I love nature, don't you? God really is the ultimate artist.
So Friday, Matt Beasley was with us again sharing more of his story and how he got to where he is today. Basically, walking in the Spirit. Learning how to hear the voice of the Lord and following what He has asked you to do. By listening and acting on His word you become a Revolutionary. I really enjoyed having Matt speak to us because he was a living example of: you don't have to go to a third world country to make a difference, you don't have to be successful and established to start making a difference, you can change your environment instead of letting your environment change you. Simply listening to God results in a life that changes those around you. You have an impact on each person you come in contact with, big or small, why not share God with them and leave them changed for the better?
As many of you know, my birthday was Friday :) It was probably one of the best birthdays I've had in a while. I was surrounded by people who love me (which happens every year) and had fun with them! Class went well, lunch was TACOS (one of the best lunches we've had here), prayer room was great (read Habbakuk 1, it's GOOD), and then my roommates treated me to dinner at Bubba Gumps! We had plans to go somewhere else a little farther down the pier, but we left late so we didn't have time to get there. We had to be back on campus at 7 for a Ladies Night, organized entirely by 3 boys from my CommTrans school (it wasn't for the whole campus, just for the girls in my school). All the guys in the school and staff participated in this event. We were dressed up "like we were going on a date with Jesus" and the room was decorated with lights and balloons and tables with tablecloths and flowers on the tables. So precious. The boys escorted us in and sat us down at tables. Then they started the night with taking our order for dessert: ice cream with different toppings. The boys served us and then one of the MCs spoke to us about how we were all so awesome and how when we get home we shouldn't settle and that we deserve the best man in the world. The boys had written words of encouragement to us, so we got to read those (like one boy had 2 or 3 girls to write a note to) and then the MCs prayed for us! Then we ended the night with a dance party! So awesome. Totally restores my faith in men, that there are still men in the word who are pursuing God and have a heart for serving the women in their lives.
I also got the best gifts from my parents, my Aunt Bonnie, my brothers and their wives, my cousin Bridgit, and my roommates. Seriously, thank you for blessing me with your gifts! And thank you all for calling, texting, and facebooking me! I felt the love on my birthday :) couldn't ask for better people in my life!
Saturday, I had work duty in the kitchen, so I hung out when I wasn't in the kitchen and wrote thank you notes. Very relaxing day!
Sunday I spent with Becky and the boys. Such a great time being with "family" out here! The boys are soo funny! It's good to spend time with Becky and talk to her about the week and and things I'm going through during school. She has great insight and advice! I'm thankful for the Fernandez family :)
This week, week 6 by the way, is the Holy Spirit week. We're having a different speaker every day. Monday we had Matthew Toller speak to us. He is the leader of the Fire & Fragrance DTS going on now. Matthew is a Rabbi, he is a Messianic Jew and by far one of the best speakers I've heard about the history of the Bible and the Holy Spirit. He spoke at the school of worship going on this term earlier and his week is on iTunes if you would like to download the podcast. (They're free right here) He talked a good bit about the translation of the Bible from Hebrew to English and the influence of Greek, also, on the dialect in the Bible. For instance, in Deuteronomy 6 it says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." In Mark 12 it says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Old Testament, New Testament. The Greek separate the mind and soul, but the Hebrew don't. Did you know that Jesus' brother was actually named Jacob? When the Bible was translated into English, King James wanted to be in the Bible, so he changed Jacob's name to James (ever notice that James isn't a name in the Old Testament?) The Bible was meant to be whole, that's why we tore out the New Testament page, it's an editor's note. Interesting, huh? The Holy Spirit is inside of us. Moses, Noah, Abraham all could not step into the glory of God because it was so powerful. WE HAVE THE GLORY OF GOD INSIDE OF US (because the Holy Spirit is inside of us). We can do greater things than Moses, than Noah, than Abraham, even Jesus. There is a reason airplanes were created, technology was created. Jesus walked everywhere to share his testimony, we can fly everywhere and cover more ground :) I'm not saying we're going to die for the world's sins, but do you understand what I'm saying? We can share more about Jesus than Jesus himself shared because of advancement in society. So Jesus lived a perfect life, sinless, He was an example of what humans are supposed to live like. When do you think Jesus defeated the devil? Think about it........ We are tempted by the devil and we lose to the devil every time we sin. We haven't defeated the devil if we still have sin in our life. Most people think Jesus defeated the devil when He died on the cross. Jesus defeated the devil then for us, for our sins. But Jesus, himself, defeated the devil in the desert after 40 days. The devil tempted him in every way and Jesus never fell. Jesus commanded the devil to "flee" after the last temptation. The devil then had to leave Jesus and not tempt Him again. That's when Jesus defeated the devil. And went on to continue living a perfect life. Are you defeating the devil? I know I still fall prey to him, but with God's help, I know I can defeat him! There is so much more that Matthew shared and it totally rocked me. My burning desire to learn Hebrew was solidified yesterday. I want to understand the Bible as it was meant to be read, not through translation. So if anyone wants to learn Hebrew with me when I get home, let me know!!!
Tuesday, the Holy Spirit kept moving and shaking! We had Joseph Avakian speak to us. Joseph is a Graphic Designer in missions. He knows 7 languages! Ah, so crazy! But anyways, Joseph is an artist, a creative man because God is creative and involves Joseph in His creating :) Joseph says that he Co-creates things because the Holy Spirit tells him what to design, so they're both creating. By saying, "God help me with this" you get to accomplish great things because you have God working through you. --Sidenote-- Joseph never went to college, never studied graphic design. He said this today, "Did God hold up a piece of paper for your value? NO!! God put up a Cross to show your value." That's how he feels about his value and how he can still do great work even though he doesn't have a diploma stating that-- Co-Creating with God is a Journey of: Intimacy, Brokenness, Love, Faith, Discovery, Hope, Servant hood, Adventure, and Maturity. I really liked his point about being broken. You have to be vulnerable in order for God to work through you. Forget what you did yesterday and how you did it, start each day new, ready for a new way of doing something, a new thought-process. Each day is NEW! Do you think you can do things better with your way of doing things and your thought process or do you think you can do things better using God's thought process? This is definitely something I have to work on. Being completely open to what God wants me to do and doing how He wants me to. Joseph had great stories about meeting with clients, reviewing the meeting with the Holy Spirit and then waiting on Him to tell him what to draw/create. He only presented his clients with one idea because that's the idea the Holy Spirit gave him and he was confident in it. 97.5% of his ideas have been taken when someone needs website design, logos, or anything creative. Isn't that impressive? I want to go into the business world, specifically the hospitality industry, so this statement about servant hood really struck me, "What can I do to serve you? not to prove myself" I want to serve my clients. By meeting their needs I'll be able to speak about how I got there (with the help of the Holy Spirit). "When you meet someone's needs you have room to speak about God." If you're serving someone, think about them and be a true servant, don't think about how you can prove yourself to them. I really enjoyed hearing about his journey with the Lord and hearing daily in every task. Even when he's brushing his teeth! Are you co-creating with God?? I want to be, so that's what I'm going to be working on :)
This is something important from Matthew's talk on Monday. When you think of God, what do you imagine? Do you think of the Michelangelo's painting with God in the clouds with long white hair and a big beard, with a chiseled body reaching down to us? What do you think of? Do you know the 2nd commandment of the 10 commandments? "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image..." meaning, we shouldn't put God in a picture. Once we have an image of God we limit His abilities to do things. "It isn't about how big your brain is, it's about how big your God is and how much you believe in Him!" Don't put God in a box and don't put yourself in a box either :) you can do ALL things with HIM!
LOVE LOVE LOVE
Really enjoyed this blog for the truth you shared. Opened my eyes to some more depth to servitude. Thanks. Love you. Smooch smooch.
ReplyDeleteMy eyes see people the way I have previously seen them. New faces are unfortunately matched up with familiar ones - stereotyping. Not very helpful, but I tend to do it. I'm glad the men you danced with broke the stereotype! Love your thoughts and feelings shared here. Love you especially!
ReplyDelete