Sometimes I feel overwhelmed...
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but then I realize that the only thing that I should be overwhelmed with is Gods grace because He loves me and never puts me in situations that I can't handle (with his help)

No, my strength comes from God... whether or not I choose to recognize it.

At the end of the day, where do you turn?
As the rise of the sun, where do you look?
When the world falls around you, what holds you up?
When there seems to be no hope, what gives you peace?

Psalm 121 (The Message)

A Pilgrim Song

1-2 I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

3-4 He won't let you stumble,
your Guardian God won't fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel's
Guardian will never doze or sleep.

5-6 God's your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.

7-8 God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.


This for me is more of a confession than anything. How often do I look to my friends, or my guitar, or my computer, or the internet, or anything else before turning to God? God should be the first thing that I turn to, not my last resort. I need Him more than I need anything else, and yet I turn to everything else before I turn to Him.

God, the all powerful, the almighty, the creator of the universe, my last resort.

Help me to be like you, Jesus. Help me to turn to the Father for all aspects of my life. Help me to come to Christ with the good things and the bad. Help me lean fully on You.

My Story

I'm working on filling out an application and it asked me a simple question:

Describe your faith journey. Who or what has influenced and inspired your faith?

It took me quite a while to think and write down what I thought was important, so I figured I'd post it here as well.

I was baptized and raised in the Lutheran church, but for most youth, that doesn’t mean much. It wasn’t until seventh grade that I actually began to witness the works of the Lord. We were on a weeklong missions survey in downtown Seattle, where we did different service projects throughout Seattle. The last night of this trip, we invited a bunch of people from the community to a worship service at the church we were staying at. That night, something about the message and seeing people from so many different walks of life worshipping together made me realize that God accepts us as we are, where we are, and that he loves us regardless of what we’ve done. This is when I gave my heart to Christ. I still wasn’t fully sold out to God though. I refused to recognize that God is in charge of my life, and that he is sovereign over all creation.

My final year of high school, I had a girlfriend. We decided to go to the same college so that we wouldn’t have to deal with long distance relationships, but then ended up breaking up even before graduating from high school. She hurt me a lot, and I couldn’t see how a god that loved me would allow me to go through such pains, and why he would allow me to be in a relationship that would hurt so badly once it was over. It is still painful to this day, even though I now know why it was that God allowed me to feel the pain.

Because of this event, I ended up going to Western Washington University (WWU). This is where God would fully reveal his power and grace to me, and show me His love through the community of Christ. When I arrived at WWU, I found out that my next door neighbor was a friend from high school who was a believer. Within the first couple of days, two college students came to our doors and invited us to join them for a night of worship with some other Christians in our dorm. After that night, they invited us to come to Friday Night Fellowship with Campus Christian Fellowship (CCF) and to join them for a bible study called Core. Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I joined a brotherhood that would change my life for ever.

In Core, I met men whom I can always turn to for guidance, comfort, accountability, and wisdom. Through this bible study, it was revealed to me that, though I am saved by grace, and grace alone, we are saved by grace to do good works. There is more to being a Christ follower than just attending a bible study, or going to church once a week. Being a follower of Christ is a life style. One night, while walking a friend back to her dorm late at night, I started talking to God. He revealed to me that though I was saved, I wasn’t being effective for the Kingdom. That night, I sat down on a brick ledge and told God that I was going to change. I was going to live my life for His glory and purpose, not my own. I surrendered my life and my actions to Him. A part of that was the decision to lead a Core for the next two years.

Christmas

Everyone is posting a little thing about Christmas and what it really means, so because it's ridiculously early in the morning and I can't sleep, I'll put in my two cents worth.



We serve a God who sent His son to live with us so that we ourselves might live. Not only did He send His son, though, but He did it with full knowledge that his son was going to have to endure every trial and temptation that we have to deal with, even death. He knew that His own people would reject His son, and He knew that the very people that were chosen to walk with His son would disown him in the end, as if they had never met him.

This is the God that we serve. He loves us all so much that He gave His only son. And not only did He give us His son, but He gives everlasting life to those who believe in His son. And He didn't come to condemn us either, but to save us. He came to save us from ourselves and each other. He came to rescue us from sin, and all that we have to do is call on the name of the Lord.



Remember this, this Christmas season. God loves YOU. He loves you so much that he was willing to die, even a death on the cross, so that we could walk with Him. Don't ever forget the love that was shown that day that Jesus came down to walk the earth. Praise God every day that He came to lead us. Praise the Lord.

Forgiveness

I am presently watching the Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Firstly, knowing the context of the film, when Aslan first comes into view, it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. In the movie, Alsan just brought Edmond back into his grace and told his family that they were not to talk about his treachery again.

This single scene of the movie nearly brought me to tears. Images of my own sin against God and others flashed across my mind. I knew that there was no way that I should ever be allowed back into Gods grace. No matter what I do, every time I get the chance, I choose evil. Every time I try to live life on my own, I fall. No matter what I fill my life with, whether worship team or bible studies or anything else, I still choose my own selfish desires over the desire for God and his decrees.

BUT, and here's the catch, God has died for me. He went to the Witch and told her that she no longer has a claim in my life because I am His, and He paid the price for my transgressions. My God has given His life so that I can be with Him forever.

It doesn't end there, though. In the movie, Aslan instructs the Pevencies to never talk about the issue again, now that Edwin had truly repented and the sin had been dealt with. There is a faction in one of the churches that I go to (I go to two. One when I am at my parents house, the other when I am at university) that refuses to forgive another faction. I don't know the entire story behind the hate, but it exists, and it takes a toll on any relationship that tries to bridge the gap. I recently became a leader for one group (the youth group), and I have always been really good friends with the rest of the other group (a group of families). The conflict came into my view over 5 years ago, but I am guessing that it has been going on for much much longer.

It has gotten to the point where even the children are becoming poisoned by their parents thinking. The family faction has decided to discontinue support of the youth group while the present youth group leader is still in charge. The present youth leader has just reaffirmed her calling to be the leader of the youth group, and will probably be there for years to come.

In my view, there is no apparent end to this conflict, other than straight up forgiveness. God has clearly forgiven the youth leader (I'm assuming that the families have a legitimate reason to be upset in the first place), but the people haven't.


On another note, there is a man who really hurt me in the past (he was really just a boy at the time). He had mistreated a friend of mine in a way that I deemed unforgivable. He violated her trust, and in doing so, violated my trust and respect. When I had first heard of this, I was irate, but that didn't even come close to comparing to when the man came up to me to explain to me how he did nothing wrong. This was the closest I have ever come to intentionally harming another person. The only thing that kept me from punching him was that I was digging my hands into the chair that I was sitting on until they started hurting. I still, to this day, am unable to be in the same room as this man, and if he crosses my path, I immediately turn around and go the other way. This is the only way that I can prevent myself from attacking him.


Now to the point.


Every Sunday growing up, we prayed a simple prayer at church.

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the glory and the power for ever and ever, Amen.

In Matthews account, he follows up the prayer with the following statement.

"In prayer, there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part." (Mt. 6:14-15 The Message, emphasis mine)

What if God actually held true to this. What if he only forgives us like we forgive others. Here we dive into the realm of heresy. This is not something that you will hear taught in church. It is not a popular thought, but it comes straight from scripture. If you wont forgive, God wont forgive. And why should he? He already paid the price for our sins, but we refuse his gift every time we dive into our sins again.

An act of true repentance should require something on our part, not just going through the motions of confessing them to God (or a priest or friend). What if the cost of repentance was willingness to forgive?


Mighty Father, I pray that you would teach me to forgive. Teach me to forgive the man that violated my friends trust. Teach me to forgive the people who cause trouble in the church. Teach me to forgive like how you forgive. I pray that you would indeed forgive me as I forgive those who sin against me. LORD, forgive my sins. Forgive me for all of my stumbling. Forgive me for choosing evil instead of good. Forgive me for not loving your creation. Show me people that I have wronged so that I can seek their forgiveness, and reveal to me the people who I hold grudges against so that I can forgive them. Thank you, Jesus, for already paying the price for my sin. Help me to remember your grace every day. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Student Ministry in Action!

I’ve been spending a fair amount of time involved in Student Ministry. I was involved in the youth ministry at my church growing up, I am involved in two college ministries at Western Washington University in Bellingham, and I am currently helping out at the church that I grew up in. In my college ministries I have led a small group for two years and I am a leader in the community at the church that I attend in Bellingham. Over this time, I have developed some thoughts as to what Student Ministry should look like.

Firstly, Student Ministry should NOT be “youth group.” The term “Student” refers to one who is learning, whereas “Youth” is generally referring to people under the age of 18, or those that haven’t yet graduated from High School. Although it is important that the Youth are being ministered to, I believe that having “Youth Ministry” can separate the “Youth Group” from the rest of the church and prevent a smooth transition from Youth to Adult. Instead, a Student Ministry could encourage the transition by providing a plan for students moving from child to adult. For the sake of this example, I am going to call Student Ministry groups “Life Groups.” There is no specific reason I call them this, other than the need to call them something.

How these Life Groups are set up is the most important distinction between them and the Youth Group. Because all people should be learners, all people in the church are students. And because all people in the church are students, all people should be members of a Life Group. Likewise, there should be Life Groups for all people in the church. I believe that the most effective way to set up these groups is to go by age, increasing the range of ages as students get older. There should always be someone from an older age group facilitating the Life Group. For example, there could be your traditional Sunday School Life Groups, going by grade from kindergarten to Fifth or Sixth grade. These should be led by one High School Student and one Post High School (Adult) Student. This allows, not only for mentorship of the Young Students, but also builds a strong one on one relationship between the High School Student and the Adult Student. The Middle School groups (Fifth or Sixth grade through Eighth grade) should be led by a High School Student, a College Age Student (18-25 years old), and a Post College Age Student. This three-fold leadership allows for more contact between students and leaders.

The High School Life Group must be led by mature Disciples of Christ. High School is the point in your life where you start becoming independent, yet still have the support of your family. There should be at least one College Age Student and one Post College Age Student. At this point, the leaders should start meeting one on one with the members of their life group on at least a bi-weekly. When the students and leaders meet, they should spend their time getting to know each other, getting to know the Body of Christ, and getting to know Christ Himself. This will take up a lot of the leaders’ time, so it is vital that Life Groups are small enough to allow the leaders room to breath.

The College age group (18-28) is where the transition from child to adult must be guided. College students are no longer harnessed to the beliefs of their parents, and are often living away from home for the first time in their life. At this point, college students need people that they can look up to for help both spiritually, physically, and emotionally. In situations where college students are away from home, they should be adopted by an older married couple. This couple should be able to demonstrate love for each other that places God first, each other second, and themselves last. They should purpose to integrate the college student into their own life by inviting them on family outings, sitting together in church, and by allowing them to bond with their kids (if the couple has kids living with them). At this point, it is important to fold the college students into the adult community. If they are able, they should be encouraged and trained to lead small groups, volunteer with other ministries, as well as start mentoring younger students. They should also be involved in an adult Life Group. These groups are adults of all ages, all backgrounds, and all walks of life. It should be led by an Elder of the church (appointed by the pastor or some nominating committee), another adult, and an older college aged student should help out as well.

There should also be a weekly college gathering where the students can share what God is doing in their lives. Worship should be a central part of this gathering. Students should take turns speaking, with one or two people speaking each week. The Elder who is in charge of the college group can facilitate discussions based on what is talked about, but they should allow the students to be in charge as much as possible.

Adult life groups have been touched on already, but there are a few things left to note on this subject. Because the Adult range is much larger than the other age groups, it is important to keep these groups as small as possible. The ideal size would be somewhere between 10 and 15 members, but this depends completely on how many people you have and on how many leaders you have. All members of the Life Group should be encouraged to meet with each other (of the same gender) one on one to build relationships and for accountability. If desired, the Men and Women of a Life group can meet separately on occasion to dive into issues that are unsuitable for mixed company. Life groups can serve together in ministries in and out of the church together, they can go serve lunch to the homeless, and they can even pioneer new ministries together.

It is also important that they know that they are still a part of a larger Body. Life Groups should be encouraged to do things with other Life Groups. They should strive to not become a clique that doesn’t allow other people in. They should remain open to new members, and willing to allow members to leave when they are ready to lead their own life group.

All members of the Church need to be involved in community. Even before God created us, He lived in community with the Trinity. When people start living outside of the Body of Christ, sin is allowed to move untouched and unchallenged. A church that encourages its members to join community, and invites people from outside the church to witness community, is a Church where the Body of Christ can move to its fullest potential.

The Body of Christ

This week, I had the honor of giving the message at the church that I grew up in. Last week, our guest Pastor talked about being a disciple of Christ. He talked about what it means to us today, and we looked at the example of Thaddeus, or Judas (not Iscariot). We talked a little about the acronym JOY, which stands for Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last. This makes for a perfect tie-in to what I want to talk about today. Not only are we called to be individual Disciples of Christ, but we are collectively called to be the Body of Christ. All throughout his letters, Paul references the Body of Christ and talks about how the Church is this Body of Christ. He explains that all Christians have a role in the Body. Some have big roles others have small roles. Some have public roles, others have private roles. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 is one of these descriptions of the Body of Christ.

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

In the first part of this passage, Paul is telling the Church in Corinth that the church is a diverse group of people. There are many different roles for us all to fill. If we don’t fill these roles, then the body is missing something. God gives us each gifts that we can use to fill these roles. We need to figure out what these roles are for us. My own personal role in the community that I’m involved with in Bellingham is that of a leader. I’ve been leading a small group for two years. Another role that I’ve been filling is that of a host. I live in the dorms, and these past two years I’ve had a special two story room with a spiral staircase and a beautiful view. My roommates and I have had the pleasure of welcoming all sorts of people in to our room at all hours of the night. We’ve had some uncomfortable moments, but God has pulled us through every time.

All of us are a part of the Body. Just because your role in the Body isn’t the Pastor or Worship Leader or Sunday School teacher, you still have a role to fill. Some people are called to be here on Sundays, teaching. Others are here to offer an encouraging word to someone who is down. Some people are called to clean up the vandalism at the youth house. We are all called to do something. We need to seek God and His will in order for us to determine what exactly our role is in the Body.

Also, just because you aren’t a naturally born leader, doesn’t mean that you aren’t a spiritually born leader. When we get called to fulfill roles that we aren’t ready for, it gives us a chance to rely on God for strength and power. It also gives God a chance to lead this church. If you’ve always thought that you could never be a Sunday School teacher because you’ve never taught anything before in your life, and you don’t have knowledge of scripture, maybe this is a good chance for you to allow God to grow you. When God called me to lead a small group bible study at Western Washington University, I knew that I wasn’t ready for it. When I met the guys that would be in my small group, there was only one person younger than me, and the next youngest person was born on the exact same day as me. Needless to say, I felt completely inadequate for the job. All these guys were older and wiser than me, and I was supposed to mentor THEM! This doesn’t make much sense to me. But, God really was able to use that situation to get me to lean on Him and rely on Him for my strength.

The second part of this passage discusses the Unity of the Body. “The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!".” A brain is of no use if there is nothing for it to control. Likewise, there is no use for a Bible Study leader if there are no students. The parts that seem to be weaker are indispensable. Look at your thumbs. Imagine if they didn’t exist. Pretend like they’re taped to your palm. Try to pick up a book near you and see if you can hold it open. Now try turning the page. The thumb is pretty weak, it breaks easily and we can’t life 50 lbs with it. But it is also indispensable. Without it, we cannot perform the same tasks that we would be able to with a thumb. Without every role filled, our church won’t be able to work to our full potential. If we didn’t have people willing to help provide snacks at Vacation Bible School, we would have a bunch of cranky kids to deal with, and they wouldn’t learn as well as they would if they had a snack.

Also, each person should have equal concern for all members of the Body. The feet should care for the noses and the eyes should look after the elbows. We all need to take care of each other. “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” We shouldn’t be jealous of each others triumphs or laugh at each others mistakes. We should be lifting each other up above ourselves. When we as the Body lift each other up, then the Body has a chance to grow and invite more people in. When we care for each other, we are doing what Jesus commanded us to do. Galatians 6:2 says “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” What would our church look like if we were to carry each others burdens, if we were to constantly pray for each other, if we were to listen to others when they’re down? We would be a reformed church. People wouldn’t recognize us as the typical Sunday-only church that meets once a week to worship God and hear a sermon, and then go on our way, returning to the “real” world as if nothing was different about us.

When we fulfill our duties as the Body of Christ, the lives of those around us will be changed as well. When the Body of Christ moves, hearts are moved. Acts 2:46-47 is an example of a church that is living out the call to be the Body of Christ. “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” These people were living in community, sharing everything with each other, and God was blessing them immensely. They enjoyed the favor of ALL people, not just the people in their congregation. They were able to minister to the widows and orphans, not just of their own people, but also of the pagans. They were able to heal many of those that they came across. According to Acts 4:34 “there were no needy peoples among them.” A community that is the Living Body of Christ is able to move the community that they live in.
Is the modern church doing this? Casting Crowns wrote a song called “If We are the Body.” It is a powerful song that talks about the Body of Christ. It is a call to see the Body actually move in our communities.

“If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way”

This brings us to the culmination of the passage, 1 Corinthians 12:27-31
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Each and every one of us has a part in the body. We all have different gifts and roles. God has called us all individually to join the corporate Body and fill the roles that he has appointed to us. Church won’t work unless the community is healthy. Jesus won’t bring new Christians into a dirty nursery where his children won’t be safe. We need to be thinking of “We” and not “Me.” We are all called as individuals to join together as the Body of Christ. There is a poem by James Patrick Kinney which explained allegorically the state of a church that isn’t living as the Body of Christ. Read carefully and wee if you can relate to anyone in the poem.

Six humans trapped by happenstance
in black and bitter cold
Each possessed a stick of wood,
Or so the story's told.

Their dying fire in need of logs,
the first woman held hers back
For on the faces around the fire
She noticed one was black.

The next man looking 'cross the way
Saw one not of his church
And couldn't bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered clothes
He gave his coat a hitch,
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned
>From the lazy, shiftless poor.

The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight,
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.

And the last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain,
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.

The logs held tight in death's stilled hands
Was proof of human sin,
They didn't die from the cold without,
They died from the cold within.

All of us can relate somehow to someone in this story. As a “poor college student” I relate to the poor man. As an American, I relate to the rich man. Who are you in this poem, and how can you change to be more like Christ. How can you use your stick of wood to help the Body of Christ stay alive and warm? What gifts has God given you that are needed in this church? What needs do you see in the community that you can help.

I pray that you can find your role in whatever community you find yourself in. Whether you are a young college student or a tried and true elder, there is a place for you. Seek God and His will so that you can find your place in the Body of Christ.