ever had that group of people or that one person that could make you laugh, make you cry, and jump up and down screaming all at the same time? i have...lemme introduce you to them...
they are the young men and women of reno nevada's campus crusade for Christ. they meet in wrb 1003 at 7:30 each tuesday night of the semester, and you know what makes them so rad?! man do they love the Lord! no joke, people...they love him with everything theyve got...in whatever way they know how...and thats what makes them special. thats what makes my heart jump out of my chest each time is see them worship, or hug, or cry, or comfort one another. they are precious, and unique and so honest.
tonight was the first cru meeting of the semester, and alot of people were hesitant but so excited to come back to school and see everyone again. school sucks, but if you at least know you have a group of friends who are like family to you, and you have somewhere that you feel you belong...well, it makes it so much easier to readjust.
to hear the stories of peoples' breaks, and what they went through - all the joy, pain, tears, road trips, travels, chaos, family fights - it was tough all around. what made it all worth while was to look those same people in the eyes and see their sincerity when they looked around the room and said "i knew itd be another sucky semester with school and all, but i just had to come back...school sucks, but i know i have family here."
yall...this is the bond God has been building here at unr for many years. young men and women find comfort, friendship and family in reno's campus crusade group. it didnt start overnight though...it hasnt been easy by any means.
reno's cru group was the product of many nights spent on bended knee from so many wonderful guys and gals who knew God was up to something on the unr campus. for years the group grew and dwindled, grew and dwindled...but the prayers of the faithful were steady. for the last three years, many have come and gone, but cru has streadily grown. tonight at the first meeting of the semester, we had 70 people there yall!
my whole point for this blog was simply to give a shout out to the men and women who started this ministry on reno's campus and to let them know (should they ever read this) that the time and effort they put into this ministry has been cultivated and from the seeds they planted, a FIELD has grown. the harvest is coming in, and their prayers are being answered. in His timing, God has cultivated many men and women to desire to know him more intimately and more deeply than ever before...its a fire, and its growing.
if one person can change the world for Christ...what can 70 do?
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
sex and God's supremacy
so a friend bought me a book for Christmas that ive wanted to read for a real long time - Sex and the Supremacy of Christ.
let me just tell you...it has rocked my world. those books you see about "every young womans battle" or "every young mans battle"? those have NOTHING on this book. john piper explains the biblical premise for why lust, sex, pornography, homosexuality and so many other "taboo" subjects in the church are misused by a misguided generation of christians who have such a craving for it, but dont understand the craving itself...dont understand the roots of the sin...where it comes from and what to do about it.
man its an awesome book, and you have to go buy it! its just so real, so honest and so blunt about the struggles we go through. dont get me wrong - the root of our struggles as young men and women in this generation are no different than our parents and grandparents for generations before us, but lust and impurity and temptation manifest themselves differently for each generation, u know? okay. enough of that...anyways - go buy the book...john piper can explain it way better than me. :o)
if you feel alone in your struggles...ashamed...saddened by hearing testimony after testimony of wonderful people who have been through great trial, but deep down you wonder if anyone else struggles with the same things as you - well then this book is for you. it shuts down any notion of shame or guilt within we who think (or have thought) we are alone, or our struggles are too taboo to confess or to be freed from. it is a book that inspires freedom, new testament church principles, and confession. those are three things we need right now as christians.
i have had some amazing conversations with random people in my life that i never would've thought of talking to about this, and each time Christ speaks truth into my life about the beauty of this thing called "humanity" that we try to wrap our minds around. why is it that we "never think" of talking to those in the body of Christ about these things? we have to...we must! the truth of what we have been set free from must be spoken, in order for freedom to be experienced by our generation.
remember...you are not alone!
for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. ~ hebrews 4:15
let me just tell you...it has rocked my world. those books you see about "every young womans battle" or "every young mans battle"? those have NOTHING on this book. john piper explains the biblical premise for why lust, sex, pornography, homosexuality and so many other "taboo" subjects in the church are misused by a misguided generation of christians who have such a craving for it, but dont understand the craving itself...dont understand the roots of the sin...where it comes from and what to do about it.
man its an awesome book, and you have to go buy it! its just so real, so honest and so blunt about the struggles we go through. dont get me wrong - the root of our struggles as young men and women in this generation are no different than our parents and grandparents for generations before us, but lust and impurity and temptation manifest themselves differently for each generation, u know? okay. enough of that...anyways - go buy the book...john piper can explain it way better than me. :o)
if you feel alone in your struggles...ashamed...saddened by hearing testimony after testimony of wonderful people who have been through great trial, but deep down you wonder if anyone else struggles with the same things as you - well then this book is for you. it shuts down any notion of shame or guilt within we who think (or have thought) we are alone, or our struggles are too taboo to confess or to be freed from. it is a book that inspires freedom, new testament church principles, and confession. those are three things we need right now as christians.
i have had some amazing conversations with random people in my life that i never would've thought of talking to about this, and each time Christ speaks truth into my life about the beauty of this thing called "humanity" that we try to wrap our minds around. why is it that we "never think" of talking to those in the body of Christ about these things? we have to...we must! the truth of what we have been set free from must be spoken, in order for freedom to be experienced by our generation.
remember...you are not alone!
for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. ~ hebrews 4:15
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