Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a brief piece about one of my favorite characters in history: St. Patrick.

Patrick was born in Western Britain around 389 B.C. to a Christian family. Yet his life was not a life one raised by his family. He was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland. His story doesn’t end in slavery. He eventually escaped and returned to England. Yet it wasn’t long before Patrick heard God’s call to return to the island where he was held captive. He arrived back in Ireland in 432 B.C., devoting the rest of his life to the warring people of Ireland: the same people who held him as a slave. Through his efforts the gospel reached Ireland for the first time.

Patrick’s story amazes me for many reasons but most of all because of his desire to follow God’s call to have compassion on the very people who enslaved him. Whenever I read Patrick’s story I find myself desiring to be like him. What would the world think of Christians if we all behaved like Patrick? If we all had such compassion and fervor to reach out and love the very people who never loved us?

I’m reminded of 1 John 3:16…

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

Just some thoughts…hope everyone is having a great week!

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to share a quick tidbit about what God put on my mind today as I was going through some old Scripture memory verses.

Not sure if you’ve ever observed the fact that when Satan tempts Jesus in the books of Matthew and Luke (chapter 4…in each book), Jesus always responds by quoting Scripture. Hey, if Jesus used the Bible as a source against Satan then so can we! I always carry my memory verses with me to look at in my free time. If I have free time, why not use it wisely? When I’m waiting for the bus, walking to class, etc., why not use it to look over memory verses? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used my free time to look over them and found the encouragement I needed…sometimes even when I didn’t think I needed the encouragement. The Bible, or Scripture, is God’s direct link to giving us information about himself and his plan. Whenever we can use our time to realign ourselves with his character and his plan, then we find ourselves feeling the power of God within us; the power that can resist Satan and his temptations.

How do you do it and where do you start? What I do is keep empty cards with me when I read the Bible and whenever I find a verse that I think is significant I write it down on the card, with the reference (ex. Jeremiah 9:23-24) on one side and the verse(s) on the other side so that I can rehearse where it comes from…come on…you’re college students…you get the idea

The verse that was a good reminder for me today was Jeremiah 9:23-24…

“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight.”

I’ve already written too much…but I think that verse speaks for itself…hope it helps!

My challenge to you is to pick up the Bible, start reading it, and start memorizing those verses that you will need to defend yourself against the temptations of the world…trust me…it does work.

Seth out.

I tend to get really excited about weekends that I don’t have to go into work and dread the ones (like this one) where I’m stuck with back to back 9-hour shifts. For most of us, our part-time or temporary jobs don’t capture our passions or keep us excited to return to the time clock day after day. However, there is hope! All you need is a new boss.

let me explain. actually, let Paul explain.

In Colossians 3 Paul talks about our attitudes in life. Verses 23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

I have found that working can actually become enjoyable when it’s for someone I love, someone I respect. This may not always be the case with our supervisors, but certainly for me, when I change my perspective and start working ‘with all my heart as working for the Lord’ I start to like what I’m doing. I find value in it. It becomes worthwhile.

Challenge: stop working for men and start working for the Lord. Whether you’re a full-time student or a full-time employee at Epic (it’s usually one or the other if you live in Madison), work with all your heart, knowing that it is the Lord you are really serving.

… who knows, the workplace just might turn into real relationships and community with co-workers, a deeper understanding of God’s gifting in your life, and new inspirations for the future.

This year’s Passion Conference is in Atlanta, GA from January 1st through 4th. If you’ve already registered and plan to go with CAM – please let me know ASAP!

To learn more visit: http://268generation.com/passion2011/#/home

Thanks!

Hey Everyone,
First off, I hope that everyone is having a great summer. I have to say, I sure have been!

As promised, here is the list of possible ways to identify your idols that I mentioned with a few more details about them.

1. Look at your imagination. What do you enjoy daydreaming about? Career advancement? A certain relationship? Not just once or twice but habitually.

2. Look out how you spend your money and time. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there is your heart also” (Matthew 6:21)

3. Examine your reactions to unanswered prayer and frustrated hopes. If you didn’t get what you wanted, do you become sad and disappointed, and then mourn and move on? Or do you respond with explosive anger or deep despair? If it’s the second, then you may have found an idol.

4. Look at your most uncontrollable emotions: anger, fear, despair, and guilt. Ask yourself, am I scared because something in my life is being threatened? These reactions are what we talked about back in vs. 8 (Anger, Malice, etc).

To state this again, I highly encourage you to take some time and study this passage (Colossians 3:1-17). Here are some things that might assist you…

1.  The passage is broken up into 3 sections.
1-4 Discusses the centrality of Christ
5-11 Discusses the earthly things we must set aside
12-17 Discusses the heavenly things we should replace the earthly things with

2. The first section (1-4) is a little more theological and can be more difficult to understand. Reading the first 2 chapters of Colossians can help you understand this first section because they goes a little deeper into this theology and the idea of dying to sin and being raised in Christ. I especially recommend looking at chapter 2:6-15 and 2:20-23.

3. Finally, I would recommended reading Tim Keller’s “Counterfeit Gods”, especially if you are interested in learning more about idolatry and what it looks like. He does a great job going through some of the major idols, and uses both modern and biblical examples to demonstrate these idols.

Lastly, if you are studying this passage or any other and you have questions about the passage or anything else, feel free to shoot me an email (kfurry [at] blackhawkchurch [dot] org). I certainly don’t have all the answers but I would love to help you find them.

A–A good reminder from Brandon last Tuesday about putting your relationship with God as your top priority. It reminded me of some of my favorite verses in Matthew 6 concerning worrying about the future. Priority 1: Seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness, then all the rest will be added to you (v.33). Whew! Talk about easier said than done! But that’s a promise from God’s word that we can take to the bank. If we devote our time and energy into seeking God, our deposit won’t return void. Keep seeking God through the Bible and prayer so that we can be prepared when life throws us a curve.

B–Brewers… Well, there’s always next season!

C–CAMping. Although I was only in on one night of it, I was not disappointed. Good ol’ singing around a campfire, s’mores, hot dogs, s’mores, swimming, volleyball, s’mores, hiking, and s’mores. It was a good trip to Devil’s Lake. One activity stood out the most for me though and that was our massive game of s’mores, I mean… glow-in-the-dark ultimate frisbee. I had never played before and it was awesome!! A definite “highlight” of the week, maah! And better yet… no major injuries to report!!

Going on the CAM-ping trip? We’re excited to have you!

We’re planning on meeting at BLACKHAWK CHURCH at 6:30pm on Friday and leaving shortly after. We will be able to leave cars overnight at Blackhawk but try to carpool out there. If you are having trouble finding a ride out there or don’t know anyone to give you a ride, no worries! Just contact Kyle (contact info below) and I will find you a ride.  You should have gotten an email containing other info.

You will need to eat your own meal Friday night…other than that, food will be provided.
If you have any questions email Kyle at kfurry@blackhawkchurch.org or call me at 414-870-1918.

Items you should bring:

1. Sleeping Bag
2. Pillow
3. Sleeping Pad
4. Toothbrush, Shampoo, etc (there are coin showers (bring change))
5. Clothes (breathable(non-cotton))
6. Bathing suit
7. Towel
8. Hiking shoes
9. Rain jacket/rain gear
10. Rock climbing shoes (if you have them) (for bouldering)
11. Sandals
12. Sweatshirt/long pants
13. Bible/journal
14. Games, Frisbee, cards, Vball, etc
15. Sunscreen
16. Bug Spray
17. Car chargers for phones
18. Ipod
19. Slacklines (if you have one and want to bring it)
20. Money (to chip in for gas)

Stay posted for the CAMping Trip packing list, meeting time and other info! It will be posted to the Blog soon!

If you haven’t paid your $20.00 – Please bring cash/check with you on the trip. We will collect money before we depart.

Happy CAMping!

I once read in a magazine called Voice of the Martyrs about a man in China whose house church was facing all kinds of persecution. The Voice of the Martyrs magazine is published all over the world for Christians with stories of hope among persecution and with ways to pray for other countries. The interviewer from the magazine asked the man how people in America can be praying for house churches in China. The man responded, “Stop praying for persecution in China to end, for it is through persecution that the church has grown”. This statement caught me off guard, but not as much as what he said next, “We, in fact, are praying that the American church might taste the same persecution, so revival would come to the American church like we have seen in China”.

This man experienced things that I can’t even comprehend. People would make handmade bombs and throw them at his house, his life and family’s lives were in constant danger, his friends he had before he began to follow Christ had abandoned him and yet he still continued to worship and bring others to his house church.

At the time I don’t think I understood exactly what this man was saying. I understood that when you fight for something, you grow more rooted in your belief and alliance of what you’re fighting for. I applied that to the persecution in the Christian church by thinking when we fight for our faith, we believe in God more.

And now I see it goes so much deeper! Persecution and trials are a test to see if deep down your trust is truly in God. When your life is in danger – where do you turn? Do most of us in America even know how we would answer that question? If someone or something threatens your life because of what you believe – would you turn away?

And here’s what challenges me the most: Comfort. Comfort is the enemy of my spiritual life. Once I get into a routine, without realizing it, I start to rely on the routine. I rely on my job, I rely on my car to get me to the job, I rely on my friends, my family etc. When do I have the opportunity to really rely on God? (Definition of rely: To be dependent for support, help, or supply). I have such a comfortable life!

Now, I want you to know that I’m not wishing persecution on anybody. All I’m asking is that when you do face trials – use that time as an opportunity to rely more on God and grow deeper in your relationship with Him. Also, recognize all the gifts and freedoms we’ve been so blessed with! God is so good – don’t take what we have for granted.

I was once told that loving God was simple: Just love God with all that you are.

I think this is a way people try to sum up the meaning of  Matthew 22:37 where Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” But is this clarification of the verse (”just love God with all that you are”) really helpful to anyone?

How can you love something or someone with all that you are if you haven’t really figured out who you are yet? Or who you want to be. And doesn’t that change?

For the longest time I tried to figure out who I was, so that I could love God fully, with all of my being, but my approach turned out to be completely backwards. The truth is, I couldn’t understand who I really was until I fully loved the Lord.

Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to love God “correctly.” Think about your relationships with your parents or your friends- anyone you love. How often do you analyze how to love those people. We don’t think about love we just do it. We do it by investing our time and our hearts in those relationships. We just show up and care.

So here’s what I do. I show up for God and I care about what He has to say. Talk to Him, read what He has to say to you in the Bible, and care enough to respond to it by the way you live your life.