The Enders

Campus Crusade for Christ Name change to Cru (responses)

2011-08-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of rhetoric toward our organization changing its name to Cru. Here are a few links to help understand our point and purpose:

An interview with Steve Sellers, our Vice President, with Fox News:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1072879438001/prominent-christian-ministry-drops-christ

A response from John Piper:
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/should-you-support-campus-crusade-staff-now-that-the-name-is-changing

A more extensive explanation:
www.ccci.org/cru

please comment if you have any questions.

2009.04.09. You can only recover what you put out there! 2Cor9.6

2009-04-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

2Co 9:6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

In this context Paul is specifically speaking about giving gifts to support his ministry. But as I ponder this, it makes me think of ministry. If I am careful and not generous in my approach to ministry, the blessings or reaping will be sparingly. I think of the story of the man that God told to get a lot of jars. The man filled them up with oil, but because he didn't get many he was limited to the amount of oil that he could store. And God reprimanded the man saying, "why didn't you get more jars, you could have had so much more."

As I reflect on my own ministry and the place that I am in, I doubt God's supreme power to provide and I am reticent to act. I hold back, but His desire is that I sow generously, giving many the opportunity to hear from God so that many will come to Christ for His glory.

God I ask to move in faith not according to sight. For you are God. Amen

2008.11.19. Ready with the Word. Matt. 4:4

2008-11-19T09:52:00.001-08:00

But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matt. 4:4.

Jesus is ready to respond with the words of God. Jesus knows the words of God to be able to respond with them. This is what is activiely putting on the armor of God and is even a reflection against the attacks of Satan. An example of distinguishing the arrows of the evil one.

God I pray that I would be ready to use your word against the attacks of Satan. That I may live unto your ways. Ready to defend and even to take ground for your kingdom. amen.

2008.11,10, Encouragement out of experience. Acts 23.11.

2008-11-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

Act 23:11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome."

God's words to Paul in the midst of this stuff. Take courage. God knows what Paul is going through and perhaps even as Christ knows the personal pain and suffering of going through a trial. Jesus knows the exact words that would encourage the brother through his trial.

I understand that Jesus was fully man on this earth, but on some levels it's just difficult to grasp that He went through everything that we have except without sin. He knows my thoughts and needs. While that can sound cheesy, it's the truth. We are not without a sympathetic interceeder in our lives in every situation that comes our way.

What a great and awesome God that we have, that we can look to in a time of time of need. He is faithful to provide for our every need. Father, would I look to you each and every time for insight and help for you know me. Thank you. Amen..

2008.11.04. A graceful correction. Acts 18.26.

2008-11-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Act 18:26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

Apollos a man who would know the truths of God yet not in their entirety. So upon hearing him speak in the synagogue they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately. Unfortunately their is no discourse on how they approached him and how they talked in detail, but it seems to be the more important thing that they were prompted enough to go ahead and correct the brother. They moved toward him instead of distancing themselves because he didn't know the entire truths revealed by God. And granted this was a special time in the church where people were hungry and their were many that needed to fully understand the full revelation of God through the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit whom He sent on our behalf.

Dear God teach me not to shy away from differences in teachings or beliefs but help me to move toward those to bring about your truths with grace that we may act as one body unto you. Father I do pray if there are any issues within our local cults that I would move toward them instead of distancing myself. That I would graciously correct according to your truth and not my own hang ups or even insecurities. Amen.

2008.9.26. The lure of the world's rules. Ezra 11.12.

2008-09-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Eze 11:12 and you shall know that I am the LORD. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you."

In essence these rules were not the laws that the Israelites had to obey. But they were rules on living and how they would worship that were the main downfall for the people's of the land.

This is true of today. We don't have to live by the rules of the land to be successful. To have a big house or a fast car. But that is the struggle of today to live obviously within the law, but to not allow the lifestyles of the world to become our lifestyles.

All of this distruction, this punishment, is so that the people of Israel would know that He is the Lord. How easy it is to carried away in our sins, our lifestyles and soon we start to believe that we in fact our God. Yet God in His love gives His correction that we become humbled and brought back to reality to know that He is the Lord. Let there be no mistake about it. You are God. Thank you for your correction and revealing of my sin. May I be brought back to submit to you and to dependance upon your holy spirit that I may be in the right reality that you are God above any construct of myself or this world. Amen.

2008.09.09. The heart to know Him is given by Him? Jer. 24.7.

2008-09-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

Jer 24:7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

This doesn't make sense that God would give them a heart to know Him. But it's a weird way the Lord works. As we seek to obey Him, He uses that to draw us closer and closer toward Him. As we seek the Lord and obey him we begin to know the heart of God and He increases in us. I guess it's not much different than yesterday in how as we do the will of the Father, by taking care of the helpless we grow in knowing Him. Because that is what He is about and as we do the things that are like Him we begin to know Him closer.

Teach me your ways dear Father that I would live in obedience toward your heart and that my own heart would grow to know you more. Amen.

2008.08.28. A beautiful picture of redemption for the nations. Jer 12:14-17.

2008-08-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

Jer 12:14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: "Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them.
Jer 12:15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land.
Jer 12:16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, 'As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people.
Jer 12:17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD."

This aspect of life given through the grafting in of all peoples through the nation of Israel shows God's great mercy and plan for all nations to come to know Him. The reason for destroying of these other nations was so that peoples would not influence his people away from Him. But now they are allowed to be with the nation of Israel in order to know Him. They shal be built up in the midst of my people: if they will diligently learn the ways of my people. A complete flip of what was before has now changed to include the nations so that all may come to glorify Him.

Such as it is that we are to live and offer the truth of His ways to others that they might have life in Him. Oh Father that I would not be ashamed but willing to share the message of Christ with all those who need to hear His name. I pray dear God that I would abide in Your son that I would be willing to hear and see you as you are working that I would join you where you are at and not listen to my own voice but yours alone.

amen

2008.08.27. Boast in HIm. Jer 9:23-24.

2008-08-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Jer 9:23 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,
Jer 9:24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."

The goodness of the Lord, who He is, what he practices is what the Lord delights in. More than what we can procduce or make is the greatness of the Lord that we can have life. When I delight in myself, my own products it leads to death. I live in a place that is fleeting, that vascilates between sweet and terrible, dependant on my products.

May I live in the understanding of the Lord, His steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth. For there is life here not in me. Amen.

2008.07.03. It's my problem. Philemon 1.18.

2008-07-03T10:48:00.001-07:00

If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

It would be easy to pass over this wrong and just say, let by gones be by gones. But it is Paul's desire to make right what has went wrong so long ago. Where Onesimus has left Philemon and now has a completely different life. For good even, for the cause of Christ. But Paul goes back to Philemon and tells him what is up. And how that Paul wants to make it right with Philemon to have Onesimus restored to him.

But Paul could have had Onesimus go back himself and ask for forgiveness, but Paul goes a step further and pleads for him and even charges whatever needs to be rectified to his own account. It's not Paul's responsibility, but he takes it on. Out of love for Onesimus, out of care for him. He takes on his burdens.

Father, you could have just left us out to dry. To go and figure it out. But no, you come alongside and act on our behalf to make sure we find our way back to redemption. Father, thank you for that. Amen.

2008.06.26. Focus on your calling. 2Tim2:1-7

2008-06-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

2Ti 2:1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,
2Ti 2:2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
2Ti 2:3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
2Ti 2:4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
2Ti 2:5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
2Ti 2:6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
2Ti 2:7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Get into this work, the calling with which I have been called. Let me not forget your calling. I love the examples of a soldier who doesn't get caught up in the marketplace. He has no business there, he must fulfill his orders. He must be focused on the task at hand or they all suffer defeat. Just as this is true, I need to jump head first in the calling to be a minister of the Gospel, I cannot be afraid and afraid of what somebody's offense. Sure I must be tactful and respectful, but I cannot live in fear of someone's receptance if I never give them an opportunity to hear and receive His Gospel.

Be strengthened by His grace, to share and entrust the message to others who can teach it and be ready to suffer for the sake of the message. If facing rebuke and dislikeness for the Gospel than Father I pray that you would give me grace to give it out in every context that I am in, not for me to just try and teach it to others, but help me to live life for your Gospel. Let your Gospel be true in me. That I would be willing to endure this suffering to bring salvation to God's elect. God give me your eye's to see and believe what already is going on in your kingdom and having the balls to go after it and not hang back. I need to get off the fence of comfort and engage with you as oppossed to just watching and doing nothing. Praise you that you are gracious to me and willing to wait on me. For even in these weaknesses you are strong and strength is proved through them, for in me it is not possible, but through you I have all ability. Amen.

2008.06.20. A poor Trade. 2Kings 5:25-27

2008-06-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

2Ki 5:25 He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" And he said, "Your servant went nowhere."
2Ki 5:26 But he said to him, "Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?
2Ki 5:27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever." So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.

A bad trade. Gehazi went after riches and forfieted his well being. It's not clear whether he traded his soul, but it might as well be. He left the presence of his master (who is filled with the spirit of God) for riches that he thought he could hide from him. And the leprosy not only affected him but his descendants forever. That is a poor trade.

I believe I can make these bad trades all the time. They may be subtle or may be blatantly obvious but I choose to induldge the less valuable (toys, arguments, self-righteousness) for His greatness and glory.

Father, would you help me to weigh the importance of your kingdom and consider what I need to be a part of. For your glory is more important than anything I could ever come up with or try and get away with. Amen.

2008.06.13. Don’t vary from your calling. 1 Kings 13:17-19.

2008-06-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

God told the prophet that he must not eat or drink in the land, but the old prophet lied and told him that an angel said that he must bring him home and give him something to eat and drink. So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home.

I’m not sure what must have been going through the mind of the prophet when he hears this word from this older prophet. He was a man of God too. It’s not even clear why the old guy wanted to have him eat at his house. I doesn’t seem like it would be a great advantage for the people or himself anyway. But regardless he lies to the visitor. And yet the visitor doesn’t question him and goes to eat and drink at his word.

It is interesting because from yesterday’s words (2kings12:8) it is important to head the advice of wise counsel. And this old prophet should be wise. Yet God’s words were pretty clear to the prophet not to eat or drink. Perhaps in the previous example the next steps were a little ambiguous and so the king needed to seek out after advice or counsel. But in the case of this prophet his direction was clear and didn’t need further clarification. And thus should have not received the words of the old prophet and continued in the path that God had given him.

Dear God give me your words to follow clearly. Help me to have your wisdom to discern when I should seek after the counsel of Godly men and when I need to trust the calling or direction that you have already given even if appearing Godly men have good things to say. For there are many that appear to have good even godly ways, but if it is not from you what good is it. Father would you provide your protection that I may remain fully in you. Amen.

2008.04.25. Who cares what just happened, I've got the Lord! 1 Sam 30.6

2008-04-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

1Sa 30:6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

Dispair, distress and worry can overcome a man and overtake him. David is the leader and he is responsible for letting this happen to his people. He could dwell on this and wallow in it, But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

David held fast to or clung or even encouraged himself unto God. I think of strengthening other people and encouraging others, but not too much of strengthening myself. It seems like it is this active choice of David to turn to God and not to this current happening.

Father, give me your courage and insight to turn unto you for my strength and not unto my circumstances. Amen.

2008.04.02. Go ahead, ask, see what He does. Judges 13

2008-04-02T08:09:00.001-07:00

Jdg 13:8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, "O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born."
Judges 13:9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field.

"What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?"
Jdg 13:18 And the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?"

Some things the Lord may answer toward what we ask. But as with the case of the angels name, it was not to be answered. Henry's commentary offers a little insight into it, in the fact that the angels were not to be worshiped. Manoah isn't told why he isn't given an answer, just told to make a sacrifice to the Lord.

We don't always have the insight to see why God does do something in that moment, it is only our part to inquire and see if God will answer us or not. But in any case we must be willing to accept what He gives us and more importantly trust Him that He knows whats best. Easy to say that after the fact than in the moment of course. But I believe it is the best way to live life.

Father give me your perspective and courage to always inquire of you. Being expectant to hear from you but trusting when you don't answer. Father may my life be unto you fully. Amen.

2008.03.30. Exhausted yet Pursuing. Jdg.8.4

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Jdg 8:4 And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing.

Their mission was clear. Even though they were exhausted and no one wanted to help them they still persued after their mission. To defeat and capture their enemies.

Father give me clear direction to persue after what you have called me to do regardless of my circumstances. Amen.

2008.03.28. Me first you last. Ps 39.

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My time is short here on this earth. I feel as when I go for these things to help myself get ahead or to get the things that I want, I put myself in a position that is far from God's heart. I think I'm worth this, or this isn't a big deal. but God is tugging at me, is this what life in me is about. You are mine. All mine. I want these things for you. But I first want you first. Don't push it or give your best energy to these. They will pass, but I will never. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Use your gifts, energy for my glory and not your own. I love you dearly come back, rest in me. Fully rest in me.

Father I surrender myself to you. Help me to fully rest where you are. Amen.

Kate and Andrew in Comp 2

2008-03-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

2008.03.25. He will bring about His perfect will. Jos 21:43-45.

2008-03-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

Jos 21:43 Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there.
Jos 21:44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands.
Jos 21:45 Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

He is always faithful. Nothing will not come to pass that He has promised. We doubt, don't believe there is a way. Yet His timing is perfect. We only have to obey in the here and now and the overal picture will add up to fulfill all His promises. We cannot see in each circumstance how He is working, sometimes we get a small glimpse of why something happened the way it did. But each instance is movement forward toward the fulfillment of His promises. So we still have the choice to disbelieve He is working and to disobey Him or to believe He is at work and to obey each and every moment. Father help me to trust you for every opportunity that I may live fully unto you to bring about your will on this earth. Amen.

2008.03.24. This is what you have been prepared to do. Jos 17:16-18.

2008-03-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

Jos 17:16 The people of Joseph said, "The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezreel."
Jos 17:17 Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, "You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only,
Jos 17:18 but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though theay are strong."

This is several chapters later from the beginning of the book, but I am reminded of how God says to Joshua "be strong and courageous". I don't think he would be able to say these words now if courage had not been put into him by the Lord.

These are very strong leader words to tell the house of Joseph. But as Joshua's journey has progressed his courage has turned into faith. He believes that even though the Canaanites are strong and have chariots of iron, his God is bigger and is able to defeat the enemy without a doubt. And now Joshua is able to put courage into the house of Joseph when they are in a place of doubt and weakness.

I recognize times when as a new leader and even as an older leader I have needed words of encouragement to help me step forward. And I have also recognized times when I have been full have faith and have given courage to others so that they may move forward. It seems that there are many times when we need both. Father give me the discernment to listen when you are speaking and the faith to encourage others when you have placed me in leadership over them. Amen.

2008.03.18. Fear. Get behind me! Josh 2:9

2008-03-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Why should the Israelites have fear? Fear has fallen upon their enemies. Why do we need to fear? For when God is for us, what on earth (literally) do we need to fear?

Jos 2:9 and said to the men, "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.

Four times Joshua is reminded in the previous chapter that he should be strong and courageous. It's almost like a broken record. But it is not without warrant. This is probably the biggest moment in his life. He has not gone in battle so many times before. This is pretty huge. And not to mention the entire task at hand could seem pretty overwhelming to a person. Just saying that we are going to take the land would seem daunting.

But God says "Be strong and courageous, Be strong and courageous, Be strong and courageous, Be strong and courageous." I would start to believe it if this came from the father. And so Joshua sets out his plans.

And what happens, this Jericho woman and all her people are in fear of the Israelites. What do you know? Of course they are, they have heard about all that God has done for them. I would be shaking too if I heard a peoples are coming and they have kicked everyone's butte whom they have run into.

I personally would be very encouraged if I were on God's side. Why do I go to fear, when I have the ultimate fighter on my side? When He has made available everything to me? Father, help me to live in your promises, in your truths, that I may be strong and courageous to act. For I have nothing to fear, but others who are not for you have plenty. Thank you that you are for me and with me. Amen.

Steele's first bath

2008-03-16T21:36:00.000-07:00

2008.03.13. I am my brother's keeper. Deu 22.1-4

2008-03-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Deu 22:1 "You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother.
Deu 22:2 And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him.
Deu 22:3 And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it.
Deu 22:4 You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.

These verses don't allow an israelite to not be responsible for another man's loss. It goes over every situation that you could think of to let yourself off the hook. Oh, they'll find it. I don't have time. He doesn't need that garment. I don't know to whom this belongs. It basically comes back to the law of "do to others as you would have them do to you". For these laws are summed up by this premise. But the the law spells it out practically for them in each scenerio. It seems the law gave how the summed law actually looks like in everyday situations.

In a sense, this is who Jesus is to us. He didn't have to take on our responsibility or our needs. Yet He offers to take every burden that we have, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

And as we get to know the heart of Christ, we develop His heart to be concerned for others needs. We supernaturally care for another's heartache, lost item, trial, etc. We develop His heart for others and we are propelled to act on their behalf. Obviously its not out of compulsion, but out of His love for them we have compassion and want to act on their behalf as how we would respond if it were happening to us.

Father, give me your heart of compassion that I may act according to you and not my own selfish desires. For that is my immediate response-to let them deal with it themselves. But your heart is for me to respond according to your selflessness. Let me live and dwell there. Amen.

2008.03.11. You do this where I tell you to do it. Deu 16.5-6

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Deu 16:5 You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you,
Deu 16:6 but at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt.

I don't know if I fully understand why these rules must be followed so closely. Is it show they can show some effort by going to the designated places, is it so that they will follow God's commands. God says do it to make his name dwell in it.

It must be in order for people to know that He is God. Because He is worthy to receive these sacrifices and celebrations the way that He requires them. It may seem trivial to do it in this manner, but God has specifically asked that worship be done in this particular manner. And for them it is not to question the means but to obey the God who has spoken to them and revealed His ways to them.

Father, I just think of the ways that you prompt and communicate to me. Sometimes it isn't always convenient, or the most logical. For I think I can do that when I'm ready, or there is a better day. But I believe what this is communicating is that you just want me to obey.

I think of last Friday when I got lunch on campus, there was an international student that was sitting by himself. I felt really prompted to engage with him, but I talked my way out of it. "oh, I'm going to meet up with international students, I don't need to talk with this guy." But instead I just needed to obey that prompting. Father, help me cling to your ways and your word that I would not turn to the right or to the left, but fall on every direction that you give me. Amen.

2008.03.03. Don't just think of yourself. Num 32.5-7.

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Num 32:5 And they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan."
Num 32:6 But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, "Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here?
Num 32:7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the LORD has given them?

It seem like such an innocent request. Is it okay if we just stay here? We have found the place where we would like to stay, if we don't have to I'd rather not cross the Jordan. But God calls us to a different place. Moses calls it out for what it is, it is discouraging the Israelites to fulfill what they have been called to do. It is disobedience. And Moses helps them see how similar it is to what their fathers did and the punishments that ensued.

This is the heart that I have. I am not looking out for my brothers well-being. I am looking for my own comfort and establishment. That I may receive what is coming to me, but I could care less if someone else is stranded or helpless.

I often think of the poor in this scenerio. My obligation is to help my fellow man. I consider a food hand-out as adequate, but what about clothing, housing, health, etc. What should be my role in providing that for others with a need? God has provided so much for me, yet I am content in not thinking about others.

Jesus is the ultimate brother, who did not think of himself, but freely gave of himself so that we might have life.

Father help me to live in this supernatural realm of thinking selflessly like your son, where I would consider others needs above my own. For I would use what you have given me for the blessings of others. For it is yours. Amen.

Our New Baby. William Manfred Steele Enders 6lbs. 18inches long on February 29, 2008

2008-03-01T11:43:00.002-08:00

2008.03.01. It's all His. Num 28.2

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Num 28:2 "Command the people of Israel and say to them, 'My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.'

An interesting distinction. It could be very easy to say to God, here is what I am giving you. These things that are mine, I now give back to you. But God is saying, this is mine, my offering, my food, my pleasing aroma, according to my ways. The offering is already His. There is no question about it. This even gives a greater picture or understanding to the fact of stealing from God. Because in fact it originated from Him, our ability and our worth to be able to give anything to Him.

This was the covenant that was made with the people of Israel. If you enter this land and give to me according to what I have told you, you will receive blessings. But if you don't you will receive the curses.

So what for me? This is still relevant for me, that everything is unto God. I can choose to disobey and hold back from God. Or I can hold up to Him and honor and obey with what I have. Not under condemnation, but out of reverence and love.

Dear Father help me live unto you. Help me to see life from your perspective. That I may not lose sight of the fact that you have given everything and it is only that fact that I can give back to you because of the work of your son Jesus Christ on my behalf. Would I praise you and trust you in all my ways for your glory. Amen.

2008.02.27. Leadership in Christ. Num 27.16-20

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Num 27:16 "Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation
Num 27:17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd."
Num 27:18 So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.
Num 27:19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight.
Num 27:20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.
Moses has just been reminded of his past sin and instead of just being like watev, let them deal with it. Instead Moses asks God to provide a leader for them.

It's not clear what process that Moses went through, because at this point it is probably only going to be Joshua or Caleb. And maybe even Moses has his idea of who he thinks should take over his position, but yet he still inquires of the Lord. The Lord makes it clear that it is to be Joshua. And instructs Moses to lay his hands on Joshua and invest his authority, so that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.

This transfer of leadership is an important process, not just to God but for the nation of Israel. For they need a leader a shepherd they can follow to live according to God's laws and receive His blessings.

This transfer of leadership was bestowed upon Jesus for He is the ultimate shepherd. All authority has been given unto Him, so that we may obey and live under the blessings of God.

But it is also true that Jesus has given us all authority to act on His behalf. We have all been appointed by Christ to lead. We all have the ability to lead others to the promises of God and to be blessed through life in His son Jesus Christ.

Father, help me to fully realize the authority you have bestowed upon me and help me to show others their leadership role in Christ upon coming into relationship with Him. Amen.

2008.02.27 Man's evil, God flips for His good! Num 22-24

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Num 24:10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times.

God used Balak's intention for evil for blessing! No matter how great Balak's intention was and how much he tried. God used the opportunity for His continued blessing upon His blessed people. Balak just did not get it. I love Balaam's discourse that nothing can influence me on this earth, it is only God that I must fulfill and obey.

We don't know much about Balaam, but He follows the Lord. Balaam knows where his gift comes from. He can only do what God tells him to do.

This makes me think of the oppression that we feel that is so oppressive over the Eugene area. Like it is this power that is too oppressive and we cannot shake it. I believe that's bull. Like God cannot navigate His way through it. God is all powerfull and even if someone has evil intentions, God can flip it for His good. We are His people and He can protect us and even more than that He can flip the enemies curses in this town and bless us even greater. We don't have to live under oppression it can have no hold over us. God's power is greater. He is our God, all powerfull. No kingdom can stand against Him. He is all in all and we are His people. We are not meant to live in fear but under His perfect love that cast out every fear.

God I ask that I would live under this truth and not under the lies and deception that Eugene is Godless. This is not true and this is not real. Father we trust you for every truth and every prompting for they are all from you. Let my actions be that of Balaam that I would only be able to do what you command. Nothing more nothing less. Amen.

2008.02.26. Smite Them! Ps. 28.4

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Psa 28:4 Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.

This is our heart our response to evil people (our enemies) So much of where we live is in this aspect of uncompassion of give them what they deserve. The same perspective of that of Jonah. He just wanted the people of Nineveh to be smited from the face of the earth. Yet it is so simple to see the fact that God could smite us, for we are evil, we are not worthy of His mercy. And yet in His graciousness we are blind because we want others to receive condemnation.

Father I pray that you would help me to remember your perspective and your truth. That I would remember the grace that you extended unto me and in turn I would extend forgiveness to those who don't deserve it so that they would be able to experience your love and truth through me. Change me unto your ways for your glory. Amen.

2008.02.19 Holy so we can reflect His glory. Num6.9-11

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Num 6:9 "And if any man dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it.
Num 6:10 On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting,
Num 6:11 and the priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall consecrate his head that same day

The Nazarite is a very high calling to fulfill. Even in this event it may seem unfair or of no fault to the Nazarite if someone drops dead beside them, but because of who they are they must go through this time in order to be cleansed. Because of who they now have become. They cannot be regular they must carry out these duties to reflect the image of God.

But this is similar to who we are now in the new testament. For we have the image of God within us. We reflect His full glory and yet we have this responsibility to remain pure and clean. But it is the work of Jesus Christ that we can remain clean and pure. So we look to the ultimate sacrifice for our cleanliness and holiness before God. For we are the example for all to see the glory of God.

Father, help me to rely upon your work for my ability to live a glorifying life unto you. Amen.

2007.12 Family Pic

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2008.02.15 God always provides a way for you to obey. Lev. 25.20-22

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Lev 25:20 And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?'
Lev 25:21 I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years.
Lev 25:22 When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.

It is so like us to want to worry about how God will provide for us if we obey Him. Because it does not make any sense to follow after God if He says to not sow or gather, how will we be able to eat any food. That is rediculous. But God knows are arguements against His ways and in this He will provide a sufficient amount of food, not only for the year that they stop planting and harvesting but until after they have planted and waited a year for the fruit of the land to come in.

That is an incredible promise. But also one that requires of them self-restraint to not just eat all of the surplus, but to save it in order to let the land rest. Because if they do just sell it or devour it they will not be able to let the land rest. It is to see the abundance as provision to accomplish His will rather than to just have a momentary gain for that particular harvest.

It is like He is saying to the Israelites, don't come up with excuses. I will provide in order for you to obey me, but you must be purposeful in your life and how you conduct yourself. It will not be easy to let the land rest, but if you do I will provide for I am the Lord your God. And if you do you will be blessed.

So much of where we live today is that it can be easy to just live according to our selfishness. Just like the Israelites we can think not how we can honor the Lord, but how much can I get away with. He is not really serious here. Just be gracious to me, I don't have to honor your ways.

And while we are not depedent upon our obedience because of the grace of Jesus Christ, His desire is that we still honor, love and cherish Him. That we not just camp on the fact that we have grace, but that we use this grace to move toward God. That we use His grace to show honor, love and cherish Him. And our obedience is not rediculous, but life. We can be totally sustained in our obedience to Him. It may not be totally physical needs being met, but spiritually, emotionally as well. His grace is sufficient for us. And in our obedience toward Him we will never lose out on any type of personal gain, but our gain will be fully for Him.

Father, help me move toward your obedience and honor of you. I often feel that my ways are better or that I don't have to fulfill the will that you have called me toward. I can procrastinate or avoid your will. Father, help me to engage lost students where they are at. Help me to obey according to your Holy Spirit that you have placed in me. That in you I may fulfill your will. Amen.

2008.02.14 Your Way or the Highway! Acts 21:14

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Act 21:14 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, "Let the will of the Lord be done."

Does Agabus' prophecy help the believers at this point. In some sense it put them into a state of fear for Paul's life, but it simply tells of what will hapen. It is the believers who assume this outcome will be bad and should be avoided.

But paul has a different understanding of this prophecy, it seems to almost prepare him or even strengthen his desire to go. For he knows that he is ready to go for the name of Jesus. He would not back down simply because of death or imprisonment.

The body of believers than conceded their persuading and asked that God's will would be done. We don't know what they end up doing, but it doesn't seem like that ask God that Paul would not go anymore or that he would not be imprisoned.

Let the will of the Lord be done. That must have been really difficult for the body to swallow. They have been close with Paul and they love him so much, but their love for God has to be greater in order to believe and trust that even if their dear friend's death or imprisonment is okay.

Father, I pray that you would give me the wisdom to distinguish between my own selfishness and what your will may be. For it can appear that doing your will is foolishness, but help me see it as life. Amen.

2008.02.11 The true scapegoat. Ex 16.21-22

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Lev 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.
Lev 16:22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

Symbolically this was necessary for the atonement of the nation. How would it be to see the sins being confessed by the peoples and to see the priest confessing all the sins onto this goat. It must have been somewhat humiliating as well, because it seemed like people new each other's sins. There wasn't much of a filter as far as what people knew.

But what a relief to see the sin leave the camp, to no longer be seen or reminded of it again. And yet now we have in Christ a true scapegoat that in this same way we can see our sins depart us and we have no connection to them whatsoever.

Father, help me to realize my forgiveness in you and this free gift that is offered to so many. May I live in truth of your sons work on my behalf. Amen.

2008.02.10 Why do I have to check myself? Lev 13-14

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Lev 13:2 "When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests,

Important that this is discovered not just for the person with the leprosy, but for the nation. Because if this is not contained then the rest of the people will be infected.

this is just like the person who wanted to travel. He had a case of tuberculosus or some other airborne disease. He wanted so bad to do his agenda that he endagered many people not only on the flight, but the people that he came into contact with after he landed. He only thought about himself.

God has his best for everyone and that may conflict with your own plans, your own desires. It maybe inconvenient, but best all around. But it is so difficult to see when we are in the midst of being disruppted.

Father, help me to trust you even if I don't understand why I must go through what I do. I pray that you would lead me and that I would be able to see with your Kingdom eyes. Amen.

Partnering Dance

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2008.02.05 First things first. Acts 12.5

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Act 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

It is not clear what the church prayed for. It is assumed that they prayed for Peter's release, according to the outcome. But the fact that they earnestly prayed for him, makes it seems like it was just habitual. If there was a problem, they didn't fight the power, they prayed. They went to God, the one who had the power to help. They didn't turn inward they turned upward.

I love the fact that it says that prayer was made by the church. It wasn't made by individuals, but the collective body of believers. How powerful. I wonder if the spread of Christianity was most accomplished through the prayers of the church rather than the actual people who went to tell others. There are no unimportant people, it was all necessary ofcourse, but I believe the first mode of action was prayer that instigated it all.

Father, help me to operate under your M.O. Help me to first come to you for every situation. And help me to join the body in prayer. I feel as if I am a lone ranger, but help me to join with the entire body to pray for your will to come about on this earth. Amen.

2008.01.31. The heart of the father. Acts 7-60

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Act 7:60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen's heart is for these people. Even though they are killing him, he is ready to already forgive them. These words of Christ, are familiar to Stephen because He has the mind of God. He knows even though he can convict their hearts and make true statements about them, that his heart is still for them. He has an understanding of where they are and knows that they need forgiveness. He is not concerned about the him being wronged. He is focuses on God's concern for them. His focus is for their hearts. His love is from God. He loves them unconditionally, he doesn't care if they like him or not he will have the mind and heart of Christ regardless.

Father give me this mindset. Would I not fear others thoughts or consequences, but would I be a light for you. And give freely the love you have bestowed upon me. For this is where life is and not even death can stop it. Thanks for life in your son. Amen.

2008.01.Masterpiece

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We are His masterpiece. For He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. - Ephesians 2:10.

This verse was the theme for our Winter Conference over this Christmas break. Eight hundred students gathered from around the region to come to grow in their faith and experience God on a different level. I was asked to pray for the entire conference: the logistics, technical aspects, the speakers, etc. It was a little daunting and a little vague. I wanted to be effective, but where do you start?

Then God did it. I showed up several hours before the meeting and began to pray in the convention center before anyone came. God gave me a vision to pray through each seat that would represent every student or staff and pray that they would realize that they where His masterpiece. As I continued to pray for each person I became overwhelmed by the fact that I needed to believe this promise of Ephesians 2:10 for myself. While I was feeling unworthy to be praying, I shouted out the truth that I am worthy not because of anything of myself but because of the worthiness of God alone and the work that He has done through Christ on my behalf. And as I shouted out these truths I was struck by God and believing that I have been created anew for this very purpose- for this moment to ask for God’s will to be true in the place that I had been praying.

Upon further reflection I noticed that in Ephesians 2:10 it states that “we” are His Masterpiece, for “we” have been created anew in Christ Jesus so that “we” can do the good things He planned for “us” long ago. So much in our culture I emphasize my importance, but it is together that we make up the body of Christ and together we make this beautiful masterpiece.

Now I have returned to the University of Oregon, and God has given me a vision to pray for each and every place and person. I keep getting the impression that this place is not so big that God’s glory cannot penetrate each and every area. There is no argument too great that any man or woman can conjure up that God cannot overcome. I have made it a part of my schedule to pray through every nook and cranny of the school: department buildings, commons areas, dormitories and apartment buildings for the Holy Spirit to reach every place-- that no one at the university would go untouched by the Glory of God. I am convinced that the battle for these students will be won in the heavenly realms.

2007.12.Why does it matter that Jesus is the only way to God?

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A big part of ministry on our campus is just showing up. I make calls to students who show interests in seeking after God from entering raffles or receiving free gifts. Many students I have interacted with this fall have needed clarification about Christianity and the claims of Christ. A student named Zak stated that he was a Christian but he also felt that all ways lead to God. I probed a little deeper and shared with him that if that were true that there could be no God because of the many different outcomes that these different ways lead to. I said that the only God that is possible in that belief is the one that Zak would make up. There could be no way God could ever speak to Him because he could just pick and choose who his God was. When I explained this to him, Zak’s eyes showed a realization that this new concept was real truth. It rushed him into thoughts that if Jesus is the only way to God as He claims, then we need to let others know about Him. He was humbled, and maybe for the first time in His life confronted with the reality of what it means to follow Christ. It was not just another passing thought, but what it would mean to really believe in Jesus and the consequences that would have for the friends, family, acquaintances around him were becoming clear.

It would have been easy to just leave Zak’s answer that he is a Christian alone, but I have experienced that a lot of people don’t necessarily understand what it means to be a follower of Christ. As we continue to engage with other believers, those who identify with Christianity, those who don’t know Him, and those who are against Him, it amazes me to see how a simple question like, “Why do you believe that?” or “What do you mean by that statement?” reveals so much about what someone really believes as opposed to what they think is the right answer to give someone.

2008.01.30 This gets my best attention. Acts 6.4

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Act 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

I don't believe that the argument that these men were self righteous toward themselves and would not lower themselves to serve tables. I think they knew the calling that was upon themselves to pray and proclaim the message of Christ unto others. They didn't want to waiver in their calling toward God. If they thought the position of taking care of the dispute was unimportant they wouldn't have cared who would have been appointed over the matter. But they were very specific and called excellent men forward to take on this task.
These disciples understood that their time and resources where limited. They wanted to focus most if not all of their energy toward their calling.

I know I can get so distracted and even when a good cause comes along I want to be able to contribute or "do something". But is that the best thing that I can do? Or it seems from this passage that I should be adamant in holding on to the purpose for which I have been called.

Father help me to focus on your kingdom causes. I don't have to focus on all of them, only the ones you want me to address. Give me the wisdom to discern which ones those are. Amen.

2008.01.28 Think how you would want to be treated. Ex 22.21

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Exo 22:21 "You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

So much of what is going on here in these verses can be summed up by:

Mat 7:12 "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Even in the passage of Exodus, the Israelites are reminded to do to the foreigner how they wished they would have been treated when they were in Egypt. We always have the ability to turn inward and forget the thoughts or needs of others. But God asks us to remember how you were, or if you do something just think how it would feel if someone did it to you. There isn't as much distance between you and that person anymore. It is similar between the love that God has for us through Christ Jesus. Not only did He just try and think of what we are going through, but through Christ became one of us, so that He might know and even experience everything that we go through. That He might have compassion for our troubles, needs, desires, etc.

So not only do we have this great example for how we can have empathy for others, but we have the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this great task. For when we consider how we would treat someone when we act it is through the power of the Holy Spirit. For everything in us wants to seek our own gain and forget every consequence that might affect another person or image bearer of Christ.

Father help me to act according to the example of your son Jesus Christ. Help me to consider my actions, my thoughts, my words, my life that they would reflect how you would want me to treat myself and in return reflect that toward all those men and women you have created to experience you through me. You have given me a great gift to experience your compassionate love help me to live my life according to your example. Amen.

Anaelle's new glasses

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2007.08 Summer Adventure

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You can never know what God is going to bring down your path; you only need to be ready to respond with a Godly perspective. This summer was filled with excitement, challenge, tragedy, and provision. A terrible accident like a forest fire can be devastating. It doesn’t seem like much good can come from anything like this, but we just had to trust God for each of our next steps. We were evacuated from the premises two times. The first evacuation was voluntary because there was a lot of smoke and we wanted to be safe. We waited in a church for a couple of days and then the city claimed that the fire was under control. We moved back in the following day thinking that everything was okay, but to our surprise the fire had jumped over the backfire that was used to contain it. Amazingly no one was hurt and none of the buildings went up in smoke. The fire came within 200 yards of our place: craziness!

Patrice was challenged to help out with a group of student women for the first time this summer. It was a little intimidating for her, but she rose to the challenge. The staff woman she was helping was pregnant and excited to be a new mom. After some complications she found out that she had lost the child. This was an incredibly difficult experience for her and her husband to endure, so they left the project to mourn with their family. This was a really difficult time for us to go through as we had become close with the family and even stayed together when we were evacuated. But in the midst of this tragedy, Patrice was again challenged to minister to these women solo. To say the least, it was a great time for Patrice to trust the Lord to use her despite her weaknesses and feelings of inadequacy.

I was privileged to be able to dig into 4 men's lives and be a sounding board to what I believed that God wanted to bring out in them. It’s easy to hear good things about ourselves, but when we have our weaknesses pointed out, even in love, it’s a learning process to turn those things over to the Lord so He can refine us. These men grew in areas of pride, overcoming fear, trust and identity in Christ alone. Praise be to God.

National Conference:
Reunion, Re-affirming, Heart tugging, Blessed!

After escaping the fire zone, we traveled off to Fort Collins, CO. There we participated in the National Conference for Campus Crusade for Christ. We spent 12 days meeting, being encouraged by old friends, and having the opportunity to see where God is leading us as a ministry. I have found it easy to be very egocentric in ministry at times and just focus on what God is doing through me, but God tugged on my heart to show me that I need the entire Body. I was especially moved when they stopped one of our sessions to pray for the missionaries from South Korea that were being held hostage by the Taliban. At that point no one had been executed and we as body were crying out to God for their lives. It was powerful to engage God for another part of the world. Later on in the conference, the leaders from the JESUS film ministry celebrated the 1,000th language translation. It was a huge milestone to celebrate and a blessing to hear of the ways God is using the film to enable many to hear the Gospel for the first time in their own language. It was really special for us to hear what God is doing through the film and to know that we played a part together in making those 1,000 translations. Praise God for He is good! And His love does endure forever.

Personal Note:

God has really revealed to me during this summer my need for more grace with my family. I find at times that I am very quick to judge, quick to correct, quick to blame rather than offering understanding, compassion and grace. This has been troubling to me as I have processed this with Patrice and other friends. I am offering this insight into my life as I desire to grow unto His character, but I know that I cannot do this alone. It troubles me because I do desire to reflect God’s love and character to my family, those closest to me. I don’t want to find myself trying to share the love of Christ with others yet fail in my own personal life, with those who know me most deeply. Please pray that His grace would abound in all areas of my life.

2007.11.Fear Not

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I am challenged as I read through Acts. In Acts 4 the apostles Peter and John are persecuted for proclaiming the truth of Jesus and then let go. After they are released they return to the body and pray for boldness to speak His words and they ask God to heal and perform signs and wonders through Jesus. And after they prayed these things the earth was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak the word of God with boldness. They prayed for more boldness with the full knowledge that speaking and performing signs in the name of Jesus Christ could bring on more persecution and even death to their lives.

This passage has challenged me greatly because I do not often pray for boldness to speak of God. I become content with praying for protection or asking God to just keep us safe where we are. This obviously isn’t the greatest attitude if we are trying to take new ground for Jesus Christ. My director has challenged us to really focus on what we are trying to accomplish here at the University of Oregon. We could be satisfied with just gathering those who are believers and not be bothered about those who need to hear the Gospel.

Fortunately God has called us to go and make disciples of all nations. It has become clear that we need to encourage one another to pray and speak with boldness no matter the consequences. It has been good to ask God for boldness and seek what we have asked for together.

One student, Jayson, has been a part of our Asian-American ministry Epic for three years now. He is not the most outgoing of men but God has given him a heart and excitement for those students who don’t know Him. The Vietnamese Student Association is known for having a rowdy bunch. Jayson and I were a little nervous about presenting our purpose to the group but we knew that it is a significant place that we could reach out to lost Asian Americans. We prayed that God would give us favor as we spoke with the students and that God would lead us to students who might be searching for Him. We presented our ministry and gave opportunities for those who wanted to hear more about Christ. We praised God for the response we received and the chance to offer Jesus to them. I am encouraged to minister with Jayson and see him grow in His trust of the Lord in situations where God must show His power in Jayson’s weaknesses.

I believe God wants us to continue to trust Him for new ground. It is easy for us to be discouraged, but we must look to Christ who does not change and look to Him for our strength. Thank you for your prayers and support that enable us to minister for Christ’s name sake,

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2007.06 In light of tragedy

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During the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, a lot of students on campus have been questioning why God would allow something like this to happen. When people can’t see answers, they often reject the notion of a loving God. In light of this tragedy, God allowed us to try and answer this question. “Todd was shot” was our campaign to provide some intrigue in order to allow people to hear the message of how Jesus can change a person’s life and give them hope in light of tragic circumstances. Todd, the speaker, was shot by his cousin when they were playing with his father’s guns when he was 12 or 13 years old. He became a quadriplegic. That was almost 20 years ago. Todd shared how his hope in God has allowed him to persevere and thrive despite his difficult new lifestyle. This event provided many conversations and opportunities to share our faith. It was a tremendous time to allow our students to share their faith and to give many students the opportunity to be exposed to the message of Christ and to respond to Him.
Our Summer
We will be in Lake Tahoe from June 3rd through July 13th. As some of you may remember that I, Andrew, had the opportunity to go on several summer mission trips with CCC as a student. These times were huge as a part of my growth in the Lord and trusting Him to share my faith with the many lost people in our country and the world. It is our hope that we will help foster this type of life change in the students we will be ministering to and with.

Our next stop will be in Colorado from July 15th through the 26th. This is our national conference where staff from different ministries gather to be refreshed, trained and ministered to. I am looking forward to hearing what God is doing in our organization and ways that we can learn from one another.

2007.03 Power of prayer

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God proves His power with answering our prayers in our students lives. It has been an incredible couple of months to trust God for these students’ growth and life change in His kingdom.
This past weekend was no exception. I traveled with a group of 8 Asian American students down to San Jose where they encountered God. A part of the exhaustion from traveling opened us up spiritually to what God wanted to do in us. God compelled me to pray for brokenness in the students hearts. Many of the students seemed to be apathetic toward God, but it was during this time that God was painted a fresh and a renewing in their hearts was taking place.

One student, Andy Son (pictured in photo on other side of this letter), has a scar on his face. He got it from celebrating his 21st birthday only a week before the trip. He had gotten so drunk that he blacked out and couldn’t remember what had happened to him. He woke up the next morning with his face all red. And yet he came to our EPIC conference wanting to know what it was about.

One neat characteristics of the Asian-American community is that there are people that desire to hang out with one another simply because they are Asian-American. Andy Son had been friends with several guys involved in Epic for a while, but he had never wanted to engage with them spiritually. He was very honest that he was agnostic and stated that he knew that there had to be something more to life than the life he was living. He often found himself empty and unfulfilled.

We prayed that God would break down every argument that Andy had against God and that He would be drawn to him. At first it seemed that a lot of the content of the speakers at the conference wasn’t very relevant to non-believers, but God hadn’t forgotten about Andy, and the last three talks were very much filled with grace and a teaching of the love that God has for those who will believe in Him. It was after the second talk that Andy surrendered his life to God. It was beautiful to see God specifically work in Andy’s life and answer our prayers.

I continue to praise God for the opportunity that we have to serve Him at the University of Oregon. Sometimes I can be down because I don’t always see the results (conversions to Christ or life change in my disciples), but this past month God has revealed His faithfulness to me. My ministry and identity is found in Christ alone and I thank you so much for the ability to serve with you in this worthwhile effort.

2006.11 God's faithfulness

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He answers our prayers.

We have seen an explosion of God working on our campus. Last year we spent hours praying for God to move at UofO. A new residence hall was built called the Living Learning Center. Last year it was an inconvenience to walk around the construction area and to not know what was going on. We prayed for those that would move into these halls and for them to respond and hear His truths. We praise the Lord because many students are hearing the message of Christ. In a hypersensitive collegiate culture we must be careful in how we approach people to share the message of Christ. Even so, many have responded to meeting with us and have wanted to hear His story. We praise God for the many opportunities to testify of Christ. So far we have seen 6 people place their trust in Christ and we are waiting for more.

He answers Peter’s prayers.

I had been sick the previous day and I was not feeling like myself. I did however get some rest and the next morning I recalled a verse, Isaiah 40:31. “Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings as eagles.” I came on campus and arrived at the bottom of the student union. I started to contact people to get together for discipleship appointments when Peter approached me and started to talk with me about his sociology class and its difficulty. We continued to talk and he shared about his spiritual background and the hurt of his parents’ divorce. I shared with him the hope of the Heavenly Father and how he never leaves us and never forsakes us. Peter had gone to a church growing up but he never understood that he could be in a relationship with God. He often prayed that he would be close to God but didn’t know how. Upon explaining Christ’s saving message Peter received him then and there. It was awesome to see God work despite my sickness. As we continue to go over the foundations of Christianity, pray that Peter would understand his worth in Christ alone.

2006.08 Refreshed in Orlando

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Knowledge is one thing, but using it for God’s glory is another. I can’t wait to see what God will do with the new structure I have learned about over the summer. It seems that God has done a lot this summer. Let me share some of it with you.

The first part of the summer took us to Florida. I was able to refresh my thoughts with classes to help me understand truths of the Bible and how to effectively communicate them. The greatest truth I learned was to identify our fallen condition (sin tendency) in passages of Scripture and in pointing out our sinfulness exposes our need for Christ. The professors were great at teaching truths from scripture and applying it to ministry as many of them have several years of ministry experience.

One encouraging event that happened over the summer was with one of the students that I highlighted in our last prayer letter-Scott. He was a sophomore and was going on a summer project to Lake Tahoe. He called me in the middle of the summer and was very thankful for the time I had spent with him and teaching him to share his faith. From what He told me, his perspective on sharing the Gospel had changed from being an inconvenience, to sharing something of significance. It was amazing to hear the excitement in his voice of how he continued to share the Gospel with people and to love others. Praise God that His message is so relevant despite this world’s pessimism toward Him. Several times this summer people asked me what I enjoy about what I do. I often thought of Scott and replied that I get to invest my life into men who need direction in their lives. Whether I am helping them with a small issue or leading them to Christ, it is all worth while. I also think about Terence, who was also highlighted in our last letter. He was a senior last year and won’t be back this year, but there are so many things that I am reminded of. The way he talked. The deep questions he had about how Christian culture ran things. I always enjoyed his deep thinking. It will be a tough challenge to know who or how many people I should invest my time in, but I pray that God would guide me and lead me to those who not only want to grow up to be leaders, but who want to live their lives for Christ.

This summer was a great time to be refreshed and to have new focus for this year. I pray that God would carry us though this year trusting in Him for His purposes and not our own. I praise God that He alone can accomplish life change in these students, not just some new strategy or new way of doing things. I praise the Lord that He will continue to do His work in our lives and on the UO campus.

2006.06 reflections

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I contacted a student, named Andrew, during the fall term, who filled out a survey about his thoughts on spirituality. He was a typical freshman, trying to figure out life and wanting to know what role God might have in his life. As we talked more he revealed his homosexual lifestyle. He wanted to know if he could stay homosexual and be a Christian at the same time. I told him that it was clear that the God of the Bible was against this sin, but it was no different than any other sin (i.e. gossip, drunkenness, stealing). It didn’t seem to matter what I reasoned, Andrew had a counter for everything. Our conversation turned into more of a discourse on the difficulty of being gay in our society and how he felt it was unfair. He thanked me for our discussion and appreciated me sharing my thoughts with him.

After that meeting, I pondered a lot different words I could have said or how I could have challenged his thinking more. My heart just prayed for Andrew to desire God more than he loves his lifestyle. I tried to get together with him several times throughout the year but every attempt failed. I would run into him on campus but each instance was only a brief “hello” in passing. He never seemed to have time.

I still think of Andrew every once in awhile, and today I ran into him again. Today was different. He said he wanted to talk because he had been thinking about God a lot lately. He asked the same question- if he could still be a homosexual and be a Christian. He had some of the same arguments of why God should allow him to keep his lifestyle. I told him Christ’s words, "Whoever saves his life in this life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." We talked a lot more, but it seemed that Andrew still wasn’t willing to give up his lifestyle for Christ.

I share this story with you because it encourages me. I know it is not one of conversion, but of a struggle for someone whom God dearly loves. I was not expecting to see Andrew again this term, let alone have an in-depth conversation with him. God reminded me that He is still working on this campus and is pursuing students, even students that I have given up on. God is pursuing Andrew’s heart greatly. I believe that is why he wants to be able to reconcile his lifestyle with one filled with Christ. Please pray for this man to experience the full love and acceptance of God. That he would be used by God to reach out to the gay/lesbian community. Pray that Andrew would desire God more than what he can find in his present lifestyle.

2007-04-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

here we are at the top of Eugene

March-April 2006 Prayer Requests

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Praise God:

_ Healthy new baby: Isabel. Pray for our continued adjustment, as we trust Him to help us raise our three children all under 5 years of age.

_ Katrina relief. CCC sent over 1000 students over their spring breaks to help with this project. Our Oregon students were humbled and grateful for their opportunity to help people in need and to witness to non-believers as they served together.

_ Porn Nation. Over 500 students heard the presentation about the effects of pornography in our society. Over 160 students heard the presentation of the Gospel and 4 received Christ. Pray for the students that responded and for us to embrace them into our life communities.

_ 3 of our students will offer a year of their lives to do an internship with CCC. We are excited to see how God will use them. 2 will come back to UofO next year and 1 will go to Croatia. Pray for their hearts to be encouraged as they raise up a team to support them in their needs for this next year.

_ the students who have been accepted to summer projects. Pray for their hearts to be prepared to learn from God.

March-April 2006 Prayer letter

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The “Porn Nation” event brought up much needed discussion about addictions and other things that don’t satisfy, but can only be met through the power of Christ’s love. The speaker, Michael Leahey, a former sex addict, has gone to over 60 campuses in the nation addressing students’ needs for love that can’t be satisfied through pornography. When our director first told us that “Porn Nation” was coming to UofO, our staff team was a little skeptical that anyone here would want to go. Boy, were we wrong. God moved despite our doubts. The enemy was quick to try to discourage, too. We had a whole bunch of planning strategies go wrong the first day of setting up, from miss scheduling, to advertising mishaps, and some of our staff taking it very personally. But through these unfortunate events, we as a staff team knew that we needed to beseech the Lord and ask for His favor upon us. From that point on we had the mindset that we were in a battle and it is God who was going to be our champion.

Duane, pictured below on right, admitted that it was very stretching for him to go and to talk with students. He added, “It was good for me though. I need to be in a place were I can trust the Lord to engage people who don’t have an opportunity to hear the Gospel."

One student, Nick, who lives in the same fraternity as a student of ours, had been going to our Greek ministry throughout the year. Nick heard the Gospel several different times but wasn’t ready to receive the message. He went to “Porn Nation” and listened to the message and prayed to receive Christ there. It confirmed to us that God is at work and that His word will not return void. God will continue to use us and we need to trust Him for His timing to change and transform people.

We are grateful for what God is doing here at UofO and we continue to pray with you for students’ lives to be changed by Christ. Thanks so much for partnering with us to affect this community (in an unconventional way) and the world for Christ!

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Our family:Anaelle, Isabel, Andrew, Patrice and Reece