Day 3: Praise God!

I was listening to the song "The Power of the Cross" while reading Romans 11:33-36. It was a really cool combination and made the verse mean more to me. I thought it was cool. Here are the verses:
Romans 11
³³Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
³⁴"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
³⁵"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
³⁶For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

I'm looking forward to Big Break so much! One day and we're heading out!!!

Day 2: part 2 - Excitement!

Well, now I have more time to post but God just showed me something REALLY cool! I was wanting to take my power converter on the trip down to Florida because people are going to want to probably charge their laptops so we could watch movies or whatever else like charge cell phones. However, for the longest time I was unable to find my power converter. I had just got home and decided to pray that God would lead me to the power converter so I wouldn't have to waste time looking for it for a long time. Well, God showed me that I should look in the porch. I didn't want to look outside in the van or in my brothers car anyways. So, I went in the front porch, looked to the right and there it was.

I have no idea how it got there and I could not find it before, but because I prayed about it and asked God to help me find it, He pulled through! Now some of you reading this may think that it is such a small thing. Well, we are asked to pray for everything and if we cannot be faithful in little things, how are we supposed to be faithful in big things. God is showing me that he cares about even my smallest of needs.

This also reminds me of another time this year that cannot be explained any other way other than that God's had was fully in control of the situation. Earlier this school year in the fall, I had parked in the Rosza lot and had parked in a place that wasn't actually a parking spot because the lot was full of cars and I didn't have time to park up at St. Al's and get to class on time, so I just parked it there temporarily. Well, I went to class and heard from a friend that a lot of people were getting tickets lately for parking in the wrong spots, so I began to pray about the situation trusing that God's will would be done and that it would be His will to keep my car free from a parking ticket, because it would go on my dad's bill (it's registered under his name). Well, I came back to find that every single car all around me had tickets on their windows... Well, what about mine? Mine had no ticket. I couldn't believe it. I was surrounded by cars with tickets who had parked there both before and after me and everyone but me got one. Could this have been because of prayer?! You better believe it! Sometimes small things like this really excite me.

With these things in mind, I know that if we are praying about Big break as a large group and all fully submitting to God's will, then He is going to do something great down in Florida in the lives of those down there on Break as well as in the lives of us going. I'm so excited to share the gospel with others! I just need to pray for the courage as I am naturally a shy person. If I do not share the gospel, it's like telling others that I'm ok with them burning in Hell forever. That's something I need to keep in mind!

Well, I need to get working on some homework for tonight and need to sleep to finally get better from being sick, so come back more to read more later!

- Nate Anderson

Day 2: So Much to Look Forward To

Today has been a pretty busy day so far. It started off with a class that was pretty frustrating. Our teacher assigned the second homework assignment all semester... This was considered official homework that was due today. However, we got to class and she didn't take it because she didn't want to grade it, so I spent like 3+ hours on that assignment and it wasn't even collected for a grade! I have to admit it was quite disappointing, but then we also had a quiz. The quiz was over what we did on the homework basically. So now, in a short half hour, i had to repeat what I did basically with less a chance of it being right since I didn't have as long to think about it. In the end, I think I did ok, although, with her you never really can tell until you get it back. She likes us to show all of our work.

After that class, I went to Physics and had a review for an exam that went pretty well I guess. Following physics was World Cultures... my most disliked college class so far. We had to hand in a paper and it went pretty average I guess. We got out of WC a little early, so I got to eat pizza on my way over to the MEEM from the aftermath cafe for my Computer and Operating System Architecture class. I got Kyle's Calculator for my Lin. Alg exam that was after that because mine lacks an RREF function which was quite crucial for completing the exam on time. In Comp and OS Arch. class, I was struggling really hard to stay awake and almost fell asleep a few times... I bearly was able to keep my eyes open for the iclicker questions.

Well, after that, I had my linear algebra exam which I'm not too sure just how it went, but I guess time will tell and here I am typing. I bet now you're wondering where I got my title "So much to look forward to" from... haha.

Well Spring Break is COMING UP!!! I'm going to FLORIDA!!! -- my favorite state and I'm going on a missions trip and get to hang out with over 20 of my campus crusade friends! Well to make a long story short, I'm really excited. I have to go now though cuz something just came up. Maybe I'll finish this "fascinating" story of my excitement for another time. Hopefully next time I post something, I'll get some good Bible verses on here too.

Day 1: A seed planted and so much more...

God has been working in my life a lot lately. I don't really know where to begin. For those of you reading this, this will be like my journal, so it may be kind of private, but I think people can learn from other people's mistakes and grow from other people's lessons. I will also be able to look back on this and learn from my own mistakes and triumphs.

Through Campus Crusade Bootcamp, God has laid it on my heart to be sharing the gospel more. For everyone I do not share the Gospel with, it's like I'm saying that they're not important to me or that I am too selfish to show them how to be saved. It's hard for me to grasp sometimes that those people who do not come to Christ are going to Hell... how is it that we can just ignore them and walk by them without telling them what life is all about and that there is a reason worth living?

With this in mind, I decided to FINALLY take a step of faith. It was certainly difficult. For me, conversations often start on facebook... lately they have been happening more and more in terms of valuable conversations.

Last night, I used one of the Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) freshman survey forms and brought up the idea of it to one of my friends to see if he was interested in taking it. He said he would in exchange for help on a homework question which I was happy to help with. I then went through 20 questions of the survey with him. I found out he is a Catholic, who does not go to church while here at Tech and he is 75% sure he is going to Heaven. I know with an answer like that, then he is not sure what he believes (as well as I could also tell by answers to other questions). I proceeded to continue asking him all the questions and he seemed pretty open about them which I am grateful to God for. I had been praying that the Lord would soften his heart and prepare him to hear what I had to say. I then told him about the 4 spiritual laws booklet that I wanted to share with him the next time we could meet in person which was today. At 11 o'clock AM, we dove right into it and after reading the whole thing, it shows a prayer at the end about recieving Christ as your Savior. I asked him if it expressed the desire of his heart. He looked at me very strangely and said: "I guess...". Well, I told him he should pray it then, either with or without those words as long as he meant it. He looked at it for a bit in silence as though praying and then said ok. I finished it up with him.

In the end of that conversation, it didn't seem to really sink down into him. He didn't seem to really show any change and didn't really believe me. However, it is my duty to explain the gospel clearly, which I did and God needs to do the changing of his heart. I invited him to TNT which stands for CCC's Thursday Night Thing: our large group meeting. He said he would think about it and didn't shun me at all for what I believed by any means. I guess I tell you all of this to say that Eric needs prayer. That is his name. I will continue to pray for him and bug him about going to TNT. I think he really needs body evangelism by seeing the work of God through fellow believers who truly believe and act on that they believe.

This brings me to a side. I am SO thankful for my CCC friends! If it were not for them, I would be living a luke-warm Christian life like I had been during all of high school. A lukewarm Christian life is useless to God. If we are comfortable, we are doing something WRONG! We need to be persecuted. Through persecution, our true colors show. People can see a taste of what Christ did on the cross for us by our suffering for Him. So, my Campus Crusade friends have really helped me grow closer to God and I enjoy continuing that growth as well as the opportunity to get to know them better and at deeper levels.

Sometimes I think I take it too far. I truly enjoy their friendships but I usually want to hang out so much with people that they get sick of me bugging them about it when they're truly busy. I'm busy too, but I just slack off on my homework too much (at least recently). I want to help them to grow and I want to learn from them, but I am not always good at seeing subtle hints that tell me to lay off and they get frustrated. I understand this and it's something I need to pray about.

I really enjoy social get-togethers, especially small group things. Large group things are great if there are small groups within the large groups as well. I'm a moderately introverted person and I'm also reflective. I do really enjoy hanging out with people though, I just don't like it when things become so shallow. 2nd Timothey 2:16 says: "Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly." This verse has really been speaking to me lately as I look back at all the times I talk about useless things that may be sort of fun at the time, but in the end when I am held accountable before God, will I have done something of real worth? In my high school, I believe that was just the problem. Everyone indulged in godless chatter about unimportant things and never anything serious. Their sarcasm and pride were the reasons I never grew. If I could go back, I would try to change that, but I've moved on now and cannot go back.

I still live at home so I still see my high school friends at church. I would like to tell them these things, but they wouldn't take it the right way. I'd try to show them that God has truly been working in me and I'm not saying it to be prideful and "Holier than though" attitude... just the opposite. I would want to tell them this because I care about them and they need to start living out their faith.

Well this certainly is a long one, but I suppose that is good for a first post and I had a lot to say that was nice to write down. If anyone reads this and makes it all the way through, congratulations! haha. I need to start working on my World Cultures.

Please keep me in your prayers if you can remember that God will continue using me and that I won't ever turn my back on him and live a shallow "comfortable" life.


Some cool verses for thought:
II Tim 2:19
Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."

Micah 7: 7-10
⁷ But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.

⁸ Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be my light.

⁹ Because I have sinned against him,
I will bear the LORD's wrath,
until he pleads my case
and establishes my right.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will see his righteousness.

¹⁰ Then my enemy will see it
and will be covered with shame,
she who said to me,
"Where is the LORD your God?"
My eyes will see her downfall;
even now she will be trampled underfoot
like mire in the streets.