"Our Schools Matter" Week Five: That Awkward Moment

We’ve all been there, right?  Those unavoidable moments when the awkward tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife. We all find those awkward moments…well…awkward, but what can we learn about our spiritual life through them?  

Does sharing your faith come naturally to you, or is it awkward? Does the awkwardness of sharing your faith ever cause you to NOT do it at all?

Acts Chapter 3 tells of a potentially awkward encounter between Peter and John and a lame beggar at the temple gate.  Here’s what we can learn from them:

1. Awkward Conversation
This beggar had laid at the entrance to the temple every day, which meant Peter and John had likely walked past him countless times.  This is a lot like at school, when you walk by students who you know are hurting without pointing them to Christ. Once you do build up the nerve to talk to them, it’s kind of like “Why are you talking to me now when you’ve walked past me all this time without a word?” This is awkward! But you have to embrace the awkward moment and start the conversation.

Can people see that there is something different about your life by looking at you?  Do they see an ordinary person that is living an extraordinary life because you have Jesus?  With Jesus in our lives, cool stuff should be happening despite those awkward moments.

2. Awkward Reach
The lame man looked at Peter, expecting to get something from him.  Other people who do not know Christ may take advantage of your kindness.  They may even use you.  Don’t let this distract you. Just like Peter and John, give them what you have - Jesus.

Research shows that everyone needs at least 5-7 physical touches to be emotionally healthy.  Some people who have been hurt will try to act like they don’t need this, but they really do.  Don’t let their hard shell keep you from reaching out to them.  

3. Awkward Exchange
Part of reaching out to someone means meeting the needs that you can meet.  The lame beggar wanted money, but Peter gave him healing and new life. What someone tells you their greatest need is may not actually be their greatest need.  Pray and listen to the Spirit to identify what their greater need is and meet that. And what is the greatest need of every person?  Jesus.

4. Awkward Prayer
When you pray with someone to accept Christ or pray for healing, it may feel awkward. This is okay! It may be difficult, but take the risk!

When you pray with a person, you are showing them that you are not the answer - God is! Prayer gives Him the opportunity to show up and do some pretty cool stuff.

"Our Schools Matter" Session Four: The Mask

How can you tell the difference between something real and something fake? How can you tell the difference between someone who’s real and someone who’s fake? Or the difference between someone who simply says they’re a Christian and someone who lives it out?

1) A Living Sacrifice

Why does God call us to present our bodies as “living sacrifices” to Him?

God desires all that we are — not just our church attendance. He wants us to live for Him at home, at school, and even with our friends — He wants a 24/7/365 relationship.

2) Do Not Be Conformed

   In Romans 12:2, Paul urges us not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed. You see, being a Christian is not about praying a prayer and going to heaven, but about being totally transformed by Jesus from the inside-out.

  Religion is transformation from the outside-in — trying to clean up your life yourself, which you can’t do. You must surrender to God and present your whole self to Him so that He can clean you up and transform you.

How are we transformed?

 By the renewing of our minds. Paul doesn’t just tell us “not to conform,” in Romans 12:2 (ESV), he takes it a step further: “don’t conform, but be transformed”. Paul is actually calling us to step into our true identity as sons and daughters of God — to leave the inferior reality of the world’s way of thinking to embrace the superior reality of who God created us to be.

3) The Mercies of God

   This may seem like a difficult thing: To present ourselves as living sacrifices before God.  You may be wondering something like: “What’s God going to do if I give all of myself to Him? Can I trust my life in His hands?”

    Let’s go back to Romans 12:1. Before Paul ever asks us to do any of this, he lays the foundation: “By the mercies of God.” Therefore, all of this is done in light of God’s mercy — He is merciful towards us even in our failures and mistakes in living for Him.

4) Taking Off the Mask

Many people define a hypocrite as someone who says one thing and does another - but this definition of hypocrisy is too broad. We all have times when we fail to live up to the things we believe — but this is not necessarily hypocrisy.  The word “hypocrite” is actually a Greek word that was never translated into English.

 In our everyday language, “hypocrite” can mean many different things, but in Greek it simply means “an actor on a stage.”  Therefore, a hypocrite is someone who plays a role, but it’s not really who they are.

A hypocrite is someone who follows Jesus as a role that they play at certain times, but not others — they follow Jesus part of the time, but He is not their whole lives.

 A hypocrite is someone who acts like they are living for Jesus at church, but then reverts back to their “normal” role at home or school. Being a Christian is merely a role that they play when they have the right audience (church people), but when that audience is gone, they stop playing the role.

 A true follower of Jesus follows Him when no one is watching, not just in the right crowd. They don’t wear masks because they don’t need to cover up who they really are in Christ.

I encourage you to make the choice to be a true, full-time follower of Jesus and take off the mask.  Students, you do not have to fear making mistakes because you present yourselves to God knowing that He is merciful.  Knowing that God is merciful and that we don’t have to be perfect enables us to take off the mask and be real. 

In a school, community, and world that love to hide behind a mask, how will you be different?

"Our Schools Matter" Session Three: Fan or Follower?

Many people think that knowing facts about Jesus is the same as having a relationship with Jesus. This is being a fan of Jesus rather than being a follower of Him.

Have you ever had an encounter with God, or do you just know about God?  As Christians, it’s important that we have actually had and continue to have encounters with God, rather than just learning information about God. Not everyone who wears the label of “Christian” or attends church will go to Heaven; you must have a relationship with God.
You cannot give what you do not have. If you have never encountered God, how can you lead someone else to an encounter with Him?

Just having encounters with God without growing in your knowledge of Him, however, will make your relationship unstable. You won’t be able to represent Him well or lead anyone to Him. We need both an encounter with God AND knowledge of who He is.

1. Who He Is • Mark 1:1 — “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (ESV) • Mark 1:24b — “I know who you are — the Holy One of God.” (ESV) Even the demons knew who Jesus was. But do we know who He is? Jesus was more than just a good man or a prophet; He was fully God and fully man — the Son of God — God’s solution for our sin.

2. Why He Came: Jesus came to re-connect us to God because God longed for us to be in relationship with Him again, the way mankind originally was in the beginning. Because of original sin, Jesus had to give His life in order to re-connect us to God. Jesus came to earth and gave His life on the cross to reveal God’s deep love for us.

3. Receiving His Love: “Love” is a word that is so overused in our culture that it has lost much of its meaning. We use the same word to describe our love for our family that we use to describe our love for a cheeseburger. But God’s love is not like our love.

Have you received? Or have you just been doing “the church thing”?

When it comes to reaching your campus for Christ, a relationship with Him is the ultimate foundation. If you haven’t received God’s love, you can’t share that love with someone else.  Once we have received God’s love, and we draw close to Him, love will naturally begin to flow out of us to people around us. You won’t have to force it or fake it. Yes, there will be times when you want to hate and have to make the choice to love, but you’ll find that love naturally flows out of you as a by-product of your relationship with God.