“I was being convinced all over again the the power of the gospel is just as necessary and relevant after you become a Christian as it is before.” – Tullian Tchividjian

Growing up, I heard Jesus died for me to save me from my sins just so I could spend all of eternity with him in Heaven. That was an incredible thought for a girl with a low self-esteem. When I accepted Christ at the age of thirteen, I thought my life would get easier: my grandma wouldn’t have cancer, school-life would get easier, and that I would be happier. I believed Jesus was this “cure” for what was going on in my life; that he would wipe away all my problems and everything would be perfect. Oh man, was I wrong. As I decided to follow Christ, my life continued to get more difficult. My life with Jesus soon came to a stall and I chose to do things my way. I didn’t allow the Gospel of Christ to move in my life.

Tullian Tchividjian, author of Jesus + Nothing = Everything, understands the power of the Gospel. He knows the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is still so powerful, even after we’ve decided to follow Jesus. What Jesus did should never become “old news” or lose it power or significance. It’s the reason we desire to see our family and friends saved, right? We know and understand that life will always be difficult, but God is bigger than that because of the Gospel. We live our lives differently. We know that our words and actions have a lasting impact on those around us; that they will or will not see Jesus when they look at our lives.

We know that the Gospel is what is changing us now. The Gospel can break people, change hearts, bring restoration and healing, and bring people back to Christ. As we begin to realize what we have in the Gospel is so big and powerful, our lives can’t help but be changed by who God is.

Author: Nicole Presley

“Who shall we say You are
You’re the living God
Who shall we say You are
You’re the Great I AM
The highest name of all
You’re all You say You are

You are holy, holy, holy
God most high and God most worthy
You are holy, holy, holy
Jesus, You are
Jesus, You are”

I absolutely love the bridge and chorus of this song “Holy” by Matt Redman. They seek to describe our inability to understand or comprehend who God is, because of the sheer majestic holiness of His being. God is so holy and above us, that mere words are not enough to grasp the depth of His character. Even our most profound thoughts and wildest imaginations of how holy God is, are not enough to scratch the surface of His true holiness.

“Holy” is the only word in the Bible that describes God which is repeated three times in a row. In the book of Revelation, when John describes the throne room of heaven, he mentions four creatures that are in the midst and around the throne. “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

‘Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!’”

Revelation 4:8

There must be something extremely significant with the fact that God is supremely and eminently holy. I believe that trying to grasp this fact helps us understand the relationship between us and God. That although there is this closeness and intimacy with God, there is also a vast difference between who He is and who we are, that humbles us and brings us to our knees in worship, in acknowledgement of God as our sovereign Lord and King.

However, many times, I think it’s commonplace for us to lose sight of God as holy, holy, and holy. I think a big reason why we struggle so much in our walks with God is because we are quick to forget that God is holy. We treat Jesus more as a friend, and in focusing too much on that role of Him in our lives, we find it easier to brush Him aside or spend less time in conversation with Him. We find it easier to doubt God when we forget that He is the majestic Creator of the universe. Our prayers are stale, because we don’t really believe that God can answer them. We don’t own up to our faith or spread the gospel, because other people’s reactions and ridicule overwhelms the tiny god that we “worship”.

Matt Redman reminds us that God is the Great “I AM”. In Exodus 3, Moses asks God what he should tell the Israelites if they ask who sent him to lead them out of slavery from the Egyptians. “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). The powerful phrase “I AM” seems to embody the essence of a Being that needs no further explanation. No phrase or word can adequately and completely describe who God is.

God is utterly majestic, purely righteous, and perfectly worthy of our praise and adoration. He is holy, holy, and holy. May we come to this realization of the sheer magnitude of God’s holiness and allow that truth to completely saturate and transform our lives.

Author: Micah Shyu

*For further reading, I highly recommend A.W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy.

“I feel like I’m drinking from the Source of the Stream. Does this mean I’ll feel no more longing?” The King – the Source—replies, “You will have the sweet longing of desire that can be fulfilled and shall be again and again and again. Heaven is not the absence of longing but its fulfillment.”

-excerpt from Safely Home

If we take time to step back from our busy lives in the confused and cluttered Silicon Valley, we might realize that there is something more than this that we are longing for. There is that longing because God created us with that longing. He created us with a longing for Him. There was a time, before man decided to rebel against Him, when we were with Him, speaking to Him face to face, and living in unhindered community with Him. We were separated from Him when we chose our own selfish desires over Him, and Heaven was separated from Earth. The feeling of lack and unfulfilled longing we have for being in His presence – in Heaven – is a blessing given to us by Him to draw us back to Him. Praise God for sending His Son Jesus to pay our ransom, freeing us from the confines of our selfish desires. When we accept His sacrifice and leadership in our lives, we are restored to community with Him and have the hope of Heaven to look forward to. We look forward to Heaven because “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19). We hope for something beyond this temporary earthly life where our longings will one day being restored.

My last post dealt with the question of what the New Earth itself will be like. The next big question about Heaven (particularly the New Earth) to address is what will we be like there? Often people sadden themselves thinking about how inhuman we might be or how we won’t have anything to do. The fact of the matter is that these things are simply not true. We will be exceptionally human and everything will be perceived and will actually be exceptionally real. C.S. Lewis illustrates this principle in his book The Great Divorce, as he describes things like blades of grass that are too sharp to walk on for someone without a Heavenly body, and the wind would whisk such a person away, because he’s not real enough for the thickness of that world.

Therefore, the first thing we must address are our bodies themselves. We will have resurrected bodies on the New Earth and they will be strong enough that we will be able to gaze upon God Himself and live (Philippians 3:21). But our bodies here on this earth are frail, fragile and temporary. God told Moses, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). Additionally, we’re chained to the principles of the earth’s frailty, as our bodies slowly decay here, thanks to the effects of sin extending into the physical world. Thanks be to God who will give us new heavenly bodies that won’t grow old and won’t get sick. Now this is not a direct pull from scripture, but I can imagine being able to run faster and jump higher like I just put on a pair of eternal PF Fliers. Our bodies here also experience the debilitating effects of sin, so when certain weaknesses are removed, I can imagine they will be able to do more.

When God made Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden, he put him to work, naming all the animals. He also commanded him to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). This was pre-Fall, before sin ever entered the world. Therefore, work is good. Work was not a product of the Fall. The curse God gave man after the Fall was that his work would now be toilsome. That’s why work today seems like such a drag. But it wasn’t intended to be that way, and God will restore it to its right place in which we enjoy it again: “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence” (Revelation 7:15). Again, what was once corrupted will one day be restored.

Something that many people might be concerned about with Heaven is the perceived lack of learning. They think things like, “It’s going to be boring when we get to Heaven and we all of a sudden know everything we need to know,” when this isn’t the case. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:12 “…then I shall know fully…”. The Greek word for “know fully” is Epiginosko, which means “to know extensively” or “to learn.” Randy Alcorn makes the point that when this term is used it never means absolute knowledge. So there will surely be a huge jump in our knowing, as we see God face to face and see the home He has made for us. Still, there will always be more for us to learn, as God is a deep ocean and knowing Him better will be an eternal process that never ends. Jonathan Edwards, arguably America’s historically most important theologian, once said “The saints will be progressive in knowledge to all eternity” and “The number of ideas of the saints shall increase to eternity.” Just as we will keep learning about God, why wouldn’t we continue learning other things too? A new earth means new things to discover and explore and maybe even new technologies to develop. God is not going to tell us to put our brains on the shelf when we get there!

What will our relationships look like in Heaven? The first thing that comes to my mind is the limitless time we will be able to spend with each other. My primary love language is quality time so you can see why this would excite me! I look forward to spending time with friends that have passed away. I look forward to spending time with friends that have moved away. I look forward to spending time with friends who I simply have not had the kind of time I’ve wanted to spend with them. First and foremost, it will be Jesus. The time I spend with him here seems so fleeting and incomplete compared to what it will be like to see him face to face. God Himself should be a given, but who else are you looking forward to spending time with in Heaven?

For some people, thinking about this begs the question: will we be ourselves in Heaven? Revelation mentions martyrs in Heaven looking down on earth and calling for God’s judgment to come down on their persecutors (Revelation 6:9-10). This suggests that we will remember who we were and what we experienced on the earth, and our identity will remain intact. Who’s to say that we won’t tell stories of what we did on earth as we continue to live out our story on the New Earth? And then we will continue growing and have new stories to tell. When we step foot on the New Earth, the adventure will only be beginning.

What about food? I think this is a great way to wrap up this post. I love food. Don’t you? God made food and He made it not only for us to be nourished but for us to take pleasure in. Food was in the world before the fall, and will surely be on the New Earth. Some people argue, “Our new bodies will be perfect, so we won’t need to eat food to sustain them.” Go back to the quote at the beginning of this post. It says “Heaven is not the absence of longing but its fulfillment.” So stop thinking in terms of there being no more need and no more desire, but rather in terms of having every need and every desire satisfied. Doesn’t that give God more glory? Recognizing that we are still weak, He provides for us again and again and again. This time there will be no lack for every single person. Of course there’s also scriptural backing for the truth of us enjoying food in Heaven: “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11) and “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).

Don’t we have an amazing God? Isn’t it incredible that He cares about us so much that He is designing a place where we can live with Him and enjoy Him forever? We will be together in community with Him at the center and a new history will be written as we live out our eternal lives. There will be no lack of interesting things to do, see and talk about. Our bodies will be new, having left behind whatever disease or disability that plagued us on this earth. I leave you with my favorite passage in the Bible, an amazing glimpse of the hope that lies ahead of us, to the glory of our Heavenly Father:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Revelation 21:3-5

Author: Jeff Oleson

(I’m speaking out of conviction today, so I’m sorry if this post is a little harsher than usual.) I decided to reread Crazy Love by Francis Chan. For those who haven’t yet read this book, it’s convicting. Francis Chan speaks a great deal of truth in this book; truth I wasn’t ready to hear.

“The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time. He treasures us and anticipates our departure from this earth to be with Him – and we wonder, indifferently, how much we have to do for Him to get by.”

I had no idea how to even process this. I don’t think we, myself included, truly understand how mighty our God is. We take Him out of our back pocket when times are hard, then put Him back when things are going our way. That is not the relationship that God desired to have with us and this is something we should not be taking lightly. God is the most powerful being that has ever lived and will ever live. He gives our bodies the strength to wake up every morning, live our lives, go to bed, and repeat this process the next day. So, who are we that we should feel entitled to have a life? We don’t deserve any of the gifts that God continues to bless us with. So, why are we living out our relationship with the Lord as if it isn’t a priority?

We aren’t needed by God and we’d be crazy to think that we are. But the beauty of His love shows us how much He loves us. Jesus Christ died a grueling, painful and undeserved death just so we could spend eternity in Heaven with Him. How much more should we reflect that love and devotion to God because of His sacrifice? We don’t deserve grace, life, mercy, love, eternity, you name it. We need to stop living with a sense of entitlement that this life is ours. We need to stop slacking in our relationship with the Lord.  Friends, we need to start living like Christians.

As I began to digest this part of the book, I had to evaluate my relationship with my Savior. I encourage you to do the same. What are the areas that need work? What actions should be stopped in your life? As you work through these tough questions, I encourage you to find someone to hold you accountable. Be vulnerable with these struggles. Be praying through the changes as you make them. God wants nothing more than a relationship with you. How humbling is that? I’m excited for this stage in your life, friends. Allow God to work and move!

Author: Nicole Presley

**Thoughts for this post came from Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

On November 10, 2011, I made a commitment to God that I would refrain from dating. No asking girls out on shady one on one hangouts. No thinking about girls from church that are “potentials” and imagining them as my girlfriend. No foolishly thinking that because a girl gives me “extra” attention, it would lead (quickly) to something more intimate. In short, through God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s conviction, I was able to start a year commitment in taking my focus off finding a girlfriend to focus on Christ.

It seems like this mindset is completely absent in current society. As 18-20 somethings, the main concern or topic of interest in our lives seem to all be about finding the right significant other. There’s the pressure from culture and society to find the right mate, before it’s “too late”. Our TV screens are swarmed with dating shows, happy ending romances, and the search for the “right one”. Our radio stations are overflowing with songs of declaring our love for that special someone.

This social convention even seems to spill into our Christian circles. We look at all our friends who married young and wish for that perfect wedding ourselves, with plans of getting married in our early 20s. In large gatherings, our focus seems to be distracted by the opposite sex, wondering if that girl or guy over there could be a potential mate.

Sometimes I wonder if we place too much emphasis on getting married and having kids. Of course, most of us agree that we’d love to get married; we want to find that person to share a life with and start a family, and there’s plenty of good that can come out of that. We learn to exemplify Christ’s love for the church as His bride, we learn how to sacrifice and love unconditionally, we learn how to stay committed, and we can help one another more intimately draw closer to Christ. However, many times that need to find someone can become an obsession and easily turn into an idol which can destroy relationships, both with others and God.

The Bible talks about how a relationship with Jesus can divide families. It can “set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in law” (Matthew 10:35). It also says in verse 37, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” These verses strongly emphasize the love that we should display for Christ because of His great love for us. It makes me wonder if our love for God transcends our relationships with others around us. Is God the number One person in our lives? Or are we desperately exposing ourselves to dating to try to fill that empty void that only God can fill Himself?

Many times, I wonder if our strong emphases on marriage makes being single a dreaded curse, something to be ashamed and embarrassed about. However, Paul talks about the benefits of being single in 1 Corinthians 7. He mentions that there is the potential to devote more time and energy in serving God and to be free of anxieties that the married go through (such as the worries of the safety and provision of their families). With this perspective, singles can rejoice in being able to apply more of themselves in doing God’s work!

Regardless of whatever situation we’re in, whether single, engaged, or married, let us reflect on our desires for intimacy with others and with God. May our focus not stray from Christ as the center and foundation of our lives.

Author: Micah Shyu

Philippians 4:6
Do no be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Mark 11:24
Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

John 16:23
I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name.

James 5:15-16
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Throughout the Bible, we’ve seen the power of prayer. We see that Moses desired to set his people free from the Egyptians and God proved himself faithful (Exodus 6-14). We see that Hannah prayed for a child and God proved himself faithful (1 Samuel 1-2). We see that Esther wanted freedom for her people and God proved himself faithful (Esther 2-8). I could go on and on. Because God answers us through prayer, there’s importance in praying boldly. We must pray with conviction and expectation that God will show up. One of the biggest examples of praying boldly is in the book of Daniel. Because of his faith in God, Daniel was thrown into a den of hungry lions. Could you imagine being in a pit of hungry lions and have no way out? I would have freaked out. So what did Daniel do? He prayed boldly (Daniel 6-9). Talk about faith in the Lord! He prayed boldly, knowing that God would bring him out of the pit. And God did!

So, why don’t we pray boldly? Maybe we’re afraid it won’t be answered. Maybe we don’t know what to pray for. I encourage you to examine your prayer life and see how you’re praying and what you’re praying for. I’ve found that as I’ve been learning to pray with conviction, I see God show up more. I see him answer requests with clarity and promise. It’s been such an excitement to be in a prayerful relationship with Christ like I haven’t before. Commit to praying intentionally and with expectation that God will do what he says he will do.

Author: Nicole Presley

Don’t you hate biblical family trees?

New believers and those who just started the chronological read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan: we’ve all hit the first few chapters of Genesis, the chapters about creation and about the flood. But we hit a wall when we read the genealogies, right? Why do their names even matter? When am I going to use this except on some Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-esque game show? I would say that I used to be in the same boat as you. There have literally been two times lately when I was tempted to skip through the ___ was the father of ___.

But this time, I read every word. Every single one. Because once I read something simple, and that is the genealogy in Hebrew and in English.

According to these direct translations, man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.

So, the next time you’re tempted to skip over those things that seem so insignificant, remember that these words were written for us and sometimes God is just ridiculously funny!

Author: Ana Acosta

Discipline is defined as “to bring to a state of order and obedience by training and control.” I feel like discipline is something I’ve always lacked in my life. Because I’m a person with a Type-B personality, my spontaneity, easy-going habits and desire for things to be relaxed overruled my need for discipline. I began to think more about this after hearing a message on rest. I was asked, rhetorically, “Is my pace sustainable?” I knew instantly that my answer was a clear “no”. I went to school, worked, was a part of small groups, and that didn’t even begin to include my time with family and friends. I started to evaluate what was and wasn’t important in my schedule; I came to the realization that they were all important. So, now what? I talked this over with a close friend and we discussed what I should do, going forward. We decided it’d be best to cut out one aspect of my schedule: school. Now, I know what you’re thinking. School?! Really, Nicole? Well, as I began to pray and see where my mentality was on this aspect of my life, it wasn’t getting the focus that it needed. So, I took a little break. I’m giving myself six months to start developing discipline.

Now, what do I want to be disciplined in? Two things in particular: my health and my relationship with the Lord. Because I’m not taking classes this quarter, I have all my mornings free. I’ve been on this schedule for the last week and I already feel a lot better. I have time to go running in the morning and have times with Jesus during and after my workout. I’m not confined to the pressures of classes and homework, where my health and relationship with the Lord would be pushed aside. I have a solid amount of time to spend on myself, something that doesn’t happen too often.

As I create time for these two aspects I want to be disciplined in, I realized that I’m being obedient to what God has called for my life. This is the same call he has for your life too! 1 Corinthians 9:24,25 (NIV) says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” I look at this and see discipline as training. I must be dedicated to keeping discipline as a part of my daily routine. It’s not easy, but it’s well worth it. We must strive for things that have importance and long-term value. I see that in the two areas in which I’m working on.

Now, how are you doing? Is your pace sustainable? What should be cut out or added to your schedule? Ask these questions to someone who knows you well. Be willing to see how God reveals himself. Praying for your hearts, friends!

Author: Nicole Presley

In our Bible study last night, our group read and discussed Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In chapter two he talks about the humility of Christ. Check this out…

Philippians 2:3-8 (NIV):

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

My car broke down this week. I had to pay my mechanic hundreds of dollars to put a new starter in it. My normal reaction to a situation like that would be…stress, anxiety, fear, anger, and entitlement. I just bought my car a year ago! It shouldn’t be breaking yet! BUT…The Lord reminded me that when I look at everything through the lens of eternity, replacing the starter in my car isn’t a big deal. He provided the money that I needed to be able to pay for it and gave me peace and humility when I didn’t have a car for a week. In our culture we have a sense of entitlement that is engrained into our thought process. We start to think that we “deserve” things and we put our needs before other people’s needs. So I praise Jesus, who was and is and always will be God, for making himself NOTHING, because the Lord gently knocks me to my knees and humbles me every time I am reminded of that.

Last night, our small group decided to pray through verse 3 this week and our goal is to pray that verse at least 4 times a day. I’d invite you to join us. The Lord’s already showing me my selfishness and I’ve only been praying for humility for 12 hours! We are so blessed that our God set the example and lived out what He calls us to live out. I’m so thankful for Jesus!

Author: Whitney Elliott

Surfing is one of those sports that requires a lot of patience and it is also one that teaches you the importance of having a patient mentality.

For years I have watched other, wiser and more experienced surfers as they sit and stare at the sea for eons before entering the water. Or they paddle into a wave and then suddenly stop right before the wave begins to curve, allowing the wave to pass right under them. It boggled my brains! I just jump in and paddle out and then once out, I paddle into as many potential waves as possible in the hopes of catching one. It’s only been until recently (in my very scattered years of surfing) that I’ve realized what these other surfers were doing. They were waiting, watching, feeling, for the right opportunity. They were being patient. Just as I am now learning, these surfers have learned to read the ocean, to decipher the underlying currents, and look for the right waves. In doing so these surfers use their now knowledge, gained from both personal experience and through the teaching of others, how to determine the best paddling out routes and which waves are best to paddle into. Ultimately, their few minutes of waiting allows these surfers to save the most amount of energy for the right and ultimately the better waves; and of course, this means that more times than not their time spent in the water is not just efficient but more enjoyable.

The practicing of patience also applies to our life of faith. One of my close girlfriends told me the other day that our faith is often, if not always, very intertwined with our level of patience. That really, we can’t have faith without patience, and vice-versa. As we grow in our faith, we find ourselves more and more learning and waiting to hear God’s whisper to say, “Yes, this way is best.”  As we learn, we often want to jump at the first thing that appears good, but often times what appears to be good isn’t always God’s best. And when we jump too quickly on these good things, our impatience leads to hurt, frustration, and confusion. Especially when certain situations, events, or relationships don’t pan out the way we intended or thought that they should. Sometimes, it’s not even the situation that was wrong, but simply the timing or maybe even the other people involved. Waiting and being patient for God’s best is crucial.

This is not to say that every situation that has ended up bad, or hurtful or incomplete was a result of impatience. Life happens and we are human. It even happens in surfing – the best waves can sometimes end up being the deadliest. And God, who plans all things, uses every situation for our ultimate good and his ultimate glory. But as we learn to wait patiently for God’s best timing, our hearts become less distracted and hurt by the wrong situations, and more of our energy can be poured out into doing what is best.

The practicing of patience works. In surfing, the few extra minutes of standing on the beach or waiting for the right wave not only saves my energy but helps me avoid the torment of being pounded by and engulfed into the wrong wave. In life, the more patient we learn to be, the more our hearts and our minds are clear to see, do, and experience what is truly God’s best.

Author: Emily “EMJ” James

I remember the first time I stepped foot into the meeting room of a campus ministry I’ve never been to. I brought my friend along for mutual support and almost instantly, thousands of questions and anxieties began compounding through my head as the night drew nearer.

For some reason, when you’re walking into a new church or Christian gathering, where you know nobody and nothing about how things are going to be, your senses become heightened to an extremely sensitive awareness of every minuscule detail: the body language of others around you, the choice of worship songs, which Bible verses are plastered across the bulletin, what people are engaging in conversation about, or the general dress code.

You start reading into everything, become overly critical, and find yourself judging other’s actions even when they haven’t particularly done anything wrong towards you. When I finally mustered the courage to walk through the doors of the classroom, I first noticed that nobody rushed at me and my friend with open arms, a loud cheer bursting from their lips, with an eager excitement to learn every single aspect of our lives.

After the night concluded, I instantly noticed that nobody talked to us after the service was over, with my friend and I awkwardly glancing around in hopes we would be spotted. We soon ended up migrating to the door and I literally stepped in the middle of the doorway, contemplating whether we should make more of an effort to get to know others. The desire quickly vanished; we stepped out into the dark, and never came back.

These experiences are memories you don’t forget. Yet, the irony of this experience was that my friend and I were involved with another campus ministry where we were charged with an underlying responsibility of welcoming newcomers…and that was a responsibility I wasn’t doing well to uphold. And even though some of these newcomer feelings were unreasonable and almost foolish, you find yourself unable to think rationally when put in a situation like that.

From then on, I vowed to welcome every single new person that walked into our fellowship room. And yet, this passionate zeal slowly diminished over time, occasionally popping up its curious head through a regret or vague longing to approach the awkward bystander, but shortly disappearing through a myriad of excuses.

I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum, and it’s safe to say that it’s challenging to introduce yourself as a new person or greet a newcomer. It’s very challenging. There’s always a feeling of unease putting yourself out there, as if the person’s acceptance or outright rejection (at least it seems to be that way) defines entirely who you are.

So we’re careful to reveal ourselves. We make easy, comfortable chit-chat that doesn’t go beyond the “I’m good” response to “How are you?”. We keep our guard up, cautiously treading through conversations as if everyone was out to get us, a calculated “trust” that ends up pushing others away. We fear rejection and awkwardness, so we stick to those that we’re close toand unintentionally seek to divide into cliques rather than build community.

I’ve definitely been guilty of committing the surface level responses to other’s genuine questions that desire to get to know me better. And yet God is revealing that this is not how it should be. There is something deep within all of us that screams for a sense of community, a community that God has designed for us to encourage, edify, love and support one another as we grow together as one body, regardless of being a newcomer or someone who’s been going to the same gathering for years.=

I stumbled across a passage in Romans that addresses this very issue and provides a foundation for us as we learn to selflessly welcome others:

Romans 15:5-7 says:

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

God desires us to live in such peace and harmony with each other that we can truly be one voice that glorifies Him. And this is exactly how we can achieve this sense of harmony and joy: by welcoming everyone, just as Christ has welcomed us into His family.

I’m reminded of Romans 5:8, that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is how deep His love reaches, that although we completely rejected Him, deliberately sinned against Him and outright pushed Him away, He still loved us through it all, and died a gruesome death to wipe all those transgressions away. How then, can we not even show just a glimpse of that love to new people around us?

With a profound awareness of our value in Christ, may we learn to step outside of our comfort bubbles, push through the pain of the unknown, and walk in love and grace, extending Christ’s love to others.

Author: Micah Shyu

“I need You to soften my heart and break me apart; I need You to open my eyes and see that You’re shaping my life.

All I am, I surrender!

Give me faith to TRUST what You say, that You’re good and Your love is great. I’m broken inside, I GIVE YOU MY LIFE.”

— “Give Me Faith” by Elevation Worship

The coolest thing about the lyrics to this song is that they explain how we often feel in our walk. I suppose I shouldn’t speak for everyone; I’ll make this a little more personal. When I look at God, I can easily give Him my future with regards to work and school, but for some reason, I can’t trust Him with my future relationships. I don’t trust the God of the universe and His timing and His plan in regards to guys; I hold on to that because I need control. I need to be in the driver’s seat of the car because “I’ve GOT this, God. Go on and fix the other stuff in my life.” As if my past relationships were any bit of a success… I’m just finding it hard to SURRENDER.

surrender: (verb) cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority.

Look at that. Read that through a few times. Did you catch it? Resistance to an ENEMY OR OPPONENT. Ouch. When I am not actively surrendering to God, I am resisting Him, as if He is my enemy. That’s the exact opposite of what I want in my relationship with my Lord and Savior, my God and my Creator.

Whether I see it or not (and I mostly am blind to it), He is shaping my life. He is molding me and making me into the person that I need to be for the man I will one day marry. I’m not going to pretend like it’s easy to trust, because it’s not, but that’s why it’s called stepping out in faith. It takes belief that God is who he says He is and trust that He will do what He promises (thanks, Tim Reilly, for that one).

Romans 8:28 says:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Where are you lacking in trust or failing to surrender? His plan for us may not be what we want or happen when we want it, but trust in the God who created every star in the sky and knit you together in your mother’s womb. He’s sees you today in your worry and distress and He’s got His hand outstretched, saying, “I’ve got you. Come to Me.”

Author: Ana Acosta

Luke 4:18,19 (NIV):

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

This past week, I was blessed to be a part of the team from Awakening who went to Peru. I will start by saying that God did some amazing things during this trip. I am going to highlight some of those things. As we landed in Lima, we were greeted by our contacts, Christen and Christian. Both have been serving on Young Life Capernaum staff for the past few years and it is so prevalent that they are doing the ministry of God. Because we were there working with Capernaum, our focus was on children with disabilities. On Monday, our team made the hour-long drive from Lima to Pachacutec, a tiny city amongst the shanty-towns. We were going to a birthday party for a precious three year-old girl. Because of her disabilities, her life was never celebrated; but her third birthday was going to be different. We had balloons, a cake, drinks and were surrounded by twenty other kids from the orphanage. This sweet girl was at the center of all attention for the afternoon.

On Tuesday, we departed from Lima and drove to Cieneguilla, the location where we would be holding camp for the children who would be joining us. Now, camp was a big deal. We were supposed to have thirteen kids joining us for the three days of camp. Because many of them were from orphanages and had disabilities, they needed approval from the government to come with us. The night before, we had gotten word that a few of the kids still hadn’t received approval and some were getting sick. As a team, we spent time in prayer, asking that God would change those circumstances. The next morning, by the grace of God, all children were approved and well enough to travel! Praise Christ! As we were prepping for these children to arrive the following afternoon, God was doing a big work in all of the hearts of those who were on the team. We all had different realizations, but two stuck out the most to me. First, these children are our brothers and sisters in Christ. No disability could change that. Second, it didn’t matter how uncomfortable (insect bites, stomach pains, etc…) we were. The circumstances of these precious children are constant. They’re always uncomfortable and they aren’t complaining. What an awesome reminder, right?!

Wednesday afternoon, camp began! None of them and none of us knew what to expect. As these kids pulled up, some were quiet, shy or to themselves. But by the end of the week, these kids were laughing, joking and loved being around us. Many of these children were unable to speak clearly and walk. That made it difficult for our team at the beginning. Most of us didn’t have experience with children in these circumstances. By the end of the first night, it was like second nature to us. Playing games, dancing or even wiping drool from their faces became more enjoyable as the days went on.

I want to share about one circumstance in particular. This young lady was the product of incest. She was, later, raped by her two brothers; both resulting in two pregnancies. This mom weighs forty pounds and wears a toddler-size three. She comes from extreme poverty and her disabilities only make her circumstances more difficult. When she was pulled up in her wheelchair, the last thing she wanted was to be at camp. She cried, threw fits and didn’t want to participate. By the end of the second night, she was beginning to smile and had no desire to cry. When we said goodbye to her on the last day of camp, we could see that God had done a huge work in her life already. She was smiling as she boarded the bus. Our contact, Christen, said she had never seen this young woman smile this much. How great is the God we serve?!

Throughout the week, we had “team time”. Every night we would come together, worship and share our testimonies. Many of my teammates had never heard the stories of the other members before. As the nights went on, it was very clear that we could see God’s work in our lives and it was a blessing to share in that with those who were on my team. To hear God bringing freedom from addiction, pride, eating disorders, sickness and death brought tears to my eyes. Those stories are some of the fondest memories of the trip.

So, what did I learn? Great question! We all need love. As I had the opportunity to love on kids who don’t usually receive love, God broke my heart for these precious lives. Lives in which disease, rape, death, abandonment and disability are what makes up their story, it’s impossible for God to not move through a person. As we spent hours playing in the grass, just loving these kids, I was reminded of the goodness of God. Through these situations, we don’t see any goodness. BUT, that’s why God is so powerful and so good. He knows what he’s doing. He has a plan and purpose for the lives of these children. In short, I learned that love goes a long way. If that means pushing a wheelchair, wiping drool, feeding a meal or even laughing with these kids, God is seen through the love of his people. When we love like Christ loves us, it’s impossible for us to not be changed. Be encouraged and quick to serve those around you this week.

Author: Nicole Presley

Holy Week, the last week of Lent, is our annual remembrance of Jesus’ last days. It includes Palm Sunday (celebrating Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem), Maundy Thursday (the Last Supper, and Jesus’ new commandment to love one another), Good Friday (the crucifixion and death of Jesus), and Holy Saturday (a day of quiet when Jesus lay in the tomb). Because these days leading up to Jesus’ death—the most difficult, most scandalous event of his life—were the most difficult days of his life, we believe they deserve extra reflection.

But this can be problematic for some of us: we know the story, recognize all the familiar parts, let our eyes gloss over the words and the words run off our hearts. We aren’t scandalized by the story anymore—and we ought to be shocked by crucifixion. This was one of the cruelest, most unjust things ever done; it was also the moment when God did the most loving thing of all. How do we reconcile those two conflicting views of the crucifixion? The point is not to reduce it to a catchy phrase or an easy formula. The point is to stay there, to let the story wash over you, like a huge wave, knocking you off your feet, rinsing you out, breaking you down, leaving you with nothing but awe and sorrow and gratitude and love.

Lent is about walking through the trials of Jesus: we enter into the wilderness with Jesus for the 40 days of Lent and we enter specifically into the pain of his death during Holy Week. As we enter into the suffering of Christ, we begin to be shaped into the likeness of God; the character of God takes root in us as a community, and the whole world ought to look at us and see what God is like, what God’s kingdom is like. As we live through Palm Sunday, may we recognize and welcome Jesus for the king he is, not the king we want him to be. As we go through the Last Supper, may we better understand what it means to be part of this new covenant and to be a servant like Jesus. As we go through Gethsemane may we learn to watch with Jesus, to stay with him, and to learn from his anguish the lessons of love. As we suffer through the agony of Good Friday, may we better understand how the kingdom of God comes by sacrifice.

The story does indeed lead to the cross, but that is the moment—in a way that still catches us off-guard—in which God’s purposes are fulfilled and his kingdom established. We share the journey of Christ’s sorrow and pain so that we can share the joy of his victory. Lent ends with Easter, our celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Sometimes we are too good at being solemn and we forget that we live through these painful days remembering Jesus’ death because we know resurrection day is coming. This is the preparation for the coming party, but we can’t just skip to the end. And the celebration will be so much greater now that we know what it took to get there.

Author: Alicia McClintic

One of the most appealing aspects of Awakening is the many different areas that people can be leaders in. There is truly a position for everyone to use their skills here. I recently saw an incredible example of the way just a little bit of leadership can help out an entire group. A few weeks ago I went to go watch my old rugby team play at San Jose State. They were playing Fresno State, a team that, historically, has not been very good. Unfortunately this year SJSU wasn’t very good and both teams, A and B side (kind of like Varsity and JV), lost. During the B side game I noticed a team that had a severe lack of leadership and it showed in the way they played. They did not play as a team and were getting frustrated and mad at each other by the end of the game. Then something very interesting happened. Two weeks after the Fresno game they played UC Santa Cruz and the B side played 300% percent better (coach’s words) than they had the game before. The funny thing is that the team was basically the same except for 3 confident veteran players that were helping out that day. Three players might seem like a big difference but, in rugby there are fifteen players on each team; so it was not necessarily that these three players were all stars on the field or even individually that good. No, the thing these players brought was leadership. When things were going poorly on the field they were able to keep the team calm. And because of their knowledge of the rules they were able to explain to the newer guys exactly what they were doing wrong and how to avoid doing it again. The team’s confidence grew as the game went on and they ended up winning the game by a large margin, a feat that I thought unachievable based on their performance in the prior game. It was interesting to see how such a small change in leadership could affect the entire group.

Just like in sports the Church needs leaders too. In Exodus 18:17-18, Moses realized that he could not lead his people alone, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people that come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” There was no way that he could tend to the needs of all his people by himself so he decided to choose leaders from out of the tribes, “He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens (Exodus 18:25).” Now I don’t think that everyone is called to be leaders of thousands but I do think that we were all given gifts that can help out in some way. Because you never know who you will influence or how much your help can mean to the entire team.

Author: DJ Avilucea