Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Additionally, today I shared my story with the group at dinner. I prayed beforehand and I think that really helped because it went very smoothly. I had good eye contact, spoke up, spoke clearly, had good hand gestures, and actually said what I wanted to say, so it was a good feeling :) We were told to keep it under 3 minutes discussing the before, during, and after of our walk with Christ. I basically said that at first I went to church b/c that's what our family did. I intellectually understood that Christ died for our sins, and I thought I was a relatively good person and that was good enough for me. It was never an issue that I wholeheartedly pursued. In 6th grade, I went to a retreat to Panama city to meet some new friends and it was fun. Once I got there, I was inspired by all of these teenagers who not only acknowledged their Savior, but they actually actively pursued Him. I realized that this "Jesus Stuff" was pretty important. So by my 7th grade I really sensed that God was calling me to a life of adventure in Him. I told my dad about it and I prayed to receive Christ's gift of salvation and shortly thereafter I was baptized. Some people may think that my life was all sunshine and roses afterward. In fact, it was just the opposite. I, by my nature, am extremely competitive. If I attempt anything (school, athletics, etc) I want to excel at it. Now I was adding to this list the pursuit to becoming a more Christlike person. It got to the point where I thought I was this "perfect" Christian who had everything together. I discovered in college that I am just as susceptible to sin now as I was before I accepted Christ. I still need to walk with the Lord daily because I can't do it by myself. So I still have pride issues for sure, but I'm praying that God will continue to show me areas that I need to let Him control and I look forward to the adventures that He has for me in the future.
That's what I said in a nutshell at dinner. The evening finished with a two hour session playing the game "signs." That was such an intense game and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Tomorrow we've got a morning session (I forget the topic...) and we'll go on a hike too!
Until next time!
-Erica
Friday, June 11, 2010
The sun still chose to stay around and we had our session outside on the lawn about following up with new believers. Yay for new and helpful material! And I saw a circular rainbow around the sun today. Who knew that was even possible?
I'm still digesting all the information from last night. Additionally, since we as humans have finite minds. There will be truths that seem paradoxical; they're antinomies (2 truths that fit together but we can't figure out how). So concepts like free will and God's sovereignty are both established in the Bible and there's tensions when we try to fit the two concepts together. The great part is that we don't have to understand how it works together. God is God in His infinite sovereignty and we are still limited. Imagine Flatland or something, the two dimensional line can't even comprehend the three dimensional world and yet IT STILL EXISTS!
And if we have genuine questions about God it does not mean that we desire an intimacy with God (not a lack of faith). Without the Holy Spirit we can't even come to close to grasping the gospel (from 1 Cor. 2:14), but God never denies Himself from those who truly want to know and seek Him. So if there are any confusions or doubts, don't hesitate to pray that He reveal Himself to you (this only really works when you delve into the Word, because the Word is enough to transform lives). Rom 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of Christ. So got questions? Dive into the Word and see what happens :) I'm not say you'll be able to understand the complexities of the Trinity and the virgin birth of Jesus because that's hard for anyone to understand period, but I challenge you to praying and reading the Bible consistently for 15 days. Let me know what happens.
It also blows my mind that humans can only understand the gospel if the Lord chooses to open our eyes, so my job as a Christian is not to prove everything to others. I simply need to show various evidences and the Lord takes care of the rest. Isn't that a relief?
So here are some of the resources that Don recommended:
Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics
Evidence that Demands a Verdict (and New Evidence that Demands a Verdict) by Josh McDowell
Geology: A Biblical view on the age of the Earth (DVDs)
The New Answers Book 3 by Ken Ham
Creation Library Series (DVDs)
Evolution of Darwin: His Life, His Science, and His Impact (DVDs)
Ultimate Proof of Creation: resolving the original debates by Lisle
Time for dinner in Jackson Hole! Hope this is helpful!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
"He who is coming will come and will not delay.
I would love to hear anyone's opinion on these verses, but we came to the conclusion that not all people who start out as Christians actually ed up in heaven. Hebrews 12:1 “Run with endurance the race that God has set before you” by comparing Christianity to a race implies that people drop out. Not everyone makes it! Those claiming to belief in Jesus Christ are abundant, but how many actually follow in obedience? Matthew 7:16 says you can tell what kind of person someone is by looking at what kind of fruit they bear in their life.
If people aren't producing fruit and passively living their life as a Christian by name only, they are not going to heaven. This is a truth that deeply saddens my heart. It doesn't matter if someone begins strong in their walk if they drop out and never finish the race. The race is hard and long and requires endurance. Someone who professes their faith, maybe has some terrible life events that leads to them turning their backs on God (not going to church, not devoting their lives to Christ anymore) and according to these passages, that's enough to change their eternal destination.
If these passages are true, then why are we not more passionate to reach those around us? Why don't we dare to initiate those scary conversations if the Spirit leads us in that direction? Why are we so content to living for ourselves rather than for the God who created life?
I've just had a lot on my mind lately and I've come to the conclusion that once you are saved, you are not always saved if you do not respond by acting in obedience and cross the finish line at the end of the road.
Friday, June 4, 2010
We discussed the importance of words and how there are over 60 difference references in the Bible (probably way more than that) that discuss how powerful language is and it's potential to bring people down or raise people up in addition to five different ways that words are misused whether it's being too flippant and sarcastic, too direct, not direct enough, etc.
We met to discuss our weekly devotional which really focused on trying to define Christian "revival" and what that means. Contrary to my belief, it's not something that I have to initiate. God is the one who plants that desire in our hearts and then comes chasing us the instant we choose to turn around and reflect in Him. There was a really convicting checklist we went over asking us to analyze our hearts. It was incredible humbling. I'm not the little miss perfect who's gotten better through legalism and all this and that. I am still guilty of sinning. I'm not a sinner, but I still sin in so many different areas, whether it's motives, wanting to please people more than God, the list goes on. It just makes me all the more grateful for the gift of salvation that I've received because being a relatively good person means that I still fall shirt.
There's a saying that says no one is perfect. It should be changed to say that no one is even close.
PTL for His amazing grace and gift of salvation.
I'm learning so much about myself. I don't really like admitting that I'm not perfect. Left to my own devices I would still be trying to perfect myself through my own efforts.
The night finished on a fun note however. We met and had icecream and I played Risk for the first time ever. It was epic. We stayed up waaay too late and I'm precariously holding my own with Europe and Asia :) We had to end early and there's two other people that I have to conquer. Lol, I'm not competitive...... ;)
Have an amazing weekend. It's rock climbing today after we meet for our talk today!!! I'm so stoked.
XOXO
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Right now I've been going over Philippians 4:11-13. It's the verse that explains that we can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength and as a result we can be content. That was really helpful today especially with Danielle's surgery. Her back surgery went extremely well. The doctors even asked her to let them do a case study on her because she has very little pain and swelling right now with a dramatic improvement in her spine curvature. PTL! I learned that cute little saying yesterday. It means, "Praise the Lord!" So that is SUCH a huge relief, BIG TIME.
Also, we worked through the differences between genuine and false Christianity. We worked through an entire page of Bible verses and it really exposes that it's not really enough to believe that Christ died for our sins. An excellent illustration that Lisa gave (she's Al's wife and Al works with us at GT Crusade, btw) and it goes like this: she pointed to this stool in front of us and then asked one of us if we thought it would support your weight. Of course we said yes, we've seen people sitting on it, it looks structurally sound, etc, etc. The difference between a genuine and non-genuine Christian is this: the genuine Christian will actually go and sit on that stool and let it support their weight. They're not flailing their legs or doing anything to make it easier for the stool. They're simply relying completely and totally on this piece of furniture / foundation in their life.
That's just one of the many useful illustrations they gave today. I could divulge even more.
Jackson Hole is just so beautiful. I went on a bike ride that was absolutely breathtaking, yesterday we visited a family cowboy bar with western music and went on an easy hike to a picturesque lake near the mountains, and I'm excited for what God has in store tomorrow.
Take care and God bless!
Monday, May 31, 2010
The view from the lodge is spectacular. We are situated in a little town called Wilson which is between Jackson Hole and the Tetons. The mountains are snow covered, it was 55 degrees in the middle of the day, and we have this entire field of grass for us to relax and look up to the scenic mountains. It truly looks like a painted background when I look out the window.
I'm resting at an elevation that is about a mile + another 1000 some-odd feet above sea level. We'll see how well I've adjusted to the altitude when we go on an easy hike tomorrow in the snowy mountains!
I have already made many new friends and it's just amazing how outgoing and genuine everyone is about strengthening their walk in the Lord. I've met Lily, a dancer from Ontario, and she reminds me SO much of Madeleine (needless today we're becoming fast friends). I'm so excited and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me this trip.
I love you guys and I'll keep you posted!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Hola!
Yay for creating blog pages at the last minute!
Have a great summer everyone!
-Eri