My Friend, Geoff

I have a friend that some of you know named Geoff Cocanower. He's been the Teen Camp director that last few years. Geoff has a heart for God that is incredible. Today he wrote a blog that was challenging to me. Follow the link below, then come back here for reflection:

Click here for Geoff Cocanower's blog

What about you? Do you have a mountain in your life right now? Respond to the post in one of the following ways:

• Write about a mountain in your life. What is something that seems impossible to you that only God could do? Maybe it's a relationship, family situation, school, or something else going on in your life.

OR

• Tell about a time when you faced a mountain and you saw God work. What was going on? How did God show up for you?

As always, I look forward to reading your responses.

The Resurrection of Christ

Take a moment to read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.

This week we are celebrating Christ's death and resurrection. We are celebrating because of what it means for us, those who follow Christ. It means that He has paid the price for our sin. Paul says that everyone has sinned, and that anyone who sins deserves death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). But it's not just a physical death that Paul is talking about. It's an eternal death, separated from God forever.

One thing that we focus on when we go on a mission trip is our testimony. A testimony is simply a declaration or some kind of evidence in support of Christ's work. In verse 3, Paul says that he passed on what was most important. Christ had died, was buried, and raised from the dead. And there were many people who would testify to that (the disciples, the 500, and Paul).

Paul then talks about His own testimony, that he had seen Christ (v. 8), but he isn't really worthy of being an apostle (one who has seen Christ's risen body) because of how he persecuted the church (v. 9). Yet, God worked in Paul and through Paul, and through His message many have believed in Christ and the resurrection.

So Paul's testimony would look like this:

I persecuted the church and Christ, but Christ was revealed to me, and I now preach that Christ died, was buried, and was raised on the third day.

 What about you? Can you put your testimony into a 1-3 sentence summary? In response to this blog, try to write out a 1-3 sentence testimony in the comments section. This could be how you came to Christ, or even what He is doing in your life now. Make sure the focus is on Christ's work and how that has changed your life. For Paul, that was that Christ was revealed and what he preaches has changed.

I look forward to seeing the responses.

Psalm

I love reading through the book of Psalm. The most honest, real, joyful, and sorrowful words are written for us to read. A lot of the Psalms were written by David, you know, the one who defeated Goliath. The David who had an affair with his neighbors wife then sent him to the front-line of the battle to be killed to cover up his mistake. Others wrote in the book. But the words you read are words from real people going through real life.

Here's what I would like you to do:

1. Take a few moments to read through some of the Psalms. Try to read at least 3-4 chapters in Psalm.
2. In the comments section, tell us about what spoke to you in a particular Psalm. Start off by writing what Psalm you will be talking about, then write at least 2-3 sentences describing how that Psalm spoke to you, how it resonated with you, or what you were surprised by.
3. Read someone else's Psalm that they wrote about, and write a comment back to them about their Psalm. Again, it could be something that it showed you about God, or something that resonated with you, or something that surprised you.

I look forward to seeing the responses.

God's Call, My Response.

Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope that you are all well rested and ready to finish out the school-year strong. We're getting into Easter season, so the readings over the next few weeks will tend to reflect that.

Take a moment to read Mark 8:31-38 (remember, click the passage for a quick link to the text).

Here are a couple of things to remember as you read this passage:

• Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man. So when He says that the Son of Man must suffer, He's talking about Himself.
• Peter was one of His closest followers and friends. He was also the oldest and leader of the disciples.
• "Satan" literally means one who apposes God and His will. Jesus wasn't calling Peter Lucifer (the devil's name), but saying that He was trying to get in the way of God's plan.
• When Jesus begins to talk with the disciples and the crowd about taking up your cross, He is telling them that God's plan will sometimes cost you something, in this case, it will cost your life. He was really saying, "Here is what following me will cost. Are you willing to go that far?"
• God's plan sometimes looks different than we thought. Who would have thought that God's plan would involve Christians being killed for their faith?

The question I have for myself is, "When have I been Satan?" When have I gotten between God and His plans for my life and the lives of those around me? Would I be willing to follow God's plan, even if it would cost me my life in an excruciating death? I mean, if Jesus' closest follower and friend opposed God's plan and caused Jesus to rebuke Him, then I am not exempt from those kinds of questions.

I can think of several times in my life that I felt a leading from God and I didn't go through with it, or I felt that it was too ridiculous to really be God. Most of the time, when I don't follow God's plan, it's because I'm scared. I'm scared of what others might think of me. I'm scared of others rejecting me, or just thinking that I'm crazy (well, I am, but that's for another topic). 

Here's what I want us to discuss in the comments section: 

1. What do you feel God is calling you to do? In what ways is He calling you to deny yourself for His cause? Write it down in the comments below. It doesn't have to be anything that is ridiculously huge. Maybe He's asking you to be a better example for you brother, sister, mom or dad. Maybe He's asking you to sit by a loner in the lunch room.
2. Write down one action step that you will take to follow through with God's call.
3. If you haven't sensed a call from God, take a couple of days to pray about it. Then come back here to finish steps 1 and 2. I guarantee you that if you devote time in prayer to this, asking God to call you to something, He will.

God has been calling me to give people more time and attention. Not just people that I like and that I have a good relationship with, but the people who I just happen to run into at the store. He's calling me to pay attention to the needs around me and to act on them when I see a need come up. So I'm going to pay more attention to the cashier at the grocery store and waiter at the restaurant. Maybe God will prompt me while talking with them.

What about you? What's God calling you to do?