This was the first week back in Ann Arbor after Thanksgiving break.
Sunday
I was one of the first people to get back home from Thanksgiving break. After being home for about 20 minutes, Amy, JB, and I went to the airport to pick up Roy and one of our students from the airport. Today was such a happy day. The whole day consisted of reunions. A huge group of us, consisting of missionaries and students went out to eat to celebrate our reunion. It felt refreshing to be back in what is now considered my normal environment. Although my break at home was great, it felt nice to be back. I was very encouraged and pleased to hear that everyone’s breaks went well. It seems that everyone was able to have some kind of godly influence on their family and friends over break.
Today was the first day of our Christology class with Dr. Pipim. I’ve been looking forward to this class for quite some time because I’ve heard that in the past, it has always been the missionaries’ favorite. At the beginning of every class Dr. Pipim gives us, he always asks us what we expect from that particular class. I’m hoping this class will give me a closer look at Jesus and his character.
This morning I woke up very early. I’ve decided it’s something I need to do along with going to bed early. I woke up long before the sun came out. The house was so quiet. I was the only one awake and I was able to have a very long devotional time this morning. It was so nice to wake up so early in the morning to spend time with God. I feel like I my experience was probably like Jesus’ every morning because he always got up very early to commune with God.
Today in class, we talked about Jesus’ divinity and humanity. We searched the bible and learned how to show others that Jesus really is fully divine and human. I’m sure that bible study will come in handy some day.
This morning, we all gathered together to pray and dedicate our service and ministry to God. We decided that we needed to pray for specific people that we wanted to see at massage and/or Tuesdays. God answered those specific prayers today. Some things God will only give us if we ask. He just wants to remind us that he loves doing things for us, no matter how little. I often forget that God considers it a pleasure and a privilege to give things to his children.
Tonight’s message at Tuesdays with Jesus was a blessing. Something that really spoke to me was about accountability. There are times that I do things that are not acceptable and I need to be held accountable. I need my friends and family to love me enough to correct me. As family in Christ and as having the same morals and values and ultimate goal in life (to make it to Heaven), we know what flies and what doesn’t. It’s our job, out of love to correct each other when we see someone falling by the wayside. I realized that when I do something wrong and I’m corrected out of love, I need to set my pride aside and correct my wrong. At the same time, when I see someone stumbling, I need to help them up but also let them know that what they did wasn’t exactly Christ like. I also realized that there are so many people out there who wish they had godly counsel. There are people who wish they had godly friends to hold them accountable and here I am surrounded by them. Godly relationships are such a blessing.
Today for class, we talked about the lineage of Jesus. It was so powerful! We learned about how God appointed the people who Jesus would come through. He planned on sending Jesus through certain people. The bible says that Jesus would come through David’s seed but unfortunately, the people God had in mind kept messing up. All the mighty and godly men he planned to use messed up and God had to use Mary and Joseph to bring the promised one into the world. It was so crazy to see that godly men like Adam, Noah, and David messed up. God ended up using two godly, humble people who were willing to be servants for him. It made me think that God can and does use ordinary people who are just like me.
After class, the director of literature ministries at the conference office took us out for lunch. After lunch, some of us went to EMU to help the studetns with their Veggie taste fest. I met some very interesting people tonight. I just hope that our witness would be enough to bring them back again.
Today we talked about Christmas and that Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25. We were assigned to write a paper about the true meaning of Christmas and if we as Adventists should be celebrating it at all. I grew up celebrating Christmas but when I think about it, I never really celebrated it as Christ’s birth. It’s just a time for fun, gifts and good food. For so many people, Christmas isn’t about Jesus anymore. If you think about it, Atheists celebrate Christmas. Jesus as the main focus of Christmas has almost been forgotten. I know that writing this paper is going to cause me to think about my motives and it’s going to make me question the things I do. Do I do things because everyone else does it or do I have a legitimate reason to do them? I should ask myself that question more often.
Tonight, we had communion for vesper. I’ve partaken in so many communions in my life but this one was different. I was actually greatly humbled tonight. Communion is supposed to be a humbling act of service and even though I’ve partaken in communion so many times, I didn’t get it until today. If Jesus, the savior of the world would humble himself to serve his disciples in such a manner, I should never have the feeling that I’m too good for that kind of act. It was such a rebuke. I’m always trying to figure out how to humble myself and I think tonight, I definitely experienced it. God knew I needed that tonight.
Today for church, Dr. Pipim preached his sermon on the lineage of Christ and how he really was the son of David. It was a blessing to hear that message again and to see different points that I had missed the first time.
After sunset, I went to visit a friend and had a much needed conversation. After getting home, Jo, Amy and I reflected on the year so far. We were reminded that we really don’t deserve to be missionaries. We reflected on the mistakes we made and the things that we need to improve on. It’s sad because a semester has passed by so fast and we can’t undo those mistakes. At the same time, it motivated us for the next semester. I’m only here for one year. I have to do as much as I can in one year. I have to let God use me as much as he can in this one year. There’s no time for what I want to do. I dedicated this year specifically to God so that he could use me for his purpose.
No comments:
Post a Comment