Hello Readers,
This is going to be a full blog post to read! I am very excited to tell you about my adventure that the Institute sent us on as a class! As always I hope that this post provides insight, challenges, and encourages you in your daily walk with Christ.
We were given the challenge to go and evangelize to the town of Branson. Wow, was I so scared when I sat in class and our president told us the heart of this assignment and gave us the layout of what we should ask while talking with people. I knew this time would come and I have learned a ton in being prepared for this specific day, but still very anxious. I had no idea where I was going to go. I HATE the smell of coffee so I knew I wouldn’t be able to go there and talking with people. I had the awesome opportunity to go with one of my classmates and after driving around for a little bit found our self in the parking lot of the hospital here in town!
We were given 5 questions to ask people to open up spiritual conversations.
1. Who is God?
2. Who is Jesus?
3. When do you become a woman?
4. Do you attend a church?
5. Would you mind telling us your story and include your biggest struggle or trial in life right now.
My friend and I headed into the hospital after praying in the parking lot for God to calm our spirits and to give us divine appointments in who we talk with today. We didn’t quite know the layout of the hospital and upon trying to find the out patient waiting room we came upon the cafeteria and decided to sit there for a little while and collect our thought and spend sometime in prayer and reading the Word and look to see if we could talk with anyone in this type of setting. It was earlier in the morning and the only people that came through were the busy nurses that didn’t have time to sit and chat. So we mustered up our courage and sent into the outpatient waiting room.
We saw an elderly lady by herself in a wheel chair and decided to talk with her. I will not being saying her name to give privacy and it was an okay conversation. We ran out of time to get to the first questions but got the chance to talk and listen to her story and then pray with her and give encouragement with the trial of failing physical health and loneliness.
After that we decided to go to a different waiting room because of the low amount of people in the one we were currently in. We wanted to find the chapel and there happened to be a waiting room right next to it. The chapel was a very small room and no one was in it but we did find someone to talk with in the waiting room and it was an awesome conversation! She was waiting on her husband who was in surgery. We had a good hour plus conversation with her. Even though we had a longer time with her it was still hard for myself and my friend to bring up and transition into the 5 questions to ask her. We again went from the bottom up and just asked her a ton of questions about her life and what trials she was currently going through. They happened to be loneliness and weariness and stress. She, however, said multiple times that she was so happy that we asked to speak with her. It was so sad to hear how when she moved to Branson that she and her husband really struggled in finding a church and even friends that excepted them and they just stopped attending any church and hadn’t in many years, even though both had grown up in the church. We asked if she had ever considered trying the churches here again and she said it is funny that we ask because her co-workers of late had really been pushing for her to go with them and she had a deeper conviction to start going again. With all of her husband’s health situations coming up and how her children are going to be moving away and she wanted a support group to walk through the toughest trial she is going through right now. Our time ended with us exchanging numbers and we more recently have heard that her husband is not doing so great and really needs our prayers. We hope to continue to pursue a relationship with her while here at the Institute and she seemed very interested in coming to church with us but couldn’t while her husband was in the hospital. We did however tell her of the live feed she and her husband could watch to see if they even liked the pastor before coming to check out the fellowship of people. Hopefully we will get to sit next to her while at a church service soon or that she goes with her friends.
The questions that we had set out to ask did not all get asked and even though they didn’t I was still blown away with how hurting people need to be loved. I am so blessed with where God has me right now in my life and I was truly struck by how lonely and stressed and tired people are with no support and the church has left them abandoned in some way. I know that the church has a huge responsibility and really it isn’t just the pastors or elders of the church to care for all the people but the people themselves to care for all the people. I have been challenged in my thoughts of how I service in the church I attend and how am I reaching out to other members to show them the love of God in my speech or action. This world leaves us battered and bruised and God’s people are to abide in Him and love like He loved us (1 John).
We are all broken in someway and getting the privilege to step out of my comfort zone and talk with people I didn’t know at all was just a blessing. My friend and I will be going back to the hospital next Thursday to talk with more people and show love to them through speech and possibly some action as well.
I challenge you to think upon these 5 questions and how you would answer them. Second, step out in someway and talk with friends and then people you don’t even know and ask them about them. Stir up conversation with a purpose - we know that Jesus is our escape from the penalty of our sins, He paid the price and we need to be telling others about that love and gift we can have. I hope you are encouraged and have a great day showing the Love of God in someway.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Romans
Hello Fellow Readers of this blog,
I have had an impactful week of studying Romans! I went through all 16 Chapters in 3 days! Our teacher this week was Chad Hampsch and he did a great job making the book practical but also kept context and gave history throughout. He likes history and reading so he had some awesome insight from outside sources and time periods to help relate the material to our give an example to bring Paul’s writing more to life for us.
I have two things to share with you all about our study that I hope is encouraging and also challenges you to seek the Lord more because of this new knowledge.
1. Chapter 12 - Internal Attributes and External Actions
2. Chapter 11 - Gentiles were grafted in and the Israelite people will be grafted in again to the tree of God
Yes these points are from the end of the book and that doesn’t mean the first 10 chapters aren’t as good. They were great and I encourage you to read the full Book of Romans. It is an incredible letter written by Paul to the Roman Church which he longed to go and see. In this book he really doesn’t talk about questioning theology but rather hits the gospel hard and in an impactful way and he expresses his desire for the church in Rome as they continued to walk in the fullness of the gospel truths. If you do decide to read through the book here is the way that Chad walked through the book with us (not in chapter form but thought form) - this process was derived from the outline of MacArthur.
Book Breakdown:
Greetings and Introduction (1:1-15)
Book Theme (1:16-17)
Condemnation: The Need of God’s Righteousness (1:18-3:20)
Justification: The Provision of God’s Righteousness (3:21-5:21)
Sanctification: The Demonstration of God’s Righteousness (6:1-8:39)
Restoration: Israel’s Reception of God’s Righteousness (9:1-11:36)
Application: The Behavior of God’s Righteousness (12:1-15:13)
Conclusion, Greetings, and Benediction (15:14-16:27)
Okay now to the points I would like to highlight and share with you on how it has impacted me in my thought life just in the first few days and hours.
1. Chapter 12 is so so so good! I love getting instruction from the Bible that is powerful and achievable but challenging because we must die to flesh for it to be accomplished. I know the Lord is working in my life because these qualities are not our human/fleshly desires what so ever. This chapter can be divided up into two different types of Christian walking; internal and external. Verses 1-13 talk about the internal attributes of a Christ Follower and Verses 14-21 talk about the external actions of a Christ Follower. I had one internal attribute stick out a little further for me this time as I read it, Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. I was really convicted my this statement because I can so easily in my mind think that I am doing great and not concern myself with asking the Lord to reveal sin so I can conquer it with Him, but instead I walk in contentment. I also was convicted with how little I say or stand up against evil around me. Yes, I am in an incredible environment this year and not really surrounded at all by the world but I need to be ready to defend and battle against the world when I leave the gates of K-Institute in just 7 weeks. These evils I am talking about are different convictions that God has placed on my heart to speak truth into and shed light, examples for me specifically would be Sex Trafficking or Bullying in Schools. Your convictions maybe the same or different. I challenge you to think about the things of this world that are evil and how you can stand up and defend those evils to be good instead! I also had one external action stick out specifically for me and it was verse 15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” As I was sitting in class I had God lay on my heart that I am very selfish in my conversations with people and want people to rejoice when I rejoice and weep when I weep and I struggle with doing that in return to people around me. To rejoice is to be over joyed and excited and to weep is to be saddened or have sorrow for circumstances that are happening in your friend’s life around you. Chad gave this example, K-Life is about to announce who they have hired for positions in their ministry and we have quite a few people in our class that interviewed and there is no guarantee that we will all be placed in a position so with that, How will we rejoice with those that got the job but still weep with those that didn’t? or How do you rejoice with your friend that got it when you didn’t? or How do you weep with your friend that didn’t get it when you did? To rejoice and weep is to show action that is unselfish to reveal the love of God to our closest friends and the people we just pass in the street. I challenge you to ask God to reveal a friend that needs encouragement because of a trial or just affirmation in a joy in their life.
The second aspect of Romans that really impacted me was from Chapter 11:17-24. This section is Paul using an analogy of a Tree and its Branches to depict the Israelites (God’s People) and Gentiles (Anyone not of Israelite descent). Verse 19 and 23 were so cool to me and this is what they say 19 “You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” and 23 “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” WOW, I LOVE this! Verse 19 is about the Gentiles and verse 23 is about the Israelites. Verses 19, We are grafted into the family of God because of the Israelites unbelief! Wow, that is a hard pill to swallow but I Love How Incredible God’s Sovereignty is when it finishes up in verse 23 that They, His People, The Israelites will be grafted back in and not always have their disbelieve but will come to the full knowledge of Jesus as the Christ, their Messiah! And why are we and they able to be grafted into the family is because God is Able!!! Wow, we serve and believe in an incredible God! I am so thankful for His love for human kind and that He has a desire to have us Gentiles as apart of His family but how he continues to pursue His People and doesn’t loose heart that they will come to belief in His gift and only Son, Jesus, our sacrifice of all sin! I challenge you to reflect how much God loves you today and honestly you should end up in just complete aww and thanksgiving for all that He has done for us!
Thanks for reading and hope you are encouraged to walk closer with our God who desires so much to be in complete unity with us!
I have had an impactful week of studying Romans! I went through all 16 Chapters in 3 days! Our teacher this week was Chad Hampsch and he did a great job making the book practical but also kept context and gave history throughout. He likes history and reading so he had some awesome insight from outside sources and time periods to help relate the material to our give an example to bring Paul’s writing more to life for us.
I have two things to share with you all about our study that I hope is encouraging and also challenges you to seek the Lord more because of this new knowledge.
1. Chapter 12 - Internal Attributes and External Actions
2. Chapter 11 - Gentiles were grafted in and the Israelite people will be grafted in again to the tree of God
Yes these points are from the end of the book and that doesn’t mean the first 10 chapters aren’t as good. They were great and I encourage you to read the full Book of Romans. It is an incredible letter written by Paul to the Roman Church which he longed to go and see. In this book he really doesn’t talk about questioning theology but rather hits the gospel hard and in an impactful way and he expresses his desire for the church in Rome as they continued to walk in the fullness of the gospel truths. If you do decide to read through the book here is the way that Chad walked through the book with us (not in chapter form but thought form) - this process was derived from the outline of MacArthur.
Book Breakdown:
Greetings and Introduction (1:1-15)
Book Theme (1:16-17)
Condemnation: The Need of God’s Righteousness (1:18-3:20)
Justification: The Provision of God’s Righteousness (3:21-5:21)
Sanctification: The Demonstration of God’s Righteousness (6:1-8:39)
Restoration: Israel’s Reception of God’s Righteousness (9:1-11:36)
Application: The Behavior of God’s Righteousness (12:1-15:13)
Conclusion, Greetings, and Benediction (15:14-16:27)
Okay now to the points I would like to highlight and share with you on how it has impacted me in my thought life just in the first few days and hours.
1. Chapter 12 is so so so good! I love getting instruction from the Bible that is powerful and achievable but challenging because we must die to flesh for it to be accomplished. I know the Lord is working in my life because these qualities are not our human/fleshly desires what so ever. This chapter can be divided up into two different types of Christian walking; internal and external. Verses 1-13 talk about the internal attributes of a Christ Follower and Verses 14-21 talk about the external actions of a Christ Follower. I had one internal attribute stick out a little further for me this time as I read it, Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. I was really convicted my this statement because I can so easily in my mind think that I am doing great and not concern myself with asking the Lord to reveal sin so I can conquer it with Him, but instead I walk in contentment. I also was convicted with how little I say or stand up against evil around me. Yes, I am in an incredible environment this year and not really surrounded at all by the world but I need to be ready to defend and battle against the world when I leave the gates of K-Institute in just 7 weeks. These evils I am talking about are different convictions that God has placed on my heart to speak truth into and shed light, examples for me specifically would be Sex Trafficking or Bullying in Schools. Your convictions maybe the same or different. I challenge you to think about the things of this world that are evil and how you can stand up and defend those evils to be good instead! I also had one external action stick out specifically for me and it was verse 15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” As I was sitting in class I had God lay on my heart that I am very selfish in my conversations with people and want people to rejoice when I rejoice and weep when I weep and I struggle with doing that in return to people around me. To rejoice is to be over joyed and excited and to weep is to be saddened or have sorrow for circumstances that are happening in your friend’s life around you. Chad gave this example, K-Life is about to announce who they have hired for positions in their ministry and we have quite a few people in our class that interviewed and there is no guarantee that we will all be placed in a position so with that, How will we rejoice with those that got the job but still weep with those that didn’t? or How do you rejoice with your friend that got it when you didn’t? or How do you weep with your friend that didn’t get it when you did? To rejoice and weep is to show action that is unselfish to reveal the love of God to our closest friends and the people we just pass in the street. I challenge you to ask God to reveal a friend that needs encouragement because of a trial or just affirmation in a joy in their life.
The second aspect of Romans that really impacted me was from Chapter 11:17-24. This section is Paul using an analogy of a Tree and its Branches to depict the Israelites (God’s People) and Gentiles (Anyone not of Israelite descent). Verse 19 and 23 were so cool to me and this is what they say 19 “You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” and 23 “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” WOW, I LOVE this! Verse 19 is about the Gentiles and verse 23 is about the Israelites. Verses 19, We are grafted into the family of God because of the Israelites unbelief! Wow, that is a hard pill to swallow but I Love How Incredible God’s Sovereignty is when it finishes up in verse 23 that They, His People, The Israelites will be grafted back in and not always have their disbelieve but will come to the full knowledge of Jesus as the Christ, their Messiah! And why are we and they able to be grafted into the family is because God is Able!!! Wow, we serve and believe in an incredible God! I am so thankful for His love for human kind and that He has a desire to have us Gentiles as apart of His family but how he continues to pursue His People and doesn’t loose heart that they will come to belief in His gift and only Son, Jesus, our sacrifice of all sin! I challenge you to reflect how much God loves you today and honestly you should end up in just complete aww and thanksgiving for all that He has done for us!
Thanks for reading and hope you are encouraged to walk closer with our God who desires so much to be in complete unity with us!
Friday, February 14, 2014
1 Peter - Godly Women and LOVE
Hello,
This week we had the awesome opportunity to walk verse by verse through both 1 Peter and Philippians. (we didn't make it all the way through Philippians but what we did was amazing!)
I would love to share with you two quick simple things that stuck with me!
I love in 1 Peter when it talks about the role of a Godly women in Chapter 3. Peter writes in the perspective of this women being married. Well I am married and it was really encouraging to read and study what is called of me as a wife.
The four things that Peter tells us that are of Godly women are as follows
1. be submissive to your own husbands
2. observe your chaste and respectful behavior
3. your adornment must not be merely external
4. Gentle and Quiet Spirit that is the hidden person of the heart
I loved Chad Hampsch's take on submission, it is not what the world tells us. The world tells us to not be submissive but take control and be authoritative and a strong leader that doesn't answer to anyone. Chad took this approach, that to be submissive in a marriage is healthy and our make if we understand the word submissive. Submissive does not mean belittled or controlled. This passage is talking about husbands and wives and we are told the woman is to be submissive to the husband. Submissive means we are to allow the husband to lead. The husband has a role as the wife has a role and we are to strive to be within those roles as believers and promote a healthy and joyful marriage. When we as women submit to our husbands with the respect of their roles to lead then we understand what it means to follow and support our husbands well because we aren't to worried about control. It is awesome that a Godly marriage is reflective of Christ and the church and even the relationship of the Trinity. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all one but still unique, still all God but the Son and the Holy Spirit show submission in their roles. Submission is not a bad thing - it actually allows us as women to be free to embrace our roles as caregiver and helpmate to our husbands as well as invest in other women's lives around us!
Another part of 1 Peter Chapter 2 when Chad Hampsch brought up list of things a Believer is exemplify in living on this earth.
This was great conversation in our class time and it was good for me to be reminded of my need to love and submit to authority and protect the words I use when talking.
This week I have really been challenged with how I love others around me. It says in 1 Peter 1:22 for us to have "a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart." 1 Peter 2:17 "Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king." and 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins."
Also this week we had our discussion of our week of precepts of 1 John and talked about love. Loving with out expectations and this has been an incredible week of growth for this area in my life. Love is hard to do because we as humans want to feel more loved than what we express - so selfish in our love for people and that is not we are called to do. We are called to "love because He first loved us" in 1 John and we do this because "God is love" and if we are to abide in God then we should love others. There is no way that we can say we love God and not love the people of this world. This has been a shedding of selfishness and expectations this week in how to receive love and show love for me and I just wanted to challenge you with a couple things!
It is Valentine's Day - the holiday to express love to people! How are you sharing about the Love of God to the people in your everyday life? How are loving without expecting anything in return? Have you let the Love of God effect your daily life to be something you show in action or just knowledge of His love that does effect you?
It is a subject that can be very touchy or convicting and you can respond with bitterness or acceptance that you have to work on loving people everyday!
Thanks for reading and 1 Peter is really an awesome book we are given from our Father to remind us of His gift - Jesus and to lay out what Christian living is about here on earth, in submission and love towards others. 1 John is jam packed with straight forward statements on what love is and how we are to love and abide in God! Both you should read and spend sometime today reflecting on who you are doing loving people around you!
This week we had the awesome opportunity to walk verse by verse through both 1 Peter and Philippians. (we didn't make it all the way through Philippians but what we did was amazing!)
I would love to share with you two quick simple things that stuck with me!
I love in 1 Peter when it talks about the role of a Godly women in Chapter 3. Peter writes in the perspective of this women being married. Well I am married and it was really encouraging to read and study what is called of me as a wife.
The four things that Peter tells us that are of Godly women are as follows
1. be submissive to your own husbands
2. observe your chaste and respectful behavior
3. your adornment must not be merely external
4. Gentle and Quiet Spirit that is the hidden person of the heart
I loved Chad Hampsch's take on submission, it is not what the world tells us. The world tells us to not be submissive but take control and be authoritative and a strong leader that doesn't answer to anyone. Chad took this approach, that to be submissive in a marriage is healthy and our make if we understand the word submissive. Submissive does not mean belittled or controlled. This passage is talking about husbands and wives and we are told the woman is to be submissive to the husband. Submissive means we are to allow the husband to lead. The husband has a role as the wife has a role and we are to strive to be within those roles as believers and promote a healthy and joyful marriage. When we as women submit to our husbands with the respect of their roles to lead then we understand what it means to follow and support our husbands well because we aren't to worried about control. It is awesome that a Godly marriage is reflective of Christ and the church and even the relationship of the Trinity. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all one but still unique, still all God but the Son and the Holy Spirit show submission in their roles. Submission is not a bad thing - it actually allows us as women to be free to embrace our roles as caregiver and helpmate to our husbands as well as invest in other women's lives around us!
Another part of 1 Peter Chapter 2 when Chad Hampsch brought up list of things a Believer is exemplify in living on this earth.
This was great conversation in our class time and it was good for me to be reminded of my need to love and submit to authority and protect the words I use when talking.
This week I have really been challenged with how I love others around me. It says in 1 Peter 1:22 for us to have "a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart." 1 Peter 2:17 "Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king." and 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins."
Also this week we had our discussion of our week of precepts of 1 John and talked about love. Loving with out expectations and this has been an incredible week of growth for this area in my life. Love is hard to do because we as humans want to feel more loved than what we express - so selfish in our love for people and that is not we are called to do. We are called to "love because He first loved us" in 1 John and we do this because "God is love" and if we are to abide in God then we should love others. There is no way that we can say we love God and not love the people of this world. This has been a shedding of selfishness and expectations this week in how to receive love and show love for me and I just wanted to challenge you with a couple things!
It is Valentine's Day - the holiday to express love to people! How are you sharing about the Love of God to the people in your everyday life? How are loving without expecting anything in return? Have you let the Love of God effect your daily life to be something you show in action or just knowledge of His love that does effect you?
It is a subject that can be very touchy or convicting and you can respond with bitterness or acceptance that you have to work on loving people everyday!
Thanks for reading and 1 Peter is really an awesome book we are given from our Father to remind us of His gift - Jesus and to lay out what Christian living is about here on earth, in submission and love towards others. 1 John is jam packed with straight forward statements on what love is and how we are to love and abide in God! Both you should read and spend sometime today reflecting on who you are doing loving people around you!
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