Walk the Aisle...

Walking the aisle is a fairly common practice in some churches and many camps.  My church is does not do altar calls, but we do go to Falls Creek and they do, so I am familiar with them to some extent, but I never knew the history of them.
This practice started long ago and and still continues today.  Originally it was designed as a way for the broken sinner to make their brokenness known and receive one-on-one consolation for it, but it has gradually become a controverserial subject.  One thing that caught my eye was Charles Finney's use of it.  Finney was convinced that it was a way in which preachers could force revival on the lost.  I disagree with this reasoning for doing it, because no one can bring revival except God.  I also think that often times a person can walk the aisle and get the false impression that saved them, also people often can be pressured into repeating the prayer the speaker says without them coming from their heart, which also can make people think that they are saved just because they said the prayer and walked the aisle.  Like I said my church does not do altar calls but I have been to situations in which they are done.  I actually have walked that aisle and this is where I can see that it was good, but I was a Christian and it was God pulling me not just pressure from the speaker which can so often be the case. It was good because it was not something I wanted to do, I did not want to draw the attention to myself, but I felt God tugging at my heart and it gave me a choice to either listen or not and it was a simple situation in which I practiced following God's call even though I didnt want to, and after doing it I received many resources relating to my call to missions in which I went down to signify.
I think that they are ok but they dont save people and I think that can be confusing to a lost person, so it must be clearly explained.  Also I dont think the preacher should put so much pressure on it that people think they have/need to do it, but that the only reason people would do it is because the LORD has convicted them.

Assignment #8

It is always interesting to look at the way the world and television shows portray the Christian faith.  The "Grill Chesus"  Glee episode was very interesting for the part I saw.  I was only able to see the second half, so I probably did not pick up on as much as I could of.  I noticed that at points some quotes would be right on but then shortly after it would be contradicted or would be changed into something a little off.  One of the quotes that I thought was really good was when the little lady playing chess said that God doesnt mess up and I agree with that but then you dont really feel that this is all taken to complete honesty.  So to answer your question I do agree with some of the points but many of them were a little off.  The grilled cheese thing for me as a Christian was kind of eye opening about the bizarre places that people find their faith and it gave me a reminder of the things people encounter and think in life and how they handle them and how I could better help them.  One final point that I was noticed as a Christian watching it was that it seemed like Kurt was turned off to Christianity because of the way Christians treated him because he was gay. I dont agree that being gay is right in any way but I think that being gay is a sin that they struggle with just like any other sin that people struggle with, and i think that if they come to get help we should help them break away from their sin.  So, I think that I would have noticed more if I had been an avid Glee watcher or if I had seen the whole show, but there were a few things about the way they portrayed Christianity and also things this secular show showed me about things we do as Christians that may need to change. 

The Sermon on the Mount

Jesus talks about many things during His Sermon on the Mount, one of them is giving to the needy.  I am going to be covering the passage Matthew 6:1-4 which is talking about how one should go about giving to the needy.  Two main points I see in this in this passage is that we should do for God and not for others to see and also that it is expected.  The first point is that it is to be done before God and not for men.  This passage says that it is to be done in such secret that not even your right hand knows what your left is doing.  The second point is that it is expected that we give to the needy.  This passage does not say if you give to the needy do it this way but rather it says "when you give to the needy..."  One practical way to apply this section is by going and participating on Tuesday nights, but if you aren't able to make it to these you can give to the needy by donating clothes to the clothes van, money in baby bottle boomerangs, and many other ways.  There is so many opportunities for giving that we should have no probable finding somewhere to give its just a matter of doing it.

Halloween???

I know that for Christians Halloween can be considered a very controversial "holiday."  I've grown up with the view that it is ok, that it is just a day to dress up, have fun, and be with my family, but I've also seen the other side that views it as a satanic day that we should not participate in. 
I can see both sides to this in that it was originally created from the satanic holiday and changed to be a "Christian" holiday.  A lot of people think that it still has its original meaning and participating in it would be encouraging the actions of satanic worship.  This view is actually still happening, some people that participate in Halloween do believe satanic things, but that should open us up to an opportunity to share Christ with them and not only that but also be different from them in our costume choices and action choices for the night.  I think often times churches try to separate themselves by having an anti-halloween festival which is ok to do, but I dont think that it is the only right thing to do, because you could go into one of these "festivals" with the same wrong motives as you could trick-r-treating.
In conclusion, I think that it is ok to participate in Halloween as long as your motives are right and you set yourself apart from some of the awful costumes that are out there.  It is no different then Christmas which is based on a worldly holiday and changed to a Christian holiday, your motives have to be right going into it.  I think a right motive for Halloween is that it is an opportunity to be a light for Christ in a dark world and I think sometimes that does include Halloween night options put on by churches that may keep people from other situations they might be put in if they are elsewhere.

Special Olympics

Today we went to help with the Special Olympic bowling as a class.  I was really excited because this summer I worked with mentally handicapped adults at Camp Barnabas and loved it so this was going to be another ministry opportunity I would have with these amazing people.  Although this was something I was looking forward to, when i saw one of the guys that would be on my lane I was a little nervous, because he looked kind of creepy, but after reminding myself that he was no different than the campers at Barnabas I opened myself up to him and did not worry about it.  This was a great lesson for me in judging people by their outward appearance and how wrong I was.  I also was reminded of something kind of unique today.  I was not feeling to well and was tempted to go sit down and take a break before I prayed for strength to make it through, but I did not and prayed for the strength and God gave it to me and I was able to put a smile on and keep it up.  This opportunity is so rewarding not only because of these great reminders God placed in my life, but also the hilarious stories you get from the people.  I had one guy on my lane that kept me laughing and smiling the whole day.  Any time after he would do something good he would turn around, look at Anna and I, pull up his shirt part way, and start dancing.  It was great because he could have cared less about what anyone thought of him as he did it.  I also had another guy that reminded me of this same thing he would squat and swing the ball between his legs twelve times then let it go.  Most people would look at it and think he was extremely odd, but he did not care, that was how he bowled and he was not going to change just so people would not look at him.  One thing that one of the guys said that made me think about how I look at people is he said that he liked things like that because no one looked at him like he was different.  I thought about it and even if I do not want to sometimes I look at people differently because of how God made them and that is wrong, because I am probably just as odd compared to a lot of people.  This day was great and I would do it again without even being asked.

Spritual Empahsis Week

     Andy Braner was our guest speaker for Spiritual Emphasis Week.  He runs Camp Kivu in Colorado.  He told us about his wife, kids, and his call to adoption.  The first day he also asked three questions that although at first seem simple are not:

1.  Is the sky really blue? How do you know?

2.  Am I really alive?

3.  Is there really a God?  How do you know?

When you really think about question number one you realize that the only reason we think the sky is blue is because someone has told us that it is.  Then you think about number 3 and think about how we know there is a God.  I had to ask myself if I believed in God just because my mom and dad believe of because God's Word tells me, or maybe some other reason.  It was really good for me to think about why I believe what I believe.

     The second day our main point was "BELIEVE?" The thing that struck me most when this came up on the screen was why was there a question mark.  We talked about objective truth and subjective truth, what these terms mean and how they relate to us and our beliefs.  Objective truth is truth that does not change, it is the same for everyone and not dependent based on the person.  Subjective truth is truth that can change from person to person.  As Christians we should believe that our Bible contains objective truth that what it says is true for everyone no matter what.  One thing he challenged us with this day was to think about why we do the right things; he challenged us to not just do it to check it off the list.

     The third and fourth days went hand in hand.  They both talked about how we behave.  He talked about how the stuff we put into our minds affects how we act and believe just like the food you eat affects the physical condition you are in. He gave us five main points:

1.  you are what you eat

2.  junk food changes physical shape just like

thoughts change your behavior

3.  junk food causes heart problems just like

unhealthy spiritual practices confuse

your spiritual life

4.  Junk food tastes good now but in the long-run

it has affects just like we don't always think

stuff effects us now but it does

5.  Apple a day...



    

He used these tangible ways that good and bad food effect our bodies to demonstrate the way the things we put into our bodies effect us.  I think all of them are self explanatory except maybe number 5.  The point of number five is that the apple is your daily time with God and putting that time in your day will just like an apple keep trouble away.  The next part of this lesson he showed what our world shows us to believe, particularly about love.  He showed us how music says to change who we are, just live for the day, and depend wholly on the person you are in a relationship with.  A phrase he used to sum up these two days was "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."

     The final day he closed the week talking about the word BELONG.  He discussed our human nature to want to fit in with others and that those others should be like us.  We will have a desire to belong to a group of believers that we can relate to.  He challenged us to find ways we can give to one another and begin to belong to others.

     The three points I would use to sum up the topics of this week are:

          1.  Know what you believe.

          2.  Know how you act and what it looks like.

          3.  Know how to connect to other people.

The important part about these three points is that he didn't just give them to us but rather made us think about what we do believe and how we know it, about how we act and how to change it, and gave us tips to think about when looking to connect with others.  In conclusion I thought this week was great and that it made me think about so many new aspects to my faith that I haven't ever thought of.

Friends

    There are so many qualities that are good to look for in a friend.  One I think that most people would see as obvious I think depends on the type of friend.  I think it is ok to have nonChristian friends, but my best friend needs to be a Christian so that I have someone holding me accountable if to not give in and do the things of the nonChristians as Romans says "be in the world but not of the world."  Once I have that one Christian best friend I want them to be patient, understanding, and not afraid to tell me when I'm wrong, to name a few.  I think patience and understanding fall into a Christian understanding of brotherly love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13.  And the last one, that they not be afraid to tell me when I'm in the wrong is important for us to develop trust and a love that is like a brother.  I have one friend in particular that we are very honest with each other (we really are like sisters) and that is good even though sometimes it causes us to temporarily fight.  Proverbs 27:17 says, "that we should be like iron sharpening iron,"  this is saying what I've just said about holding each other accountable when one is wrong no matter the cost.
     These are some high standards of things I want in friend, but I am far away from actually being a good friend.  One area I need to work on is pride.  One big result of my pride is my major competitiveness.  I need to relax and be okay with losing and moving on, because it can't be that much fun to play a game with someone who takes every ounce of it too very serious.  Another is patience and understanding that we both mess up and sometimes you just have to work it out and move on.
     One of the things that I find is a big reason I'm friends with this one person in particular from another school is that we go to church together.  We do many service projects together and have taken on leadership roles together.  We encourage each other to do our best for Christ when we can even though we don't see each other every day like I do some people.
     Finally, I think that there are many important qualities to look for when you are finding friends, but these are some of the key ones for me and I do think that before you become best friends with someone you need to make sure that they are going to push you in a positive direction for Christ in everything you do, because your friends play a huge role in who you are at this point.

Lyrical Study

     I think this song is talking about a relationship.  From the first line we know that its not just some little jr. high relationship...its a serious relationship that might have been going somewhere.  But now they see that its not going to work out.  They say they are slow dancing in a burning room, the word slow gives the impression that its been a long drawn out ordeal and the fact that its a burning room makes you think that it is caving in.  At some point the burning room will collapse in on them and it will be all over.  I think they both almost want to do something about it, but at the same feel no hope in the situation, but are going to try to keep it going until it absolutely has to be done.
     I think it is a good song and that it is ok to listen to because its life, that's the way it happens sometimes, but I don't think you should listen to it all the time.  You need a good mix of slower, sadder songs such as these and faster, more positive songs.  The Bible says to keep you body, the temple of God, pure and to not pollute it with any unwholesome thoughts.  Some could say that because this song is based on a relationship falling apart it is not wholesome, but at the same time we need to understand that things do happen because we are human.  Also because we are human there is no way to have a perfect love, we can follow Christs example as close as we can but there will still be some selfish motive or other imperfect reasoning.

Assignment 2

       What I want in my future spouse...

     When I think about my future husband I think of so many things I would like him to be, but the first and most important characteristic that comes to mind is that he is a Christian.  Next, he has to be called to missions.  And some trailing things that come to mind are honest, courageous, and a leader.

     He has to be a Christian.  I think that if he is a Christian most of the other traits will follow.  The Bible says to not be unequally yoked in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15.  It also says that bad company ruins good morals in 1 Corinthians 15:33.  I think the second verse shows that even dating a non Christian is not setting yourself up to succeed, even if you think you are going to convert him or whatever...don't do it through a dating relationship.  I want him to love God so much that I am a far, far second.

     Another one that is really important to me is that he is called to the foreign mission field, because that is where God has called me.  I don't think a marriage would work to well if one person lives in Africa and the other in Oklahoma.  Another reason is that I don't want to put myself in a situation that could pull me from my calling.

     The other things like honesty, courage, and leadership will all fall in line if he is a Christian, because he will desire these things.

     Finally I would want our love to be a picture of Biblical love.  I would want it to be a picture of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient and kind.

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

It does not demand its own way.

It is not irritable,

and it keeps no record of being wronged.

It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices with the truth.

Love never gives up,

never loses faith,

is always hopeful,

and endures though every circumstance.

Assignment #1

     The topic that has spoke to me the most so far is the discussion over the Muslim/Islam religion.  This discussion is very important to me, because I would love to be in ministry with people of these religions, so it is crucial that I understand the building blocks of their religion and what they believe in.  This also reminded me of a very important part of witnessing, that is doing it with compassion.  As a Christian I can't just shut down everything they say I need to listen then calmly explain to them what I believe.  It was eye-opening to me to see just how much they really did "copy" our Bible.  I think that it is amazing to see what a mission field the Muslims are even here in America.

I've started my blog!!!