Too Complicated
It was another hot and humid day in NC. The "feels like" temp was 98+ today. The Golf crew is nearly done with their house thanks to some help from the Echo crew today. The chaplain for Golf has been moved to another crew so it's been a couple days since they've had devotions on site; so Devan is stepping up to lead devotions tomorrow for their crew. The Echo house is nearly complete and they will be done by lunch tomorrow - then they will go help other crews finish up. Echo has had really good devotions the last few days with lots of participation. They did have to re-do some of the ridge cap cuts due to a slight error in cutting. Charlie and Delta worked really quick and hard today; they go a lot done and handled the heat really well. They will finish tomorrow, but it will take most of the day to get it done. Tomorrow we will all give our homeowners gifts we picked up at wal-mart and a bible, picture, and sign with our names from mission serve. We will have a celebration/wrap-up party tomorrow night at the church and invite our homeowners to come join us.
At service tonight we focused on Psalm 139:13-18 (The Voice translation).
We talked about looking at ourselves through a different filter...a Jesus filter. The message was very similar to things we talked about in our last youth group devotion. Justin focused on our identity and who we are. When someone is the creator, they have the right to name it, to determine what it becomes, to give it identity. I was reminded of my nephews building things with legos or drawing pictures. That moment when they ask "Do you know what it is?"...you take your best guess, but you're not always right - you can't always figure it out. But, they created it, they know that it's a "boot, shoes, flip flop maker" or a "robot car transformer" - they created it for that purpose. God has created us for a purpose. We are one-of-a-kind. God is not surprised or let down by our failures or limitations; nothing we do is hidden from God. Even though God sees all of our failures and limitations, God doesn't love us any less. God created us for a purpose: Know God and make God known. To do this it requires us to see ourselves (as well as others) through a Jesus filter; to recognize and appreciate all that God put into us and all God did in creating us. We get to be a part of what God is doing on Earth; God doesn't need us, but God wants us! How awesome is that?!
On facebook, instagram, and snapchat we follow people all the time; but are we following Jesus in real life? Is Jesus worth following? Paul was a leader, but even he encouraged others to follow Jesus - that is who he followed (1 Corinthians 11:1). So how do we follow Jesus? Read the Scripture, whatever Jesus said/did...do it! If Jesus walked in our house or went with us throughout the day or followed our social media accounts they'd likely look a little different. Newsflash: God is with us always; there's nothing hidden from God.
The Scripture in Psalm 139 encourages us to find identity in Christ. Rather than being a ___________ (teacher, athlete, husband/wife, parent) who is a Christian...be a Christian who happens to be a ______________. Justin encouraged us to look in the mirror every day and remind ourselves of our identity by saying "You are fearfully and wonderfully made". We should not settle for any identity other than our identity in Christ.
In devotions we talked about how much we have been enjoying the services and love hearing Justin speak. We appreciated how simple Justin made it tonight.
At service tonight we focused on Psalm 139:13-18 (The Voice translation).
"You knitted me together in my mother’s womb long before I took my first breath. I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe. You have approached even the smallest details with excellence; Your works are wonderful;I carry this knowledge deep within my soul. You see all things; nothing about me was hidden from YouAs I took shape in secret, carefully crafted in the heart of the earth before I was born from its womb.
You see all things; You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb;Every detail of my life was already written in Your book; You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it. Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them! How grand in scope! How many in number! If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth. Their number is inconceivable! Even when I wake up, I am still near to You."
We talked about looking at ourselves through a different filter...a Jesus filter. The message was very similar to things we talked about in our last youth group devotion. Justin focused on our identity and who we are. When someone is the creator, they have the right to name it, to determine what it becomes, to give it identity. I was reminded of my nephews building things with legos or drawing pictures. That moment when they ask "Do you know what it is?"...you take your best guess, but you're not always right - you can't always figure it out. But, they created it, they know that it's a "boot, shoes, flip flop maker" or a "robot car transformer" - they created it for that purpose. God has created us for a purpose. We are one-of-a-kind. God is not surprised or let down by our failures or limitations; nothing we do is hidden from God. Even though God sees all of our failures and limitations, God doesn't love us any less. God created us for a purpose: Know God and make God known. To do this it requires us to see ourselves (as well as others) through a Jesus filter; to recognize and appreciate all that God put into us and all God did in creating us. We get to be a part of what God is doing on Earth; God doesn't need us, but God wants us! How awesome is that?!
On facebook, instagram, and snapchat we follow people all the time; but are we following Jesus in real life? Is Jesus worth following? Paul was a leader, but even he encouraged others to follow Jesus - that is who he followed (1 Corinthians 11:1). So how do we follow Jesus? Read the Scripture, whatever Jesus said/did...do it! If Jesus walked in our house or went with us throughout the day or followed our social media accounts they'd likely look a little different. Newsflash: God is with us always; there's nothing hidden from God.
The Scripture in Psalm 139 encourages us to find identity in Christ. Rather than being a ___________ (teacher, athlete, husband/wife, parent) who is a Christian...be a Christian who happens to be a ______________. Justin encouraged us to look in the mirror every day and remind ourselves of our identity by saying "You are fearfully and wonderfully made". We should not settle for any identity other than our identity in Christ.
In devotions we talked about how much we have been enjoying the services and love hearing Justin speak. We appreciated how simple Justin made it tonight.
- Our Purpose: Know God and make God known.
- How? Do what Jesus did.
- Find identity in Christ by seeing self and others through the Jesus filter
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