On Sunday, our pastor spoke from Galatians 3. The message was about the Mosaic Law, versus the New Covenant with Christ. Here were some of the striking key thoughts from that message.

~ The promise to Abraham is fulfilled in Christ. The Law was just a tool to help us realize that we needed the promise. 

~ In the promise, God says "I will, I will, I will." The Law says "You shall, you shall, you shall not." So the promise is God's works, and the law is man's works.

~ God's promises cannot be revoked.

~ When we accept Christ as our Savior, we automatically become recipients of the promise. 

~ To be under the Law is to be under sin, to be under the promise is to be in faith. 

Randomness!

I found this while looking through an old notebook of mine. A friend and I wrote this about four years ago. 

Keeping your eyes on the ground isn't an option. Lift your head with pride! Even if you lost, you played a good game. You gave it your all, and you were able to force the victors to fight for first. Because of this, you can face your friends with no shame in your gaze. Have the courage to fain big and stick around! Make them wonder why you're still smiling! Even if you feel that it's unfair, give it your best and don't give up. Facing giants will stretch you, and make you a better person. Letting them win is being a coward! Being a coward isn't something you want on your record. Don't sit around and say "Oh, I'm not going to win, so I might as well not try." Fight! Fight to the end! But fight with honor. No low blows. Fight according to the rules. You're not here to make a hero, but to give your all for your friends. In other words, it's not about you! It's about those around you, and all those people cheering you on. More than that, it's about God. How you play, win, and lose shows everyone what kind of God you serve. Run in such a way that you win the race! 

Learning to Lead

This week has been an eye-opener for me. At our church, I'm part of the youth group. The thing I've always enjoyed about this youth group is that it's drama-free. There's never been any "coupling", we have always had a strong desire to learn more about God and His word, and everyone has meshed like a large group of siblings. However, over the last few months I've been realizing that when I first joined the youth group, there was a core group. They were quick to draw newcomers in, challenge us in growing spiritually, and get things together where everyone could go have fun. Interestingly, they didn't quite realize that they were the peer leaders of the youth group. Yes we have adult leaders, which is makes for an amazing experience as adults thirty years older than us give several hours a week to invest in us. However, it's also necessary to have some of us kids as peer leaders, setting the tone for how things work in the group. In the last two years we have lost that core group, and I'm seeing the effects of it as some important dynamics are changing. 

Since last fall, but especially in the last week, I've realized that as one of the oldest people in our youth group, I need to step up to be a leader. This isn't easy for me. Several times I've rationalized with "Well, I'll only be here until May, then I'm graduating." But this doesn't excuse me from stepping up to the responsibility of helping guide the younger ones. And in doing that, I may be able to encourage others to step up to the plate as well. I want the next group of kids coming in the youth group to have as good of an experience as I did. So prayers would definitely be appreciated as I'm studying God's word, and figuring out exactly what is needed from me to help create a strong core in our youth group again. 

Patience

These last two days have been a really good lesson in patience for me. We are babysitting one of my nieces for a few days so her parents could go have some time alone. This is not a bad thing. It has been quite fun, actually. But at the same time, it is very different! I have realized just how careful you have to be with a 17-month-old running around. Glass objects can't be left within three feet of the ground. You have to be quiet coming in and out of the door, in case they're asleep. And I think the biggest thing has been school. It is extremely hard to concentrate on school with an adorable little girl walking up to you and saying "Hi!" quite cheerfully while grinning at you. 

But all that aside, it's an adventure. I know every time I walk in the front door, she'll be running to the front room to see who's there. When she sees me she quite happily shares her Cheerios with me, or wants me to hold her. So I guess a big part of patience is seeing the good in the situation. I'm blessed to have my niece around, and right now I need to be very loving for her, so that as she grows she knows I'm someone she can depend on. 

Okay, that rambled on quite a bit longer than I intended. Sorry about that! 

God bless!

A few thoughts my pastor shared a few weeks ago. =)

~ The Gospel isn't man's good news about God, it's God's good news for man!

~ God's decisions are unilateral... He doesn't have to consult me or anyone else about them. 

~ Romans 8:30 "Those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified." We have been predestined, called, and justified. We are not yet glorified, but it's in the past tense, because it's as good as done. 

~ I should live my life to an audience of One!