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.

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!

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