21 Journal // Day 10
Posted by Kelly | Jun 11, 2009 | Filed under 21 Journal
main verses are Philippians 2:12-18
what does it say?
Salvation yields the desire to do good works because God is working in me and giving me the desire and the power I need to work for Him. In order for me to show the Jesus in me to the rest of the world I have to choose not to complain and argue with people all the time, so the world cant accuse me and criticize me. Paul wants them to stay firm in their faith and work so that his race would not be ran in vain, or so that his ministry would not be wasted. Matt has told you before that he looks for students who are Faithful, Available, and Teachable to disciple so that his ministry is not wasted. He can rejoice when his guys are successful in being faithful leaders in Christ. He wants them to be successful in their lives with Christ so they can share in each others joy.
why is it in the Bible?
If you were in a completely dark room. No windows, or light from any source. Now imagine if you had a small flashlight and turned it on. You light up a lot of the room. You can see wherever it points and a little beyond that. Now imagine if you had a few friends in the room with you who also had a flashlight and turned it on. Then the room becomes even brighter! The more people with a light who enter into the room and turn their light on, the brighter the room gets and the more the dark corners are exposed in the light!
That is why we are given this passage. To show us again how to be more like Jesus and less like the world. If we were going to be like the world, we would not be the ones with the flashlights, we would be part of the dark. So we are to have the attitude and spirit of Christ so that our light will shine brightly for Him and penetrate the darkness, and bring people closer to Him. Think about it if you were in the dark with no flashlight, and someone across the room had one that was really bright, are you just going to walk around in the dark by yourself or are you attracted to the other person and go over to follow their light??
what am I going to do about it?
pour into the people who will grow and shine brightly to the people who cant yet.
I want to invest in a girls life in order to see her lead other people to Christ and invest in them.
I want God to take me over!
-kelly
21 Journal // Day 9
Posted by Kelly | Jun 11, 2009 | Filed under 21 Journal
main verses are Philippians 2:1-11
What does it say?
The theme is unity and fellowship. So lets break down what it says:
1. agree with each other (vs. 2)
2. keep on loving each other (vs. 2)
3. work together for the same purpose by being woven together by Christs Spirit (vs. 2)
4. be humble and put others above and before yourself (vs. 3)
5. give up your priveledges (”empty yourself”) and be a servant (vs. 7)
6. dont be selfish or do things just because you are trying to impress other people (”conceit”) (vs. 3)
7. dont just look out for whats best for you (vs. 4) (and look back up at number 4)
Have this attitude so that you will be like Jesus who maintained all of it, and although He was God in flesh, gave up His own rights to die so we could be with Him (vs. 5-11). And at the end, ALL will know who He is and that what He did was real and will believe it (vs. 11). At His name ALL, even the demons will bow (vs. 10)!
Why is it in the Bible?
Ok… this may be a little weird and different than the normal way I have been typing this out but I had to start from scratch with my thinking…
why does God want me to know this?
He wants to know His children.
For Him to know them (and me) we have to choose to stand up and follow Him.
When we follow Jesus we want to be more like Jesus.
When we are like Jesus we lose ourselves to love other people completely.
When we love other people the way Jesus did they feel His love and are also given the choice to follow Him and know God.
And more people are in a relationship with their Father, our God.
So… God loves His children and if we are more like Him, He can love them through us… in person!
What am I going to do about it?
I want to have a love for God that causes me to explode with love for other people and helps me to not choose sin when given the opportunity. I want to love. I want to have an attitude like Jesus had!
-kelly
21 Journal // Day 8
Posted by Kelly | Jun 9, 2009 | Filed under 21 Journal
main verses are Matthew 2:20-28
What does it say?
>>Ok, imagine yourself playing a sport. You are one of the coaches favorite and most loved players. All of your teammates are pretty talented but you feel like you deserve something more. You feel like you are more affective at making wins for your team than the other team players. You want to be called to play first and play longest in the game. So your mom goes to talk to the coach on your behalf. She asks him that after you graduate you have a special dedication of you be hung on the wall beside the coaches picture so all the future students and players will know just how great you were. You know, your picture, your jersey, maybe a medal, oh and of coarse they will need to retire your jersey number because, lets face it, no one will ever be able to live up to your legend.
This is like James and John in this passage. Their mother goes up to Jesus and asks for them to be given places of honor in Heaven beside the thrown of Jesus. But Jesus tells them that they cant drink from His cup of suffering, and they say they can, so Jesus tells them they will. And one goes on to be a martyr and one goes on to be persecuted and exiled (Acts 12:2, Rev. 1:9). then Jesus goes on to tell them that if they really want to be considered great in His kingdom then they have to become like Him, and be a servant to all. Not lto be like the “great” rulers of that time who had their own slaves and told everyone else what to do. He didnt want them to become like their culture told them a great person was (the man who sat in the biggest fanciest throne and practiced their authority over the people).<<
Why is it in the Bible?
>>As Christ followers, we are called to follow all that Jesus taught. To believe in Him and to have Him, should make us automatically have a desire to be just like Him and to fashion our lives accordingly. Our first greatest commandment is to love God and our second is to love His people. What better example to follow than Jesus Himself. God sent His Son to earth to die, be separated from Him, and killed by us, His very creation, so that we could be with Him forever.
For us to love people we have to have that kind of love. And here Jesus tells us exactly the way to do just that, so that we can point other people to who He was and who He still is. God wanted us to know this so we would know how to love Him, be like His Son, and love His other children they way He did when He sent Jesus.<<
What are you going to do about it… today?
>>For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.<<
-kelly
21 Journal // Day 5
Posted by Kelly | Jun 6, 2009 | Filed under 21 Journal
Main verses are Psalm 139:13-18
What does it say?
Think about this scenario- If you were planning on cooking a meal from scratch. You buy all the separate ingredients and set the all out on the table. You mix it all up and you prepare it with love and hard work. What if you knew that it would end up tasting horrible? What if you knew that it would be good until it gets burnt from sitting in the oven or on the stove too long? What if you knew that in the end it would be a disaster? Would you still bother to spend money on all the ingredients, spend hours making it and putting it together, setting the table, and preparing the perfect lighting for the occasion, if you KNEW that no one would like it and it wouldnt look anything like the picture in your cookbook? I wouldnt.
I had a hard time with this one today. Accepting it for what it said. Not reading too deeply past the meaning of it, and getting lost in researching history and culture I felt like I needed to dig deeper for the meaning, but I didnt. God knows us. He saw us before we were formed. He wrote our days. He already knew us before we existed, what decisions we would make today. He already planned for this day to be cloudy with a slight but wonderful breeze. He knew how much I would screw up, not love Him like He deserves, hate, guide people away from Him with gossip and straight up meanness, lose myself in pornography, be selfish, tell my parents I hate them, slap my little brother, disrespect my husband… the list goes on and on.
But He also knew that I would put my faith in Him and let Him save me from porn, gossip, disrespect and hate for people. . He knew that I would choose Him. He knows if I will choose to love Him tomorrow. He knew I would mess up and will mess up and He made me ANYWAYS, because He loves me! THAT IS AWESOME! He knew I wouldnt taste good all the time but He finished the recipe anyway, He knew I wouldnt look like the picture of Christ, but HE made me and sent Christ to die for me ANYWAY! THAT IS LOVE! AND IT MAKES ME PSYCHED!
Why is it in the Bible?
For once this is an easy question to answer. He wants you to know! He wants you to know that He knows you. He wants you to have faith in that He already knows what going to happen in your life, and if you will let Him, Hes got you. He goes before you and behind you. And He wants to keep us in check because He loves us. And woah is that a accountability partner like no other! He knows we are going to sin against Him and each other tomorrow and maybe even later tonight or in five minutes, and HE STILL LOVES US!
What am I going to do about it?
I am going to pray and thank Him for that love, and for His mercy on me. And I am going to tell all of you how awesome it is!!! Now, go tell someone else!
-kelly
21 Journal // Day 4
Posted by Kelly | Jun 5, 2009 | Filed under 21 Journal
Main verses are Ephesians 3:16-19
What does it say?
This is Pauls prayer for the people of the church in Ephesus. We can find that he is praying for 4 things in particular for them…
1. …that they would be strengthened with power by Gods Spirit
2. …that Christ would dwell in their hearts (faith)
3. …that they would understand the complete vastness of Gods infinite love
4. …that they would be filled up with God
Why is it in the Bible?
Paul was a chosen apostle (a messenger sent with authority) of God. God chose him to be His messenger to His people (Ephesians 1:1). I believe that through reading his prayer you can see into the burden Paul has for Gods people. Pauls heart was that the people at Ephesus know Gods love and have complete faith in Him and power and strength through His Spirit. He loved them. He loved them because God loved them. So Pauls heart reflected Gods heart, his burden was Gods burden. This not only shows what Paul wanted for the people, but what God wanted for His people. So from this we know what Gods heart is for us, that He wants us to know His love, have faith, posses His power and strength, and to let Him fill us.
What am I going to do about it?
As I was reading and studying the passage trying to understand it, I felt a great burden to make this passage my prayer. I want this for myself, for my family, for my church, for the volunteers at our church, and for the youth. I want us to have His strength, have faith, know of how His love never ends for us, and be completely filled with Him. So I turned it into my prayer. I prayed for myself to be burdened like Paul and for you to be. So my challenge to you now is to stop and pray what Paul prayed for your fellow believers.
-kelly
21 Journal // Day 3
Posted by Kelly | Jun 4, 2009 | Filed under 21 Journal
Main verses are psalm 63
What does it say?
David is yearning for God in the wilderness. He praises Him and thanks Him for always taking care of him and his people. He sings of his faith in Gods promise that the people who want to kill him will be destroyed. He is worshiping.
Why is it in the Bible?
Think about this. I know you have heard of third and first person point of view before. Third person is when you hear a story about someone from an onlookers perspective. That person can only see the obvious outside facts of the situation. First person is when you are inside the head of the story teller. It would be like reading someones personal journal of their life, what was going on inside them while things were happening on the outside.
This psalm is a personal journal, if you will, of David when he is in the wilderness running from people who are wanting desperately to kill him. In Samuel we can read the third person account of Davids story, but here we go into Davids head and hear his thoughts. We know how he feels, what his fears are, the level of his extreme faith that God would rescue him. We go into the wilderness with him and can picture him on his knees in the dirt, with dry cracked lips, just singing out to his Father.
We are all either going into, in the middle of, or are coming out of a wilderness. This account we have of David and how he dealt with his is an example to us of how to deal with ours. So that we deal with it the right way and dont become bitter towards it, or God.
What am I going to do about it?
So what is a wilderness exactly? Well a few examples could be: fighting with your best friend, struggling to get good grades in school, hating your job and dreading to go to it, not getting along with your parents, getting into big trouble at school, being secretly addicted to porn, masturbation, drugs, sex, alcohol, pills, cutting, or an eating disorder, having someone you love get really sick, getting sick yourself, a car accident, a death of someone close to you, a parental divorce, drama between two of your other friends, other people talking about you, not knowing where you belong, struggling to make money, getting into college, not believing you are good enough, thinking you are not beautiful, believing that God cant use you, not getting along with your teachers, feeling like you are alone… these are just some examples.
When I am in my next really tough time in my life, I am going to remember how David dealt with his and work hard to not become bitter towards my circumstances, or towards God for allowing me to go into it in the first place. I want to remain strong in the knowledge and faith that God promises me that He will take me through it and will rescue me from it.
–kelly
21 Journal // Day 2
Posted by Kelly | Jun 3, 2009 | Filed under 21 Journal
Main verses are Philipppians 3:7-10
What does it say?
Paul was a man of great deeds.
Ok, so you have two students applying to the same college (lets say clemson for ex.). One student graduated valedictorian with a perfect gpa score. He/she made a 1600 on the SAT and a 36 on the ACT. He/she was involved in drama club, soccer team, science athletes, yearbook, debate team, and helped out the librarian in his/hers spare time. The other student who was also aplying to Clemson graduated 230th in his/hers class with a 2.4 gpa. He/she made a 1050 on the SAT and a 18 on the ACT. He/she was involved in the group that hung out behind the bleachers during football games, and disk golf. Which one do you think is the most likely to make it into Clemsom?
Like the smarter and more involved student, here Paul is the one most likely to make it into heaven. Right? He has all the good deeds checked off and had all laws followed by the book. He says if anyone could work their way into heaven it would be him. BUT that is all like garbage you dispose of, RUBBISH. He says that compared to having his faith in Jesus, the rest is garbage. He says he can do nothing to his own gain, to work his way in, it is all trash compared to KNOWING JESUS!
He says that he wants to know Him, suffer like Him, and be like Him.
Why is it in the Bible?
Paul is reminding us that it is not what we do that makes us good enough to receive God’s grace, BUT our complete surrender to Jesus and being in a friendship and relationship with Him. (Philippians 3:1)
What am I going to do about it?
Focus on my relationship with Jesus and letting Him serve through me, and next time I find myself living in my own good deeds, reading my reminder from Paul, again.
-kelly
21 Journal // Day 1
Posted by Matt | Jun 2, 2009 | Filed under 21 Journal
Main Verses // Psalm 119:9-16, 105
What does it say?
If I had a nickel for everytime I’ve been asked, how can I stay pure in this world? With all the greed, lust, immorality, and self serving surrounding us every day, it seems almost impossible to remain faithful. And those who do stand strong are the religious freaks!
So how do we? How do students stand AGAINST sexual relationships, drugs, alcohol, sexting and stand UP for Jesus? “By living according to Your word” (Psalm 119:9). God’s word is the only offensive item listed in the armor (Ephesians 6:17). The word is the guiding light in the darkness (Psalm 119:105).
The Psalmist RECOUNTS, REJOICES, MEDITATES, and DELIGHTS in God’s word.
If you want to live a life holy and pleasing to God, you live according to His word. If you want to kill your sin, you whip out the Sword.
Why is it in the Bible?
To emphasize the importance of God’s word and the value it has for our lives.
- matt
Sunday Nite Reflecshunz 05/31/09
Posted by Matt | Jun 2, 2009 | Filed under Reflect
Here’s a quick run down from this Sunday’s Katalyst:
30+ students
6 first time students
7 volunteers
main theme // renewing your mind daily
main verses // Romans 12:1-2, Leviticus 6:8-15
Pool Party Info!
Posted by Matt | Jun 2, 2009 | Filed under Events
This Sunday, June 7th is our end of school pool party! When: 4pm - 8pm. Where: 1111 Canteberry Lane. View the map below ‘X’ marks the spot.
(click to enlarge map)
If you need more directions or have any questions, call Matt 843.331.9548.