Wow, you guys continually amaze me! Evangelism isn't a "hard" topic but I think it's something that many of us struggle with but you guys were amazing. I know you enjoyed the Evangelism Line Backer and hopefully you won't forget about him, then again how could you because I may have to become that guy or girl I should say.
What really struck me the most was how open you were to talking and taking the lead last night in sharing points of learning with your peers. You were great at emphasizing the difference between "Freedom of Religion" and "Freedom from Religion". Remember, just because we live in an increasingly secular society does not mean that we have Freedom FROM Religion in this country. We have Freedom OF Religion. Thus we should step out, share our faith and let the world know that Jesus is their Savior. They may shut us down but the consequences for us not sharing are eternal and the Evangelism Linebacker may just take you out too. ; )
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Our Beauty in God
Hey Girls, I am glad so many of you were able to come over last Saturday and hang out while we dug into Our Beauty in God. I also enjoyed decorating our cupcakes, making bracelets and simply chatting. I'm glad you enjoyed the surprise in your cupcakes and I hope you all had a great time! We'll do it again soon hopefully May or June. Then we can get outside too!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Signs
Last week we played a game called "Signs". Each of us had to choose a sign, much like baseball signs, that would be our signal throughout the game. When our sign was sent to us we had to perform our sign to show we accepted the signal followed by performing someone else's sign and then the game passed on to them. You could compare this to a game of Hot Potato. Throughout this process there was a person in the middle trying to catch the person "holding" the sign at that moment. Lots of laughs were definately had by all.
Some of us had very subtle signs that could be done with the person in the middle looking directly at us and still not notice what we were doing and others had very obvious signs. These obvious signs had to be done quickly to avoid being caught. When I reflect on the fun we had it brings me to think about the signs that God sends into our life, some are subtle, others are quite obvious and some are all together overlooked.
A rainbow is probably one of the most sporadic signs that God gives us. When people see a rainbow they tend to point it out to others and wonder at its beauty because we don't see them every day. But do we also reflect on the true meaning of the rainbow: "I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. All the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh." Genesis 9:15
Doves are another sign that most probably don't see often and probably don't seem like a great sign but with further investigation it is easy to see these simple birds hold great meaning. In Genesis chapter 8 we see that a dove is the bird of choice sent by Noah out of the ark to find dry land. Over the course of 14 days Noah sent the dove out 3 times. The first time it returned with nothing, the second time it returned with an olive branch and the third time it did not return because it had found dry land! The flood waters of 40 days and 40 nights were now gone, Noah and his family were saved and were about to receive the covenant of the rainbow. Another great encounter with the dove is at Jesus baptism. The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, what a wonderful site it must have been to see the spirit of God in such visible form.
The rainbow and dove are obvious signs of God that Christians throughout history have been able to see. Then there are other signs that are not so obvious but are around us every day. Fresh tulips in spring, the first robin in March, leaves falling in September, a paycheck arriving later than expected but the day before a bill is due, a card in the mail on an especially low day; these are all signs from God that we tend to overlook. So I challenge you, look beyond what you see and reflect on what it means, look for what God is trying to tell you and rejoice that sometimes he doesn't speak with a loud voice but a still, small one.
Some of us had very subtle signs that could be done with the person in the middle looking directly at us and still not notice what we were doing and others had very obvious signs. These obvious signs had to be done quickly to avoid being caught. When I reflect on the fun we had it brings me to think about the signs that God sends into our life, some are subtle, others are quite obvious and some are all together overlooked.
A rainbow is probably one of the most sporadic signs that God gives us. When people see a rainbow they tend to point it out to others and wonder at its beauty because we don't see them every day. But do we also reflect on the true meaning of the rainbow: "I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. All the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh." Genesis 9:15
Doves are another sign that most probably don't see often and probably don't seem like a great sign but with further investigation it is easy to see these simple birds hold great meaning. In Genesis chapter 8 we see that a dove is the bird of choice sent by Noah out of the ark to find dry land. Over the course of 14 days Noah sent the dove out 3 times. The first time it returned with nothing, the second time it returned with an olive branch and the third time it did not return because it had found dry land! The flood waters of 40 days and 40 nights were now gone, Noah and his family were saved and were about to receive the covenant of the rainbow. Another great encounter with the dove is at Jesus baptism. The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, what a wonderful site it must have been to see the spirit of God in such visible form.
The rainbow and dove are obvious signs of God that Christians throughout history have been able to see. Then there are other signs that are not so obvious but are around us every day. Fresh tulips in spring, the first robin in March, leaves falling in September, a paycheck arriving later than expected but the day before a bill is due, a card in the mail on an especially low day; these are all signs from God that we tend to overlook. So I challenge you, look beyond what you see and reflect on what it means, look for what God is trying to tell you and rejoice that sometimes he doesn't speak with a loud voice but a still, small one.
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