16 September 2007

Outdated 'Dew & Trusting God

I just got up from a two-hour nap. It was pretty wonderful. Unfortunately it waking up was a "get out of bed, Alyssa, you have stuff to do today," and the heat from my electric blanket made my entire body feel like a brick, and emerging from my cocoon of blankets was not a easy task. I even made it out once before retreating back for 30 more minutes. So, to cure myself of this sleepiness, I trekked down the stairs to buy a diet Mt. Dew. (You know, for the caffeine.) I don't do this very often because I had to take four quarters out of my laundry money box...next time I do laundry I'll have to go stick a $5 bill in the change machine, which I hate, or take my array of dimes and nickels to the front desk to exchange for quarters (which I also hate). Anyway, this machine finally spits out my soda and there along the little white ring left on the top after I took off the lid is this: JUL 02 07. What!? I was in Kansas City watching Colbie Caillat, Lifehouse, and the Goo Goo Dolls. That was like...2 1/2 months ago. No wonder it didn't fizz much when I opened it. Well, I drank it anyway and it was okay. It didn't taste bad, and as long as the caffeine is still effective, I'll stop complaining. It's just hard to imagine that this bottle sat down there for [more than] 2 1/2 months without anyone buying it. (Or are the Pepsi guys delievering rejects to the college students?) Hmm..

Anyway, I promised a couple of days ago that I'd talk about what was presented at Navs last week. The sermon at church this morning was good, too, it was about Matthew 5:4 but I left my notes in my car so I'm not going to talk about that right now. When I got to church this morning it was just pouring and driving there I saw tons of lightning and the thunder was incredible. Fortunately I had my umbrella. Anyway, back to the Navs topic...

Joel Johnson talked about trusting God. He said trust is proportional to commitment in relationship. This guy who lives in Haymaker got up there and stood on a chair and fell back into the arms of several other Haymaker guys, trusting he wouldn't hit the floor. Anyway, Joel related the whole trust/commitment relationship to marriage and how when he married his wife, she trusted that he would be committed to her and would not go off seeking other women. When he said "yes" to her, he was saying "no" to every other woman in the world. In the same way, when we say "yes" to God, we are saying "no" to every other thing that could potentially take centerstage in our life. If you say "yes" to God, you're saying that you're not going to let friends, or a boyfriend/girlfriend, or school, or partying, or even yourself take that throne in your life. Obviously, this means saying "yes" to God will result in change. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
There are basically three steps to "how to" trust: wisdom to know how, the power (ability) to do it, and goodness (actually doing it). When that guy from Haymaker (his name was Sam) fell off the chair into his friends' arms, his friends had to have the wisdom to know how to catch him properly. They had to have the power or ability to do it (obviously Sam couldn't have fallen into a group of 5-year-olds), and the goodness to actually do it (they didn't pull a fast one on Sam and step out of the way at the last second to laugh at him when he hit the ground). The good news here is that God is all-good, all-wise, and all-powerful. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Go look up Pslam 145:8-9, 14-19. It's pretty long so I won't type it out, but it describes how incredible God is.
Okay, so now there are three ways in which God reveals his goodness to us (we're talking about the wisdom and power parts the next couple of weeks).
1. He sacrifices for us.
If you ask someone who they trust, they are likely to say "my parents." Why? Because their parents sacrificed for them. They gave up summers to take them to sports tournaments, they spent lots of money to keep you clothed and in school, they gave up things they desired for your own good. God sacrificed for us, too. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Christ didn't have to die for us. We could have just been eternally separated from God because of our sin. But God loves us and is a god of goodness, so he made a sacrifice by sending Jesus to take the penalty of our sins.
2. He provides for us.
Look up Matthew 6:25-33. Have you ever seen a bird lay down in your front yard and die because of starvation? No! In fact, I've seen some pretty fat birds in my lifetime, and I don't think they're struggling to find food every day. God cares for them, and Scripture points out that we are so much more valuable to Him than a little bird. Be confident that God will provide for you.
3. He protects us through His commands and disciple.
Joel told a story of a friend in high school who had the "cool dad." You know someone like this, they don't have a curfew and this particular guy's dad would even buy alcohol and party it up with him and his friends. Joel still knows this guy, and he's not doing so well. Neither is his dad. God doesn't give us commands to restrict or hinder us, but to protect and preserve our lives. (Kind of like speed limits...they aren't posted to keep us from having fun at 95mph, they're there to keep us from getting hurt.) God knows what's in our best interest and He cares too much about you to let you destroy your life. Finally, go read Hebrews 12:5-11. It talks about how God punishes those who he considers to be his sons. He punishes those whom he loves. I'll finish with verse 11 from that, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." God knows what He's doing, and in the end it's for our best interest.

Okay, well that's all I've got for now. If you don't go to Navs (and are here at K-State), you should really consider it. Seriously, it's a hundred times better than what I can put down into words on here and includes amazing worship and a testimony from a student every week. Hope your weekend has been incredible. Hasta luego. *Day 199.

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