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'.