Judgment Day

So this week we've had Dr. Glenn Gentry from Columbia International University teaching, and today he proposed an idea that I thought would be good to share. During class the discussion of how a loving God could tolerate evil in this world came up.
As a result of the Fall, evil is present in this world and will be present until the return of Christ and the Restoration. When the Restoration day comes, all of the non-believers will loose the opportunity to spend eternity with God in Heaven. By asking God to remove all evil from our lives and this world, we are essentially asking for Him to bring the Judgment Day, since this will be the only time in the future in which there will be no evil present.
The question we all need to ask ourselves is "Where will my friends be on that day?" If you have any friends who are non-believers (as you should), then can you really, truly, honestly ask God to take away the evil knowing that you would be ruining opportunities for your lost friends to find the Truth? We all need to have the love, patience, and perseverance to continue living in evil in order to give more time and opportunities for those who are lost to hear the Word of God. Our sufferings are opportunities for someone else to be saved because it is a reminder that the Judgment Day has not yet arrived.
If we as Christians can have this kind of view on worldly sufferings - that we are suffering to provide opportunities for others to be saved - then I believe that we can better understand James 1:2. This verse says "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds," and I believe that by enduring evil in this world, we can be serving our neighbors, which we are called to do. When we as Christ-followers can respond appropriately to our calling, even if that is through suffering, it should bring us "pure joy," thus fulfilling James 1:2

Everything this week has been absolutely fantastic, and I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful it is to know that I am exactly where God wants me to be, and doing exactly what His will is for my life right now. I have had a little bit of frustration with my Service Opportunity (S.O.) and working out the details. We are supposed to be completing 4 hours of community service and I'm trying to work it out so that I can work with a local church's youth group and a local middle school doing tutoring and mentoring.

I've been slacking off a bit in my work and have focused a lot more on building community rather than studying, so I really need to regain my focus and crack down on my personal discipline.

Here's the reading list for the fall for those of you who may be interested:
The Reason for God by Timothy Keller
god is not Great by Christopher Hitchens
The Universe Next Door by James Sire
Mission in the Old Testament by Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
The Secret by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller
Economics in Christian Perspective by Victor Clark and Robin Klay
Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks and William Hendricks
Engaging God's World by Cornelius Plantiga Jr

life as of September 8, 2009

Well, as many of you know, I am attending Impact 360 this year instead of rushing off to college. Impact 360 is a Christian gap-year program intended for students just out of high school or within the first couple years of high school that focuses on Christian worldview and leadership skills. This program is
sponsored by Chick-fil-a and Union University.
I've made this blog to try to keep people updated on what's going on in my life, so here goes....
A typical week at Impact 360 looks something like this:
SUNDAY
6:00 - fellowship/dinner
9:00 hall meeting
MONDAY
7:45 - devotion
8:00 - breakfast
8:45 - class
12:30 - lunch
5:30 - Girls Night Out/Guys Night Out (GNO) every other week. On alternating weeks, dinner will be at this time
TUESDAY
7:45 - devotion
8:00 - breakfast
8:45 - class
12:30 - lunch
5:30 - dinner
7:37 - Bible study
WEDNESDAY
7:45 - devotion
8:00 - breakfast
8:45 - class
12:30 - lunch
1:00 - service opportunity
5:30 - dinner
THURSDAY
8:00 - devotion
8:15 - breakfast
9:00 - wrap-up/weekly debriefing
12:30 - lunch
1:00 - service opportunity
5:30 - dinner
FRIDAY
8:00 - devotion
8:15 - breakfast
9:00 - life formations
12:30 - lunch

Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays (except dinner) meals are all on our own, however a lot of the time we just cook for each other.

So far, we've been to The Summit retreat center and Chick-fil-a corporate, heard from guest professors J.P. Moreland and John Wingard, and spent time doing random things around Pine Mountain.

The Impact 360 class of 2010 has become my new family, and even though I've only known them for about 3.5 weeks, I still feel a strong connection to each and every one of my classmates, and I can't wait to see what the rest of this year has in store!

There's no greater feeling than knowing that you are exactly where God wants you to be and doing exactly what He wants you to be doing, and I can confidently say that this is the case for me right now. I am so blessed with the opportunity to be here, and for my wonderful family who has been so supportive and encouraging with my decision to come here.