Mirror, Mirror...

There's this funny thing about identity. You will always have one, but you may never know what it is, how you got it, or how you could get rid of it if you didn't like it. On Wednesday night, Chase talked about using God's Word as a mirror into you life. Specifically, he told you to "...pick up your Bible, pick up a mirror." Well, they're the same thing. In the Revealed series so far, we've imparted on you the importance of viewing the Bible as more than just a group of bedtime stories, but a living and breathing entity that has been at work throughout history and has the power to change your future. We want you to feel a closeness with Scripture; we want you to trust it and trust the God who spoke it. And we want for you to need it so desperately that you hide it deep within your heart so that you may be pure (Psalm 119:9).

Your life is a continuation of God's story, the Bible, and you are therefore given identity through every word written in it. If your life is so intricately intertwined with God's story, then how can you live, how can you act, how can you even breathe without it? Your Bible isn't just a book, it's your story, it's your identity. Chase talked about getting over yourself; stop preparing to act and get going! The Word empowers you to go forth in God's Spirit to change people and situations around you. Now that you know, you have no excuse.

Next week we're taking a break to fellowship at the Summerfest concert. The following weeks we'll be approaching the messages that God has for you as young men and women living in this world. We love you, and we don't want you to miss those lessons!

Like Water From Stone

When Bill told the story on Sunday of Moses striking a rock in order to provide water for the Israelites (Numbers 20), my mind started reeling. What could this mean for us?

God promised the Israelites sustenance, and while Moses knew God would provide, he wasn't confident in the passive way God wanted to give them what they needed. Instead, Moses decided to take matters into his own hands. Ultimately God's plan was carried out, but He had to break through Moses' stubbornness when Moses tried to break through that stone. God could have easily backed down on His promise because Moses disobeyed, but instead God chose to bless the Israelites in spite of that.

God promises to take care of us, and while we often trust that God will give us what we need, we doubt how or when. When we try and take back control, we disobey the Man with the plan. We are naturally stubborn and broken people, just like Moses, but God can work through those imperfections to bless us anyway. When we allow God to break us and pour out from us, then we can give God's love to the world. God pulls Living Water from our hearts of stone.

What could God strike us with? Family problems, financial problems, issues with school, relationship troubles, the list goes on. There are multiple factions God could use in your life to let loose the Spirit through you. God not only breaks us with trials, but our hearts could be transformed and God reflected through positive events like a college decision or dedicating your life to ministry. We admit that we are hard people; our hearts are rock solid and prone to resisting God. Unfortunately, we also learn from Numbers 20 that God can and will punish those who disobey Him (see verse 12). So we're left with a choice, a constant struggle between our bent human nature and our desire to let God work.

If we know that God's plan for us is better than what we can do ourselves, why do we doubt Him? What are the dangers of resisting God? Can you think of a time when God broke through your stubborn heart to carry out His ultimate plan?

Are You Making God a Bad Habit?

Last night Jon read a quote from David Crowder’s Praise Habit. Allow me to remind you of part of it:

“Countless times I have tried to develop a habit of a ‘quiet time.’ Sometimes it would stick. Sometimes it would not. Guilt would be thick when it would not. But for a long time it became what I did first thing everyday. It was beauty. The internal joy it brought was overwhelming. Then at some point it went hollow. It’s not that it was a bad idea to form a habit of quiet time, but the habit had slyly begun to suck the life out of my relationship with God. I had fallen in love with my spirituality rather than with the one whom I sought, and in the end it left me void and wanting.”

For so long you’ve heard your Sunday school teachers, Jon and Shawn, your small group leaders, your parents, and so many others encourage you to study Scripture, to memorize verses, to dig into the Word. So now we tell you that habits can suck the, well, life out of your spiritual life? How does that make any sense?

The problem with making worship (because that’s ultimately what studying the Bible is) routine is that routines get too comfortable. Some people love routine; it’s predictable and easy and requires no consideration. So if we make God’s Word routine, we’re making God routine. We’re making God predictable and easy and requiring no consideration. Oops. I hate to break it to ya, but God is not predictable, not easy, and He certainly requires all the consideration we can muster.

It’s such a difficult thing to not let your relationship with God become a casualty of routine. But here’s the thing: God is much too big to fix into the box of habit. Intention is absolutely necessary for cultivating a deeper relationship with God, but if intention is all we have, we don’t follow through on making it actually happen.

We are called to cut the cord. Let loose. Pursue God ceaselessly. Don’t make studying the Bible routine; dive in! If we choose to love God as much as we are able, then we can live according to God’s Word. Like Jon said last night, you must seek God with all your heart, you must let God’s Word live inside you, and then you will not be able to keep from praising Him. And with that kind of passion pouring out of you, you will never be satisfied with a routine.

Do you border of making God a habit? What are some ways you keep that from happening? What would happen if we were successful in dedicating our lives in devotion to God’s Word?

To hear silence

Sometimes it’s interesting how God pulls together a whole bunch of tiny details that culminate into something like this. Chase mentioned below that we really want to use the blog to expand on Wednesday night lessons, but if it’s okay with you all, I’d like to throw in my two cents about the high school lesson Sunday because it tied in with the girls’ Bible study topic from last week. If you’re a middle school boy, and you have no idea what I mean… you’ll get over it. :)

On Sunday, Chase talked about how silence is a part of authentic worship. And he showed Rob Bell’s Nooma video “Noise.” I’ve seen that video countless times, and I always find something new to consider. For instance, I wonder how do deaf people experience God? If we can know God so intimately through silence, why aren’t all deaf people on fire for Jesus? I had a friend in college who had degenerative hearing loss, meaning she will eventually lose her sense of hearing. For a time, I was impressed with her close relationship with God; it seemed that she really did hear Him more clearly. But as time passed, she veered away, just like anyone else might. So maybe you can hear the call of the world even if you can’t hear your telephone ring.

I guess sometimes it isn’t about what sounds reach our ears, but rather what we choose to listen to. And beyond that, how we choose to react to what we hear.

In Genesis 19, God sends messengers to Lot and his family to tell them He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s wife was absolutely silent in this story; we don’t see a single word that she spoke. She understood the value of being silent sometimes. In her silence, she could clearly hear the warnings of the angels, but she didn’t really listen. She decided to disobey their instructions and she looked back at her old home while fleeing, and God turned her into a big ol’ salt lick. Nice. She heard, but she didn’t listen.

“Why is it easier to surround myself with noise and keep moving?” asks Rob Bell.

Psalm 46:10a says “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Lamentations 3:26 says “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”

Jesus calmed the raging storm. He kept quiet when accusations were thrown at him before he was crucified.

In silence we find God. And in God we find freedom. Why is it so easy to throw ourselves into the noise of the world? Because we are bound by fear… the fear of what freedom in Christ really could mean. All God wants is for us to love Him back, and in doing so, we have the capacity to rock this noisy world around us with the sounds of God—the sounds of joy, of compassion, of devotion. While noise doesn’t always drive us to distraction (you can hear God in music or someone speaking or even in unexpected places [also, see the YouTube video below]), God whispers most intently when we choose to quietly contemplate Him. If we take our ears out of the world and choose to listen to God as He speaks to our hearts, what would we hear?

Do you think it’s possible to have a heart of reverent silence in a world of chaos?

Turn your ear to heaven and hear...

Wednesday Nights!!!!

Hey guys it's Chase, one of your favorite interns...... At least I hope. I wanted to let you guys know that we really really really!!!!!!!! Want you guys here on Wednesday nights. We are diving deep into the importance of reading the Bible. Yes, they are stories, yes you have heard these stories before, but most who read don't know how to interpret the significance of these stories. We love you guys and truly believe that a solid correct biblical foundation will help you grow spiritually as well as your relationship with Christ.
Those of you who came last week learned from Katie that we are diving in head first this summer. We are skipping the bells and whistles and jumping into the Bible with the pure intention of learning how to interpret it.
All of us, Jon, Shawn, Katie, and myself, are really excited about this series and know that if you guys invest time into it you will gain so much.
There will be a new blog post each Thursday by either Katie or myself basically talking about the message the night previous and exploring different questions that you as students might have. We encourage you to contact us via email, facebook, phonecalls, and office visits to dive a little deeper. We are here for you guys/gals so take advantage of it.
Looking forward to seeing you all tonight.

In Christ,
Chase

We really do need each other.

In 1992, a young man named Christopher McCandless started out on an escapade to "find himself." He grew up in a privileged home and had every opportunity at his feet. Shortly after graduating from Emory University, he took his $26,000 check, donated it to charity, cut up his social security card and license, and headed west. After two years of hitchhiking, hanging out with strangers and moving from state to state, Chris decided to go on an Alaskan adventure "into the wild." He felt determined not only figure out how to survive in the wilderness, but to do it by himself. People would only hinder his experience.

Upon arriving in Alaska, he found a stranded bus to camp in and tried to feed his appetite from the animals and plants around him. In the movie, Hollywood depicts Chris as arriving with complete awe and almost a sense of purpose; he is finally alone. After several weeks of attempting to survive solo, Chris reached a point where he realized that the happiness he was experiencing was only worthwhile if it was shared with other people. The drama unfolded as he packed his bags, headed back towards civilization, and was suddenly trapped by a river that was once only a stream. The weather had warmed since he last passed it, and there was no way to go across it. His only options were drowning or surviving alone in the abandoned bus, waiting for someone's arrival.

The tragedy of it all was not Chris's death that followed only weeks later; it was that he died alone. He had abandoned everyone he knew, everyone that loved him and wanted to help him. He ran scared from community and wanted to prove to himself that he didn't need people. The movie depicts him writing some last words in one of his favorite books, "Happiness is only worthwhile shared." He discovered for his need for people, but it was too late. Right before he died, he wrote on a piece of paper, "I have lived a long and happy life. God bless you all."

The past few weeks, we have been talking about the dangers of isolation, risks of being real, and the hazard of admitting everyone. Chris refused to be real with anyone, admitted no one, and isolated himself—it ultimately lead to his death. During the Holocaust, Hitler conducted terrible experiments on infants—giving them just enough food and milk to survive, but no nurture or coddling. If the baby cried, they would manage. Every infant died. Not because of physical needs, but because they had been abandoned.

The crazy reality is that no matter how much we try to deny it, we need people. We were created to live in community with each other. Without people, we can never survive, at least not the way God intended. Authenticity is challenging, gut wrenching, and even painful at times. For some reason unbeknownst to me, it does not come naturally. There have been many times in my life where I would much rather choose to be fake, ignore those that want what is best, and run towards those that will just let me be alone. Yet this is not what God intended, either.

Chris ran from home and towards those that would not offer wisdom he did not want. In our study of Saul, Jonathan, and David, we saw Saul run away from everyone and Jonathan run towards David. David was worthy of being trusted, Saul was not. Without help of those around him, Saul became a madman and ultimately strayed from his very purpose. Jonathan clung tight to his friend David, who ultimately became King and was one that truly pursued the heart of God.

Who do you run from? Are you a Christopher McCandless? Are you dying to get out and away from everyone that knows you, loves you, and wants what is best? We desperately need the love of those around us. My prayer is that you will know Him—and in that, you will let others love you. Being a Christian does not work in any other way. We must stop running and give those that truly care all access into our lives.

One color.

It's no lie--we live in a world where everyone is defined by something. Whether that be color, financial status, age, clothing, music taste, etc., we place labels and often harsh judgments on first impressions. I know this because not only did I grow up judging others, but I myself, as the rest of you, have been victim to judgment. The unfortunate truth is that all of us have been both the victims and victimizers in this case. Whether we admit to it or not, we have all been judged and judge frequently--even if it is only in our minds.

Jesus came to bring only one color. He alone is what defines us, and yet STILL we live so much like the Pharisees and see only the outside. Christians are certainly not innocent in this matter. The irony, of course, is that according to the New Testament, the Church is supposed to be the greatest proof for love, and more importantly--Jesus. Yet, as needy people, we have fallen into a state of bondage; we are always seeking a way to place ourselves above or below... constantly walking around with a measuring tape trying to figure out where we fall.

When we love someone, we AGREEING with God that they are worth His death. Yet when we give a judgmental glare or gossip within our minds, all we are doing is saying, "God--I don't agree with You. I know You created everyone--but certainly You could not have created this person." Even the person you cannot stand, God said, "Here's their price," and died on Calvary. There are no ifs, no ands, and no buts--all people have unsurpassable worth because God created them. Period.

Blah blah blah, right?

Let me tell you about a moment in my life where I was suddenly smacked with reality. Low and behold, of all things... I was in the mall. As a high school student, I actually dreaded going to the mall. If you have ever been insecure in your life (which I'm sure you haven't), you know what I'm talking about. My biggest temptation every time I walked into a mall was to pull out my imaginary measuring tape. I asked myself constantly, "Where do I fall in this crowd?"

Suddenly, there was a microphone connected to my head. I felt like an eavesdropper and was disgusted by my mind's disease. I noticed that I had an opinion about almost everything and everyone that walked by. I had a constant commentary running through my brain. I was gossiping about people in my own brain! Then, I asked myself the question, "Why am I doing this?" And as I analyzed this, I noticed that there was a part of me that was truly enjoying this--there was this small, nasty part of my soul that was actually liking this. The gossip festival lets us think that we are a little bit above everyone else.

The root, of course, is that we want people to be like us. We might not admit it--but inside we think, "If only people did things my way," or, "If only people would look the way I did." For thousands of years, people have said this in their minds, causing destruction and even death all because we want the power to be the most important. I think God says to us, "Uh, I don't think I gave you that job description. I don't recall giving you that right... what did I tell you to do? Oh, that's right, I told you to live in love."

Unexpectedly, as I was driving home from the mall, I became conscious of my heart's biggest disease. I refused to look at people in the way God does. That day--I decided that no matter what my flesh sees, I would look past it and instead CHOOSE to see what God sees. If we surrender our lives to Christ, then we are agreeing with Him that everyone was created equally.

I don't know what your struggle is, but I know you've got one. No one is innocent of judgment--we all deal with it because we are insecure humans that constantly attempt to measure up. I have no clue who you judge, why you judge them, or what you see when you look at others. Perhaps, for you, you hate anything that has to do with popularity. You look at the kids with the "nicer" clothes, "nicer" cars, or "big" houses and judge them for being spoiled. Maybe, like we talked about on Wednesday, you deal with racist thoughts--and although you dare not admit it--down within your soul you know there are prejudices you hold onto for no reason. You may express them lightly with "playful" jokes, but you're only kidding... right? Right?

When we choose to BELIEVE what God has told us, we are agreeing with him that all people were created equal. To the people of Galatia, Paul wrote,"Now, before faith came, we were held captive under the law imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian--for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS." (Galatians 3:23-28) Paul is urging the Galatians to no longer look at the outside--and yet see that Christ had (and has) made every person ONE in Christ Jesus.

Who are you not giving worth to? Who is it that you look at, talk to, or interact with that you place below yourself? Where are your thoughts coming from? Are they coming from God, or yourself? Because, if your thoughts come from the Holy Spirit--then I can tell you FOR SURE they are not thoughts of external judgment. We know it to be true through God's Word, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b)

Judgment, no matter the kind, separates the body of Christ. We are not designed to live as a separated chaos, but rather as a unified body that sees only Jesus. We are one color in Christ.

Love to all,
Anne