This week, most of the Capers have been coping with colds from which we have coined a new term: Post Ministry Week Syndrome. Peter Thomas (the son of Major Ian Thomas, the founder of the first Capernwray) taught us this week on 1 Peter and we had a DVD lecture by Charlie Mcaul on the Life of Solomon. God used both speakers to teach me heaps!
On Friday night, we had a Plegm Philm Phestival where we were split into four teams and given two hours to film and edit a movie. We were given a genre (foreign film, romantic comedy, thriller and sci-fi were the ones that got picked out of the hat), a prop (a laundry basket, a coffee press, a ‘caution wet floor’ sign, and a shovel), and a line that had to be used at some point in the movie. My team (Jordan, Hanna, Kelsey, and I) got foreign film, which was perfect since I speak French, Hanna speaks German and Jordan does a brilliant Asian accent. Since foreign films are often very difficult to follow, we had very little plot but instead incorporated lots of humour. When we cam together at the end to see each other’s films, I was blown away by the quality of the acting, the filming, the plots, and the editing. The thriller actually gave me shivers and the sci-fi one was really sweet. Amber made a beautiful trophy filled with a green cornstarch and water mixture for the winners (the thriller).
On Saturday I competed in the South Island Open, a tennis tournament organized by JB for the Capers. We were split into teams based on our experience and skill, so stronger tennis players were matched with beginners. I spent a few hours on the court this week practicing with JB (my teammate). And it paid off: we won the tournament! The tournament started at 9am and finished at 5pm. It was really fun! Amber made the trophy for the winners out of ice cream (so I couldn’t eat it since I have given up all deserts for lent).
PT (Peter Thomas) shared a story about a guy he knows in class this week that really challenged me so I thought I’d share it. This Christian guy had been praying that his colleagues at work would be saved for several years when one day, one of his colleagues came to the office super excited telling everyone that he had become a Christian. The guy who had been praying was overjoyed and went over to give his new brother in Christ a hug. He said to him “I’ve been praying for you and everyone here for years that you would be saved!” At this, the new believer said, shocked, “You’re a Christian?” The guys answered “Yes, couldn’t you tell by the way I acted?” To this he replied “You’re the reason it took me so long to become a Christian. I saw how good you were and I figured that if you could be that good without God, why would I need God?”
That really hit me and challenged me, not only to live my faith boldly, but to speak of my faith boldly. Romans 10:13-15 reads “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Journal Week 19
- In God’s economy, an asset is something that causes me to come to Him. What the world calls an asset, God calls a liability and what God calls an asset, the world calls a liability.
- My success in life is dependant upon my relationship with God, nothing else.
- When I come into situations where I know I am inadequate, I have two options: to run or to turn it over to God.
- When I ask for wisdom, God won’t make me feel wise, but He will give me wisdom, I simply have to trust Him.
- I need to live out my faith, but I also need to tell others by what power I am living just like people didn’t turn to God by seeing Solomon’s wealth but by Solomon’s testimony of what made the difference in his life.
- Solomon didn’t fall away from God because he didn’t know better but because his heart was in the wrong place. I need to ask myself what is captivating my heart and give it all over to God otherwise He will never be first in my life.
- It is never my knowledge that will protect me from sin but Christ in me.
- The way I live will affect generations to come.
- Peter was an apostle, meaning messenger. In other words, it was not about who he was, but who sent him.
- I am an alien in this world, in other words, this world is not going to protect me.
- “Grace is the God initiated and humanly underserved divine provision that removes our falleness and imparts Jesus’ righteousness.”
- Shalom (peace) is not the absence of something (warfare or tension) but the presence of someone: God!!!
- Belief that doesn’t behave is not belief.
- A sign of maturity is an appetite for God and His word.
- The ultimate purpose of my life is to reveal God. This should be evident in all I say and do.
- No matter what authority I am under, I am to submit to it for the Lord’s sake. This is the key to a right attitude. I should demand justice for myself but I should never stop being just to others.
- I am called, as a woman, to be submissive to my husband in the future because the goal of marriage is not ultimately happiness or fulfillment but bringing glory to God.
- Beautiful women in the Bible (like Sarah) were not beautiful because of outward adornment but because they put their hope in God.
- I need to have an answer for the hope inside me for anyone who asks but I need to but it’s not worth winning an argument to lose the war so my heart and attitude need to be right.
- I need to beware of prayer becoming ordinary because it is a dynamic interaction with the Living God, not just a passing acknowledgment.
- Our responsibility is to lift up God. I need to be careful not to disguise Him to make Him seem more appealing to the world.
- I may be robbing myself of rich Christian experience and growth if I put my personal safety as my highest priority. Instead, I should rejoice in suffering (1Peter 4:13)
- I am to clothe myself with humility. This requires a continuous effort but will have eternal consequences.
- My success in life is dependant upon my relationship with God, nothing else.
- When I come into situations where I know I am inadequate, I have two options: to run or to turn it over to God.
- When I ask for wisdom, God won’t make me feel wise, but He will give me wisdom, I simply have to trust Him.
- I need to live out my faith, but I also need to tell others by what power I am living just like people didn’t turn to God by seeing Solomon’s wealth but by Solomon’s testimony of what made the difference in his life.
- Solomon didn’t fall away from God because he didn’t know better but because his heart was in the wrong place. I need to ask myself what is captivating my heart and give it all over to God otherwise He will never be first in my life.
- It is never my knowledge that will protect me from sin but Christ in me.
- The way I live will affect generations to come.
- Peter was an apostle, meaning messenger. In other words, it was not about who he was, but who sent him.
- I am an alien in this world, in other words, this world is not going to protect me.
- “Grace is the God initiated and humanly underserved divine provision that removes our falleness and imparts Jesus’ righteousness.”
- Shalom (peace) is not the absence of something (warfare or tension) but the presence of someone: God!!!
- Belief that doesn’t behave is not belief.
- A sign of maturity is an appetite for God and His word.
- The ultimate purpose of my life is to reveal God. This should be evident in all I say and do.
- No matter what authority I am under, I am to submit to it for the Lord’s sake. This is the key to a right attitude. I should demand justice for myself but I should never stop being just to others.
- I am called, as a woman, to be submissive to my husband in the future because the goal of marriage is not ultimately happiness or fulfillment but bringing glory to God.
- Beautiful women in the Bible (like Sarah) were not beautiful because of outward adornment but because they put their hope in God.
- I need to have an answer for the hope inside me for anyone who asks but I need to but it’s not worth winning an argument to lose the war so my heart and attitude need to be right.
- I need to beware of prayer becoming ordinary because it is a dynamic interaction with the Living God, not just a passing acknowledgment.
- Our responsibility is to lift up God. I need to be careful not to disguise Him to make Him seem more appealing to the world.
- I may be robbing myself of rich Christian experience and growth if I put my personal safety as my highest priority. Instead, I should rejoice in suffering (1Peter 4:13)
- I am to clothe myself with humility. This requires a continuous effort but will have eternal consequences.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Ministry Week!
This past week, Amber, Cam, Hanna, Michael, Ben, Bryan, JB, Joseph, and I all headed down to Christchurch for our ministry week. Having written at least five letters/postcards since then describing the events of the week, I will keep this description short.
We arrived on Sunday evening in time for the youth service at the church that was hosting us. The worship was great and it wad really neat to meet the youth, but none of us really appreciated the speaker. We had our doubts when, at the BBQ preceding the service, all the youth were talking about how the speaker was really awesome and how she was a prophetess. Hmmm, first a woman speaker, then one who claims to have the position of prophet, not a good start. She seemed to start on the right path, talking about David and goliath and how David excelled at what he did (watching sheep and that meant that he could also excel at what was to come (fighting Goliath and being king). Unfortunately, she missed the most important part: Christ! I would have to say though, she would make an excellent secular motivational speaker!
One Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings, we helped out at 0-800-HUNGRY, making and delivering food parcels. On Thursday morning, we helped out at Voice of the Martyrs stuffing envelopes for their monthly newsletter. And on Friday morning (after sleeping in J), we headed out to the city center with some surveys to do some street evangelism.
In the afternoons, we visited people of different faiths to find out what they believed and why. We visited a Unitarian Universalist (What’s true to you is true to you so long as it makes you happy and doesn’t hurt anyone), some Mormons (otherwise known as Church of the Later Day Saints), a Thai Buddhist temple (their goal is to reach a state of not desiring anything but simply acknowledging every thought and sense, and a Baha’i couple. We were able to come to a better understanding of these faiths and have some pretty good conversations! I’d love it if you could pray for the people that we met that God would work in their lives so that they would see the truth and so that they would ask questions as a result of our visit. It was sad to see how most of them had no hope; their “admission to heaven” was (for the most part) based on good works and depending on God’s mercy and boundless love for all people. Meeting them, however, really made me grateful to know that we have the truth.
On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, we went to a drop-in center in one of the tougher parts of town and hung out with gang members, playing ping-pong, foosball, pool, x-box, jamming, and just hanging out with them. It was Really fun!! And it was really neat to see the ministry that Richard (the guy who started it) has in working with these kids and young adults. He not only runs the drop-in center as a safe haven in the evenings, he also has some of the older guys doing construction, fixing up cars, and cultivating ferns to get them working and earning money legally and he does Bible studies during the week.
On Thursday night, we went to a men’s soup kitchen. We made them a soup (out of chicken in a broth and any cans they had in the cupboard), sang a few songs for them, and mostly just hung out and chatted with them. Some of the guys even player chess and checkers. Some of the men there were pretty cool and they were all happy to see us.
It was really neat to be able to do practical work to show Christ’s love. And it was really neat to see how united we are through Christ.
On Saturday, I went cliff jumping with a bunch of people. The drive there was almost more exciting that the jump itself since the flower power car kept bottoming out in all the puddles along the dirt road. The pool where we jumped was beautiful with the waterfall falling about ten meters into a pool surrounded by huge cliffs. A bunch of the guys even jumped off the highest cliff which they estimated at about 50 feet (in meters, that really high!).
On Sunday evening, us girls got to go to Patti’s to continue our series on “Holy Women of God.” I am being challenged in my assumptions of the role of women in the church and in society. It’s really cool!
We arrived on Sunday evening in time for the youth service at the church that was hosting us. The worship was great and it wad really neat to meet the youth, but none of us really appreciated the speaker. We had our doubts when, at the BBQ preceding the service, all the youth were talking about how the speaker was really awesome and how she was a prophetess. Hmmm, first a woman speaker, then one who claims to have the position of prophet, not a good start. She seemed to start on the right path, talking about David and goliath and how David excelled at what he did (watching sheep and that meant that he could also excel at what was to come (fighting Goliath and being king). Unfortunately, she missed the most important part: Christ! I would have to say though, she would make an excellent secular motivational speaker!
One Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings, we helped out at 0-800-HUNGRY, making and delivering food parcels. On Thursday morning, we helped out at Voice of the Martyrs stuffing envelopes for their monthly newsletter. And on Friday morning (after sleeping in J), we headed out to the city center with some surveys to do some street evangelism.
In the afternoons, we visited people of different faiths to find out what they believed and why. We visited a Unitarian Universalist (What’s true to you is true to you so long as it makes you happy and doesn’t hurt anyone), some Mormons (otherwise known as Church of the Later Day Saints), a Thai Buddhist temple (their goal is to reach a state of not desiring anything but simply acknowledging every thought and sense, and a Baha’i couple. We were able to come to a better understanding of these faiths and have some pretty good conversations! I’d love it if you could pray for the people that we met that God would work in their lives so that they would see the truth and so that they would ask questions as a result of our visit. It was sad to see how most of them had no hope; their “admission to heaven” was (for the most part) based on good works and depending on God’s mercy and boundless love for all people. Meeting them, however, really made me grateful to know that we have the truth.
On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, we went to a drop-in center in one of the tougher parts of town and hung out with gang members, playing ping-pong, foosball, pool, x-box, jamming, and just hanging out with them. It was Really fun!! And it was really neat to see the ministry that Richard (the guy who started it) has in working with these kids and young adults. He not only runs the drop-in center as a safe haven in the evenings, he also has some of the older guys doing construction, fixing up cars, and cultivating ferns to get them working and earning money legally and he does Bible studies during the week.
On Thursday night, we went to a men’s soup kitchen. We made them a soup (out of chicken in a broth and any cans they had in the cupboard), sang a few songs for them, and mostly just hung out and chatted with them. Some of the guys even player chess and checkers. Some of the men there were pretty cool and they were all happy to see us.
It was really neat to be able to do practical work to show Christ’s love. And it was really neat to see how united we are through Christ.
On Saturday, I went cliff jumping with a bunch of people. The drive there was almost more exciting that the jump itself since the flower power car kept bottoming out in all the puddles along the dirt road. The pool where we jumped was beautiful with the waterfall falling about ten meters into a pool surrounded by huge cliffs. A bunch of the guys even jumped off the highest cliff which they estimated at about 50 feet (in meters, that really high!).
On Sunday evening, us girls got to go to Patti’s to continue our series on “Holy Women of God.” I am being challenged in my assumptions of the role of women in the church and in society. It’s really cool!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Week 17
This week, Ian (the pastor at the local church) taught on 1 Thessalonians. We also had a DVD lecture by Russell Kelfer on the importance of memorizing scripture. Was I ever convicted! We also had several ‘random’ classes, like some by Dale on the results of Christ’s finished work on the cross and a DVD by John McArthur on Jesus as Lord.
We are all getting excited for ministry week next week. I’m in the group going to Christchurch. We get to help out at a local food bank, meet and talk with people of different faiths and do other acts of service.
Most of us spent the week working on finishing up our latest Bible studies. When it gets monotonous, I thank God that we live in a country where we can study His word freely and without fear. I also prepared and presented a devotion on our bodies as God’s temple to the Timaru youth group (which I attend every Wednesday with Ben and Adam as our ministry). Hanna says that if I had been graded on this devotion, I would have gotten the grade I had wanted on the Bible study that I presented at the Crossing last week (I got a B and I was hoping for an A). I also did something pretty exciting on Wednesday afternoon: I applied for Universite de Sherbrooke!!!!
For workday I got to work outside picking up rocks in the freshly tilled dirt so that it will be ready for seeding. I really enjoyed it because it was difficult enough that I was actually getting some exercise.
One other exciting thing we did this week was prepare for our surprise Valentine’s Day supper for the guys. We had tons of “secret” meetings (we call them our nothing meetings and the guys seem to think that we just hang around and talk). Little did we know that the guys were also preparing something for us! On Thursday, we received formal invitations to supper and desert on Friday accompanied by entertainment and we were told to dress formal.
So Friday at 6pm, all us girls came down the stairs (after at least two hours of curling hair, doing nails and makeup and picking out dresses and shoes) to the dining room which had been closed off for the afternoon. We were greeted at the door by Adam, Joel, and Jonas, all dressed quite handsomely escorted us each individually to our place at the table. There were candles and flower arraignments on the table and a rose on each of our plates. Then the boys came out with a beautiful salad and offered us sparkling juice. They even got out the good dishes! We then got a sorbet to clear our palates before the main course of chicken wrapped in bacon, spinach with cucumber, and couscous moulded in a heart shape with a delicious sauce in the middle and two chives placed elegantly on top. The whole thing was presented Beautifully!! The boys had eaten before so that it could be just us girls and so that they could serve us. We chatted and laughed as we were serenaded by Michael and Bryan on the piano. While we enjoyed a delicious desert of chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream, we were entertained by JB and Robert who each wrote a “love” song to all us girls. Joseph and Colin (AKA Hot Play) then played us a song followed by a beautiful solo by Joseph. Joseph finished off the evening by telling us that he had hoped to plan a dance but that he had been unable to and so promised to organize it for a future date. A few of us were in tears and we were all completely blown away by how awesome these guys are!
The evening was finished perfectly when all the students received valentine’s letters from God (made by someone who wished to remain anonymous). Each one was hand made with a personal message inside. And each message was sooooooooo accurate as to what each of us had to hear it was almost creepy but in a wonderful sort of way. Apparently, the person who made them doesn’t know us but simply asked for a list of our names. There was obviously a tremendous amount of prayer and time put into each card. They were so personalized that some people didn’t want to share what was written inside them because they touched some issues that are so real to each of us right now. I’m having trouble describing just how awesome it was, but hopefully you are getting the picture! I plan on framing the card because it is definitely a keeper!
We then all stayed up till past midnight chatting, reading each other’s cards, worshiping God, and just hanging out.
On Saturday, the girls met in the kitchen at 2 to start prepping the herbed potatoes, steak, nachos, ‘Patti’s Awesome Sauce,’ and chocolate and caramel sauce for desert. We had a couple of close calls when Joseph walked into the kitchen and all the girls were in there working. But he bought the line that we were having some ‘quality girl time.’ Another time, Joel came in to get something out of the cupboard and saw the candy (which was for the sundaes) and decided to try one. We rang the bell as if it was a normal supper and everyone sat down. Amber came out of the kitchen and informed us that they would be running slightly late. And every single guy was totally surprised when, instead of walking out of the kitchen with supper, the girls walked out of the kitchen with blindfolds and proceeded to blindfold each of the guys. We led them out to the van (and threatened extra duties if they took off the blindfolds) and Hanna drove them around Geraldine for twenty minutes while we rushed to set up the formal lounge. We decided not to decorate too much because we figured that wouldn’t be something the guys would appreciate. When they got back, we led the guys to their spots at the table. We only had one accident: JB (who is the tallest student) whacked his head pretty on the door frame.
We gave them an appetizer of nachos. I had asked them, under the guise that I was doing character sketches for my blog, what their favourite soft drink was so we brought them each their favourites. For the main course, they had steak (thanks Amber for managing the BBQ!) and Patti’s awesome sauce (which they absolutely adore!). And for desert, we made them ice cream sundaes with tons of toppings and a choice of either caramel or chocolate sauce. And after their desert, we read them a short poem we had written for them (which I will post at a later date). We spent the evening in the kitchen (and had a delicious salad and their left over’s for supper) so that they could have some guy time. And we thoroughly enjoyed hearing tons of laughter and lots of talking.
I’m not sure, but I think the girls were almost more excited about the whole thing than the guys. But I must say, the guys were really grateful and really appreciated it too.
I think I will have to say that this has been just about my best Valentine’s day/weekend ever!
Tomorrow (Sunday) we leave for ministry week! I’m off to Christchurch to do some street ministry, some visiting of other faiths, some work at a local food bank, and a few other activities. There is another group heading down to Dunedin.
We are all getting excited for ministry week next week. I’m in the group going to Christchurch. We get to help out at a local food bank, meet and talk with people of different faiths and do other acts of service.
Most of us spent the week working on finishing up our latest Bible studies. When it gets monotonous, I thank God that we live in a country where we can study His word freely and without fear. I also prepared and presented a devotion on our bodies as God’s temple to the Timaru youth group (which I attend every Wednesday with Ben and Adam as our ministry). Hanna says that if I had been graded on this devotion, I would have gotten the grade I had wanted on the Bible study that I presented at the Crossing last week (I got a B and I was hoping for an A). I also did something pretty exciting on Wednesday afternoon: I applied for Universite de Sherbrooke!!!!
For workday I got to work outside picking up rocks in the freshly tilled dirt so that it will be ready for seeding. I really enjoyed it because it was difficult enough that I was actually getting some exercise.
One other exciting thing we did this week was prepare for our surprise Valentine’s Day supper for the guys. We had tons of “secret” meetings (we call them our nothing meetings and the guys seem to think that we just hang around and talk). Little did we know that the guys were also preparing something for us! On Thursday, we received formal invitations to supper and desert on Friday accompanied by entertainment and we were told to dress formal.
So Friday at 6pm, all us girls came down the stairs (after at least two hours of curling hair, doing nails and makeup and picking out dresses and shoes) to the dining room which had been closed off for the afternoon. We were greeted at the door by Adam, Joel, and Jonas, all dressed quite handsomely escorted us each individually to our place at the table. There were candles and flower arraignments on the table and a rose on each of our plates. Then the boys came out with a beautiful salad and offered us sparkling juice. They even got out the good dishes! We then got a sorbet to clear our palates before the main course of chicken wrapped in bacon, spinach with cucumber, and couscous moulded in a heart shape with a delicious sauce in the middle and two chives placed elegantly on top. The whole thing was presented Beautifully!! The boys had eaten before so that it could be just us girls and so that they could serve us. We chatted and laughed as we were serenaded by Michael and Bryan on the piano. While we enjoyed a delicious desert of chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream, we were entertained by JB and Robert who each wrote a “love” song to all us girls. Joseph and Colin (AKA Hot Play) then played us a song followed by a beautiful solo by Joseph. Joseph finished off the evening by telling us that he had hoped to plan a dance but that he had been unable to and so promised to organize it for a future date. A few of us were in tears and we were all completely blown away by how awesome these guys are!
The evening was finished perfectly when all the students received valentine’s letters from God (made by someone who wished to remain anonymous). Each one was hand made with a personal message inside. And each message was sooooooooo accurate as to what each of us had to hear it was almost creepy but in a wonderful sort of way. Apparently, the person who made them doesn’t know us but simply asked for a list of our names. There was obviously a tremendous amount of prayer and time put into each card. They were so personalized that some people didn’t want to share what was written inside them because they touched some issues that are so real to each of us right now. I’m having trouble describing just how awesome it was, but hopefully you are getting the picture! I plan on framing the card because it is definitely a keeper!
We then all stayed up till past midnight chatting, reading each other’s cards, worshiping God, and just hanging out.
On Saturday, the girls met in the kitchen at 2 to start prepping the herbed potatoes, steak, nachos, ‘Patti’s Awesome Sauce,’ and chocolate and caramel sauce for desert. We had a couple of close calls when Joseph walked into the kitchen and all the girls were in there working. But he bought the line that we were having some ‘quality girl time.’ Another time, Joel came in to get something out of the cupboard and saw the candy (which was for the sundaes) and decided to try one. We rang the bell as if it was a normal supper and everyone sat down. Amber came out of the kitchen and informed us that they would be running slightly late. And every single guy was totally surprised when, instead of walking out of the kitchen with supper, the girls walked out of the kitchen with blindfolds and proceeded to blindfold each of the guys. We led them out to the van (and threatened extra duties if they took off the blindfolds) and Hanna drove them around Geraldine for twenty minutes while we rushed to set up the formal lounge. We decided not to decorate too much because we figured that wouldn’t be something the guys would appreciate. When they got back, we led the guys to their spots at the table. We only had one accident: JB (who is the tallest student) whacked his head pretty on the door frame.
We gave them an appetizer of nachos. I had asked them, under the guise that I was doing character sketches for my blog, what their favourite soft drink was so we brought them each their favourites. For the main course, they had steak (thanks Amber for managing the BBQ!) and Patti’s awesome sauce (which they absolutely adore!). And for desert, we made them ice cream sundaes with tons of toppings and a choice of either caramel or chocolate sauce. And after their desert, we read them a short poem we had written for them (which I will post at a later date). We spent the evening in the kitchen (and had a delicious salad and their left over’s for supper) so that they could have some guy time. And we thoroughly enjoyed hearing tons of laughter and lots of talking.
I’m not sure, but I think the girls were almost more excited about the whole thing than the guys. But I must say, the guys were really grateful and really appreciated it too.
I think I will have to say that this has been just about my best Valentine’s day/weekend ever!
Tomorrow (Sunday) we leave for ministry week! I’m off to Christchurch to do some street ministry, some visiting of other faiths, some work at a local food bank, and a few other activities. There is another group heading down to Dunedin.
Journal for Week 17
- As Christians, we are to have faith towards God, hope towards the future and Christ’s second coming, and love towards one another. A true faith in God leads to good works. Hope is the anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:9). And it is by our brotherly love towards one another that others will know that we belong to Christ.
- God’s spirit without His word is weaponless and God’s word without His spirit is powerless. Therefore, I need to constantly seek the spirit’s leading and hide God’s word in my heart so that I can be an effective steward of the gospel.
- As a believer I am a steward of the gospel and therefore I have a responsibility to be faithful to the gospel, not using deceit, without impurity, free form error, so that I can have a clear conscience. I am not accountable to any man or even to the church, but first and foremost to God. I need to share the gospel gently, without being a burden on anyone, but proclaiming it boldly, without fear of rejection, opposition, or persecution.
- My goal in life needs to be to please God, not people. This will mean going ‘against the flow’ but the only alternative would be to displease God or to grieve the Holy Spirit. So I need to strive for holiness and self-control.
- Even though afflictions are not enjoyable for me, they are good for me because they bring me to a state of lowliness and humility so that I am completely dependent on God. Affliction also takes away any arrogance in my life that says I can do anything on my own. I need to know God’s word before I am afflicted so that He can encourage me when I am afflicted.
- God has given me the raw material – the word of God – and the vehicle – the Holy spirit – but I will never change until I take the initiative and inscribe the word of God on our hearts by memorization.
- God commands me to hide His word away in my heart therefore I need to be diligent about memorizing scripture!!!!!
- God’s spirit without His word is weaponless and God’s word without His spirit is powerless. Therefore, I need to constantly seek the spirit’s leading and hide God’s word in my heart so that I can be an effective steward of the gospel.
- As a believer I am a steward of the gospel and therefore I have a responsibility to be faithful to the gospel, not using deceit, without impurity, free form error, so that I can have a clear conscience. I am not accountable to any man or even to the church, but first and foremost to God. I need to share the gospel gently, without being a burden on anyone, but proclaiming it boldly, without fear of rejection, opposition, or persecution.
- My goal in life needs to be to please God, not people. This will mean going ‘against the flow’ but the only alternative would be to displease God or to grieve the Holy Spirit. So I need to strive for holiness and self-control.
- Even though afflictions are not enjoyable for me, they are good for me because they bring me to a state of lowliness and humility so that I am completely dependent on God. Affliction also takes away any arrogance in my life that says I can do anything on my own. I need to know God’s word before I am afflicted so that He can encourage me when I am afflicted.
- God has given me the raw material – the word of God – and the vehicle – the Holy spirit – but I will never change until I take the initiative and inscribe the word of God on our hearts by memorization.
- God commands me to hide His word away in my heart therefore I need to be diligent about memorizing scripture!!!!!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Comment on Week 16
A week after writing the rant on street work, I think I will have to disagree with myself. Street work is still something that scares me because I am awkward in those situations, but I think that if God really is the most important part of my life, and if I really am all for Him, He should be the one I spend my time thinking and therefore talking about. And so it should be only natural that when I meet up with people on the streets or on the bus or flying half way across the globe that I would want to tell them about the God who created them and who loves them infinitely. I also think that the ways we learned about for how to present the gospel can be a very useful tool to present the gospel visually so that people can understand. I need to know God first though before I go out to tell others about Him (‘know’ as in an intimate knowledge). And I need to seek His voice when I go out so that He can direct me to the people who need to hear and the people whose hearts He has already begun to prepare. I also need to stop relying on myself to say the right things but rely completely on God. That way, the conversation will flow naturally and won’t be forced.
I think that one important thing I learned from Roy was that it is always good to give people a way out. That is, if it comes up in the conversations, to say something like “If you don’t want to talk about it though, that’s fine, I’m really not into Bible bashing.” That way, people feel more comfortable discussing it and more free to ask questions that may have been bothering them. I love the illustration of the cure for cancer: if I discovered the cure for cancer, I would be super excited about it and I would want everyone to know about it and I would b telling everyone about it. In much the same way, I have found the cure to death, so shouldn’t I be equally if not much more excited to share it with everyone I meet, no matter when and where I meet them? That is something for me to chew on!
Something that hit me today is that we, as Christians, are stewards of the gospel. Remember the parable in Matthew 25:14-30 about the master who was traveling to a far country and so entrusted different amounts of money to three of his servants? I won’t write it out here so I’d encourage you to read it. Basically, I think that although this parable is talking about our material possessions and how we are going to use them to further God’s kingdom, I also think that there coins can symbolise the gospel. We have been entrusted with a certain amount of knowledge and understanding of the gospel. We can either keep this knowledge to ourselves (like the servant who buried the talent) or we can share it and ‘get interest’ from it (like the servant who put the money in the bank). This ‘interest’ is ‘calculated’ in terms of people coming to Christ and in people deepening their relationship with Christ.
So to finish my rant, I would encourage all you faithful blog readers to be bold in proclaiming the gospel of which you are a steward so that when we meet Jesus face to face, He will be pleased to say “Well done my good and faithful servant.”
I think that one important thing I learned from Roy was that it is always good to give people a way out. That is, if it comes up in the conversations, to say something like “If you don’t want to talk about it though, that’s fine, I’m really not into Bible bashing.” That way, people feel more comfortable discussing it and more free to ask questions that may have been bothering them. I love the illustration of the cure for cancer: if I discovered the cure for cancer, I would be super excited about it and I would want everyone to know about it and I would b telling everyone about it. In much the same way, I have found the cure to death, so shouldn’t I be equally if not much more excited to share it with everyone I meet, no matter when and where I meet them? That is something for me to chew on!
Something that hit me today is that we, as Christians, are stewards of the gospel. Remember the parable in Matthew 25:14-30 about the master who was traveling to a far country and so entrusted different amounts of money to three of his servants? I won’t write it out here so I’d encourage you to read it. Basically, I think that although this parable is talking about our material possessions and how we are going to use them to further God’s kingdom, I also think that there coins can symbolise the gospel. We have been entrusted with a certain amount of knowledge and understanding of the gospel. We can either keep this knowledge to ourselves (like the servant who buried the talent) or we can share it and ‘get interest’ from it (like the servant who put the money in the bank). This ‘interest’ is ‘calculated’ in terms of people coming to Christ and in people deepening their relationship with Christ.
So to finish my rant, I would encourage all you faithful blog readers to be bold in proclaiming the gospel of which you are a steward so that when we meet Jesus face to face, He will be pleased to say “Well done my good and faithful servant.”
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Week 16
For the first half of the week, Werner finished his classes on 2 Corinthians and we finished the DVD lectures on 1 Samuel by Charles Price. And on Wednesday, we had classes with Dale and a really cool Skype class with Wayne Weismann, Joseph’s dad on the three temples (the one in Jerusalem, Jesus, and us as Christians).
During morning tea on Wednesday, I got to present my first Bible study on Psalm 46:10. It was slightly nerve wracking but I made it :P. And I managed to get at least a B.
On Wednesday afternoon, after thoroughly cleaning out one of the Capernwray vehicles, I got to rake rocks out in the back yard with a bunch of the guys. It really felt like we were slaves working in a mine so the guys were making tons of jokes about forming unions and going on strike and such. But it was tons of fun (and a good workout!). When we were done, we all jumped into the pond (in our work clothes!) to cool off.
Right after Wednesday supper, Hanna, Adam, Ben, and I headed out to Timaru to assist with the youth group at Life Church (our ministry this semester). This time, we just listened and watched (although Ben led them in two worship songs). Next week, we get to lead the whole thing, so one of us will present a Bible study, someone else will probably share a testimony, and we’ll do a bit more worship. I’m excited to get to know these kids and be able to impart to them a little bit of the wonders God has been revealing to me about Himself over the past year. Unfortunately, because the youth group is in Tiamru (which is half an hour away) it means yet another late night for me. I think I am pretty close to giving up trying to wake up early and I’ll just become a night owl so I can get stuff done in the evenings.
On Thursday, after an informing class by Roy (who works for Open Air Campaigners), we went out into the streets of Timaru in groups of two to do some street evangelism of our own. After approaching one lady and being rejected, Michael and I walked around until we came across a ‘spiritual shop.’ We hesitated before going in because we could sense that there definitely was something spiritual going on. But we did end up having a really neat conversation with the owner. His beliefs seemed vague and hazy (actually, the whole shop had a really mind-numbing feel to it), but Michael did an excellent job talking to the man using his own language to portray the idea of what we believe. I kind of just stood there and listened and prayed. When we came out about half an hour later, Michael said he felt like he had just been in a fencing match, not because they were arguing – in fact in was a really nice, real conversation – but because it was very spiritually demanding. Afterwards, we talked to one other man (who had no interest in talking about spiritual things) before meeting up with the rest of the gang. I must say that I don’t think street evangelism is for me. (Warning, I am about to go on a rant, if you’re not interested, please skip to the next paragraph) It seems to me to be such a pushy way to talk to people (although we did try to start the conversation by telling them that we were Christians but that if they didn’t want to talk to us, that was ok). In my mind, it seems better to get to know a person personally before sharing the gospel with them because our lives speak volumes and our words can so easily be just that: words. And, although Jesus did do ‘street evangelism’ it seems to me that because He is God, He already knew each person intimately so He knew where they were coming from and where they were going and so He could speak the words that their hearts most needed to hear. Whereas I, on the other hand, had no idea who the people I was talking to were. I don’t really know much about this, but I get the feeling that it is almost more important to really invest in a few people instead of trying to convert someone in five minutes in the streets. Of course, I think that if I end up beside someone on a bus for example, the conversation would probably naturally turn to ‘spiritual things’ because God should be the most important thing in my life, but I don’t really see the value/benefit/(I’m not sure exactly what word to put here :P) of going out with the express intention of approaching random people on the streets to tell them a watered down message of the gospel. Sorry about that random rant (written after my exhausting day out in TImaru). If you have an opinion on this subject, I would love to hear it!!
Ok, so we just finished our debrief after the day of street work in Timaru and I am now feeling a whole lot better about the whole thing. It was really neat to see how God worked out certain situations. For example, one of the groups met up with one girl and presented the gospel to her then another group met up with the same girl a little later and by then she had a whole bunch of questions that the second group was able to answer. There were also a few people who were really searching who seemed to be really grateful for the conversations and for the information.
On Friday, Barbara Neville (Richard Neville’s wife, the guy who taught us on Genesis) taught us on Children’s ministries and how to prepare a presentation for children. It was really informative and at the end, we got to prepare two presentations of our own.
Saturday was a nice lazy day. A bunch of people were out working for the people they had rented a car from over Christmas break and a few people went out boating, wakeboarding, water skiing, and tubing with the Geraldine youth group. That gave the rest of us a quiet day to get some work done on our Bible studies (or sit around pretending to work on our Bible studies but actually chatting, playing solitaire and just hanging out). After supper, Joseph, Michael, Adam, and I went for a walk along the riverbed. It was a nice quiet walk and by the end, everyone had managed to get their shoes wet.
During morning tea on Wednesday, I got to present my first Bible study on Psalm 46:10. It was slightly nerve wracking but I made it :P. And I managed to get at least a B.
On Wednesday afternoon, after thoroughly cleaning out one of the Capernwray vehicles, I got to rake rocks out in the back yard with a bunch of the guys. It really felt like we were slaves working in a mine so the guys were making tons of jokes about forming unions and going on strike and such. But it was tons of fun (and a good workout!). When we were done, we all jumped into the pond (in our work clothes!) to cool off.
Right after Wednesday supper, Hanna, Adam, Ben, and I headed out to Timaru to assist with the youth group at Life Church (our ministry this semester). This time, we just listened and watched (although Ben led them in two worship songs). Next week, we get to lead the whole thing, so one of us will present a Bible study, someone else will probably share a testimony, and we’ll do a bit more worship. I’m excited to get to know these kids and be able to impart to them a little bit of the wonders God has been revealing to me about Himself over the past year. Unfortunately, because the youth group is in Tiamru (which is half an hour away) it means yet another late night for me. I think I am pretty close to giving up trying to wake up early and I’ll just become a night owl so I can get stuff done in the evenings.
On Thursday, after an informing class by Roy (who works for Open Air Campaigners), we went out into the streets of Timaru in groups of two to do some street evangelism of our own. After approaching one lady and being rejected, Michael and I walked around until we came across a ‘spiritual shop.’ We hesitated before going in because we could sense that there definitely was something spiritual going on. But we did end up having a really neat conversation with the owner. His beliefs seemed vague and hazy (actually, the whole shop had a really mind-numbing feel to it), but Michael did an excellent job talking to the man using his own language to portray the idea of what we believe. I kind of just stood there and listened and prayed. When we came out about half an hour later, Michael said he felt like he had just been in a fencing match, not because they were arguing – in fact in was a really nice, real conversation – but because it was very spiritually demanding. Afterwards, we talked to one other man (who had no interest in talking about spiritual things) before meeting up with the rest of the gang. I must say that I don’t think street evangelism is for me. (Warning, I am about to go on a rant, if you’re not interested, please skip to the next paragraph) It seems to me to be such a pushy way to talk to people (although we did try to start the conversation by telling them that we were Christians but that if they didn’t want to talk to us, that was ok). In my mind, it seems better to get to know a person personally before sharing the gospel with them because our lives speak volumes and our words can so easily be just that: words. And, although Jesus did do ‘street evangelism’ it seems to me that because He is God, He already knew each person intimately so He knew where they were coming from and where they were going and so He could speak the words that their hearts most needed to hear. Whereas I, on the other hand, had no idea who the people I was talking to were. I don’t really know much about this, but I get the feeling that it is almost more important to really invest in a few people instead of trying to convert someone in five minutes in the streets. Of course, I think that if I end up beside someone on a bus for example, the conversation would probably naturally turn to ‘spiritual things’ because God should be the most important thing in my life, but I don’t really see the value/benefit/(I’m not sure exactly what word to put here :P) of going out with the express intention of approaching random people on the streets to tell them a watered down message of the gospel. Sorry about that random rant (written after my exhausting day out in TImaru). If you have an opinion on this subject, I would love to hear it!!
Ok, so we just finished our debrief after the day of street work in Timaru and I am now feeling a whole lot better about the whole thing. It was really neat to see how God worked out certain situations. For example, one of the groups met up with one girl and presented the gospel to her then another group met up with the same girl a little later and by then she had a whole bunch of questions that the second group was able to answer. There were also a few people who were really searching who seemed to be really grateful for the conversations and for the information.
On Friday, Barbara Neville (Richard Neville’s wife, the guy who taught us on Genesis) taught us on Children’s ministries and how to prepare a presentation for children. It was really informative and at the end, we got to prepare two presentations of our own.
Saturday was a nice lazy day. A bunch of people were out working for the people they had rented a car from over Christmas break and a few people went out boating, wakeboarding, water skiing, and tubing with the Geraldine youth group. That gave the rest of us a quiet day to get some work done on our Bible studies (or sit around pretending to work on our Bible studies but actually chatting, playing solitaire and just hanging out). After supper, Joseph, Michael, Adam, and I went for a walk along the riverbed. It was a nice quiet walk and by the end, everyone had managed to get their shoes wet.
Journal for week 16
- The role of women in the church and in society has been tainted from what God originally intended it to be. In fact, a woman should not be teaching or in any position of authority where she is above her husband, father, or someone else’s husband. This includes leading worship, preaching, or even reading scripture. Just as Christ is the head of the church and the head of the man, a man is the head of his wife, and until a woman marries, she is under her father. (This is just a summary of what I learned; there are verses to support it. Check out “God’s High Calling for Women” by McArthur for more info)
- Faith means entrusting myself to God, not positive thinking. There is no power in faith itself but in the object in which I put my faith. If I am praying with a preconceived outcome, I am not totally entrusting myself to God.
- Being unequally yoked can lead to compromise. This can be in a marriage relationship, in a friendship, or even in a business transaction. So I need to be careful not to have such an open mind as to let my brain fall out.
- The difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow is that worldly sorrow works under the assumption that, as humans, we can achieve perfection and leads to guilt, whereas godly sorrow comes from an understanding that we are fallen and leads to brokenness, genuine humility, and repentance. Repentance involves a 180 degree turn away from the sin and a complete turn towards Christ. And because of this, godly sorrow leaves no guilt because I know I have been forgiven completely! Regret, instead of causing me to be angry at myself, should cause gratitude for God’s amazing grace!
- A sacrifice is something that costs me something. In other words, it means giving up something that I want and if I am not giving up something I want, then it is not costing me something and it is therefore not an acceptable sacrifice to God!
- In history, there have been three temples, three places God has displayed His glory. The first was in Jerusalem, the second was in Christ, and the third is in every believer.
- The best of what God has condemned is still condemned. When Saul kept the best of the sheep and cattle after destroying the rest of the Amalekites, he was obeying God selectively, which was still disobedience. I kid myself if I think I am the master of my own sin. If I do not give it up to God to deal with it, it will only continue to grow.
- I am not indispensible to God, but He is indispensible to me and so I need to make sure that I am where He is.
- A woman after God’s own heart is someone who does not make her own plans (therefore I need to seek God’s will in every situation and delight in the Lord in every situation), who doesn’t manipulate her own process (I need to trust that God will bring about His purposes in His timing), and doesn’t manufacture her own path (I need to get all my power from God).
- In life, I can’t stop driving to look for a green light but instead I need to keep driving in what seems to be the right direction until I hit a red light. The same is true in following God’s will.
- When sharing my faith with people, I need to rely completely on God to say what they need to hear. I also don’t need to fear rejection and this fear shouldn’t stop me from telling people about my awesome God. I need to make sure that I am not ‘Bible bashing’ and that I am listening to the person and not putting them down in any way.
- Faith means entrusting myself to God, not positive thinking. There is no power in faith itself but in the object in which I put my faith. If I am praying with a preconceived outcome, I am not totally entrusting myself to God.
- Being unequally yoked can lead to compromise. This can be in a marriage relationship, in a friendship, or even in a business transaction. So I need to be careful not to have such an open mind as to let my brain fall out.
- The difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow is that worldly sorrow works under the assumption that, as humans, we can achieve perfection and leads to guilt, whereas godly sorrow comes from an understanding that we are fallen and leads to brokenness, genuine humility, and repentance. Repentance involves a 180 degree turn away from the sin and a complete turn towards Christ. And because of this, godly sorrow leaves no guilt because I know I have been forgiven completely! Regret, instead of causing me to be angry at myself, should cause gratitude for God’s amazing grace!
- A sacrifice is something that costs me something. In other words, it means giving up something that I want and if I am not giving up something I want, then it is not costing me something and it is therefore not an acceptable sacrifice to God!
- In history, there have been three temples, three places God has displayed His glory. The first was in Jerusalem, the second was in Christ, and the third is in every believer.
- The best of what God has condemned is still condemned. When Saul kept the best of the sheep and cattle after destroying the rest of the Amalekites, he was obeying God selectively, which was still disobedience. I kid myself if I think I am the master of my own sin. If I do not give it up to God to deal with it, it will only continue to grow.
- I am not indispensible to God, but He is indispensible to me and so I need to make sure that I am where He is.
- A woman after God’s own heart is someone who does not make her own plans (therefore I need to seek God’s will in every situation and delight in the Lord in every situation), who doesn’t manipulate her own process (I need to trust that God will bring about His purposes in His timing), and doesn’t manufacture her own path (I need to get all my power from God).
- In life, I can’t stop driving to look for a green light but instead I need to keep driving in what seems to be the right direction until I hit a red light. The same is true in following God’s will.
- When sharing my faith with people, I need to rely completely on God to say what they need to hear. I also don’t need to fear rejection and this fear shouldn’t stop me from telling people about my awesome God. I need to make sure that I am not ‘Bible bashing’ and that I am listening to the person and not putting them down in any way.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Did You Know?
Did you know (5) that the rivers here are described as being 'braided shingles' because there is a bed of rocks but the river does no take up the entire riverbed, instead, it winds back and forth making it look braided?
Did you know (6) that Den Heath's custard squares were first made and sold in Temuka but have grown so much they are now made in Timaru and exported all over New Zealand? In fact, these delicious squares are a NZ favorite!
Did you know (7) that in 1903, Richard Pearse constructed and flew an airplane along the highway in Pleasant Point? He made it a few meters before crash landing in a gorse hedge (ouch!). There is speculation to the fact that he may have flown before the Write brothers but this cannot be confirmed since Pearse was a hermit and his flight was not recorded and no one knows the exact date it took place.
Did you know (8) that, to avoid having to heard the cattle accross a busy street, some farmers in New Zealand ahve built underpasses to get their livestock from one field to another?
Did you know (9) that an eagle's nest is called an eyrie (and this is a great word to remember for 'bananagrams' if you have a y to get rid of!)?
Did you know (6) that Den Heath's custard squares were first made and sold in Temuka but have grown so much they are now made in Timaru and exported all over New Zealand? In fact, these delicious squares are a NZ favorite!
Did you know (7) that in 1903, Richard Pearse constructed and flew an airplane along the highway in Pleasant Point? He made it a few meters before crash landing in a gorse hedge (ouch!). There is speculation to the fact that he may have flown before the Write brothers but this cannot be confirmed since Pearse was a hermit and his flight was not recorded and no one knows the exact date it took place.
Did you know (8) that, to avoid having to heard the cattle accross a busy street, some farmers in New Zealand ahve built underpasses to get their livestock from one field to another?
Did you know (9) that an eagle's nest is called an eyrie (and this is a great word to remember for 'bananagrams' if you have a y to get rid of!)?
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