Topic: Redeeming Cultures // Faith & Finances
I'm really sorry, but I don't have time to talk about the last week of lectures! But to say the least, we finished strong! It was a great week and I learned a lot, just like with all the other weeks.
I can't believe in just 12 hours I'm leaving for Vietnam, to start the 9 week outreach adventure!! It's crazy how fast time passes by!
Just a little information about our time on outreach:
*While in Vietnam, we will be working with University students, teaching English, ministering to the elderly in nursing homes, helping to harvest rice.. it's gonna be an adventure and I'm SO excited for it!
*While in the Philippines, we will be staying in Cebu, working with orphanages, youth kids (doing a mini DTS with them), preaching in churches, and doing evangelism on the streets.
I can't wait to share the love of God with the Vietnamese & Philippine people! I'm stoked to see God work through my team and touch these people's hearts.
I do want to say that I'm so blessed by all your support, through prayers, finances, and everything else you all have done for me! It's incredible! Blessings to all of you - you mean the world to me!
Talk to you & see you all in June!!!!
Love,
Aslyn
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Week 10
CALLING INTO MISSIONS.
Each day, God has been giving me more and more of a desire to GO into the nations, and this week just added SO MUCH to that desire! What really pulled at my heart is that 98% of Christians minister to either other believers or people that claim to be Christians, while 30% of the people in this world are unreached - meaning they have NEVER heard the Gospel before. How sad and messed up is that?! I personally can not be content living a comfortable life, fellowshipping with other believers, when so many people out there in the world have no idea that they have a Father that loves them and wants to bring them out of all their pain and suffering. Imagine someone coming to YOU telling you about a man who died for your sins, someone who loves you unconditionally?! People are WAITING to hear the Gospel!
We learned that a lot of times people ask the questions, "God, what is your calling for my life? What do you want me to do?" But He already answered those questions. His general will for all mankind is:
*Bring him glory - 1 Corinthians 10:31- "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
*Make disciples of all nations - Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20
*Love Him and make Him known - Mark 12:28-31
*Seek and save the lost - Luke 19:10
*Not live for ourselves - 2 Corinthians 5:15
*Tell of God's goodness - 1 Peter 2:9
*Make God smile - 2 Corinthians 5:9
If we understand the general will for our lives as believers, then it's up to us how we go about it. God has given us the CHOICE to decide what we want to do with our life! So really, God is asking US the question, "Son/daughter, what do YOU want to do with your life?" After answering this question and talking to God about it, we gotta OBEY JESUS! We gotta go! We gotta do it!
When we obey Jesus, we need to understand a couple things:
*God has an inheritance for each one of us, and He wants us to claim it, but in our efforts to claim it, we may not see it (or the fruits) and it won't come easy! (we may work our whole life to plant a church in an area in Nepal, but the results may not come in our lifetime, but they WILL come eventually!)
*He might ask us to do some pretty crazy things! We are working for God's reputation, not our own! Will you let the fear of man stop you from obeying God??
*God will always provide, but not always how we expect it.
*We learn obedience, WHEN it's difficult, THROUGH suffereing, SO THAT God can bless us.
*Crises are a part of obeying God... He said it was going to be tough!
*Obedience radically affects our immediate future, as well as the distant future - Obedience can NOT be taken lightly! God will often speak to us to the level and degree we were/are obedient to Him. Thankfully, when we disobey, God gives us second chances, but there will be consequences...
*Do not base whether you are making a difference off of the results you see, because God is working whether you see it or not!
*Obeying God is a lifetime commitment. Making a difference in this world is a lifetime committment. Change will never come overnight.
So, after analyzing your strengths & talents, after thinking about where you want to see a difference in this world (human trafficking, child abuse, prostitution, unity in churches...), after seeing what your interests are, seeing what you are passionate about, after talking to God about it...
JUST PICK SOMETHING TO DO! GO! HAVE FAITH, like Peter did when he stepped out of the boat & walked on water...STEP OUT, GO AGAINST THE NORMS OF SOCIETY! And remember this,
"...and be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20 (last part of Great Commission).
Something to think about:
*What am I going to do about the 30% of unreached people in this world?
*Am I going to pick the easy road, or the hard one.. a life full of possible struggles, but FULL of adventures with God? For it is in the tough times where God often shows up the most because you HAVE to rely on Him!
Thanks everyone for all your prayers! Outreach is only 8 days away!! Please, continue praying for unity & openness amongst our team, finances, and for everyone to have STRONG FAITH!!
Blessings to all :)
-Aslyn
Each day, God has been giving me more and more of a desire to GO into the nations, and this week just added SO MUCH to that desire! What really pulled at my heart is that 98% of Christians minister to either other believers or people that claim to be Christians, while 30% of the people in this world are unreached - meaning they have NEVER heard the Gospel before. How sad and messed up is that?! I personally can not be content living a comfortable life, fellowshipping with other believers, when so many people out there in the world have no idea that they have a Father that loves them and wants to bring them out of all their pain and suffering. Imagine someone coming to YOU telling you about a man who died for your sins, someone who loves you unconditionally?! People are WAITING to hear the Gospel!
We learned that a lot of times people ask the questions, "God, what is your calling for my life? What do you want me to do?" But He already answered those questions. His general will for all mankind is:
*Bring him glory - 1 Corinthians 10:31- "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
*Make disciples of all nations - Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20
*Love Him and make Him known - Mark 12:28-31
*Seek and save the lost - Luke 19:10
*Not live for ourselves - 2 Corinthians 5:15
*Tell of God's goodness - 1 Peter 2:9
*Make God smile - 2 Corinthians 5:9
If we understand the general will for our lives as believers, then it's up to us how we go about it. God has given us the CHOICE to decide what we want to do with our life! So really, God is asking US the question, "Son/daughter, what do YOU want to do with your life?" After answering this question and talking to God about it, we gotta OBEY JESUS! We gotta go! We gotta do it!
When we obey Jesus, we need to understand a couple things:
*God has an inheritance for each one of us, and He wants us to claim it, but in our efforts to claim it, we may not see it (or the fruits) and it won't come easy! (we may work our whole life to plant a church in an area in Nepal, but the results may not come in our lifetime, but they WILL come eventually!)
*He might ask us to do some pretty crazy things! We are working for God's reputation, not our own! Will you let the fear of man stop you from obeying God??
*God will always provide, but not always how we expect it.
*We learn obedience, WHEN it's difficult, THROUGH suffereing, SO THAT God can bless us.
*Crises are a part of obeying God... He said it was going to be tough!
*Obedience radically affects our immediate future, as well as the distant future - Obedience can NOT be taken lightly! God will often speak to us to the level and degree we were/are obedient to Him. Thankfully, when we disobey, God gives us second chances, but there will be consequences...
*Do not base whether you are making a difference off of the results you see, because God is working whether you see it or not!
*Obeying God is a lifetime commitment. Making a difference in this world is a lifetime committment. Change will never come overnight.
So, after analyzing your strengths & talents, after thinking about where you want to see a difference in this world (human trafficking, child abuse, prostitution, unity in churches...), after seeing what your interests are, seeing what you are passionate about, after talking to God about it...
JUST PICK SOMETHING TO DO! GO! HAVE FAITH, like Peter did when he stepped out of the boat & walked on water...STEP OUT, GO AGAINST THE NORMS OF SOCIETY! And remember this,
"...and be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20 (last part of Great Commission).
Something to think about:
*What am I going to do about the 30% of unreached people in this world?
*Am I going to pick the easy road, or the hard one.. a life full of possible struggles, but FULL of adventures with God? For it is in the tough times where God often shows up the most because you HAVE to rely on Him!
Thanks everyone for all your prayers! Outreach is only 8 days away!! Please, continue praying for unity & openness amongst our team, finances, and for everyone to have STRONG FAITH!!
Blessings to all :)
-Aslyn
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Week 9
Topic: Relationships. Speaker: Lindsey Lautsbaugh (USA)
God LOVES relationships! As it says in Genesis 1:2- "the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep..." so basically, there was NOTHING! So, even before anything else was created, relationships were in existence, because God existed and He is three persons. Then, in Genesis 2:18 God says "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” which shows us that we need people! God created Eve because He Himself was not enough for Adam. God actually isn't enough for you and me, can you believe that?! We need people, and will literally die if we don't have any human contact!
*Our obedience to God can only be lived out in our relationships with other people. How we treat others is reflecting how we view God... for God made each one of us in His image, and we are his creation, His prized possession. And with that, God's value system is not our value system. In society now-a-days, if you do "this, this, & this" THEN you are valuable. But, with God, you are valuabe simply because He made you. Our value is in our creator!
So, after getting God's value system and seeing people with His eyes, what is true love according to Jesus? #1. Denies Self- We deny ourselves in order to serve others, not to please God or gain His love. When someone else succeeds, celebrate with them! (Matt 16:21-28, 1 Cor 13, Luke 6:27-31)
#2. Requires a difficult action/choice. Love is not an accident, it is deliberate. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13-This list implies that in order to be patient, you need to be around annoying people that frustrate you so that you can practice your patience! Keep in mind that Christ died for people who did not like him! He CHOSE to love his enemies..
We also talked about striving to be an interdependent person, which means:
-friendships are a choice made by both people, nothing is forced.
-you are affected (emotionally, aka feelings being hurt) by others in realistic ways.
-value & worth come from God!!!!
-you do NOT do for others what they could, should, or ought to be doing for themselves.
It was very interesting seeing where I stand on the line of dependence vs. independence, and where I need to work to become more interdependent!
Outreach is only 12 days away so please keep my team in your prayers- unity within the team, outreach fees to come in, courage & strength as we step out into the unknown... thank you all so much! Your prayers mean a lot :)
Blessings,
Aslyn
God LOVES relationships! As it says in Genesis 1:2- "the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep..." so basically, there was NOTHING! So, even before anything else was created, relationships were in existence, because God existed and He is three persons. Then, in Genesis 2:18 God says "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” which shows us that we need people! God created Eve because He Himself was not enough for Adam. God actually isn't enough for you and me, can you believe that?! We need people, and will literally die if we don't have any human contact!
*Our obedience to God can only be lived out in our relationships with other people. How we treat others is reflecting how we view God... for God made each one of us in His image, and we are his creation, His prized possession. And with that, God's value system is not our value system. In society now-a-days, if you do "this, this, & this" THEN you are valuable. But, with God, you are valuabe simply because He made you. Our value is in our creator!
So, after getting God's value system and seeing people with His eyes, what is true love according to Jesus? #1. Denies Self- We deny ourselves in order to serve others, not to please God or gain His love. When someone else succeeds, celebrate with them! (Matt 16:21-28, 1 Cor 13, Luke 6:27-31)
#2. Requires a difficult action/choice. Love is not an accident, it is deliberate. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13-This list implies that in order to be patient, you need to be around annoying people that frustrate you so that you can practice your patience! Keep in mind that Christ died for people who did not like him! He CHOSE to love his enemies..
We also talked about striving to be an interdependent person, which means:
-friendships are a choice made by both people, nothing is forced.
-you are affected (emotionally, aka feelings being hurt) by others in realistic ways.
-value & worth come from God!!!!
-you do NOT do for others what they could, should, or ought to be doing for themselves.
It was very interesting seeing where I stand on the line of dependence vs. independence, and where I need to work to become more interdependent!
Outreach is only 12 days away so please keep my team in your prayers- unity within the team, outreach fees to come in, courage & strength as we step out into the unknown... thank you all so much! Your prayers mean a lot :)
Blessings,
Aslyn
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Week 8 (Feb 28- Mar 3)
FATHER HEART OF GOD. Speaker: Holger Schein (Germany)
God is our Father, but for some of us it is very difficult to accept this truth because of our experiences with our earthly fathers. These experiences create a wrong filter that we see God through. For someone, an emotionally absent father may lead him to think that he is not important to God and God really doesn't care about him. For another person, an abusive father may lead him to think that God is not full of love, gentleness or compassion, but rather he thinks God is going to hurt him if he disobeys. For a girl, how she sees her dad treating her mom may make her think that is how God treats her. But these are all WRONG FILTERS! God wants us to know Him as HE IS, not through our experiences with our mom & dad. The Bible is the only way to get us out of viewing God through the wrong filter, because the Bible is TRUTH! It is the only "correct filter"! So what glasses are you wearing that's changing your view of Him?
Some truths about God, our Father:
*God is NOT an absent Father.
*His role is to speak identity & value into our lives.
*God is NOT unloving or uncaring. And with that, God knows how you receive love the best, so don't limit His ways of showing his love to you! (5 love languages)
*God wants your burdens! (Not always physical burdens, but burderns of.. pressures of religion, always being perfect, never disappointing anyone, etc.) "Come to me, all of you who are weary & carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28
*God always keeps his promises! He doesn't get your hopes of for something and then forgets to do it. If something doesn't turn out right, it's not that He let you down, but probably that you didn't hear Him right.. NEVER BLAME GOD! "God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?" -Numbers 23:19.
*God is not stingy, He is generous! God wants to bless you because He loves you THAT much!
*He is not indifferent! He listens & cares.
*God is not slack or weak.
*God disciplines through gentle, humble training - Hebrews 12. Discipline is correction out of love, not punishment or rejection.
*He is not overbearing. He does not munipulate or push anything on you that you don't want.
"So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, 'Abba, Father'. For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children." -Romans 8:15-16
All I have left to say is that this is a week I will NEVER forget!!
Blessings to all of you!
-Aslyn
God is our Father, but for some of us it is very difficult to accept this truth because of our experiences with our earthly fathers. These experiences create a wrong filter that we see God through. For someone, an emotionally absent father may lead him to think that he is not important to God and God really doesn't care about him. For another person, an abusive father may lead him to think that God is not full of love, gentleness or compassion, but rather he thinks God is going to hurt him if he disobeys. For a girl, how she sees her dad treating her mom may make her think that is how God treats her. But these are all WRONG FILTERS! God wants us to know Him as HE IS, not through our experiences with our mom & dad. The Bible is the only way to get us out of viewing God through the wrong filter, because the Bible is TRUTH! It is the only "correct filter"! So what glasses are you wearing that's changing your view of Him?
Some truths about God, our Father:
*God is NOT an absent Father.
*His role is to speak identity & value into our lives.
*God is NOT unloving or uncaring. And with that, God knows how you receive love the best, so don't limit His ways of showing his love to you! (5 love languages)
*God wants your burdens! (Not always physical burdens, but burderns of.. pressures of religion, always being perfect, never disappointing anyone, etc.) "Come to me, all of you who are weary & carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28
*God always keeps his promises! He doesn't get your hopes of for something and then forgets to do it. If something doesn't turn out right, it's not that He let you down, but probably that you didn't hear Him right.. NEVER BLAME GOD! "God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?" -Numbers 23:19.
*God is not stingy, He is generous! God wants to bless you because He loves you THAT much!
*He is not indifferent! He listens & cares.
*God is not slack or weak.
*God disciplines through gentle, humble training - Hebrews 12. Discipline is correction out of love, not punishment or rejection.
*He is not overbearing. He does not munipulate or push anything on you that you don't want.
"So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, 'Abba, Father'. For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children." -Romans 8:15-16
All I have left to say is that this is a week I will NEVER forget!!
Blessings to all of you!
-Aslyn
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Week 7 (Feb 20-25)
Part One: DREAMS & DESTINY. Speaker: Edwin Fillies (S.A.)
God created each one of us to be a voice, not an echo!! This is so important to understand, and it was good for me to hear this truth again. Dreams are powerful because they give you direction for your life, a sense of purpose, increase your potential, prioritize, add value, and predict your future. We talked about our childhood dreams and how they are often from God. You must not limit your dreams because of what society, your friends, or your parents think because God's heart and vision for your life is so much bigger than you could ever grasp and imagine. And, if God is working with you, why not dream BIG?! One comforting thing that Edwin pointed out is that God isn't trying to hide our calling from us; He will actually make it so hard to miss our calling! We also wrote down our dreams & desires, anything from getting married, traveling to Greece, going skydiving, to having kids, and handed them over to God, in hope that someday He will give some of them back!
-If Jesus is not Lord OF ALL, He is not Lord AT ALL!
-What you BELIEVE about life will determine how you PERCEIVE life, which determines what you RECEIVE from life!
Part Two: STRENGTH FINDER. Speaker: Wilson Goede (S.A.)
One morning, Wilson lead us in a session about our strengths and talents, and how to see the value in them! Before this week, we each took an online test that told us what our top 5 strengths are. It's so cool to think about our talents/strengths as "a signature of God in us"! I really enjoyed this session because I learned to not look at what I lack, but to look at what I have = WHO I AM! And once we realize our strengths, we need to accept them and not feel guilty about them! It's all about building on what we are good at, aka our strengths, instead of looking at our weaknesses. Also, the greatest nourishment of talents is celebration! What do people encourage you for? What would people pay you for? What do you enjoy doing? These things are your talents, your giftings, and it's important to focus on these things because this is where you will truly strive in life and where you will find the passion to keep going!
Other Highlights:
*The September DTS came back from outreach and they shared their testimonies with us!
*One morning we rested in God's presence... literally. We could sleep or read or do whatever, but we HAD TO RELAX! God values resting too!
Please continue to pray! I have no idea what God wants for me after DTS.. so please pray that I will find my calling and that I will hear His voice so clearly I won't second guess myself at all!!
Thank you all for your prayers!
Blessings,
Aslyn
God created each one of us to be a voice, not an echo!! This is so important to understand, and it was good for me to hear this truth again. Dreams are powerful because they give you direction for your life, a sense of purpose, increase your potential, prioritize, add value, and predict your future. We talked about our childhood dreams and how they are often from God. You must not limit your dreams because of what society, your friends, or your parents think because God's heart and vision for your life is so much bigger than you could ever grasp and imagine. And, if God is working with you, why not dream BIG?! One comforting thing that Edwin pointed out is that God isn't trying to hide our calling from us; He will actually make it so hard to miss our calling! We also wrote down our dreams & desires, anything from getting married, traveling to Greece, going skydiving, to having kids, and handed them over to God, in hope that someday He will give some of them back!
-If Jesus is not Lord OF ALL, He is not Lord AT ALL!
-What you BELIEVE about life will determine how you PERCEIVE life, which determines what you RECEIVE from life!
Part Two: STRENGTH FINDER. Speaker: Wilson Goede (S.A.)
One morning, Wilson lead us in a session about our strengths and talents, and how to see the value in them! Before this week, we each took an online test that told us what our top 5 strengths are. It's so cool to think about our talents/strengths as "a signature of God in us"! I really enjoyed this session because I learned to not look at what I lack, but to look at what I have = WHO I AM! And once we realize our strengths, we need to accept them and not feel guilty about them! It's all about building on what we are good at, aka our strengths, instead of looking at our weaknesses. Also, the greatest nourishment of talents is celebration! What do people encourage you for? What would people pay you for? What do you enjoy doing? These things are your talents, your giftings, and it's important to focus on these things because this is where you will truly strive in life and where you will find the passion to keep going!
Other Highlights:
*The September DTS came back from outreach and they shared their testimonies with us!
*One morning we rested in God's presence... literally. We could sleep or read or do whatever, but we HAD TO RELAX! God values resting too!
Please continue to pray! I have no idea what God wants for me after DTS.. so please pray that I will find my calling and that I will hear His voice so clearly I won't second guess myself at all!!
Thank you all for your prayers!
Blessings,
Aslyn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)