FRUIT!

In the last couple of weeks I am humbled by how God has used me in the ministry here.

Last week on wednesday night we had our normal night of competition in our gym and worship and lesson up in our Youth center. The lesson was about how we were created to serve, to be involved in the lives of others. I ended with a pretty clear Gospel presentation. Then a girl comes up to me afterwards. She had never been in a church before. One our girls met her in the hospital and invited her to youth group. The both of them had attempted suicide recently and met while in the hospital together. This girl asks me if she can have a bible. I was obviously excited and zipped off to get her one.

When I came back I asked her if she knew where to start reading. She gave me this wierd look and said, "I don't know, I was thinking I would start on page one." I had to laugh. Why do we have to complicate everything. Page 1 is the best place to start.

Several days later i hear through the girl who had invited the guest that they had talked on the phone recenlty and our new bible owner was all excited and said, "Genesis is Awesome. I just read it!" She has had her bible for 3 days and already had read more than some of our churched kids will have read in half a year. then she shows up again to youth group and is taking notes and signing up for our trips and stuff. Amazing.

then last night one of our regular guys invites his friend who he hangs out with all the time and he shows up. He is listening pretty intensly as I talk about how God has created us for a mission and that is to tell others that God wants a relationship with us. Not to talk about religion but relationship. This new kid writes on his form that he would like to hear more about how to begin a relationship with Jesus. HE WANTS TO BE A CHRISTIAN. this is why we do church!

So i know that these two guys are going on a trip to Colorado for a ski weekend so i call the dad this morning who is on the way to the airport to drop them off. I tell him what was on the card. He then takes it from there as they drive. The son (the regular guy here) is sitting in the passenger seat and is hearing all this as dad talks to the friend in the back seat. Then he tells his son that he can tell his story about how and why he is a Christian while they are on this trip. The son says, "yes, I can do that."

So, now one of our sophmores is now on a ski trip with his friend with the mission of telling him how to meet Jesus.

FRUIT!

One girl who knows Jesus but is having some tough issues meets a girl in the hospital and is helping her to find Jesus.

One guy who knows Jesus and is about to share with his friend over a ski weekend and will be helping him find Jesus.

Ordinary, uncomplicated, sincere, this is how it is supposed to be done.

Thanks God for using my talents and words to equip and challenge these students to share you with their friends as they live their life.

Another rambling

Yes, it has been nearly two months since i updated this. I don't blog much. Maybe it is because I don't think much, but i have to think to function or maybe I don't. What if life is all automatic and we could just coast through it. Then there would be no challenge, no purpose, no fun, no responsibility. Would that make our emotions automatic as well? If we did not think could we truly love?

But contrary to all that we, most of us, can think and love because we were made in God's image. Some of us think and love more than others, but we all at some level both think and love. I think therefore I am is only part of it. And that I love is still only part of it. I am loved is a major part of life. I am loved. Loved by my creator. Loved enough to die for.

So, if I am loved, and I can think and express love, why don't I? Or maybe I do, I just think about and love me more than I think about and love my creator. The more I dwell on, love on, think on Him, the more alive I truly am.