We are but Instruments

"When God calls you to himself, he also calls you to be a servant, an instrument in his redeeming hands."

I'm reading this book by Paul David Tripp. Depending on how much I like this book (and some other more important things), I might go to seminary to become a counselor.
As a Christian counselor my news must be first the Good News. "Hope is only to be found in Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. In him, lasting, personal heart change is possible. Any other message encourages false hope."

"We must offer not a system of redemption, but a Redeemer." This is because the essence of personal ministry is turning people away from finding hope in anything but Jesus. "He is the only answer, so we must never offer a message that is less than the good news. We don't offer people a system; we point them to a Redeemer. He is hope."

I write all these things in quotes because I couldn't say these things better in my own words. I think it is important for me to begin to wrap my head around these thoughts before I can progress any further.

"There is no such thing as an interruption when a person is involved, it's an oppurtunity." -Davideen Humphreys

This is an important quote to remember if you're in the business of loving people. Sometimes it is easy for me to get annoyed when I have my mind set on doing something and then someone wants to talk with me unexpectedly. I am so wrapped up in my life that I don't feel I have the time to listen to someone else. It is important to understand how important people really are. God made us to be social creatures. Every conversation is an oppurtunity to glorify Christ.

Side note: Life is exciting. Life with Christ is AMAZINGly exciting. I can't wait to see where I am in 5 years... even 2 years.

Freshman Retreat

2 Tim 2:1-17
Key Points:

2:2- "And these things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."

This is a very important verse at the BSU. Apparently, you earn brownie points if you memorize it.... Ha. The reason it is important is because Paul is stressing the importance of investing in others who will in turn be able to invest in someone else. This way the teachings of Christ can be spread quicker.

2 Tim is imporant because it shows Paul's courage in the face of death, gives us many helpful word pictures about how a disciple should live, and empahsizes that our response to salvation demands commitment and endurance.

Christ is our powersource.

The next part of this passage gives some helpful pictures. We are to follow Christ as a soldier, farmer, and athlete. The soldier analogy stresses that there is never an army of one. You need community of other believers to make it. Also a soldier is only concerned with what his commanding officer wants. He is disciplined and single-minded. Eph. 6:14-17; Heb. 4:12; 2 Cor. 6:3-13 all relate to the soldier. As an athlete we are called to be disciplined and run the race in such a way that we get the prize. As a farmer we work hard to bring the harvest in.

God's word is not chained. Isa. 55:10-11. God's word accomplishes what he wants it to accomplish.

It is important to accurately handle the word of truth and not spend time arguing about things you will never figure out.

So small...

Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing
Is just a grain of sand
And what you've been out there searching for forever
Is in your hands
And when you figure out love is all that matters after all
It sure makes everything else seem
So small

It's so easy to get lost inside
A problem that seems so big at the time
It's like a river that's so wide it swallows you whole
While you're sitting around thinking about what you can't change
And worrying about all the wrong things
Time's flying by, moving so fast
You better make it count because you can't get it back

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." -2 Cor. 4:17

I really like Carrie's new song. Sometimes we make such a big deal out of our problems, when many people have it much worse. We are so blessed to have all that we do.

It is really easy to get caught up in the small things. The unimportant things. We let small worries consume us, when we could have been spending that energy elsewhere. God tells us not to be anxious in anything. That's a hard thing to do for me, but it is necessary and I need to pray more and quit worrying.

In the end, Love is really all that matters.