Sunday, March 31, 2013
It Is Finished!
I don't know about you guys but I constantly find myself trying to fix things, to get rid of my sin, to change my life, to make myself better for God. But why, Jesus has already done all of that for me! It's so crazy for me to think about how thousands of years ago, Jesus cried out on the cross "It is finished!" and in that very moment everything that I find myself trying to cover up and fix, was already taken care of! I can now come before God as my broken self, because he has got it all taken care of. I love the line that says "This is not perfectionism this is hope." God has created a plan for my life and has called me to be more like him knowing perfectly well that I will fail and I will fall, but has left me with a hope that I can live my life striving to do the best that I can and someday I will spend eternity with him. It is so awesome to know that we can celebrate Easter everyday because the story of his resurrection didn't end on that third day, Jesus is alive today and he always will be and that calls for a celebration everyday! Happy Easter Everyone :)
The Deeper Meaning
When asked the question of "Who is Jesus?" a series of quick, simple, memorized responses come to mind. I often find myself choosing one of these go to answers because I assume it will be satisfactory to whomever asked the question. By choosing an answer such as "he rose from the dead", "he died on the cross", etc. I am selling both myself and the questioner short.
Before reading this week's Super Ultra entry I hadn't put much thought into who Jesus actually is. My standard response always dealt with Jesus dying for my sins and giving his life so we could live eternally in God's presence. I struggled to find a less superficial way of describing Jesus' role in my personal life. Jesus truly was the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God who takes away sins and sin itself, saving those who are not worthy of his mercy. I loved John the Baptist's answer to the same question, who emphasized the word LOOK. I need to look not on myself or the things I think I know of Jesus, but look onto Jesus himself and find the deeper meaning. To create a deeper relationship with Christ and dive deeper than the surface level.
Before reading this week's Super Ultra entry I hadn't put much thought into who Jesus actually is. My standard response always dealt with Jesus dying for my sins and giving his life so we could live eternally in God's presence. I struggled to find a less superficial way of describing Jesus' role in my personal life. Jesus truly was the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God who takes away sins and sin itself, saving those who are not worthy of his mercy. I loved John the Baptist's answer to the same question, who emphasized the word LOOK. I need to look not on myself or the things I think I know of Jesus, but look onto Jesus himself and find the deeper meaning. To create a deeper relationship with Christ and dive deeper than the surface level.
Taken Away
Happy Easter!!! One thing that stuck out to me about the Lamb of God was the taking away of the sin. The teeny tiny part of my brain that is super nerdy thought of this energy principle (stay with me..) that says energy is neither created nor destroyed, only changes forms. When I was reading about Jesus taking away our sin, I thought of it like energy. Jesus didn't destroy sin, but he 1. took it and 2. carried it off as His OWN. It had to go somewhere, so Jesus bore the weight of every single one of our mistakes as if He made them himself. Especially this weekend, as Good Friday passed and today we celebrate, I am just so unbelievably grateful for a Savior who took away the sin of the world.
All eyes on God
Hi Everyone :)
I hope you have an amazing Easter with all of your families and just take this time to remember all of the great things that God has done for us!
Anyways, the one part of the devotional that stood out to me most was how John answers the question, "Who is Jesus". We all get so caught up in everything else in our lives, that we forget to look past everything that is happening and remember who is behind it all. My favorite quote was "...it is not as important as Jesus." and that is so true! NOTHING is as important as Jesus and the way he died for our sins, but we take knowing Him and the gospel for granted when we start to get wrapped up in our own lives and we make other things our center, besides the most important thing in the world!
The second thing that stood out to me was how away meant to carry off. He doesn't just magically make our sins disappear, He died on the cross for them and carries them with Him everyday. I think that visual really helps me understand what a burden that Jesus did for us so that we could be free! It's just so cool to think about all of this and know that God knew all of the stupid things we were going to do, and he sent down His one and only son to take care of it for us.
Well have a good day everyone! God bless :)
Stefanie Eriksen
I hope you have an amazing Easter with all of your families and just take this time to remember all of the great things that God has done for us!
Anyways, the one part of the devotional that stood out to me most was how John answers the question, "Who is Jesus". We all get so caught up in everything else in our lives, that we forget to look past everything that is happening and remember who is behind it all. My favorite quote was "...it is not as important as Jesus." and that is so true! NOTHING is as important as Jesus and the way he died for our sins, but we take knowing Him and the gospel for granted when we start to get wrapped up in our own lives and we make other things our center, besides the most important thing in the world!
The second thing that stood out to me was how away meant to carry off. He doesn't just magically make our sins disappear, He died on the cross for them and carries them with Him everyday. I think that visual really helps me understand what a burden that Jesus did for us so that we could be free! It's just so cool to think about all of this and know that God knew all of the stupid things we were going to do, and he sent down His one and only son to take care of it for us.
Well have a good day everyone! God bless :)
Stefanie Eriksen
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Hide and Seek With Jesus
Hey Everyone!
The thing that really stuck out to me in this weeks devo was the continued reminder of Jesus saying look at me. I feel like the scariest part of being stuck in sin is finally coming to a place where you surrender everything and just look at Jesus. So often when I am sinning I try to hide from Jesus like the devo said, but it's more than that. I try to play hide and seek with Jesus. I stay in that sin, hiding from Him waiting for Him to come seek me. Though He is always so faithful to do so, how silly is it for me not to just turn straight to Him?? It is so simple an action but it is so scary and difficult. As Easter comes tomorrow, I am excited to just sit and reflect on the work our Savior has done for all of us.
Happy Easter!
-Haley
The thing that really stuck out to me in this weeks devo was the continued reminder of Jesus saying look at me. I feel like the scariest part of being stuck in sin is finally coming to a place where you surrender everything and just look at Jesus. So often when I am sinning I try to hide from Jesus like the devo said, but it's more than that. I try to play hide and seek with Jesus. I stay in that sin, hiding from Him waiting for Him to come seek me. Though He is always so faithful to do so, how silly is it for me not to just turn straight to Him?? It is so simple an action but it is so scary and difficult. As Easter comes tomorrow, I am excited to just sit and reflect on the work our Savior has done for all of us.
Happy Easter!
-Haley
Names
I find it very interesting that people have problems with names. Who am I? Even then I will sometimes describe me by the activities that I do, not who I am. I will take my eyes off what I do and focus on Him to get to know Him personally, by name, not action.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Good Friday Reflections
I was so excited this morning on my drive to
work because there wasn’t any traffic. I wasn’t bobbing and weaving through
neighborhoods and side streets. I was early for work, which meant I could get
coffee, so I was even more excited about that. I thought to myself, “You know
Kelly, today is a good day. It’s going to be a good Friday.” And then it’s as
if I heard a very audible, “DUH! Of course it’s going to be good, because it’s
Good Friday.” And in that moment the Lord convicted me something fierce. Today
is Good Friday, because today is the day that we celebrate the fact that Jesus
is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That fact, that truth,
is what makes today (and all the days, really) so, so good. It’s not the fact
that the movement of traffic worked out in my favor and I that I got coffee
before work. It’s good because of what He did on the cross for us. It’s good
because He rises. It’s good not because of what I do, it’s good because the
Lamb is taking away the sin of the world.
Today we remember and reflect on what Christ
did for us, is still doing for us, by looking to that cross. This weeks reading
really hit home for me, (and it’ll probably be hit home time and again) the
importance of not hiding from Jesus. He’s constantly pursuing me. He’s down in
my potholes with me, reminding me that the battles already been won. Sin has
already been defeated. He’s reminding me that in losing my life there is such
freedom. The fact that sin has already been defeated means more than that I am
free, it means that I am safe. It means that He is continually enchanting me to
Himself, and all I need to do is take my eyes off myself and look to who He is,
what He is doing, and live in to that truth.
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world.”
Blessings!
-Kelly
No reason to hide
The biggest thing that stuck out to me when I was going through this week's devotional is a message that I constantly find myself re-learning and re-discovering: Jesus conquers all!
Sin is powerful, there's no doubting that. The feelings that come along with sin such as guilt, shame and hopelessness are (without Jesus,) powerful enough to keep us in a vicious cycle of discouragement and make it seem like there is nothing we can do. But there is! Jesus has taken our sins away, allowing us to be free from the punishments of sin. Just because you have sinned in the past doesn't mean you are destined to live a life trapped by those sins. There is no reason we should hide from or fear our past, present or future sins; we should instead turn and fix our gaze on Jesus for deliverance and know a life living in and with Him is the greatest life there can be because He conquers all!
-JDK
Sin is powerful, there's no doubting that. The feelings that come along with sin such as guilt, shame and hopelessness are (without Jesus,) powerful enough to keep us in a vicious cycle of discouragement and make it seem like there is nothing we can do. But there is! Jesus has taken our sins away, allowing us to be free from the punishments of sin. Just because you have sinned in the past doesn't mean you are destined to live a life trapped by those sins. There is no reason we should hide from or fear our past, present or future sins; we should instead turn and fix our gaze on Jesus for deliverance and know a life living in and with Him is the greatest life there can be because He conquers all!
-JDK
we are cured!
What stuck out to me in this reading is "there is no need to hide from Jesus". This really hit me because I have been thinking a lot about how campers will look at me and perceive me. In the past, the drivers I have been with that open up and are not afraid to be raw and real with their campers are the ones that make the biggest impact. This allows for the campers to reciprocate and feel comfortable to be open as well. As brothers and sisters in Christ, there is no need to hide any of our brokenness before God, or each other. This is something I can be working on with my family, friends, and in my quiet times with God.
Something that goes along with this is the concept as sin as an "infection". I was talking with my dad (who is a doctor) about this, and he noted that if you stitch up or cover a wound, it has a risk of becoming infected. Whereas if you leave a wound open, it can't be infected. Likewise, if we hide and cover up our sin, it can be infectious. There is NO need to hide, because everything that needs to be done about our sin infection has already been done..we are CURED.
Jane
Something that goes along with this is the concept as sin as an "infection". I was talking with my dad (who is a doctor) about this, and he noted that if you stitch up or cover a wound, it has a risk of becoming infected. Whereas if you leave a wound open, it can't be infected. Likewise, if we hide and cover up our sin, it can be infectious. There is NO need to hide, because everything that needs to be done about our sin infection has already been done..we are CURED.
Jane
The Deadly Infection
He is the suffering lamb-who exchanges places with sinful humanity. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around sin and its lethality. Let's face it: it is the most deadly infection to ever plague earth throughout all of history. And the crazy thing is-most people don't even know they are infected! Often people live their whole lives, ultimately dying from this disease, but never knowing they had it! And the mind-blowing thing is that although it is the deadliest disease in the world, it is also the most easily cured disease in the world-through Jesus!
On my flights home from Driver Training, I read Proof of Heaven, a book written by a neurosurgeon who used to be apathetic to God or the idea of unconditional love/Heaven. Seemingly out of nowhere, he was infected with bacterial meningitis, a disease that eats away at the part of your brain that "makes you human-allows you to be conscious of your existence, and so forth." The doctor experienced a near-death experience by which he entered a place of unconditional love, acceptance, and indescribable beauty. (He also met his long-lost biological sister that he had never met or heard of before while there, but that's another story). Anyway, he came back from this experience, suffering comatose for 7 days, and entered back into the world changed and renewed, free from the bondage he once felt and with a new appreciation for the life he has been granted by God. In other word, he felt free from this deadly infection that had hampered him for years.
God has freed us from these feelings, emotions, and actions and calls us to run to Him, remembering that he, as Mike reminded us on Sunday morning, doesn't make mistakes. He has called us for a very real purpose-to serve Him wholeheartedly and to remember that we can be freed of this infection. We can't do anything to "cure" ourselves, we can't serve our way into salvation. It is only through the freely given, selfless gift of the Cross that are forgived, redeemed, and saved by grace through faith.
Although I know this, I have such a hard time asking for the "medication" of Jesus. Not just "asking" for it, but accepting it. He holds the syringe in front of me, ready to inject the painless shot of love, forgiveness, and freedom, yet I resist it. "Things are better when I am in control" I tell Jesus. "I know what I am doing." "I got this." Man, it is not until I humble myself at the foot of his cross, kneel down in front of him, and stand in awe of my weakness, incapabilities, and emptiness without him, that I can be freely redeemed. I think this weekend is a perfect starting point for me to remember the cross, his willingness to take on that deadly infection in order to free us from it, and then his resurrection that "killed death" once and for all.
On my flights home from Driver Training, I read Proof of Heaven, a book written by a neurosurgeon who used to be apathetic to God or the idea of unconditional love/Heaven. Seemingly out of nowhere, he was infected with bacterial meningitis, a disease that eats away at the part of your brain that "makes you human-allows you to be conscious of your existence, and so forth." The doctor experienced a near-death experience by which he entered a place of unconditional love, acceptance, and indescribable beauty. (He also met his long-lost biological sister that he had never met or heard of before while there, but that's another story). Anyway, he came back from this experience, suffering comatose for 7 days, and entered back into the world changed and renewed, free from the bondage he once felt and with a new appreciation for the life he has been granted by God. In other word, he felt free from this deadly infection that had hampered him for years.
God has freed us from these feelings, emotions, and actions and calls us to run to Him, remembering that he, as Mike reminded us on Sunday morning, doesn't make mistakes. He has called us for a very real purpose-to serve Him wholeheartedly and to remember that we can be freed of this infection. We can't do anything to "cure" ourselves, we can't serve our way into salvation. It is only through the freely given, selfless gift of the Cross that are forgived, redeemed, and saved by grace through faith.
Although I know this, I have such a hard time asking for the "medication" of Jesus. Not just "asking" for it, but accepting it. He holds the syringe in front of me, ready to inject the painless shot of love, forgiveness, and freedom, yet I resist it. "Things are better when I am in control" I tell Jesus. "I know what I am doing." "I got this." Man, it is not until I humble myself at the foot of his cross, kneel down in front of him, and stand in awe of my weakness, incapabilities, and emptiness without him, that I can be freely redeemed. I think this weekend is a perfect starting point for me to remember the cross, his willingness to take on that deadly infection in order to free us from it, and then his resurrection that "killed death" once and for all.
He sets us free
When I read this weeks devotional I couldn't help to think just how people perceived Jesus. To the people who followed him he was the Messiah, a general, one who was going to set the Jews free from Roman rule.
Yet, Jesus came as servant, the lowest form of a person at that time. He was set himself lower than anybody he served. He didn't preach about war or fighting. He preached about laying down his life for others, praying for your enemies, and turning the other cheak. In reality, Jesus was very backwords in his thinking as the Messiah.
People were looking for someone to set them free from their current state. But Jesus did just that. Jesus set us free in our hearts and minds. We no longer have to fight in the world that surrounds us, Jesus has already done that for us. He took the battle that rages us in daily and takes it on himself. Hey laid himself down as the lamb so we wouldn't have to. He was the lamb that set us free.
Yet, Jesus came as servant, the lowest form of a person at that time. He was set himself lower than anybody he served. He didn't preach about war or fighting. He preached about laying down his life for others, praying for your enemies, and turning the other cheak. In reality, Jesus was very backwords in his thinking as the Messiah.
People were looking for someone to set them free from their current state. But Jesus did just that. Jesus set us free in our hearts and minds. We no longer have to fight in the world that surrounds us, Jesus has already done that for us. He took the battle that rages us in daily and takes it on himself. Hey laid himself down as the lamb so we wouldn't have to. He was the lamb that set us free.
LOOK! It is finished!. Bam!
WOOOOOO! John's words here have been sticking with me since I first read the devo. "I have seen and testified that this is God's Chosen One." John had his work cut out for him: to make the people of Israel know that Jesus had come. To announce, through a humble baptism, that God's eternal plan of salvation was being made available to any and all who come to the cross. I see a similarity to us as Sonshine staff: we have been placed on these boats, given all the tools for ministry to happen, and a calling on our hearts to lead campers to the source of eternal life. By serving these campers, we are testifying that we know God's Chosen One, and that our sin, guilt, shame, and hopelessness has been washed away. Our testimony is of God's redeeming power, and campers will see this and be drawn to Jesus. One of my favorite quotes is attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: "preach the gospel, and use words if necessary." Our testimony this summer is that God's reconciliation is finished, and we don't have to let anything get in the way of experiencing, loving, and being loved by Christ in every moment. I loved the last paragraph in the devo where it says: "we do not have to be what we have become because of sin. The sin infection has been overcome." This reminded me of a great sermon I heard a few weeks ago, where the pastor said something along the lines of this: "So often we live our lives thinking "only if....." only if I had XYZ amount of money, XYZ computer, XYZ patience, forgiveness, etc. THEN I would be able to be the person I am called to be. What if we were to live in the "AS IF?" We have been forgiven, we are loved, we have every spiritual blessing, and we have God's grace, which is enough for us alone. When we start from our identity as Christ followers, our attitude and actions change completely." I am guilty of thinking that I need something, or that I need to be "better with Jesus" before I minister to campers, friends, or even tithe to my church. The sin of the world has been taken away! "Get your eyes off yourself/distractions/less important stuff and focus on the Lamb." Such a crazy, wonderful, and yet difficult thing for us to do.
I know that might not have been the topic of the devo this week, but thats where my thoughts went haha.
btw, "Svenhard's" is a just about the best way I have heard of to describe a reaction to a post. It encapsulates so many emotions that go beyond "encouraging" and "challenging." I dig it.
I know that might not have been the topic of the devo this week, but thats where my thoughts went haha.
btw, "Svenhard's" is a just about the best way I have heard of to describe a reaction to a post. It encapsulates so many emotions that go beyond "encouraging" and "challenging." I dig it.
Hope
1. There is no need to hide from Jesus
2. It is possible to change
3. Repeat
Holding on to this hope (Jesus) on this beautifully Good Friday.
Keep it up team, love the encouragement on this blog so far!
-Mike
2. It is possible to change
3. Repeat
Holding on to this hope (Jesus) on this beautifully Good Friday.
Keep it up team, love the encouragement on this blog so far!
-Mike
Thursday, March 28, 2013
bible+prayer
As someone who easily blew off quiet times/one-on-one times with Jesus/reading my Bible/praying for so long, I am sooo convicted when I slack off in this area. I can hear the things I say, the thoughts I think, the way I behave when I don't spend time with Him in comparison to when I do. There is such a difference. God has recently showed me more of His power in my life when I am taking time out of my day to learn more about Him away from everyone and everything else. So I want to say how key this devotional can will be when everyone is actively engaging their minds and hearts. I am so excited to see what He teaches us.
That being said, when I was looking at the "WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR SERVING ON HOUSEBOATS?" part, I saw that I get to not hide from Jesus, change from my sinful self, be honest, confess, and give all of myself to Him. I can confidently say this is not fully possible without individual time in the word and prayer every day. Those repercussions I just mentioned are accomplished and being accomplished in all of us through these precious times with Him. This is the relationship talked about in the beginning of the devotional. When I hear John saying, "Look...look... lift up your eyes, get your eyes on Him, stop looking to people, they are not as important as Him, look it's the Son of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" I am hearing "look, lift up your eyes, read your Bible, talk to Him, get to know Him, get to know who Jesus is!" God keeps reminding me how important it is, and that in order to know Him and answer the question "Who is Jesus?" our relationship and our days spent together need to be grounded in conversations (bible+prayer).
Side note: John says, "I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way for the Lord." I also love the imagery of John in the wilderness yelling out "Make straight the way for the LORD!!!" I see him walking around, not knowing where He's going or what is going to happen. You don't know what's up ahead in the wilderness. That's how I want us to be this summer and through this devotional. I don't know about you guys, but this summer looks like a wilderness to me. We don't get to know what's going to happen, but we get to call to each other through it saying, "Get ready for Jesus! He's coming! Summer 2013!" My prayer is that we can be preparing over these next two months by yelling to each other in the flat out wilderness, encouraging one another to make our ways straight for Him. I have no idea if this imagery is biblical, but I'm just gonna go with it.
That being said, when I was looking at the "WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR SERVING ON HOUSEBOATS?" part, I saw that I get to not hide from Jesus, change from my sinful self, be honest, confess, and give all of myself to Him. I can confidently say this is not fully possible without individual time in the word and prayer every day. Those repercussions I just mentioned are accomplished and being accomplished in all of us through these precious times with Him. This is the relationship talked about in the beginning of the devotional. When I hear John saying, "Look...look... lift up your eyes, get your eyes on Him, stop looking to people, they are not as important as Him, look it's the Son of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" I am hearing "look, lift up your eyes, read your Bible, talk to Him, get to know Him, get to know who Jesus is!" God keeps reminding me how important it is, and that in order to know Him and answer the question "Who is Jesus?" our relationship and our days spent together need to be grounded in conversations (bible+prayer).
Side note: John says, "I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way for the Lord." I also love the imagery of John in the wilderness yelling out "Make straight the way for the LORD!!!" I see him walking around, not knowing where He's going or what is going to happen. You don't know what's up ahead in the wilderness. That's how I want us to be this summer and through this devotional. I don't know about you guys, but this summer looks like a wilderness to me. We don't get to know what's going to happen, but we get to call to each other through it saying, "Get ready for Jesus! He's coming! Summer 2013!" My prayer is that we can be preparing over these next two months by yelling to each other in the flat out wilderness, encouraging one another to make our ways straight for Him. I have no idea if this imagery is biblical, but I'm just gonna go with it.
Takes Away
I just want to start off by saying how much I am looking forward to this devotional with you all. When Reid started talking about our interview answers to the question of "Who is Jesus?", I thought back to what I said, and realized that I probably listed the things he did/does instead of who he is. He is so much more than just what he does, and I look forward to diving into all that he is with you all.
What stuck out to me most in this section was how John uses away in this sentence. Jesus is the "one who takes up the sin of the world and carries it as his own and carries it off." He doesn't just take our sin from us and put it in a corner for us to always have haunting us, he takes it and carries it off. We don't see it again. I am the type of person that lets my sin sit with me for a while after giving it to Jesus. I know that he forgives me, but I tend to still feel bad about it afterwards. But, my sin, one brought to Jesus, is gone! He took it on himself and carried it away to the cross. It isn't sitting in hiding waiting for the moment to pop out and bring me guilt again, it is gone!
You are all in my prayers!
Amanda
What stuck out to me most in this section was how John uses away in this sentence. Jesus is the "one who takes up the sin of the world and carries it as his own and carries it off." He doesn't just take our sin from us and put it in a corner for us to always have haunting us, he takes it and carries it off. We don't see it again. I am the type of person that lets my sin sit with me for a while after giving it to Jesus. I know that he forgives me, but I tend to still feel bad about it afterwards. But, my sin, one brought to Jesus, is gone! He took it on himself and carried it away to the cross. It isn't sitting in hiding waiting for the moment to pop out and bring me guilt again, it is gone!
You are all in my prayers!
Amanda
How He Loves Us
Hey guys!
Three major things stuck out for me in this devo.
1. The whole part about "Look...lift up your eyes...get your eyes off yourself," most specifically, "yourself." Kev said previously about our works not mattering, and how rattling that can be. I often find myself so focused on what I can bring to the table for God, how often, and how much. But reading this passage reminds me of taking my eyes off my own heart, and really looking into Jesus. Someone just mentioned to me "It is far greater to know Jesus than to do something for Him." (so right!!)
2. When breaking down World, Sin, Takes Away, and Lamb of God, the Sin paragraph hit me pretty hard in that Jesus took away SIN, not just sins. We so often link "sin" to all the bad things-physically or mentally. But what sin's goal is is to break that relationship with God, and when Jesus died to rise again from the dead, he did just that; so we could have a perfect relationship with God.
aaaaand 3. I thought it was cool that when the devo says "Ask John the Baptist-Who is Jesus?" John says Jesus IS the Lamb...He IS the one who takes away...He IS the one who...He IS. Jesus didn't show up to take away the sin of the world for just a couple of days, or years. He IS taking away the sin of the world, right now. He IS the lamb, right now. And he LOVES us, right now. Jesus did all these incredible, mind-blowing things not because he loved us while he was hanging from the cross, he did them because he loves us now! Ohhhh, how he loves us :)
So pumped for this summer! Praying for everyone!
Julia
Three major things stuck out for me in this devo.
1. The whole part about "Look...lift up your eyes...get your eyes off yourself," most specifically, "yourself." Kev said previously about our works not mattering, and how rattling that can be. I often find myself so focused on what I can bring to the table for God, how often, and how much. But reading this passage reminds me of taking my eyes off my own heart, and really looking into Jesus. Someone just mentioned to me "It is far greater to know Jesus than to do something for Him." (so right!!)
2. When breaking down World, Sin, Takes Away, and Lamb of God, the Sin paragraph hit me pretty hard in that Jesus took away SIN, not just sins. We so often link "sin" to all the bad things-physically or mentally. But what sin's goal is is to break that relationship with God, and when Jesus died to rise again from the dead, he did just that; so we could have a perfect relationship with God.
aaaaand 3. I thought it was cool that when the devo says "Ask John the Baptist-Who is Jesus?" John says Jesus IS the Lamb...He IS the one who takes away...He IS the one who...He IS. Jesus didn't show up to take away the sin of the world for just a couple of days, or years. He IS taking away the sin of the world, right now. He IS the lamb, right now. And he LOVES us, right now. Jesus did all these incredible, mind-blowing things not because he loved us while he was hanging from the cross, he did them because he loves us now! Ohhhh, how he loves us :)
So pumped for this summer! Praying for everyone!
Julia
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The Lamb of God
Hi guys! I am so stoked already about this devo and what's to come!
Two things really stuck out to me this week...
1. First being how John answered all the questions of the priest and Levites. John repeatedly avoided the question as to who he was and in turn answered with pointing out who Jesus is. This just made me think about this summer, and while we are meeting campers, not to share who we are, but share with them who God is, which I know I struggle with. It is so easy to get caught up in talking about ourselves and glorifying what we have done, but we so often neglect to acknowledge that in this life, all our accomplishments, and all of who we are is from God himself. It's just a cool challenge for myself starting now, as I meet people not to make it the Chelsea show, but to share with people how great God is in my life.
2. The second thing that stuck out to me was simply the definition of "away." Away means to take up and carry or carry off. "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The Lamb of God who takes up and carries the sin of the world. The Lamb of God, Jesus, literally took up each of our sins and carried them off, by the cross. That whole verse is just a packed sentence and I really enjoyed examining it bit by bit, and being more and more convicted of the love Jesus had for his people.
I hope you're all having great week!
Blessing, Chelsea Goza
1. First being how John answered all the questions of the priest and Levites. John repeatedly avoided the question as to who he was and in turn answered with pointing out who Jesus is. This just made me think about this summer, and while we are meeting campers, not to share who we are, but share with them who God is, which I know I struggle with. It is so easy to get caught up in talking about ourselves and glorifying what we have done, but we so often neglect to acknowledge that in this life, all our accomplishments, and all of who we are is from God himself. It's just a cool challenge for myself starting now, as I meet people not to make it the Chelsea show, but to share with people how great God is in my life.
2. The second thing that stuck out to me was simply the definition of "away." Away means to take up and carry or carry off. "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The Lamb of God who takes up and carries the sin of the world. The Lamb of God, Jesus, literally took up each of our sins and carried them off, by the cross. That whole verse is just a packed sentence and I really enjoyed examining it bit by bit, and being more and more convicted of the love Jesus had for his people.
I hope you're all having great week!
Blessing, Chelsea Goza
Renewed
Hello everyone! =)
This week's devotional on the Jesus as the Lamb of God has been very encouraging. I actually got to have a good talk with my mom right in the middle of reading through it in which we talked about Jesus and His death and resurrection. I was able to pull a lot directly from the devotional.
I am reminded that it is not by my works. This is tough for me in that it goes against all that I have ever known. God seeks to redeem and renew this in each of us. It is a battle everyday. BUT! I am reminded also of the awesome truth that victory is here in what Jesus did on the cross. To be very honest, I feel as if I do not understand this. =) I see it as an unopened gift. I am excited to understand. Imagine Jesus laying down the gospel to us! He'll say, "My son, for you I did this..." ... ...dang! =D
Blessings to each of you each day!
-Kev
This week's devotional on the Jesus as the Lamb of God has been very encouraging. I actually got to have a good talk with my mom right in the middle of reading through it in which we talked about Jesus and His death and resurrection. I was able to pull a lot directly from the devotional.
I am reminded that it is not by my works. This is tough for me in that it goes against all that I have ever known. God seeks to redeem and renew this in each of us. It is a battle everyday. BUT! I am reminded also of the awesome truth that victory is here in what Jesus did on the cross. To be very honest, I feel as if I do not understand this. =) I see it as an unopened gift. I am excited to understand. Imagine Jesus laying down the gospel to us! He'll say, "My son, for you I did this..." ... ...dang! =D
Blessings to each of you each day!
-Kev
Monday, March 25, 2013
Identity in Christ
As I was reading this weeks study the first thing that I took notice of was when the priests were questioning John. As the priests were battering John with questions about who he was, he never took the opportunity to toot his own horn. Instead of describing who he was concerning his actions, John described himself as a disciple of Jesus and that everything he was doing was for Him. We see that John humbly admits to his actions in order to glorify God and not himself. Later on, John continues to describe who Jesus is by simply stating that He is the Lamb of God. That He has come to change our hearts/lives and to save us from our own sins.
I also loved the point about how the world changes the order around and turns "Lamb," "Takes Away," "Sin," "World." into "World," "Sin," "Takes Away," "Lamb." This list right here accurately describes our Earth, and our culture. Our culture so desperately attempts to change our perception of our own religion and I tend to fall into this trap easily.
These two points stuck out to me the most, for they both are problems that I deal with on a daily basis.
Love you guys!
- Steph
I also loved the point about how the world changes the order around and turns "Lamb," "Takes Away," "Sin," "World." into "World," "Sin," "Takes Away," "Lamb." This list right here accurately describes our Earth, and our culture. Our culture so desperately attempts to change our perception of our own religion and I tend to fall into this trap easily.
These two points stuck out to me the most, for they both are problems that I deal with on a daily basis.
Love you guys!
- Steph
The Conquering Lamb
When I was reading I was drawn to the phrase that was used "get your eyes off of yourself, look , take your eyes off what you think you know and look at Jesus." I found this so intriguing because so often I find my self so focused on what's wrong with my life, how do I fix it, what can I do to make myself better, when what I should have been do was droping all my garbage and all my baggage at the feet of Jesus and looking up.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Welcome
Hello Drivers-Trainees-Special Teams!!!! Welcome to the blog. I hope that this serves you well in preparing you for the summer. God Bless and get blogging!
-Reid
-Reid
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)