Week 6

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP
Speaker: Dan Baumann (USA)
To some up this week in one word: MOTIVATING! Dan is full of stories: he was imprisoned in Iran for 9 weeks for being a missionary & a spy, has lived in war zones in Afghanistan, but most importantly, he has lived his life in full obedience to God, relying on Him for anything and everything. His journey with God is truly inspiring, but what's even more amazing is Dan's genuine love for God. Stories upon stories, God's love for Dan was so evident, and admist all the difficulties Dan faced, including being brutally beaten each day while he was in prison, Dan's love for God grew so much more each day. He is on fire for God, and I want Dan's passion!!
His simple message each day was this: The Christian life is about discovering who God is and how much he loves you. That's it!! Dan spoke through his personal experiences, and with that, he has lots of GREAT one liners. Here are just a few that I absolutely love (it was hard for me to narrow this down!):
*Everything you do FOR God will come from your intimacy WITH God.
*God is more committed to fulfill His will for our lives than we are committed to find it.
*I would rather live my life doing what i think God is telling me to do, than to give into my fear.
*There is no heart too hard for Jesus!
*Readiness does NOT define your obedience! God will give you the special grace and power to do exactly what he tells you to do at that exact moment.
*The "cost" of discipleship dwindles away the more you discover how incredibly deep God's love is for you.
*Priorities are soooooooo wrong. There is no such thing as a list!! 1-God, 2-Family, 3-Friends, 4-Sports, etc. It's God FIRST and God ONLY! GOD IS A PART OF EVERYTHING! Therefore, going for a run with Jesus is just as "spiritual" as going to youth group Wednesday night!
*More passion comes by having a deep intimate relationship with the most passionate being in the whole universe, GOD!
*Don't focus on sin or anything relating to sin, even how to get out of sin, but rather, focus on Jesus and the beauty of Him!!
*Our fears are pushed away the more we love & obey God.
*Circumstances & feelings will not run my life, but the character of God will run my life!
*Greatest gift: the constant awareness of my need for God!
*RELAX. Spend more time loving God than worrying about our decisions. It's not irresponsible, but SO responsible!
*When making decisions, if you don't know what to do, just do SOMETHING! Don't make a "god" out of waiting to hear the specific will for your life... God's "general" will for our lives is to love Him and love others (greatest commandment). Focus on that.
*Set yourself on fire for Jesus and go outside and let people watch you burn!

God wants to give each one of us our own stories.. the questions is, how willing are we to obey Him, even if other people are telling us we're crazy? Ah, all I can say is I'm SO excited for my future & I can't wait to see where God takes me!!

Blessings to all!
Aslyn <3