Strength re-defined

God has been redefining strength in my life. I have been told that strength means: I cannot cry, I have to have a hold on my life, I must have control and convince others that I have it all together. The lie is this: I have to BE Jesus when I was intended to be His servant. This breaks my heart because I know that so many are being told this same lie. It is a heavy burden that we can never succeed at. It becomes a prison of failure and disappointment. Over this last year, God has been showing me that strength is to be broken, crying even!, at Jesus' feet, wishing that He would take over all control in my life.

I now find myself closer and closer to this image of true strength. As the lies of this world have battled with what Jesus has demonstrated in His life, the truth has victoriously preserved itself in my life.

The line stood out to me to "Let Jesus be the Stronger Man." It is hilarious because when I first read this I could hear that lie saying to me, "no, you got it kevin." What a lie! Me?? psh! What a joke, that is a scary thought. I am so thankful that God has brought it to my heart to give Him control and He has even given me true strength in this... Mind blown... But, it is still a daily and joyous battle and will always be. I often find myself gripping at control in different aspects of my life, but I can only pray that God would reveal those places to me and take them from me. This has been a painful process but so new, so incredible, so much joy, so freeing, and enlightening on who God is and who He asks me to be. He doesn't actually ask me to be anyone, except to realize who I already am and have been created to be.

I love our God. He never gives up on us. He never ceases to pursue us. We live in victory.

Love you guys!
-Kev

catching up!!

hi friends!!

I am getting SO excited about summer... it is coming up SO SOON! ahhh cannot wait to get to experience life with y'all on the water and get to share in the joy of Jesus together! This is my "catch-up" blog post, as I have been able to keep up with the studies on my own but have not been so great about posting on the blog... so here are my thoughts from the past couple of weeks! I have been SO encouraged reading all your thoughts!! :)

The Son of Man:

The main thing that this study reminded me of was the fact that when Jesus came to earth, became fully human and endured all the trials, hardships, and daily rountines that any other human would encounter – he was tempted by sin and suffered the same burdens as we do today, yet he chose not to sin and follow his Father. He came down as the Son of Man, to set an example of what it looks like to live a life following and serving the Lord. His full humanity also highlights his humility of being willing to step down from His throne in heaven in order to serve people who were not worthy of his love or grace, yet He freely gave it to them--- UNREAL. He was in no need for forgiveness since He lived a perfect life yet He still died in our place so that WE might be forgiven. And even though He assumed this lowly position, the Lord sets Him on the right hand of the Mighty One, whose domain is everlasting and whose Kingdom will never fade away… that’s the King that I get to serve this summer on the water… UNREAL. I just pray that we can all reflect the humility and love to our campers this summer that the Son of Man freely shows us every day.

The Bread of Life:

This study made me really reflect on what I think gives me sustenance and what things of the world I look to in order to bring me life, such as TV, getting good grades, spending time with friends, really loved and accepted by a group of people, especially campers, etc. When thinking of all these things that I believe bring me “life,” it was kind of like a giant wake up call of how temporary these things satisfied me and how I continually throughout my life am looking for something else of the world to fill me up and satisfy the needs of my heart, while Jesus is just simply standing there, arms open wide, saying “come to ME, I can give you everything you need for life and godliness, I am the BREAD OF LIFE, the only one who can satisfy your deepest longings.” And not only that, but it also made me take a step further and see what think I attribute my success to, such as my study skills, my ability to connect with people, etc. and how none of that success is because of myself or my abilities but is all because of Christ IN me and how I’m missing out on living life to the FULLEST, as Jesus states in John 10:10 by looking to all these other things to fill me up. God has designed this unbelievable life for me with Him being the one who satisfies my needs and HIM alone being my sustainer… this is the life I’m invited to be a part of every day when I wake up… why do I so often choose to be a part of an unfulfilling life of this world when Jesus longs to meet every single one of my needs, as HE is the only bread of life? Definitely making the prayer of this summer to be to only desire HIM and to never hunger, as Jesus will be the one sustaining me and meeting all my needs.

Light of the World:

Something that really convicted me about this passage was the idea of whether I choose to live in the darkness because it’s easier to be in the dark rather than in the light. As hopeful and promising the light is, I think I get nervous being in the light because then Jesus can see the depths of my heart, all of my sin, and how I am SO unworthy to be called a follower of Him. Even though it is still hard being in the darkness, which is just filled by aloneness, aimlessness, confusion, and fear, I think I believe that Jesus can’t see all my faults and imperfections in the darkness, which is completely false. And I think I’m learning that that’s the beauty of the light: the fact that Jesus does see the depths of my heart but loves me the same, the fact that I am so unworthy to be a follower of Jesus with all my sin and yet Jesus sees my sin, forgives my sin, and calls me His daughter. And by choosing to live in the light, we not only get to experience the indescribable, mysterious, unending love of Jesus, but we also get to experience life to the FULLEST, where we never feel alone, confused, helpless, or in fear. With being in the light, we get to now BOAST in our weaknesses, as we know that then the Creator of the universe is working and moving inside of us – so even though it may be scary and sometimes intimidating walking in the light, we now get to enter into a life fully surrounded by Jesus and fully immersed in His presence and love… what a blessing that is!

Stronger Man:

As I was reading this passage, I was getting extremely fired and pumped up thinking “YEAH, this is the God I serve, this is my King!”… the one who defected death, the one who sets captives free, the one who doesn’t destroy the enemy but binds the enemy up and relinquishes any power He has over us by forcing death to let its captives go… I serve this powerful, almighty God, who is the stronger man. He took away Satan’s greatest weapon… the fear of death itself and now we get to place our hope in the LORD and in the truth that we get to look forward to the future with joy, as we know now confidently that we will be back with our Father in heaven forever – we get to place our hope in THIS. It is so critical as a follower of Jesus to not only realize the hope we have in Jesus and all that our Savior has conquered, but also now the power that we have with Jesus, the Stronger Man, the Living God, choosing to dwell inside of us. Why would be afraid of anything knowing that HE, this almighty, powerful God that makes darkness tremble at just the sound of his name, lives inside of us and that we are made strong by HIM? We have NOTHING to fear with Jesus; we have no reason to live in fear – a life with Jesus now means a life of strength provided by HIM, a life full of confidence and JOY, where fear is completely casted out of our lives. THIS is the strength, hope, and power that we have in a life with Jesus – what an unreal blessing the Lord offers us in a life with HIM  

Strength through Weakness?

Hey SonShiners! Alex Here,

 Hope everyone is having a great week. Again, like all of these readings, this journal directly correlates to most of the experiences I have in the week. Wether it's at school or work there is always the daunting trials of evil scattered throughout our days; it starts to build up and then my weakness starts to show. Instead of being the stronger person, I'm in bondage to evil and act out harshly or say something out of retaliation. At the end of the day I'm so full of guilt and shame for the way I've acted I need to pray. Following the prayer, God puts the image of Christ and the literal Hell he went through to his journey to the cross, and how he never once acted out to those who hated him, but instead accepted the heavy burden of all their/our sins. It's humbling to think of how He lived his life. He is so strong in spirit and faith. Strength is being humble, not resisting, not retaliating, yet it's looked at as Weakness in the world. God uses these weaknesses to bring us closer to Him, and when we are close to God through Christ, we are far stronger.

Who are we bound to?

Hi guys :)

This week was really cool in meditating on this devo. My biggest take-away is that Jesus BINDS the powers of darkness and Satan. He digs down and "sees the true value of us" so he takes each slip of darkness and binds them. I imagine these binds as huge, thick chains, versus the frail bandages for a sprained wrist. I can also almost see Jesus whipping out a wand to magically bind the bindings together.. He did so permanently on the cross when He defeated death and did so every time his humble heart stumbled in our place. In today's society, being beaten, mocked, and tortured without the slightest hint at fighting back is considered weak, pitiful, and shameful. We even want the kid getting picked on in the movies to hit back! But Jesus calls us not only to stoop lower in servant love, he personally invites to be the stronger man WITH him. Even more so- let HIM be the stronger man. I am always so hard on myself when I mess up or feel guilty or don't do something 100%, so I try to unravel these binds Jesus has created for me so I can suffer my consequences. I don't dwell in guilt, but I try to take my sufferings back because I feel that I deserve them-me, the one who sinned or messed up. But Jesus, the pro of all pros at binding things up, is asking me (us) to allow His bindings to stay bound, heck, even throw in some more! Because when we are not bound by Jesus, who are we bound by? Exactly.

TWO AND A HALF MORE WEEKS.
Julia !

The Strongest Man

Jesus is always stronger. Without fail, He can defeat everything! Jesus is STRONGER than Satan!!! All that temptation and sin and doubt that the devil throws at us, is defeated by the one who came to save! I just want to copy and paste the entire devo and capitalize it in this blog. Death has been defeated. Think about that. Through Jesus, the devil can never overcome and death is no more. Sin has lost its power!!

I really love the statement at the end where it talks about how we, the weak, hurting and broken, are Jesus' treasures. In my brokenness, Jesus treasures me. When I feel worthless, Jesus sees me as his valuable daughter.

Last thing, right after that it talks about Jesus' humility as he is being mocked and tortured. He is being led to the cross by his own father with 100% trust. In order to defeat death, he had to experience this mockery and beatings. This summer, if we let him, God will lead us to the cross too. It's not going to be easy, but we have the Strongest Man leading the way.

There is power in the name of Jesus!

Jesus truly is the stronger man in all aspects! I am so amazed that not only is he surely physically strong, but also mentally and emotionally strong. The comparison of Satan being the strong man was so different to me. Sure I know that Satan has authority, I just picture a "strong man" in this sense as someone with good motives. Reading that opened my eyes to see that strength can be used in different ways. Then to read that the "stronger man",  Jesus, does not destroy Satan, but binds him that blew my mind even more. Jesus binds Satan, my first instinct would not be to simply bind the devil. Jesus is just so cool and so much more righteous than I could ever fathom and just doing these devotions is revealing that to me. I love the list of events that happened when Jesus died, a curtain that thick tearing is crazy! and the the entire Earth shakes! whatttttt! Graves are split open. Jesus really did conquer the grave, death lost it's grip on us, and there is so much power in this name! 

Have a great week guys! Chelsea (:

Perspective Shift

Hey guys sorry this is late I had a pretty gnarly week last week. So last week i had a chat with my pastor about asking for money, and I was having a pretty hard time swallowing what ever it was holding me back and breaking through that barrier of shame and pride. He told me that it is a gift Im giving people by asking for money, he said that people now a days are so caught up in the material world that its so hard to see God through there paychecks and that my asking for a simple donation gives them a jolt back to what God wants for them in life. Okay now on to my devotional. They ask us whats so special about Jesus? Well let me give you a few of my ideas. I read the verse Colossians 1:17 " He is before all things, and in him all things hold together," my mind was blown. The other week I strayed from Jesus because I was getting hammered emotionally mentally and physically, and I kept trying to find away to make it right, to fix it on my own. I failed miserably. After a whole week of just absolute internal chaos I realized that I hadn't once asked Gods opinion on the situation. So today when I stopped and was still I found Jesus right with me as he always is, there is no chaos that Jesus cant quench, no storm that he cant calm, all he needed of me was to be still and call out. He has held my life together and even when I fall he'll find someway to remind me that he was first and all things were created through him and through him all things are held together.

Not sure if any of that makes sense but there it is. So stoked to see you all soon!!!!   

The Strongest Man Who Ever Lived

            There are many clues in the Bible that lead me to believe that Jesus was physically strong. At 33 years old, He was probably in the physical prime of His life. He worked with His hands for His profession, as a carpenter. And also, He was God.

            At the end of His life, He really had a chance to use His strength. There is no doubt that Jesus could have easily evaded the guards who tried to take Him into custody. He could have put twice as bad of a beating on the people who mocked and tortured Him on the way to the cross, and He could have brought down a host of angels from Heaven to free Him when He was on the cross. But Jesus showed a different kind of strength, a total trust and reliance on His Father: a type of strength in the face of death, the ultimate adversity. Jesus showed the strength of humility and sacrifice.

            Jesus humbled Himself and died on the cross for us. What an example to follow! Luckily, we don’t have to literally die on the cross to humble ourselves. We can however humbly sacrifice ourselves physically, emotionally and mentally this summer, putting the needs of the people we will be serving (staff and campers alike) ahead of our own.

            I am expecting this summer to be tough. Good, that’s how it should be. I am expecting to be challenged in ways I have never been challenged before. Following Jesus is not easy and shouldn’t feel comfortable. Despite all of the pending discomfort, I can’t wait because I know God will be there to take care of me when I’m at my weakest.

            I want to encourage and challenge everyone (including myself!) this summer to run towards those feelings of weakness, exhaustion, embarrassment and pain; that is where God is working in you to make you stronger.

-JDK

Greater

Whenever I think back to last summer and serving as a barney one thing that stuck out to me the most was that I was really able to experience what it is like to truly on God's strength and not my own. There were so many mornings when I woke up thinking "how the heck am I going to make it through today when I'm barely awake enough to finish my quiet time right now?" But I did make it, and I somehow I went through each day finding so much joy and peace in being able to serve. Yes there were days that were a little harder, but I love how in all of that I saw how much I really need God, everyday all the time. There is no way I would of been able to do it without the power of Christ. It's interesting to see how when we place ourselves in a servant's position, putting others before us, in some of our weakest moments, we can really experience God's strength because I know often in those moments I really had no strength left, yet I don't think I ever ended a day thinking I can't go on. If in the name of Jesus there is enough power to conquer over death, then why would I want to rely on my own strength?

Stronger

I had been going through ephesians and came across a prayer of pauls. Several times he references strength, power, and where it comes from: Christ! 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. I really like that passage and i think it is so transcendent. I think on houseboats, part of 'finding our strength in Him by being weak' looks like exposing the illusions of roles and bringing our potholes to the light.

A Revelation of who we are

"Jesus turns out to be not only the perfect revelation of who God is, but also the perfect revelation of who we are, of who we were created to be"  What really stuck out to me from this devotional was the idea that Jesus is the revelation of who we are.  

"we run from Him because in His light we see - painfully at times - how far short we have fallen from who we were mean to be... we feel ashamed".  Yup.  Definitely feel that one.  There are times that I crave so much to be like Jesus but I recognize my mistakes and sins and failures and those thoughts deter me from following Him.  It is hard to admit but what I have to recognize is that when I am able to admit to my shame, I can let it go and find shelter and comfort in Him.  His light reveals who I am.  But his light also reveals who I have been created to be.  By following the light,  but following his example, I am brought out of the darkness in my life.  I stand forever in need of a Redeemer; in need of Him.  And I understand, serving this summer is not going to be easy, but the Light of the World will always be there.

My Bread of Life

Okay I owe you guys a couple of blog posts!! So here we go.

Jesus the Bread of Life - "do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you".
Jesus is the only one that can sustain us day after day and it is his approval and love we should be chasing after.  I too often get preoccupied with how other people perceive me and what they expect of me when the only person I should be worried about is Jesus.  I have been learning the hard way that this approval I seek from others does not sustain me and I am left feeling empty until I switch my gaze back to the Lord and rely on him for my sustenance.
Last summer, working as a barney, I learned that relying on Him was the only way to be sustained and refreshed everyday.  Every day I was shocked at how I was able to have so much energy despite the continuous hard work, lack of sleep, and self-sacrifice I was experiencing. I know I was only able to keep going because of the intense relationship I was building with Jesus.  He is the one that continually sustains me.  He is the only one that can truly fill me up.  He gives me exactly what I need to survive.  He is my Bread of Life.

Stronger Man

What stood out to me from this week's devotional was how Jesus did not seem like the stronger man when he was taken away, mocked, spit upon, and beaten, yet he was. When we think of the stronger man, we think of the person who obviously shows his strength and power. However, "Jesus' life redefined "strength" and what it meant to be strong." But, in what looked like weakness, Jesus bound the strong man.

This summer will be hard and tiring and we will feel weak, but how great is it that we can find our strength in Jesus, the Stronger Man!

Love you all!
Amanda

the stronger man

I loved the text in the devotional that said, "He binds the strong man because he is STRONGER! He does not destroy the strong man, but He binds him." I go to the gym almost everyday and lift weights to become stronger but reading this devotional has made me realize that I am actually weak. The only strength that I'm going to find is through him and him only. It has taught me that I need to let his strength comfort me rather than relying on my own physical strength because He is the STRONGER MAN! I need to humble myself and let him strengthen me through my weakness.

finding our strength in Him (by being weak)

"Let Jesus be the Stronger Man. We find our strength in Him by being weak."
 Because I deal with several physical health issues, I have been thinking a lot about how spending 9 weeks out on the water might come with some physical pain. Talking to boat drivers, I have learned that the pain you experience, and the weakness you feel is actually a great opportunity for growth. This is because it will cause us to seek our strength, (emotional, spiritual, and physical) from God alone. His strength will fill us even when our bodies fail us. I think it will be cool to see that even when I'm experiencing tiredness, physical pain, and exhaustion, I can find energy, rejuvenation, and STRENGTH from letting Jesus be the Stronger Man.

The Stronger Man Rocks my world

I think the one part of this blog that really stood out to me was the one quote that said "Jesus literally rocked the world". I say that Jesus rocks my world all the time. He wrecks me in every way possible just to build me back up into the person that He wants me to be. Although I always say it in the context of my own life, I never thought of Jesus actually ROCKING THE WORLD. Everything he does to me and my life on a daily basis, he did to the entire world when he died on the cross. That is so trippy to think about! Curtains are ripped in half, graves were opened, the earth shook, and he does that to me every single day to defeat the evil and bind Satan in my life. He is being the stronger man by doing all of those things. Maybe not literally, but figuratively definitely! He rips strong bonds that I have with people in half for a reason, he brings up the past so that i can move on, and he shakes me and breaks me all the time, but he does it for the sole purpose of being the stronger man and molding me into the child of God that he wants me to be. I thought that was pretty cool and pretty powerful.

Stefanie

No Batteries Necessary

Even at the ripe old age of 18 I still find myself fearing the dark. One noise in the dark that I can't shine a light on and I freak out. I really enjoyed this Devo specifically because it presents an idea of Christ's light that I don't think I've ever heard. Many times I have been taught that Christ's light will reveal anything and everything to me at once, but I have never found this to be the case. Yet in the Devo it is made evidently clear that Christ will only light up what he intends for us to see and follow, which is his Him. There's nothing more we need to know to successfully make it through this life except Christ. It is amazing how much God has been working this information into my head and heart.

Jesus has made His presence clear as the only light I need, he doesn't use batteries, he is the source, I'm the one with the batteries who needs the constant recharging. Yet He comes to me continually as I'm at 1% and asks "Can I plug you in? Will you let me recharge you? You know you can't stay this way very long, you know where your power comes from, and I'll give it freely."

-RB

Hungry

First off I really love food. Of course I especially love Bread. It goes well with everything, burgers, chicken, soup, hot dogs: it makes the meal complete, makes it delicious. As I was laying on the beach in sunny California reading this Devo appreciating the beauty around me I realized I was hungry. What would have really hit the spot for me was something big on bread, maybe a burger(or two). Much in the same way I realize that hunger should not only be present in the physical sense. There should be a Hunger for Christ in me, one that can only be fulfilled by Christ. Kinda in the same way that food is, Christ makes my life better, not necessarily the world around me, but the joy inside me is one he can only satisfy. My food won't really change the world around me, but it will fill a need I have.

That's a prayer I've recently been praying for. A hunger to be filled by Christ in the ways that I need most. It's one that I find most challenging to deal with too. Because of the nature of this prayer it is obvious that I most certainly do not always hunger for Him, though I should. Continuing in the Word and these Devo's is definitely a discipline that is leading to more hunger in me, and I hope it is doing the same for you.

-RB

Starry Skies

Hey friends!

It's already week 5 (okay, well, week 6 now), and I can't help but picture what week 5/6 will look like out on the water.. Trainee's, you'll be off the water, and Driver's, we'll only be about halfway through. I've been feeling so inadequate these past two weeks in being motivated on this blog. I've been attempting to grasp my own life away from Jesus as I become increasingly nervous for the summer, and yet exactly as this devo says, I'm quite literally crawling back.

Being challenged these past few weeks with darkness growing in my family and friend's lives, I find my heart breaking as well as panicking for them. But this devo has reminded me that JESUS is the light of the world, not the small lightbulb I turned on for myself-or whoever I care so deeply about. As I follow Jesus, so can the people around me...so can our campers. I don't have to worry about talking to this person or spending time with another; because as long as I am following Jesus, He will make those events happen. With his light Jesus will lead us into ministering to campers and bonding with our Barney's/ Trainee's/ Drivers. There is no opportunity to worry about the past, present, or future when we are igniting ourselves with His Holy Light.

Being an Astro nerd, this also reminds me of the sunset. The sun, our essential source of EVERYTHING sets, and we are set in motion to enter darkness. After a glorious sunset, we watch the sky grow increasingly darker, and there isn't much to see as our eyes begin to adjust...and then WHAM you see your first star! Your first source of light! And soon after another..and another.. And some time later the sky is absolutely covered by hundreds of thousands of stars, all pinpoints bursting with light. Finding constellations and shooting stars become increasingly magical, especially while lying on the roof of a houseboat. This sun setting into night is inevitable-it's nature, therefore it's natural. So isn't it natural for us to turn into the dark, only to find that it is one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL places our God can shine in His light?

Praying for everyone & their families, believe it or not.

Julia :)

falling plates.

Hey everyone!

hope you all had an awesome weekend and i cant wait to see you all memorial day weekend.

i saw this video the other day and it was SUPER RAD and id love to share it with you all.. so here it is!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGlx11BxF24