Free from All Worries / via Andy Caffro |
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
Each time he addressed a body of believers in the epistles, the Apostle Paul began with this phrase (or a close variant): “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” It’s clear that God not only wants us to have peace, but that it should be a defining characteristic of our lives. Even amidst the whirlwind of troubles that come against us, we can choose to walk free from worry, anxiety, fear, and depression. We can live in divine peace every single day because Jesus has made it available to us through His sacrifice!
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7
God is not unjust; He would never ask us to do something we cannot do. Therefore, we can choose to humble ourselves and give God first place in every area of our lives. In doing so, we take the “back seat” in our lives and give God the “front seat”. If you’ll gain even a small understanding of how big God is, there’s no reason not to obey this command and relinquish control – He loves you and has your best interests at heart! He will meet your every need and empower you to overcome every obstacle if you’ll simply yield to Him.
Modern neurological research is confirming truths that the Bible has advocated for centuries. New studies show that conditions of worry, fear, depression, and anxiety have devastating effects on one’s body; in other words, we are not physiologically designed to carry any of the aforementioned burdens. God new that when he knit you together, and He’s given us the tools to be free through His Word! So be bold, step out, and take the peace that Christ died to make yours. Your life will never be the same.
How to Overcome by Faith / via Andy Caffro |
If you’ve been alive for any length of time, you’ve surely faced some serious trials and tribulations. Jesus himself promised such storms would come, in fact. But – thank God – He didn’t stop there:
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
In this verse, the world refers to any test, trial, or adverse circumstance that can possibly rise up against us. Jesus did far more on the cross than simply purchase our redemption; He overcame every obstacle that you or I will ever encounter! When this truth becomes established in your heart, it enables you to have victory in every realm of life.
As believers, we must lay hold of that which has been made available to us through Jesus. I encourage you to search the Scriptures objectively and discover the perfect will of God for every believer – it is health, prosperity, wisdom, success, and so much more! No matter what you are facing today, Jesus already purchased your victory and it is His will for you to win in life!
Either all of God’s Word is true, or none of it is. I’ve experienced far too much of God’s power in my own life to think even for an instant that any of His promises might be untrue. He’s brought me up so far from where I was just a few years ago – I can’t imagine where I’ll be in the future! But God is no respecter of persons – what He did for me, He’ll do for you if you’ll believe and yield to Him:
“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:23-25
The above verses detail how one can overcome any obstacle. If you’ll choose to believe and apply this to every storm you face (relational, physical, financial, emotional, etc), you will have victory. You probably won’t see results overnight, but that’s why the Bible calls this the “good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). Stand strong, confidently expect to overcome, and you will – every single time.
“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
“Yes You Can” (via Slavena Stefanova) |
Do you find yourself struggling with your finances? Relationships? Time management? Or maybe you think that you’re not good enough, smart enough, beautiful enough, _____________ enough? Many times I find myself looking at my circumstances and telling God that I’m not _________ enough to do what I know He has called me to do. Then He showed me that its not about my ability at all. On my own, I can do nothing, but I can do all things through Jesus! (Phil. 4:13) When I don’t have all the wisdom, I know that He gives wisdom liberally (James 1:5). When the circumstances around me are screaming “Impossible”, I know that Jesus is the I’M POSSIBLE! When the world around me says that I can’t, God says that I can! “Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us” (Romans 8:37 AMP). What does God say about your situation? He says that you are more than a conqueror! He says that you have conquered that addiction. You have conquered your relationship problems, you have conquered your fear, you have conquered it all. Not on your own, but all through Jesus! Be encouraged and know that the God of the universe makes you able and says that YOU are an overcomer!
September is going to be INSANE! |
19northers!
I can’t tell you how pumped I am for September at 19north. Honestly, this past year was a year of analysis, reflection, and tearing what we do apart so we can help people more effectively. It’s been a year of sitting back and letting God do something in me that He could lead us to where He wants us to go NOW. Two things I’ve learned are:
- Our leaders matter more than outcomes: You matter more than what you do at 19north. You’re more important than a backdrop, than food, than hitting the right note in worship, getting people information, running a small group, greeting people, and anything else you could do at 19north.
- I’ve closed the front door, and left the back door wide open: Overall, we’ve done a great job of inviting people to 19north, but I haven’t done a great job of leading us to shut the back door through discipleship, connections, and involvement. That’s not a hit on anyone but me hitting a personal lid. All of our groups are coming up with things that will fix this! And here are some….
Invite and Experience: Our annual Pigskin Palooza is September 11. Last year, we saw 15 people born again and 15 people rededicate their lives to Christ. This year, I expect that to be doubled. We’re going to serve our community and make the name of Jesus famous in a way that our generation can hear. (By the way, we need a ton of volunteers to make that event successful, so if you’re interested, email Shannon Oster at soster@19north.tv.)
We’re also having a huge “Ho-Down” at the end of September with a mechanical bull, hay bails, and line-dancing, and a ton of free food. It’ll be a blast! We’re also going to be giving away a ton of Ramen Noodles, 19north snuggies, tee shirts, and some big-ticket items. We’ll be having bands play once a month after 19north (for a 19north after-party)… “The Wrecking” is the first, coming in on September 18.
Connect: Our Fall semester of small groups starts in September. I can’t wait to see people going beyond-the-surface with one another, actually getting into each others’ lives. I’m convinced that a 20-something can’t grow spiritually apart from the right relationships, and our small groups exist to connect people to one another and to God. We’re going to do a night where all small groups meet at Victory and we’ll be having small groups on campuses as well.
Grow: To help people grow on their own, we’re all reading through the Bible in 90 days, starting in September. Ben Rath, Ellie Stanchak, and Kelly Selick are putting together an awesome “NewIn90″ booklet with backgrounds and history of epistles and writers, a reading plan, notes, and more. This is going to be awesome to see people going after God on their own, sparked by what everyone else is doing around them. I can’t wait for this to start for me personally, let alone just 19north!!!
Imact: We’re launching campus ministries and compassion initiatives galore in September for the sole purpose of serving people to make Jesus famous. We’re giving low-income families with teenage daughters prom dresses for homecoming, and in October, we’re hosting a 5k to give the teenagers at Glade Run an extreme home make-over.
We’re also starting to bus students from campuses, and hosting “19north U” at local campuses as well.
Seriously, guys… this is just a highlight of the things to come. God’s going to touch a bunch of college students and young adults in September, and it might be time for you to get boogieing and get involved. Let’s shoot to see 100 young adults born again/redidicating their life to Jesus in the month of September. Let’s think BIG, believe BIG, and live BIGGER… God’s moving in our midst and it’s time for us to recognize it, and start moving with Him.
Prophecy: What Is It? Why Is It? What Do I Do With It? |
Reflecting on what took place at 19north this past Saturday, I’m realizing that there are many different people from many different beliefs and backgrounds, I’d like to take a moment to put Bible to what took place. Saturday could have been the most revolutionary night in some of our lives, and for others, it could have caused questions. Hopefully, this post will answer a lot of your questions!
What is prophecy?
The Bible describes prophecy as a person speaking “to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3). Very simply, if someone says something to you that doesn’t build you up, encourage you, or console you in a time of difficulty (or before the difficulty comes), then it’s not New Testament prophecy.
It is also important to note that there are two types of prophecy described in the New Testament–foretelling and forth-telling (as described in 1 Corinthians 14). An example of foretelling can be seen in Acts 11:28-29, Agabus (not an apostle), “stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world… so the disciples determined, everone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.”
Examples of “forth-telling” can be seen throughout the Old Testament (read any of the minor prophets, and you’ll see a specific message, given by God to a specific person, to a specific people). Forth-telling is what is primarily described in reading 1Corinthians 14. If you’ve ever witnessed to someone and the words seemed to roll off of your tongue, and you think, “I don’t know where that came from!” then you’ve been used in the simple form of prophecy.
Why does prophecy come?
Prophecy does not come to lead you in a specific way. The primary way that the Holy Spirit leads us is by the inward witness (if you need help with this, download Pastor Craig DeBower’s podcast of several weeks ago at 19north). If 1Corinthians 14:3 says that prophecy is to build, encourage, and console, I ask, “When are times that I need built up, encouraged, and consoled?” The most glaring answer to that is “When the road is going to be tough ahead.” We can see that the two times that God spoke to Jesus audibly (before people) in the Gospels were the two times that he would have had the most difficult time (before he fasted for 40 days in the wilderness, entering his public ministry, and before he went to the cross, when he was transfigured).
What should I do with the prophecy I’ve received?
Knowing this, if you have received a prophecy this past Saturday, write it down–it’s something that you’re going to need to look back upon in the days coming. You can read it and be encouraged, built up, and consoled in the most difficult times of your life, knowing, “This is what God called me to do–He spoke to my heart through the inward witness, and He confirmed it through a gift of the Holy Spirit.” If what you heard did not bear witness with your heart, sit what you’ve heard “on the shelf.” 1 Corinthians 14:9 says, “…We know in part and we prophesy in part…” What you were given is only a small picture, and yes, Scott could have missed it, you could have brought a wrong interpretation to what he was praying, or the prophecy could be for a later time in life.
Don’t forget it. Let God lead you by the inward voice, and be encouraged, built up, and consoled.
| Forbidden | by Zack Blair |
As Paul was on his third missionary journey, the Bible says he had a desire to Asia, but the Holy Spirit had “forbidden” him to go. Again, he attempted to go to another region (Bithinya), but “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” Later on, Paul proceeds to somewhere he was allowed to go (Troas), and in the night, he receives a vision from God of a Macedonian man appearing to him saying, “Help me.” That’s a pretty supernatural account, right? Sometimes, it’s so easy to get caught up in the “this seriously happened?” rather than focusing on the amazing way this can apply to our lives.
Paul hit a red-light–straight from the Holy Spirit. And if Paul hit a red-light, we’ll probably hit one or two in our lives as well. You have plans? Great. James 4:13-15 says, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’–yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” Red light. I can plan, but God’s plans are always where the Grace is.
God has a specific place for us. A specific church, a specific job, a specific state, county, city, or township. It’s a place where our relationships will flourish, our hearts will be fulfilled, and where God can most effectively channel His Grace through you to someone or something. The adventure is that God gives us the latitude to obey. But to obey, we must first listen.
Notice…:
- …God didn’t send Paul to the place he didn’t want to go (I’ve heard some say something absurd like, “Don’t say you don’t want to go to China… THAT’S EXACTLY where God will send you…” That my friend, isn’t found in the Bible.)
- …God didn’t close the door to those regions through a circumstances
- …God didn’t bring warning to Paul of treacherous upheavals in those places from an escapee.
But God did speak to Paul’s heart through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit spoke directly to Paul saying, “I have a place for you, and this isn’t it. Keep moving on.” I think in the same way, some of us may be in an area of our lives where the Holy Spirit is saying the same thing to us. For others, the time will come, and we’ll get the same red light–perhaps not in regard to ministry in Asia, but that red-light may be God saying…
- …Don’t get in this relationship.
- …Don’t take that job.
- …Don’t buy that car.
- …Don’t leave.
In Paul’s case, obedience to God’s leading eventually caused him to be in the middle of God’s place for him. In our case, obedience to God’s leading will eventually cause us to be in the middle of God’s place for us.
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| Work, Home, Life | by Zack Bair |
Have you noticed the mind-shift between our parents’ generation and ours when it comes to work? There are a few things my dad never has enough of… firewood, tools, and time. I’ve never known my father to not have a project, and he doesn’t suffer from hyperactivity–the truth is, he’s a very driven person. Examining our generation (as a 20-something), I’m noticing varying trends–I’ve been around young adults who don’t stop, and young adults who never start; young adults who have ideas and no energy, and young adults who have energy and no ideas; young adults who expect everything to be handed to them, and young adults who expect nothing. Somewhere in the middle lies sanity.
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you keep away from any brother in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. (2 Thessalonians 3:6)
First, this is a great scripture to learn the power of knowing how to study the Bible. When looking at words like tradition, and idleness used together, it’s easy to bring in an assumption that Paul is writing of someone who is spiritually stagnant. However, reading the entire context of this scripture, it’s easy to see that Paul is writing (and God wants us to get) something else.
In the original Greek, the word tradition means “a handing down or a giving up,” conveying the idea of Paul personally “delivering or transmitting something to someone.” In this case, it wasn’t that of some insane ritual one uses to attempt to be right with God; rather, it was a tradition of hard work. Looking at the rest of the chapter, Paul says that those living in Thessalonica should “imitate us… with toil and labor we worked night and day to not be a burden to anyone.” He’s saying he personally handed down a work ethic.
Knowing this, here’s my quick exhortation
Don’t be the person who demands more than gives, who expects things out of others that you wouldn’t expect out of yourself. This type of person drains those above him, below him, and on the same level–family members, leaders, and friends. It blows my mind to attempt to think of how my father could work (at times) 70+ hours a week and keep up with everything it took to maintain a nearly pristine house and still be a good father. Some of us need to look at the example of people like my father and learn something.
On the other end of the pendulum, I’m purposing in my heart that my working grace will never amount to more than my family grace. Some 20-somethings need to learn to work, but others need to learn to play. In Ecclesiastes 2:18, Solomon, looking back at his life, said, “I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man that will come after me, and who knows if he will be wise or be a fool?” There is a point where we can “have work,” but there’s also a point where work can “have us.” It’s possible to get so caught up in work/school/life, that we miss out on life. We can overwork to fill the lack in our sense of security, identity, worth. But our compulsions can have us looking back at life and saying, “I wish I would have enjoyed myself a little more.” (By the way, there aren’t many 20-somethings that I’ve had this conversation with, so if you think you’re here, you should probably ask the opinion of a leader in your life.)
I’m purposing my heart to get in the middle of the extremes–to work hard, AND enjoy the ride. What about you?
Fearless / via Slavena Stefanova |
13I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who [a]infuses inner strength into me; I am [b]self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].
~Philippians 4:13 (Amplified Bible)
“Fear is a stop sign” Pastor John Nuzzo
God has given so many of you BIG dreams, and HUGE visions! (Jeremiah 29:11)
Don’t be afraid to go after those things. Don’t allow fear to stop you from fulfilling your God given dreams. Step out in the area He has called you and His Grace (ability) will meet you the moment you step out. Do not look at your what you can or cannot do yourself because that will scare you. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus and you will fulfill those dreams and visions through Him, through His strength, ability, and wisdom.
So dream BIG, and Go for it!
What’s Your Aroma? / via Slavena Stefanova |
2 Corinthians 2:14-15 (NIV)
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
Did you ever put on your favorite perfume but got so used to that scent that you could not even tell you were wearing it throughout the day? Then you walk into a room and one of your friends comes up to you and tells you how nice you ‘smell’.
As Christians, we carry the aroma of Christ. When we walk into a room, people will immediately notice that aroma. God uses us to spread His fragrance. The only way that the people in our lives, whether they are family, friends, acquaintances, or co-workers, will ever come to know Jesus as their savior is through us. We need to spread our knowledge of Jesus and who He is to those around us. Jesus also tells us to be a light and salt to the earth so don’t hide your light but be bold and allow people to come in contact with the aroma of Christ, it will change their life forever!
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