Integration

01/25/2011

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I figured it was probably time for me to tackle technology and take advantage of the web resources that we have. BASIC has been having a great year. Our retreat this month was a blast! The students grew in their relationship with God and with each other. They have many fun stories and testimonies to share.

This past week in BASIC we talked about what it means to integrate our faith with the rest of our lives. In our culture we are tempted, even encouraged, to separate our faith from other areas of our life. There are some areas that we have compartmentalized that some believe have absolutely nothing to do with our faith. So we discussed how important it is to realize that our faith can be integrated into every facet of our life. Some of the areas that we addressed integrating our faith with were:

School: God created our minds and has given us the ability to think and reason. He also called us to worship him with our minds (Matthew 22:37), so school is not something that is separated from our faith but an opportunity to use the gifts God has given us and to worship him worship him through studying and learning.

Family: Talking about Genesis 1:27-28 we thought about how God created family and he made it to be good. Our family members are created in the image of God and we have been called to love as He has loved. So even when our siblings drive us crazy- our faith is an integral part of our family life.

Sports: There are so many talented students in our group who are involved in a number of different sports. Unfortunately many students feel the need to choose between the sports they enjoy or church. So we talked about ways that they could incorporate their faith into their sports. The author of Hebrews used sports metaphors as he wrote about the great cloud of witnesses and running the race marked out for us in 12:1. Students have an opportunity to be a part of the cloud of witnesses to their teammates and integrate their faith into the talents God has blessed them with.

The kids enjoyed discussing ways that they could integrate their faith into the rest of their lives. I encourage you to continue talking about this as a family seeing where else our faith needs to be integrated. Our faith does not need to be, nor should it be, separated from the rest of our lives. Our God is big enough to work in every area of our life, we just have to have the eyes to see him working!

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Outward evidence of an inward belief!

12/07/2009

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James (Jesus' half brother) tells his readers in James 2:17 "...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."  Prior to this James tells us that it is no good for a person to have faith without any deeds.  What is James trying to get at?  Is he saying that faith is not enough?  Is he saying that as a believer there needs to be action? Isn't it faith that saves a person from eternal punishment because of their sins?  Why do my actions matter if I am a believer and have faith?  Who do I have to prove myself too?  These are all good questions, lets begin:

1.  What is faith?  Webster’s says that faith is a belief and a trust.  Some claim that it is too hard to have faith.  Well we have faith in everyday things.  I don't know how my computer works or let alone this blogging thing, but I have faith that when I turn on my computer that it is going to work and the when I hit the post button that this message will post.  We have faith in the sun rise each day;  when we go to bed at night we believe that the sun will rise the next day.  We know what it is to have faith.  James is talking about faith, but the kind of faith that he is talking about is the belief that Jesus was who He said He was.

Romans 10:9-10 says, That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

As a Christian, our faith is a belief that Jesus is Lord and that He rose from the grave after He was crucified.  Once we believe this to be true and confess this with our mouths we will be saved.  We will enter into a relationship with the Savior of the universe.

2.   And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.  Ephesians 1:13-14

The Holy Spirit is a seal in our lives.  When we die and face judgment, God will know us as His because we have been sealed. 

3.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  Romans 8:29

God promises us that as His, we will be transformed to the likeness of Jesus.  This means from the time we enter into a relationship with God, that He is going to chip away at our lives the things that are not like Christ.  This just like the seal is a promise.

If God is going to transform us into to Christ-likeness, what will that look like.

4.  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

It is the fruit of the Spirit that the Holy Spirit is sowing into believers.   

Where Paul tells us to believe with our hearts is the key.  What we store into our hearts will overflow into our lives.  Head knowledge of Jesus is not enough, in fact James says in 2:19, “You believe that there is one God.  Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”  We must believe with our hearts, and if we truly believe with our hearts our lives will reflect God in us.

So our actions do matter!  If our actions are not showing God-in-us then that should lead us to question whether we fully believe or if we just believe with our heads.  Faith in Jesus is ENOUGH to save us, but if we truly have faith, our actions are an outward evidence of an inward belief.
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Let's shout for Joy!

10/08/2009

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Last night in BASIC we looked at what James, Jesus' half brother, wrote to his readers.  He said, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything." 
We are only able to consider the trials or bummers that we face with joy because of our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Our salvation through Jesus Christ is eternal, forever, and that is why when we have a bummer come our way that we can compare that bummer to our eternal life through Jesus Christ and the bummer begins to look very small.  That bummer will pass away, but our eternal life is forever. 
James says when we face trials, not if.  You are going to face a trial today, tomorrow, next week, next month, all this school year, and yet, God wants us to consider those trials to be joy.  Trials will make us stronger. 
I want to hear from you; when you have a bummer or trial come you way tell about it and how you were able to consider it joy.
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