Category Archives: Challenges for our Generation

99 Thoughts for College-Age People: #1

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This series is focusing on the book, “99 Thoughts for College- Age People: Insightful Tips for Life After High School” by Chuck Bomar.

I will be listing these often,  they are very thought-provoking, but also humorous. Enjoy.

1. The process of discovering what you want to do should be taken slowly.

“There is no rush, no matter who keeps asking you. The worst thing you can do is rush into a career path that you hate, simply to satisfy immediate pressures placed on you.  I once knew a guy who for 13 years watched a machine put the caps on soda bottles.  Yeah, the machine did all the work and he just watched it do its thing. I know this may be a shock to you, but this wasn’t his dream job. He got stuck. You will regret settling for something less than you want.” -Bomar pg. 3-4

Penn State and Passion Update

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   Continue to get excited about the upcoming Passion Conference 2011 in Fort Worth, TX! Find out more info and buy your tickets at http://268generation.com/passion2011/#/home! Can’t wait to see you guys there!

        If only finding a job at Penn State was as easy and fun as being a college football fan there, Laura and I would be set. Continue to pray for guidance and clarity concerning the upcoming move to Pennsylvania.

A Bit from John 4

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 27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

 31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

   34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

John 4:27-38

In regards to evangelism, we are not necessarily always called to reap the benefits of our labor. Yet, God calls us to share the Word with the world with the knowledge that we are doing it out of obedience not out of response of whether we are sowing or reaping.  Do we have the love and desire for God to obey His commands even if we do not see their benefits or blessings immediately?

Humble. Gentle. Patient. LOVE

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2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:2-6

Humble. Gentle. Patient. These are all attributes that I struggle with in my relating to others with love. May we take this example from Paul, and truly comprehend the value of these traits in our relationships with our communities around us.

For the Sake of Others

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 1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:1-4

As we continue to look at this idea of love and Christian community, we must keep in mind that it is going to take sacrifice. We all have our own sets of wants and needs, yet are we willing to lay those down in humility for the sake of others?

Bonded in Strength

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7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

 8 There was a man all alone;
   he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
   yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
   “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
   a miserable business!

 9 Two are better than one,
   because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
   one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
   and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
   But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
   two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12

We are not meant to fight this life alone. Just like soldiers who go overseas or a football team who goes to play a game on the road: one man will ultimately lose the battle. Yet, with numbers, you can gain strength and confidence going into the battle that lies ahead. Let this passage challenge you to truly yearn and seek to find others in you life who love Christ and build community with them. Through this the world will never be the same and history will be shaken with the name of Christ through a true fellowship of believers sticking together and acting as one.

Carry Each Others’ Burdens

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1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:1-2

I struggle with this passage yet it is so vital to truly living as the invisible church and body of Christ. So many times we either look over the sins of our brothers and sisters in Christ or we attack them violently with harsh words, slander, and gossip. We are all one body moving and functioning as the body of Christ. May we love and care for each other even in our sin with that in mind.

Primary Calling vs Secondary Callings

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Luke 12: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry?

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13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16And he told them a parable, saying,  “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”  –Luke 12:13-21
Here’s a quick rhetorical question for you: Do you think Americans have possibly bought into this lie of depending on our material wealth for our security?  Have we forgotten to be generous towards God?

Love vs Legalism

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