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.
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