This is a list of some great studies in print from The Navigators, an International Campus Ministry that has been a huge encouragement to me in my faith during my time in college.
Finding Mercy:Wouldn't we all like to taste more of God's mercy? Especially for those struggling with the things heaped on us by our culture, life experiences, and relationships. There is hope to be found at the feet of Jesus.
GOD - Connecting with His Outrageous Love: This Bible study will help you explore the faithful love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Experience the power of life in Christ as you learn how to hear and trust God’s gentle voice of truth.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
How Do We Walk in the Light?
I sat down to read 1 John 1 - 2 (NIV) last night for the second time and I was struck by a question as I was getting to verses 5-7. This is something that I've read and heard many times, being raised in a Christian home; but as I looked at it, I realized that I wasn't totally sure about what it means to actually "walk in the light" in everyday life. I did a closer study on these two chapters, and this is what I came up with:
Ch 1:
darkness = sin (v 6) light = God (v 5)
*So to walk in the light means to walk in God - it doesn't mean we deny our sins (v 8) but instead acknowledge them, confess them to God, and ask Him for forgiveness (v 9). When we do this we are promised forgiveness and cleansing.
forgiveness: to grant pardon for or remission of; absolve; to cancel any debt
cleanse: to remove guilt from
*Doesn't take away the consequences of sin, but brings complete restoration and takes away the residue of sin: the guilt, shame, fear, etc.
*The forgiveness isn't the painful part - the cleansing can be. When we humble ourselves to God, take His hand, and let Him pull us out of our heap of shame, the act of being pulled up doesn't hurt us(forgiveness) because we are letting God do all the work. What hurts is when the shame tries to keep it's grip on us (our struggle or the flesh not wanting to let go or give in to the Spirit) as we are being pulled away. It can rip pieces of us away with it and cause open sores; but when we are pulled all the way out, God wraps His arms around us and His embrace covers us with a healing love that repairs the places where hurt ans hame have had their way with us.
*The same commandment of love is also new as it is continually reapplied in our lives (John 15:9-13) (v 8)
Hatred = Darkness (v 9, 11) Love = Light = God (v 10)
*So, to walk in the light literally means to walk in love, and since God IS love, walking in the light is the same as walking in God
Ch 1:
darkness = sin (v 6) light = God (v 5)
*So to walk in the light means to walk in God - it doesn't mean we deny our sins (v 8) but instead acknowledge them, confess them to God, and ask Him for forgiveness (v 9). When we do this we are promised forgiveness and cleansing.
forgiveness: to grant pardon for or remission of; absolve; to cancel any debt
cleanse: to remove guilt from
*Doesn't take away the consequences of sin, but brings complete restoration and takes away the residue of sin: the guilt, shame, fear, etc.
I often find I hide my sin out of fear of the pain involved in changing the way I live.
Analogy Time: *The forgiveness isn't the painful part - the cleansing can be. When we humble ourselves to God, take His hand, and let Him pull us out of our heap of shame, the act of being pulled up doesn't hurt us(forgiveness) because we are letting God do all the work. What hurts is when the shame tries to keep it's grip on us (our struggle or the flesh not wanting to let go or give in to the Spirit) as we are being pulled away. It can rip pieces of us away with it and cause open sores; but when we are pulled all the way out, God wraps His arms around us and His embrace covers us with a healing love that repairs the places where hurt ans hame have had their way with us.
If we deny sin we deny grace and ultimately reject Him altogether. (v 10)
Ch 2:
Jesus Christ = Advocate (v 1) and Propitiation (v 2)
I've met and discussed with many people who have a hard time with the word 'propitiation' and I really don't blame them. Until now, I really didn't have a decent way of explaining what it means for Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins without mudding the waters even more. Take a look at this:
propitiate: to bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment; to reconcile -->
reconcile: to bring into harmony
How do we know that we know Him?
- If we keep His commandments, God's love is perfected in us - brought to maturity (v 3)
- Walk just as He walked - in love (v 6)
*The same commandment of love is also new as it is continually reapplied in our lives (John 15:9-13) (v 8)
Hatred = Darkness (v 9, 11) Love = Light = God (v 10)
*So, to walk in the light literally means to walk in love, and since God IS love, walking in the light is the same as walking in God
The mark or evidence of a true Christian is love.
How do we overcome darkness?
- Don't love the world or the things of the world (v 15)
This doesn't mean we don't love the people in the world - we can love them while hating their sin
- Love one another - you'll abide in Him and will be given eternal life (v 24)
True believers love one another and even love their enemies
Enemy: anyone who does not agree with the entire message of grace and redemption in
Christ Jesus
Evidence of Faith:
- Walk in obedience and love
- Deny our own interests on behalf of others
- Love one another with the love of Christ
- Pray for those who are living in sin
Now it's you're turn! Leave comments of practical ways that you have found to walk in the light, or walk in love, in your everyday life.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Original S'mores 5-Layer Bars
My mom came to stay with me in River Falls last night and, as always, we had to dream up a new culinary creation! Based on this recipe, my mom and I designed a version that epitomizes the glorious camping tradition we love: s'mores!
We're still working on the official name, but we decided to share the recipe with you all to try! Of course, in true nature of my mom, I was asked to leave out what we did to make it absolute perfection (so she can still claim to make the best ones of course!) but we're giving you enough to at least recreate the bars yourself :)
Ingredients:
1 packet Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix
1 pakcet Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
9 Nature Valley granola thins, dark chocolate
1 bag (14) snack size Reese's peanut butter cups
1/2 stick butter, softened
2 TBSP water
1/3 C oil
1/2 bag Mini Marshmallows
Materials:
8x8 cake pan
mixing bowl
wire wisk
measuring cups and spoons
Oven, preheated to 350 degrees F
Steps:
1. Lay out granola thins on the bottom of the ungreased cake pan with the chocolate side facing up
2. Mix sugar cookie dough as directed on package for drop cookies
3. Press cookie dough into pan on top of granola thins. We recommend wetting your fingers so it doesn't stick to your hands. The granola thins move around a bit, so you'll need to kind of hold them in place while you spread out the cookie dough.
4. Place peanut butter cups side-by-side on top of cookie dough. You may want to use Reese's miniautres instead, or cut the last one in half to squeeze it into the gaps.
5. Mix brownie mix as directed on package
6. Pour and spread brownie mix over peanut butter cups and level the top.
7. Bake for about 40 minutes or until brownie starts to have slightly dry edges and a crips top. If it doesn't bake completely, that's ok - makes the chocolate even gooier like a s'more!
8. Immediately pour marshmallows over the top and place back in the oven to brown the marshmallows (takes just a few minutes and may work easier if you switch the oven to the broiler setting).
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Enjoy when still warm!
We're still working on the official name, but we decided to share the recipe with you all to try! Of course, in true nature of my mom, I was asked to leave out what we did to make it absolute perfection (so she can still claim to make the best ones of course!) but we're giving you enough to at least recreate the bars yourself :)
Ingredients:
1 pakcet Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
9 Nature Valley granola thins, dark chocolate
1 bag (14) snack size Reese's peanut butter cups
1/2 stick butter, softened
2 TBSP water
1/3 C oil
1/2 bag Mini Marshmallows
Materials:
8x8 cake pan
mixing bowl
wire wisk
measuring cups and spoons
Oven, preheated to 350 degrees F
Steps:
1. Lay out granola thins on the bottom of the ungreased cake pan with the chocolate side facing up
2. Mix sugar cookie dough as directed on package for drop cookies
3. Press cookie dough into pan on top of granola thins. We recommend wetting your fingers so it doesn't stick to your hands. The granola thins move around a bit, so you'll need to kind of hold them in place while you spread out the cookie dough.
4. Place peanut butter cups side-by-side on top of cookie dough. You may want to use Reese's miniautres instead, or cut the last one in half to squeeze it into the gaps.
5. Mix brownie mix as directed on package
6. Pour and spread brownie mix over peanut butter cups and level the top.
7. Bake for about 40 minutes or until brownie starts to have slightly dry edges and a crips top. If it doesn't bake completely, that's ok - makes the chocolate even gooier like a s'more!
8. Immediately pour marshmallows over the top and place back in the oven to brown the marshmallows (takes just a few minutes and may work easier if you switch the oven to the broiler setting).
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Enjoy when still warm!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Memory Joggers
Well, as most of you know, I am spending my summer working in the University Center here at UW-River Falls. With this job comes A LOT of down time and that means I have to find things do to do keep me busy. The thing is, I don't like busy work. In fact, I hate it! So, to cure my boredom and be productive at a relatively unproductive job, I decided to continue a project I had started last Christmas: filling my house with the Word of God!
This is something I started as a way of helping a friend find encouragement in the scriptures, and it has proven to be an incredible thing for me as well. Most of the verses I have are on peace because most often I find myself worried, stressed, or anxious. I know this is one of my weaknesses and a way that often leads my heart and mind away from God at the times when I need Him the most.
My friend and I started making these cards (see photos below) from verses that we found encouraging during our quiet times. Most of them are nice and short so they are a quick read when we see them. I have mine posted all over my house: on my bedroom door, next to the lightswitches, on the mirror, etc. so I literally see them everywhere I go. It is impossible for me to see them without it at least snapping my memory, and after awhile you can recite them in your head without even looking at them!
When I picked back up with making new verse cards last week, I felt very driven to do mine a little differently this time. God reminded me of the power I felt it hearing an English speaker recite memory verses in Spanish while I was on my spring break mission trip to Colorado Springs in March. So this time around I wrote the verses in English on one side and in Spanish on the other. For now I have the English side posted around my house, but after I have the verses memorized in English, I will flip them over and begin memorizing them in Spanish too.
There is something very powerful in scripture memory - just like Joshua 1:8 tells us, "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Since starting my scripture memory I am finding myself keeping it on my lips all the time and hearing it first in my heart at times that I used to hear the anxious thoughts first. What a blessing it is to be immersed in the Word of God all the time!
This is something I started as a way of helping a friend find encouragement in the scriptures, and it has proven to be an incredible thing for me as well. Most of the verses I have are on peace because most often I find myself worried, stressed, or anxious. I know this is one of my weaknesses and a way that often leads my heart and mind away from God at the times when I need Him the most.
My friend and I started making these cards (see photos below) from verses that we found encouraging during our quiet times. Most of them are nice and short so they are a quick read when we see them. I have mine posted all over my house: on my bedroom door, next to the lightswitches, on the mirror, etc. so I literally see them everywhere I go. It is impossible for me to see them without it at least snapping my memory, and after awhile you can recite them in your head without even looking at them!
When I picked back up with making new verse cards last week, I felt very driven to do mine a little differently this time. God reminded me of the power I felt it hearing an English speaker recite memory verses in Spanish while I was on my spring break mission trip to Colorado Springs in March. So this time around I wrote the verses in English on one side and in Spanish on the other. For now I have the English side posted around my house, but after I have the verses memorized in English, I will flip them over and begin memorizing them in Spanish too.
There is something very powerful in scripture memory - just like Joshua 1:8 tells us, "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Since starting my scripture memory I am finding myself keeping it on my lips all the time and hearing it first in my heart at times that I used to hear the anxious thoughts first. What a blessing it is to be immersed in the Word of God all the time!
 |
Isaiah 26:3 is posted on my bedroom door. This verse has been my mainstay for the past year and is the first verse I memorized in Spanish.  |
Friday, June 1, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Lean On Who?
God has created us to be social creatures, each one of us having different traits, likes, and dislikes that make us unique so that we all have something to contribute to the body of Christ. He has placed us where He has so that we can function by our design - to build relationships with others and with Him to bring glory to His kingdom. I thank God every day for the friends He has allowed me to have during my time on earth, and quite honestly, I don't know what I would do without them. But I have also come to a realization that I think God has tried to show me more than once before. I realized I've started relying more on the companionship of my friends than on my relationship with God.
Yep, there ya go. Plain and simple, right? You would think that would be something that is pretty obvious when it's happening. But in reality, you get into the flow of your every day schedule with the set times that you're doing your set activities; and in my world, a lot of my set activities have to do with time spent with friends. In looking at my schedule during any given week, I probably spend on average 10 hours a day with my friends. 10 hours! That's over half my day, not including the time I'm sleeping, in class, or at work. When this finally hit me, I realized there was a big part of my life (at least about 10 hours a day) that was devoid of time spent with God. I began to see all the areas where I was counting on my friends to eat lunch with me, walk to class with me, text me all day long, do homework together, and spend our free time together. While it's good that we can have friends to have fun with, confide in, and find joy in relationships with, God did not intend for that to be all there is.
God's intention for friendships was to be a human extension of our relationship with Him, not a replacement for time spent with Him with the excuse that if they're Christian friends it's almost like spending time with God while we're with them. No. That's not how it works. Sorry if that bursts your bubble. God is so jealous of our hearts that it tears Him apart when He sees us counting on our friends more than we look to Him. It's such an easy thing to do because our friends are right here standing next to us, watching the things happen in our lives in such a tangible way. What we often forget is that God, too, is standing right next to us already knowing what's going to happen and what needs to be done to take care of it.
Friends are going to come and go. They're going to be on your side one day, and against you the next. They may answer your text messages for awhile, but there will come a time when they are going to get caught up in the craziness of their own lives that they won't be as available to you. God never leaves, He's walking with us always. He is always on our side and is fighting constantly for our lives. Every little prayer we send His way gets a reply, no matter what time of day it is or how many He's receiving at once.
I'm not saying we shouldn't have friends. Rather, we should have a relationship with God so strong that our friends are just an added bonus.
Yep, there ya go. Plain and simple, right? You would think that would be something that is pretty obvious when it's happening. But in reality, you get into the flow of your every day schedule with the set times that you're doing your set activities; and in my world, a lot of my set activities have to do with time spent with friends. In looking at my schedule during any given week, I probably spend on average 10 hours a day with my friends. 10 hours! That's over half my day, not including the time I'm sleeping, in class, or at work. When this finally hit me, I realized there was a big part of my life (at least about 10 hours a day) that was devoid of time spent with God. I began to see all the areas where I was counting on my friends to eat lunch with me, walk to class with me, text me all day long, do homework together, and spend our free time together. While it's good that we can have friends to have fun with, confide in, and find joy in relationships with, God did not intend for that to be all there is.
God's intention for friendships was to be a human extension of our relationship with Him, not a replacement for time spent with Him with the excuse that if they're Christian friends it's almost like spending time with God while we're with them. No. That's not how it works. Sorry if that bursts your bubble. God is so jealous of our hearts that it tears Him apart when He sees us counting on our friends more than we look to Him. It's such an easy thing to do because our friends are right here standing next to us, watching the things happen in our lives in such a tangible way. What we often forget is that God, too, is standing right next to us already knowing what's going to happen and what needs to be done to take care of it.
Friends are going to come and go. They're going to be on your side one day, and against you the next. They may answer your text messages for awhile, but there will come a time when they are going to get caught up in the craziness of their own lives that they won't be as available to you. God never leaves, He's walking with us always. He is always on our side and is fighting constantly for our lives. Every little prayer we send His way gets a reply, no matter what time of day it is or how many He's receiving at once.
I'm not saying we shouldn't have friends. Rather, we should have a relationship with God so strong that our friends are just an added bonus.
Doing the UNpopular Thing
In the past few weeks I thought I was facing conflict and opposition simply because I was creating it without knowing; but as time went on and I couldn't find answers to what I was doing to cause it, God started to show me something I haven't really had to experience too much of yet.
In Paul's epistles (Romans - 2 Timothy) a common theme is that being a Christian is going to cause you to be up against a lot of opposition. By committing to your faith in Christ, you are committing to serving Him despite it being the unpopular thing to do. This was something that was taught to me during my years at MCA, but it was never really something I had to truly embrace until I left my little "MCA Bubble" and ventured into the world of a public university.
I'm not saying that everyone at UW-River Falls is against Christianity. And I'm not saying that the Christians I've grown to know almost like family are any less of Christians than the ones that I grew up around at MCA. What I am saying is that there is a lot more opposition and inconsistency with so many different backgrounds all coming together. As I've come to discover the parts of my faith that are unshakeable, I'm beginning to realize that the way I intend to live my life out for Christ is not going to be the way that others see fit. I understand the truth that God convicts us all of different things, and there are certain struggles that are harder for some to overcome than others. But I also understand that the Word of God is unfallible truth and was breathed into existence by an unchanging, sovereign God.
These past few days I have had a constant craving to be in conversation with God constantly, something that is not so easy when you're in classes or at work all day long. But I am also beginning to understand the way God sees us and how His heart breaks for those who don't long to be with Him forever, no matter the consequences. That feeling, that understanding, makes the time that I long to be with Him a result of the intense desire I have for all the people I know to have a relationship with God the way I do. My heart has literally been breaking for those people, especially the ones I'm close to; and even though it's a whole lot more fun to be well-liked and to have friends, I believe with all my heart that being disliked, alone, and maybe even hated can sometimes be the best thing for us, our faith, and eventually the eternal lives that others are going to experience.
In the end, Jesus looks back at all of us and says his sacrifice has been justified (Is 53:10-11). As a follower of Christ, it is my choice to give of myself as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2) so that His name may live on and become the stronghold for all of God's glorious creation. When I look back, I want to be able to see that God's name has been glorified above all else and be praised as being faithful to what God called me to do rather than going along with what the world says is popular.
In Paul's epistles (Romans - 2 Timothy) a common theme is that being a Christian is going to cause you to be up against a lot of opposition. By committing to your faith in Christ, you are committing to serving Him despite it being the unpopular thing to do. This was something that was taught to me during my years at MCA, but it was never really something I had to truly embrace until I left my little "MCA Bubble" and ventured into the world of a public university.
I'm not saying that everyone at UW-River Falls is against Christianity. And I'm not saying that the Christians I've grown to know almost like family are any less of Christians than the ones that I grew up around at MCA. What I am saying is that there is a lot more opposition and inconsistency with so many different backgrounds all coming together. As I've come to discover the parts of my faith that are unshakeable, I'm beginning to realize that the way I intend to live my life out for Christ is not going to be the way that others see fit. I understand the truth that God convicts us all of different things, and there are certain struggles that are harder for some to overcome than others. But I also understand that the Word of God is unfallible truth and was breathed into existence by an unchanging, sovereign God.
These past few days I have had a constant craving to be in conversation with God constantly, something that is not so easy when you're in classes or at work all day long. But I am also beginning to understand the way God sees us and how His heart breaks for those who don't long to be with Him forever, no matter the consequences. That feeling, that understanding, makes the time that I long to be with Him a result of the intense desire I have for all the people I know to have a relationship with God the way I do. My heart has literally been breaking for those people, especially the ones I'm close to; and even though it's a whole lot more fun to be well-liked and to have friends, I believe with all my heart that being disliked, alone, and maybe even hated can sometimes be the best thing for us, our faith, and eventually the eternal lives that others are going to experience.
In the end, Jesus looks back at all of us and says his sacrifice has been justified (Is 53:10-11). As a follower of Christ, it is my choice to give of myself as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2) so that His name may live on and become the stronghold for all of God's glorious creation. When I look back, I want to be able to see that God's name has been glorified above all else and be praised as being faithful to what God called me to do rather than going along with what the world says is popular.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)