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Why Are You Here?

jimmy.rourk — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:00:21 +0000

Toward the end of my enlistment I really enjoyed asking my younger Marines, “Why are you here?” This was usually in response to some complaining about the Corps or Gunny or something not entirely significant. At that time I could guarantee one of three answers: 1. “I want money for college” 2. “I wanted to travel the world”, 3. “Have you seen the uniform?” And yes, I did actually get that last one. All of those answers are pretty funny for anyone who has put on the uniform though. Off the top of my head: 1.) you could have gotten a loan or a job for college money, 2.) you could have been a steward on an airline and travelled, 3.) you could have bought an Armani suit. Any of those and you wouldn’t have had to put up with all this.

Now, why are you here?

Well, I don’t know?

“You went through all of this and you don’t know why? We really need to talk about that because this place is crazy and you need to have a good reason for being here. Now let’s look at what you did to get here. I don’t know if every recruiter does it or if it was just mine, but I remember filling out the contract and signing every page and initialing every paragraph. When we got to the very end the recruiter turned the paperwork around to me and read the last block which said, “We promise you two hours of sleep and one meal a day. Sign here.” Now my 17 year old brain had a moment of unusual clarity in which it realized what was left out of that promise. They did not promise comfort or shelter or being home with my family for Thanksgiving. For that matter there was no promise I’d come home with all my appendages. There was no promise I’d come home. But I signed the line and so did everyone in uniform. So did you. Why are you here?”

“When you signed that line you gave away all your comfort and everything you knew. Your country can now call on you to go anyplace at any time, and you go. You will likely have to do tedious and greasy work in hot and smelly places. There is no promise you will see your family at Christmas. There is a good chance you will have to sleep in some dank and dirty place and eat cold nasty food. You gave up home and family. You are not your own. Why are you here?

“If we are really honest there is no promise you will keep your arms or legs. There is a real chance this may cost you your life. You signed up for it. Why are you here?”

“Now let’s look at the gospel. Christ gave up his place in heaven. He was seated next to the Father with whom he had a perfect relationship. He was worshipped day and night by angelic hosts. Yet of his own will out of his great love for us his enemies he stepped down and took on flesh. He was reviled though he did no wrong. He was killed for our transgressions. He accomplished on our behalf that which we so desperately needed but were wholly incapable of doing.

“You voluntarily gave up everything to offer up yourself on behalf of those who would not or could not do it themselves. You live out the gospel everyday. Paul says, “I run the race to win the prize” And “I buffet my body to make it my slave.” You are the one getting up at 5:30 am to do PT. You are the one who stands in the gap for those at home, to intercept the wrath directed at us. This is what you have done. Now look at what Christ has done for you.

SUBMITTED BY KEITH TEPERA

Valor :: The Citadel

God Space

Mike Miller — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:54:35 +0000

I’m reading a book titled “God Space” by author Doug Pollock. It’s one of those books where you say, “I should have thought of that.” Yet we didn’t and we even less often do what it describes. I’d like to share some thoughts from what I took from reading it. (I’d also encourage you to get a copy for yourself instead of just taking my word for it!)

From years of experience, Doug gives many Biblical and practical perspectives on how to naturally create what he calls God Space, or room for spiritual conversations where God is felt and encountered in ways that address the longings of our heart, where judgment is absent, dialogue flows, and where those far from God feel safe to bring their real selves out into the light and journey to the magnetic pull they sense in their souls.

To be honest with you, I absolutely love the idea of taking the Good News to the world, but struggle with doing it. I fear, I doubt, and I hesitate to offer hope when I’m talking with people. Pollock’s book highlights a few things that are helping me as I seek to have spiritual conversations with those around me.

The first is my own resistance to allowing the Holy Spirit to work through me. When I decide to listen to my own will, I handicap the will of the God working in me. Our battle isn’t to overcome our sinful desires, but to surrender them and to choose to submit to God.

His other principles are to Notice, Serve, Listen, and Wonder your way into spiritual conversations.

Noticing involves using the “eyes of your heart” to see others the way God sees them. Look for their joys and sorrows and seek ways to bridge their needs with God’s ability to meet those needs.
Serving is straight forward: Go meet someone’s need out of kindness and see if they don’t ask you why you’re doing it. You’ll have many opportunities to share the hope that is within you!
Listening means resisting the urge to hijack a conversation and humbly seeking to understand more than to be understood. As you genuinely seek to offer others a chance to share, they’ll take you up on it. This doesn’t mean agreeing with every idea out there, but it does mean affirming others as they pursue God.
Wondering is about asking questions that invite others to think more deeply about their lives and beliefs. Let people know you’re curious about their thoughts on God, truth, sin, life, and why they hold to those thoughts.

On a final note, I was struck when he pointed out, “It’s been said that the only thing more difficult than getting the church to go to the world is getting the world to come to us.” God invites us to ‘go and be’ the body of Christ. Will you join me in taking the first step and going to those who aren’t interested in coming to us, but who need to meet Jesus and have their longings met by Him?

90 Days in the New Testament

Jessie Miller — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:06:28 +0000

In April I wrote briefly about the importance of drinking from the source, ensuring our time reading is soaked with time in the Bible. There are so many resources available to encourage your walk with the Lord, but without a personal familiarity of the Bible it is very difficult to properly filter human teaching. And, after all anything about the Bible is just human teaching. I’d like to take this to the next level and challenge you to read the entire New Testament this summer.

That’s right, the entire New Testament.

That’s 27 books, 260 chapters, 7,959 verses, or depending on your translation — 184,590 words.

Given that most students will not return to campus until late-August, you could have roughly 90 days before classes start again. To read the entire New Testament in 90 days you would need to cover 3 chapters each day. What do you think, want to give it a go?

Consider this summer your summer with Jesus, the One and Only (ref. taken from a Beth Moore title). Make a plan to stay close to Jesus Christ amidst training requirements, work, internships, missions trips, or time with family. I know I have tendency hang out on the sidelines when I’m not among fellow believers or do not have a small group meeting regularly. It becomes easy to convince myself that I’m staying close to the Lord when in reality I’m only holding onto memories of times of closeness. We’re not meant to be in the game just during the academic year, we’re meant to be in the game daily.

If you’re taking the time to read you’ll want to get the most out of it. Consider this basic method for studying the Bible as a way to focus your heart and mind: Observe, Interpret, Apply. I find it helpful to take a few notes along the way to stay on track and to review later and remind myself of how much the Lord has taught me. Let’s look at Mark 5: 21–34.

Observe: Identify what is happening in the passage — key words, characters, compare/contrast…

Jesus is en route to heal the daughter of one of the rulers of the synagogue
A woman who was suffering greatly from a 12-year hemorrhage approaches Jesus to touch his garments for healing
Ask yourself what life for this woman would be like, what were her options?

Interpret: Discover the author’s intended meaning in light of God’s redemptive plan.

Jesus healed her physically, but what happened spiritually?
What was the woman’s faith like?
In v. 34 Jesus calls this woman, “daughter”, what does this represent?

Apply: Scripture is intended to direct our hearts to Christ so that we may believe, and expose sin so we may repent and grow in fellowship with Christ. (ref: John 20:31, 1 John 5–10)

Do you have an area of your life similar to this woman’s hemorrhage? What is your faith like?
When do you embrace your identity as son or daughter of God, and in what areas of your life do you still have doubt?
Pray over this area of your life, ask the Lord for specific and measurable growth.

It’s far easier to take a journey like this with friends, so invite some of your Bible study members to take this challenge with you. Make time to catch up with each other over the summer and rejoice in what the Lord is teaching you. I pray this summer with the One and Only will solidify a foundational knowledge of the New Testament for you, from which you will always draw upon, and to which you will always draw others.

Heavy Lifting

Shawn Schrader — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:34:08 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to see “real ministry” in a totally different way. For a long time I “perceived” that if there were difficulties in ministry it meant adjustments need to be made. I would sometimes think that a reflection of being “smack dab in the middle of God’s will” meant that everything came together, the fruits of the spirit flowed, and all of God’s people said “Amen”. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have this Polly Anna view of what a life with Christ looks like. I understand the cross and what took place (as best I can). Yet as I begin to do things for God I’m discovering that much of the important tasks require some pretty heavy lifting. Here’s a few questions for you: When you’re doing something in response to what you think God’s telling you to do and difficulties come are you more inclined to believe a) God’s closing a door or b) the enemies opposing you? How bout this one: When you’re involved in a significant task and things begin to come apart (people bail on you, funding drops out, cats and dogs fall from the sky…ok skip the last one) do you say “God must be telling us this isn’t His will” or “I think we’ve awoken the devil and clearly we’re where we need to be”?

So you ready for the answer? Yea, me too so let me know! But this I do know. Throughout the Bible men and women who follow hard after God and do the heavy lifting are rewarded with some serious difficulties. Anyone want to talk about Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Job…? As a follower of Christ I believe I should recognize every day that whether I’m in the safe confinements of a church building or in the middle of a messy ministry situation (which describes most ministry) the words of my Lord: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10).

My hope is that all of us know the truth that sets us free so that when we do face this heavy lifting we can recognize the authenticity of the Maker and the destroyer and respond as God’s people have for thousands of years: Setting the captives free!