Worship

This past Friday in FCA one of the leaders, Jake Goodman, read from the passage in John 4 about the woman at the well. After that we split out into groups of 2. Since Nick Ferran, my strong Christian friend came in late he was in mine and a girl named Emily's group. Emily is a little Filipino girl who is also in my 1st period.
In the groups we were told to discuss what the scripture meant to us and how we understood it. No one really took the lead so I took initiative and basically shared what I had just completed in the Disciples Handbook and about worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth.
Worshiping the Lord is not and should not be limited to praising the Lord at church, we are always worshiping someone or something and we can worship the Lord by serving others and glorifying the name of the Lord. We worship the Lord when we do homework, chores, talk about the Lord, praise the Lord, and spend time with him. How do we worship someone or something? When we spend time doing it or focusing on it. The Lord has called us to live a lifestyle of worship and how we do that is to evaluate our lives: Who am I worshiping?
Basically that was the gist of what I shared, Emily said she never saw it put like that before and it was good, Nick totally loved it and was inserting comments as well. I like this new way that FCA is going in with breaking into small groups and discussing the word and how it applies to our lives.

Sanctified

In Romans Paul writes: "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God." In I Corinthians 3:16 Paul writes yet again: "Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" vs. 17.."For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." So it is pretty clear that we are God's temple and God's temple is holy. As a temple of God with the Spirit of God in me I am called to live my life sanctified. Sanctified; set apart; holy. To live my life holy and acceptable to Christ and to see his kingdom come I must live counterculture, opposite of what the world teaches. We are in the world but not of the world. Nothing can come between us and God, He is the main focus for our lives. Our first priority as disciples of Christ is to glorify the Lord in everything we do. Second, and more like along with, we must put it all on the line to preach and evangelize to the lost to see the Gospel and Good News of Jesus Christ spread to all people.

We are instruments of the Lord, " Where You go I'll go, you what You say I'll say Lord."

I am yours God, here I am send me to do the work of your hands, I am set apart wholly for you. Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Unity at Riverdale

Today was a two hour day for students at Riverdale High School. We got our schedules and went to each of our 7 classes. Later on this evening at about 5:30 I got together with my good friend Nick Ferran and we prayed together over this upcoming school year. We prayed that the Lord would use us as an influence among the other students at Riverdale. One other point we prayed for was a unity within the student ministries. I have seen that FCA, Young Life, and Timothy Club do their own gatherings and outreaches. Something I learned at camp regarding student ministries is this: you can reach more people and leave a greater impact when you partner with others in the body of Christ. I want to see a unified body of Christ at Riverdale, I want to see young men and women rise up, from different backgrounds and denominations and come together to see the Good News of Jesus Christ spread throughout Riverdale. One way I think that we can unify the Christian clubs at Riverdale is to  go to war together in prayer. There is a battle for our minds and only by the power of God and the community of the church we will overcome the enemy and Riverdale will be won back, one person at a time.

Camp Reflections

God is good! This past week I was able to go to camp with my church and God did amazing things in and through the leaders teachings. The theme of the week was Indelible this definition means marks that cannot be removed; enduring, unfading, unforgettable. The big question that week was this: How am I going to leave an impact in my school? The whole week we looked in the book of Acts at specific men who lived their lives putting it all on the line to preach the gospel.
I desire to become more of a missionary like Paul, even in the face of rejection and persecution he continued preaching the gospel. The biggest takeaway for me is to continue steadfastly witnessing to kids even in the face of rejection, because even if it seems they aren't listening to me I am still impacting their lives. I am on mission with God at Riverdale High School, not in my own strength but the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to use every opportunity at school to be a light to my classmates.
I must preach and put it all on the line,what could happen? Rejection? Resistance? In Luke 6:22 it says that we are blessed when people hate, mock, and curse us. If I am secure in who I am in Christ then it doesn't matter if I am rejected. Don't be discouraged or dismayed when turned down, be bold and courageous the Lord is my strength, my trust is in him. Persevere and endure in the Lord.
Walk in the boldness that the Lord has given you. We must preach, we cannot sit silently at school when we have the greatest message the world has ever heard. I commit today to be committed to follow Christ and focus on reaching out to others. Paul was set apart, totally focused on Christ and meeting the needs of others, and set ahead, committed to pressing on in difficult times. I desire to become like Paul.
"Lord here I am, use me to impact my school campus. As I seek you everyday and am filled with your Holy Spirit use me to reveal truth to my sphere of influence. I love you Lord and commit my life to the Great Commission. Use me and give me opportunities to advance your kingdom. I choose to obey you with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. I am your servant, I humble myself and choose to follow you. I pray that your will would be done in my life and you would guide and direct my paths."