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