deep

I cannot believe that our summer has already evaporated. Where did it go? Tonight, we kick off our FUEL school year. I am so excited. This is going to be a great fall!!

Our theme of getting DEEP has its roots in Colossians 2:6-7, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

I am reminded of the willow tree in my grandparents backyard in Greendale or the tree stand my dad and I would hunt out of in Presque Isle. These trees were ginormous. It is said that trees have as many roots underground as there is tree above ground. It takes a lot for big trees to stand upright especially through storms and seasons. I am particularly drawn to lonely trees that tower above empty fields. They have to weather the elements. Their roots must be strong and deep.

As children of God we also must have deep roots. The world is full of doubts and questions about God and Christianity. Is there any truth? Is faith reliable? Can I trust anything? Over the past few months I have seen in many of our young people desire to know the truth and live a substantial faith. We all want answers to deep questions, but more so, we desire answers that affect the way we think and live. I desire answers that keep me rooted when the storms of doubt hit hard like a hurricane.

This fall we will be answering real deep questions about the faith. If you could ask God one question what would it be?

DEEP: getting deep with God & God getting deep in me.

less of me; more of GOD

We recently had our annual reFUEL retreat, a youth winter retreat. I thought I would share with you from the perspective of one of our teens what kind of weekend it was…

Less.. complaining More.. thanking
Less.. selfishness More.. selflessness

Less.. anger More.. love
Less.. bitterness More.. forgiveness

Less.. jealousy More.. compassion
Less.. self pity More.. joy

Less.. quitting More.. determination
Less.. discouragement More.. hope

LESS OF ME; MORE OF GOD

Less of me, more of God. Is completely about thinking of who we are and how we compare to who God is. We are created in His image, and we are made in His likeness. But we are absolutely nothing compared to Him and all of His glory. We are disgusting vile sinners, lost in a world of total wickedness. But He has the greatest love you could ever imagine and He sent His only Son to take away that shell of what we could be in Him. And if we accept that free gift and He becomes our Savior, we can become like Him and live for Him and receive the greatest joy imaginable. And as we begin to grasp the concept of His love, we begin to see how big and awesome and powerful He is. And it is then that we realize that we are incredibly small compared to Him, and we find great joy in making Him great. When we magnify Him in our lives every day, we think less of ourselves because we are focused on Him. As we let go of our old selves and our old way of thinking it becomes easier (not easy) to think less of ourselves. God is great and He deserves the spotlight. We, I, need to let Him take control of my life and become the Number One. “He must increase, I must decrease.” There needs to be less of me.. and more of God.

[this blog entry comes from Hannah Starrett a SALT leader at FUEL student ministries]