Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Weekly Update

We hope you have a great week! Last week the teens went through their second of three assessments - spiritual gifts. The adults had the week off but are working on their next pre-assignment focused on Community Capacity Building.

OCOTBER'S MEMORY VERSE:
Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to me and i will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

PRAYER REQUEST:
*Douglas
*Kelvin's mom
*All participants of the class of the 2011
*Randi vorhees' mom, Joyce, who recently found out she has lung cancer
*Emily Rivera's family


UPCOMING EVENTS:
GRIL U: this week and next week are small groups. All Region on November 6 from 12:30pm - 3:30pm

GRIL Adult Programs: Our next training is November 19

The Strengths to Carry On

There is a truth about Christian living which, if people knew it, would make all of life easier for them. The truth is this: Whatever trial or task comes our way in life, we will receive the strength we need to face it. There are several promises that give this assurance. One reads, “your strength will equal your days.” (Deut 33:25) This seems to mean that the help which God gives, varies according to the tasks and trials of the particular day. God fits His blessing to our days.
When we are weak, He increases strength. (Isa 40:29)
When we are sorrowful, He gives comfort. (2 Cor 1:3-6)
When we are in danger, He grants protection. (Ps 32:7)
When we are weary, He gives rest. (Mtt 11:28)
Another of Christ’s promises reads, “My grace is sufficient for you.” (Cor 12:9) Every word of this assurance shines with brilliant light.
“My grace is sufficient for you.” It is Christ’s grace that is sufficient. We know that He has all Divine fullness, and so we are sure that no human need can ever exhaust His power to give help!
“My grace is sufficient for you.” It is Christ’s grace that is sufficient. If it were anything else but grace, it might not give us such comfort. Grace is undeserved favor, goodness shown to the unworthy. We deserve nothing because we are sinners, but it is Christ’s grace which is sufficient, and so we can claim it.
“My grace is sufficient for you.” His grace “IS” sufficient. Christ is always speaking personally to the one who is in any need, and saying, “My grace IS sufficient for you.”
“My grace is sufficient for you.” The word “sufficient” is one whose meaning expands and amplifies with the measure of the need. No need is so small that it can’t be included; and none is so great that it can go beyond the capacity of the blessing that is promised.
“My grace is sufficient for you.” The grace is sufficient for each of His redeemed children. “For you” the promise is made.
Life lies before us, with its burdens, its duties, its responsibilities, its struggles, its perplexities. It does not come to us all at once. God breaks our years into months and weeks and days, and never gives us more than we can bear or do for the day. If we take up the present duty or burden we shall always have strength to do it. If we do not have strength of our own, we don’t need to falter because even if the task is impossible to our ability He will sustain us by giving us all the help we need.

Forgiving Others

Jesus spent a great deal of time talking about the importance of forgiving others. He made it clear that forgiveness is to be a characteristic of his followers. So let’s explore what it means to forgive others, the benefits of forgiving and how to forgive. What It Means To Forgive
“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)


To forgive means to not seek revenge on the one who has hurt you. It means letting go of the anger we harbor inside us and allowing God to deal with him or her as he, in His perfect wisdom, sees fit.

It doesn’t mean excusing a wrong or denying that it ever happened. It means we don’t allow ourselves to be consumed with anger towards the one who has done something to us. Instead of cursing the people who has wrong us, we pray for them. Here are three verses that reflect the attitude of the forgiving heart:

“Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. (Matthew 5:44)
“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate when people say unkind things about you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it.” (1 Peter 3:9)

“Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, ‘I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,’ says the Lord. Instead, do what the Scriptures say: ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you’. Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.” (Romans 12:17-21)

Why Forgive?
“And don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior” (Ephesians 4:26-27,31)
As the verses above tell us, anger gives Satan a foothold in our lives. Anger has a devastating effect on our relationship with God as well as with others. Over time we’ll take our anger out on those around us. It consumes us unless we deal with it. Jesus passionately taught us to forgive others, to let go, to let him handle it. He wants us to be at peace and for that to happen anger must be replaced with forgiveness.

A few years ago Christianity Today featured a cover story entitled, “The Forgiveness Factor: Social Scientist discover the power of a Christian virtue” (January 10,2000). In it, they discussed how researchers have discovered the importance of forgiveness. What was most interesting was that they had come to the conclusion that the one who does the forgiving is the one who benefited the most.

How To Forgive
“Without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
After Jesus taught the apostles about forgiveness (Luke 17:3-5) they said to him, “Give us more faith!” Forgiving is not easy. It takes the strength of God to truly be able to let go. It takes faith and much prayer to say to someone, “I will repay this evil with good. I will not hate you.”
“I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
Jesus, who spoke these gentle words, has the power to heal the hurting soul. He can take your shattered life and piece it back together again.

Tips to help you forgive:
- Do not deny that you have been hurt. As we learned, forgiving is not denying.
- Make a decision to forgive others (Luke 17:3-5)
- Do not seek revenge or repay evil for evil. Let God handle it in his perfect way (1 Peter 3:9)
- Ask Jesus to help you release the anger inside you (Ephesians 4:26-27,31)
- Pray for a forgiving heart and read what the Bible says about the subject.
- Pray for those who have hurt you (Matthew 5:44)

Weekly Update

We hope you had a great week! Last week the teens in GRIL U went through the learning modes assessment. They learned if they were auditory, visual, kinesthetic learners or a combination of those three.

One of the great things about GRIL U is the converstations we get to have dealing with leaderships in different areas of life. The other night one of the groups talked about what happens to people who die who never get to hear the gospel. Do they go to heaven or hell? What was great about this conversation was hearing the teens thoughts and the questions we were all challenged with. Are we doing what we can/should to spread God's word?

NOVEMBER'S MEMORY VERSE:
1John 5:14: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."

PRAYER REQUEST:

  • Douglas
  • Kelvin's mom
  • All participants of the class of the 2011
  • Randi Vorhees' mom, Joyce, who has lung cancer

UPCOMING EVENTS:

GRIL U: All Region on Saturday, November 6, from 12:30pm - 3:30pm at 704 W Fulton. Wear comfortable shoes and bring your BRIGHT smiles!! Also, just a reminder that Young Life has devotions. There will be a meeting for all mentors at 11am at 704 W Fulton.

GRIL Adult Programs: Our next training is November 19. Remember to meet with your mentors and work on your pre-assingment.