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Student Ministry - November 2022

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Dear Church Family,

How can we know God’s plan for our lives? The short answer is that we cannot know it for certain, not in advance. We can only live it day by day, step by step. The key to walking according to God’s plan and following God’s direction is faithfully obeying His word. This means that as we have good and natural desires in life, and as circumstances of life come our way, we must act upon them as God has directed us to act in His word. We trust that what He says is right and brings about the desired outcome; His good plan for our lives. And it is as we, by the grace of Christ, trust God and are faithful to do what He says that we find Him to be glorious and amazing. We find that God is our greatest good in life, and it is only beside Him and through Him that we live out His good plan for our lives.

But what this means is that there are many times we will have to obey the word of God, trusting in His promises, without fully knowing exactly how things will all end up. Sometimes as circumstances or desires arise, obedience to God’s word will require drastic change. Sometimes it will cost us comfort. Sometimes it will push us beyond our limits and abilities. Sometimes we won’t like it. But in those moments we have to ask ourselves who we truly trust.

Psalm 119:105-112 has always been such an important passage of scripture to me. Read it carefully and see if you can tell just how much the author loves God and trusts what He says.

 

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
106 I have sworn and I will confirm it, That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.
107 I am exceedingly afflicted; b Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word.
108 O accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, And teach me Your ordinances.
109 My a life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not gone astray from Your precepts.
111 I have inherited Your testimonies forever, For they are the joy of my heart.
112 I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, even to the end. 

Notice how the human author recognizes that God’s word is what gives him direction without showing him the entire road ahead. Notice that he is in dire straits, but he will not stray from following God’s path and obeying His word. He knows God is his greatest good, so he has prioritized obeying God above everything else in life. It is in doing this that he will end up where God wants Him, when God wants him there. Many times we worry so much about where God wants us to be many years in the future that we fail to do what God wants right now. We need to reverse that mindset and be more like the author of this Psalm.

So what are ways you need to be faithful to God right now? What are some changes you might need to make to be more in line with His word? If you purpose within yourself to pursue obedience to (which is really just a whole hearted trust in) His word, then you will live out His plan for you. So don’t worry too much about being faithful tomorrow, just focus on being obedient today. God will take care of the details of life for you if you simply trust and obey.

Posted by Brian Van Doren with
in Students, Newsletter

Student Ministry - October 2022

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Dear Church Family,

One thing that has been on the forefront of my mind lately is the reality of evil in the world. We all know evil exists, but sometimes I think we are tempted to believe that evil is not a very prevalent or pressing issue. It almost seems like evil is something you see in TV shows, but it can’t really be all that bad in the real world, can it? People don’t really do evil like that intentionally, do they? But the sad and disorienting reality is that when you look at the real world and real people, evil is much more prevalent and problematic than we sometimes give credit. When you read stories of decapitations in broad daylight, parents murdering children, and corrupt people in leadership, it can make you wonder if we are the ones living in a TV show. But reality is stranger than fiction. And the point I’m really pushing is that people are evil. 

As soon as you say that people are evil, you can imagine someone automatically jumping up to say “no, people aren’t evil… they just do bad things sometimes. And let’s consider the circumstances. Maybe there is a reason for the bad thing they did. And if you think about that, maybe the bad thing they did wasn’t really that bad after all.” These are all excuses. A phrase I’ve been using for some years now is that there might be reasons for our sin, but they aren’t necessarily excuses. This means that just because we can understand why someone might do something when we put ourselves in their shoes, that doesn’t always mean that what they did was ok. We all have reasons for speeding on the highway, but extremely rarely do any of those reasons justify what we are doing. The same goes for the evil actions done by people in the world. The Bible makes it clear in Romans 3:10 that “There is none righteous, not even one.” We know that all people are sinful and capable of great evil. But until we really accept that fact, we won’t be able to make a bit of difference in the world.

Honestly, we see the world trying to make a difference to no avail all the time. Secular entities in the world (and even some non-secular entities) try to combat evil with all sorts of ideologies and philosophies, systems and services that ultimately fall flat. They may provide some sort of stay on the effect of man’s evil, but they do not solve it. Sometimes they even increase the amount of evil actions done by man. One need only look at the effects of socialism everywhere it has been attempted. No, these “solutions” do not work, and there is one major reason why… they ignore the real problem, the sinfulness of the human heart. And because they ignore the real problem, they also ignore the true solution, the gospel.

If the gospel is not the center of whatever ideology, philosophy, system, or service you provide, then you do not have a solution that will make a lasting difference. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can truly curb evil, because only the gospel changes the human heart. Consider how the gospel is the reality of the Son of God becoming man, living a perfectly holy life, dying for the punishment of our sin, raising to life on the third day, and giving the Holy Spirit and eternal life to those who believe in Him… it is that radical cleansing of a sinful heart and presence of the Holy Spirit that makes the evil man into a saint. No, not a perfect man, but a man with holy desires and a holy standing before God. That is what we need! We need new hearts that want to love God and live for Him! No system or service provides that unless it centers around the gospel. Likewise, no single person can make a change without the gospel being center to his life.

So, if you see evil in the world and it dismays you, remember the solution has been given. What we need to do is center ourselves around the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ and do all we can to bring it to bear on our own sinful hearts and the sinful hearts of those living around us. When we do that, God will change our hearts and theirs, and an everlasting impact will be made on the amount of evil in the world. And thankfully we can trust that one day, when Jesus returns, evil will be done away with for good. But until then, let’s be thankful He transformed our evil hearts before that day, and let’s shine the light of the gospel into our present darkness.

Posted by Brian Van Doren with

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