Prayer Requests April Week 1

-Leadership for next year

-Maturity for all CSF students 

-The spring retreat goes well and people are unified and blessed

-Seeds from the Union team will be watered

-TnT ends this year strong

-Growth of male presence in CSF

-Encouragement for everyone in CSF

-Johnson & Wales students to know Christ

-We all grow in personal evangelism

James 1

12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
19 This you know, my beloved brethren But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
         James 1:12-20

I recently read this section from James, and its kind of sticking with me.  Its intense. The last part especially, The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Like such an obvious statement, but its something we need to think about sometimes, when we are giving up excuses for our sin. Like oh, its not a big deal. But your not a big deal is not producing any righteousness. 

Something that also struck me as pretty heavy was the description in 14-15. Each person is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when the desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.

An easier translation would go something like this: 

  But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).
   Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, produces death.

Now, practicaly this verse would look something like this: We are tempted, maybe by our friends to get drunk, maybe be our boyfriend or girl friend wants us to have sex, or maybe even to say something bad about someone behind their back. The opportunity arises, and we give in to it. As soon as we give into it, it is sin, aka really bad, aka punching God in the face. And as soon as it becomes a sin, it produces death. Now, maybe not literally death, but you never know. I think this death is referring to spiritual death, or emotional death. For example, sure you start to get drunk with your friends, and then you start to do it more and more, but the drinking only causes you to be lonely and unable to cope with your emotions. You dont remember what its like to feel life. You dont remember what its like to do something fun without being wasted. Does that sounds like something life enriching? Naw, not too much, atleast not to me. 

According to James, the writer of this, temptation does not come from God. He is not going to tempt us. It likely comes from the fact that as humans, we are stupid evil fools and we want to do what is wrong. So when we are tempted, is it not some outside force trying to get us to sin. We are just getting a snapshot of what is inside of us. And that snapshot should send us running to God, the only One who can make us better than we naturally are. 

Of course, we are all going to be tempted at some point, probably multiple upon multiple times. My favorite thing about this verse is the promise in verse 1 that The person who is able to endure temptation and not give in will be extremely blessed. Thats an awesome thing to think about. Like, dang, if I dont give into this temptation, God is going to bless me. And I will be honoring God. Thats outstanding. Its hope.

Now, of course, as humans, like I said, we are stupid evil fools who give into stuff way to easily sometimes. But thats where God's grace comes in. So pretend that we give in. And then we struggle and struggle with that decision. Now, like I said, sin produces death. But as soon as we ask God to forgive us, then BAM. No more death. He loves us. He forgives us. He gives us life, and love and He has patience with us. Its awesome.

Im glad God loves me. Im glad I know this truth. I hope you all do too.

"I'm Totally Incompetent But God Isn't"

So lately Ive been feeling totally incompetant. Seriously. I am the kind of person who likes to feel competent. Ha thats a joke, because Im pretty sure all of us like to feel competent. But its been getting me down. Especially with this new year. I always use this new year to think of things that I want to change in my self, how I want to start saying and doing more of the right things, acting more mature and basically "revolutionize my self from the inside out." But then I was reading this one article the other day, and was reminded that "my general failure at self metamorphosis isn't due to a lack of will power but a lack of ability." And that "True change only happens when God transforms us through His grace."

Oh.

And then I was thinking, wow. (I think the word wow alot. just saying). No wonder why I've felt so incompetent. Because I've been trying to do God's job.  I cant make myself new or whole again. Ive been trying to do Gods job of internal change. Its what He does. Thats how He rolls.

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you."  Ezekiel 36:26-29

 He wants to change me for the better -- starting now.  So now instead of thinking I can just do it on my own, I am going to delve deeper into the truth of His word and make myself the clay in the potter's hands. 

New Year

I want you to think about this new year the same way many other cultures think of a new year, as a fresh start. Make it your day of atonement. I encourage you to evaluate this past year, ask for forgiveness for the things you've done against the Lord and pray for this year to come. Pray that you will grow closer to the God who formed you in the womb.

Shakespeare

It's strange where we can find new inspiration for prayer...

In Shakespeare's As You Like It, we find Orlando fighting with his brother Oliver over his portion of their father's estate. He says, "The spirit of my father grows strong in me, and I will no longer endure it: therefore allow me such exercises as may become a gentleman, or give me the poor allottery my father left me by testament..."

I find it strange that he says that his father's spirit is growing strong within him. Though Oralando is speaking of his physical father, how much greater would it be if we could say the same about our heavenly father? When was the last time you were able to say that his spirit was growing in you? When was the last time you asked for your father's fortune that you might take all that he has laid aside for you, that you may honor him with it?

Dwell on it, pray about it.

Images of Christ

I ran across a a quote the other day by C.S. Lewis stating, "I do not want my image of God, I want God." How profound are these words? We continually make our own assumptions and images of God in our minds. What if we could take these destructive or even constructive images of Christ and throw them away to make room for the God that was, is and is to come. He is greater than any image we can create in our small minds. I want God!

On the Side of the Road

How often do we pass that person on the side of the road? Personally I've only stopped three times in my life, twice to change a tire and once to give someone a jump. But how many times do we stop to help others with more problems than just road-side maintenance? I mean spiritually do we notice the invisible hand wave or inaudible cry for help from our friends, co-workers or acquaintances? This is probably one of the most challenging things we face in our lives; whether to pull over or not.

Through my years here in Providence I've seen many spiritual lives grow and some fizzle out. To watch them grow is one of the most amazing things to be apart of, on the other hand, watching the light in peoples lives grow weaker is one of the most terrible things to witness. Can you see the light starting to fizzle in someones life? If so are you going to pull over and help them rekindle the flames they once had? For me the answer is simple, I pull over! I can't bear to watch another person step away from Christ, to be swallowed by darkness. I can vividly remember when I decided to take my own path over God's path and the devastating things that happened to me. To know someone could go through the same thing makes me step on the brakes with both feet to jump out and help. I don't mean that always I'll talk to them immediately, but I go to Christ in prayer over what it is he would have me do in that situation, that is unless I see them driving toward a cliff. What I'm saying is that, perhaps we need to keep our "spiritual eyes" open to the people around us and no just pass them by when then their hands are flailing in desperate need of help. The situation calls for prayer first and foremost, then action. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help us in time of need."

Let us pray that we won't become that passive driver on the road of life and pass those in need, but that we would have the compassion to see when we need to pull over and help. And in all things, no matter how big or small that we would bring it to the God of grace that abounds in mercy and love for his children.

FRieNDSHiP

I was really thinking about what "Friendship" meant to me today. It came up in a conversation with a great friend of mine and those three simple but very meaningful words, "I Love You." I only tell a handful of people those words, perhaps it's so that they don't loose their full impact in my life. You all have probably heard these words thrown around like Mardi-Gras beads to a rambunctious crowd of on-lookers; but, search deeply as to whom you say it, and consider, "Do I really mean it?" Jesus says in John chapter 15 verse 13, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friend." Do you love this person so much you are willing to die for that person? If your answer is "YES!!" then I encourage you to say these words, because behind them is great power. On the other hand, If your answer is "NO" then I strongly encourage you to evaluate that friendship. Don't get me wrong I don't mean its wrong if you say no, but consider how this person effects your everyday life.

I have a handful of people I call friends, and I can say that they have impacted my life and I have theirs. For these people I would drop anything, give them a kidney if they needed it, put my life in danger for if it came down to it. these people have continually brought me back to God and his word, we have edified each other in the word, and (maybe not in all cases) laughed and cried together. I thank God that he has put them in my life and that they, at most are only a phone call away.

Do you have anyone in your life that you can say that about? If not I encourage you to pray for God to put those people in your life, that you may know what a true friend is, and get to grow closer to each other through God. Friends are Important, and to those who read this and are my dear friends, "I love you."