What's My Purpose?

Why does life even matter? Because Jesus. I'm just one of His sheep trying to follow His lead.

[learningtobejoy-blog]

Forgotten God

It’s funny how much pride can get in the way of learning more about the Holy God of the universe.

About six or seven months ago, I felt I was a “good Christian”. I thought that spending some time reading the Bible, and not doing the bad things that everyone else did somehow made me better. OH BOY was I wrong.

Having a mindset that we’ve somehow reached a plateau or peak in our relationship with God is one of the worst places we can be spiritually.

The Spirit definitely convicted me of my pride, and I asked to be humbled. I want to always learn more about my Savior and grow daily. Shortly after, I started seeing references to the Holy Spirit all over Scripture. Verses I had read many times suddenly came to life with the power of the Comforter sprinkled all over them. God started opening my eyes to the necessity of the work of the Spirit in the body of Christ.

I don’t know how I had never realized how essential and prevalent the Spirit is not only in Scripture, but in the life of a Christian and in the church. Maybe it was just God’s timing and him showing me knowledge is not a relationship, but his revealing through His word IS. A confirmation to my soul that I know him and am known by Him; as well as a reminder that this relationship I have is not of my own accord, but solely through the grace and mercy that the cross has brought me. Either way, I started focusing on the importance and power of the Holy Spirit, on pursuing and seeking the will of God and relying on his power alone.

The past few months have been an incredible testimony in my life to the active work of the Spirit in this world and in the church of Christ. I have several stories from this summer that have rocked my life and assured me of his presence. I also picked up a book called “Forgotten God” by Francis Chan, and God used this book in confirmation with Scripture I studied to transform my view of the Holy Spirit, truly realizing my dependence on him for everything in my life.

I think it is so very easy to forget about the Holy Spirit or to write him off as some mystic power that only came in old times and worked in the lives of the 12 disciples of Christ. This is not the case. The Spirit of the Living God is our EVERYTHING. Without the Spirit, we are unable to grow, to learn more about God, to even accept Christ as Savior, to produce fruit in the Christian life, to love our enemies, to give to the needy, to crucify our flesh. We are DEPENDENT on the Spirit. And it’s time we as the church of Christ remembered that, and seek his presence so that our lives can be changed and through our lives, those of the world who do not yet know Christ.

“As for me, I am tired of talking about what we are going to do. I am sick of talking about helping people, of brainstorming and conferencing about ways we can be radical and make sacrifices. I don’t want to merely talk anymore. Life is too short. I don’t want to speak about Jesus; I want to know Jesus. I want to be Jesus to people. I don’t want just to write about the Holy Spirit; I want to experience His presence in my life in a profound way.” - Forgotten God by Francis Chan

“For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.” Galatians 5:5

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses to Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” -Acts 1:8

-Holy Spirit you are welcome here-

[rebarebes]

Social media

I deactivated my Facebook and deleted my Instagram app. I did this for a few reasons. For one, I, like a lot of people, spend way too much time checking up on people’s pages instead of talking to them in person or giving them a call. And I check it a lot while I’m with people. I always thought that was rude, so why was I doing it? I don’t want to be that person. I also was getting tired of all the drama that comes along with social media. And another reason is I just need a break from so much phone. I’m at New Tribes because I am wanting to be a part of giving the Gospel to people who have not had any, I mean zero exposure to the Good News of what Christ has done for them! So why am I spending so much time on Facebook and stuff when I could be maximizing my time and getting with God more, or having more fellowship with my brothers and sisters and build them up, or even getting homework done early so I can go on crazy adventure with friends? Tonight after dinner, I went to go ask a couple friends if they wanted to watch a movie with me, but they already had plans. So I went to my room and watched an episode of Flashpoint. There was about 5 minutes of the show left when my roommate Audry came in. It was almost 10 o'clock and she said, “what are you doing tonight?” I looked at her kinda like she was crazy. I said, “Audry, it’s almost ten.” After a little pause I said, “…do you want to go get ice cream?” And her eyes lit up and said, “YES!” So we got two others to ride with us and when we were pulling off, another friend was pulling in and we talked her into coming with us too. We went to Woodman’s, a HUGE grocery store that is open 24 hours. I got a gallon size mint chocolate chip ice cream. Then I wanted some real food, so I got a 140 count pizza rolls bag. So we get back to our floor on campus and started scooping out ice cream. I realized that we had enough for many more so I walked the whole floor to invite everyone who had their door open to come eat with us. We ended up having about 10 or 12. We had music playing and just some serious chill time with our ice cream in our mugs. We’re still all getting to know each other, so it was cool getting to know them better - people who I might not have just talked to before. I tell this story because I want to post about how much I already am seeing the benefits of not having social media. It relieves stress and gives me motivation to make the most of my time. If I had been on Facebook tonight, I would not have wanted to get out and get ice cream with anyone. I am so thankful for life and I don’t want to miss any of it!

Love you all, Rebes

[rebarebes]

How did I get here?

As I lay here in my top bunk listening to some of my roommates quietly snore, I remember when I first laid eyes on the New Tribes Bible Institute sign just over a month ago. Before my trip to Wisconsin, I was putting my full faith that this is where I was supposed to be in God. I had very limited information about New Tribes. I saw a list of their classes and my brother recommended it and that sold me. I didn't want to spend money to visit in the summer before I started. I didn't really have any questions for the deans at the school. I was just ready to be there before I scared myself out of it by thinking about all the changes too much (Which I have done before). The anticipation during the summer when I knew I would move in August was covered up by counting down the days left with my dearest friends and family. That was going to be the hardest part. Leaving everything I am used to behind. Starting from complete scratch. Going from having so many people I was close to, to not knowing a single soul. And it didn't help that I had a 17ish hour drive to think about all of that and how crazy I was to pick a school 5 states away from my family. But deep in my heart, I felt at peace. And when my little trooper of a brother (who drove the entire way) pulled up at the bottom of the school and my eyes found the New Tribes Bible Institute sign, my heart was overjoyed. I turned into a little 4 year old girl. Nerves were running wild, but more than that was sheer excitement for a new chapter in life. I normally wouldn't have chosen to move 17 hours away from my comfortable home town where my family has lived for the past 36 years. I made a choice to leave a very solid foundation. I had a very good job that I could have moved up in pretty easily, a loving church home that I have poured into and that has supported me, my family all there for me. I would like to think I would do something this "adventurous" on my own, but honestly that's not my personality. That part of me is all God. I really like being comfortable in my own place that I know very well. I really really like knowing what to expect in pretty much every area. If you know me, you know it takes a decent amount to stress me out. But when I don't know what to expect, I am on edge and get stressed out. So by no means was this move an easy decision. Yes, it was a fairly simple decision, but not easy. But I knew that "God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think," had more in store for this little Georgia girl (Ephesians 3:20). I truly believe He has so much more in store for every one of His children than we could ever imagine. And some of us have pretty crazy big imaginations. "When someone has been given much, much will be required in return." Luke 12:48 This verse has helped shape the way I see life so much. These words help me keep my focus on my job here on earth. I have been given so so much. Because of that, God will require much of me. When I give my all for Him and believe that He can do immensely more than I can ever think, then why not move just over 1000 miles away to spend two years dedicated to learning about God? It is such a small sacrifice compared to the whole picture. So yes, I was nervous and scared out of my mind to make this change. But yes, I am beyond thankful that God sovereignly guided my every step and is continually teaching me something new about Himself, His Word, His people, or even myself. Not for one millisecond have I regretted following this path. "To him be glory forever."

[rebarebes]