Have A Happy & Safe New Years...

Christmas Carol...

Click Here for the Best Christmas Carol of the season! Enjoy!

Enjoy Your Christmas Break...

We made it! The semester is behind us, and now we’ve got a few weeks to just relax and let our brains stop spinning! Many of you thought you were having a nuclear meltdown, preparing for finals, but you SURVIVED! I am SO proud of each of you!

It is our prayer that you take this break as an opportunity to spend some quality time with you families, love on your parents, and let your parents love on you! Enjoy lots of that home cooking, seeing your friends and getting refocused for the Spring Semester.

Our first h2o of the Spring will be January 17th @ 7 PM in Chisholm Auditorium. We will also have the Sunday Edition of h2o each Sunday evening @ 6 PM, beginning on January 20th.

If you have not joined our h2o Facebook group, EMAIL ME and I’ll send you an invitation. Have a great break!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Jim & Denise

Sunday Night Worship...

Join us Sunday night, December 9th for our last Worship Gathering of the Fall Semester. We'll be starting at 6:00pm in Chisholm Auditorium. Sunday nights aren't boring anymore!

Beginning in the Spring Semester, you will have the opportunity to Bible Study & Worship on Thursday nights at our regular h20 Worship Gathering, and now on Sunday nights!

Study Break Movie Night...

Take a break from studying this weekend and enjoy a movie with us!

6:00pm at Jim's House!

Soda, popcorn and lots of other Christmas Goodies!

Christmas Party Pics...

We had an incredible time at our Christmas Party tonight! (Even if Maria Shaw DID steal my Christmas present!) And a special 'hey' to our new friends from Wright State University that made their way up here to join us for our party. Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Sunday Evening Bible Study...

h2o will be having special Sunday Evening Bible Studies on December 2nd and December 9th. We will still be in Chisholm Auditorium and will start at 6:00pm. This is a great opportunity for all students that have not been able to attend on Thursdays due to class schedules, work, etc. Grab a friend and come on over. See you Sunday night!

h2o Christmas Party

h2o Christmas Party

WHEN ~ Thursday, December 6th

After our h2o Worship Gathering

WHERE ~ Jim's House

Be Safe Coming Back...

Hey everyone,

Be safe traveling back in to TU from the break. h2o cranks back up this Thursday at 7pm. See ya there. I pray that each of you have had a wonderful, relaxing time away from the daily grind of college. See ya this week.

h2o Reaches Into The Community...

This Thanksgiving, three families in Tiffin will enjoy wonderful gifts of food and fellowship as our h20 students gave their heart out. Collecting food and money for the past couple of weeks, our students have shown just what giving...ministry, is all about. As you can see by the picture, there was a whole array of food given to each family. Turkey...all the trimmings...and lots more great goodies for the entire family! It was such a humbling experience as we delivered the food to those incredible families. And it couldn't have been possible without YOU, our dedicated h2o students. Great Job!!!

A very special 'Thank You' to Kent Zellner at Zellner's Pharmacy as he allowed us to promote our Thanksgiving Food Drive on his marquee sign, located on West Market Street.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Thanksgiving Food Drive UPDATE...

WOW!!! Our h2o students have overwhelmed me! We're still gathering food items and money to be used to share it with less-fortunate families here in Tiffin. We'll have pics and overall results by the weekend! Great job guys and gals! Now this is what I'm talkin' about...this, is ministry!

We Survived McDonalds...

What a great time we had last night at Mickey-D's! For those of you who couldn't make it, there were 19 of us with McFlurrys, french fries, chicken nuggets, coffee, and yes, even iced coffee. We had a blast...hope you can make it the next time!

Thanksgiving Project...

As our Thanksgiving Ministry Project, we're collecting can goods and money so we can give a needy family, here in Tiffin a GREAT THANKSGIVING! We don't have much time! Let's shift gears and collect as much as we can this week!

Mcflurry Madness...

Don't Miss It!

We're headed to McDonalds this Thursday after h2o for Flurrys!

It will be a great time of fun and fellowship!

Mid-Week Madness...

Hey Ya'll,

It's almost Thursday again! Last week, we really took an indepth look at commitment, and some of the ways the Bible teaches about that very subject. We looked and compared the illustration of a cliff diver, to that of a Christ-Follower, and what it took for both to literally 'dive in'.

This week, I want to encourage you to take a deeper commitment in your walk with Christ. Spend a little more time, searching His Word, hearing His voice. Tell someone else on campus, exactly who Jesus is to YOU, and bring them with you to h2o on Thursday.

Jim

Movie Night...

Don't forget Movie Night, this Saturday, starting at 6:oopm. We'll be at First Baptist Church, 419 Coe Street. FREE Sloppy Joes and FREE sodas! See ya there.

Midterm Madness...

We focused on the massive plague that’s sweeping college campuses this time of year. An outbreak of major proportion. It’s called MIDTERMS! It’s amazing how students react this time of year. MIDTERMS are a phenomenon that breaks students down and turns them into sleep-deprived, caffeine-drained, mind-blown zombies that, when the week is over, feel like crawling in a hole somewhere. Just when life begins to soak back into their veins and reality sets in, a whole new problem is revealed. That problem, is discouragement.

Discouraged from ‘what should’ve been’ or ‘I really wished I had…’ or ‘I really needed to…’ It would almost be a blessing if discouragement ONLY showed up at MIDTERMS. When in reality, many of us face discouragement every day.

We looked at three characteristics of discouragement. One, it’s universal. Discouragement strikes everyone. None of us are immune. Young or old, rich or poor, everyone gets discouraged at one time or another. A second characteristic is that discouragement is recurring. Just because you get it once, doesn’t mean you won’t get it again. And third, it’s highly contagious. Discouragement spreads very easily.

We then looked at Scripture to find the poster-boy for MIDTERMS…his name, was Nehemiah. Nehemiah was the leader of the Jews who had returned to Israel from Babylon to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. God had given him a vision to rebuild what had been torn down. We pick up Nehemiah in Chapter 4, Verses 6-14. Nehemiah’s group started their project just like any student that starts the Fall Semester…full steam ahead and excitement galore. The Bible tells us that Nehemiah’s group ‘had a mind to work.’ And they worked great…till they got to the halfway point. They ‘built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height.’ Sounds like MIDTERM BLUES, huh?

The challenge we have is to know the signs of discouragement, see them coming and know the actions to take to overcome it.

What are the signs…first, is fatigue. Look at verse 10, ‘in Judah it was said, the strength of the burden bearers is failing…’ The people who had been working on the wall had been working for a long time…they were worn out. Interesting enough to notice, is, that the wall was only built to ‘half it’s height.’ Fatigue…a problem at MIDTERM…a problem in everyday life.

The second sign to be wary of, is frustration. The workers for Nehemiah became frustrated, saying ‘there is much rubbish; and we ourselves are unable to rebuild the wall’. We need to remember, these workers are rebuilding a wall that had been torn down and the rubbish and rubble for that destruction was immense. They had to clean up all that mess, just to clear off a spot to work. Talk about getting on your last nerve! But what about us, what is the junk and rubbish in our lives that consume our energy? The rubbish may be sins of wrong deeds, immoral thoughts or attitudes that we are unwilling to let go. Check out Hebrews 12:1 and see what that says about ‘laying aside every weight (rubbish)’ that slows us down!

And finally, the third sign is fear. The people were afraid for their lives because of all the threats from their enemies. And Nehemiah saw their fear. They were afraid of the enemies and as a result, felt like they could not succeed. They were ready to give up.

Fear is discouraging. When you are afraid, how do you respond? We MUST be careful not to let fear overcome us. We must be aware that when we are fearful we are also vulnerable to discouragement. This, is a strong tactic of satan…and it’s one of his strategies in defeating us.

After we looked at the causes, we then looked at the cures…

One of the first things Nehemiah did, was reorganize. Check out verse 13. He re-stationed and repositioned the men to maximize their work. Remember, they had already completed half of the wall. When we are discouraged, we seriously need to reorganize our priorities. Don’t quit…change your approach…grab a new attitude! Reorganize your life; don’t give up…do something about it.

Second, look at verse 14. ‘…do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome.’ Remember WHO He is…who HE is. Then we asked the questions, ‘How do you remember the Lord?’ and ‘What do you remember about Him?’ Remember He IS ALWAYS there with you. And remember that He IS great and awesome. When we get discouraged, we need to remember His promises, remember His goodness…and remember His power.

And finally, we cannot just sit back and let discouragement take control…we have to take an aggressive position and stand against it. Nehemiah told his men in verse 14 to ‘fight…’ He was saying don’t give up; don’t yield to discouragement but to resist with all their might. And we are to do the same thing! James 4:7 tells us to ‘resist the devil’. Resist his work in our lives, resist his negative thoughts. Take the fight of faith and stand firm against the work of satan.

MIDTERMS, a phenomenon that can sometimes wreck a semester. Discouragement, a phenomenon that can wreck a life.

"Horton"...Highlights From Oct 4th @ TU...

Horton...an unlikely hero in a timeless children's classic. How ironic that the character of Horton resembles the modern day Christ-follower!

In 'Horton Hears A Who' the book tells the story of Horton the Elephant who, on the fifteenth of May in the Jungle of Nool, hears a small speck of dust talking to him. It turns out the speck of dust is actually a tiny planet, home to a city called "Who-ville", inhabited by microscopic-sized inhabitants known as Whos.

The Whos ask Horton (who, though he cannot see them, is able to hear them quite well) to protect them from harm, to which Horton happily obliges, proclaiming throughout the book that "a person's a person, no matter how small". In doing so he is ridiculed and nearly murdered by the other animals in the jungle for believing in something that they are unable to see or hear. His chief tormentors are the Wickersham Brothers and the Sour Kangaroo, and the small kangaroo in her pouch. Horton tells the Whos that they needed to make themselves heard to the other animals, lest they end up as part of "beezlenut stew", which they finally accomplish. The Who's finally make themselves heard by ensuring that all members of their society play their part. In the end it is the smallest Who of all, Jo-Jo, who provides the last volume lift to be heard, thus reinforcing the moral of "a person's a person no matter how small".

We looked at several Scriptural comparisons in this story, but the one I really wanted to focus on was just how compassionate Horton was, to a 'talking' speck of dust, that no one else could hear. We looked at Matthew Chapter 9, verses 35 - 38 where Jesus looks out at the multitudes and is moved with compassion. He compares the multitudes to 'sheep without a shepherd.'

One could say that Horton was 'born' to hear the 'un-hearable'...the ones that are desperate in need of saving. So it is that we, as Christ-Followers, that have been 'born again', are able to hear those same ones that are crying out...desperate in need of saving. But we have to be willing to hear...wanting to help, at all costs. Look at what happened to Horton...he was riduculed, injured, nearly murdered. When we as Christ-Followers start getting our hands dirty, reaching out to those who are searching for Christ, we will become riduculed...sometimes injured...and possibly, nearly murdered. Just look at all of the missionairies that have committed their lives to living overseas, in unknown lands, just to share the Gospel.

When Jesus told his disciples in verse 37 & 38 that the "harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few," and to "pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." He was telling them...and He's telling us now, that WE are the laborers that need to be in the harvest. But how can we see the harvest, if we cannot see with compassion?

Horton was willing to do whatever it took, just to save that little dust speck...the land of the Who's. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:22 that "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."

Even though our days are filled with chapters to read...tests to study for...and papers to write, games to prepare for...routines to rehearse...and don't forget we have to check out our FaceBook, we seriously need to take every opportunity we can to evaluate our campus, our dorms...see the harvest...and do as Jesus tells us, 'get busy', 'we have a crop to gather'. And we, are the workers.

Hear the hurting...feel the desperation...see with compassion...get in the harvest! We WILL make a difference...just look at Horton!

Homecoming 2007 @ TU...

Ice Creme Run...

Join us this Thursday, October 18th after our h2o Worship Gathering as we head out on an Ice Creme Run! We're gonna carpool our way to Wendy's for Frosty's, Fun and Fellowship! Dutch Treat. Bring a friend and introduce them to h2o.

Operation Christmas Child...

Get Involved!

Operation Christmas Child

Fill your shoe boxes and help others have an incredible Christmas! Check out the h2o Group on FaceBook for a list of items to pack. We'll be gathering our items over the next 2 weeks, then we will meet at Jim's house on Sunday night, October 21st for a 'packing party'.

Highlights From September 20th...

What a great time we had this past Thursday! And if you were there, I certainly appreciate you for taking time out of your schedule and hangin' out with us. I certainly hope that you will make h2o on Thursday's a regular event for you. And how about seeing the Bible in Chinese? That was way too cool. At h2o, it is our plan to do whatever it takes to make the Bible relevant to you. This was just one small way.

Our Bible study for the week focused on stress...worry, and the dangers of it. How we feel when we are 'under stress'. But we focused on 7 ways to defeat worry. The 'Cliff Notes on Worry' if you will. We started out looking at a scenario where you are given a massive homework assignment of reading this massive book and having to write a 10 page, single-spaced paper on it. One student in the class was having all kinds of difficulty completing the task, while compared to another, he was moving right along at an incredible pace. The first student waits till the absolute last minute to turn in his paper, while the other has turned in his project 2 weeks early. How?! Upon further investigation, the first student realizes that the second student didn't read the entire book that was assigned. Instead, he opted for the 'Cliff Notes' of the book. The outcome, each student received the same grade.

Wouldn't it be great if somehow we could get a copy of the 'Cliff Notes' that would help us out in the worry department? For too often we spend many many tortuous hours, stressing out over things that are totally out of our hands. And we physically suffer for it. In Matthew, we find an incredible series of Scriptures that offer us an insight into many area of our life. Beginning in Chapter 5 and going through Chapter 7, Jesus gives us this magnificent discourse known by many as 'The Sermon on the Mount. If you haven't read it, I would really encourage you to do so. It's an amazing passage of valuable information from Jesus.

But is was in Chapter 6 that we find what I will call 'The Cliff Notes on Worry'. Verses 25 - 34 clearly outline 7 ways to win against worry. Here they are:

1.) The same God who created life in you can be trusted with the details of your life. Verse 25.

2.) Worrying about the future hampers your efforts for today. Verse 26.

3.) Worrying is more harmful than helpful. Verse 27.

4.) God does not ignore those who depend on Him. Verse 28-30.

5.) Worry shows lack of faith and understanding of God. Verse 31-32.

6.) There are real challenges God wants us to pursue, and worrying keeps us from them. Verse 33.

7.) Living one day at a time keeps us from being consumed with worry. Verse 34.

Worry...stress...they're killers! Let's encourage one another to grab this set of 'Cliff Notes' and apply them to our every day lives.

Have a great week...see ya Thursday!

Movie Night...

Hey, join us for Movie Night,

Saturday~September 29th at 6:00pm.

We're all invited to

First Baptist Church, 419 Coe Street

here in Tiffin

to watch 'Left Behind ~ The Movie'.

Looks like PopCorn and Soft Pretzels with cheese awaits!

Grab a friend...see ya there!

Dive In...

Join us Thursday nights for h2o! If you are considering spiritual matters or are just curious about God and the Bible, stop by and check us out. We hope that we can be of some help on this journey that we are all on, and point you in the direction to what really matters in life ~ Jesus Christ. h20 is part of Ohio Crosswalk, a statewide inter-denominational Christian collegiate ministry that provides opportunities for students to gather to worship, to serve, and to fellowship in Jesus Christ. h2o meets each Thursday night at 7:00pm in Chisholm Auditorium, located in Franks Hall on the Tiffin University campus. h2o…for those who want to explore and rediscover what it’s really like to be a Christ-Follower. Got questions...email me here.

Jim Whaley ~ Campus Leader

Bible Study Highlights From Sept.13th...

Each year, about a month prior to the start of school, every elementary school in the land puts out a school supply list. And Wal-Mart sets out a huge display in their front door of gazillions of copies of each and every school lists for Mommies and Daddies to get a list, and go get all the supplies on the school supply list. It’s a nightmare to say the least when parents are out in full force @ Wal-Mart in the back to school aisles.

Now when we get to the High School, the lists were gone but we were in routine enough to go ahead and get the necessities: paper, folders, notebooks, pens, pencils, Kleenex, gum, breath mints, chapstick, hand sanitizer, you get the picture.

But when we get to college, all rules are pretty much thrown out because you don’t have a clue what your professors are going to want until that 1st couple of days of classes. And by then you’ve already been hammered with 47 chapters to read in 14 different books; not to mention trying to learn where your classes are, trying to park, and of course buying your books. The 1st time I had to buy college books, I about had heart failure. How in the world could 5 books cost $800.00. I’ll never know!

What’s Missing?

Today, the average college student is so unprepared to face the new world. Whether it’s lack of parental support, maybe we didn’t get totally prepared in high school to face the new classes… maybe we were never really taught how to study in high school and the list goes on and on. We come to college not ready.

In 1997, the dropout rate for college freshman:
a.) in public universities = 28.6%
b.) in private universities = 25.9%
c.) overall = 26.7%

Today, overall, for all 4 classifications of students 500,000 students dropout of a 4 year college. And to make matters worse, nearly 1/3 of all Americans in their mid-20’s are college dropouts.

Today, ¼ of all new freshman who started T.U. or @ Berg, statistically will not be back next fall.
Again, what’s missing?

But there is a greater failure rate among college students and especially freshman. It’s a spiritual dropout… A relational dropout! Students today are walking away from any relationship they ever had with Jesus at an alarming rate. Today, almost 9 out of every 10 students, when they graduated high school are done/finished with their part of the relationship with Jesus. 85% - 90% of all Americans – 18–25 are unchurched...that means 17.5 million people! What happened?

It goes back to that backpack concept. We forgot a couple of things. When we graduated, or left for college, we forgot to pack a few critical items for survival.

For me, a flash drive is critical to my survival and possibly for some of you, something like a flash drive is critical also. Imagine everything that you ever worked on, all your pictures, MP3s, things that were very important to you. Imagine leaving that @ home, and forgetting to bring it, or worse what is you lost it? Or what if it were your laptop?

Students are forgetting to pack:
Their curfews – I’m in college, I can stay up as late as I want.
Their morals – many times, morals disappear on college campuses.
Their food – (Bible) “I won’t need my Bible @ college.
Their focus/their purpose.

Girls are consistently looking for their “MRS” degree and guys are looking for another notch on their gun. Yep, I would say, something is missing!

Grab your Bible and go on over to 1 Peter 5, and read verses 5 through 11. In a way, this is a perfect road map to college, and for college.

This is Simon Peter opening up his heart to us, trying to help us NOT make some of the mistakes he did. Simon Peter...the author of this book...the guy who 'literally' forgot his backpack, much less forgot to pack it. This guy knows first hand what it’s like to be chewed up and devoured by satan. He knew all too well that satan is consistently on the prowl. And if Peter tells us that in order for us to be on guard...be alert...ever watchful of satan, then we have to clothe ourselves in humility...how hard is that? Then Simon said to 'cast all of our cares on Jesus'. Why? Because Jesus cares for us...and Simon Peter knew that. Then finally, he says to 'resist the devil'. How? By being 'steadfast in our faith...knowing that we are not alone.' We're all in this battle, and Peter knew it. And he's sharing from the depths of his heart to try and protect us from this beast called satan.

And the end result...go ahead and read verses 10 and 11. Now you know...that's Peter we're talking about. He knew.

Peter, forgot to pack his backpack. And this is his 'school supply list' for us. But not only for school...but for life.

So this is Peter, Simon Peter himself telling us how to be guarded…how to survive…how to defend…defeat…avoid the attacks of the devil. Because he knew that Jesus perfected him, established him, strengthened him, and settled him. And Peter knew that Jesus would do the same for us.

How? He humbled himself, clothed himself with humility...he cast all of his cares on Jesus...he was sober…self controlled...he was vigilant…ever watchful...and he resisted satan being steadfast in his faith.

I don't know about you, but I think it’s about time we repacked our backpacks.

Join The h2o Facebook Group...

Hey...all you Facebook folks...

Join us on our new Facebook group: h2o...for all who thirst.

Tell your friends...and join the group!

Then Join Us Thursday Nights @ 7pm

Chisholm Auditorium on the TU Campus!

Highlights From Sept 6th...

Looking back over the past few years, are there things that you regret having quit? How easy is it to get excited over something new, start it…spend time and money for it…then QUIT! I know of young people today that have tried everything in the book, only to quit. I can tell you about a couple of young girls that started with ballet, went to gymnastics, to karate, then to guitar lessons. Before it was over, Mom and Dad had bought a tu-tu…a leotard…a gi…and a guitar! And neither one was cheap!

All of us in some way, can relate to the experience of getting tired, discouraged, or just plain bored, and not finished something that we started. It might be something that we felt very passionate about at one time, We may have put forth a lot of initial effort and/or expense, but we still didn’t see it through.

One problem is it seems that we live in a society that almost applauds quitting. Our culture seems to have geared itself up to expect people NOT to follow through. Many people would rather BAILOUT THAN BLAST THROUGH…Leave than Last…Throw in the Towel than Stay in the Game. We want month-to-month apartment leases; escape clauses in contracts, prenuptial agreements in marriage, and the list goes on!

Then we took it a little deeper? Have you ever walked away from or quit a friendship? Walked out on a friend. Things get too messy?

Maybe you walked out on a parent…or family member. Had a family member walk out on you?

Maybe you quit a job…work got too hard!

Changed Majors!

Maybe you walked out on God!

Then we took a look at what endurance really is.

We described endurance as stampeding through those stopping points of life. It’s painstakingly whacking down the walls that block us from achievements. It’s getting the job done! We even imagined the Incredible Hulk!

Then we looked at the life of a guy from the Bible who really modeled endurance. His endurance is so well known, you could say he is the ‘poster child’ for endurance. Who is he? His name was Noah. He’s the guy that built the really big boat right in the middle of the desert without a cloud in the sky.

Genesis 6:5-9 tells us that the earth was full of evil and corruption. Wickedness covered the earth. We also see the God was sorry that He created the earth. Then in verse 8, we see something special...we see that "...Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord."

This is one of the first and clearest references to the grace of God in the Bible. The phrase “found favor” is a Hebrew term referring to a superior person giving underserved favor to an inferior person.

In verse 9, we saw a possible cause to this effect of God’s favor. It says that “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among (or as compared to) the people of his time, and he walked with God.”

Then I asked "how do you think Noah ‘walked with God on a daily basis?’ ‘What might his ‘walk’ look like today?’

One of the things bound to happen to us when we walk with God is that He will speak to us, maybe not audible, but we will clearly know His direction for our lives.

How do we know His voice? Go read John 10:1-4. That will tell you how we know His voice. Go ahead...go read it.

Genesis 6:11-21 tells us that Noah heard God’s voice.

What did God want Noah to do...simple...go build me a boat. OK...no problem.

Genesis 6:22 is an incredible verse. Plain and simple, Noah obeyed. “Thus Noah did: according to all that God commanded him, so he did.”

Has God ever asked something of you that seemed totally ridiculous from your perspective or that was so far outside your experience that it made no sense?

We need to get a grip here. We're not talking about your basic fishing boat. Not even a ski boat for that matter. I'm talking about one HUGE VESSEL! If it wasn’t enough that the idea of building a boat blew Noah’s mind, the size specifications for the boat did! This boat was massive! God asked him to build a boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. So not only was Noah’s faith blown out of the water, but the job was a nightmare! Certainly larger than anything he had ever undertaken in his life! And to build it smack in the middle of the desert. NO WAY...Right? Remember verse 22?

We’ve been talking about ‘staying in the game’, NOT QUITTING. What would you have done…how would you have reacted if God had told you to do that?

But this gets even better! Not only was the size of the boat unheard of, but Noah was 500 years old when he was commanded by God to start this project! Then, it took him 120 years to complete it. Now that’s endurance by anybody’s definition.

I don’t know about you, but after 80 or 90 years, I’d have been complaining: “God, come on! I’ve been watching the Weather Channel…and I STILL don’t see any clouds! What’s the deal! Fox News and Shepard Smith have been out here with their trucks and satellites for years now and the whole country things I’ve lost my mind!’

But…again, verse 22…Noah didn’t give up.

So there it was…120 years later…this ginormous vessel sitting in the middle of the desert…without a cloud anywhere to be found.

Then, from the 4 corners of the world, the animals started arriving at the boat. And the Bible says that Noah, his family and all of the animals finally walked into the finished boat. The Bible says that God closed and sealed the door…and 7 days later, the rain began to fall!

Noah…stayed in the game!

You might be thinking, “yeah, that’s great for Noah, but how do I do that?”

Well, since you've got your Bible handy, drop on over to Hebrews 12:1-2

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us!”
WHAT A GREAT PICTURE!

Imagine the runners in the Olympic games...lined up at the starting blocks...everyone is ready, when one of the runners appear in a very unique uniform. There he is in long sweat pants, combat boots, a sweater, gloves, hat, and a wool overcoat. Not the likeliest of athletes, huh?

Then the starters pistol fires and the runners are off. The guy that's tangled up in the extra clothing trys to stay with the others, but, begins to slow down. He realizes what the problem is, and one by one, he removes the extra items of clothing, revealing a world class runner, ready for the race. Who now had 'thrown off everything that had hindered and entangled him.' (Heb 12:1)

Could that be a description of you?

And there in the stands, cheering him...cheering you on...were “So great a cloud of witnesses…(Heb 12:1)” There were people like Moses yelling out, "You can do it, I've stood at the banks of the Red Sea and God opened up the water for me and the children of Israel, I know He will help you!" Then you see David. And he's screaming, "Don't give up...you can face the giants in your life too. All you need is a few smooth stones of faith." And one by one, you see that you're not in this alone.

And what does the 'finish line' look like? None other than Jesus, standing with open arms, waiting...cheering...just for you.

Our enemy, satan, is constantly trying to get us to cross over that line that lies between trying to endure in God’s power and trying to endure on our own. Jesus could never have endured all the way to the cross without His intimate, constant connection to the Father.

Christ-followers are able to experience that kind of connection to God through the Holy Spirit. We may not hear the Father as well as Jesus did, but we can hear Him much better than we do now.

Finishing the race…Because He finished strong…so can we.

Let me end by simply saying this, don't give up, you're not alone. We're in this together...stay in the game.

This Thursday...

Ever been to the point when you just wanted to give up...throw in the towel? Me too. Join us this Thursday night for a time of praise & worship music, prayer and a look at what the Bible says about staying in the game, instead of quitting. It all starts at 7:00pm in Chisholm Auditorium located in Franks Hall on the Tiffin University campus. 'Staying power'...have you got it?

New @ h2o...

I've added a couple of new things, here on the h2o blog. On the side-bar on the right, you will see a poll...this week's poll is asking how often do you attend church. I'll have a new poll up each week. Be sure to VOTE!

Also, if you will scroll on down, also on the side-bar, I've added a daily Bible reading schedule for the month of September. Sometimes, we need help getting started in our Bible reading routines. Hope this helps!

Congrats to the Tiffin University Football Dragons!!!!!

Have a great Labor Day!

Bible Study From August 30th...

Last night, we took an insiders look inside the life of this man called Jonah. Jonah had something that he needed to take care of...get rid of...before God could use him.

In Jonah 1:1-2, we see the first time that God spoke to Jonah. "Arise, go to Nineveh and cry out against their wicked ways". Arise...Go...Cry Out. All three commands of God. In reality, we saw that Jonah was: A Specific Person at a Specific Time to do a Specific Task.

We looked into the problems or reasons why Jonah wouldn't want to do this. One, Jonah was Hebrew and the people in Nineveh were Gentiles. Then we looked into the actual evil that going on in Nineveh. Truly, this was a wicked city.

Verse 3 told us what Jonah did INSTEAD OF obeying God. In simple terms, he chose to deliberately run away from God...to disobey Him. Almost always, when we choose to knowingly disobey God, there are consequences that we will have to pay. In Jonah's situation, there were extreme circumstances that he DID pay.

We finished Chapter 1 looking into what happened next in Jonah's life. He tries to flee from God, gets on a ship that gets caught in a major storm. The mariners on the boat throw him overboard...THEN, he gets swallowed by this great fish that God had created just for that special purpose.

We imagined what it could have been like for Jonah as he spent the next 3 days in the belly of that great fish. In all honesty, that's really gross! It's hard for me to visualize that. Here he was, inside the belly of the fish...pitch black...slimey...wet...gooey...things moving all around you...other live sea creatures inside the fish's belly with you, yet you didn't know what they were because you couldn't see them in the darkness. All the while, this fish is still swimming out-and-about in the sea. YUCK!

At the end of three days in this miserable situation, Jonah calls out to God from inside the belly of the fish. Sometimes we think that God won't hear us because we really deep in a messy situation somewhere. This should tell you that if God can hear Jonah from inside the belly of a fish, He can certainly hear you! God DOES hear Jonah, and commands the fish to vomit Jonah out of it's stomach and onto a beach. Jonah was now a free man. He can honestly give brand new meaning to the term: "I've been slimmed!"

Chapter 3 tells us that God again tells Jonah what He wants done. It's the same thing He had told Jonah, back in Chapter 1. Arise...Go...Cry Out against that wicked city. This time, however, Jonah listens to God, and obeys His commands.

What had happened? What had caused Jonah to now obey God. Real simple. Jonah had something in his life that he needed to get rid of...something that he needed to throw away. Something in his life was keeping him from obeying God. What was it?

His attitude. His rebellious attitude. This major sin in Jonah's life was keeping him from obeying God and living the life that God had planned for him. When Jonah decided to get rid of that sin...his rebellious attitude, his life aligned with God's plan for him, and he was ready to be obedient. Spending 3 days in the belly of a fish would certainly get to me too!

A Specific Person at a Specific Time to do a Specific Task. That was Jonah.

But what about you? What kind of 'trash' in your life do you need to get rid of, so you can be obedient to God? Is God working in your life right now? Are YOU that specific person, and RIGHT NOW is the specific time to do a specific TASK that God has specifically chosen you for?

I encourage you RIGHT NOW, let's do some 'inner' house keeping. Get rid of that 'trash' that's keeping you from experiencing God and obeying His commands. You CAN do this! Philippians 4:13 tells us that "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Be strong! Go ahead, take out the trash!

Have an incredible week. If you need me, EMAIL ME HERE!

Jim

Start The Year Right...

Hey Everyone!

Put Thursday Night, August 30th @ 7:00pm on your day planner and join us as we begin an exciting new semester of h2o. This is a great opportunity for students, just like you, to get out of the dorms or apartments and make new relationships as we look at the Bible and how it applies to our everyday life.

We will meet each Thursday evening (unless classes have been canceled) @ 7:00pm in the Chisholm Auditorium, located in Franks Hall on the Tiffin University Campus. Don't come alone, bring your roommate or suitemates along with you. I guarantee you will not be embarrased or 'put on the spot'. Throughout the semester, there will be plenty of opportunities for worship, for discussion, for prayer, and lots of fun along the way.

We'll talk about football...soccer...soft ball...choir...theatre...your classes...and we will be talking a lot about this man called Jesus. If you have any questions, email me here, or leave a comment here on the blog.

See you on Thursday the 30th @ 7pm!

Jim