our first week of teaching was on the character and nature of God. our speaker was Pastor Blake Mattocks, from a church here in colorado. it was so good. Pastor Blake had such good information and truth about who our God is. and he made it so applicable at the same time. he didn't just throw a bunch of theology at us, but had deep information that was totally relatable as well. i'll try to sum up the 15 hours of teaching into a few short points, but i just might overload you guys.
the goal of Christianity is transformation. everything else flows from there!
gifts are given, but character is developed. you will never rise above the limitations of your character!
courage is choosing conviction over compromise.
learned truth must become living truth. most often we learn things in "public" but master them in "private."
you live the testimony you choose!
contentment is a learned behavior. it is a secret discovered through spending time with God. it frees you to enjoy what you have now.
"when are you going to enjoy the process of walking with me?" -God (this hit me really hard)
Jesus will always identify Himself in the midst of a storm.
changing the world is not always doing the great thing. being a world changer is being the best at what God called me to do.
the smallest act of obedience is always greater than the greatest of intentions.
one of the best ways to stop judging people is to show them kindness!
celebrate the little wins as spectacular wins!
and of course we had a teaching about "monsters in the dark" that were hiding inside of us, while we were hoping we would just "outgrow" them. it was a powerful time of getting into small groups and stating what those monsters were and declaring the truth over them and then praying for each other!
on monday i was part of a group that went around arvada praying for and reading scripture over important places in the city. we stopped at the fire station, police station, hospital, high school, and a middle school. aww man, when we pulled up to the middle school my heart just broke. i just love those kids. i miss highlife a lot. but it was a good reminder to pray for them on my drive back home! (which is 40 minutes each time we go up or down the mountain!)
i'm really loving my small group. we are such a diverse group of people. mary, our fearless leader, is a crazy woman of God who hears from God in crazy ways. did i mention she's crazy?!? alyssa comes from a rough background and has quite the testimony. she's dealt with everything you can think of and Jesus brought her out of it! shanteyl comes from a messianic jew background. emery is from a cow farm and is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. i know Jesus put us together for a reason!
oh, and i got two packages already! SCORE! :) one from my wonderful aunt and uncle that contained cookies cutters shaped like each of the continents! so cool! and of course my mama sent me cookies and rice krispies. i needed some sugar! i love you guys!
well, i should go to bed. it's officially and hours and ten minutes past my bedtime. :P
so good. all those points are fantastic, and an encouragement.
ReplyDeleteso the next time we make cookies, we can travel wherever we want! sweet!