So today was the last of the seven days reading through Galatians. Here are kind of some thoughts on it.
"If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." ~Galatians 1:10
This is a verse that really stuck out to me each and every time I read it. This was written by Paul. You can read all about his story in Acts. It's actually quite wonderful to hear. I just read through it for the past month. God really transformed that man's life, and there is no reason to think he can't do the same for us. But anyways back on topic, the reason this verse stuck out to me is that I realize I still have a ways to go. As I have been strongly considering a career in ministry, I realize that is the mindset I will need to have. There will probably be some opposition from people, especially if I were to have a good job opportunity with physics. I realize that I must not serve the people around me or myself, but instead I should serve God, whatever that may mean.
"The righteous will live by faith." ~Galatians 3:11
"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." ~Galatians 5:6
These really impacted me in that we should live by faith and not with our eyes. There is nothing we can do to become righteous other than living by faith. Paul writes a lot about how people insisted on being circumcised, but in doing so, we separate ourselves from God's grace and bind ourselves to the law. By trying to appeal to God on our own by trying to outwardly show our devotion, we create a gap between us and God. We do this a lot today, not with circumcision, but with many other things. We try to show others how righteous we are by doing certain things, but in reality, we are only hurting ourselves in doing so.
"Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?" ~Galatians 3:3
This is yet another example that I see so often in my life and in the lives of others. In tough times we may lean on God more, and he pulls us out of it. As soon as that happens, we again turn away and begin to try it out on our own again. Why do we fail to see that we need God in both our times of trouble and our times of prosperity. We should praise and glorify him at the peaks and the valleys. Without Him, we can do nothing, but so often we forget that.
And here I shall end with the first verse I ever memorized and one that I carry on my necklace. It speaks of how we must die to this world just as Jesus did, and that we should live instead for God.
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." ~Galatians 2:20
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
The Pursuit of God
So I just finished reading The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer last night, so here is kind of a review type thing.
Perhaps the most deep hitting idea from the entire book came in the first chapter.
"How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers."
This is so true on so many levels. This was exactly how I lived my life just a year ago and am still guilty of at times now. So many Americans will go to church once a week and depend entirely on that 30 minute sermon for their Jesus for the week. We take everything he/she says as truth without checking the source to see for ourselves. We let them do the seeking for us, and then just sit back and listen. The problem with that is that there is no possible way that you can have a personal relationship through a 30 minute sermon once a week. It just doesn't happen that way. We must seek for ourselves. We must desire to know God deeply, and the only way to do that is to spend time with Him in the Word and in prayer. Because a lot of us no longer do that, our knowledge of God and who He is has greatly diminished.
"To most people God is an inference, not a reality."
This quote really sums it up because I know that is exactly how it was for me. God is SOMETHING we believe in, rather than being SOMEONE we believe in. God is just a conclusion drawn because we don't see other possibilities, rather than being THE possibility. God is likely to exist, but not known to exist. We don't actively experience Him, nor do we actively seek him out. The saddest part of that is that as a people, we are fine with that. We are fine with saying we believe in God and then putting him on the shelf. We say we believe in Him and assume we only need Him to avoid hell. We have a great lack in our perception of the greatness of God. We lack the knowledge about our true, triune God. Our God is Emmanuel, meaning "God with us." God is very personal and right there with us every step of the way trying to reveal Himself to us, but we are just to apathetic to see it. Our lack of knowledge about who God really is leads us to either not care about knowing Him or just not know that it is possible to know Him just as we can know our best friend, except much more deeply.
"God's word in the Bible can have power only because it corresponds to God's word in the universe. It is the present Voice that makes the written Word all-powerful."
"[The Bible] is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking."
"[The Bible] is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God."
There is only one way to really get to know God, and that is through the precious gift known as the Bible. Luckily we live (assuming you also live in America) in a country where there are more Bibles than there are people. There is no shortage of access like in other areas where there might be a couple of Bibles for an entire village or even none at all. The Bible is not simply a book though, and the quotes from above really say it best. The authority of the Bible is only there because God is here. God didn't just show up for a short period of time and then leave. He is always around and working. The Bible is what they call a live text. It is as true for us reading it today as it was for those writing it. We just have to learn how to read it and that comes with practice. Preachers can certainly help us learn how to read the Bible and seek for ourselves, but we must overcome the temptation of just letting them do all the seeking for us.
We MUST take control of our own faith!
Perhaps the most deep hitting idea from the entire book came in the first chapter.
"How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers."
This is so true on so many levels. This was exactly how I lived my life just a year ago and am still guilty of at times now. So many Americans will go to church once a week and depend entirely on that 30 minute sermon for their Jesus for the week. We take everything he/she says as truth without checking the source to see for ourselves. We let them do the seeking for us, and then just sit back and listen. The problem with that is that there is no possible way that you can have a personal relationship through a 30 minute sermon once a week. It just doesn't happen that way. We must seek for ourselves. We must desire to know God deeply, and the only way to do that is to spend time with Him in the Word and in prayer. Because a lot of us no longer do that, our knowledge of God and who He is has greatly diminished.
"To most people God is an inference, not a reality."
This quote really sums it up because I know that is exactly how it was for me. God is SOMETHING we believe in, rather than being SOMEONE we believe in. God is just a conclusion drawn because we don't see other possibilities, rather than being THE possibility. God is likely to exist, but not known to exist. We don't actively experience Him, nor do we actively seek him out. The saddest part of that is that as a people, we are fine with that. We are fine with saying we believe in God and then putting him on the shelf. We say we believe in Him and assume we only need Him to avoid hell. We have a great lack in our perception of the greatness of God. We lack the knowledge about our true, triune God. Our God is Emmanuel, meaning "God with us." God is very personal and right there with us every step of the way trying to reveal Himself to us, but we are just to apathetic to see it. Our lack of knowledge about who God really is leads us to either not care about knowing Him or just not know that it is possible to know Him just as we can know our best friend, except much more deeply.
"God's word in the Bible can have power only because it corresponds to God's word in the universe. It is the present Voice that makes the written Word all-powerful."
"[The Bible] is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking."
"[The Bible] is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God."
There is only one way to really get to know God, and that is through the precious gift known as the Bible. Luckily we live (assuming you also live in America) in a country where there are more Bibles than there are people. There is no shortage of access like in other areas where there might be a couple of Bibles for an entire village or even none at all. The Bible is not simply a book though, and the quotes from above really say it best. The authority of the Bible is only there because God is here. God didn't just show up for a short period of time and then leave. He is always around and working. The Bible is what they call a live text. It is as true for us reading it today as it was for those writing it. We just have to learn how to read it and that comes with practice. Preachers can certainly help us learn how to read the Bible and seek for ourselves, but we must overcome the temptation of just letting them do all the seeking for us.
We MUST take control of our own faith!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Humilty
As promised here is my blog about the book Humility by Andrew Murray. It was a great, quick read at only about 55 pages.
This book really hit me in a number of ways. We are all taught to be humble, but this book really broke down how dangerous pride is and exactly what it looks like to be humble through examples in Jesus' life. In order to humble ourselves, we must gain a larger view of God. We must put things into perspective of just how little we are and how great God is. Christ humbled himself and became man. Here are a few quotes and ideas that really hit me while I was reading.
"Be the witness through which the living God can manifest the riches of His wisdom, power, and goodness."
In order for God's riches to manifest within us, we must be humble, none of self and all of thee. We must empty ourselves of the world so that we may be refilled with God, for there is no room for both. We turn are hearts, minds, and bodies towards God and His will and desires. Just as Jesus humbled himself and became man, we must humble ourselves and become servants, both to God and others around us.
"His humility us our salvation. His salvation is our humility."
We should automatically be humbled just by the fact of our salvation. Jesus came and did for us through his crucifixion and resurrection what we could not do for ourselves. He literally saved us from ourselves and the sin that we lived in. There was nothing we could do to save ourselves, but we were completely and utterly dependent of God for our own salvation even before we knew it. If that isn't humbling I don't know what is.
Pride is man's worst enemy for "the holiest will ever be the humblest."
I think of myself as a very humble non-arrogant or prideful person, but the fact of the matter is that we are all very prideful. We all get caught up in our own pride. We all, at times, see somebody and think to ourselves, even if it's subconsciously, that we are better than them. We allow our pride to elevate us to a higher level than some of those around us. We cannot allow that and must fight it everyday. We must indulge ourselves with the Word and in God for he is the only true source of humility. He is the source from which we must build our lives.
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. ~Proverbs 11:2
This book really hit me in a number of ways. We are all taught to be humble, but this book really broke down how dangerous pride is and exactly what it looks like to be humble through examples in Jesus' life. In order to humble ourselves, we must gain a larger view of God. We must put things into perspective of just how little we are and how great God is. Christ humbled himself and became man. Here are a few quotes and ideas that really hit me while I was reading.
"Be the witness through which the living God can manifest the riches of His wisdom, power, and goodness."
In order for God's riches to manifest within us, we must be humble, none of self and all of thee. We must empty ourselves of the world so that we may be refilled with God, for there is no room for both. We turn are hearts, minds, and bodies towards God and His will and desires. Just as Jesus humbled himself and became man, we must humble ourselves and become servants, both to God and others around us.
"His humility us our salvation. His salvation is our humility."
We should automatically be humbled just by the fact of our salvation. Jesus came and did for us through his crucifixion and resurrection what we could not do for ourselves. He literally saved us from ourselves and the sin that we lived in. There was nothing we could do to save ourselves, but we were completely and utterly dependent of God for our own salvation even before we knew it. If that isn't humbling I don't know what is.
Pride is man's worst enemy for "the holiest will ever be the humblest."
I think of myself as a very humble non-arrogant or prideful person, but the fact of the matter is that we are all very prideful. We all get caught up in our own pride. We all, at times, see somebody and think to ourselves, even if it's subconsciously, that we are better than them. We allow our pride to elevate us to a higher level than some of those around us. We cannot allow that and must fight it everyday. We must indulge ourselves with the Word and in God for he is the only true source of humility. He is the source from which we must build our lives.
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. ~Proverbs 11:2
Friday, December 21, 2012
Building Bridges
So I am home from UVA for Christmas break, and it's a little bitter sweet. I love UVA and the people there. Those people have become my family. Home can be a little tough because I am a totally different person now than I was when I left for college a little more than a year ago. Since my time at UVA, I really found God and that has entirely changed the way I live my life, view the world, and spend my time. That is why break can be a dangerous time. I have so much more time, but it is very easy to waste that time and end up in a spiritual valley.
Last year think I did a fairly good job at avoiding that by going through the Live Dead Journal. I made sure that I completely tithed my time everyday, so I spent 2.5 hours of time per day in the Word, prayer, or worship. While I know some of that time was spent just to get my time in and wasn't really fruitful, it helped to instill within me the discipline to have my quiet time everyday. That was hugely important for me since that was pretty much my introduction to quiet time and reading the Bible. That laid my foundation. This year I am going to go through it again, but this time I won't be as much of a stickler on time. I will use it more as a guide to spending time with God and as a source of reflection on my faith journey throughout the past year.
On top of that I have a few more things planned for this year to keep me on track and to ensure that this break is a moment of growth and not decay. My man Alex filled me in on what he was doing and invited me to join him, so I will be reading through Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. For example, we will be reading Galatians once per day, everyday for a week and then so on with the other three books. It's been really cool and a totally different way of reading the Bible than I've done before. I've always heard to read through the entire book at a time but have never done it. These are a great one to start with since they are so short. I will try to blog about each book after the week is over to kind of reflect on it.
On top of that, I have a goal of reading a lot more than I ever had before. I just got a number of books from Amazon that my man Alex recommended as well as a couple I just haven't read yet. I will not be able to read them all, but I want to read like 5 or so. I never have been a big reader, but I know that reading is the best way to gain wisdom. That's the only reason I read. Because I hate reading, theological books are the only books I find worth reading. I actually forgot my laptop charger, which should make it easier to commit time to reading since I can't mindlessly surf the web. My goal is to also blog on each of the books that I read too. My computer will pretty much be reserved for blogging over break to save the battery. I read one of the shorter books today and will try to blog on it tomorrow.
In a week's time, I will be heading down to Fort Worth, Texas for the World Missions Summit. This is a convention (I guess that's what you would call it) that Chi Alpha holds every four years. It is devoted to world missions, and they bring in hundreds of missionaries to share and to speak with. That will be an awesome experience I am sure of it!
Also as a core group leader now I am going to make an effort to call some of my guys up to see how they are doing in general and with their devotional life. I'm also going to have my Richmond Chi Alpha family to hang out with unlike last year. With all that said, I am excited about what this Christmas break has in store for me!
Last year think I did a fairly good job at avoiding that by going through the Live Dead Journal. I made sure that I completely tithed my time everyday, so I spent 2.5 hours of time per day in the Word, prayer, or worship. While I know some of that time was spent just to get my time in and wasn't really fruitful, it helped to instill within me the discipline to have my quiet time everyday. That was hugely important for me since that was pretty much my introduction to quiet time and reading the Bible. That laid my foundation. This year I am going to go through it again, but this time I won't be as much of a stickler on time. I will use it more as a guide to spending time with God and as a source of reflection on my faith journey throughout the past year.
On top of that I have a few more things planned for this year to keep me on track and to ensure that this break is a moment of growth and not decay. My man Alex filled me in on what he was doing and invited me to join him, so I will be reading through Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. For example, we will be reading Galatians once per day, everyday for a week and then so on with the other three books. It's been really cool and a totally different way of reading the Bible than I've done before. I've always heard to read through the entire book at a time but have never done it. These are a great one to start with since they are so short. I will try to blog about each book after the week is over to kind of reflect on it.
On top of that, I have a goal of reading a lot more than I ever had before. I just got a number of books from Amazon that my man Alex recommended as well as a couple I just haven't read yet. I will not be able to read them all, but I want to read like 5 or so. I never have been a big reader, but I know that reading is the best way to gain wisdom. That's the only reason I read. Because I hate reading, theological books are the only books I find worth reading. I actually forgot my laptop charger, which should make it easier to commit time to reading since I can't mindlessly surf the web. My goal is to also blog on each of the books that I read too. My computer will pretty much be reserved for blogging over break to save the battery. I read one of the shorter books today and will try to blog on it tomorrow.
In a week's time, I will be heading down to Fort Worth, Texas for the World Missions Summit. This is a convention (I guess that's what you would call it) that Chi Alpha holds every four years. It is devoted to world missions, and they bring in hundreds of missionaries to share and to speak with. That will be an awesome experience I am sure of it!
Also as a core group leader now I am going to make an effort to call some of my guys up to see how they are doing in general and with their devotional life. I'm also going to have my Richmond Chi Alpha family to hang out with unlike last year. With all that said, I am excited about what this Christmas break has in store for me!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Give Me Your Eyes
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
This is exactly what I've been praying essentially. I've based it a lot around a different song that has one part that say "Break my heart for what breaks yours." That is what really ignited my prayer towards this, and this song most certainly adds more to what I am desiring from God. I don't want to just pass by without thinking about others. Do they know God? Are they saved? Instead of asking these questions, we just walk by, maybe stare at the ground, and don't think twice. Now I'm not saying we should be asking these questions about every person we see. That's impractical. What I am saying though is that we should care about the answer to those questions for everybody we see. When we see darkness in other's lives, we shouldn't just brush it off. It should break our heart because of the fact that they don't know Jesus. What is life without Jesus? What is life without hope? They go through this everyday while we rejoice in our eternal salvation. How can we fully and truly rejoice knowing that? We can't and that is why we MUST go out and share the gospel. That is why we MUST be witnesses for GOD everywhere all the time, not just when it is easy. Not just when it's convenient. Not just when it's benefits us. ALL THE TIME.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Overflow
Spirit of the Living God come fall afresh on me.
Come wake me from my sleep.
Blow through the caverns of my soul.
Pour in me to overflow,
to overflow
This song along with the chorus really has had a huge impact on me this year. They played this song during the fall retreat this year at a time where I really needed to hear it. I was really at a dry period where I was really struggling with my quiet time and just wasn't feeling that joyful. It took a while to get back on track, but I do think this song helped me a lot.
So I was thinking about the idea of God pouring into us to overflow. What does that mean? What does that look like? That led me to extending the metaphor a little bit. We are like a vase, and God is the eternal source of flowing water. God is ALWAYS pouring onto us, but it's up to us to determine how much we actually receive. We determine the size of our mouth. The larger our mouth, the more of God's abounding grace and love we are able to receive. To put it simply, to enlarge our mouths, we must spend time with God. There is no special trick to it. We also have to consider our walls. Nobody is perfect. We all have cracks in our vase. These cracks can also hinder us from receiving God's love. Some of it leaks out and prevents us from filling up. The only way to mend our cracks is to take a long hard look at ourselves. We must look at things that we might be holding onto unnecessarily such as idols or sin. Idols being just something that we spend too much time with, and sin being things that oppose God's will. In order to mend these cracks and open up our mouth, we must die to ourselves and live for God. We must turn our hearts, minds, and bodies toward God and align our will and desires with God's will and desires.
If we do that, we will be able to receive the full abundance of love that God intended for us and not only that. We will begin to overflow into the people around us, and that should be our goal. We should not be content with our own salvation, but our heart should be turned towards others salvation, towards the world's salvation. Now THAT should be our goal. THAT is God's goal.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Say YES to Jesus. Say NO to the world
So tonight's MNL ("Monday Night Live" aka our large group Chi Alpha meeting) especially hit me. It wasn't really the message though. It was what happened before the message. Sarah and Hai-in spoke about the Chi Alpha internship. This is something that I have always thought would be cool to do, but didn't necessarily take it completely serious as an option. Tonight it just impacted me so strongly. It is definitely an option that I have to consider. I got really amped up hearing about it. It was one of the few times I thought to myself, "I can't wait to graduate." Thoughts about graduating a year or semester early even came through my head, even though I am not even considering that. It was really tough to kind of settle back down for the message by Josh Fairchild after that.
The message came from Mark 10:17. It was mainly about living for God instead of the world. Turning in our idols for God. It was a really reassuring message. I'm still not sure if this whole ministry thing has been confirmed by God, but one thing is for sure. This feeling and desire is not going away. It is only getting stronger. The fact that I wanted to graduate now is crazy! I love UVA. I don't ever want to go.
I will definitely explore more about this and other things through prayer and talking with one of my best friends Alex (core group leader from last year and now intern). I'll probably talk to Seth (co-leader) about it some too considering he is also an intern. Heck I might even talk about it some to my boy Charlie during my spring break trip to Marshall.
There is only one thing left to do now and that is continuing to pray for God's will to be done and to not let my desires and passions to get in the way of God's work.
The message came from Mark 10:17. It was mainly about living for God instead of the world. Turning in our idols for God. It was a really reassuring message. I'm still not sure if this whole ministry thing has been confirmed by God, but one thing is for sure. This feeling and desire is not going away. It is only getting stronger. The fact that I wanted to graduate now is crazy! I love UVA. I don't ever want to go.
I will definitely explore more about this and other things through prayer and talking with one of my best friends Alex (core group leader from last year and now intern). I'll probably talk to Seth (co-leader) about it some too considering he is also an intern. Heck I might even talk about it some to my boy Charlie during my spring break trip to Marshall.
There is only one thing left to do now and that is continuing to pray for God's will to be done and to not let my desires and passions to get in the way of God's work.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Action Packed Thought
Do you think before you act or act before you think? These are two distinctively different personality types, but both of them can get you into trouble. Just like most things, each personality type has its pros and cons. I'm not trying to analyze personalities in this post, so don't expect that. What I want to look at in particular is the type, thinking before acting, because that is what I identify with.
So you are the thinker. You always think before you act. Often times these people are the more timid people. You didn't get into much trouble as a kid. It is always a good idea to think before you act, but there is a problem associated with it. Me being one of these people, I find myself often times over thinking certain things. Sometimes I think about something so much I end up missing my chance to act on it. Perhaps it's during a small group discussion. I think about what I'm going to say so long in my head to make sure it all comes out perfect that I miss my chance to talk. Thought without action isn't helpful. As a Christian we are designed to be in community. In order to experience the life God intended for us, we must exit our minds and do something. We can't live in our heads. We are called to "go and make disciples of all nations."(Matthew 28:19, NIV) In order to do this, we must take a leap of faith. For me that was thinking less and doing more. Spending less time in my head and more time in the group and in the community. One thing that has really helped me do this is going out to do 2x2 evangelism around grounds at UVA. As you would expect, there isn't much time to just sit there thinking out each word you're going to say. That would just be awkward. It has really helped me think and talk at the same time. It takes a leap of faith that I will indeed have an answer and something to say. That all leads back to quiet time, spending time with Jesus in the scriptures. The more you know, the easier it will be to regurgitate it and to think on your feet. "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13, NIV) This verse sums it up, but the thing is in order to get the strength from God, you must spend time with God. God can't pour into you if you don't let him. God isn't going to force his way into your heart. You have to open it up to him. It is through our quiet time that shows our dependence on God and lets him into our life. We were given such a beautiful gift in the Bible. Don't waste it.
So you are the thinker. You always think before you act. Often times these people are the more timid people. You didn't get into much trouble as a kid. It is always a good idea to think before you act, but there is a problem associated with it. Me being one of these people, I find myself often times over thinking certain things. Sometimes I think about something so much I end up missing my chance to act on it. Perhaps it's during a small group discussion. I think about what I'm going to say so long in my head to make sure it all comes out perfect that I miss my chance to talk. Thought without action isn't helpful. As a Christian we are designed to be in community. In order to experience the life God intended for us, we must exit our minds and do something. We can't live in our heads. We are called to "go and make disciples of all nations."(Matthew 28:19, NIV) In order to do this, we must take a leap of faith. For me that was thinking less and doing more. Spending less time in my head and more time in the group and in the community. One thing that has really helped me do this is going out to do 2x2 evangelism around grounds at UVA. As you would expect, there isn't much time to just sit there thinking out each word you're going to say. That would just be awkward. It has really helped me think and talk at the same time. It takes a leap of faith that I will indeed have an answer and something to say. That all leads back to quiet time, spending time with Jesus in the scriptures. The more you know, the easier it will be to regurgitate it and to think on your feet. "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13, NIV) This verse sums it up, but the thing is in order to get the strength from God, you must spend time with God. God can't pour into you if you don't let him. God isn't going to force his way into your heart. You have to open it up to him. It is through our quiet time that shows our dependence on God and lets him into our life. We were given such a beautiful gift in the Bible. Don't waste it.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Haunted Corn Maze
So Halloween is just around the corner, so last night I went to a haunted corn maze with a bunch of awesome people. After several wrong turns, u-turns, and driving out into the middle of some guy's farm, we finally got there. Like most haunted attractions, there was a guy wielding a chainsaw. Of course being the stud of a guy that I am, I was not frightened. It was a great night! Later I got to thinking about the chainsaw and drew an analogy from it.
Of course the chainsaw they used did not have the bladed chain on it. That got me thinking about how a lot of Christians aren't wielding a blade. A chainsaw, as it was originally made, is useless without the blade. Try and cut all you want, but you will never get anywhere. Essentially it is turned into a noise maker. In order for us as Christians to have our blades, we must spend time in the Word and in prayer everyday. Those are essentially the only two means we have to communicate and hear from God. To dismiss them is to drop our blade. Those are the people that make a lot of noise, but aren't necessarily accomplishing anything. They are trying to do it all on their own without realizing that they can't do anything without God. He is the source of our power and strength! We must return to him each and everyday to renew that strength.
What happens if you have a very sporadic quiet time (or as Pete might call it, "Passion Time"), and it's not a priority in your life. Maybe you put your desires ahead of God's will and align yourself more with the world than with God. Your blade just won't be as sharp. It's gonna dull out, and it won't take long. Trying to cut down a tree with a dull blade is a lot of work. It won't be long before you are worn out and just can't go any longer. That is why we need to spend time each day putting our chains on the saw and "sharpening" our blades.
Lately I have experienced the effects of this. I've been so wrapped up in so many things with friends and school that I have skipped out on my quiet times several times this past week. Because of this, even though I am out having fun with friends, at the end of the day, I just feel run down and unsatisfied.
At the time it may seem like an inconvenience to have to sharpen your blade everyday. You feel like your still good from the day before, but I promise you that you will NEVER think to yourself, "You know self. I wish I wouldn't have wasted all that time reading the Bible and praying." You will NEVER regret time spent with God sharpening your blade.
Of course the chainsaw they used did not have the bladed chain on it. That got me thinking about how a lot of Christians aren't wielding a blade. A chainsaw, as it was originally made, is useless without the blade. Try and cut all you want, but you will never get anywhere. Essentially it is turned into a noise maker. In order for us as Christians to have our blades, we must spend time in the Word and in prayer everyday. Those are essentially the only two means we have to communicate and hear from God. To dismiss them is to drop our blade. Those are the people that make a lot of noise, but aren't necessarily accomplishing anything. They are trying to do it all on their own without realizing that they can't do anything without God. He is the source of our power and strength! We must return to him each and everyday to renew that strength.
What happens if you have a very sporadic quiet time (or as Pete might call it, "Passion Time"), and it's not a priority in your life. Maybe you put your desires ahead of God's will and align yourself more with the world than with God. Your blade just won't be as sharp. It's gonna dull out, and it won't take long. Trying to cut down a tree with a dull blade is a lot of work. It won't be long before you are worn out and just can't go any longer. That is why we need to spend time each day putting our chains on the saw and "sharpening" our blades.
Lately I have experienced the effects of this. I've been so wrapped up in so many things with friends and school that I have skipped out on my quiet times several times this past week. Because of this, even though I am out having fun with friends, at the end of the day, I just feel run down and unsatisfied.
At the time it may seem like an inconvenience to have to sharpen your blade everyday. You feel like your still good from the day before, but I promise you that you will NEVER think to yourself, "You know self. I wish I wouldn't have wasted all that time reading the Bible and praying." You will NEVER regret time spent with God sharpening your blade.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Glorious Dependence
So this year will probably go down as one of the most influential of my life and its only been two months. Of course by year, as a student, the year starts when school starts. We go by a different calendar than the rest of the world. More specifically, these last three weeks have been so monumental. October of 2012 is a month to remember. So after such an introduction, you must be wondering what the heck is going on at UVA to make such an impact on me. Well here it is. Wait no longer.
Three weeks and one day ago, Chi Alpha's weekly prayer meeting started. It's just a time for some of us to come together and pray as a group. Alex had invited me last year, but I never ended up going. I really wish that he would have been a little more pushy to get me to go knowing what I know now. Well I came out of that first week's prayer meeting feeling pretty good. Also the next day, 2 x 2 evangelism started. This is something that I really wanted to get involved with after hearing about Alex' evangelism spring break trip to Cornell. Last year, I couldn't go because I had a class during that time, but I was happy about that. It gave me an excuse not to go. It is just something that is so unnatural for me. So this first week, I was paired with Alex. He pretty much dominated. I didn't speak much, but I learned a lot from him that day. However, I didn't walk away feeling that great about it. It wasn't quite as encouraging as I wanted.
I didn't go to prayer the next week out of my own laziness. Somehow I decided it would be better for me to cuddle up under a blanket on the couch and watch a movie... I did, however, go to the evangelism the next day. This time I was paired with Jenni. I obviously didn't know her like I knew Alex, but it was really good. We talked to a few people, but one stuck out in particular. She was a 1st year. Basically she told us that she didn't think this was all made from nothing, that it was all random creation. She seemed really eager to learn more about God. She asked us several questions about our lives. She saw Chi Alpha tabling with hot chocolate a few days prior and made a comment about us finding her. It seemed really promising that Jenni would be able to follow up with her and get her connected with a core group.
So now we're back to prayer night, yesterday. I went in there excited to see what would come of it. The prayer was deep and fulfilling. I left that night feeling on top of cloud 9. It was an amazing feeling. Since I started going to these prayer meetings, my prayer life has increased and deepened tremendously!
That brings us to today and more evangelism. This time I was with another intern, Carly. I didn't really know her either, but I must say that we worked pretty great together. God really used me like never before. The past two weeks, I didn't speak a whole bunch. I was really secondary. So first we talked to a guy in CRU fellowship. As we left, he asked to pray for us, which was really encouraging. He prayed for us as we went to talk to more and more people. I'm convinced that his prayer really helped us in our next conversation. We talked to an atheist in the law school for the next 30-40 minutes. At first he seemed a little hesitant to talk to us when we first approached him, but he seemed really engaged. We talked about Jesus, the Bible, sin, life, humanity, and all kinds of things. It seemed to me like we got him thinking about a few things. I continue to pray that God will cultivate that seed we planted. That was really the first time I was really engaged. Carly and I were able to answer his questions pretty well and accurately. It was such an amazing experience. Keep in mind that I am not a quick thinker. God was speaking through me giving me a voice. I am so thankful just to have the opportunity to serve God in such a way.
It is important for us to depend on God in all we do. It is easy for us to try to set up our lives for success regardless of what God does. If we set up our lives to succeed without God, how little faith we have? It is in those moments that we depend on God or else fail that God is most present. That is what faith is. That is precisely what I've been trying to do more of, and that is exactly what happened today. This atheist guy challenged me in so many ways with his questions. Luckily I didn't have to answer them alone. God was there feeding me and encouraging me. How lucky am I to experience that? It's kind of ironic how during a time of evangelism where I am going out to spread the gospel on grounds and help others that others help me and God gives me the most encouragement, but it's not surprising. That is a moment where I depend on God perhaps more than any other time, and boy does he come through.
REJOICE IN YOUR DEPENDENCE! REJOICE IN GOD!
Three weeks and one day ago, Chi Alpha's weekly prayer meeting started. It's just a time for some of us to come together and pray as a group. Alex had invited me last year, but I never ended up going. I really wish that he would have been a little more pushy to get me to go knowing what I know now. Well I came out of that first week's prayer meeting feeling pretty good. Also the next day, 2 x 2 evangelism started. This is something that I really wanted to get involved with after hearing about Alex' evangelism spring break trip to Cornell. Last year, I couldn't go because I had a class during that time, but I was happy about that. It gave me an excuse not to go. It is just something that is so unnatural for me. So this first week, I was paired with Alex. He pretty much dominated. I didn't speak much, but I learned a lot from him that day. However, I didn't walk away feeling that great about it. It wasn't quite as encouraging as I wanted.
I didn't go to prayer the next week out of my own laziness. Somehow I decided it would be better for me to cuddle up under a blanket on the couch and watch a movie... I did, however, go to the evangelism the next day. This time I was paired with Jenni. I obviously didn't know her like I knew Alex, but it was really good. We talked to a few people, but one stuck out in particular. She was a 1st year. Basically she told us that she didn't think this was all made from nothing, that it was all random creation. She seemed really eager to learn more about God. She asked us several questions about our lives. She saw Chi Alpha tabling with hot chocolate a few days prior and made a comment about us finding her. It seemed really promising that Jenni would be able to follow up with her and get her connected with a core group.
So now we're back to prayer night, yesterday. I went in there excited to see what would come of it. The prayer was deep and fulfilling. I left that night feeling on top of cloud 9. It was an amazing feeling. Since I started going to these prayer meetings, my prayer life has increased and deepened tremendously!
That brings us to today and more evangelism. This time I was with another intern, Carly. I didn't really know her either, but I must say that we worked pretty great together. God really used me like never before. The past two weeks, I didn't speak a whole bunch. I was really secondary. So first we talked to a guy in CRU fellowship. As we left, he asked to pray for us, which was really encouraging. He prayed for us as we went to talk to more and more people. I'm convinced that his prayer really helped us in our next conversation. We talked to an atheist in the law school for the next 30-40 minutes. At first he seemed a little hesitant to talk to us when we first approached him, but he seemed really engaged. We talked about Jesus, the Bible, sin, life, humanity, and all kinds of things. It seemed to me like we got him thinking about a few things. I continue to pray that God will cultivate that seed we planted. That was really the first time I was really engaged. Carly and I were able to answer his questions pretty well and accurately. It was such an amazing experience. Keep in mind that I am not a quick thinker. God was speaking through me giving me a voice. I am so thankful just to have the opportunity to serve God in such a way.
It is important for us to depend on God in all we do. It is easy for us to try to set up our lives for success regardless of what God does. If we set up our lives to succeed without God, how little faith we have? It is in those moments that we depend on God or else fail that God is most present. That is what faith is. That is precisely what I've been trying to do more of, and that is exactly what happened today. This atheist guy challenged me in so many ways with his questions. Luckily I didn't have to answer them alone. God was there feeding me and encouraging me. How lucky am I to experience that? It's kind of ironic how during a time of evangelism where I am going out to spread the gospel on grounds and help others that others help me and God gives me the most encouragement, but it's not surprising. That is a moment where I depend on God perhaps more than any other time, and boy does he come through.
REJOICE IN YOUR DEPENDENCE! REJOICE IN GOD!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Final Destination
Are you more afraid of going to Hell than you are excited to go to Heaven? It's a very simple question that I think reveals a lot.
I know for me when I was younger, it was the first of those two. By younger, I mean up through high school. I didn't really understand the gospel and God. I had been to church since I was about seven years old, but I hated every second of it and hardly ever payed attention. That really shows in my answer to the question.
I think for those that answer yes to the first question, there is a lack of understanding. That was most certainly the case for me, so I will ask another question. What makes Hell Hell? Why is it such a bad place, and why is Heaven such a great place we all want to end up? The answer is quite simple. God dwells in Heaven, while Satan dwells in Hell.
What it ends up coming down to is this. Do you wake up everyday longing to be with God? Are you looking forward to the day when you can be standing with God no matter when that day may come? Or are you looking at it from the other side? Maybe you are content with this life, but aren't sure what happens after death. You hear a lot about Heaven and Hell. Maybe you're kind of sitting at the edge of the pool just testing the waters. You're not submersed in the Gospel and living a life for God, but instead you're just trying to do enough to avoid Hell. That used to be me. What changed? I joined Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship at the start of my first year at UVA, and my eyes were opened. I am no longer testing the waters of God's mercy and love. I dived in and am now submersed in it, and there is no greater feeling.
So again I ask you. Are you more afraid of going to Hell than you are excited to go to Heaven?
I know for me when I was younger, it was the first of those two. By younger, I mean up through high school. I didn't really understand the gospel and God. I had been to church since I was about seven years old, but I hated every second of it and hardly ever payed attention. That really shows in my answer to the question.
I think for those that answer yes to the first question, there is a lack of understanding. That was most certainly the case for me, so I will ask another question. What makes Hell Hell? Why is it such a bad place, and why is Heaven such a great place we all want to end up? The answer is quite simple. God dwells in Heaven, while Satan dwells in Hell.
What it ends up coming down to is this. Do you wake up everyday longing to be with God? Are you looking forward to the day when you can be standing with God no matter when that day may come? Or are you looking at it from the other side? Maybe you are content with this life, but aren't sure what happens after death. You hear a lot about Heaven and Hell. Maybe you're kind of sitting at the edge of the pool just testing the waters. You're not submersed in the Gospel and living a life for God, but instead you're just trying to do enough to avoid Hell. That used to be me. What changed? I joined Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship at the start of my first year at UVA, and my eyes were opened. I am no longer testing the waters of God's mercy and love. I dived in and am now submersed in it, and there is no greater feeling.
So again I ask you. Are you more afraid of going to Hell than you are excited to go to Heaven?
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Death's Shine
Death. It is feared by many, but why? I hear people say things like it would suck to die young because they miss the experiences of life. Let me let you in on a little secret. I look forward to dying, make no mistake about it, but I am NOT suicidal. I am very happy with my life. That brings up another question that you might be wondering. Why would you want to die if you love your life? The answer can be summed up in one word, GOD. We hear the phrase, "he lost his life to cancer." FALSE! When you die, you don't "lose your life." You simply slip into an even greater life, an eternal life alongside the almighty creator, GOD.
Why would anyone want to spend any longer on this corrupt, sinful land, when you could be with God? There is no such thing as missing out on things of this earth because you died young. That just isn't true. Do you really think that while you're up there in Heaven standing alongside GOD, you will be thinking, "Man! I wish I was down there." That is not to say we shouldn't enjoy our life on this Earth. We should live this life to its fullest the way GOD prepared it.
Have you become too comfortable on this planet? Have you made this place your home? It's not your home, and nothing here can be brought with you after you die. The bible says to store our treasures in Heaven, not on this earth. This life is temporary. With that said, why do people center their lives around things that are here today and gone tomorrow? People idolize the temporary and ignore the eternal.
Live this moment like it's your last. I'm not saying to go out and fulfill your bucket list because that stuff doesn't matter. Ask yourself these questions. Are your treasures stored in Heaven or on this earth? Are you comfortable with dying at this moment, or would you feel cheated out of life? Better yet, are you looking forward to dying and being with GOD?
Why would anyone want to spend any longer on this corrupt, sinful land, when you could be with God? There is no such thing as missing out on things of this earth because you died young. That just isn't true. Do you really think that while you're up there in Heaven standing alongside GOD, you will be thinking, "Man! I wish I was down there." That is not to say we shouldn't enjoy our life on this Earth. We should live this life to its fullest the way GOD prepared it.
Have you become too comfortable on this planet? Have you made this place your home? It's not your home, and nothing here can be brought with you after you die. The bible says to store our treasures in Heaven, not on this earth. This life is temporary. With that said, why do people center their lives around things that are here today and gone tomorrow? People idolize the temporary and ignore the eternal.
Live this moment like it's your last. I'm not saying to go out and fulfill your bucket list because that stuff doesn't matter. Ask yourself these questions. Are your treasures stored in Heaven or on this earth? Are you comfortable with dying at this moment, or would you feel cheated out of life? Better yet, are you looking forward to dying and being with GOD?
The Eternal Year
Chi Alpha's Fall Retreat was this past weekend, which brought me to think about last year. The change from last year at this time to now is incredible. Last year I went on the retreat out of guilt and peer pressure. This year, I couldn't have been any more excited for it. This time last year, I dreaded getting up for church. Monday Night Lives were long, boring, and weird. I hadn't read any of the Bible. In fact, I didn't even know the names of the four gospels. Now I love church and MNL. That guy that raised his hands in worship screaming out to Jesus that so weirded me out before is now me, and I have almost read the entire Bible. My life was changed by that retreat last year.
I got the chance to share what the retreat did for me a couple weeks ago at MNL (Here's the rough draft: http://michaelpanton.blogspot.com/2012/09/rough-draft-retreat-testimony.html). While I was pretty nervous, I liked being up on stage in front of hundreds. I felt so honored to have the chance to speak to all of Chi Alpha. The fact that Pete and the rest of the staff thought that I could make a difference in somebody's life is so encouraging. That is such a far cry from where I was a year ago. I grew up a pretty shy person, so just getting on the stage would have been a challenge for me. I definitely didn't have anything to share back then. That just goes to show how much God can do in just one year. Praise the LORD.
I got the chance to share what the retreat did for me a couple weeks ago at MNL (Here's the rough draft: http://michaelpanton.blogspot.com/2012/09/rough-draft-retreat-testimony.html). While I was pretty nervous, I liked being up on stage in front of hundreds. I felt so honored to have the chance to speak to all of Chi Alpha. The fact that Pete and the rest of the staff thought that I could make a difference in somebody's life is so encouraging. That is such a far cry from where I was a year ago. I grew up a pretty shy person, so just getting on the stage would have been a challenge for me. I definitely didn't have anything to share back then. That just goes to show how much God can do in just one year. Praise the LORD.
Rough Draft Retreat Testimony
So this is what I prepared for MNL a few weeks ago. It had to be no longer than like 6 minutes, so there is so much more to put in here. Here's just a little taste of my retreat experience.
I had been going to church every
week since I was about 7 years old, but I hated it. Then we started going to
the early service that started at 9. That was even worse. That went on for
almost 10 years, just going through the routine. I never got involved with
anything in my church and never wanted to. That’s just how it was.
I picked up a Bible from my church
before leaving for college. At that time I was unsure whether I would go to
church or not, so I got it just in case. I didn’t want to be the only guy
without a Bible if I did end up going. I knew nothing about it though. I
couldn’t even name the 4 gospels if you asked me. So that’s where I was coming
into college.
I got involved with Chi Alpha in
large part due to my roommate and friend from high school, Blake Thompson by
going to events like the move-in day lunch at the Stud, Mug Party, and Block
Party. So I went to the first MNL with him, and signed up for a core group. We
got put into the same one led by the awesome trio of Alex Merrill, Peter Aman,
and Collin Conrad.
The first few weeks went by so fast
and before long it was time for the fall retreat. I must admit. I was not
excited for it. Of course the leaders talked it up and were really pushing for
all of us to go, but it wasn’t doing much for me. It was just so early. I kind
of wanted to stay back and just hang out and get to know the people from my
dorm better. The scholarship made it cheap enough to where money wasn’t an
issue. I couldn’t give them a legitimate excuse not to go, so when they passed
around the computer to sign up and I saw some other guys signing up including
my roommate, I knew I had to go. I kind of got guilted into it.
We had a great speaker by the name
of Dick Brodgen there. He’s kind of a big deal. It was centered around reaching
out to the world and missions. It was about dying to yourself and living for
God no matter where you’re at. At the time, I didn’t think I would ever be able
to live how he described. Sure enough, I got his book the Live Dead Journal and
read it over winter break. Dick Brodgen and his book were huge for me, even
though it took a few months to finally register and get to that point. On top
of the sessions, there was such great community. Being that it us so early in
the year, I hadn’t hung out with my guys too much yet. Pranking is big. There
is something about pranking your sister core groups that really brings the
group together. The walmart run beforehand was too funny. So great! I wont go
too much into detail on the pranks, but I will say that a girl was drug across
the camp and thrown into the pool. How can you not be brothers for life after
that? Just spending an entire weekend with other guys that are on fire for
Jesus is contagious. Eating every meal with them, sleeping alongside them, and
worshiping next to them. It’s not something you experience everyday.
Before the retreat, I dreaded a one
hour a week church service and I didn’t really enjoy and look forward to MNLs
either. Post retreat, I began to really enjoy MNL and church and looked forward
to them weekly. It was literally as if someone flipped a switch. While worship
was kind of awkward before with people raising there hands skyward and singing
aloud, it became one of my absolute favorite things to do. Before and after the
retreat were literally like day and night for me. The effects of the retreat
were far and wide. I ended up getting baptized later that semester at an event
called Dive Deep by the one and only Josh Fairchild, and its only gotten better
since then. It has picked up right where it left off this year. I am living in
the Buck Lodge XA house with the Young Whales. While it may seem early for
yall, I know for me and plenty of other returning XA’ans, it cant come soon
enough. Last year I almost missed out on such an amazing experience because I
of the fear of missing out on my dorm. You will have plenty of weekends to
spend with them, but there is only one fall retreat. Don’t let it pass by.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Grace Beyond Imagination
I've been thinking a lot about Jesus and just how miraculous he was and is. It is truly amazing what he did for us. Today at church this analogy came to mind that I'm about to share. It's the best comparison I can think of for what Jesus did for us on that cross. My hope is that it will help you better understand the love God has for us and to deepen your love for him.
So imagine this. There is a man on death row. He is within hours of his execution for committing one of the most outrageous of crimes. Perhaps it is homicide, rape, or child molestation. Just imagine the most despicable crime you can think of. Now let's take it a step further and say he did this to you or your family. This criminal did the unthinkable by murdering your family or raping your daughter. The natural feeling is anger and even revenge. Nobody would blame you for feeling that way. Now imagine taking their place on death row. Instead of them dying for their crime, YOU die for their crime EVEN THOUGH it was a crime against you.
Jesus did just that but on a much higher level. We all sinned against God time and time again. We all deserve death for what we have done, are doing, and will do in the future, but Jesus took our place. Jesus died for us and our "crimes" against him. The only reason he would do this for us is out of his loving grace. There was no guarantee that we would even care. He didn't know if we would love him back. He died to cover our flaws and our sin. He gave us a free path from death into life. He opened the door, and all we have to do is walk through it. We were granted forgiveness and a new beginning.
So I return to the analogy. Would you be willing to die for somebody that took everything from you? Would you switch places with them to suffer the consequences that THEY deserve? It's not comfortable to think about such a situation. Today people mourn for the victims of violent crimes and condemn the perpetrator. My hope is that you would have a new way of thinking. I hope that you would mourn for both. In essence that criminal is no different than you and me. We are both sinners. As bad as the crime may be, they are also children of God. It breaks my heart to hear people give up on these criminals and say things like, "they deserve to rot in hell." We all deserve that. While it's natural for us to show sympathy and compassion for the victim and their family, it is equally important to do that for the other side. God never gave up on us, so why would we give up on others?
So imagine this. There is a man on death row. He is within hours of his execution for committing one of the most outrageous of crimes. Perhaps it is homicide, rape, or child molestation. Just imagine the most despicable crime you can think of. Now let's take it a step further and say he did this to you or your family. This criminal did the unthinkable by murdering your family or raping your daughter. The natural feeling is anger and even revenge. Nobody would blame you for feeling that way. Now imagine taking their place on death row. Instead of them dying for their crime, YOU die for their crime EVEN THOUGH it was a crime against you.
Jesus did just that but on a much higher level. We all sinned against God time and time again. We all deserve death for what we have done, are doing, and will do in the future, but Jesus took our place. Jesus died for us and our "crimes" against him. The only reason he would do this for us is out of his loving grace. There was no guarantee that we would even care. He didn't know if we would love him back. He died to cover our flaws and our sin. He gave us a free path from death into life. He opened the door, and all we have to do is walk through it. We were granted forgiveness and a new beginning.
So I return to the analogy. Would you be willing to die for somebody that took everything from you? Would you switch places with them to suffer the consequences that THEY deserve? It's not comfortable to think about such a situation. Today people mourn for the victims of violent crimes and condemn the perpetrator. My hope is that you would have a new way of thinking. I hope that you would mourn for both. In essence that criminal is no different than you and me. We are both sinners. As bad as the crime may be, they are also children of God. It breaks my heart to hear people give up on these criminals and say things like, "they deserve to rot in hell." We all deserve that. While it's natural for us to show sympathy and compassion for the victim and their family, it is equally important to do that for the other side. God never gave up on us, so why would we give up on others?
Friday, September 14, 2012
What Do You Really Need?
When you think of miracles, what comes to mind? Is it an incredible story of a kid falling 10 stories and surviving? Is it a guy that got impaled through the head with a rod and received little to no effects from it?
While those are indeed miraculous events, they don't even compare to the life of Jesus. I'm not talking about the feeding of the 5,000 or turning water into wine. The real miracle is in the bigger picture. Jesus did not come to be a miracle worker. He came to be our savior. The real miracle is being freely forgiven of our sins. We did not and can not earn forgiveness. It was given to us by the grace of God. This is no small matter. Too often does the story of Jesus get marginalized into the Easter story. Most of us have heard the story of his crucifixion and resurrection many times, and because of that, it has lost it's aw factor. Have you ever taken a step back to truly think about the grand nature of what happened. God, the creator of the universe, was walking side by side with people just like you and me. He chose to put the future in the hands of 12 ordinary men. Not only did he choose to minister mainly to the 12 average Joes, he himself lived as an average Joe. He didn't live a grand life. He lived as a carpenter for the first 30 years of his life.
God knows what we need even if we don't realize it ourselves. We may think that we need more money or time or someone to love and to love us back. The truth is that none of those things are important. What we really need is forgiveness, and God knows that. The good news is that it's just waiting for you. All you need to do is reach out and grab it!
While those are indeed miraculous events, they don't even compare to the life of Jesus. I'm not talking about the feeding of the 5,000 or turning water into wine. The real miracle is in the bigger picture. Jesus did not come to be a miracle worker. He came to be our savior. The real miracle is being freely forgiven of our sins. We did not and can not earn forgiveness. It was given to us by the grace of God. This is no small matter. Too often does the story of Jesus get marginalized into the Easter story. Most of us have heard the story of his crucifixion and resurrection many times, and because of that, it has lost it's aw factor. Have you ever taken a step back to truly think about the grand nature of what happened. God, the creator of the universe, was walking side by side with people just like you and me. He chose to put the future in the hands of 12 ordinary men. Not only did he choose to minister mainly to the 12 average Joes, he himself lived as an average Joe. He didn't live a grand life. He lived as a carpenter for the first 30 years of his life.
God knows what we need even if we don't realize it ourselves. We may think that we need more money or time or someone to love and to love us back. The truth is that none of those things are important. What we really need is forgiveness, and God knows that. The good news is that it's just waiting for you. All you need to do is reach out and grab it!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Time to Answer the Call?
So earlier this summer I blogged about a very deep, transformative night. Here's the link below to hear more about that. Essentially it was about the moment where I stopped resisting God and put my trust fully with him.
http://michaelpanton.blogspot.com/2012/08/summers-frost.html
So after that night, I didn't really feel any different. Everything was pretty much the same. I just went about with the rest of my summer until I moved in with the Buck Lodge boys a.k.a. the Young Whales (It's kind of an inside thing but a pretty cool story. Maybe I'll blog about it sometime). Classes started up, and everything was pretty much the same. Things were a lot more difficult than last year but the same nonetheless. There is one thing that has changed somewhat though. It's been kind of a gradual change since last year, but I no longer enjoy physics to the extent that I used to. The more I thought about it, the more I disliked it. This past Sunday, September 9, during worship at church, it kind of hit me. I found myself kind of being pulled toward a future in ministry. I had kind of felt that before on that night in the summer but was really unsure. So after church, I sat down for quiet time, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Also I kept thinking about a couple verses that my core group leader from last year, now intern and mentor Alex Merrill, shared with me that Friday.
10If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!11Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. ~Proverbs 24:10-11
This was a really strong pair of verses for me because I had been asking God "to break my heart for what breaks yours." This is a verse from the song "Hosanna" by Hillsong. So anyways, those verses were on my mind along with a ton of other things. I was going to do my lab report for physics, but I just couldn't concentrate. I was giddy with excitement. I kind of checked into classes and stuff along those lines and kind of decided that I wanted to switch my major from astrophysics to a double major in astronomy and religious studies. I looked into it and kind of set my mind on it. I did want to talk it out though, so I met up with Alex again. We talked for a good hour probably. He said a lot of useful things that really helped. I also talked to our campus pastor, Pete Bullette, the next morning. All of this was kind of rushed because the last day to add a class was Tuesday.
So before my meeting with Pete, I prayed for discernment on what to do in the immediate future. I put my trust into whatever the outcome from these meetings. I didn't want my desires to get in the way of God's desires. So basically what both of them told me was this. Don't rush into anything. You don't want to put all your eggs in one basket. Regardless of my major, there would still be more training after I graduate. That was not really what I wanted to hear because I was all excited about the big change, but it did make sense. Astronomy and religious studies are not that useful of majors in terms of the marketplace. Pete told me that if I was his son, he would advise me to stay put at least for this semester. So leaving that meeting, all signs were kind of pointing toward staying put. I didn't want to and wasn't really sure what I was going to do. I even called my parents the night before and pretty much told them I was switching majors and looking to get into ministry. They seemed a little surprised but happy and supportive nonetheless.
I went to speak with my astronomy teacher to gauge the marketplace for astronomy majors, and just like I thought, it's not much. So after putting this all together, I decided to stick with physics for now. I am confident that I came to this decision through God with help from them. They certainly didn't make this decision for me. I do think I will return back to physics from astrophysics though to loosen up my schedule some for some more religion classes. I am pretty happy with my decision so far. I put a lot of stake in what Pete and Alex say. They are far wiser than me.
While I do still put a lot of merit to what I felt that Sunday morning during worship, I do feel like my own desires got in the way a little. I knew that if I switched majors, class would get easier. Rather than it being entirely about God and his will, my own selfish desires crept in. With that said, I do still believe that I could be being called into ministry and that excites me. Whether I am or not, I learned one thing about myself. I am willing to go wherever God takes me. I say that very humbly because I know that this was not a transformation I accomplished. It was God working in me and through me that has brought me to this point. So I am excited to see where physics takes me and how I can use it for God. Something I've also been thinking about is reaching out to my fellow physics students. God is not a big part of the physics department as you can imagine.
That was the beginning of my week for you. It was one like none other. Like I've said before and I'll say it again, regardless of my major or career, I look forward to serving God and spreading the gospel wherever I end up, which is such a far cry from where I was a year ago.
http://michaelpanton.blogspot.com/2012/08/summers-frost.html
So after that night, I didn't really feel any different. Everything was pretty much the same. I just went about with the rest of my summer until I moved in with the Buck Lodge boys a.k.a. the Young Whales (It's kind of an inside thing but a pretty cool story. Maybe I'll blog about it sometime). Classes started up, and everything was pretty much the same. Things were a lot more difficult than last year but the same nonetheless. There is one thing that has changed somewhat though. It's been kind of a gradual change since last year, but I no longer enjoy physics to the extent that I used to. The more I thought about it, the more I disliked it. This past Sunday, September 9, during worship at church, it kind of hit me. I found myself kind of being pulled toward a future in ministry. I had kind of felt that before on that night in the summer but was really unsure. So after church, I sat down for quiet time, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Also I kept thinking about a couple verses that my core group leader from last year, now intern and mentor Alex Merrill, shared with me that Friday.
10If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!11Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. ~Proverbs 24:10-11
This was a really strong pair of verses for me because I had been asking God "to break my heart for what breaks yours." This is a verse from the song "Hosanna" by Hillsong. So anyways, those verses were on my mind along with a ton of other things. I was going to do my lab report for physics, but I just couldn't concentrate. I was giddy with excitement. I kind of checked into classes and stuff along those lines and kind of decided that I wanted to switch my major from astrophysics to a double major in astronomy and religious studies. I looked into it and kind of set my mind on it. I did want to talk it out though, so I met up with Alex again. We talked for a good hour probably. He said a lot of useful things that really helped. I also talked to our campus pastor, Pete Bullette, the next morning. All of this was kind of rushed because the last day to add a class was Tuesday.
So before my meeting with Pete, I prayed for discernment on what to do in the immediate future. I put my trust into whatever the outcome from these meetings. I didn't want my desires to get in the way of God's desires. So basically what both of them told me was this. Don't rush into anything. You don't want to put all your eggs in one basket. Regardless of my major, there would still be more training after I graduate. That was not really what I wanted to hear because I was all excited about the big change, but it did make sense. Astronomy and religious studies are not that useful of majors in terms of the marketplace. Pete told me that if I was his son, he would advise me to stay put at least for this semester. So leaving that meeting, all signs were kind of pointing toward staying put. I didn't want to and wasn't really sure what I was going to do. I even called my parents the night before and pretty much told them I was switching majors and looking to get into ministry. They seemed a little surprised but happy and supportive nonetheless.
I went to speak with my astronomy teacher to gauge the marketplace for astronomy majors, and just like I thought, it's not much. So after putting this all together, I decided to stick with physics for now. I am confident that I came to this decision through God with help from them. They certainly didn't make this decision for me. I do think I will return back to physics from astrophysics though to loosen up my schedule some for some more religion classes. I am pretty happy with my decision so far. I put a lot of stake in what Pete and Alex say. They are far wiser than me.
While I do still put a lot of merit to what I felt that Sunday morning during worship, I do feel like my own desires got in the way a little. I knew that if I switched majors, class would get easier. Rather than it being entirely about God and his will, my own selfish desires crept in. With that said, I do still believe that I could be being called into ministry and that excites me. Whether I am or not, I learned one thing about myself. I am willing to go wherever God takes me. I say that very humbly because I know that this was not a transformation I accomplished. It was God working in me and through me that has brought me to this point. So I am excited to see where physics takes me and how I can use it for God. Something I've also been thinking about is reaching out to my fellow physics students. God is not a big part of the physics department as you can imagine.
That was the beginning of my week for you. It was one like none other. Like I've said before and I'll say it again, regardless of my major or career, I look forward to serving God and spreading the gospel wherever I end up, which is such a far cry from where I was a year ago.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Strive for Gold
So the Olympics have been over for a while, but I wanted to draw one last parallel between the Olympics and God. This is an idea that was first brought up by Pastor Pete up here in Charlottesville at CFA.
Pastor Pete proposed a question to everyone. It was one that he thought of after seeing a commercial advertising the Olympics. You probably saw it at least once. It showed images with the voices of athletes in the background saying things such as, "I haven't watched TV in a year." Rather than doing many of the things that we commonly do everyday, they are out training. They are working hours upon hours to achieve the ultimate goal, a gold medal.
With that said, Pete proposed a question. Why aren't we as committed for God as they are for the gold. They are going for something that is temporary. You can't take your gold medal or your legacy with you when you die. The fact of the matter is that this life is temporary. Scripture tells us to store our treasures in Heaven and not on this earth. You might ask how exactly do we do this. We do this by living by the scriptures and living for God. It's all about dying to ourselves and our desires. What would happen if we devoted as much time to God and reaching the world as the Olympic athletes do to win the gold?
Although I have so much more to say on this topic, I don't really know how to express it in words. Just think about all that could be accomplished if we died to ourselves to achieve the ultimate goal, God's goal.
Pastor Pete proposed a question to everyone. It was one that he thought of after seeing a commercial advertising the Olympics. You probably saw it at least once. It showed images with the voices of athletes in the background saying things such as, "I haven't watched TV in a year." Rather than doing many of the things that we commonly do everyday, they are out training. They are working hours upon hours to achieve the ultimate goal, a gold medal.
With that said, Pete proposed a question. Why aren't we as committed for God as they are for the gold. They are going for something that is temporary. You can't take your gold medal or your legacy with you when you die. The fact of the matter is that this life is temporary. Scripture tells us to store our treasures in Heaven and not on this earth. You might ask how exactly do we do this. We do this by living by the scriptures and living for God. It's all about dying to ourselves and our desires. What would happen if we devoted as much time to God and reaching the world as the Olympic athletes do to win the gold?
Although I have so much more to say on this topic, I don't really know how to express it in words. Just think about all that could be accomplished if we died to ourselves to achieve the ultimate goal, God's goal.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Pay Up!
Luckily the famous players lockout of the NFL ended soon enough for us to have football last year. Unfortunately though, there is another, lesser known lockout going on RIGHT NOW. It has definitely gained more attention recently though. The refs are on strike and have been replaced for now. It has been said that the temporary refs could start the season. Well I watched a little bit of preseason action, and I must say they were horrible last weekend. I know they were probably nervous, but there is no way they will be nearly as good as the actual refs (who many thought did a horrible job as it is). I don't know how far apart the two sides are, but it can't be that big. I just can't believe the NFL would be willing to compromise its product. The quality of the football games will drop if this isn't ended soon. I can remember a few terrible pass interference calls that were made. These are game changers because in the NFL it's a spot foul, so it ends up being like a 30+ yard penalty (by the way they should definitely change it to only 15 yards like college). It seems to me that the NFL has gotten kind of arrogant in thinking that they don't need the refs and can do it all on their own.
That brings me to another point. Do you see any similarities in your life? As human beings, we inherently try to take the credit for ourselves. We try to do things on our own. In doing so, we sometimes shun God from our lives. Everything will be going well, and it's times like that that are the most dangerous. Often times, it is the times when things are tough that we lean the most on God for help, but in times of prosperity, we kind of ignore him. We don't need him. We've got it all under control. That creates kind of an oscillating wave motion where we continually move toward and away from God, with peaks and valleys. That is precisely the kind of motion we want to avoid. Just as the NFL needs to see they can't do it on their own and compromise with the officials to maintain the quality of football that we're all used to, we need to see that we need God in all we do in order to be all we can be. God never stops loving us, so why do we stop loving him. God and love are eternal, not just our crutch.
Now I don't know how great that connection was between the NFL and God, but I am starting to think more about God in these everyday events and how we draw connections. I am very big on analogies, so there will definitely be more to come.
That brings me to another point. Do you see any similarities in your life? As human beings, we inherently try to take the credit for ourselves. We try to do things on our own. In doing so, we sometimes shun God from our lives. Everything will be going well, and it's times like that that are the most dangerous. Often times, it is the times when things are tough that we lean the most on God for help, but in times of prosperity, we kind of ignore him. We don't need him. We've got it all under control. That creates kind of an oscillating wave motion where we continually move toward and away from God, with peaks and valleys. That is precisely the kind of motion we want to avoid. Just as the NFL needs to see they can't do it on their own and compromise with the officials to maintain the quality of football that we're all used to, we need to see that we need God in all we do in order to be all we can be. God never stops loving us, so why do we stop loving him. God and love are eternal, not just our crutch.
Now I don't know how great that connection was between the NFL and God, but I am starting to think more about God in these everyday events and how we draw connections. I am very big on analogies, so there will definitely be more to come.
Monday, August 13, 2012
1st Weekend at the Buck Lodge
After a long wait, I am finally all moved into my house for hopefully the next 3 years. People around UVA would know it as the Buck Lodge. I am so excited for this year because of the people around me. The house is full of XA guys, and we are in what they call Chi Alpha Land.
So I moved in Saturday haven't really done much to this point. Last night I went over to another house that is lived in by a bunch of XA alumni and interns. I knew everyone there on various levels. It was really great to see these guys again and hear about what they're doing. A few are going to be interns with XA next year and a few are going to go over to Cairo to work with Dick Brogden (which if I say so myself, that is pretty awesome. That man is a hoss). To hear what they have been doing in terms of raising support and what they have to do was interesting to hear. To be honest, I don't really know what I want to do when I graduate, but I have thought about things like interning for XA or devoting a year to missions, so to hear from the guys that are doing just that was cool (not to mention it was from some UVA XA stalwarts like Robbie, Taylor, Alex, Stephen, Andy, and Colin). I've never been that guy to really hang out with people outside of my grade, but through XA I have met so many awesome older guys. Like I said these guys all graduated. It's been great to learn from them, and I am pumped that a lot of them will be around for this year or at least parts of it.
So I moved in Saturday haven't really done much to this point. Last night I went over to another house that is lived in by a bunch of XA alumni and interns. I knew everyone there on various levels. It was really great to see these guys again and hear about what they're doing. A few are going to be interns with XA next year and a few are going to go over to Cairo to work with Dick Brogden (which if I say so myself, that is pretty awesome. That man is a hoss). To hear what they have been doing in terms of raising support and what they have to do was interesting to hear. To be honest, I don't really know what I want to do when I graduate, but I have thought about things like interning for XA or devoting a year to missions, so to hear from the guys that are doing just that was cool (not to mention it was from some UVA XA stalwarts like Robbie, Taylor, Alex, Stephen, Andy, and Colin). I've never been that guy to really hang out with people outside of my grade, but through XA I have met so many awesome older guys. Like I said these guys all graduated. It's been great to learn from them, and I am pumped that a lot of them will be around for this year or at least parts of it.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Golden Head
As many people were, I was watching the women's soccer game yesterday, USA vs. Canada. What an amazing game it was! I won't say too much about the actual plays of the game because it wouldn't do it justice, but that might have been the header that propels the US to another gold medal. You had to see it! It was a historical match, and I'll leave it that.
What was so amazing was Team USA's resolve. They kept coming back just like they did in the World Cup. What an incredible group of women they are. With moments like these, people start to look up to them and put them on a pedestal. While that is a good thing, we have all heard that too much of a good thing can be bad. What people sometimes forget is that they are just people like you and me.
As wonderful and spectacular as sports moments like this may seem at the time, it is just a game. Watching the game with my brother and seeing his reaction and our combined excitement makes me think about how amazed Jesus' disciples must have felt when Jesus was resurrected. If we can be so excited, shocked, and joyful after seeing the US do what seemed to be impossible in a soccer game, how much more joyous they must have felt seeing Jesus raised from the grave! How extraordinary a moment that must have been!
I originally was just going to write about the soccer game, but thinking about it as I started writing kind of got me thinking. Surprise! By thinking, it got me thinking. I do believe that it is moments like these that can really connect us with God. They help us to see the "impossible" become possible. As society, culture, and technology changes, emotions are transgenerational. What we feel today, the original disciples and even Jesus himself felt. As a huge sports fan myself, I know the kind of emotional turmoil they can play on us. They can tap into our emotions like few other things. Think of a moment like yesterday where you're favorite team is down and all but out, and they pull off the win at the last minute. You go from borderline depressed to overwhelming joy. That must be precisely how Jesus' followers must have felt following his crucifixion. They were down and all but out, and then Jesus rose! Hallelujah!!
I hope I expressed my thoughts clearly enough. I was having a tough time getting it out. God bless!
What was so amazing was Team USA's resolve. They kept coming back just like they did in the World Cup. What an incredible group of women they are. With moments like these, people start to look up to them and put them on a pedestal. While that is a good thing, we have all heard that too much of a good thing can be bad. What people sometimes forget is that they are just people like you and me.
As wonderful and spectacular as sports moments like this may seem at the time, it is just a game. Watching the game with my brother and seeing his reaction and our combined excitement makes me think about how amazed Jesus' disciples must have felt when Jesus was resurrected. If we can be so excited, shocked, and joyful after seeing the US do what seemed to be impossible in a soccer game, how much more joyous they must have felt seeing Jesus raised from the grave! How extraordinary a moment that must have been!
I originally was just going to write about the soccer game, but thinking about it as I started writing kind of got me thinking. Surprise! By thinking, it got me thinking. I do believe that it is moments like these that can really connect us with God. They help us to see the "impossible" become possible. As society, culture, and technology changes, emotions are transgenerational. What we feel today, the original disciples and even Jesus himself felt. As a huge sports fan myself, I know the kind of emotional turmoil they can play on us. They can tap into our emotions like few other things. Think of a moment like yesterday where you're favorite team is down and all but out, and they pull off the win at the last minute. You go from borderline depressed to overwhelming joy. That must be precisely how Jesus' followers must have felt following his crucifixion. They were down and all but out, and then Jesus rose! Hallelujah!!
I hope I expressed my thoughts clearly enough. I was having a tough time getting it out. God bless!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Are You Running the Race?
So I was reading some of 2 Chronicles today, and I came across this very simple verse.
"He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD." ~2 Chronicles 12:14
This is speaking about King Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Under the reign of Solomon, Israel flourished and the Lord was with them, but that changed under the power of Rehoboam. He was not as wise as his father was. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. That might leave you wondering how he could do such a thing after seeing how God provided for his father and the kingdom of Israel. Even after fully experiencing God's blessings, he turns away. This is where that verse comes into play. He was not actively "seeking the Lord." The reason that this really stuck out to me is because I see it as a big problem today. It is not enough to declare God's glory once. It is not enough to go to church once a week and expect a loving relationship with God and for all to be well and dandy. It is true that God has freely loved us, but the Bible has also said to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind." (Luke 10:27) How can one say that they love God as described in that verse if they aren't actively seeking him out?
People today don't seek God out because they take it as an inconvenience to their lives. They are too busy, or maybe unwilling to sacrifice certain things that the Bible teaches (such as money and time). They say they love God, but at the same time, they are trying to find their happiness in the world instead of with God.
The way I see it and as Francis Chan describes in his book "Crazy Love," life is like a downward escalator. You are either moving up or down, towards God or away from God. By just going through the motions, you aren't actively moving away from God yourself, but you are nonetheless being dragged down. The ONLY way to move closer to God is to be actively seeking him by running up the escalator. At times you will meet people on the way down the escalator. They will try to grab you and pull you down with them, but you must focus on the goal that is pleasing and getting closer to God, or better yet, when you meet one of those people going down, try to grab hold of them and bring them up with you. When you see someone struggling help them out. That is what it's all about.
I don't know if you've ever tried running up a downward escalator, but it can be difficult. Fatigue can and will set in eventually. At that moment we might reach for gatorade or a protein bar to fuel us to keep going. God has provided us with everything we need for the journey. He has given us the gift that is the Bible and prayer to fuel us to continue to run toward him. The simple fact is that one cannot actively seek out God without spending time in Scripture and in prayer everyday. You will burn out without it.
Keep your eyes on the prize and NEVER stop running!
USA vs. Lithuania
Basketball is the one sport in the Olympics that I have made a point to watch. I am a huge basketball fan and a huge LeBron fan. Coming off arguably the best shooting performance in basketball history, it was to be expected to have a little trouble early against Lithuania. They were taking far too many bad shots early in the shot clock, but the real problem was with the defense. They played terrible. Time after time they would give up wide open shots and drives. It's like they forgot how to play defense. The offense only got worse in the second half, and that is why Lithuania took the lead.
Although it was close throughout, I never got the feeling that the US would lose. I just couldn't see that happening. Sure enough, with 4 minutes to go, LeBron decided enough was enough, and he was going to take command and that he did! LeBron has showed that he is the leader of this team and when they need someone to step up, he can do it and will do it. Earlier in the exhibition games against Brazil he did the same thing. They're offense was struggling so he took over and had 31 points that game, I believe.
I am a little worried about the defense though. That is 2 straight games they haven't done that well. Last game, Nigeria shot 41%. That might sound low, but for a team that only averaged 29% shooting until that game, that is quite good. I understand that was in a blowout, so they weren't as engaged as they might have been. Also against Tunisia, the same team that scored 15 points in the 1st half against Nigeria, held the lead late into the first quarter. It could be because of the perceived lack in competition that they are being kind of lackadaisical, but if they play like this again against Argentina, they will not win. I don't think they will lose because they will come out prepared, but the game today was just embarrassing.
Although it was close throughout, I never got the feeling that the US would lose. I just couldn't see that happening. Sure enough, with 4 minutes to go, LeBron decided enough was enough, and he was going to take command and that he did! LeBron has showed that he is the leader of this team and when they need someone to step up, he can do it and will do it. Earlier in the exhibition games against Brazil he did the same thing. They're offense was struggling so he took over and had 31 points that game, I believe.
I am a little worried about the defense though. That is 2 straight games they haven't done that well. Last game, Nigeria shot 41%. That might sound low, but for a team that only averaged 29% shooting until that game, that is quite good. I understand that was in a blowout, so they weren't as engaged as they might have been. Also against Tunisia, the same team that scored 15 points in the 1st half against Nigeria, held the lead late into the first quarter. It could be because of the perceived lack in competition that they are being kind of lackadaisical, but if they play like this again against Argentina, they will not win. I don't think they will lose because they will come out prepared, but the game today was just embarrassing.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Summer's Frost
Summertime is a'rollin. As a child, summertime is a time of freedom. We all know that as we grow older, it's not all the care-free fun that it used to be. It has been kind of a tough summer for me. After applying to about 15-20 jobs, I couldn't find one. That left me feeling lazy and in a way, worthless at times. One of the biggest disappointments for me is not being able to tithe. I was looking forward to sharing my money with the Lord for the first time. Aside from that I was looking to use a lot of the money from my job to do various things with Chi Alpha. Luckily I've been blessed enough that I will still be able to do many of those things.
I have had a lot of down time and time to think though. Looking back on my time, I have wasted a lot of it, but I have also had some really constructive times. Throughout the earlier years of my life, I searched for something I would want to study. I so desperately wanted to know before I went into college. I found that in 11th grade. I decided that I wanted to pursue physics. Except for a minor change to astrophysics, that has held up until this summer. My major hasn't changed yet, but what I want to do after college is kind of up in the air right now. For a while I wanted to go to graduate school and become an expert. Later on, I decided that I just wanted a job after undergrad. After the best year of my life, and such a transformative year it was, I find myself questioning what to do. I kind of feel a pull to be a pastor or minister of some sort or maybe a missionary. I have kind of repressed the idea of doing that though. It seems too difficult. I didn't trust God with my life. Then came the night of 7/19/12. I ended up watching a testimony of a girl at UVA, and immediately afterward I just started praying in adoration of God just thanking him. After probably a couple minutes I finally said to God, "I will do it. I will give my life over to you." Almost immediately I broke into tears. Keep in mind that I can't even remember the last time I cried. I am not a crier. That is the moment that I gave myself fully over to God to do what he wants to do with my life. I put my trust into him 100%. I just kind of sat there in prayer, crying my eyes out on my knees beside my bed for about 15 minutes. This all happened around 10:30 at night. I don't think I would have had that moment if I would have had a job.
That is not to say that I know exactly what to do now. I am still kind of lost in my own mind. There is a sense of comfort in knowing that God is here and knowing that I am not on my own in making these big decisions.
I have had a lot of down time and time to think though. Looking back on my time, I have wasted a lot of it, but I have also had some really constructive times. Throughout the earlier years of my life, I searched for something I would want to study. I so desperately wanted to know before I went into college. I found that in 11th grade. I decided that I wanted to pursue physics. Except for a minor change to astrophysics, that has held up until this summer. My major hasn't changed yet, but what I want to do after college is kind of up in the air right now. For a while I wanted to go to graduate school and become an expert. Later on, I decided that I just wanted a job after undergrad. After the best year of my life, and such a transformative year it was, I find myself questioning what to do. I kind of feel a pull to be a pastor or minister of some sort or maybe a missionary. I have kind of repressed the idea of doing that though. It seems too difficult. I didn't trust God with my life. Then came the night of 7/19/12. I ended up watching a testimony of a girl at UVA, and immediately afterward I just started praying in adoration of God just thanking him. After probably a couple minutes I finally said to God, "I will do it. I will give my life over to you." Almost immediately I broke into tears. Keep in mind that I can't even remember the last time I cried. I am not a crier. That is the moment that I gave myself fully over to God to do what he wants to do with my life. I put my trust into him 100%. I just kind of sat there in prayer, crying my eyes out on my knees beside my bed for about 15 minutes. This all happened around 10:30 at night. I don't think I would have had that moment if I would have had a job.
That is not to say that I know exactly what to do now. I am still kind of lost in my own mind. There is a sense of comfort in knowing that God is here and knowing that I am not on my own in making these big decisions.
Summer Reading
I have never been a reader. I don't like reading. It's just not something that I do for enjoyment. The only problem with that is that you can learn a lot from reading, and I do want to learn. At the beginning of the Summer, I went on this retreat with an organization at my college called Chi Alpha. It is a Christian fellowship that can be found at many universities across the United States. This particular retreat was the week right after finals, and it was at the beach (in the Outer Banks of North Carolina). Chi Alpha groups from up and down the east coast from Vermont to Florida were there, about 150 of us in all.
So that is the set up. I have never read a book on my own time for enjoyment before, and I just finished my first year at UVA. At this time in my life, Chi Alpha has already made a huge impact on me. Each time a speaker came up, they recommended a book to read. I didn't get any books while I was there, but as soon as I got home I ordered some from Amazon. I order 3 books in all. The books were "7 Days that Divide the World" and "God and Stephen Hawking: Whose Design is it Anyway?" both by John Lennox. These kind of combat the notion that science and God are mutually exclusive. The third was a more informational book entitled, "How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth." The title sums up what that one is about. I read all 3 of these in about a month probably. I won't go into details about them, but they were great reads. I might blog more about them later.
Although these books didn't completely change my mindset on reading, I do enjoy it a little more than before. For me it is still more about reading for what I get out of it rather than for enjoyment at the time of reading. Hopefully that will change, but I have definitely felt God's presence. He has gifted me with more patience and discipline, and I know it is only a matter of time if I continue to seek out God that I will find true joy in reading.
So that is the set up. I have never read a book on my own time for enjoyment before, and I just finished my first year at UVA. At this time in my life, Chi Alpha has already made a huge impact on me. Each time a speaker came up, they recommended a book to read. I didn't get any books while I was there, but as soon as I got home I ordered some from Amazon. I order 3 books in all. The books were "7 Days that Divide the World" and "God and Stephen Hawking: Whose Design is it Anyway?" both by John Lennox. These kind of combat the notion that science and God are mutually exclusive. The third was a more informational book entitled, "How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth." The title sums up what that one is about. I read all 3 of these in about a month probably. I won't go into details about them, but they were great reads. I might blog more about them later.
Although these books didn't completely change my mindset on reading, I do enjoy it a little more than before. For me it is still more about reading for what I get out of it rather than for enjoyment at the time of reading. Hopefully that will change, but I have definitely felt God's presence. He has gifted me with more patience and discipline, and I know it is only a matter of time if I continue to seek out God that I will find true joy in reading.
The New Guy
The new guy on the block is moving in. I'm excited to see where this goes. I haven't ever blogged before. The main motivation for me starting this lies behind my "blog" on Tumblr.
http://chirhomas.tumblr.com
Tumblr isn't really a place for writing blogs. It is more of a place for pictures and quotes, so I thought I would kind of move my stuff over from there, but dive in a little deeper on here. I will probably still use that to post short ideas. A number of those I wrote down during class. I know that page is devoted entirely to religious ideas and quotes, but this blog will go beyond that. I want to write a lot about God, but I also plan on writing about sports, outdoors, workouts, and other various things. I'm excited to get started on this blogging journey! My only worry is keeping up with it. Right now i have a broken wrist, so it makes typing slow. I will be going back to school soon, so that might also slow me down. We'll see what happens.
http://chirhomas.tumblr.com
Tumblr isn't really a place for writing blogs. It is more of a place for pictures and quotes, so I thought I would kind of move my stuff over from there, but dive in a little deeper on here. I will probably still use that to post short ideas. A number of those I wrote down during class. I know that page is devoted entirely to religious ideas and quotes, but this blog will go beyond that. I want to write a lot about God, but I also plan on writing about sports, outdoors, workouts, and other various things. I'm excited to get started on this blogging journey! My only worry is keeping up with it. Right now i have a broken wrist, so it makes typing slow. I will be going back to school soon, so that might also slow me down. We'll see what happens.
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