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Being Certain.
13 years ago
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Long time, no type.
It has been forever since I've blogged. Summer Project is definitely over. I haven't forgotten about this blog, I just have been to lazy to sit down and sort out my thoughts.
God has done many many amazing things in my life since my last post and a very small portion of them are mentioned on the summer project blog. This past weekend I just had an amazing time in Rogers, MN at my Summer Project reunion! It was fantastic! I loved seeing so many project friends again. Of course a weekend is not nearly long enough it seems, but it was well worth the 14 to 15 hours of driving almost 800 miles.
God just reminded me of his great love for me as I talked with some friends getting updated on what He was doing on their campuses and sharing the same for my campus and just seeing their excitement and passion for God is so encouraging. I was talking with my friend Joanna sharing a lot of this kind of thing and we were talking about how God's love is much more realized in view of his hatred of sin and his wrath. God's attributes are not mutually exclusive. In his love, he doesn't put his wrath of sin aside. Rather, out of his great love for us, he send Jesus, his only son to die for us when we deserved nothing. He poured out his wrath on Jesus because of his great love for us. The LEAST we can do is offer our entire lives on this earth. For all believers, we have been bought at a great price and we owe our lives to God. God doesn't need us, yet he loves us enough to bridge the gap between himself and us with the death of his son. Jesus' death paid our penalty because Jesus was perfect and when we accept Christ, we are crucified with him. As we live here on this earth, we are living in the death of Christ. We are in a sin-cursed world that has much pain and suffering, but in the heat of it all, knowing that God loves me, a hopeless wretch apart from Christ, I can have joy that God's plan is what's best for my life. I can live for God through trials with great peace when I am walking close with him. For to live is Christ and to die is gain!
I thought of an analogy in considering God's love. Imagine very clearly your best friend. If you don't have a best friend, just pick one of your closest friends in mind. Imagine someone kills that best friend. Some murderer who has killed many. Imagine your feelings towards that person. Now say they are caught and go to court and you are in court against them. The natural human response would be to hate them, to want the worst for them. We think, "They need to go to jail for life or get the death penalty. We can never get the life of our friend back..." Well we might be thinking it's only natural to feel that way, but as Christians, that's not how we are called.
Do you have a love for that person who killed your best friend to say to them that you forgive them for what they did? Do you have the kind of love for that person that wants the best for them. Would you be willing to take that person's punishment and go to prison for them or even take the death penalty? The punishment must be paid or there would be no justice. Would you love them so much that you would die for them? How would this love speak to them. They wouldn't understand how you could love them after something like that happened.
Do you realize that you are this murderer? Do you realize that God in his great love for you sent his only son Jesus to die for you and pay that penalty? If anyone hates another person, they have already murdered them in their heart. The punishment was poured out on Jesus. Jesus should be your closest friend. I hope when you hear the phrase, "Jesus loves me", you will think of what that cost him and you'll remember that it's true.
This kind of love is the kind of love that God has called us to love with.
John 15:12 says: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
This is certainly a challenging thing for me. We can't love like this on our own strength. Don't even try. Rather go to God and ask him to show you how to love and ask that you be filled with the Holy Spirit and the ability to love.
1 John 4:10 says: In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
So how do we love God? We follow his commandments.
I John 5:3 says: "for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."
Brothers and sisters, reflect on the gospel and on God's great love for you. Realize the cost to God our free gift of salvation is and go and share this love with others. If you are not yet a believer and are reading this, you can have this great love. If you have been living thinking that Christianity is all about doing good works and following rules and doing this or that or abstaining from this or that, then you are missing out on the beauty of God's love! It is not burdensome to do the commandments of God and love him. Don't do it on your strength apart from God for you have none.
Ephesians 2:8-9 say this: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Anyone wanting to talk about any of this with me, I would love the opportunity, so please let me know!
God has done many many amazing things in my life since my last post and a very small portion of them are mentioned on the summer project blog. This past weekend I just had an amazing time in Rogers, MN at my Summer Project reunion! It was fantastic! I loved seeing so many project friends again. Of course a weekend is not nearly long enough it seems, but it was well worth the 14 to 15 hours of driving almost 800 miles.
God just reminded me of his great love for me as I talked with some friends getting updated on what He was doing on their campuses and sharing the same for my campus and just seeing their excitement and passion for God is so encouraging. I was talking with my friend Joanna sharing a lot of this kind of thing and we were talking about how God's love is much more realized in view of his hatred of sin and his wrath. God's attributes are not mutually exclusive. In his love, he doesn't put his wrath of sin aside. Rather, out of his great love for us, he send Jesus, his only son to die for us when we deserved nothing. He poured out his wrath on Jesus because of his great love for us. The LEAST we can do is offer our entire lives on this earth. For all believers, we have been bought at a great price and we owe our lives to God. God doesn't need us, yet he loves us enough to bridge the gap between himself and us with the death of his son. Jesus' death paid our penalty because Jesus was perfect and when we accept Christ, we are crucified with him. As we live here on this earth, we are living in the death of Christ. We are in a sin-cursed world that has much pain and suffering, but in the heat of it all, knowing that God loves me, a hopeless wretch apart from Christ, I can have joy that God's plan is what's best for my life. I can live for God through trials with great peace when I am walking close with him. For to live is Christ and to die is gain!
I thought of an analogy in considering God's love. Imagine very clearly your best friend. If you don't have a best friend, just pick one of your closest friends in mind. Imagine someone kills that best friend. Some murderer who has killed many. Imagine your feelings towards that person. Now say they are caught and go to court and you are in court against them. The natural human response would be to hate them, to want the worst for them. We think, "They need to go to jail for life or get the death penalty. We can never get the life of our friend back..." Well we might be thinking it's only natural to feel that way, but as Christians, that's not how we are called.
Do you have a love for that person who killed your best friend to say to them that you forgive them for what they did? Do you have the kind of love for that person that wants the best for them. Would you be willing to take that person's punishment and go to prison for them or even take the death penalty? The punishment must be paid or there would be no justice. Would you love them so much that you would die for them? How would this love speak to them. They wouldn't understand how you could love them after something like that happened.
Do you realize that you are this murderer? Do you realize that God in his great love for you sent his only son Jesus to die for you and pay that penalty? If anyone hates another person, they have already murdered them in their heart. The punishment was poured out on Jesus. Jesus should be your closest friend. I hope when you hear the phrase, "Jesus loves me", you will think of what that cost him and you'll remember that it's true.
This kind of love is the kind of love that God has called us to love with.
John 15:12 says: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
This is certainly a challenging thing for me. We can't love like this on our own strength. Don't even try. Rather go to God and ask him to show you how to love and ask that you be filled with the Holy Spirit and the ability to love.
1 John 4:10 says: In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
So how do we love God? We follow his commandments.
I John 5:3 says: "for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."
Brothers and sisters, reflect on the gospel and on God's great love for you. Realize the cost to God our free gift of salvation is and go and share this love with others. If you are not yet a believer and are reading this, you can have this great love. If you have been living thinking that Christianity is all about doing good works and following rules and doing this or that or abstaining from this or that, then you are missing out on the beauty of God's love! It is not burdensome to do the commandments of God and love him. Don't do it on your strength apart from God for you have none.
Ephesians 2:8-9 say this: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Anyone wanting to talk about any of this with me, I would love the opportunity, so please let me know!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Summer Project
I forgot to sorta mention this on my blog. I have actually created a separate blog that I'll be updating now and then while I'm on Summer Project, so for at least another month or so I won't be updating this one. I don't know when I'll be able to even say what's going on soon in my other one because it's so busy on project. It's non-stopped, but that just forces us to rely on the Holy Spirit rather than ourselves because we simply cannot do all this work on our own. If you want to keep updated with it, my Summer Project blog is: http://nmbsp.blogspot.com
Monday, May 10, 2010
God's Amazing Provision in Trials
The following I copied and pasted with a conversation I had with a friend over Skype. It's a really cool story of how God worked in amazing ways last night when a typical trip to Hungarian falls turned into a real adventure indeed. Sorry for all the awkward formatting with time stamps.
cookingdoggy(cookingdoggy is me):So last night a bunch of my Cru friends wanted to go to a series of waterfalls up here... it's really cool and picturesque
[4:45:55 PM] cookingdoggy: however you spell that
[4:45:59 PM] cookingdoggy: it's call hungarian falls
[4:46:24 PM] cookingdoggy: anyways, I had to go to the evening service at my church and I did and right when church was out, my cru friends left to go to the falls
[4:46:36 PM] cookingdoggy: (they don't go to my church and don't go to any other evening services so they weren't with me)
[4:46:57 PM] cookingdoggy: and so I invited my high school friends at my church to go too, only they had to eat first which took a while and then they said they would come
[4:47:12 PM] cookingdoggy: we finally head out about half an hour later than the others or even longer than that...
[4:47:24 PM] cookingdoggy: and my high school friends went in 2 vehicles
[4:47:54 PM] cookingdoggy: one group went first (my car), and the other group were gonna go pick up some other friends and meet us there
[4:48:13 PM] cookingdoggy: well on the road to the waterfalls, there are two turn-offs, one with a gate and one without
[4:48:18 PM] Timothy Wallace begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting: ok
[4:48:34 PM] cookingdoggy: and so I went up the the usual crusade one that apparently my high school friends didn't know about
[4:48:43 PM] cookingdoggy: with a couple of my highschool friends in my car
[4:48:54 PM] cookingdoggy: then we waited a bit but didn't see them so we didn't know where they went
[4:49:06 PM] cookingdoggy: we decided to finally get out and walk down the trail a bit
[4:49:24 PM] cookingdoggy: now this is going to be hard to keep track of the rest of this until you have a good sense of what it looks like
[4:49:31 PM] Timothy Wallace: ok lol
[4:49:46 PM] cookingdoggy: so the main road is sorta parallel to the the waterfall/river but a distance a way from it
[4:50:00 PM] cookingdoggy: we were at the north entrance and walked west towards the waterfall
[4:50:07 PM] Timothy Wallace: ok
[4:50:44 PM] cookingdoggy: once we finally just about got to the water, there was a fork in the road and my friends who were with me didn't want the others to get lost so they turned around RIGHT before we got to my cru friends where they were
[4:50:58 PM] cookingdoggy: I was like... "They're right here, why don't you meet them first"
[4:51:10 PM] cookingdoggy: but they wouldn't, and I guess that was ok
[4:51:20 PM] cookingdoggy: so they went back towards the car to see if they showed up there yet
[4:51:32 PM] cookingdoggy: meanwhile, there was a further north waterfall that my friend wanted to show me
[4:51:46 PM] cookingdoggy: so I went with him and saw it and it was sweet...
[4:52:10 PM] cookingdoggy: then i went back and looked for my friends but they weren't there at the car so I figured they walked along the road towards the other entrance to find them
[4:52:18 PM] cookingdoggy: so I walked back towards the river to find them
[4:52:21 PM] Timothy Wallace: lol
[4:52:41 PM] cookingdoggy: oh wait... right before I ran to the car, I walked south a bit and found the rest of the cru friends again
[4:52:48 PM] Timothy Wallace: ok
[4:52:53 PM] cookingdoggy: so I ran to my car and then ran back figuring I'd me them as they hiked up the waterfall
[4:53:03 PM] cookingdoggy: or... along side it
[4:53:08 PM] Timothy Wallace: right
[4:53:24 PM] cookingdoggy: well, I did meet them right where I thought I would... my whole high school group, but then all the cru people were gone
[4:53:26 PM] cookingdoggy: i was like... what?
[4:53:29 PM] cookingdoggy: haha
[4:53:45 PM] cookingdoggy: then I went exploring around with my high school friends a bit and showed them some of the cool places
[4:53:52 PM] cookingdoggy: and it was getting darker
[4:54:10 PM] cookingdoggy: at one point, I saw a couple of cru friends seperated from the rest and asked them where everyone else was
[4:54:33 PM] cookingdoggy: they told me that one of my friends named Cory took a slip and slid like 30 feet down a steep hill and tumbled down
[4:54:41 PM] cookingdoggy: he got hurt pretty bad and his arm was fractured
[4:54:53 PM] cookingdoggy: so they told me the rest headed back to the hospital and they were heading out
[4:55:28 PM] cookingdoggy: well, I figured I'd head back and finish up with my high school friends and we got back to my car right when it was getting really dark
[4:55:49 PM] cookingdoggy: I decided that I would drive alongside my other friends as they walked down the road south to where they parked their cars
[4:55:53 PM] cookingdoggy: got everything so far?
[4:56:03 PM] Timothy Wallace: yes
[4:56:04 PM] cookingdoggy: ok
[4:56:19 PM] cookingdoggy: so when I got back to my car, I noted that one of the crusade vehicles was still there and I thought they had all left
[4:56:36 PM] cookingdoggy: well anyways, we got to the other entrance towards the waterfall and got to my friends car
[4:56:47 PM] Timothy Wallace: ok...the high school friend
[4:56:52 PM] cookingdoggy: yeah
[4:56:57 PM] cookingdoggy: i was with my high school friends still
[4:57:02 PM] Timothy Wallace: right
[4:57:03 PM] cookingdoggy: i was "escorting them to their car"
[4:57:25 PM] cookingdoggy: and we got there... but yet another one of my high school friends apparently showed up and must have been looking for us somewhere
[4:57:34 PM] cookingdoggy: so we waited a little bit and started calling him
[4:57:38 PM] Timothy Wallace: ok
[4:57:39 PM] cookingdoggy: his name was Justin
[4:57:54 PM] cookingdoggy: we called out "JUSTIN" really loud and we heard a girl respond
[4:58:10 PM] cookingdoggy: there was another girl and guy there and the guy's name was Justin but it wasn't the right Justin
[4:58:11 PM] cookingdoggy: haha
[4:58:16 PM] Timothy Wallace: lol
[4:58:51 PM] cookingdoggy: but as I was looking for my high school friend Justin, and it was dark at this point... my Cru friend Joe showed up running around and I thought they had left at that point
[4:59:15 PM] cookingdoggy: aparently, this whole time, my friend Cory that got hurt was still on the side of the hill and they were helping him out the best they could when he broke his arm
[4:59:15 PM] Timothy Wallace: lol ok
[4:59:38 PM] Timothy Wallace: so they hadn't left for the hospital yet like the other group thought?
[4:59:45 PM] cookingdoggy: yeah
[5:00:05 PM] cookingdoggy: so then I told my high school friends that I was gonna run up the path north up the waterfall/river
[5:00:33 PM] cookingdoggy: and that I would be back in a couple of minutes
[5:00:42 PM] cookingdoggy: i followed Joe along this trail to see what was going on
[5:00:48 PM | Edited 5:01:15 PM] Timothy Wallace: okok
[5:01:10 PM] cookingdoggy: I got way down the trail and another Cru friend named Andy was looking for a backpack that fell down a cliff that had a camera and a rope in it in the river but he couldn't see because it was dark
[5:01:23 PM] cookingdoggy: well I had a little keychain flashlight LED thingy and I used that to help him out
[5:01:30 PM] cookingdoggy: meanwhile, I heard the other guys helping out Cory
[5:01:48 PM] cookingdoggy: and I decided to try to crawl up the hill to see if I could help them out with some light
[5:02:05 PM] cookingdoggy: we left the bag for the night and they went and found it today...
[5:02:36 PM] cookingdoggy: anyways, so as I was climbing up this really steep hill I found myself on this little patch of dirt that was giving way and there were no trees to grab onto
[5:02:49 PM] cookingdoggy: as I started to fall down the hill
[5:02:58 PM] Timothy Wallace: oh boy
[5:03:17 PM] cookingdoggy: and then I kinda ran into a tree, but wasn't going to fast so I was fine at that point
[5:03:35 PM] cookingdoggy: it was really muddy as it has rained recently but there were leaves on top so it was deceiving
[5:04:20 PM] cookingdoggy: so anyways, I finally found the path that I had been on which was really close to the water at the bottom of the hill and finally found where Cory was
[5:04:47 PM] cookingdoggy: they asked me to find the trail i took to get there because it was easier to get Cory down the hill to that trail rather than going up the hill any farther
[5:04:59 PM] Timothy Wallace: right
[5:05:01 PM] cookingdoggy: so by using ropes and my flashlight, they were able to get down through much difficulty
[5:05:11 PM] cookingdoggy: there were like 5 other guys there too
[5:05:26 PM] cookingdoggy: but one guy's flashlight died and the only other one they had was really dim
[5:05:39 PM] cookingdoggy: so they couldn't see anything without my little LED keychain which was surprisingly bright
[5:05:49 PM] Timothy Wallace: yea they are
[5:06:16 PM] cookingdoggy: and we got down to the path to walk like the quarter mile back along the river South towards my car using my light as a guide
[5:06:24 PM] cookingdoggy: which is like the only good light they had
[5:06:32 PM] cookingdoggy: going very slowly cuz Cory was in pain
[5:06:32 PM] Timothy Wallace: cool
[5:06:40 PM] Timothy Wallace: was he walking?
[5:06:45 PM] Timothy Wallace: or did he hurt his leg too/
[5:06:54 PM] cookingdoggy: his legs were ok which was good
[5:06:56 PM] cookingdoggy: so he was walking
[5:06:58 PM] Timothy Wallace: yea
[5:07:11 PM] cookingdoggy: so I didn't know about that trail either until I used it to find them
[5:07:34 PM] cookingdoggy: we FINALLY made it back to my car and all my high school friends had left as it took like half an hour or more to get back
[5:07:44 PM] cookingdoggy: My car was ready to take Cory to the hospital
[5:07:48 PM] cookingdoggy: and his Mom was up for mothers day
[5:07:57 PM] cookingdoggy: but there is no cell phone signal out at that waterfall
[5:07:57 PM] Timothy Wallace: ha so everyone left in the other car?
[5:08:16 PM] cookingdoggy: well another guy ran to get his other car which was farther away and took the rest of them that couldn't fit into my car
[5:08:25 PM] Timothy Wallace: oh ok
[5:08:33 PM] cookingdoggy: but it was good my car was there so Cory wouldn't have to go any farther
[5:08:37 PM] Timothy Wallace: yeah
[5:08:45 PM] cookingdoggy: and it was good my high school friends left so I would have room for more people
[5:08:51 PM] Timothy Wallace: haha true
[5:09:06 PM] cookingdoggy: we got him to the hospital and finally to a good cell phone spot so he could call his mom
[5:09:09 PM] cookingdoggy: and she met us up there
[5:09:28 PM] cookingdoggy: then he got a cat scan cuz he bumped his head and an x-ray, so it took a while and we left while his mom stayed
[5:09:49 PM] Timothy Wallace: sounds like a crazy night haha
[5:09:51 PM] cookingdoggy: so that yesterday evening for me... but here's the cool part...:
[5:10:23 PM] cookingdoggy: I didn't know about that lower entrance to the waterfall and never would have parked my car there if it wasn't for my high school friends going there with me and that trail would have been unknown to all of us
[5:10:35 PM] cookingdoggy: and they wouldn't have had my keychain light either
[5:10:40 PM] Timothy Wallace: yeah
[5:10:42 PM] Timothy Wallace: hero! haha
[5:10:48 PM] cookingdoggy: so God put me exactly where everything would work out great!
[5:10:57 PM] cookingdoggy: it's really unbelievable how it all worked out
[5:11:05 PM] Timothy Wallace: yeah
[5:11:08 PM] Timothy Wallace: it's cool though
[5:11:17 PM] cookingdoggy: definitely!
[5:11:20 PM] Timothy Wallace: he's got it under control
[5:11:27 PM] cookingdoggy: that He does
[5:11:36 PM] cookingdoggy: now you can see why I kinda wanted to tell you over the phone
[5:11:45 PM] cookingdoggy: cuz it's a long story with a lot of details
[5:11:49 PM] cookingdoggy: but i think i covered it all
[5:12:20 PM] Timothy Wallace: sweet
[5:12:25 PM] Timothy Wallace: well thanks for typing it all out haha
[5:12:30 PM] cookingdoggy: and we just found out while I was telling you this story that he only fractured his arm in a couple of places but the rest of his body is fine other than a few bumps and bruises
[5:12:34 PM] Timothy Wallace: now copy and paste it for the next person so you don' thave to retype haha
[5:12:47 PM] cookingdoggy: haha, i wish I wrote that in a blog
[5:12:53 PM] cookingdoggy: maybe I will eventually
... and I did and that is what you just read. How cool is it that God works through things so well and we so often worry about circumstances out of our control. When things are out of our control, they are in God's control and we have nothing to worry about.
cookingdoggy(cookingdoggy is me):So last night a bunch of my Cru friends wanted to go to a series of waterfalls up here... it's really cool and picturesque
[4:45:55 PM] cookingdoggy: however you spell that
[4:45:59 PM] cookingdoggy: it's call hungarian falls
[4:46:24 PM] cookingdoggy: anyways, I had to go to the evening service at my church and I did and right when church was out, my cru friends left to go to the falls
[4:46:36 PM] cookingdoggy: (they don't go to my church and don't go to any other evening services so they weren't with me)
[4:46:57 PM] cookingdoggy: and so I invited my high school friends at my church to go too, only they had to eat first which took a while and then they said they would come
[4:47:12 PM] cookingdoggy: we finally head out about half an hour later than the others or even longer than that...
[4:47:24 PM] cookingdoggy: and my high school friends went in 2 vehicles
[4:47:54 PM] cookingdoggy: one group went first (my car), and the other group were gonna go pick up some other friends and meet us there
[4:48:13 PM] cookingdoggy: well on the road to the waterfalls, there are two turn-offs, one with a gate and one without
[4:48:18 PM] Timothy Wallace begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting: ok
[4:48:34 PM] cookingdoggy: and so I went up the the usual crusade one that apparently my high school friends didn't know about
[4:48:43 PM] cookingdoggy: with a couple of my highschool friends in my car
[4:48:54 PM] cookingdoggy: then we waited a bit but didn't see them so we didn't know where they went
[4:49:06 PM] cookingdoggy: we decided to finally get out and walk down the trail a bit
[4:49:24 PM] cookingdoggy: now this is going to be hard to keep track of the rest of this until you have a good sense of what it looks like
[4:49:31 PM] Timothy Wallace: ok lol
[4:49:46 PM] cookingdoggy: so the main road is sorta parallel to the the waterfall/river but a distance a way from it
[4:50:00 PM] cookingdoggy: we were at the north entrance and walked west towards the waterfall
[4:50:07 PM] Timothy Wallace: ok
[4:50:44 PM] cookingdoggy: once we finally just about got to the water, there was a fork in the road and my friends who were with me didn't want the others to get lost so they turned around RIGHT before we got to my cru friends where they were
[4:50:58 PM] cookingdoggy: I was like... "They're right here, why don't you meet them first"
[4:51:10 PM] cookingdoggy: but they wouldn't, and I guess that was ok
[4:51:20 PM] cookingdoggy: so they went back towards the car to see if they showed up there yet
[4:51:32 PM] cookingdoggy: meanwhile, there was a further north waterfall that my friend wanted to show me
[4:51:46 PM] cookingdoggy: so I went with him and saw it and it was sweet...
[4:52:10 PM] cookingdoggy: then i went back and looked for my friends but they weren't there at the car so I figured they walked along the road towards the other entrance to find them
[4:52:18 PM] cookingdoggy: so I walked back towards the river to find them
[4:52:21 PM] Timothy Wallace: lol
[4:52:41 PM] cookingdoggy: oh wait... right before I ran to the car, I walked south a bit and found the rest of the cru friends again
[4:52:48 PM] Timothy Wallace: ok
[4:52:53 PM] cookingdoggy: so I ran to my car and then ran back figuring I'd me them as they hiked up the waterfall
[4:53:03 PM] cookingdoggy: or... along side it
[4:53:08 PM] Timothy Wallace: right
[4:53:24 PM] cookingdoggy: well, I did meet them right where I thought I would... my whole high school group, but then all the cru people were gone
[4:53:26 PM] cookingdoggy: i was like... what?
[4:53:29 PM] cookingdoggy: haha
[4:53:45 PM] cookingdoggy: then I went exploring around with my high school friends a bit and showed them some of the cool places
[4:53:52 PM] cookingdoggy: and it was getting darker
[4:54:10 PM] cookingdoggy: at one point, I saw a couple of cru friends seperated from the rest and asked them where everyone else was
[4:54:33 PM] cookingdoggy: they told me that one of my friends named Cory took a slip and slid like 30 feet down a steep hill and tumbled down
[4:54:41 PM] cookingdoggy: he got hurt pretty bad and his arm was fractured
[4:54:53 PM] cookingdoggy: so they told me the rest headed back to the hospital and they were heading out
[4:55:28 PM] cookingdoggy: well, I figured I'd head back and finish up with my high school friends and we got back to my car right when it was getting really dark
[4:55:49 PM] cookingdoggy: I decided that I would drive alongside my other friends as they walked down the road south to where they parked their cars
[4:55:53 PM] cookingdoggy: got everything so far?
[4:56:03 PM] Timothy Wallace: yes
[4:56:04 PM] cookingdoggy: ok
[4:56:19 PM] cookingdoggy: so when I got back to my car, I noted that one of the crusade vehicles was still there and I thought they had all left
[4:56:36 PM] cookingdoggy: well anyways, we got to the other entrance towards the waterfall and got to my friends car
[4:56:47 PM] Timothy Wallace: ok...the high school friend
[4:56:52 PM] cookingdoggy: yeah
[4:56:57 PM] cookingdoggy: i was with my high school friends still
[4:57:02 PM] Timothy Wallace: right
[4:57:03 PM] cookingdoggy: i was "escorting them to their car"
[4:57:25 PM] cookingdoggy: and we got there... but yet another one of my high school friends apparently showed up and must have been looking for us somewhere
[4:57:34 PM] cookingdoggy: so we waited a little bit and started calling him
[4:57:38 PM] Timothy Wallace: ok
[4:57:39 PM] cookingdoggy: his name was Justin
[4:57:54 PM] cookingdoggy: we called out "JUSTIN" really loud and we heard a girl respond
[4:58:10 PM] cookingdoggy: there was another girl and guy there and the guy's name was Justin but it wasn't the right Justin
[4:58:11 PM] cookingdoggy: haha
[4:58:16 PM] Timothy Wallace: lol
[4:58:51 PM] cookingdoggy: but as I was looking for my high school friend Justin, and it was dark at this point... my Cru friend Joe showed up running around and I thought they had left at that point
[4:59:15 PM] cookingdoggy: aparently, this whole time, my friend Cory that got hurt was still on the side of the hill and they were helping him out the best they could when he broke his arm
[4:59:15 PM] Timothy Wallace: lol ok
[4:59:38 PM] Timothy Wallace: so they hadn't left for the hospital yet like the other group thought?
[4:59:45 PM] cookingdoggy: yeah
[5:00:05 PM] cookingdoggy: so then I told my high school friends that I was gonna run up the path north up the waterfall/river
[5:00:33 PM] cookingdoggy: and that I would be back in a couple of minutes
[5:00:42 PM] cookingdoggy: i followed Joe along this trail to see what was going on
[5:00:48 PM | Edited 5:01:15 PM] Timothy Wallace: okok
[5:01:10 PM] cookingdoggy: I got way down the trail and another Cru friend named Andy was looking for a backpack that fell down a cliff that had a camera and a rope in it in the river but he couldn't see because it was dark
[5:01:23 PM] cookingdoggy: well I had a little keychain flashlight LED thingy and I used that to help him out
[5:01:30 PM] cookingdoggy: meanwhile, I heard the other guys helping out Cory
[5:01:48 PM] cookingdoggy: and I decided to try to crawl up the hill to see if I could help them out with some light
[5:02:05 PM] cookingdoggy: we left the bag for the night and they went and found it today...
[5:02:36 PM] cookingdoggy: anyways, so as I was climbing up this really steep hill I found myself on this little patch of dirt that was giving way and there were no trees to grab onto
[5:02:49 PM] cookingdoggy: as I started to fall down the hill
[5:02:58 PM] Timothy Wallace: oh boy
[5:03:17 PM] cookingdoggy: and then I kinda ran into a tree, but wasn't going to fast so I was fine at that point
[5:03:35 PM] cookingdoggy: it was really muddy as it has rained recently but there were leaves on top so it was deceiving
[5:04:20 PM] cookingdoggy: so anyways, I finally found the path that I had been on which was really close to the water at the bottom of the hill and finally found where Cory was
[5:04:47 PM] cookingdoggy: they asked me to find the trail i took to get there because it was easier to get Cory down the hill to that trail rather than going up the hill any farther
[5:04:59 PM] Timothy Wallace: right
[5:05:01 PM] cookingdoggy: so by using ropes and my flashlight, they were able to get down through much difficulty
[5:05:11 PM] cookingdoggy: there were like 5 other guys there too
[5:05:26 PM] cookingdoggy: but one guy's flashlight died and the only other one they had was really dim
[5:05:39 PM] cookingdoggy: so they couldn't see anything without my little LED keychain which was surprisingly bright
[5:05:49 PM] Timothy Wallace: yea they are
[5:06:16 PM] cookingdoggy: and we got down to the path to walk like the quarter mile back along the river South towards my car using my light as a guide
[5:06:24 PM] cookingdoggy: which is like the only good light they had
[5:06:32 PM] cookingdoggy: going very slowly cuz Cory was in pain
[5:06:32 PM] Timothy Wallace: cool
[5:06:40 PM] Timothy Wallace: was he walking?
[5:06:45 PM] Timothy Wallace: or did he hurt his leg too/
[5:06:54 PM] cookingdoggy: his legs were ok which was good
[5:06:56 PM] cookingdoggy: so he was walking
[5:06:58 PM] Timothy Wallace: yea
[5:07:11 PM] cookingdoggy: so I didn't know about that trail either until I used it to find them
[5:07:34 PM] cookingdoggy: we FINALLY made it back to my car and all my high school friends had left as it took like half an hour or more to get back
[5:07:44 PM] cookingdoggy: My car was ready to take Cory to the hospital
[5:07:48 PM] cookingdoggy: and his Mom was up for mothers day
[5:07:57 PM] cookingdoggy: but there is no cell phone signal out at that waterfall
[5:07:57 PM] Timothy Wallace: ha so everyone left in the other car?
[5:08:16 PM] cookingdoggy: well another guy ran to get his other car which was farther away and took the rest of them that couldn't fit into my car
[5:08:25 PM] Timothy Wallace: oh ok
[5:08:33 PM] cookingdoggy: but it was good my car was there so Cory wouldn't have to go any farther
[5:08:37 PM] Timothy Wallace: yeah
[5:08:45 PM] cookingdoggy: and it was good my high school friends left so I would have room for more people
[5:08:51 PM] Timothy Wallace: haha true
[5:09:06 PM] cookingdoggy: we got him to the hospital and finally to a good cell phone spot so he could call his mom
[5:09:09 PM] cookingdoggy: and she met us up there
[5:09:28 PM] cookingdoggy: then he got a cat scan cuz he bumped his head and an x-ray, so it took a while and we left while his mom stayed
[5:09:49 PM] Timothy Wallace: sounds like a crazy night haha
[5:09:51 PM] cookingdoggy: so that yesterday evening for me... but here's the cool part...:
[5:10:23 PM] cookingdoggy: I didn't know about that lower entrance to the waterfall and never would have parked my car there if it wasn't for my high school friends going there with me and that trail would have been unknown to all of us
[5:10:35 PM] cookingdoggy: and they wouldn't have had my keychain light either
[5:10:40 PM] Timothy Wallace: yeah
[5:10:42 PM] Timothy Wallace: hero! haha
[5:10:48 PM] cookingdoggy: so God put me exactly where everything would work out great!
[5:10:57 PM] cookingdoggy: it's really unbelievable how it all worked out
[5:11:05 PM] Timothy Wallace: yeah
[5:11:08 PM] Timothy Wallace: it's cool though
[5:11:17 PM] cookingdoggy: definitely!
[5:11:20 PM] Timothy Wallace: he's got it under control
[5:11:27 PM] cookingdoggy: that He does
[5:11:36 PM] cookingdoggy: now you can see why I kinda wanted to tell you over the phone
[5:11:45 PM] cookingdoggy: cuz it's a long story with a lot of details
[5:11:49 PM] cookingdoggy: but i think i covered it all
[5:12:20 PM] Timothy Wallace: sweet
[5:12:25 PM] Timothy Wallace: well thanks for typing it all out haha
[5:12:30 PM] cookingdoggy: and we just found out while I was telling you this story that he only fractured his arm in a couple of places but the rest of his body is fine other than a few bumps and bruises
[5:12:34 PM] Timothy Wallace: now copy and paste it for the next person so you don' thave to retype haha
[5:12:47 PM] cookingdoggy: haha, i wish I wrote that in a blog
[5:12:53 PM] cookingdoggy: maybe I will eventually
... and I did and that is what you just read. How cool is it that God works through things so well and we so often worry about circumstances out of our control. When things are out of our control, they are in God's control and we have nothing to worry about.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Finals Week and More
It is finals week at Michigan Tech. I took one of my two so far and the next one is Wednesday at 8 AM. Once exams are done, because I will be going on Summer Project, I can't get a job for the 3 weeks of summer that I will be in the UP of Michigan. I need to be down in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on May 26th and will be carpooling with people from all over and we're meeting at the twin cities. I just have a huge gap in between now and then.
Now it's a matter of figuring what I'm going to do in this gap. I definitely want to take some more time to read a few books I've been wanting to read and I hope to finish the New Testament in that time. I am currently in 2 Timothy on my read through. I want to prepare for what God is planning for my life through Summer Project.
One way in which I started preparing this morning is through listening to a sermon by Alistair Begg. (If you have the time, I highly recommend you listen to that sermon that I linked to). He is my favorite preacher and I have many of his sermons on my Zune. The one I chose to listen to, or rather, the one God brought to my attention through the random shuffle on my Zune was one I had heard before, but I remember it being really good so I wanted to listen to it again. He talked about the necessity of weakness and how God chooses to work through weakness. The Bible teaches that God's power is made perfect in weakness and when we are weak, then we are strong. Conversely, when we are strong, we are actually weak. He specifically brought up the story of Gideon and the Midianites in Judges 7. In Judges 7, Gideon's army starts out with 32,000 men. At this point, they are probably looking at the enemies great numbers (like locusts in abundance who had camels without number) and thinking that 32,000 isn't even enough.
So what does God do? God says that they had too many people to fight. What?! Too many people? Should it surprise us that God does thing different than we do them? Isaiah 55:9 says: "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." We don't understand why God does things the way he does, but we do know that "[...] for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28. Because we know these things, we can have peace that God is in control and has a great plan for our lives.
So getting back to the story of Gideon, God ends up narrowing the 10,000 who stayed down to 300. Many people try to teach Sunday school lessons on why God did what He did the way He did it. They say that we should be the people who were lapping as opposed to the people who were kneeling down because those are the one's God chose. Then they go on to try to draw parallels and hidden meanings that simply aren't in the text and they miss the whole point. God was not narrowing down the number to only those who were most adequate for the job or who were most prepared. Rather, God was simply using their method of drinking water to reduce the number way down to 300. Now Gideon had 300 people to fight a very large army whose number of camels alone were comparable the number of grains of sand, in other words: a lot! Why did God do this? The very simple answer is that God worked through this situation with a man who was weak. Gideon could not have defeated to Midianites on his own with the army he had. Rather, it was 100% of God delivering them and turning the army against itself in great fear. God lowered the numbers of his army so that no one could say it was anything that Gideon did. It was only by the power of God that they were saved. Does that sound familiar? This points to the New Testament to Ephesians 2:8-9 which says: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." It is God alone who saves and God works through our weakness.
If you are not convinced of this yet and want it more explicitly stated, the Bible has that covered in 2 Corinthians 12:9: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
God doesn't need you to have great credentials in order to serve him effectively. Rather, he desires obedience and a willingness to be used by Him with the power of the Holy Spirit to do His will and that will bring more joy that anything you could possibly imagine. Seeing God work through you is far better than anything else.
So often I find myself taken up with our culture which has nothing to look forward to. In order to remedy this, we've created things like TV, and movies. Have you ever watched TV for any period of time where they didn't say: Coming up at 6, this amazing story, or "Next week, final episode of...". The point is that our world is looking for satisfaction in constantly looking forward to the next big thing.
As Christians, we have eternity with God in Heaven to look forward to! Why do we waste so much time doing what our culture tells us when the Bible is so clear on how to spend our time? Our world is jumping from one pleasure to the next trying to get the most out of it. We are incapable of doing any good on our own and if it were not for the Grace of God, I would be in a hopeless state as that so I praise God for all the ways He has been working in my life, using me in my completely inadequate state to accomplish his ultimate purpose of bringing glory to Himself which is where it all belongs.
This is all Summarized in I John 2:15-17:
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
I want to close with I Corinthians 10:23: Do All to the Glory of God. “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
True Joy and satisfaction in life come from God and God alone. That doesn't meant that we won't have problems, but God will carry us through them if we yield to Him. The true joy that surpasses all understanding is not dependent on circumstances, but rather on the Truth of God we have access to through Christ Jesus!
Now it's a matter of figuring what I'm going to do in this gap. I definitely want to take some more time to read a few books I've been wanting to read and I hope to finish the New Testament in that time. I am currently in 2 Timothy on my read through. I want to prepare for what God is planning for my life through Summer Project.
One way in which I started preparing this morning is through listening to a sermon by Alistair Begg. (If you have the time, I highly recommend you listen to that sermon that I linked to). He is my favorite preacher and I have many of his sermons on my Zune. The one I chose to listen to, or rather, the one God brought to my attention through the random shuffle on my Zune was one I had heard before, but I remember it being really good so I wanted to listen to it again. He talked about the necessity of weakness and how God chooses to work through weakness. The Bible teaches that God's power is made perfect in weakness and when we are weak, then we are strong. Conversely, when we are strong, we are actually weak. He specifically brought up the story of Gideon and the Midianites in Judges 7. In Judges 7, Gideon's army starts out with 32,000 men. At this point, they are probably looking at the enemies great numbers (like locusts in abundance who had camels without number) and thinking that 32,000 isn't even enough.
So what does God do? God says that they had too many people to fight. What?! Too many people? Should it surprise us that God does thing different than we do them? Isaiah 55:9 says: "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." We don't understand why God does things the way he does, but we do know that "[...] for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28. Because we know these things, we can have peace that God is in control and has a great plan for our lives.
So getting back to the story of Gideon, God ends up narrowing the 10,000 who stayed down to 300. Many people try to teach Sunday school lessons on why God did what He did the way He did it. They say that we should be the people who were lapping as opposed to the people who were kneeling down because those are the one's God chose. Then they go on to try to draw parallels and hidden meanings that simply aren't in the text and they miss the whole point. God was not narrowing down the number to only those who were most adequate for the job or who were most prepared. Rather, God was simply using their method of drinking water to reduce the number way down to 300. Now Gideon had 300 people to fight a very large army whose number of camels alone were comparable the number of grains of sand, in other words: a lot! Why did God do this? The very simple answer is that God worked through this situation with a man who was weak. Gideon could not have defeated to Midianites on his own with the army he had. Rather, it was 100% of God delivering them and turning the army against itself in great fear. God lowered the numbers of his army so that no one could say it was anything that Gideon did. It was only by the power of God that they were saved. Does that sound familiar? This points to the New Testament to Ephesians 2:8-9 which says: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." It is God alone who saves and God works through our weakness.
If you are not convinced of this yet and want it more explicitly stated, the Bible has that covered in 2 Corinthians 12:9: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
God doesn't need you to have great credentials in order to serve him effectively. Rather, he desires obedience and a willingness to be used by Him with the power of the Holy Spirit to do His will and that will bring more joy that anything you could possibly imagine. Seeing God work through you is far better than anything else.
So often I find myself taken up with our culture which has nothing to look forward to. In order to remedy this, we've created things like TV, and movies. Have you ever watched TV for any period of time where they didn't say: Coming up at 6, this amazing story, or "Next week, final episode of...". The point is that our world is looking for satisfaction in constantly looking forward to the next big thing.
As Christians, we have eternity with God in Heaven to look forward to! Why do we waste so much time doing what our culture tells us when the Bible is so clear on how to spend our time? Our world is jumping from one pleasure to the next trying to get the most out of it. We are incapable of doing any good on our own and if it were not for the Grace of God, I would be in a hopeless state as that so I praise God for all the ways He has been working in my life, using me in my completely inadequate state to accomplish his ultimate purpose of bringing glory to Himself which is where it all belongs.
This is all Summarized in I John 2:15-17:
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
I want to close with I Corinthians 10:23: Do All to the Glory of God. “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
True Joy and satisfaction in life come from God and God alone. That doesn't meant that we won't have problems, but God will carry us through them if we yield to Him. The true joy that surpasses all understanding is not dependent on circumstances, but rather on the Truth of God we have access to through Christ Jesus!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
I Agree with John
I wrote the following paper for my creative writing class. It's all about our I Agree with John outreach on campus this year. Maybe you'll want to read through it.
I am very involved in Campus Crusade for Christ on Michigan Tech’s Campus. This year we were thinking of a big outreach to do on campus so we can share with others what we believe. Our focus in this outreach was not to try to say that we were right and others were wrong, but rather tell other people what we believe and invite them to look into it for themselves. I personally believe that nothing should be accepted or rejected until it’s looked into. If what I believe really is The Truth, then what would make me keep it from people? If there really is a heaven and a hell and believing what I believe means eternal life as opposed to eternal separation from God in torment, then keeping this to myself would be the worst thing I could do for anyone.
Having said that, I considered it a privilege to be able to help think of a possible outreach to do so we could effectively share what we believe and give others the opportunity to hear it. I believe the Bible where it says: “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:3-4. This just more adequately reflects why I would want to share with others what I believe because I believe it is in their best interest to know what the truth is.
In coming up with the idea, someone had mentioned that in the past, they did sort of a viral advertising event called “I Agree with Dan” about 4 or 5 years ago. It had a big turnout so we started to talk about what it was and how we could change it a bit and be more effective with it. The premise was that there would be a speaker named Dan who would share what the gospel was and the point was to try to advertise using simple free methods on campus.
Thus, “I Agree with John” is what we came up with this year. The actual event was a presentation of who John was and what he said. We were referring to the Gospel of John in the Bible. John knew Jesus best and made plenty of radical claims about His life. He wrote a first-hand eye-witness account of Jesus’ life. We would be having a speaker come up who would effectively present who Jesus was by going through some things that John said about Him. Before the main speaker, we had a couple people share their personal testimonies about how Jesus made a difference in their lives and how before they gave their life to Christ, they found no purpose in life and really messed it up a lot. In fact, one of them was an atheist and the other almost died after getting into drug use and getting mixed with the wrong crowd. Then the main speaker presented the gospel that made such a radical difference in the lives of the first couple of people. Then we opened it up for questions for everyone who was attending the event and had a discussion panel that would try to answer them best. There were definitely some tough questions that were asked that require some faith to believe in rather than things that have definite answers, but they don’t call Christianity a faith for nothing. Evolution is a faith in itself. You must have faith that somehow something started from nothing and just happened to turn into everything that we see today.
Leading up to the actual event, we did plenty of advertising for it. We started the first day by writing “I Agree with John” on the sidewalks and then labeling it with CCC which stand for Campus Crusade for Christ. It didn’t take very long for people to respond with chalking of their own. Many different things started showing up like, “I agree with Darwin” and random things like “I agree with Boyle’s law”. This was a good thing though. People were noticing it and everyone was talking about it and was wondering who John was. Then most people in Campus Crusade for Christ bought T-shirts. These shirts said: “I Agree with John” on them and then repeated it on the back in fifteen different languages. We also setup tables by all the dining halls and in a couple of halls in classroom buildings. People who had the special lime green shirts on sat at the tables with a sign. Anyone who was wondering about what “I Agree with John” was all about could go up to anyone with a shirt on and ask about it. We also actively pursued people about it. For anyone who had a shirt on who wasn’t at a table, it gave them an opportunity to share with others what we were doing. We had the Gospel of John in booklet form with an invitation insert on the inside for the event and encouraged them to look into it for themselves before they accept or reject what we were saying.
We challenged people to read a chapter a day in the Gospel of John until they were done. There are 21 chapters so we called it the 21 day challenge. We passed out hundreds of them all around campus to people.
I found the weather to be interesting. I had never seen it so warm in April ever before that early on. I had been praying for good weather, a mild winter and a short one and that’s what we got. The warmest days of the year up to that point coincided with the days we chose to wear the t-shirts on so we wouldn’t have to cover them up with a jacket. I can’t help but praise God for working through this ministry.
In my institutions class, the teacher really had no idea what this “I Agree with John” stuff was all about. He asked a girl I knew in our class who had the shirt on if she would share with the class, so she got to present the gospel briefly to the entire class.
Organizing and putting on this event is something that was really important to Campus Crusade for Christ on Michigan Tech’s campus. It is one of many ways to fulfill the Great Commission which is to spread the gospel to the entire world. As Christians, our view is that it is our job to be obedient to God and step out in faith in the power of the Holy Spirit who is living in all believers. God is the one who changes the individual, not us, which gives us peace.
In order to put why we do this into perspective, I am going to give an illustration. Let’s say that you are standing in a road. If I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming to hit you, and you didn’t believe it, there comes a point where I would come and tackle you out of the way to save your life. With Christianity, I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a God and there is a real Heaven and a real Hell. We are convinced of that and all we are trying to do is point others to what believe is the truth. How much would a person have to hate someone in order to see that “truck” coming at them and do nothing about it? The subject of eternal life is so much more important than our short lives here on earth if eternal life really is the truth. We are out sharing what we believe because we love people and care for people.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35. Many people who call themselves Christian spend so much time trying to be right and trying to win arguments that they forget our greatest command to love. Biblical love is different than the way our culture usually defines it. Real love is self-sacrificing, patient, kind, and it never fails. More can be read about love in I Corinthians chapter 13, but love really is dying to yourself and putting others interests first.
Would it be easy to say nothing? Would it be easy to just do what the culture of the day says and just accept everything as being neutral? I believe saying nothing is the deepest hate you could have for someone if you believe you have the key to their escape from a hopeless life wondering what the purpose of it all really is. The whole reason I have for writing this paper is to share with you what I believe the truth is and to encourage you to look into it for yourself. Will you take the 21 day challenge?
I am very involved in Campus Crusade for Christ on Michigan Tech’s Campus. This year we were thinking of a big outreach to do on campus so we can share with others what we believe. Our focus in this outreach was not to try to say that we were right and others were wrong, but rather tell other people what we believe and invite them to look into it for themselves. I personally believe that nothing should be accepted or rejected until it’s looked into. If what I believe really is The Truth, then what would make me keep it from people? If there really is a heaven and a hell and believing what I believe means eternal life as opposed to eternal separation from God in torment, then keeping this to myself would be the worst thing I could do for anyone.
Having said that, I considered it a privilege to be able to help think of a possible outreach to do so we could effectively share what we believe and give others the opportunity to hear it. I believe the Bible where it says: “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:3-4. This just more adequately reflects why I would want to share with others what I believe because I believe it is in their best interest to know what the truth is.
In coming up with the idea, someone had mentioned that in the past, they did sort of a viral advertising event called “I Agree with Dan” about 4 or 5 years ago. It had a big turnout so we started to talk about what it was and how we could change it a bit and be more effective with it. The premise was that there would be a speaker named Dan who would share what the gospel was and the point was to try to advertise using simple free methods on campus.
Thus, “I Agree with John” is what we came up with this year. The actual event was a presentation of who John was and what he said. We were referring to the Gospel of John in the Bible. John knew Jesus best and made plenty of radical claims about His life. He wrote a first-hand eye-witness account of Jesus’ life. We would be having a speaker come up who would effectively present who Jesus was by going through some things that John said about Him. Before the main speaker, we had a couple people share their personal testimonies about how Jesus made a difference in their lives and how before they gave their life to Christ, they found no purpose in life and really messed it up a lot. In fact, one of them was an atheist and the other almost died after getting into drug use and getting mixed with the wrong crowd. Then the main speaker presented the gospel that made such a radical difference in the lives of the first couple of people. Then we opened it up for questions for everyone who was attending the event and had a discussion panel that would try to answer them best. There were definitely some tough questions that were asked that require some faith to believe in rather than things that have definite answers, but they don’t call Christianity a faith for nothing. Evolution is a faith in itself. You must have faith that somehow something started from nothing and just happened to turn into everything that we see today.
Leading up to the actual event, we did plenty of advertising for it. We started the first day by writing “I Agree with John” on the sidewalks and then labeling it with CCC which stand for Campus Crusade for Christ. It didn’t take very long for people to respond with chalking of their own. Many different things started showing up like, “I agree with Darwin” and random things like “I agree with Boyle’s law”. This was a good thing though. People were noticing it and everyone was talking about it and was wondering who John was. Then most people in Campus Crusade for Christ bought T-shirts. These shirts said: “I Agree with John” on them and then repeated it on the back in fifteen different languages. We also setup tables by all the dining halls and in a couple of halls in classroom buildings. People who had the special lime green shirts on sat at the tables with a sign. Anyone who was wondering about what “I Agree with John” was all about could go up to anyone with a shirt on and ask about it. We also actively pursued people about it. For anyone who had a shirt on who wasn’t at a table, it gave them an opportunity to share with others what we were doing. We had the Gospel of John in booklet form with an invitation insert on the inside for the event and encouraged them to look into it for themselves before they accept or reject what we were saying.
We challenged people to read a chapter a day in the Gospel of John until they were done. There are 21 chapters so we called it the 21 day challenge. We passed out hundreds of them all around campus to people.
I found the weather to be interesting. I had never seen it so warm in April ever before that early on. I had been praying for good weather, a mild winter and a short one and that’s what we got. The warmest days of the year up to that point coincided with the days we chose to wear the t-shirts on so we wouldn’t have to cover them up with a jacket. I can’t help but praise God for working through this ministry.
In my institutions class, the teacher really had no idea what this “I Agree with John” stuff was all about. He asked a girl I knew in our class who had the shirt on if she would share with the class, so she got to present the gospel briefly to the entire class.
Organizing and putting on this event is something that was really important to Campus Crusade for Christ on Michigan Tech’s campus. It is one of many ways to fulfill the Great Commission which is to spread the gospel to the entire world. As Christians, our view is that it is our job to be obedient to God and step out in faith in the power of the Holy Spirit who is living in all believers. God is the one who changes the individual, not us, which gives us peace.
In order to put why we do this into perspective, I am going to give an illustration. Let’s say that you are standing in a road. If I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming to hit you, and you didn’t believe it, there comes a point where I would come and tackle you out of the way to save your life. With Christianity, I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a God and there is a real Heaven and a real Hell. We are convinced of that and all we are trying to do is point others to what believe is the truth. How much would a person have to hate someone in order to see that “truck” coming at them and do nothing about it? The subject of eternal life is so much more important than our short lives here on earth if eternal life really is the truth. We are out sharing what we believe because we love people and care for people.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35. Many people who call themselves Christian spend so much time trying to be right and trying to win arguments that they forget our greatest command to love. Biblical love is different than the way our culture usually defines it. Real love is self-sacrificing, patient, kind, and it never fails. More can be read about love in I Corinthians chapter 13, but love really is dying to yourself and putting others interests first.
Would it be easy to say nothing? Would it be easy to just do what the culture of the day says and just accept everything as being neutral? I believe saying nothing is the deepest hate you could have for someone if you believe you have the key to their escape from a hopeless life wondering what the purpose of it all really is. The whole reason I have for writing this paper is to share with you what I believe the truth is and to encourage you to look into it for yourself. Will you take the 21 day challenge?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Big Break '10 and more
Sorry it's been so long since I've written a blog. I just never really got around to writing one. I've been a little bit turned off to writing because I am supposed to be doing it every day as an assignment in my creative writing class. When I am not told to write, it is easier.
Anyways, so Big Break happened since my last post! This was my second year going and it was just as awesome as last year, but in different ways. On the way down, our 26 hour drive turned into a 30 hour drive because one of the vans we went down in broke down. We had two 12-passenger vans and one minivan. One of the 12-passenger's serpentine belt broke. It took a little over 3 hours to get it fixed. You know you're with a group of Christians when your van breaks down in Ozark Alabama, just a couple hours from our final destination, and people break out in praise songs in the parking lot. We were able to bond as a group before we got down there and I think it worked out really good. Plus, there was a Dollar Tree in that parking lot, so we got wiffle ball stuff and ate at the Arby's there right next to us.
Well, after many complications, we finally got down to Florida at night past registration, but it all worked out very well all things considered. This year at Big Break, we did Haiti Relief for those affected by the earthquakes. Over the 5 weeks of Big Break, their goal was to package up 1 million meals which feed 6 people each meal. Our week, we packaged up so many meals that they made us stop early so the other weeks would have some meals to package up too. We put together over 400,000 meals and the organizations we were partnered with said they had never seen so much work done in so little time. We shattered world records for most meals packaged per hour, but that's not the point. The point is that we were able to provide for those in Haiti and have fun while doing it. We also used it as an outreach opportunity, to go out on the beach and take some people onto the property that wanted to help and hopefully share the gospel with them.
I personally never found anybody to take in, but they said they would do it the next day with their friends. Later that evening, we talked as a group sharing about what God has been doing through us and our stories of sharing the gospel with people on the beach. I never had any amazing conversations at that point, and was a little frustrated, yet joyful that God was working. I just wanted to see some fruit for my labor. I told our group that for those in the same situation as me that it's not about how many people we see come to Christ, but about our obedience, and stepping out in faith. We leave the results to God because it is God who does the work. It simply wasn't their time yet, but perhaps they were moved closer to God and it got them thinking.
After our sharing time that night, I went out on "Commando Cru" which is what we call the optional evening outreach on the streets. Well a group of us from Michigan Tech went out to Sonic in the rain to see if anybody there would be willing to talk. We did talk to a couple of guys, but I wasn't as personally involved in those conversations. After we got back, it was like 1:30 in the morning and I wanted to go to sleep and it was cold and rainy, but then I noticed Alex Baril and Ryan Hess go up to someone and talk to them who was sitting by himself by a vending machine.
It turns out he was really open to talking with us. He had just broken up with his girlfriend a couple of weeks before then and she broke up with him and if it was up to him they still would have been together as they had been for multiple years. So, that was a rough time for him and his roommates were upstairs drunk getting in fist fights, so that's why he was down in the lobby at 1:30 in the morning. We began to share the gospel with him. He said he was Catholic, but hadn't gone to church in like 4 years because he was so busy with other things. He kept trying to convince us that he was a good person and he believed in works-based salvation. We shared with him that we weren't perfect at all and had messed up in many areas ourselves, and then he tried to tell us that by going out that late and talking to him, that we were good. We continued to tell him that we weren't good enough. We had all broken the 10 commandments and Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and Romans 6:23a says the wages of sin is death. So we all deserve eternal separation from the favorable presence of God. At this point he was really wondering where we were going with it and said Ephesians 2:8-9 that says it's by Grace that we're saved through faith and it's not of our own doing or good works so that no one can boast. It's through faith in Jesus and he began to light up when we shared with him that Jesus' death on the cross paid the penalty for our sins: 100% of it and nobody can come to God without him. We told him that if we believe that that is true and confess it with our mouths, that we are saved. We are redeemed, and have hope through Jesus Christ alone and that living a life for Him, because He bought us at a price, would give the most fulfilling life ever imaginable. That gap he had in his life created from the breakup of his girlfriend could be filled with God who will last forever!
He began to get really excited and couldn't believe we'd be out there that late to share this with him and he wanted our Knowing God Personally booklets to share with his friends which is a basic outline of what we had gone through. He called his roommate down so we could talk to him, but after explaining what happened up in the room, they had to get going. Once his roommate got down there though, he first told him, "These guys saved me!" Now it wasn't us, but rather God working through us to change his heart, but to hear him say that and seeing that he had changed was absolutely amazing and by far my favorite story from Big Break among many many others.
Right before he left, we asked him his name. We had never exchanged names yet. He said, "You guys know me better than any of my other friends, and you don't even know my name!" Then he said he was Tyler and we said our names. The things he said were so encouraging! Oh, one thing I almost forgot about... Tyler had gone the previous day to do some of the Haiti relief stuff and he said it made him feel better about himself. When we introduced ourselves as from Campus Crusade for Christ, he immediately identified us with those relief efforts, so God used that in his life to prepare him to hear what we would be sharing with him.
Ok, so Big Break was awesome, and if you want any more stories, you just talk to me some time and I'll share more. Moving onto plans for this summer. At Big Break and IndyCC this year, I was really encouraged to go on a Summer Project. I told myself that I didn't have the financial means to go on this trip so I just looked at it as something that would be impossible to happen. Then, I kept hearing that I should pursue one and decided to look into it and think about it a little bit more.
I realized that the money part should not stop me from going. If God was calling me to a Summer Project, then He will provide me with the money. After looking through them and all over on the website http://gosummerproject.com I felt God calling me to apply and see what he does with that. Well, I applied for a few different places and I plan to write another blog post on what happens with that, but more has to occur before it's interesting. I am definitely praying about it a lot!
Well, that's a brief update on a few of the things going on in my life recently and I hope to blog a little bit more often for those of you who actually read this. God Bless!
Anyways, so Big Break happened since my last post! This was my second year going and it was just as awesome as last year, but in different ways. On the way down, our 26 hour drive turned into a 30 hour drive because one of the vans we went down in broke down. We had two 12-passenger vans and one minivan. One of the 12-passenger's serpentine belt broke. It took a little over 3 hours to get it fixed. You know you're with a group of Christians when your van breaks down in Ozark Alabama, just a couple hours from our final destination, and people break out in praise songs in the parking lot. We were able to bond as a group before we got down there and I think it worked out really good. Plus, there was a Dollar Tree in that parking lot, so we got wiffle ball stuff and ate at the Arby's there right next to us.
Well, after many complications, we finally got down to Florida at night past registration, but it all worked out very well all things considered. This year at Big Break, we did Haiti Relief for those affected by the earthquakes. Over the 5 weeks of Big Break, their goal was to package up 1 million meals which feed 6 people each meal. Our week, we packaged up so many meals that they made us stop early so the other weeks would have some meals to package up too. We put together over 400,000 meals and the organizations we were partnered with said they had never seen so much work done in so little time. We shattered world records for most meals packaged per hour, but that's not the point. The point is that we were able to provide for those in Haiti and have fun while doing it. We also used it as an outreach opportunity, to go out on the beach and take some people onto the property that wanted to help and hopefully share the gospel with them.
I personally never found anybody to take in, but they said they would do it the next day with their friends. Later that evening, we talked as a group sharing about what God has been doing through us and our stories of sharing the gospel with people on the beach. I never had any amazing conversations at that point, and was a little frustrated, yet joyful that God was working. I just wanted to see some fruit for my labor. I told our group that for those in the same situation as me that it's not about how many people we see come to Christ, but about our obedience, and stepping out in faith. We leave the results to God because it is God who does the work. It simply wasn't their time yet, but perhaps they were moved closer to God and it got them thinking.
After our sharing time that night, I went out on "Commando Cru" which is what we call the optional evening outreach on the streets. Well a group of us from Michigan Tech went out to Sonic in the rain to see if anybody there would be willing to talk. We did talk to a couple of guys, but I wasn't as personally involved in those conversations. After we got back, it was like 1:30 in the morning and I wanted to go to sleep and it was cold and rainy, but then I noticed Alex Baril and Ryan Hess go up to someone and talk to them who was sitting by himself by a vending machine.
It turns out he was really open to talking with us. He had just broken up with his girlfriend a couple of weeks before then and she broke up with him and if it was up to him they still would have been together as they had been for multiple years. So, that was a rough time for him and his roommates were upstairs drunk getting in fist fights, so that's why he was down in the lobby at 1:30 in the morning. We began to share the gospel with him. He said he was Catholic, but hadn't gone to church in like 4 years because he was so busy with other things. He kept trying to convince us that he was a good person and he believed in works-based salvation. We shared with him that we weren't perfect at all and had messed up in many areas ourselves, and then he tried to tell us that by going out that late and talking to him, that we were good. We continued to tell him that we weren't good enough. We had all broken the 10 commandments and Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and Romans 6:23a says the wages of sin is death. So we all deserve eternal separation from the favorable presence of God. At this point he was really wondering where we were going with it and said Ephesians 2:8-9 that says it's by Grace that we're saved through faith and it's not of our own doing or good works so that no one can boast. It's through faith in Jesus and he began to light up when we shared with him that Jesus' death on the cross paid the penalty for our sins: 100% of it and nobody can come to God without him. We told him that if we believe that that is true and confess it with our mouths, that we are saved. We are redeemed, and have hope through Jesus Christ alone and that living a life for Him, because He bought us at a price, would give the most fulfilling life ever imaginable. That gap he had in his life created from the breakup of his girlfriend could be filled with God who will last forever!
He began to get really excited and couldn't believe we'd be out there that late to share this with him and he wanted our Knowing God Personally booklets to share with his friends which is a basic outline of what we had gone through. He called his roommate down so we could talk to him, but after explaining what happened up in the room, they had to get going. Once his roommate got down there though, he first told him, "These guys saved me!" Now it wasn't us, but rather God working through us to change his heart, but to hear him say that and seeing that he had changed was absolutely amazing and by far my favorite story from Big Break among many many others.
Right before he left, we asked him his name. We had never exchanged names yet. He said, "You guys know me better than any of my other friends, and you don't even know my name!" Then he said he was Tyler and we said our names. The things he said were so encouraging! Oh, one thing I almost forgot about... Tyler had gone the previous day to do some of the Haiti relief stuff and he said it made him feel better about himself. When we introduced ourselves as from Campus Crusade for Christ, he immediately identified us with those relief efforts, so God used that in his life to prepare him to hear what we would be sharing with him.
Ok, so Big Break was awesome, and if you want any more stories, you just talk to me some time and I'll share more. Moving onto plans for this summer. At Big Break and IndyCC this year, I was really encouraged to go on a Summer Project. I told myself that I didn't have the financial means to go on this trip so I just looked at it as something that would be impossible to happen. Then, I kept hearing that I should pursue one and decided to look into it and think about it a little bit more.
I realized that the money part should not stop me from going. If God was calling me to a Summer Project, then He will provide me with the money. After looking through them and all over on the website http://gosummerproject.com I felt God calling me to apply and see what he does with that. Well, I applied for a few different places and I plan to write another blog post on what happens with that, but more has to occur before it's interesting. I am definitely praying about it a lot!
Well, that's a brief update on a few of the things going on in my life recently and I hope to blog a little bit more often for those of you who actually read this. God Bless!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Prayer is a powerful thing!
So at men's leadership a while back, Robbie showed us a video about the power of prayer and how to pray boldly. It was really encouraging to me, so I had to pass it on to you to watch at your convenience. It's like 25 minutes long, but very worth it if you have the time!
Pray Big and Pray Bold: Sunder Krishnan from Urbana 09 on Vimeo.
Friday, January 15, 2010
A poem for an Atheist
I am in a creative writing class this semester. My teacher is an atheist, but apparently has a decent amount of Biblical knowledge. I think he's been turned off by hypocrisy of the "Christians" he knew. He didn't see them emulating Christ as we should as Christians. We have to keep a writers journal of creative writing every day and he challenged us to write a limerick, a sonnet, among other poetry types.
Now poetry isn't really my preferred avenue of communication, at least not typical formal types, but I figured in all of these poems, I would try to put a Biblical focus on them so if he ever reads them, he'll at least be more exposed to God in some way. I was thinking back to a story of mine where God showed me the answer to one of my questions, and after about an hour, I was able to put the story a little bit into sonnet form.
By the way, the sonnet is referring to Luke chapter 12:22-34, so you should check that out. Here it is:
I wonder what it is that I should eat.
The cash I have is for gas on the road.
Should I pass on gas and walk on my feet,
or take a chance that my car might get towed?
I read my Bible and what should I find?
In the gospel of Luke, I saw the Light,
on the subject at hand, so intertwined,
my answer was stated, so clear and bright.
I then gave my worries to God above.
He will take care of me, Why should I fret?
My Lord who is Sovereign is Lord of Love.
In choosing to trust Him, there's no regret.
Lord, help me to serve you some way, I pray;
Make me your servant to someone today!
I don't know if he'll ever see this poem, but in doing the assignment, I got a chance to meditate on God and how we truly can trust Him. My friend Devin also just posted a blog about not worrying and trusting God, so it was really neat.
Now poetry isn't really my preferred avenue of communication, at least not typical formal types, but I figured in all of these poems, I would try to put a Biblical focus on them so if he ever reads them, he'll at least be more exposed to God in some way. I was thinking back to a story of mine where God showed me the answer to one of my questions, and after about an hour, I was able to put the story a little bit into sonnet form.
By the way, the sonnet is referring to Luke chapter 12:22-34, so you should check that out. Here it is:
I wonder what it is that I should eat.
The cash I have is for gas on the road.
Should I pass on gas and walk on my feet,
or take a chance that my car might get towed?
I read my Bible and what should I find?
In the gospel of Luke, I saw the Light,
on the subject at hand, so intertwined,
my answer was stated, so clear and bright.
I then gave my worries to God above.
He will take care of me, Why should I fret?
My Lord who is Sovereign is Lord of Love.
In choosing to trust Him, there's no regret.
Lord, help me to serve you some way, I pray;
Make me your servant to someone today!
I don't know if he'll ever see this poem, but in doing the assignment, I got a chance to meditate on God and how we truly can trust Him. My friend Devin also just posted a blog about not worrying and trusting God, so it was really neat.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Lessons in Trusting God
On Monday, in both my cell group (small group Bible study type thing) and in men's leadership Bible Study, we talked about different goals we all had for the new year. In both I mentioned that I really wanted to trust God more with all aspects of my life. I know that God is in control, so essentially, I don't want to be worrying about things when they don't go the way I plan them.
Well today, today was quite a day. I really had to trust God and I was getting a little overwhelmed at times. I couldn't believe what was happening, yet God brought me though, I generally stayed calm and trust God with it anyways. I still have a long way to go. I was getting a little anxious at points.
So you're probably wondering what happened. Well it all started this morning when I was getting everything ready to go. I had to do all the usual morning routine things and then get all my snowboarding stuff in my car for my snowboarding class later in the day. Well, all that seemed to go pretty smoothly and I was driving down to Houghton to get to my 9 o'clock class wondering which parking lot I should attempt to get into. I was about a quarter of a mile away from the Quincy Mine area and all of a sudden my car started slowing down. The accelerator pedal wasn't doing anything. I wondered what was going on. Since I couldn't go any faster, I pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the car. As I was pulling off, my oil light went on. I didn't dare start the car again in fear that I would kill the engine if there was no oil in it.
I proceeded to make a couple of calls. On the second call, I decided to call Chris Morgan. He knows a thing or two about cars and his wife-to-be Erica lived really close to where I was. I called him and asked him what he was doing. He said he was just driving to class and then I told him why I asked. He was actually picking up Erica when I called. He was within like a minute of me. Then, he said he could come and pick me up, so he did. Oh, I forgot to mention that my cars hazard lights weren't working the last time I tried, so I fidgeted with the button and found out it actually could work, but then it shut off after a bit, so I had to pull it a certain direction. Anyways, so Chris comes and picks me up with Erica and then we dropped off Erica at her class. Christ didn't have anything he had to do for an hour, so we went to the gas station nearby and picked up 3 quarts of oil to bring back to my car and check it out. We thought maybe (since my car had just been worked on a few days before) that the oil filter fell off because they may have put on the wrong one. Well, we looked under the car after putting in the new oil and nothing was leaking, so I started the car. It seemed a little bit rough, but started getting back to normal.
So then right as a cop pulls up to find out what's going on, we pulled away and I was going to drive to the dealership that worked on my car recently. I got about half a mile down and my car started kicking a little bit, so I pulled off to the side of the road again and asked Chris was he thought. He was following me in his car. I then tried calling my dad again and this time he picked up. Now I thought that when my car was just fixed that they gave it an oil change too and my dad thought they were going to, but they did not. That explained why the oil might have been low. I thought there would have been nothing to worry about right after an oil change. I asked my dad what he thought and then he called the dealership and then called me and told me what he said. Then I called the dealership and he told me what my dad told me and we decided after running my car a bit more that it would probably be ok to drive it to the dealership in Hancock a few miles away. I told Chris he should go to his meeting at 10 he had, so he left. I knew if something went wrong I had other friends to call. Well, I made it to the dealership and explained things. They said they'd look at it and I called Nate Kroodsma and he picked me up.
I decided to put all my snowboarding stuff in his car in case my car wasn't done by the time the class rolled around. We drove to Tech and when I got there, I missed 2 of my classes. I knew God had a plan in it though, so I didn't bother worrying about it at this point. I emailed my instructors explaining what had happened and they were ok with it. Nate gave me his keys so I could get my snowboard out of the car later on.
Well, about 15 minutes before my class later on, my dad called and said the car was done. I asked him to go pay for it (I'll be paying them back), pick up the keys, and come back to Tech. Then after my class, I would go to him and pick up the keys and get a ride up to get my car from a friend.
Alright, I'm not even kidding. As I finally got some time to relax, just now, a fire alarm went off in Wads, so I had to stop writing, go and stand outside in the cold, and then walk back in. It's been a non-stopped day.
Alright, so to continue... I ended up getting a ride from my friend Jason King who was in my snowboarding class up to my car. I got up there and told him I would meet him at his apartment later on. I then realized I hadn't eaten yet and it was after 2 o'clock, so I went briefly to Taco Bell to grab a cheap bite to eat. Then I realized I needed to go to Walmart to buy a certain type of notebook for a class. I went up to Walmart and they were all out of what I needed. They had tons of the kind of notebook I was looking for the other day, but not what I needed this time. So, it was a wasted trip and time was running out to get ready for my snowboarding class. I then headed back to campus and when I was almost there, I realized I hadn't gotten my book I needed for an assignment in a class and if I didn't stop at the campus store right then, it would be closed after I was done with my class.
I then went to try to park near the store, but all the parking lots were filled. I was about to park in a spot that wasn't a normal spot which would give me a ticket, but I was literally running in and out to get the book. However, a public safety officer was right next to me handing out tickets, so I couldn't even park there. I was running out of time and decided I would just have to do without the book.
So, then I started heading over to my friends house to carpool to the ski hill for the snowboarding class. OOPS... I forgot to go to my friends car and actually put the snowboard in my car, so I headed back the way I just came, really tight for time at this point. On the way there, everyone in front of me was stopping for all the college students to cross the road when the cars have the right of way. Oh well, I knew I shouldn't worry about it. If I was late I was late. It happened on the way back too. I got to Nate K.'s car, transferred my snowboarding stuff to my car, and then went to my friends apartment, went inside, put on my snowboarding stuff and we left right away for the hill. We got there on time, it was a good snowboarding class and then I got back. I decided to come into the Campus Cafe so I could check my email and do some homework. I then decided to start writing this blog... then the fire alarm went off and I had to come back to finish it.
So, what does one make of all this. It was a non-stopped busy day where nothing that I wanted to happen, happened the way I wanted it. I spent all but 3 dollars in my wallet on oil that was supposed to go towards gas in my gas tank. I drove around all over. I missed 2 classes, and I haven't been able to sit and think all day.
Let's look at the flip side. After all that could have gone wrong, my car could have been toast having run out of oil, I could have missed snowboarding. I could have not had a cell phone and been stranded on the side of the road for a long time. I could have not had a ride up to my car after it was fixed, I could have had to spend a lot more money than the relatively small amount at the auto place and the oil.
All in all, was it a horrible day? Absolutely not. It was quite the adventure, I got to see my awesome friends give up some conveniences to help me out and go out of their way for it. I got to see what great friends I have, the cost was fairly small, I now know to be checking my car's oil more. My teachers told me it was fine I missed class with the reason I gave them and I got the assignments. I have another friend who is going to email me the assignment out of the book for my class that's due tomorrow. Can we trust God with everything? You bet. He knows everything that's going on. His plan is the best. I don't know what all He has in store for everything that happened, but I know Romans 8:28 which says:
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
-Romans 8:28
We don't always know right away what God is doing, but knowing that He is in control and has my best interest in mind, I can rest in that assurance. Praise God!
Well today, today was quite a day. I really had to trust God and I was getting a little overwhelmed at times. I couldn't believe what was happening, yet God brought me though, I generally stayed calm and trust God with it anyways. I still have a long way to go. I was getting a little anxious at points.
So you're probably wondering what happened. Well it all started this morning when I was getting everything ready to go. I had to do all the usual morning routine things and then get all my snowboarding stuff in my car for my snowboarding class later in the day. Well, all that seemed to go pretty smoothly and I was driving down to Houghton to get to my 9 o'clock class wondering which parking lot I should attempt to get into. I was about a quarter of a mile away from the Quincy Mine area and all of a sudden my car started slowing down. The accelerator pedal wasn't doing anything. I wondered what was going on. Since I couldn't go any faster, I pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the car. As I was pulling off, my oil light went on. I didn't dare start the car again in fear that I would kill the engine if there was no oil in it.
I proceeded to make a couple of calls. On the second call, I decided to call Chris Morgan. He knows a thing or two about cars and his wife-to-be Erica lived really close to where I was. I called him and asked him what he was doing. He said he was just driving to class and then I told him why I asked. He was actually picking up Erica when I called. He was within like a minute of me. Then, he said he could come and pick me up, so he did. Oh, I forgot to mention that my cars hazard lights weren't working the last time I tried, so I fidgeted with the button and found out it actually could work, but then it shut off after a bit, so I had to pull it a certain direction. Anyways, so Chris comes and picks me up with Erica and then we dropped off Erica at her class. Christ didn't have anything he had to do for an hour, so we went to the gas station nearby and picked up 3 quarts of oil to bring back to my car and check it out. We thought maybe (since my car had just been worked on a few days before) that the oil filter fell off because they may have put on the wrong one. Well, we looked under the car after putting in the new oil and nothing was leaking, so I started the car. It seemed a little bit rough, but started getting back to normal.
So then right as a cop pulls up to find out what's going on, we pulled away and I was going to drive to the dealership that worked on my car recently. I got about half a mile down and my car started kicking a little bit, so I pulled off to the side of the road again and asked Chris was he thought. He was following me in his car. I then tried calling my dad again and this time he picked up. Now I thought that when my car was just fixed that they gave it an oil change too and my dad thought they were going to, but they did not. That explained why the oil might have been low. I thought there would have been nothing to worry about right after an oil change. I asked my dad what he thought and then he called the dealership and then called me and told me what he said. Then I called the dealership and he told me what my dad told me and we decided after running my car a bit more that it would probably be ok to drive it to the dealership in Hancock a few miles away. I told Chris he should go to his meeting at 10 he had, so he left. I knew if something went wrong I had other friends to call. Well, I made it to the dealership and explained things. They said they'd look at it and I called Nate Kroodsma and he picked me up.
I decided to put all my snowboarding stuff in his car in case my car wasn't done by the time the class rolled around. We drove to Tech and when I got there, I missed 2 of my classes. I knew God had a plan in it though, so I didn't bother worrying about it at this point. I emailed my instructors explaining what had happened and they were ok with it. Nate gave me his keys so I could get my snowboard out of the car later on.
Well, about 15 minutes before my class later on, my dad called and said the car was done. I asked him to go pay for it (I'll be paying them back), pick up the keys, and come back to Tech. Then after my class, I would go to him and pick up the keys and get a ride up to get my car from a friend.
Alright, I'm not even kidding. As I finally got some time to relax, just now, a fire alarm went off in Wads, so I had to stop writing, go and stand outside in the cold, and then walk back in. It's been a non-stopped day.
Alright, so to continue... I ended up getting a ride from my friend Jason King who was in my snowboarding class up to my car. I got up there and told him I would meet him at his apartment later on. I then realized I hadn't eaten yet and it was after 2 o'clock, so I went briefly to Taco Bell to grab a cheap bite to eat. Then I realized I needed to go to Walmart to buy a certain type of notebook for a class. I went up to Walmart and they were all out of what I needed. They had tons of the kind of notebook I was looking for the other day, but not what I needed this time. So, it was a wasted trip and time was running out to get ready for my snowboarding class. I then headed back to campus and when I was almost there, I realized I hadn't gotten my book I needed for an assignment in a class and if I didn't stop at the campus store right then, it would be closed after I was done with my class.
I then went to try to park near the store, but all the parking lots were filled. I was about to park in a spot that wasn't a normal spot which would give me a ticket, but I was literally running in and out to get the book. However, a public safety officer was right next to me handing out tickets, so I couldn't even park there. I was running out of time and decided I would just have to do without the book.
So, then I started heading over to my friends house to carpool to the ski hill for the snowboarding class. OOPS... I forgot to go to my friends car and actually put the snowboard in my car, so I headed back the way I just came, really tight for time at this point. On the way there, everyone in front of me was stopping for all the college students to cross the road when the cars have the right of way. Oh well, I knew I shouldn't worry about it. If I was late I was late. It happened on the way back too. I got to Nate K.'s car, transferred my snowboarding stuff to my car, and then went to my friends apartment, went inside, put on my snowboarding stuff and we left right away for the hill. We got there on time, it was a good snowboarding class and then I got back. I decided to come into the Campus Cafe so I could check my email and do some homework. I then decided to start writing this blog... then the fire alarm went off and I had to come back to finish it.
So, what does one make of all this. It was a non-stopped busy day where nothing that I wanted to happen, happened the way I wanted it. I spent all but 3 dollars in my wallet on oil that was supposed to go towards gas in my gas tank. I drove around all over. I missed 2 classes, and I haven't been able to sit and think all day.
Let's look at the flip side. After all that could have gone wrong, my car could have been toast having run out of oil, I could have missed snowboarding. I could have not had a cell phone and been stranded on the side of the road for a long time. I could have not had a ride up to my car after it was fixed, I could have had to spend a lot more money than the relatively small amount at the auto place and the oil.
All in all, was it a horrible day? Absolutely not. It was quite the adventure, I got to see my awesome friends give up some conveniences to help me out and go out of their way for it. I got to see what great friends I have, the cost was fairly small, I now know to be checking my car's oil more. My teachers told me it was fine I missed class with the reason I gave them and I got the assignments. I have another friend who is going to email me the assignment out of the book for my class that's due tomorrow. Can we trust God with everything? You bet. He knows everything that's going on. His plan is the best. I don't know what all He has in store for everything that happened, but I know Romans 8:28 which says:
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
-Romans 8:28
We don't always know right away what God is doing, but knowing that He is in control and has my best interest in mind, I can rest in that assurance. Praise God!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
IndyCC!!!
Well, now I have had a little bit of time after IndyCC to reflect on it. It truly was a fantastic week and God really moved in the hearts of people, especially mine. The main speaker talked about God's Holiness, our brokenness, repentance, and then God's grace and how we can live for Christ because of it. The worship band there was great as well! For those that don't know what IndyCC is, it stands for Indianapolis Christmas Conference and it's a Campus Crusade for Christ thing. It's a week of great seminars and Christian fellowship and so much more.
The best part of the conference was meeting new people and seeing some people who I hadn't seen in a while and really catching up with them and having deep conversations and better friendships that will carry on after the conference got over with. I also did my first freeway driving and city driving, both of which went great. It truly was an answer to prayer. The entire way down, the roads were dry and the driving was very fun. The fellowship on the way there and back was also great.
I guess I have to go into detail on at least one part of IndyCC more than I already have. One New Year's Eve, we had a big Dance Party and also there were inflatable games. Then after that, at about 11:20, we got together in the big conference room. We sangs some songs and praised God as a large group, and then we broke up into smaller groups and prayed with the people around us. I went and sat with some new Indiana University friends I made which was awesome and it was sweet to pray with them. First we prayed for our world globally, and then for our country nationally, and finally for our campuses locally. While we were wrapping up with the campus part, I heard a noise and looked up. It was the 30 second countdown to the new year. Then everyone around started counting down. Approximately two thousand other college aged people all joined together in prayer and then counting down to the new year. Once it hit, we were all hugging each other and it was completely indescribable. After everyone calmed down just a bit, we sand for about an hour praising God in the new year. What an awesome way to start a new year and let alone a new decade!!! After the singing, we were all invited back to the dance and party longer if we wanted to, but the IU people I was hanging out with went to the Steak and Shake. I had never been to one, so I joined them and talked to them even more. There were 2 or 3 cops inside the restaurant because so many drunk people were going there. When you left the restaurant, you had to pay for you food and get a ticket that said paid on it. Then you had to give it to a cop to actually leave the place. It was cool.
Man, I cannot get across in words how amazing this Conference was. It's not fair that I'm limited to text, but that's the way it has to be. If you really know me well, or want to get to know me better than you do, I'd love to talk to you about this in person some time. There are some things I don't want to put on here that I will mention in person if you ask me.
After having gotten back at home, I have been much more passionately pursuing God. I read Romans 11 today and learned more about God's grace and how salvation came to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected it and more of God's full plan. If you're confused by any of this, read Romans 11.
I have also been journaling ever since my good friend Alex Helmboldt gave me a journal as a Christmas present. It was one of the best gifts I've ever received because thought has to be put into something like that. He put some really good Bible verses in the front and then a note to me and we had talked about journaling in person and how it has really helped him grow closer to God. Well I wanted to journal after hearing that but I hadn't gotten around to getting it. It's actually funny, because I was thinking about going to Walmart and buying a journal earlier in the day and then I got a package and it was a journal. I couldn't believe it. Small acts like this mean a lot to me and to most people.
Moving on, I've put many notes from IndyCC into this journal and then I reflect on it and put in prayer requests and it's great to sort of document my life story that hopefully I can share some day. That's also why I'm doing this blog. I'm going to look back on this and see what God's been doing in my life. It's just that in a journal, I can write personal things that I wouldn't write online and I can feel free to write ridiculous things in it, which I love. I'd recommend anyone reading this to start doing it.
One last thing I would like to touch on. I have felt God tugging hard on my heart to share my testimony with all of Campus Crusade as an illustration in a talk that I could give on God's grace. I'm actually very excited. I would like to do it this semester. I'll be a little nervous, sure, but I know God wants me to do it and for him that knows to do good and if he does not do it, to him it is sin.
I cannot wait to see what God does through the Christians on Michigan Tech's campus! IndyCC had a great impact on me and I can be sure that the lives of other Tech students were affected as well and we can all bring this passion back with us. It is a new year, a new decade, but the same awesome God we serve. Praise God for all He is doing for His children!
I am going to close with a list of songs that were sung at IndyCC that really impacted me and after my friend sent out the list of them, I bought them all with the itunes gift card I won while I was down there. Now I can bring a little IndyCC with me wherever I go. Here's the list:
From the Inside Out (Hillsong United)
Glory to God Forever (Steve Fee)
Happy Day (Tim Hughes)
Hosanna (Brooke Fraser)
How He Loves (John Mark McMillian)
Jesus Paid it All (Kristian Stanfill)
None But Jesus (Hillsong United)
The Stand (Hillson United)
You Alone Can Rescue (Matt Redman)
You Never Let Go (Matt Redman)
Your Grace is Enough (Chris Tomlin)
Your Love Never Fails (Jesus Culture)
O Bless the Lord (Lindsay McCaul)
If you get these songs, please hear out the lyrics in them. They're so uplifting!
Peace and Love,
Nate
The best part of the conference was meeting new people and seeing some people who I hadn't seen in a while and really catching up with them and having deep conversations and better friendships that will carry on after the conference got over with. I also did my first freeway driving and city driving, both of which went great. It truly was an answer to prayer. The entire way down, the roads were dry and the driving was very fun. The fellowship on the way there and back was also great.
I guess I have to go into detail on at least one part of IndyCC more than I already have. One New Year's Eve, we had a big Dance Party and also there were inflatable games. Then after that, at about 11:20, we got together in the big conference room. We sangs some songs and praised God as a large group, and then we broke up into smaller groups and prayed with the people around us. I went and sat with some new Indiana University friends I made which was awesome and it was sweet to pray with them. First we prayed for our world globally, and then for our country nationally, and finally for our campuses locally. While we were wrapping up with the campus part, I heard a noise and looked up. It was the 30 second countdown to the new year. Then everyone around started counting down. Approximately two thousand other college aged people all joined together in prayer and then counting down to the new year. Once it hit, we were all hugging each other and it was completely indescribable. After everyone calmed down just a bit, we sand for about an hour praising God in the new year. What an awesome way to start a new year and let alone a new decade!!! After the singing, we were all invited back to the dance and party longer if we wanted to, but the IU people I was hanging out with went to the Steak and Shake. I had never been to one, so I joined them and talked to them even more. There were 2 or 3 cops inside the restaurant because so many drunk people were going there. When you left the restaurant, you had to pay for you food and get a ticket that said paid on it. Then you had to give it to a cop to actually leave the place. It was cool.
Man, I cannot get across in words how amazing this Conference was. It's not fair that I'm limited to text, but that's the way it has to be. If you really know me well, or want to get to know me better than you do, I'd love to talk to you about this in person some time. There are some things I don't want to put on here that I will mention in person if you ask me.
After having gotten back at home, I have been much more passionately pursuing God. I read Romans 11 today and learned more about God's grace and how salvation came to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected it and more of God's full plan. If you're confused by any of this, read Romans 11.
I have also been journaling ever since my good friend Alex Helmboldt gave me a journal as a Christmas present. It was one of the best gifts I've ever received because thought has to be put into something like that. He put some really good Bible verses in the front and then a note to me and we had talked about journaling in person and how it has really helped him grow closer to God. Well I wanted to journal after hearing that but I hadn't gotten around to getting it. It's actually funny, because I was thinking about going to Walmart and buying a journal earlier in the day and then I got a package and it was a journal. I couldn't believe it. Small acts like this mean a lot to me and to most people.
Moving on, I've put many notes from IndyCC into this journal and then I reflect on it and put in prayer requests and it's great to sort of document my life story that hopefully I can share some day. That's also why I'm doing this blog. I'm going to look back on this and see what God's been doing in my life. It's just that in a journal, I can write personal things that I wouldn't write online and I can feel free to write ridiculous things in it, which I love. I'd recommend anyone reading this to start doing it.
One last thing I would like to touch on. I have felt God tugging hard on my heart to share my testimony with all of Campus Crusade as an illustration in a talk that I could give on God's grace. I'm actually very excited. I would like to do it this semester. I'll be a little nervous, sure, but I know God wants me to do it and for him that knows to do good and if he does not do it, to him it is sin.
I cannot wait to see what God does through the Christians on Michigan Tech's campus! IndyCC had a great impact on me and I can be sure that the lives of other Tech students were affected as well and we can all bring this passion back with us. It is a new year, a new decade, but the same awesome God we serve. Praise God for all He is doing for His children!
I am going to close with a list of songs that were sung at IndyCC that really impacted me and after my friend sent out the list of them, I bought them all with the itunes gift card I won while I was down there. Now I can bring a little IndyCC with me wherever I go. Here's the list:
From the Inside Out (Hillsong United)
Glory to God Forever (Steve Fee)
Happy Day (Tim Hughes)
Hosanna (Brooke Fraser)
How He Loves (John Mark McMillian)
Jesus Paid it All (Kristian Stanfill)
None But Jesus (Hillsong United)
The Stand (Hillson United)
You Alone Can Rescue (Matt Redman)
You Never Let Go (Matt Redman)
Your Grace is Enough (Chris Tomlin)
Your Love Never Fails (Jesus Culture)
O Bless the Lord (Lindsay McCaul)
If you get these songs, please hear out the lyrics in them. They're so uplifting!
Peace and Love,
Nate
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