IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
+ Post about Week 8 of Max Q
+ Memorize the assigned Scripture passages:
Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9
IMPORTANT DATES:
ChicaGO SEMP Overnighter at NMC - NEXT WEEK
Friday, June 10 - 5:30 pm through Saturday, June 11 - 1 pm
Completely have read "The Barbarian Way" by Erwin McManus
* Remember, this is NOT OPTIONAL. If you signed up for this trip you were agreeing to the outlined dates and expectations. Everyone is expected to be at the Overnighter as this is a crucial component in our trip experience together!!
I think 1 Corinthians 13:1 says it best, "If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." The principle of acceptance is that we must "out-accept the competition," but we cannot do this without love. Our love for Christ should be what drives us to want to evangelize and serve in the first place, but our love for others must reflect the love we have for Christ because he first showed us love. We are nothing more than words if we do not have love. I am sure throughout the week on GO that it will be hard to love all people because they will be unlike us, some may be rude, or it may just be uncomfortable. But the bottom line is, Jesus calls us even to love our enemies, so we must show love and acceptance to those we interact with to show them the love of Christ. Lastly, the part in day 5 about reconciliation stuck out to me because we are called to reconcile others to God. This will be one of our main purposes at ChicaGO. We did not deserve to be reconciled to God, but he allowed us to be by not counting our sins against us. We also need to reconcile others to the saving grace that is Christ!
ReplyDeleteCortney Stace
the thing that stuck out to me the most was the verse where it says we should love our enemies because i think i tend to not showing my enemies love and just choose to not associate with them but then when i read that chirst showed us love even while we were still sinners i wonder why i always am such a bad person to my enemies
ReplyDeleteAustin sanders
The most excellent way...so much of this is about thinking before speaking or acting. If we would consciously stop to think, so much heartache could be saved. Just because we think we are right or have the answers doesn't mean we use the best means to express that. We need to learn to stop, think, LISTEN, and love as we interact. Unfortunately, this doesn't really get so much easier as we get older...sorry guys. I still have to work at it so much. God loves us all equally and calls us to do the same. We need to give our unsaved friends a reason to want to know Jesus!
ReplyDeleteA quote that stuck out to me this well was; "Will the words I'm about to speak build my friend up or tear my friend down?" Too many times I just judge my unbeliving friends on what they do wrong and not don't build them up. Another quote that i liked was "Acceptance and love are the way of Christ. They are the way of a student of influence. This reminded me to first love my friends and accept them and show them the love of christ because this will influence them more than just telling them that the way they live their life is wrong and constanty talking about faith. A uplifting statment this week was God single-handly cleared away everything that block the way for you to be in a realtionship with him. He didnt wait for me to deal with my sin on my own!
ReplyDeleteJaylin Miller
"Jesus didn't fall in love with humanity. From the beginning of time, he chose to love mankind and to die for our sins and for his Father's glory. His love was a choice."
ReplyDeleteAnd so is mine. I think the thing i struggle with the most would be loving my lost peers UNconditionally. Sometimes i just get so annoyed and wish they would all just grow up. And i have noticed that i even get these feelings quite a bit around my "christian" friends too. Maybe its just me. Or maybe God is trying to tell me something?
-Haley Miller
My Goodnesss! What an incredible week of studies. I loved this week because it hit the areas of my life right where I needed it most. A lot of the time, I struggle with accepting everyone. I sort of like to leave out the people who I think I am better than...but that is totally not how it should be. God really opend my eyes to see how Jesus treated people and that I should follow those foot steps. This week I was at the dentist office in the waiting room and the voice of the Lord literally shouted so loud it knocked me out of my seat(almost) A little bit ago I was stuggling with doubt about God, and at the office I was reading The Barbarian way( I am now in love with this book) and the authors son was having the same doubt that I was having...then he said something when his dad asked him how? the son said"I've already met Him, so that's my dilema" that was exactly what I needed to hear to solve my doubt! Praise God!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJessica Tuttle
The thing that stuck with me throughout this week was that there is a "best way" to influence, and it's unconditional love! But unless I'm in and around environments and people that are inconsistent and different that I am, I can't express and give that love. It's the importance of living and loving wildly even if others' beliefs aren't consistent with yours - and not everyone's will be.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love,
Emily Hoffman (:
somethings i got out of this week were the quotes: people dont care what u no till they no that u care, if we only accept the people who accept us then we r not very accepting r we. and all of days 3 and 5
ReplyDeleteDana Keller
I've always struggled to Love people unconditionally, but I've realized this week that If I'm going to be an influence for the kingdom of God then I need to strengthen my heart like it says in day 3 to become a loving one and not a judgmental one towards the lost
ReplyDeleteJustin Krakowski
There were quite a few things the stuck out/challenged me this week. One of them was showing unconditional love to everybody friends bestfriends and enemies. I try to show love to everybody but it can get challenging and I can be alittile bit tougher on my closer friends. Sorry I don't think I will be able to make it this week I am in Wisconsin helping my sister pack in to her new appartment. I will try though. Love all you guys.
ReplyDeleteMatthew prochno.
This week I have realized that you can't love unconditionaly like that, it takes time and lots of time but you have to be willing to try to love and as time goes on your love will grow to be unconditional. Also, I thought it was neat to see what kinds of love traits I struggle with concording to the bible and ones I am good at portraying. The ones I struggle with I need to work on though. Another idea that stuck out to me was that we really aren't much different from unbelivers but yet we judge them like no other and don't show them Gods love. Sometimes all someone needs is a friend.
ReplyDeleteBethany Metzler
well, this week really hit me. To be able to influence the best way i need to love unconditionally but need to be in an environment that is different than what im used to.
ReplyDeleteKaylin Pearson :)
I got alot out of this week. Jesus loved the people unconditionally whether they were proclaiming him king or trying to stone Him...or hang him on a cross. We should love people without conditions and we are no better than savages if we only show love to people that are like us.
ReplyDeleteDan Mohler
this week i discovered something about myself: i can easily love people but i sometimes have a hard time accepting people and in day 2 i think it said something like "you cant love without accepting but u can accept with out loving" but i have a hard time accepting some people so i guess i dont love like im supposed to or something like that :)
ReplyDeletekylee stutzman
What hit me hard this week, was day 1, when it asked if we interact with our peers with a heart of scrutiny. And I thought that maybe I do think it sometimes, but I try not too.
ReplyDeleteDanny Clickovich
I REALLY liked the scripture from yesterday (Day 5)
ReplyDelete18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave US the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins AGAINST THEM. And he has committed to US the message of reconciliation. 20 WE ARE therefore Christ’s AMBASSADORS, as though God were making his appeal THROUGH US. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who HAD NO SIN to BE SIN for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
And yes, I made the caps happen b/c those sections really stuck out to me. A mission statement, a call to arms, a pep talk before a game....Paul is calling for the Corinthians (and us :D ) to GO!
so... who wants to go on a gotrip... anyone?
Kelly.
"There are no neutral words."
ReplyDeleteThis hit me hard. It makes me rethink everything I am about to say before I say it. Every word or phrase has the potential to help someone or hurt them. Trying to get every word to come out helpful is a very difficult task. I just don't think about it and the words come out before my better judgment steps in and forces me to think about them. By then its to late. How are nonbelievers supposed to believe that I care if I cut them down, even if its not intentional or even the worst they've heard. I'm supposed to show them God's love, which is definitely not portrayed by harsh wording or actions. One of my goals this summer and this trip is to focus my speech onto only uplifting words. Practicing it on my family however, will be tricky.
Amy
I liked this statement from Day 2: "Unconditional acceptance calls for speaking from a heart that is more interested in helping than hurting, more interested in loving than judging." If we want to be students of influence, then we need a change of heart to change our actions. It's easy to speak condescendingly to someone but we find it difficult to build them up out of love. If we were truly living like that of Christ then we would not want to judge others. Many Christians have the right intentions when it comes to influence, but they end up giving other Christians a stereotype because they do not love unconditionally. This makes it hard to prove to others that Christ really is the only way. If we could all love and accept everyone, then we could truly become influential.
ReplyDeleteHolly Prawat
This is the question that really struck me this week. Am I willing to express unconditional love to those people within my sphere of influence who are different from me and whose lives are inconsistent with mine? I say YES and this is truly what I want to do. It is really hard at times. It is so easy for me to be judgmental. And just as Tonya said, I hate to tell you but it doesnt get easier the older you get. Actually I think it can even get harder because the older we get we tend to get really set in our ways and our thinking. So work on it now! Be all sold out for God! Live that radical life like Jesus did.He will use you in wonderful ways to be an influence to those non believers in your sphere of influence. And I'm not just saying that to you teenagers I'm saying that to myself. You're never to old to make changes in your life and I'm ready to do that!
ReplyDeleteWhen it was asking what characteristics oflove I struggle with I immediately realized I am not patient at all. I might have lots oflove but its on my time and mood and when I want to agree to it..I need to be patient with God when he is asking me to love on even the hardest of people to love. LIke I always say yet never really act on, LOVE IS A VIRTUE.
ReplyDeleteBAiley dahlgren
i tend to just not like the people i dont like and just ignore them, or i tend to judge people for random reasons. but i need to learn to love my enemies even if i need to from afar. i need to pray for them and still love them. and as far as judging some people, (like in france i would judge some muslims or something just because of what they believe) but in all reality, they dont know the Truth. thats what we are here for, to love God and to further His kingdom and show His love and show His light and reconcile what is not there. if that makes anyy sense at all.
ReplyDeletespencer dahlgren
I have a tendency to open my mouth before thinking so the question "Will the words I'm about to speak buil my friend up or tear my friend down?" is something I am personally going to have to drill into my brain.
ReplyDeleteMarcus Poland
What hit me this week would be that the "best way" to influence someone else is just to show them love...show thru the way u live ur life, how u treat people with respect and being a servant.
ReplyDelete-jack Walters
What stuck out to me this week was the verse that says to love our enemies. It's easy to love my friends and family, but I have a hard time loving people who aren't even nice to me. But I know that the only way that I can ever be an influence on their lives is to show them love. It's going to be hard but I know I can do it.
ReplyDeleteLindsey Allen
Thoughts from the week:
ReplyDeleteAre you going to stand by and let unbelieeing teens out-love and out-accept you?
How often do we say we're Christians yet our actions and attitudes towards others show the opposite. It's important for us to remember how Christ treated the lost, the left out and the left behind. He loved them and pursued after them.
You have to exercise your heart to get it in shape.
The more we practice loving others the better condition our heart will be in.
We are God's ambassadors to help others see their need to be reconciled to Him as we ourselves need it.
How well have we been at relaying that message instead of one of judgement?
Lots to think about this week as to how we love, treat and accept others.
Loving others can either be one of the easiest or hardest things that we can do in life... it almost always seems that it's easier to love those who love you, but what about those who don't, and what about those who hate you? Well that is where it gets tricky... I know that we don't really want to love someone who treats us badly, but in all reality, those are the ones we need to love the most. I can say that I haven't always loved everyone or the ones who treat me badly, but I do try my best to do so now.
ReplyDeleteIt all starts in your heart. If you love God and know what He defines as love, then you are making steps in the right direction. And if you think you are failing at loving someone because every time you try, they reject you or something, remember this... True success is defined as Obedience... Let that one sink in.
I always try to love people unconditionally but it can get hard for me to do that if that
ReplyDeleteperson has done something mean to me.everybody deserves that love. but if i get mad at someone, its hard to show them love.
the thing that stuck out to me was that i need to love everyone. not just those that im close to and truly love but the people that i might not even really know i need to love them to. the other thing that i need to learn how to do is to trust i have a hard time do that even with my closest friends.
ReplyDeleteshayna gravy
unconditional love is something i think is hard for me. 1 because im a very loving person and sometimes people take advantage of that. 2 depends on the enviroment im in. 3 showing love to my enemies is hard because they dont show it back. but this week was so hard for me because i found out one of my not close friends has an eating disorder and i told her that even tho we werent close anymore i was still willing to do whatever she needs and i would bend over backwards to help any of my lost friends along with my friends. but she was my first real step to unconditional love<3
ReplyDeletemonica renee(:
What I took out of this is I really need to work on loving unconditionally sometimes I don't love a person cause of what they have done but jesus wouldn't do that he loved whores and drinkers so we mist love even the worst people and try to talk to them about jesus
ReplyDeleteBobby krakowski
A few things that stuck out to me...
ReplyDelete-Love is a choice
-Love triumphs any gift you may have
-"People don't care what you know until they know that you care"
Emily Myers
This weeks message of unconditional love stood out to me. I always try to be helpful and compassionate and caring to others even if I dont know them well but is that unconditional love? Im not sure the difference between caring a lot and unconditional love.
ReplyDelete-Logan Gomez
On day 5 right at the beginning of the Q-Point it hit me really hard when it said, "Reconciliation means making two conflicting things compatible. And that's your job: to make your lost friends, who are in conflict with God because of their sin, compatible with God." This is the whole reason we are on the GO Trip right now. That just summed it all up in one paragraph. We also need to build relationships with those lost peers because Reconciliation + Relationship = Influence.
ReplyDelete-Tanny white :)
Day 3!!!
ReplyDeleteWell it says "We have to make the choice and just do it"
Talking about unconditional love obviously, its sooo easy to choose not to like there example of deciding whether or not to exercise one day! Which i struggle with too:) Anyway showing unconditional love has always being something i struggle with but hadnt noticed until now! I just really need to keep pushing myself forward to show that love and keep moving forward!
You don't fall in love;you choose to love, then you do what it takes to start loving:)!
Danielle Hudson
what i got out of week 8 was that it says that Reconciliation + Relationship = influence. so if you want to be an influence than you need to do and make and be these things.
ReplyDelete-Austin Conrad
When MAX Q talked about the best way to influence was through unconditional love, it really hit me that I'm not loving unconditionally. It seems like, if I don't like someone, or something about someone, I usually let them know. Instead, I should just look around the negative qualities and focus on the positive ones, to help with my unconditional love. My challenge this week is to love my peers unconditionally and influence others through these actions. Love your neighbors.
ReplyDeleteMegan Reed