Winter Retreat

So yea. Winter Retreat 07 rocked.I can't believe how openly God blesses people and wants them to know He is there. The speaker was a little crazy and had a weird method of presenting his points, but his point was strong overall. The unity in our youth group was so much stronger than I have ever seen it before. It was amazing and refreshing to see and experience. So here comes my blog for the... however long it is til I get around to posting again.

One of the things that was stressed during Winter Retreat, at least to me, was the fact that everything that happens isn't exclusive to us. From the stress of high school, to whatever boyfriend/girlfriend problem that is happening, to the death of a friend, it's not known only by us. It even says that in the Bible. Jesus lived His life on earth. He went through the same temptations we go through and we face on a daily basis, yet He didn't let it get to Him.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
- Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

"Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"
- Hebrews 13:1-3 (The Message)

I love how the first verse uses the phrase "surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses." When you think about it, we really are surrounded by a group of people watching. When you start your Christian walk, there's usually a noticeable difference in how you act now and how you acted then. Things change some.

Like it says in the next part of the verse, "let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles." What could be something that hinders or entangles you? Work? Your boyfriend/girlfriend? Some addiction? Friends? All of those things aren't inherently evil or bad for you. It's how you manage your time and the way you act when these things are presented to you that make it able to hinder you.

I like Message version of the next part of the verse. Not necessarily better than the NIV version, they just seem to compliment each other. "Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever." Like I mentioned earlier, Jesus spent time as a human and was tempted just like we were. He managed to make it through this life without sinning once. He literally is the perfect example of how to live our lives. He was persecuted and everything was working against Him. We need to study how He lived and how He persevered and learn how we can do it too. The reward for following that is mentioned in the next part. "sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." If we persevere and try to live like Jesus did, then we will get to spend eternity in God's awesome glory.

The last and most encouraging part is gonna come from the Message version of the text. "When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!" It's stressed throughout the passage to study how Jesus lived. Here are instructions of what to do if we happen to be bogged down or tempted or going through a storm in our life. Look to Jesus! Go over the story of how He won the race again and know that His power is right there next to you. He is there holding you and strengthening you and giving you little nudges.

What encouraging news. Jesus gave us an example of how to live. He went through what we went through. Nothing is exclusively known to us. When we think that what we are going through has never happened to anyone else before, we can know that Jesus has. I don't know how much more inspiring that can get.

Stay strong.
God bless.
Ben

First shot.

11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

15" We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

17 "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

- Galatians 2:11-21

I find this passage interesting. I thought that Paul and the apostles all got along perfectly fine. The title for the passage in my Bible is "Paul apposes Peter." Funny how the problems that seem to be in the current church were very alive in the church of old when it was first born. Paul and Peter were two of the most fundamental church fathers and they were both from the same racial background. They were both Jews.

Peter was born most likely into what would be a Jewish middle-class family for that age. He was a fisherman until Jesus found him and made him a fisher of men. He was turned from a fisherman to one of the most studied church fathers.

Paul was born most likely into what would be a Jewish upper-class family for that age. He was born a Roman citizen and came to find Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was turned into one of the most influential church fathers and the writer of a good chunk of the New Testament when before, he was the leading persecutor of Christians.

What is interesting about that is that Peter was part of the Jewish crowd who was zealous about the customs of old. Circumcision and other rituals were still practice by Messianic Jews. The Messianic Jews of the time thought that to be a Christian, they had to follow the customs to the dot of the i and the cross of the t. Paul was part of the Gentile crowd who believed that you didn't have to follow the old customs as strictly as before. The Gentile crowd did not have to follow circumcision (unless for medical purposes).

The issues of customs and rituals was also mentioned at least once in the New Testament. In Romans 14, the church is being split in half because of the different beliefs on holy days and the sabbath between the Jews and Gentiles. Once again, funny how that is still seen in the church today, only it is found in differences of doctorines.

That brings us to the end of the passage. It doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong. It doesn't matter what race or heritage you are from. What matters is whether or not you believe you are justified by the grace of God and are forgiven by the works done by Jesus and the cross. Think about how much it would help the church if we would just realize that what really matters is being saved, not how sanctification happens or if you are once saved or always saved. What matters is getting people back to God and bickering over little things (in the grand scheme of things) is going to draw them away.

So, look inside yourself. Do you know that Jesus died for you and that His death is grace more than enough than following any ritual or law? That is what is important.

Hopefully this helped, even in the slightest way, you to know yourself better.

Keep strong.
You are loved.
Ben