Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
LIVE UPDATES FROM DCGO
Important Dates
- SUNDAY TRAINING CLASS : 9:30-10:30 (4/13, 20 &27... 5/4, 11, 18)
- OVERNIGHTER - 5/30-31
- CONCERT OF PRAYER/ PARENTS MEETING - 6/10
19 comments:
Balance is the key!
Learning to reach out to the unsaved world and 'befriend' them, but not get so close that you are influenced in a negative way by them.
I like the example of the umbrella being the authority of God's Word. It is meant to protect us and keep us safe from the dangers of the world. We are free to move outside that protection, but come on guys-why would we want to?!?!?
In our Christian walk, if we want to grow, we are going to meet resistance, because that's what builds that spiritual muscle. The challenges in our faith enable us to grow stronger. It puts those challenges in a different perspective when we realize that if we hang in there, we will be stronger and the end the results will be a very positive experience as our faith will be stronger.
On Day 3, he talks about the first principle of becoming a student of influence. I had to read this over a couple times before it really hit me!!!
"In order to be an influence without being influenced, you must develop, be able to articulate, and live by personal standards"
We are in the developemental stage right now, living out our standards through the circumstances we face in the here and now. When those standards become so familiar and natural that we react (in the right way) without even thinking about it, (with confidence), we will know that we are making progress.
I also liked what he said, "A standard not applied is no standard at all." Unfortunately, there are alot of people that have none!
-Deb Ellis
week 4 comment 2! woo!
anyway-day three i realy enjoyed.
I love 1Timothe 4:12. It really inspires me, its like the Bible verse standing up for me. Also, how it talked about our "Christian Ghetto" was so weird but so true. We are like a society, which probably isnt a good thing. So I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with that information but I'm glad I have it.
The biggest thing for me was just the thing about nonbelieving friends working as resistance building or weight building. of course when they finally ask the Why, i dont always answer in a smart way.
Tim Berkey
This isn't really about what we're learning in Max Q but more on the Bible verses we've been memorizing.
In Matthew 28 Jesus says,
"Go and make disciples of all nations...and surely I am with you always.
The words, 'I am' just stuck out to me. It sounded kind of wierd when I read it. But as I thought about it. It's a great promise.
He IS with us all the time! Not He will be with us in the future. Or not he has been with us. But He is with us. And no matter what we're facing, where we're going, or what He tells us to do, He is with us. "to the very end of the age."
K. Larson
Making friends or your lost friends ask you why and using that as an oppertunity to share with them was something i thought was really cool. It makes me want to try harder to get them to ask me and then just share something impacting to them about why not.
-Kara Kaiser
I was challenged most this week by Day One and the challenge from Scripture that "there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity..." in our lives. We live in a world of compromise and in a world that wants to know how far we can go without getting into too much trouble. However, God's standard is that we are to stay away from even the "hint" of an impurity in our lives.
And I love the answer to "why" this is so important. It's not because God likes to give us rules but it's to keep us free. "And since God is all about freedom, he doesn't want you to be involved in anything that will restrict it."
Alot of times i find myself being influenced negatively, no matter how hard i try to be the influencer. My friends always get me to do whatever they want... and ive been praying that God would help me be an influencer and not influencee.
Aaron Schlorke
I really liked what it said about our non christian friends testing us and helping us to spiritually train. We won't be prepared to help or answer anyone if our knowledge of Christ and his love isn't tested and questioned by others. We need the opportunity to express what we know by answering questions that aren't always simple. That is a great thing but we also have to be very careful and not allow ourselves to be influeced into doing something wrong. Walking that thin line between being the influence and being influenced is not always easy and I think its something that we should really be careful about.
-Beth Peters
I really like how it said the your non-christian friends challenge you more the your christian friends. At fist I was like wait what, then i thought about and it was true. So ya i thought that was cool.
Amanda Yoder
I like how the overall theme of this week is setting standards because thats usually stuff that I wouldn't really care about 'cause I don't really ever think "How am I doing and what can I do better."
-Sebastian Radelich
I have noticed that over time i have become very influenceable by my friends. I have tried not to be so push overish, and i will keep prayin about it.
My "big takeaway" for the week came from day four, I guess since Most (all) of my friends are christians I've just kind of blended in and let myself become spiritually lazy. This really hit me hard because lately it feels like God is pushing me to maybe make some "unbeliveing" friends.
Sam Pratt
This week really got me thinking about trying harder to set good examples, and wanting my unbelieving friends to ask why. I also want to bulid up my "spiritual muscles" so I can resist temptations more easily, and share my faith more easily.
-kelsey kaiser
One big thought for me this week was out of Day 3,
"You can commit yourself to making an impact in your sphere of influence by developing balanced friendships with unbelievers according to God's guidelines."
The idea of BALANCED friendships is the key I think. When I first became a Christian I thought I had to cut off and break away from my non-Christian friends which I think hurt them a little bit and their image of Christians.
It wasn't until a few years later that I saw this idea of needing to have balance in those relationships. Christ sent us to save the lost as he came to do. My friends were lost. If I just stuck around Christians I would never end up accomplish what Jesus wanting when he talks about the Great Commission.
If this is an area where you may be struggling. Remember, BALANCE is the key.
Chris
The big thought for me was from Day 2. 1 Timothy 4:8 says, "Physical exercise has some value but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next." I'm not a real "workout" person (I probably should be!) but I had to stop and think if I was being spiritually challenge with lost friends. The answer would probably have to be "NO." I'm surrounded by religious people everyday and they seems to do all the good things but I fail at talking about spritual things with them. I don't even "show off" as it referred to in Day 2. What am I thinking? I know that if I want to reach them, I need to be intentional. This has really challenged me to talk with them about the Jesus that I love and serve.
This week I was really challenged with the thought of my unsaved friends looking at me as an example of what a Christian is. I realized how much of an impact I can have on them without directly talking to them about God. They see the way I act around others and that could either lead them to ask me questions or it could push them away. It's kind of scary to think about...
-Haley Herr
Day two deffinately chalenged me the most. I always look at having unsaved friends as something I should avoid. In fact God has told us we are to have friends who don't know Him personally. If we aren't challenged by our peirs than who will we be challenged by? It's awesome to think that just by living our lifes for Christ we are being a witness to others, even when we aren't aware of it.
-Arielle
The day that stuck out to me was Day 3 when the book talked about what examples are we setting in the areas of speech, life, love, faith and purity.
There are days that we all take these for granted and we shouldn't. Being a Christian, there are always people watching us to see how we act in different situations.
-Sorry that i am typing this a little late. But here it is.
-My big take away from this week was that when i live with Christ guiding my life, i get asked "why do you do that? Why do you act that way?" from time to time. I dont always answer that I do it because i have Christ in my life. Now i know that if i am lucky enough to get asked the "Why" question, i should take every opportunity to answer with Christ.
-skyler stutzman
Post a Comment