Faith and Obedience. One without the other is nothing. It leads to absolutely nothing. If we hear from God and act on what He is calling us to do without the faith that it will succeed, it will fall. If we believe God will do great things, even miracles, in this world but refuse to be the medium through which He works, nothing will happen. One without the other is nothing.
"Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine." ~Exodus 19:5
"Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, always." Deuteronomy 11:1
Obedience is an act of love. It is an act of submission to God, knowing that He is far superior to ourselves. He is far wiser than we could ever hope to be. We must trust Him with our lives. If we do so, scripture tells us over and over again that we will be rewarded. We will be blessed and will have abounding riches. This of course is not earthly riches. In fact, often times we must first give up our earthly riches to attain an even greater treasure, God's treasure, the gift of salvation and eternal life. Are you willing to give everything you have and follow God even if that leads you into trials and tribulations? Will you follow God even if it doesn't make your life easier, but instead more difficult? Jim Elliot said this before he was killed by the very people he was sent to save.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."
This can mean different things for different people. For him it literally meant life. He gave his life while working to bring the gospel to the lost. What does it mean for you? What are you holding onto? For some it is money. For others it might be work. Many people overwork themselves. Maybe you need to cut back on work and trust that things will get done. Rather than working for ourselves, for money, or for the company's success, work for God. Dedicate it to God. As soon as we introduce God into the "unspiritual" areas of our lives, we will see growth in every area. God should be Lord over all areas of our lives, not just the "spiritual" ones.
We can do none of this if faith doesn't accompany obedience. We can fall into a dark pit where nothing grows. Without faith, things become just routines. Without faith, there is no passion. There is no hope. If we do things without expecting God to come through, nothing will happen. Maybe you feel like God has called you to do something so impossible that you doubt anything will ever come of it. You do it anyways, but you do it grudgingly not expecting any fruit to come from it. Sometimes we pray for things, doubting the entire time that anything will happen.
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" ~Matthew 7:11
"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" ~Matthew 19:26
Not only should we believe that God answers prayers and that God works miracles, we should expect it! Doubt is of the devil, not of God. When we doubt, we question God's power and even His love for us. That is exactly what the devil wants. He wants us to question God's love for us, especially in times of trial. God intends for trial to lead to perseverance, maturity, and wholeness (James 1). If we trust in God during those times and seek out Him and His wisdom, trials will be some of the most fruitful times in our lives, and satan knows that! That is why he introduces temptation into our lives in an effort to steer us away from God's will. Maybe it's a voice saying, "if God loved me, he would give this to me," and we begin to question God's love for us. Luckily we see how Jesus himself dealt with this. Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). He responded in obedience to God by quoting scripture, even as the devil used scripture to try to lure him into temptation, into believing that God is withholding things from him and that he knows better.
We will be tempted by satan. We will be trialed by God. We must turn to God and ask for wisdom in both, and it shall be granted. We shall come out the other side of both with a greater love and understanding of God.
I challenge you to open your heart to whatever God may be trying to do in and through your life. No matter how extreme, may you be willing to follow God with everything you have. May you be willing to give up everything, even if that means your very life. May you die to your desires, die to world, and live for God, for Jesus said,
"'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'" ~ Matthew 16:24
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
I Am Going To Go Until I Go
I had the great pleasure of being able to go to something beyond imagination this Christmas break. I was able to attend a conference known as the World Missions Summit. It is a national convention held by Chi Alpha. It only happens once every four years, so this was my only shot at going. It was in Forth Worth Texas this year. Before I get into the details on the event, I want to write a little about how I decided to go.
What Made Me Go?
So way back at the first week of summer, I was at another XA retreat called SICM. This one was a week long and held on the beach front in Nags Head. Well there was this guy in the same beach house as me named Romico. I just met him because he was from Tech. He is one of the only new people that I met there that I've kind of kept in touch with, but I had a huge impact on me going. He kept asking over and over again if we were going to the summit, and every time I said no with little thought. I thought to myself that there was no way I was going to that. Well he kept asking, and I kept rejecting. Later that summer I visited UVA for a weekend, and we drove down to the drive-in theatre that night. I was talking to one guy in the car on the way down that I'm pretty good friends with, and he spoke of the summit. As of about a week ago, he is in Cairo "giving a year." He told me the idea about giving a year started at the summit four years earlier. That is also when I realized it was only every four years. After that, I was pretty sure that I was going.
The Journey There
So getting there is pretty much up on your own. Normally people form crews and then carpool down there together, but I didn't really have a crew. I just signed up, and said I'll figure out the ride thing later. So about three weeks before the summit, I begin looking for a ride...there were none. Luckily VTXA was taking a charter bus and had room for me, so UVAXA staff member, Cathy, hooked me up with them. So I knew a couple of them from SICM, but I ended up not sitting by either of them on the way down. At first I didn't really speak much, but after a couple hours, I got really involved in conversation with some people sitting by me. Unfortunately I have forgotten most of their names, but as it turns out, Techies can be cool too. The ride there went by super quick although I only slept for one hour out of the twenty hour journey. The way back unfortunately took forever, and I didn't really talk at all. I got stuck in the very front row.
THE SUMMIT
There is way too much to write about here, so I will try to focus on a couple different things. First off, Dick Brodgen, spoke the first night and was just as powerful and convicting as I remember from fall retreat last year. "That man could make a piece of toilet paper feel like it needs to go preach the gospel to the nations." Quote of the weekend from a missionary we ate with. On top of our large gatherings with a speaker and worship, we could go to seven out of twenty some sessions to learn more about regions or just certain subjects such as evangelizing or support raising. I'll write about two of them here.
American Dream
This one was focused on the internship with Chi Alpha, CMIT. The presentation was good but not spectacular. It wasn't the best presentation there, but I left feeling the most excited about that one.
Experiencing the Holy Spirit
This one taught about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is something I am kind of familiar with now, but a year ago, I didn't even know it existed. I am very interested in learning more about it. After they taught on it, there was an opportunity to come forward and to be prayed over to receive it. I got prayed over in tongues by a couple different people, and while I didn't receive the baptism (although some of my friends were), my legs were shaking. That was the most powerful session of prayer that I have ever been in. The way I keep describing it is that it was wild.
Meal With a Missionary
So they supplied four meals, each one eaten with a missionary. It ended up being like six of us and a missionary. They told really compelling stories that encouraged everyone. It was great to see that they are normal people just like you and me. This is something that we can do too. There is so much to write about, but I will focus on one of them, Judi. She is probably about fifty years old, a single lady from Alaska. She has done missions in Ukraine and Russia from the time she was thirty. She spoke of how desperately she wanted a husband many a times. That really struck me because that is somewhat of a worry for me. One of my biggest fears is being alone, although GOD has calmed that fear a lot recently because I know I will always have Him and His love. What if I were to go into missions alone, as a single man? Finding a wife out there would be much tougher than here in the states. It's already tough enough here. Just how obedient she is was really encouraging. She is not a young girl anymore and being in Ukraine, she may never find a man, but she still goes. She is showing what it looks like to die to oneself and pick of one's cross. What a wonderful woman of GOD.
"Give a Year. Pray About a Lifetime"
That is a phrase coined by XA. At the end of the summit, they gave us the opportunity to come forward and drop our name in a bucket of a region that we are ready to give a year to. Over 1,000 people committed to giving a year that weekend. This summit WILL change the world. The impact will be far and wide. As I mentioned before, some of my friends that graduated last year have just left or are about to leave to give this next year to GOD. The kingdom is growing because of what GOD is doing through Chi Alpha. That is an amazing, amazing thing!
Night Time Talks
On top of all the sessions and speakers, one of the most prosperous times for me were the talks we had at night. There were about ten of us that gathered around our staff member, Josh Moran, to hear his testimony about the Holy Spirit. That is how it began, but it became much more than that. It was a great time to listen, ask questions, and learn. We went through several different topics. Certain aspects of our conversation hit me deep and affirmed some of the things GOD has been speaking to me. I'll blog more about that at a later time. On top of the theological talk, it was also just a great time to hang out with and talk with people that I don't normally get to do that with. I knew most of them, although I did meet a couple new people, but I don't see them very much. I will remember those nights for a loooooong time.
There is much more to write about, but it would be impossible to write about all my experiences. I would have to publish a book on it to try to describe how awesome that week was. "I am going to go until I go." This was a quote that really impacted me. It means that I will preach the gospel every moment of my life until I die. Go be the light in a world of darkness.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. ~Matthew 28:19-20
What Made Me Go?
So way back at the first week of summer, I was at another XA retreat called SICM. This one was a week long and held on the beach front in Nags Head. Well there was this guy in the same beach house as me named Romico. I just met him because he was from Tech. He is one of the only new people that I met there that I've kind of kept in touch with, but I had a huge impact on me going. He kept asking over and over again if we were going to the summit, and every time I said no with little thought. I thought to myself that there was no way I was going to that. Well he kept asking, and I kept rejecting. Later that summer I visited UVA for a weekend, and we drove down to the drive-in theatre that night. I was talking to one guy in the car on the way down that I'm pretty good friends with, and he spoke of the summit. As of about a week ago, he is in Cairo "giving a year." He told me the idea about giving a year started at the summit four years earlier. That is also when I realized it was only every four years. After that, I was pretty sure that I was going.
The Journey There
So getting there is pretty much up on your own. Normally people form crews and then carpool down there together, but I didn't really have a crew. I just signed up, and said I'll figure out the ride thing later. So about three weeks before the summit, I begin looking for a ride...there were none. Luckily VTXA was taking a charter bus and had room for me, so UVAXA staff member, Cathy, hooked me up with them. So I knew a couple of them from SICM, but I ended up not sitting by either of them on the way down. At first I didn't really speak much, but after a couple hours, I got really involved in conversation with some people sitting by me. Unfortunately I have forgotten most of their names, but as it turns out, Techies can be cool too. The ride there went by super quick although I only slept for one hour out of the twenty hour journey. The way back unfortunately took forever, and I didn't really talk at all. I got stuck in the very front row.
THE SUMMIT
There is way too much to write about here, so I will try to focus on a couple different things. First off, Dick Brodgen, spoke the first night and was just as powerful and convicting as I remember from fall retreat last year. "That man could make a piece of toilet paper feel like it needs to go preach the gospel to the nations." Quote of the weekend from a missionary we ate with. On top of our large gatherings with a speaker and worship, we could go to seven out of twenty some sessions to learn more about regions or just certain subjects such as evangelizing or support raising. I'll write about two of them here.
American Dream
This one was focused on the internship with Chi Alpha, CMIT. The presentation was good but not spectacular. It wasn't the best presentation there, but I left feeling the most excited about that one.
Experiencing the Holy Spirit
This one taught about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is something I am kind of familiar with now, but a year ago, I didn't even know it existed. I am very interested in learning more about it. After they taught on it, there was an opportunity to come forward and to be prayed over to receive it. I got prayed over in tongues by a couple different people, and while I didn't receive the baptism (although some of my friends were), my legs were shaking. That was the most powerful session of prayer that I have ever been in. The way I keep describing it is that it was wild.
Meal With a Missionary
So they supplied four meals, each one eaten with a missionary. It ended up being like six of us and a missionary. They told really compelling stories that encouraged everyone. It was great to see that they are normal people just like you and me. This is something that we can do too. There is so much to write about, but I will focus on one of them, Judi. She is probably about fifty years old, a single lady from Alaska. She has done missions in Ukraine and Russia from the time she was thirty. She spoke of how desperately she wanted a husband many a times. That really struck me because that is somewhat of a worry for me. One of my biggest fears is being alone, although GOD has calmed that fear a lot recently because I know I will always have Him and His love. What if I were to go into missions alone, as a single man? Finding a wife out there would be much tougher than here in the states. It's already tough enough here. Just how obedient she is was really encouraging. She is not a young girl anymore and being in Ukraine, she may never find a man, but she still goes. She is showing what it looks like to die to oneself and pick of one's cross. What a wonderful woman of GOD.
"Give a Year. Pray About a Lifetime"
That is a phrase coined by XA. At the end of the summit, they gave us the opportunity to come forward and drop our name in a bucket of a region that we are ready to give a year to. Over 1,000 people committed to giving a year that weekend. This summit WILL change the world. The impact will be far and wide. As I mentioned before, some of my friends that graduated last year have just left or are about to leave to give this next year to GOD. The kingdom is growing because of what GOD is doing through Chi Alpha. That is an amazing, amazing thing!
Night Time Talks
On top of all the sessions and speakers, one of the most prosperous times for me were the talks we had at night. There were about ten of us that gathered around our staff member, Josh Moran, to hear his testimony about the Holy Spirit. That is how it began, but it became much more than that. It was a great time to listen, ask questions, and learn. We went through several different topics. Certain aspects of our conversation hit me deep and affirmed some of the things GOD has been speaking to me. I'll blog more about that at a later time. On top of the theological talk, it was also just a great time to hang out with and talk with people that I don't normally get to do that with. I knew most of them, although I did meet a couple new people, but I don't see them very much. I will remember those nights for a loooooong time.
There is much more to write about, but it would be impossible to write about all my experiences. I would have to publish a book on it to try to describe how awesome that week was. "I am going to go until I go." This was a quote that really impacted me. It means that I will preach the gospel every moment of my life until I die. Go be the light in a world of darkness.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. ~Matthew 28:19-20
Monday, January 7, 2013
Only The Beginning
So I have been meaning to blog about this for a while, but I never got around to it. On November 8, 2012, I read through my last unread pages of the Bible. It happened to be the last chapter of the Old Testament, Malachi. I am in no way praising myself for this, but instead look at it as how far I have come and how much God has done in my life. I am in no way, shape, or form the same person I was last year. With that said, reading Malachi was a fitting way to finish the Bible (Not forever of course! Now it's all about rereading, studying, and truly soaking in the Word). A passage in Malachi 1 really stood out to me.
The heading in my Bible for this passage reads as this, Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices. At first glance it may seem only relevant in the old covenant, which makes sense because we no longer sacrifice animals, thanks to Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice. It is about a man offering a blemished sacrifice to the LORD instead of a perfect one. He took it as a burden on himself and his life to give up his best animals for GOD and instead gave him the lame and unwanted. Still not making the connection? Well here it is.
We do the exact same thing. Although we no longer must sacrifice animals to GOD, we must still make sacrifices. We must relinquish certain things, and it can be difficult because the world teaches us the opposite. The world teaches us to collect things for ourselves. We must fight that urge. We must fight the world and give EVERYTHING back to GOD. We must die to ourselves and live for GOD. Two of the largest and toughest ways to do that are through our TIME and MONEY. These are two things we cherish, but we must give them up. We must trust God with them. People often times don't give their best to GOD. We selfishly take things for ourselves and give the leftovers to GOD, whether it be this example with sacrifices, our time, our money, etc. GOD doesn't need anything we can give Him. If we think that giving Him our leftovers pleases Him, we are sadly mistaken. GOD wants and needs to be a priority, not an afterthought. By giving Him the leftovers, we are saying that other things are more important than GOD.
That is something I have struggled with, and I know y'all have too. Often times I will skip quiet time and put it off for later that night. When I do that, often times I don't end up doing it at all. The worst part is that often times I'll skip it just to sit in the living room and watch TV with my fellow Bucks (I live in the Buck Lodge, which is our house name). Instead of making GOD a priority at that time, I put other things ahead of Him and give Him my leftover time at the end of the day. I've gotten better at this, but it is still a problem.
The other major sacrifice is money. Now I don't have a job, so it's tough for me to tithe, but I have felt a major change in heart since last year. I am excited for the day to tithe and freely give back to GOD what GOD has given me. We must first give to GOD. It shouldn't just be something we do just out duty, although it may start that way. We shouldn't just give our ten percent and be done. We must give as GOD calls us to give. Sometimes that may be more than just our tithe. It MUST be our priority. GOD MUST be our priority. It's not something that we do after we pay all the bills and buy a few things for ourselves, and if we have some extra, we give. It should be the first thing out of our paychecks every week or however often we get paid.
Now bringing it all back to what started this post, reading the Bible. Yes I finished reading through the entire Bible. That is something I never imagined. Guys in my core group spoke of such last year, and I thought that was impossible. It took me eleven months of pure focus and dedication. That is something that didn't come naturally. Sometimes it was easier than others. The Bible is literally one of only a handful of books that I have ever read through completely on my own time in my entire life. Even now the list is only about ten. This includes fiction and whatever kind of books people read. I am NOT a reader. It does NOT come naturally for me. Through GOD ALL things are possible though. If I can do it, so can you, so I challenge you to pick up a Bible and start reading. Start with just one chapter at a time and build up from there. You can't build a house in just one day. You must lay one brick at a time, starting with a solid foundation and moving up.
I personally guarantee that if you will make GOD your priority and not just give Him your leftovers, nothing will be able to hold you back, and your life will forever be changed.
The heading in my Bible for this passage reads as this, Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices. At first glance it may seem only relevant in the old covenant, which makes sense because we no longer sacrifice animals, thanks to Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice. It is about a man offering a blemished sacrifice to the LORD instead of a perfect one. He took it as a burden on himself and his life to give up his best animals for GOD and instead gave him the lame and unwanted. Still not making the connection? Well here it is.
We do the exact same thing. Although we no longer must sacrifice animals to GOD, we must still make sacrifices. We must relinquish certain things, and it can be difficult because the world teaches us the opposite. The world teaches us to collect things for ourselves. We must fight that urge. We must fight the world and give EVERYTHING back to GOD. We must die to ourselves and live for GOD. Two of the largest and toughest ways to do that are through our TIME and MONEY. These are two things we cherish, but we must give them up. We must trust God with them. People often times don't give their best to GOD. We selfishly take things for ourselves and give the leftovers to GOD, whether it be this example with sacrifices, our time, our money, etc. GOD doesn't need anything we can give Him. If we think that giving Him our leftovers pleases Him, we are sadly mistaken. GOD wants and needs to be a priority, not an afterthought. By giving Him the leftovers, we are saying that other things are more important than GOD.
That is something I have struggled with, and I know y'all have too. Often times I will skip quiet time and put it off for later that night. When I do that, often times I don't end up doing it at all. The worst part is that often times I'll skip it just to sit in the living room and watch TV with my fellow Bucks (I live in the Buck Lodge, which is our house name). Instead of making GOD a priority at that time, I put other things ahead of Him and give Him my leftover time at the end of the day. I've gotten better at this, but it is still a problem.
The other major sacrifice is money. Now I don't have a job, so it's tough for me to tithe, but I have felt a major change in heart since last year. I am excited for the day to tithe and freely give back to GOD what GOD has given me. We must first give to GOD. It shouldn't just be something we do just out duty, although it may start that way. We shouldn't just give our ten percent and be done. We must give as GOD calls us to give. Sometimes that may be more than just our tithe. It MUST be our priority. GOD MUST be our priority. It's not something that we do after we pay all the bills and buy a few things for ourselves, and if we have some extra, we give. It should be the first thing out of our paychecks every week or however often we get paid.
Now bringing it all back to what started this post, reading the Bible. Yes I finished reading through the entire Bible. That is something I never imagined. Guys in my core group spoke of such last year, and I thought that was impossible. It took me eleven months of pure focus and dedication. That is something that didn't come naturally. Sometimes it was easier than others. The Bible is literally one of only a handful of books that I have ever read through completely on my own time in my entire life. Even now the list is only about ten. This includes fiction and whatever kind of books people read. I am NOT a reader. It does NOT come naturally for me. Through GOD ALL things are possible though. If I can do it, so can you, so I challenge you to pick up a Bible and start reading. Start with just one chapter at a time and build up from there. You can't build a house in just one day. You must lay one brick at a time, starting with a solid foundation and moving up.
I personally guarantee that if you will make GOD your priority and not just give Him your leftovers, nothing will be able to hold you back, and your life will forever be changed.
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