profound senses of peace I have ever felt, and remain some of the treasures available to us on this earth that I most long for.

Those successes, even when outnumbered by the times I ignored God and the times when I didn't hear correctly or when the fruit of the obedience was hidden, give me a great desire to hear God again, because hearing is clearly a precondition for following. What I have been reminded of this week is that whether we choose to follow can also affect our ability to hear in the future. Every time we choose to ignore the voice of God in our lives, our actions reveal that we don't actually want to hear. I think the parable in Luke 19:11–27 offers a sobering perspective on the consequences of wasting graces God gives us. I pray that the Lord would have mercy on us and grace us with more words to follow in our individual and communal walks.

Testimony

Hi All!  How are you?  Last week we talked about the man born blind in John 9.  Jesus healed him by making clay from dirt and His spit.  Upon his healing, controversy arose over his testimony of being healed.  The man born blind (aka Steve) willingly shared his testimony with all who wanted to hear it (except for the Pharisees who wanted to hear it again but didn't want to believe in God).  He didn't have a fine tuned speech, he told what happened.

Talking about testimony, I would like to share a bit of my testimony.  For those who don't know who even writes these posts, this is Lisa - dark haired girl who usually sits in the back with tall husband named Nathan - currently serving as volunteer staff with IV.

When I was a kid, I went to a kids bible club called AWANA (Approved Workmen are not Ashamed).  We had games, memory scripture recitation, and lesson time.  When I was about 7 years old, during the lesson time, a lady got up to give the lesson.  She had a big red felt heart hanging around her neck.  She talked about sins she committed, and every time she sinned, she put a black dot on her big heart.  I felt convicted, and I remember bowing my head during the lesson and telling God I didn't want to sin anymore.  I knew He entered my heart then.

Since then many more things have happened which I would be glad to share with you, but would be too long for this blog post.  Remember that no matter what your testimony, it is valid proof of the living God, Jesus Christ inside of you.

The Woman at the Well

Hello Everyone!  I hope you all have had a great start to the semester.  At last weeks IV, we did an inductive bible study on John 4 with the story of the woman at the well.  She came in the heat of the day, an outcast of outcasts.  She meets Jesus not only in person, but spiritually.  He exposes her life of sin, and reveals His saving truth to her.  She is in awe, and she tells everyone in her town about her encounter with him - the very people that probably mocked her and put her off for her sin.

This semester as a group, we want to focus on being a witnessing community.  We want to reach out to our friends and neighbors and family with the good news of Jesus Christ.  For many of us, that's a really scary thought.  The woman at the well shows us a couple of things we can learn about witnessing.  1. She did not let her past get in the way of telling people about her encounter with Jesus.  Your past does not disqualify you from sharing the gospel.  2. Whatever the people thought of her, she did not let their thoughts about her get in the way.  Let the joy and freedom of your relationship with Jesus empower you to share despite what others may think of you.  3. She started by sharing her encounter with God.  Start with your testimony.  Tell people how the Lord saved you.

Reflection

Hello!  It's been a while since we chatted here.  The end of Fall 2013 came with the flurry of winter weather, finals, and the increased desire to get away from school.  I hope that you all have had a great break.  Before we head back to school and get caught up in the business of it, I wanted to encourage each one of you to take some time to reflect on where you have been the last couple months (or even years).  Here are some questions that I hope will help you as you take time to reflect.  I have been asking myself many of these same questions lately:

Where have you been the last few months (or years)?
What have you done to get to this point in life?
Where are you going?
What are your goals for school, life, and your walk of faith?
What would you like to do more?  What would you like to do less (besides studying :) )
What do you think you should be doing?
What things would be nice to do? (i.e. enjoyable, bring you joy, relaxation, necessary you-time)
How much time and commitment is it going to take to accomplish what you want to do?
Are all the things on your list of 'want to dos,' 'nice to dos,' and 'should dos' reasonable, helpful or even necessary?
Are there other things that should be on your list but aren't?
Are you praying for someone, and you want to see God work in their life in a new way this year? What can you pray specifically for that person?
What does God have in mind for you this year?

Take time to write out your thoughts...whatever will help you process, organize and remember your thoughts and goals.  In the Bible, Habakkuk 2:2 says "And the Lord answered me: 'Write the vision, make it plain upon tablets so he may run who reads it.' "  For more encouragement on the topic, I encourage you to read the whole chapter of Habakkuk 2.  So, my friends, reflect, seek God, set goals, walk in faith, and see God do great things in 2014.

Give Thanks

Hello.  Happy Thanksgiving to you! I hope you all are in the company of those who love you and care for you.  We obviously are not meeting tomorrow due to the holiday.  So, I wanted to write a hopefully quick blog post about giving thanks.  What is it?  As any mathematician would do (I majored in it in college), we start with a definition.  From the Websters 1828 online dictionary, thanksgiving means "Rendering thanks for goods received."  Thanks means an "expression of gratitude and acknowledgment made to express a sense of favor or kindness received. Gratitude is the feeling or sentiment excited by kindness; thanks are the expression of that sentiment. Luke 6."  This dictionary is cool because bible verses are given as the example sentences.

Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory. 1 Cor.15.

Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. 2 Cor.9.

He took bread and gave thanks to God. Acts.27.

Giving thanks is an emotional and logical recognition that one has received good things from God and willingly acknowledges that He gave them to us.  It can be likened to one moved to compassion to help some one in need.  We are that one in need whom God has reached out to and given the blessings of heaven - pouring them out upon our heads and into our lives...into our hearts.  Do we recognize it?  Or do we mentally assent - only acknowledging His favor with our minds and moving onto other thoughts within the next thought moment?  Whether we are thankful in our hearts or we need to be, let us walk and continue to walk in an attitude and posture of thanksgiving.  In a song my dad used to sing as a child the chorus went like this: "Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done."  Whether you like to do it in your head, write it out or take pictures of it, count your blessings.  Name them one by one.  Acknowledge God who has given you all these things.  It will place your heart in the right place, undo habits of complaining, and give you a joyful and happy heart.

Inductive Bible Study & Lectio Devina

Hello! Over the course of the last two Charge meetings, we have been learn and practicing ways to read the bible and pray.  As the core disciplines of the Christian faith, it is essential that we focus on them.  Reading the bible is one way that God speaks to us, and prayer is one way we can talk to God.

Inductive Bible Study
We learned how to study the bible by practicing inductive bible study.  Inductive, for all of us who need a definition, means "characterized by the inference of general laws from particular instances."  We read the bible and marked up the passage on paper, asked questions, answered them from the passage we read, and then made applications to our lives.  We used a passage of scripture without verses.  But don't let that stop you, verses or no verses, print out scripture from such websites as biblegateway.com or blueletterbible.org.  Use whatever you have - colored pens, pencils, highlighters, etc.  And use whatever coloring scheme you like.  The steps are pretty simple, yet we got some fairly deep questions and answers out of our study.  Maybe you don't feel you have time or you feel you are not spiritual enough.  Any friendship begins by asking the person their name (hopefully).  And back in the day we asked each other what our favorite color was.  Get to know God.  Be honest with who you are and the questions you have.  There is no question too hard for God.  Take it at your pace.  You do not have to do a whole book at once!  However you go about it, you will do great.

Here are a few resources for questions and approaches to take when doing inductive bible study:
1. InterVarsity's Inductive Bible Study Hints: http://www.intervarsity.org/bible-studies/inductive-bible-study-hints
2. Basic Questions for Inductive Bible Study (great for different writing styles found in Scripture) http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~tim/study/inductive.pdf

Lectio Devina
Lectio Devina is a form of concentrated prayer.  Instead of being hands on with pencils and print outs of scripture, the bible is read audibly several times.  The first time is just to listen.  The second time is to listen for something that stands out, and the third step is to focus on that aspect.  Then we pray it back to God telling Him what we have focused on.  I don't know about you, but when I pray like this, it is almost magical the way God comes and speaks to me.  Somehow He tells me how to apply what I have focused on to my life.  Or He tells me something deeper.  Anything is possible with God.  I encourage you to try this in your quiet time (daily bible reading habit), or try it with some friends.  We only spent about 5-10 minutes doing it too.  God will lead you.

Why I'm Not Color-blind: A Testimony from Rachel

Hello Guys and Gals!  Two weeks ago we had Geoff from Northern Arizona University (NAU) come and speak to us about multiethnic relationships.  Rachel is is our guest blogger for the topic and has openly shared her testimony in this area.  I encourage you to reflect on your experiences as you read Rachel's story.

"It honored me to have Geoff Gentry from NAU speak at Charge two weeks ago.  He and I have shared many experiences over the years, so it was great to share UNM with him.  I especially appreciated that he told a lot of his story in growing to value God’s multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, Kingdom.  I am on a similar journey in coming to value multi-ethnicity, so I thought I’d share it with you.

"I spent my childhood in the mostly white context of Midwest small towns.  When I was 13, my family moved to Arizona and my experience became much more ethnically diverse.  This is the first time I remember encountering issues of race.  However, no one really helped me interpret these encounters, so I didn’t handle them very well and I was left mostly confused rather than transformed.

"In middle school, I was assigned a debate project where I had to be anti-affirmative action.  During my closing statement I used a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. that one day people will 'be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,' as support for being completely color-blind. My classmates of color erupted in protest.  And for years I had no idea why they were upset. 

"In high school, my best friend was Mexican-American.  She prioritized spending time with her family and respecting her parents above anything else.  Many times she wouldn’t come over to my house, eat my mom’s food, or stay late because she needed to be at home for a meal or some other task.  My parents were offended by this, and though I was too shy to say so, I was sometimes offended too.  But it was just because I didn’t understand how her family was different from mine.

In college, I was a part of InterVarsity and at the time our chapter contained mostly white students.  I went back to not having to talk much about race or ethnicity.

"Thankfully, my sophomore year God gave me the opportunity to attend an InterVarsity Urban Project in St. Louis.  I attended an incredible multi-ethnic church.  For the first time, I worshiped in at least 5 different languages.  During the project, we received teaching on racial reconciliation and social justice issues in the US.  God began to reveal to me His desire to bring healing, justice, and reconciliation to the places of pain that many people of color have experienced in the US.  It broke my heart and I began to fall in love with what God loves.

"I started to love trying different types of food and getting to hear people pray in other languages.  I had further experiences at the Urbana conference, in China, in multi-ethnic literature classes, and at other urban projects that shaped me.  My senior year I had the gift of a non-Christian Navajo roommate who took me to visit her home and the Navajo Nation Fair. I learned SO MUCH from her.

"I had been raised to be “color-blind”: to only see people’s characters and not emphasize the differences in people’s appearances, especially in terms of the color of their skin.  It was an unwritten rule in my family that race was a negative topic to discuss.  While I’m grateful that my parents raised me to not be racist and to not treat anyone negatively because of the color of their skin, it wasn’t enough for me to stay there.     

"I had to continue on the journey.  I began to learn that ignoring people’s ethnic background devalues some of the most important parts of their stories and identities.  My aversion for talking about race or ethnicity had prevented me from understanding the experiences of people around me.  And my denial that I had an ethnicity or culture myself as a white American kept me from celebrating how God has made me and from being a part of racial reconciliation.

If you are white person who has come from a similar story to mine, I encourage you to engage rather than shy away from the topic of multi-ethnicity, even if it’s confusing and uncomfortable for you.  I’d love to talk about what would be good next steps for you to take in your journey.  I first recommend reading Being White by Doug Schaupp and Paula Harris.  You can borrow it from me.  It’s awesome.    

"If you are a person of color, thank you for extending grace to white brothers and sisters in Christ as they stumble along on this journey.  I would encourage you to continue to seek racial reconciliation and to let Jesus work through the gift of your ethnic background.  He wants to use you for something great.  How will you pursue that? I’d love to talk with you about next steps in your journey as well. 

"It has been a painful, awkward, frightening journey for me these past few years as I’ve sought to grow in my understanding of how God sees ethnicity and how He wants me to act in response to that.  And I still have a LONG way to go.  But the journey has already brought such richness to my life! And I’m committed to continuing by the grace of God."

Reflections from China Night

Hello fellow IVers!  Last week we had 3 member of our UNM chapter share their experiences of going to China on one of InterVarsity's global projects.  Meri, Carlos and Steven went to China this past summer and opened up to us about their struggles and victories in going.

Steven started us off, Meri batted next, and Carlos hit both runners in.  Steven highlighted the benefits that befriending internationals can bring.  Relationships are a two-way street, and as Steven gave, he also received blessings and friendship in return.  The Chinese students were very hospitable towards Steven - making sure his every need was met and even buying him a water bottle when playing pick-up basketball.  Growing up myself half-Indian and half-American, I can confirm that hospitality plays a big part in Asian culture.  Sometimes it became a hospitality war between the relatives as to who could show the greater hospitality.  Although we go on mission trips to give and serve, those who are served want to give back.  It is good to receive the blessings the people want to give us so that they too can be blessed through giving.

Meri's journey to China started way before going to China.  She made every excuse she could to not go.  No experience in fund raising, other people are better, and a host of other excuses still didn't measure up to God's desire for Meri to go to China.  You see, we can all make these same excuses for the things God wants us to do in our lives.  The reality is that what God wants of us is going to turn out far better than any result we can fathom from us not going - wherever the going takes us.  God might be calling you to the dorms, your family, your friend, a new group of internationals on campus whose culture you don't know - fill in the blank. Take a leap of faith...those that have gone where God has called them can tell you that the blessing of obedience resulted in many other blessing including those felt deeply in the heart from God's presence.

Carlos' testimony underscores a point that I hope we didn't miss.  We do not have to be perfect to go.  Carlos was struggling with his very relationship with God when he went.  Traveling overseas is a big deal.  There is a lot of commitment put into going over seas.  You have to get a passport which involves getting your photo taken and sending in paper work with a fee to US government.  You have to prepare mentally for a long plane ride that can last 18-36 hours and air plane food.  When you get to the other country, you can't just go home!  You have to watch your wallet...safety is very relevant.  I went overseas a bunch as a kid with my family, and the biggest thing we watched out for was our wallet.  It can be scary, but to see how God led Carlos to China despite his own personally feelings with all the larger logistics of going is truly a testimony to God's faithfulness and power.  It was in China that Carlos received support from his fellow brothers as he opened up to them about his struggles.  Not all of us can go to China, but wherever we go whether Chapter camp, IV retreats or even to small groups at IV or from church, are we willing to let others minister to us?  Are we willing to follow God no matter how we feel?  We do not have to be perfect.  The time God wants to use you may be in the middle of your greatest struggles with your weaknesses glaring in your face. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Whether you jump at the opportunity to go or you put up the wall of excuses, go if God is calling you.  Go where God is calling. Be obedient to God and never look back.

Cross-cultural Relationships

Hello! It's been a while. I hope you all had a great time at Great Escape and on Fall Break. Two weeks ago Jasmine from NM Tech came and shared her experiences relating to people of other cultures while being of a mixed cultural background. She got real with us and laid out what it is like to struggle and be victorious. She reminded us that as Psalm 139-7-18 says, we are made wonderfully and beautifully. Our identity also is wonderful and beautiful.

Whether we are of a mixed background or not, the fact of life is that the way we have grown up is a culture. It is a way of life. However we learned to operate within our family and our neighbors growing up has shaped our view of the world and how it should run. It is challenging when other people have grown up with another culture and the way they do things is completely different. It has all been one way for each person. And in many cases, we insist that we are right. That the other person needs to conform to our way of doing things. Sometimes this a perceived demand from another person or the culture around us. This is where things go wrong...terribly wrong. God didn't make the world so that everything was done one way. If it were, He would have said so. God is creative, and the way He made us and cultures is creative. It is supposed to come together eventually and make a whole. I don't know about you, but when I have prayed with internationals from other countries, the perspective they bring to prayer is so differently edifying that I learn something about my attitude towards God. In the same way, I bet they learn from me too. Even other Americans who have grown up differently than I have teach me things about God. 

None of us is perfect, and embracing other people's differences can make us a better person and even a better Christian. Things that are emphasized in another culture maybe be taught in our culture, but that element may be important to a balanced life. When it comes to other cultures, especially ethnically speaking, remember this: God made every culture. When we find someone from a different country, keep an open mind. Learn how they do things and learn to speak their heart language. Often times we are saying the same thing but using different words. 

One day we will be worshiping in God's kingdom with a great crowd of every tongue, tribe and nation. (Revelation 7:9-10)  We might as well live it out here on earth.

For further reading: Deuteronomy 10:19, 24:17-22; Isaiah 56:1-6; Luke 10:25-37

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)