Thursday, February 25, 2021

In One Ear, NOT Out the Other

 Hiya folks!

Once again we had one of those smaller groups last night, but we still had a blast playing some 9-Square together. Saw some new faces as well as some old faces, but of course, all of those faces were wearing masks...

For this post, let's jump right into the message. Last week we looked at 7 things that the people of God were devoted to in the earliest days of the church: Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking Bread, Prayer, True Community, Praising God and Welcoming New Members. This week we focused in on the first one: Teaching. Now, we've already established that our group is fairly "devoted" to teaching, if you mean that as we have a message every week. However, we are not devoted like the early church was devoted.

Before we go any further, let me ask you. When it comes to school, do you ever ask yourself "When am I ever going to use this in my life"? I did, a lot in fact. I felt like we were learning just for the sake of learning. And you know how much of that knowledge I've kept? Not much. The knowledge went in one ear, stuck around for the test (usually) and then went right back out the other ear. When I think back to my youth group days, I think something similar happened. I mean, back then the leaders taught a message every week, just like we do now. But, I never did anything with them. I don't even remember any of them. 7 years of messages - gone. One could argue that some of it stuck, and I am sure that's true. However, at the time I wasn't applying any of it. We might hear a message on kindness, but I wouldn't be kinder after it. We might hear a message on selflessness, but I wouldn't be any less selfish after it. And here lies our issue with our devotion to teaching in our group. How many of you can honestly say that you actively apply every message shared on a Wednesday night? Is your life any different after hearing a message from God's Word? If the answer is generally "no", then you have a devotion problem. Listen to what James says in his letter to the churches:

James 1:22-25 - "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it - not forgetting what they have heard but doing it - they will be blessed in what they do."

Let me ask another question: Have you ever pulled out your phone to check the time, only to do it again 2 seconds later because you already forgot what the time was? Yeah, I've done that, sometimes 10 times in a row. Or how about reading the same sentence 12 times before finally registering in your brain what it says? That's what James is talking about in this part of his letter. When we treat God's Word like we treat checking the time (unconsciously listening), we deceive ourselves into thinking we are doing what God wants us to do. But we're not. James is basically calling out these church people and saying "Yo guys! You're listening to sermons every week, and yet its like it is going in one ear and out the other! Quit it! Close your other ear!" He says to not be hearers only, but doers. When we "do", or apply, what God says in the Bible, James promises that we will blessed in doing it. It will go well for us and our efforts will not be for nothing.

So the questions is, how do we become doers and not just hearers? How do we devote ourselves to teaching?

I said it last week and I'll say it again - take notes. When I was a student, I only took notes at camps and retreats, and never at youth group. And do you remember how many of those YG messages I remembered? Zero. Even worse, I have no notes to go back to like I do with the camps and retreats. So not only did I not apply what I was learning at the time, but I have completely forgotten it! Just bringing a notebook and a writing utensil to Youth Group (and actually using them) can go a long way in devoting yourself to teaching. It will help you remember what has been taught (just as this blog is intended to do) and find ways to live it out in your life.

Another way to become devoted to teaching is to join a Bible Study when we offer them. It just so happens that we are starting two studies at the end of this month: How To Be a Man and Experiencing God. Each study we offer is unique and works through a different aspect of our faith, and each one contains specific applications to help you connect what you're learning to real life. With rare exceptions, these are group studies, which means you will be learning and growing spiritually alongside your peers. You get the opportunity to ask questions and discuss life application together, rather than trying to figure it all out on your own (which we were never intended to have to do). That is a huge part of the learning process, and I believe it is part of why virtual learning is so tedious. Plus, the discussion can be a lot more focused in a small group than in our Summit meetings.

The main idea here is to not only hear the Word of God, but to do what He says. Look for ways to apply each message to your life. For this one, that means bringing a notebook and writing utensil to Summit next week, and/or joining a Bible Study.

How can you be devoted to teaching?

Thursday, February 18, 2021

A Christian's First Step - God's Community

 HEYO!

I do not remember when I started saying that, but it has been a staple in my YG greetings for many years now. It has that light-hearted, ecstatic feel to it, you know?

Last night we had yet another small group - but we had fun with it. I introduced a couple of you to the wonders of "Love Letter" (simple game, loads of fun) and I am anticipating a great time at our upcoming Game Night. While I had left Gaga set up from last week, none of us touched it (although MadFrame and I played a nasty game of Wall Ball). Is it just me, or are we all ready for Covid-19 to get over itself?

This was week 2 of our worship experiment (using the bluetooth speaker to play music as we sing along) and I think it went rather well - except for when I printed the lyrics to the wrong version of the song, hehe. The two songs we sang together were We Fall Down and God of Wonders, both by Kutless. They brought our minds to submission and wonder before our mighty God.

Now, on to the message. I shared last night that before I met Emilie, I had been praying for many years for God to bring the right woman into my life. I was getting impatient and frustrated because I was longing for companionship in my life. Then, just a year or two before Emilie showed up, I was hit with a challenge in the form of a question: "Are you the right man for her?" The idea being that I needed to grow and mature and become the man that my future wife needed. I needed to strive to be Mr. Right for my Mrs. Right. This changed everything. Rather than longing for God to bring the right woman, I switched gears and started growing into the right man. And now, looking back, I honestly believe that if God had brought Emilie into my life before this challenge, we would never have gotten married - because I would have messed up the relationship. I was too immature and selfish to handle being in a committed relationship, and it never would have worked. God, in His infinite wisdom, had chosen to hold off on bringing Emilie until I had grown.

Last week, we talked about a mindset shift for Christians: When we become a Christian, we are not trying to fit God into our story, but rather we are looking for our place in His Story. And this week we looked at part one of the answer to that, the first step in finding our place in God's story - entering into a Christian community (the Church). To see what this looks like we read Acts 2:42-47, which is a picture of the very first church community and what they did as a community. Keep in mind before you read this (below) that immediately before this the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus' disciples and allowed them to speak in tongues (other languages) and Peter gave a rousing sermon (and Gospel presentation) to the Jews in Jerusalem, after which 3,000 people came to faith in Jesus! THAT is the community this passage talks about:

Acts 2:42-47 - "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

At the earliest point of the church, when someone became a Christian, they weren't just left on their own to fend for themselves - they were added to the church community. I condensed the main activities listed here into 7 categories:

1. Teaching

2. Fellowship

3. Breaking of Bread (sharing meals)

4. Prayer

5. True Community

6. Praising God (worship)

7. Welcoming new members daily

Our youth group is a modern day Christian community, so let's see how we measure up to the activities that should be found in one:

1. Teaching - we have teaching (this was a message, was it not?) - check.

2. Fellowship - we have fellowship - check.

3. Breaking Bread - if snack counts as sharing a meal, then we break bread! - check.

4. Prayer - we spend time in prayer, though not much and its usually just one of us, so - half-check.

5. True Community - do we check up on each other outside of YG, helping and building each other up? Perhaps a little bit, but this is definitely lacking - half-check.

6. Praising God - especially now with our worship experiment - check.

7. Welcoming New Members - taking Covid-19 into account, this is still very lacking in our group - no check.

So, we have some of these things in our group, but we really need to work on a few. What is interesting in the passage, and we'll talk more about this below, is that the last part says "the Lord added to their number...". This is where my opening story ties in. Just as God didn't bring Emilie into my life until I was ready to have a committed relationship, so I believe He won't bring in new members to our community until we are ready to welcome them in. Are we the kind of community that is going to help a new believer grow in their faith? So with this in mind, let's look at what it means that the early church devoted themselves to these things and then think about how we can devote ourselves to them as well.

Devoted to teaching: paying attention to lessons and messages for the purpose of understanding how it applies to everyday life. Just like we talked about in our Sunday School series from James 1, its about doing, and not just hearing what God has to say to us. This would also involve reading the Bible on our own and looking for ways to live it out.

Fellowship: This is more than just hanging out. This means that we look for ways to spend time together and work together in service to the Lord. We look forward to doing life together, eating together, serving together, working together, laughing together, mourning together - its that sense of togetherness.

Breaking Bread: This was not only a commitment to observing the Lord's Supper (communion), but also eating together and making sure that everyone had enough food to feed their families - so it involved providing food for the poor and hungry.

Prayer: This wasn't just praying over a meal or sharing requests with each other, this involved praising God, talking to God, thanking God, and looking for the will of God throughout the day. Not just once a day or once a week, but all the time. They prayed both in groups and on their own.

True Community: This involved making sacrifices for the good of others. Now, not everyone sold all they had, but those who had extra stuff (the rich and well-off) sold their excess so that others in the community could be provided for. This involved thinking about the needs of others before their own interests. "Others First" is the mentality here.

Praising God: This involved way more than singing a few songs together on a Wednesday night. This was a mindset of joy that was constantly thinking about God and putting Him first in everything. It certainly included singing songs of praise, but also included acts of kindness and obedience to what God says is right and good.

Welcomed New Members Daily: Now, God was doing the work here. He was the one adding to their number. But why was He adding to their number? Because they were the kind of community that new believers needed in order to grow and mature in their faith. God was doing the work, and the church got to be a part of it.

This is important because we are supposed to be a Christian community, and as such we should be welcoming in new members. Covid-related reasons aside, this isn't really the case, which tells me that perhaps we are not the kind of community that God wants to add new members to. I am not trying to put words into God's mouth, but the evidence is there. So, how do we become a healthy Christian community? By devoting ourselves to these things! Last night we discussed some practical ways to devote ourselves to these things, and I took a picture of the results of our discussion (see below):


We defined "devote" as meaning "to give our whole attention, time and energy to something". So as you look at some of these things, think about what it would mean to give all of your attention, time and energy to them. How would our community change?

Teaching - pay attention to messages, take notes, think through specific ways to apply message, look back at past notes to remember, join a Bible Study (also applies to fellowship, prayer, and breaking bread in some groups), talk to others about the messages...

Fellowship: Get to know other members of the YG better - intentionally have conversations with people you don't know very well...

Breaking Bread: Invite friends over for meals, bring food to contribute to our church's Perpetual Pantry...

Prayer: Pray in the morning before school or at night before bed, talk to God throughout the day, ask other people for prayer requests and offer to pray for other people, share requests/praises with others, volunteer to pray at YG, look at past examples of prayers (like the Lord's Prayer), keep a prayer journal to track how God answers prayers...

True Community: pay attention to what others are going through, offer to help when you can, be willing to give up what you want in order to provide for someone else (example, rather than buying new shoes, offering to buy groceries for someone else), or offering to help someone else go to camp, shoveling someone else' driveway/sidewalk (without asking for payment) - the 5 love languages (acts of service, words of affirmation, giving gifts, quality time, and physical touch - demonstrate love and care practically...

Praising God: Singing worship songs in the car or at home or at YG, thanking God for things throughout the day, obedience = praising God...

Welcoming New Members: invite friends, pray for God to provide new members, BE WELCOMING WHEN SOMEONE NEW COMES, and share the Gospel with your friends - they need Jesus, too!

I hope you are challenged by something shared here, and I hope you begin to work on at least one these areas this week. And don't stop there, continue working on each of these until we all grow into maturity of faith!





Tuesday, February 16, 2021

A Piece in His Puzzle

 Greetings gang! Despite all this recent snow, we were able to meet in person last night for Summit. =) Although we had a fairly small group, I really enjoyed seeing everyone's faces and playing Gaga with a bunch of you. As I commented last night, I really miss gym class (it was one of my favorite classes in school, which I know is not the case for many of you). Without it, I am left without much pressure to get up and move around from day to day, which leaves me sitting around at home or in my office most of the time. Let's just say that this lifestyle does not lead to health and fitness. All of that to say, Gaga really took it out of me last night. My legs are feeling it today! Whew! Since many of you weren't able to join us, let me just share with you three new moves I introduced in Gaga - the Swooping Strike, the Ricochet, and the more defensive Redirect. The Swooping Strike is simple in concept, but can be hard to pull off, especially if you are close to the wall. Essentially, you swing your striking arm up first (like pitching in Softball) and then swiftly swoop down at the ball. You can get a lot of power out of this, and it looks cool too! The Ricochet is exactly as it sounds (and perhaps it isn't exactly a "new" move). You hit the ball off the wall, angled so it bounces toward your target. Jummel improvised another version of this where she was aimed at one person but struck the ball at an angle so it shot toward a different person. It was pretty awesome. And finally, the Redirect is also as it sounds (maybe I should work on the names?). When the ball is coming at you, rather than dodging or straight up blocking the ball, you hit it to the side. This is especially useful when someone who hits like a cannon is in the game, as it makes it so you don't have to take the full impact of their strike. This can also be offensively to redirect the ball toward someone else - midair. I like to aim it directly at someone's feet so its harder to dodge.

Anyway, enough about Gaga! We tried something different last night in an attempt to bring some intentional worship back into our Wednesday gatherings. Using our Summit "boombox" (bluetooth speaker), I played two songs - Heart of God and Build My Life - and passed out lyrics to both songs to everyone. Then, we sang along with the song. Personally, I think it worked pretty well. The challenge was to be comfortable enough to sing out loud and also to actually mean what we were singing. Worship is a central aspect of what it means to be a Christian, and I am glad we were able to intentionally engage in it last night together.

Now, as for the message. Emilie and I like to put together puzzles (on occasion). *whispers* For Valentines Day I bought a custom puzzle with one of our engagement photos on it that we can work on together. *stops whispering* When I work on a puzzle, I tend to start with one section and look for pieces that fit into my section. Unfortunately, since I usually work on 1,000 piece puzzles, there are just too many pieces to look through and this can get really frustrating. So then I switch gears, and I take one piece and begin to look at the big picture to try and figure out where this one piece goes. Then I take another piece and do the same, over and over until I start to see the big picture coming into focus.

We are each a piece of God's puzzle, but a lot of times we don't think about it that way. Instead, we focus on our little section of life and try to figure out how God fits into it rather than looking for our place in God's puzzle.

The main point of this message is this: When we become Christians, we are not asking God to come into OUR story, rather, we are looking for our place in HIS story!

Matthew 28:18-20 says this: "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is Jesus' final command to His disciples before He ascends into Heaven. This is the end of the Gospel of Matthew. However, it is not the end of the story. More on that in a minute. The bolded part there is better translated "as you go, make disciples". And here is where I want you all to make a perspective shift. You see, when become Christians, and we live out our lives here on earth, I think we too often think that we need to fit God into our picture. "Ok, I am a Christian now, so how can I fit time with God into my week?" This carries the idea that somehow God is added to our lives. But, this is not the case. What really happens is when we become Christians, we are not asking God to come into OUR story, but rather we are looking for our place in HIS story.

The next part of the story, after Jesus ascends into Heaven, is found in the book of Acts. Jesus gives the disciples this command to make disciples, and they go home. Then, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes on them and they begin to speak in tongues in the streets, and Peter gets up and starts sharing the Gospel in a powerful sermon (in languages he never learned) to the people, and thousands of them get saved - Peter made disciples. The entire book of Acts is about Jesus' disciples starting the church, making disciples, and pretty much doing what Jesus said to do! When people accepted the message of the Gospel and became disciples (became Christians), they didn't just add God to their lives, they joined into the community of believers and found their place in God's story. They spent time praying, worshiping, reading God's Word, sharing meals, ministering to the needs of others, and sharing the Gospel. Acts tells us they dedicated their lives to these things.

What is really neat is that these things don't require us to pursue a particular career path or live in a particular area. You can pray, worship, read the Bible, share meals, minister to others and share the Gospel wherever you are and whatever you are doing. So in that sense, we can all easily find a way to engage in God's Kingdom work just by dedicating ourselves to these things. The challenge then becomes determining where God wants to use us and where He wants us to go (figuring out how we fit into His Story). Romans 12:1-2, a familiar passage to most of you (especially if you went to the Winter Retreat), gives us a clue: "Therefore I urge you, my brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will."

Did you see what Paul said there? When we respond to God's love and mercy by submitting to Him (dedicating ourselves to the things mentioned above), it attunes us to God's will. The more time we spend in prayer, reading, worship, fellowship, ministering to others and sharing the Gospel, the more we will become aware of God's will for our lives. It opens us up to hear His voice guiding us like a Shepherd guiding His sheep.

So, this means we need to make the mindset shift. We need to enter each week with this thought: "What is God doing this week and how can I be a part of it?" And this will then affect your week-to-week activities like school, work, hangouts with friends, hobbies, family time, and even shoveling snow. This mindset shift will cause you to start thinking more about how you can be representing God and sharing the Gospel wherever you go. This shift has already caused me to think about how I can demonstrate God's love to people I interact with in videogames. I offer to pray for people, I show kindness and compassion to those having a hard time, and I stick up for those getting picked on (which happens a lot in videogames). And guess what, when you start to look for ways to engage in what God is doing each week, the time you spend reading the Bible will be more helpful. When you have a goal and a mindset that wants to follow God, His Word lights the way on how to do just that!

My challenge to you all is this: if you are a Christian, make the shift. Stop thinking about how God fits into your story and start looking for where you fit in to God's story. How can God use you where you are right now, and where might He want you to go next? Then, no matter where you are or where you are going, "as you go" be the light to others that God wants you to be. Share the Gospel, share His love, show His love to others, and make disciples. Then, as you spend time in prayer and reading God's Word, you will find that it lights the way, showing where to go next and what to do. "Thy Word, Lord, is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

May God bless you as you seek to serve and follow Him.

Thursday, February 4, 2021

Out with the Old, In with the New!

 This past weekend a bunch of us were able to retreat to Rock Mountain for some spiritual input and challenge. Though we had a small group, it was a fantastic weekend filled with fun, food, and fellowship. The camp actually had some snow, which meant we not only got to go tubing, but nubing as well! Nubing = Night Tubing. Not to be confused with Noob Tubing, which is noobs using the rocket launcher to get kills in Call of Duty. Very different things.

Pastorian joined us as our speaker for the weekend, and "Bishop" led us in worship (with some help from Pastorian, Madframe, and Cole Train). The theme was "Impact" with a heavy focus on Romans 12:1-2 - "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." Pastorian challenged us to take home one specific phrase: "It is impossible to have a true encounter with God and walk away the same." We cannot see and know God and remain unchanged because an encounter with God is an encounter with the Truth.

As usual, every morning after breakfast we broke away from the group and spent some Time Alone With God (TAWG). Today, I wanted to share some reflections from Sunday morning's TAWG. In it, we were challenged to read through Ephesians 4:17-32, which talks about the Christian casting off the old self and putting on the new self in Jesus. Below is an overview of the characteristics of the "Old Self" with their corresponding characteristics in the "New Self".

Old Self:                                                                        New Self:

Separated from the life of God                                      Connected to life through Jesus Christ

Hardened Hearts                                                            Soft / open heart

Ignorant of God                                                             Heard of and taught about God

Lost sensitivity to what is right                                     Follows after God's righteousness

Indulges in whatever feels good                                    Pursues holiness (what IS good)

Continually lusting/greedy for more                             Satisfied, content, fulfilled

Deceitful desires                                                            New mind focused on God's desires

Speaks falsely (liar)                                                       Speaks truthfully (honest)

Anger leads to sin                                                          Pursues reconciliation (lets go of anger)

Steals (thief)                                                                  Works with hands and provides for others

Speaks unwholesomely (puts down, curses)                 Builds others up with words

Grieves the Holy Spirit                                                  Honors the Holy Spirit

Bitter (holds on to past hurts)                                        Kind

Raging and angry                                                          Compassionate

Brawls (picks fights)                                                     Forgiving (just as Christ forgave us)

Slanders others (spreads rumors)                                  ^ ^ Builds others up with words and is honest

Full of malice toward others (wants harm for them) -> Forgiving, compassionate, and kind


After looking over this list, the next challenge is to consider which areas you find yourself particularly struggling. What parts of the "Old Self" are you holding on to? For me, indulgence in what feels good, greed for more (which could also be considered gluttony), and deceitful desires are where I struggle most. So for me, I can work on those areas by actively learning about what God says is pure and right and pursuing those things, finding contentment in what God has already given me, and turning my focus off of what I want toward what God wants. As I do this, I will be putting off the "Old Self" and taking on the "New Self".

What do you struggle with? How can you intentionally cast aside those areas in favor of the "New Self"? These are the questions you should focus on.

Also, if you have any questions about what some of these things look like in our world today (such as deceitful desires), ask in the comments and I will answer. Same goes for if you have questions about how to pursue the characteristics of the "New Self".

God bless.

Check Yo'Self B4 You Wreck Yo'Self

 We decided to go virtual for this Summit because the Winter Retreat is this weekend, and I for one did not want to take any chances of a Covid exposure and ruin the retreat. We tried out something I saw another youth group do, which is having one student "dance" "interpretively" through a song while everyone else does their best to mimic them. We opted for "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys with The Whiz Kid as the lead. It was... interesting. Can't wait to see how it goes in person!

Well, as some of you know, I am currently taking a class on the practice and theology of worship – basically, what does it mean to truly worship God and what does that look like. Right now, the class is going through the Old Testament worship of the Israelites, back before Jesus came to the earth and died on the cross, and the author is comparing those rituals (and the sacrifices) with what Jesus did for us on the cross. The imagery alone is really cool.

I would like to share a quote with you from one of the books, and while I know it is hard to follow along, please try to listen to what is being said about sin, confession, and forgiveness.

 

“In the Old Testament forgiveness of sin was granted whenever confession was made… the sacrifice symbolically completed the process, showing that forgiveness was based on the shedding of blood. The confession without the ritual was incomplete, but the ritual without the confession was worthless. In this way the Israelite experience is not unlike the Christian’s. We also need to confess sins and acknowledge defilements in order to participate fully in the worship and service of the Lord. God forgives people when they confess to Him. The ritual is the public expression of faith in the provision of forgiveness through the blood of the Lamb.”

 

You all know that mankind suffers from separation from God because of sin, and that it is only through the blood of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, that we can get to God and have a relationship with Him. On a grand scale, we admit to our sins and believe in Jesus, and we are saved. Romans 10:9 says “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Our salvation comes through confession of sin and belief in Jesus as our ritual sacrifice. His death in place of ours. And this bridges the gap.

 

But this is also true on a smaller scale. Jesus’ blood covers over our sins so that when we confess them before God we are forgiven. And I know from my own experience that when I have unconfessed sin in my life – where I have chosen to sin and then try to come before God – it is like that gap is back, like there is something separating me from God again. I haven’t lost my salvation or anything, but I have wandered away from God. How many of you have experienced this? Where you feel like you have somehow become far away from God again?

 

This is the result of unconfessed sin. When we are holding on to something, or doing something, that we know doesn’t please God. And when this is going on, it can be very hard to engage in worship, prayer, Scripture reading, and sharing our faith with others. And if we let it go on unchecked, it will lead us further and further from God. Sin, especially when we consciously choose it, drives a wedge into our relationship with God – it doesn’t separate us completely, but it certainly gets in the way.

 

This weekend some of us are going to Rock Mountain for the Winter Retreat (woot woot), and there we will be spending time in prayer, reading, and worship. But first, we need to prepare ourselves. We need to look inside and see what sin has taken hold in our lives. What are we doing (or not doing) that is driving us away from God? We need to identify those things and confess them to God, looking for forgiveness. Then, when we are at the retreat, we will be able to engage in full and genuine worship.

 

And this is not just for those going on the retreat. This is something we all need to do regularly – daily, weekly, monthly. I think the phrase is “check yourself before you wreck yourself”. Reflect on who you are and what you have been doing, identify any sin that exists in your life, and confess it to God. He will forgive you, but you must confess and believe in Jesus for forgiveness.

 

God is looking for worshippers who worship both in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). We must have a spirit which is willing to submit to God and be humble before Him, as well as be honest about who we are, who God is, and who deserves all the honor and glory. So tonight, tomorrow, and pretty much every day for the rest of your lives, “check yourselves before you wreck yourselves”.

Finding Balance in Life

This is part 4 of a series we have been going through each week. You can look back at previous posts to go into depth, but here's a quic...