A Decision of Faith- Hebrews 11:23-29

Key verses 11:25, 26

“He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”

Moses is an excellent character in the bible for young students to study I believe. Today, many of us grow up like Moses did. We get good educations and live in comfortable homes with people who respect and love us. That’s how Moses spent the first forty years of his life, living as a prince of Egypt. He grew up as an Egyptian, not a Hebrew like he really was. But when he found out his actual heritage, he made a decision of faith to be known as a Hebrew and not as an Egyptian, the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He didn’t like what the Egyptians were doing to the Israelites. He even disliked it so much as to kill an Egyptian guard for beating a Hebrew. This led to not only the Egyptians hating him and the king soon enough wanting his head, but the Hebrews didn’t like him either because he brought judgment on them. Essentially, he was hated by both of those he had connections to and had nowhere else to go when he had to flee for his life. He escaped to the Midian country side and became a shepherd for another forty years of his life. We see that Moses didn’t just sit around inside the palace and ignore the mistreatment of God’s people. Because of his parents and their prayer for him, especially his first three months of life, God was in Moses’ life. In a time in his life where everything was going well and he was taken care of, Moses saw something wrong with the people and environment around him. He learned about who he truly was, even if it took forty years for it to happen. He made a decision of faith to follow God and his path, to trust him to keep him safe and lead him somewhere. Growing up means making decisions that may lead to times in your life that aren’t what you’re used to, or what you expect God to do with you. Moses, a former prince of Egypt, spent a third of his life in the country, herding sheep. This was a time for God to work in his life, to humble him so that Moses could become the great leader that God needed him to be.

We keep praying that student leaders would be raised at Toledo UBF. I’ve become one of those student leaders by God’s grace. Right now, I see myself in the time of peace like Moses when he was in the Egyptian palace. I have a lot of support around me from so many people and I’m in a good educational field. I’m not quite on my way to growing up like Moses yet, though it sort of feels like I am. I’ve made a few decisions of faith this past year that are helping me to humble myself and listen to God, letting my life be influenced by him and where He is leading me. I slip now and again, letting myself get caught up in worldly things and basing my decisions on something I want rather than what God may be calling me to do, thinking that I know better than those who are older and wiser than me or God himself. Clearly, I still have growing to do. I want to continue my walk with God and seek him earnestly; looking ahead to the reward he has for me like Moses did. My God knows what’s best for me, and I should make my decisions based on that, not my own understanding or desires. I shouldn’t enjoy the pleasures of sin for even a short time, learning from Moses that that one little decision of faith can make a difference for years and years after I make it. I pray that when a decision needs to be made by me, no matter how small, I may seek God and what is best by His plan, not my own mind and understanding.

One Word: Make my decisions by faith

A Sacrifice Of Faith- Hebrews 11:17-22

Key verse 11:17

“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,”

The test of Abraham is a passage that I’ve really never thought too deeply about. God tested Abraham and Abraham passed, only kept from giving his son Isaac to God as a scarifice by an angel telling him to stop and taking the knife that he was going to use to kill Isaac. But why exactly did God test Abraham in the first place?

When we follow God, we do as he commands and have faith in him, we get rewarded. We pray to God and he grants our prayers to us. For the longest time, probably a good 75 years or so, Abraham had been looking forward to having a son. But practically this was an impossible feet. His wife Sarah was well past age when God had called her and Abraham to become spiritual leaders. On top of it, she was barren and couldn’t have children. When God had called Abraham, he told him he would become a great nation. It was kinda hard to do that without any kids. In God’s time, however, Sarah did become pregnant. She gave birth to a little boy, Isaac. Isaac was the only child of Sarah and Abraham, the one that God told Abraham, “Your offspring will be reckoned.” (Gen. 21:12) This little boy with the center of Abraham’s life, he loved Isaac so very much because he was the one thing that Abraham and Sarah wanted most from God. And now, he was finally there. Abraham was happy I bet. I don’t think there was anything else he could have wanted from God.

But having this blessing could be problematic. Sometimes when God blesses people, we love the blessing more than the one who gave them the blessing. God wanted to make sure that Abraham really remembered and loved Him more than the things and the people that God had surrounded him with. So God gave Abraham a command to take Isaac to the top of a mountain that God would show to him. At first, this seems like a crazy test. I mean why would God want Abraham to give back the one thing that God had promised him for 25 years? Tests are things that we use to measure what a person has learned and give them a visual of how they have matured and how they can continue to grow. Abraham knew that God was mighty and all powerful. He didn’t hesitate to follow the command that gave him. Hebrews 11:19 says, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.” God saw that Abraham did indeed love God more than his blessings. Abraham was willing to give one of the most important people in his life, the person through which God would fulfill all his promises to Abraham. Abraham lived a truly blessed life because he loved God more than his blessings.

When M. Peter gave this message, he said something about, “what’s your Isaac?” This made me think about the things God has blessed me with. I can’t even count all the things God has done for me. I have a job, an amazing common life home I can stay in, supportive shepherds and friends, and so much more. One of the things I struggle to give back to God is money in any sort of form. I’m irresponsible with my money more often than not. Right now my Isaac, the thing that God has given me that I love to have more than Him despite how much I try not to, is money. I can imagine Abraham loved Isaac so much. He was his only son by Sarah, a true blessing. He brought them laughter and much happiness. Being able to do things with the money I have makes me happy. Knowing that this sin issue has come up to me, I must do what I can to give back to God what he has given me in the first place. That’s my one of my prayer topics is to begin tithing faithfully this year. I need to trust God and have faith that he will provide for me when I honor him with the things I love most this world. That doesn’t mean just money, it means my relationships with others, my work, school, everything. God gave me everything out of his love for me, and I’ll never be able to thank him enough for everything he has given me. But I can give back to him so that I can serve and help others so that they’ll know the love of God like I have begun to know. When times of trial and testing come, I pray that like Abraham I follow and have faith God, no matter how hard it is to do. So please pray for me that I may be sacrificial by faith to God alone and obedient no matter how hard to grow in my capacity to become a blessing.

One word: Sacrificial faith to become a blessing.

NYKV Testimony- 2010

New Years Key Verse Testimony 2010

Key Verse- Genesis 12:2

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”

Originally when I began to think about my key verse for 2010, I had direction for growing specifically in more disciplined life in Jesus. I had decided that I wanted to work on basic spiritual disciplines. Things like fasting, daily bread, tithing… basics in spiritual life that I know I should do, but I forget or refuse to do. I need to break away from my old life, one that was self-centered and cared very little for the outward showing of my faith in God. Until probably this past year, I didn’t follow basic disciplines at all. Even so this year, I only did things like fasting and daily bread when I knew that I wouldn’t be alone in doing them. Despite growing in my independent faith since the start of this semester, I realize that I still have so far to go. YDC last year changed my life, I felt a sense of renewal and purpose in Jesus Christ my savior and I was on fire for God. I felt like I could do anything. That immense bon fire has diminished into a small torch at times this year. I remained at home in Michigan, where I was surrounded by lazy temptations that would easily put me off what I needed to do as far as basic spiritual life was concerned. Living with Susan and Greg Lewis has helped that, but things there can still be easily distracting. Things like playing with Joan and Peter, surfing the internet when I should be working on testimony, homework or bible study prep, enjoying alone time to play video games or just lay around when my room needs cleaning, dishes need to be done or I could otherwise be spending my time productively.

I would have to say the roughest time for me this year was the incident with Courtney’s father back in the spring. That was a rough time for the two of us as friends. I was very cowardly during this time, not wanting to feel the same sort of pain that she felt for so long. I remember ditching church the last two weeks that he was pastor and how it made me feel. I was basically part of their family, always hanging out with Court and her siblings, going out to lunch with them, going to their house. They did so much for me, as was revealed in my life testimony given at Spring Conference. The few days after that happened were probably some of my worst this year, because I felt like I’d not only abandoned my second family, but it was like God wasn’t doing anything to comfort me or them. I felt really distant from God during that time because I felt small and pathetic, not being there for my best friend who I constantly remind, “I’ve always got your back.” I felt like I didn’t deserve to come to Him because I didn’t stand up for what I knew I should have stood up for.

Focusing more on now, I see how my environment around me can be distracting if I do not put God first. This made me think of Abraham, Abram as he was called in this part of his life. God called Abram to be the father of a great nation. He was to leave his country, his people and his father’s house and go where God told him to go. He had to leave the familiar things, idols and usual routines of his life and follow a new path that God was leading him to. This place wasn’t pointed out on a map; he didn’t know where he was going. But because of his basic faith and trust in God, Abram could leave behind the things that would be problematic in his walk with God to start somewhere new. I believe this is where I am now. I’ve been living in common life with my shepherds since August in 2009, obeying what I believe God called me to do: be a shepherd and disciple of God at Toledo UBF. This was difficult when I lived in Michigan. The trip back and forth and desire to be “home” was often overwhelming my first two years in this ministry. I hated the travel back and forth; it gets tiring driving back and forth a half hour or more all the time, five to six days a week. But I didn’t have a job, no way to support myself if I could manage to find a place to stay in Toledo. I jumped at the chance that was offered to me about staying with Susan and Greg. I got a job on campus officiating intramural sports to help support myself. This was the one condition that I needed to move in them. God provided this job for me so that I could truly begin a sincere and deep relationship with him. God called me from my home to a new land where he could be with me more deeply with less influence from sins and other distractions. Through living with Greg and Susan, I’ve gained so much in my relationship with Jesus. I’ve become a servant of God that I didn’t see myself becoming, not for a long time. I lead bible studies and help lead our student group, I take leadership despite my timid and shy nature, and I began to teach one student one-to-one this semester. God has abundantly blessed my life in him when I trust him and strive to better myself as a Christian and disciple of Jesus. I see myself in this calling. I have been blessed so much by Jesus in my life, this past year especially.

People in Toledo do so much for me like prayer support, serving food and studying with me when I’m not their student, revising and fine tuning my testimonies, listening to them in the first place. But I rarely take time to acknowledge all that they do for me. I might at the time, but it’s more of a sense of… well, necessity. I was raised to be polite, to always say please and thank you. But to truly thank people for all they do… I don’t do that a lot. That’s why I chose this verse. “You will be a blessing.” That sentence… that promise stuck with me when I read it in preparation for this conference. I want to be a blessing to others who have been such a blessing to me, such as my friends and co-workers in Christ. I believe God wants me to grow in gratitude and a servant’s heart for more people around me. By trusting in this promise that God gave to Abraham, I can go where God calls me because I know however he grows me and wherever he takes me will be for the best. Through holding onto the last part of this promise, I think that God will bless me as well in the rest of the parts of the promise: making my name great, blessing me and making me into a great nation. This will require a lot of intensity and hard work from me, which are reflected in my 2010 goals and prayer topics:

Finance- find a steady, reliable job to support Sister’s house (an actual house) by fall semester 2010 and learn responsible money management to serve Toledo UBF and its members

Spiritual Life- grow in discipline in Jesus by doing DB Monday to Friday and fasting 20 days this year, as well as growing in shepherd life by teaching two sisters one to one this year. And also serve as a messenger and prayer servant by God’s grace this year

Academics- to achieve a 4.0 this semester by faith and grace.

One word: Intensity in my life to become a blessing

Introduction Post

Can't say that there's much to say, really. I don't know how many people are actually going to check this thing out, haha. But anyways, if you're here, you're interested in reading my testimonies that I've written. I'll do my best to update this once a week, usually Friday/Saturday.

Anyhow, enjoy and feel free to leave comments. ^^ I'll put testimonies from this year, 2010 up now, including my NYKV (New Year key verse) after this in separate posts. So there'll be like 4 entries or so after this.

-Kati