Remembering the Event

So today is September 11th, 2015. 14 years ago today, I was sitting in 5th grade, doing my usual morning routine. Every morning we had to do a DOL, or daily oral language. I have no idea why they call it oral, when we didn't ever talk. All we had to do was fix the grammatical mistakes in different sentences. After that we got to do a journal entry, I can't remember what it was. Then we had a brain buster is we got done with all of that. I was sitting next to a kid named Dominic. We both got done about the same time, were going through the brain buster which had us name things with holes in them. He calls the teacher over and goes, "A plan few into the World Trade Center this morning so there's a hole in that, can I use that?"

And that's how I first heard about what was happening in New York. Of course being only 11 years old I didn't think too much of it. As the day went on my class got smaller and smaller as parents left work to grab their kids and bring them home. Finally I remember coming home and my mom being there. At this time she never beat me home, so I was really confused. I walk in the house and CNN is on showing again and again planes flying into buildings.

Over the years I've heard people say there are some events they will never forget. I remember 9/11 incredibly well. My mom talks about how she remembers the day Kennedy died. Simmons in Transformers 3 says, "They'll ask 'Where were you when the transformers took over?'"

Throughout our lives we have events that take place that place a deep groove in our mind that stays there. First child, wedding day, traumatic events, random things that make shaped your thought on something.

For example, I don't like clowns. I'm not scared of clowns, I just don't like them. And this is why: When I was a kid I went to a birthday party. There was a clown there, he was boring, so I started playing with one of the maze things with a ball in it because I thought that was cooler than the clown. Well he saw me, got mad, came up took it away and told me to pay attention. To this day I don't like clowns because of that. Jerk.

What about our salvation? Sometimes yes, our salvation will seemingly take a while and we can't pinpoint, "That was when I was saved." Others can say, "June 22nd, 2010 is when I was saved." But there was an event, there was a series of events where we look back and see God redeeming us. Maybe bit by bit, chipping away at the block, or just taking a sledge hammer and shattering us with one hit. My question is how often do we look back to these moments? Do we get saved then just move on? Do we continually look back and compare now to then?

I like to talk about my salvation process and the event where I went, "I know I'm saved now." It weaves together a story for those listening, telling them who I am and where I came from and how I got to where I'm at now. My salvation is the event in my life where I go, "There I truly began to live. There I dedicated my life to whatever ministry God has called me to."

Look back through your life, look for your salvation event. If you can't find it, then you have a conversation with God that needs to take place. Self examination is a big aspect of Christianity, knowing who you are in this group of believers and also knowing who you are in relation to being a child of God. That event in your life should be bigger than 9/11, the day JFK was shot, the day you had your first child, all because everything else changes in relation to your change in relation to God.

Stewards

Last night we had our second CSF and I think it went pretty well. But I guess time will tell. We are still trying to find our groove though. But we'll get it.

What I talked about last night was what Religion as a verb means, and it's all about our actions stemming from our relationship with God. A part of what this includes is our stewardship.

What is stewardship? When it really comes down to it, stewardship is taking care of something. In Lord of the Rings we got Denethor who's the Steward of Gondor, he's supposed to take care of Gondor since there wasn't a king. Adam and Eve were supposed to take care of the Garden of Eden, but didn't.

We as Christians are stewards as well. All of us. Paul calls himself a steward of God's grace in Ephesians 3.2, Jesus makes us stewards of forgiveness in John 20.23, Paul says that we are stewards of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5.

So what does all of this mean?

We have been given grace, forgiveness, have been reconciled to God, all by God. He then equips us for ministry (Ephesians 4.12) with different gifts, but also for the stewardship of the grace, forgiveness and reconciliation that he's given us.

Now we're not just supposed to take care of it. We're not just supposed to work out what it means to be saved with fear and trembling. Yes, we're supposed to do that, but John 20.23 shows us that Jesus gives our stewardship more responsibility than that. We take this gift that we've received, and we're supposed to demonstrate it to the world. We take this forgiveness and forgive those that sin against us just as God forgives us of our sin. We are gracious towards others just as God was gracious towards us. We work to restore the relationship between us and those that have wronged us because God has restored our relationship, he has reconciled us.

Look through your life and see what God has done for you, and imitate it. Show those around you what God has done in your life by replicating it in theirs, leading them to see your restored relationship with God and therefore leading them to their own.

"Speak, for your servant hears"

This morning I was doing my reading, and I usually hate doing things on what I'm doing personally, but I think this is a good one. But I was reading 1 Samuel 3 today, and Samuel is there laying in the temple and three different times he hears someone call him. Each time he thinks it's the priest Eli. Finally on the third time Eli goes, "God's trying to speak to you."

So God calls Samuel again, and his response is, "Speak, for your servant hears."

As I read this I noticed a couple of things.

1) Samuel was kinda a jerk, commanding God to speak.
2) Samuel was really humble, calling himself God's servant.
3) Samuel states that he is listening.

How often do we hear God speak in our lives? And how often do we ignore his call?

Sometimes when God speaks to us it's just a simple point.

"I love you."

Other times he's telling us what we need to do.

"Go to Altoona and do campus ministry."

Or even don't do.

"Don't move home."

God speaks to us on a daily basis. Sometimes we think it's someone else telling us to do something. When I was debating if I should come to Altoona or not I had a couple other people telling me I should stay in Pittsburgh, or move back to Columbus, or just get out of campus ministry in general. Each person had a valid reason for their thought, but overall the reason was more selfish than anything else. So as I prayed over my situation I asked God what he wanted me to do. And I head others calling me. But unlike Samuel, I didn't think that they were being a voice for God, I didn't mix them up. I heard each voice clearly, and knew where God was calling me.

As you go throughout your week, listen for your name. God is calling you somewhere, either to stay, go forward, or back. Listen for God's call, and know when you're being called by others.