TC: God's Love and Forgiveness

- Jesus didn't live on earth just to prove He is God. He came to give you eternal life, to offer you forgiveness and set you free from sin and guilt, to give you a full and meaningful life here on earth. And it's because Jesus is God that He can provide forgiveness from sin and enable you to live abundantly.

- In his Introduction to the New Testament Epistles, J. B. Phillips writes: There is a vast difference between the Christianity of the first century and the [Christianity of today]. To us, Christianity is all too often a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, a standard of performance, but to those first-century Christians, it was a new quality of life altogether, and they did not hesitate to describe this as Christ living in them. Perhaps if we believed what they believed, we could achieve what they achieved.

- The worldly Christian is one who has received Christ but who also has allowed his sinful nature to reclaim the throne through sin. God still has possession of this person, and Christ is still in his life, but the individual has fallen into sin in one or more areas of his life. Not yielded to God, the worldly believer is in a period of stunted spiritual growth because he is not confessing and repenting of his sins, and Satan has succeeded in influencing and controlling him through the flesh.

• The worldly or carnal Christian certainly experiences the conviction of the Holy Spirit and will not continue in his sins indefinitely; otherwise, he is possibly not a Christian at all. But defeated and fruitless, he depends on self-effort and energy to live the Christian life instead of drawing on the supernatural, inexhaustible resources of the Holy Spirit. Grasping self-interest in one hand and groping for God's blessing with the other, this person fails again and again to live the Christian life in the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit.

- Romans 7:14-25 (NIV)
So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

- Romans 8:1-4 (TLB) So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit - and this power is mine through Christ Jesus - has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death.

We aren't saved from sin's grasp by knowing the commandments of God, because we can't and don't keep them, but God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours - except that ours are sinful - and destroyed sin's control over us by giving himself as a sacrifice for our sins. So now we can obey God's laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us.

- spiritual breathing: (1) agree with the Holy Spirit that your sins are wrong and grieve God (2) confess (3) repent

Module 1

I took the initiative to share the gospel, leaving the results to God, and ...
I was overjoyed. After I shared the gospel with my sister, Jess, I couldn't help praising God for how he used me to connect with her. I was definitely on a spiritual high.

After the 80 minute conversation I reflected on how I felt and what we talked about. I noticed that the question-and-answer dynamic flowed incredibly smoothly. I came out of that conversation knowing that the Holy Spirit was alive and thriving within me. The Spirit really helped me to word things in a way that Jess could understand while nudging her to gain a new perspective - God's perspective on human life, His plan of grace, etc... I pray that there will be more opportunities for me to speak with other individuals about these questions and concerns, and that I can rely and trust in the Holy Spirit in the same way.


My walk with God has been...
an exhilarating journey, but one that hasn't captured my complete attention. Let's just say that if the Lord and I were walking side by side along a forest trail (or down the road, or aside the ocean on a beach for that matter), I am too often distracted by my surroundings. I would step off the path to check out a leaf, to keep up some dirt, or to jump in the water. I wouldn't be fully captivated by His presence, as if that's all I needed.

I'm saying this because since I've become a Christian in October of 2008, I've had God in my sight every single day. We initially started walking together with arms around each other's shoulders. Then, by the summertime, I was still walking forward with the Lord, but He wasn't getting the full attention he deserved. Only recently do I feel that I'm back by God's side. The greatest difference in between now and when I felt farther away was how often I prayed. For me, prayer is like a phone call to God. I'm excited to renew my heavenly phone call for each and every day!


Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is...
something I don't do every day, and something I need to practice.

I just spent the last 5 minutes trying to come up with an analogy that would perfectly convey what walking in the Holy Spirit is "like." At first, I wanted to say that walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is like learning to ride a bike, and I have training wheels. But I'm under the impression that you never forget how to ride a bike, and riding a bike requires a lot of pedaling on my part. So instead, I wanted to compare walking in the power of the Holy Spirit to driving a car. I thought that all you do is turn the ignition and push the pedal, and the car, like the Holy Spirit, is the vehicle that gets you to your destination. However, I'd still be the one behind the wheel, the roads are laid out clearly, and I don't drive a car very often.

I guess the best analogies I heard emphasize the agency of the Holy Spirit. Our actions take a back seat - we're not in complete control, but we're not sitting around waiting for something to happen either. Like the sailboat, for example. Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is like guiding a sailboat through the waters. We have no control over the wind, but we can harness the wind to our advantage. The only thing I don't like about this analogy is that I don't hop on a boat and sail the seas too often. I wish I could compared the Holy Spirit to an energy source you tap into - whether it's a light switch to flick on, or a plug to push into an outlet.

Introduction

I am praying that God will use me as His servant by...
having me love His people as He does. I have already trusted God's calling for me to use my visual gifts and passion for photography in this internship. I have experienced the rewards of pursuing this ministry both in the images that my camera has produced and through feedback from those I work with. Now I'm hoping to minister to the people in my life directly. God has already given me a clear glimpse of what it means to love and care for other individuals as He does by allowing me to minister to my family as we grieve over the loss of my grandmother. But in the months ahead, there will be a number of opportunities where I will be ministering to people face to face. I hope to develop an authentic love and compassion for the lost as my lifegroup and I read Questioning Evangelism and as I prepare to go to Milan for 5 weeks.

I am so thankful for hos the Lord has already transformed my heart. I am grateful to once again feel connected to Him through prayer. I pray that I may bring glory to Him not only through images, but through personal interaction with those that surround me.

"The Spirituality of Fundraising"

adapted from a talk given by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Preface
Like many of us, Henri’s vision began with the notion of fund-raising “as a necessary but unpleasant activity to support spiritual things.” > “Fund-raising is as spiritual as giving a sermon, entering a time of prayer, visiting the sick, or feeding the hungry!”

Like Ryan said: “Fund-raising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission.”

www.HenriNouwen.org

Body
(1) Make love your aim - 1 Corinthians 14:1

• Vision and mission are so central to the life of God’s people that without vision we perish and without mission we lose our way (Prov. 29:18; 2 Kings 21:1-9)
• Our invitation is clear and confident because we trust that our vision and mission are like “trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither” (Ps. 1:3).
• how fundraising involves conversion, both on the part of the one asking and the one being asked > To be converted means to experience a deep shift in how we see and think and act = inviting people in a new way pf relating to their resources
  

(2) Helping the Kingdom Come About

• The Kingdom is where God provides for all that we need > Matt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
• To set our hearts on the kingdom therefore means to make the life of the Spirit within and among us the center of all we think, say, or do.
• So when we give ourselves to planting and nurturing love here on earth, our efforts will reach out beyond our own chronological existence.
  

(3) Our Security Base

• talking about money as taboo > reasons that this is so because money is seen as a sense of security today
  
• idea that "nothing bad can really happen to you" if you have $ in the bank
• Jesus knows this connection, that people place their trust and hope in things that do not provide security > Matt 6:19-21 “Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and woodworm destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworm destroys them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be too”
  
• “No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money” Luke 16:13
• “Those who trust in their riches will wither, but the righteous will flourish like green leaves” Proverbs 11:28

(4) People Who Are Rich

• how our concern and God's outright love for the poor may feed prejudices regarding the rich...in fact, rich are also poor, but in other ways
  
• story of the rich banker that supported Henri > "Through the poverty of the rich
  man something very much of the Kingdom developed." = love & a real relationship
• how we must minister to the rich in our own place of wealth = spiritually
• loving the rich for who they are, not what they have > and believing that we also have something very valuable to give
  
• ....but what about asking those who do not have much financially? Could always use prayer and how small donations, small displays of generosity in fact multiply (Matt 14:13-21, when Jesus feeds the 5,000)
  

(5) Asking

• Take away the many fears, suspicions, and doubts by which I prevent you from being my Lord, and give me the courage and freedom to appear naked and vulnerable in the light of your presence, confident in your unfathomable mercy. A Cry for Mercy
• Asking people for money is giving them the opportunity to put their resources at the disposal of the Kingdom > placing an investment in God's work

(6) A New Communion

• People have such a need for friendship and for community that fundraising has to be community-building.
• Community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another. Bread for the Journey
• Just as the work of building the community of love asks us to be converted in our attitude toward money, so also this same activity invites each of us to greater faithfulness to our personal call, our unique vocation.

(7) Prayer and Gratitude

• Gratitude flows from the recognition that who we are and what we have are gifts to be received and shared > through prayer we can reach such gratitude
• fund-raising as grounded in prayer and undertaken in gratitude

((8) Your Kingdom Come, 1 Cor 13:8 - Love never fails.