6-7-8: Coincidentally

Well. Apparently more people than I thought miss my blog postings. And I've only posted once since I've been at school - which was 7 weeks ago. So here we go.

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A few weeks ago, I was getting dinner at Chik-Fil-A before going to Lynchburg Church of God for their Fall Festival. Not going to lie, I was wanting to get in and out of the drive-through as fast as possible, and as such was not acting like a very patient person as I waited between the speakers and window. I got out my debit card and honestly was feeling agitated that it was taking so long. But when I got to the cashier she told me the driver in front of me bought my meal. I mean, talk about being convicted of my crappy attitude, that hit me hard. And then, being an analytical person, I thought about it the whole drive. That person will likely never see me again and if they do, they likely won't remember that time they covered my dinner. I don't think it's a coincidence by any means that the same week I had taught on how much small things can matter and then the next weeks, Clayton King spoke on generosity at church. ----I'm sure you may be asking, did I then buy the meal of the car behind me? well, I was shocked at what had happened (and I was trying to figure out who this person was). In my confusion, I couldn't do anything. But, I'm working on it.

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With my prayer group, we've been going through a series on being like Jesus, because what better person to model than our Savior? So, we're going into the 6th week of this study, and the one that has stuck out the most to me so far is the widow at Naim (affectionately named "the n-word" because we don't know how to say it) whose son was raised from death.

Luke 7:11-17

"11Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said,“Don’t cry.”14Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said,“Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.16They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country."

[[I can't fix the formatting to change the paragraph spacing.. :(]]

I titled this lesson "8 words that changed history." Jesus was a busy man, arguably the busiest ever - I mean, he was only sent to save mankind and all.. All joking aside, even through His busy life, he felt compassion for people and stopped to help them. In this instance Jesus comes upon a woman whose son had died and was now being taken out of the town in a casket. He felt compassion on the woman and tried to comfort her. Then, by simply touching the casket and saying "Young man, I say to you, get up!" he brought the boy up from the dead.

These few words affected so many people. First, the boy and the mother were obviously directly changed for ever - the son was now ALIVE again. Secondly, the people around that witnessed this event and praised God for what had happened. And then, these witnesses went throughout the world and told people about what they had seen - and even now as I'm telling you about what is written it's making an impact.

Now, clearly I don't view bringing someone back to life a miniscule task under typical circumstances. But, for Jesus, speaking a few words and walking over to a casket seems to have taken little effort. So what does this mean for us? It means things that don't seem big or extravagant may have eternal significance and just might change lives and do more than we could have possibly imagined.

Whatever It Takes,

Ryan

September 26 - Apologies and Abandonment

Apologies -

Well, My last post was 1 month and 19 days ago I believe. I do in fact realize there's like 2 people probably that read this, so I'm apologizing to a very select group of people. But to you, I'm sorry, life is crazy on the mountain. It's fun none-the-less. I could tell plenty of stories ranging from awkward to amazing and surprising to scheduled. But I will spare them, as I have homework.

"If we continue to live a life of mediocre faith, it will only turn out to be a life of monumental failure." - Jonathan Falwell

JF was the speaker in convo on 9/1 and his message was "we need to get real!" This concept is very near to me - I believe it's one of the major barriers the true church has to overcome and something that I need to constantly be reminded about. Sunday morning christians are killing the way the body is being viewed.

Colossians 2:6-10

⁶So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

⁸See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

⁹For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

There are 4 main points he gave from this passage:

1. Get Real in our Hearts (vs. 6) - The only way to get real is if we are truly continuing to live in Christ. Continually means without ceasing; means not just when it's convenient to us, but all of the time.

2. Get Real in our Faith (vs. 7) - Rooted, built up, and strengthened in the FAITH. This is the central reason for everything we do - our faith. And what good is it to us if it crumbles under pressure or the weight of things we get into?

3. Get Real in our Lives (vs. 8) - We do this through worship and fellowship - the RIGHT way. If we let people get to the vulnerable part of us who are just going to tear us down and away from the Gospel, they have no part being in our lives at all. Worshipping Christ is not only something we do on Sundays.. I should praise God when I go to class, work, or even just in my living room. Saying you're a Christian and living as a Christian are two totally different things.

4. Get Real in our Service - Understand, there is a big world that needs to be reached for Christ. Who are we to play judge and pick who gets to go to Heaven. There is NO partiality in the Gospel. James 2 tells us it is not our place to decide for people.

If we truly want to live a life that doesn't result in failure, we have to abandon our lives; be completely removed so we don't stand in the way. I wish I could get more people to understand this. But this is the best I can do as of now.

Whatever It Takes,

Ryan

August 7 - Catch up

Ok, so it's been a while since I blogged.. Sorry. Lot's of working and such.

Honestly, nothing exciting worth blogging happens frequently in my days, so there's not a lot I can say..

Today I burnt my finger on a hot plate of Mac and Cheese. It was one of those times where my manager clearly told me the plate was hot, but I didn't comprehend it until my flesh was burning.. First work related injury there.

2Kings 6:15-17

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked ¹⁶ "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

So a few weeks ago at camp, Ken Freeman decided that as we were going around campus, one person should yell out "if God is for us" and everyone aroudn who could hear would respond "who can be against us?!" I'm honestly not one for yelling out in the middle of everything in a cadence form like that, but I did because of the meaning behind it.

Here's what's happened in this chapter - the Arameans were fighting against Israel and set up camp in a strategic yet random place. Elisha then went and told the Israelite king where they'd be. Obviously, this made the Aram king angry. So he sent spies to find Elisha and then surrounded the city with people. E's servant got all scared (as most people would) when he saw that they were surrounded by the enemy. E showed his servant that God was always with them and the enemy didn't have a chance. I imagine a cartoon where they keep saying 'you're surrounded' 'no you're surrounded' etc. Except, God always wins this one. How cool would it be to see that Chariots of fire are protecting you? When God's on our side, no matter where he takes us, who can be against us?

Whatever it takes,

Ryan Sandy

July 30 - ahh....

I honestly can't think of a good story to put here.

sooo, I'll try to do better tomorrow..

July 29 - Let me explain

I feel like I jumped into this blog fad head first and didn't really give much thought to what I wanted it to be. I've battled back and forth between a couple things, and it's entirely possible it will change again. I'll tell you what it's going to be now. Let me explain..

Typically, I'll start with a story or what I did that day. Get personal. And hopefully once I have your attention, (side note - I like for my days to be interesting, or at least for you to think they are. So I'll give you the best story I've got) I'll launch into what God taught me that day. There might be a story to it, maybe it'll be something I opened up to and really liked, or maybe something I'm preparing a lesson on that I want to share.

I sign my blogs "Whatever it takes." In the front of my church there used to be a big banner that at one point said "Count the Cost to Share the Cross" and then it got changed to "Whatever it Takes." That's my battle cry of sorts, Whatever it Takes! I want to be willing to do whatever it takes to further the kingdom. I always think of that song that goes "whatever it takes, that's what I'll do."

My scripture reference for this is Matthew 18:18-31

"A certain ruler asked Him 'good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' 'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered 'No one is good - except God alone. You know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.' 'All these I have kept since I was a boy' he said. When Jesus heard this, He said to him, 'You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me.' When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth."

God hasn't asked me to sell everything I own to support a cause yet and He may not. What is asked of us all is that we be willing to count the cost; to take up our cross every day and walk in His steps in order to glorify my Savior.

Tomorrow - I'll talk about my newly formed addiction to blogging.............

Whatever it takes,

Ryan

July 28 - Road trip!!

I can not fully describe how weird this day was.. But I'll see what I can get out.

So it all started at 9:00 when I left for Chesterfield, VA where I would meet up with Jacob, Tory, and Brittany to drive to Chesapeake and hang out with Bluetree (who I HIGHLY recommend to anyone). I had just downloaded some campus church sermons the night before, however, I forgot to sync them to the ipod.. So I stopped in Lynchburg and borrowed Amy's (set me back half an hour). The rest of the drive was fine - I sat back and listened to Caner launch hand grenades. Finally, half an hour behind schedule, I got to Jacob's house. Tory had volunteered to drive, which seemed like a really good idea.. until she started driving. :) about an hour into the trip, out of no where Brittany realizes she's never seen this part of the road before. That's when Tory decided we should know that even with a GPS RIGHT in front of her, she's directionally challenged. We'd driven 20 minutes past our exit..

Eventually we got there and, after using the potty and reuniting briefly with Lucas, went on an adventure to a park. Honestly, I thought it was a pretty interesting park. Which means, while the other 3 tried to be lame-o's and swing - illegally might I add - I went on an adventure. There was a canal and overlooks and a bridge for the creek. The best part though, was the fact that in the middle of the park was a cemetary. Gravestones and everything. Of course they had been messed with, but the city did put up little fences about 3-4 ft high to make an attempt at keeping them out..

Even though we left an hour late, and spent all of 30 minutes at the park, we still had 2-3 hours to kill. We went to Autumn's and found it after 3 U-turns on her street. Seemed like it'd be a reasonably safe idea. Grandpa met us and seemed real nice, the siblings were ok, and nothing set off any red flags. Apparently there's this tree house they built. Pretty sturdy, except for the RIGHT LADDER SUPPORT!! It was a log they found I guess that was dead and had now rotted. So I may have pulled the steps out of that side on my way down. I can honestly say I didn't see that happening when I convinced Tory to climb up and I followed.. Next Autumn drove us down to see her horse in HER car that she was TOLD was drivable. In the middle of everything Grandpa (the nice old man we met earlier) has a melt down because she drove her car. Supposedly half of the car was not there. Soo, we drove back to the house and were told to run upstairs and hide or he'd yell at us.. It was kinda fun, like playing hide and seek. While we were 'hiding' we played Wii bowling. Autumn's little 9 year old brother, Ben, is probably my favorite 9 year old ever. Jacob wasn't doing so hot, and Ben said the "Wii has a brain and it doesn't want Jacob to win, so he doesn't." Great kid. Also, while we were there, I got called a fat 34 year old man.. that was a fun story too....

Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot I found awkward during/directly after the concert. Well, excluding "Mummy, when will we see Auntie again?" :) and feeling like the back left tire of an 18wheeler. Definitely the ride home was exciting. Telling stories, thinking you may have run over someone, and what some consider the 'hood - how can you go wrong?

2 Samuel 23:3-4
"The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: 'When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the Earth"
-- Honestly, I just opened my Bible today and found this verse. I really like this one though [and as a friend said -"I really just love scripture!! It's so awesome!!!" :) ] because it's so vivid and true. The person who rules in righteousness is like the light of sunrise on a cloudless morning. When I think of this, it makes me happy, joyful. Sunsets are happy; sun after a rain bringing forth grass is happy. Typically, these images don't make a person uneasy or sad. But why do we insist on telling our leader's they can't openly fear the Lord, and pick the ones who don't to make all of our important decisions?? This is God telling us who should be our leaders; who we should choose - those who rule in righteousness and fear of God.

All for now, I'll add the pictures from the weekend when my camera battery recharges..

Whatever it takes,
Ryan

July 27 - Let the praises ring

Today was very lazy. I woke up around 9, laid around until the mail came and then went to the bank. Stopped by Brusters (mainly to talk, but also got some ice cream) and then came home. Cleaned the car out, did some dishes, and laid around some more.. Like I said, laaaaazy. Oh, I also watered Phil's garden, where I found this tomato.

Things did get more exciting around 7. Some of the college group from church came over and we made a fire. Pretty succesful after it actually got started. Hot dogs and Smores - not a bad way to end the night.

In the morning, I get to wake up and drive to Richmond where I'm meeting some friends to go to Chesapeake. Bluetree is doing a worship set there. I'm so excited - not only do I get to see a lot of friends that I don't get to often, but I get to spend an evening in worship of my God with no reserves. No jobs to do, nothing to worry about, no one I have to please - just me and God. Too often I get caught up in ministry; too caught up in the process of a service rather than the worship. I'm growing in being able to seperate the two and realizing when I need to do one rather than the other. Of course people will always say that you can worship through minstry - they're absolutely right. But I need to have the one-on-one experience where I meet with my Jesus.

Today's verse: "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2Cor 5:21 I absolutely can not get over the fact that He is so jealous for me that His son died the death that keeps me from experiencing eternal suffering with no escape. I talked to a student a few weeks ago at camp about this. In his prayer, he said "God, I'm begging you, take away the pain I've felt." (there was some stuff going on the past few years he's struggled with). I loved the way he said that - I'm begging you. He was so broken, so desperate for God that he was weeping, begging God to take hold of everything so that he wouldn't hurt anymore. How often do we who have a generally ok life just go through the motions? Go to church on Sundays, maybe youth camp or some retreat once a year, but then live our own way during the week?? I know I'm nowhere near perfect and I'm still being convicted of things I can be doing to change this. But I have this burden to see people broken before the cross like this student. Where they realize there's nowhere else they can run that will give them the freedom from sin like Jesus. What people think about us doesn't matter, because in the end, we'll all stand judgment for what we did for Him, not what we did for them.

Whatever it takes,
Ryan

(P.S. - signature explanation coming soon)

July 26 - First post

I think I'm going to make this a regular thing. Updates on what happens each day and other thoughts I have. I'll also try to post a verse that I liked that day and sometimes why I liked it - if I feel explanation is warranted. Here we go!

So, my family all went to Maine this week; they all left 5 days ago. It's pretty boring around here honestly.. especially last week, everyone was on vacation or busy. Of course, I have 4 days off and then get to work all weekend almost. No complaints about days off though.

In my downtime, I've learned that I can apparently bake and grill. Honestly, I found a recipe on the back of a box of brownies for some 7-layer brownies and went with it. It worked. Also, quesadillas and I have become very close.

I've done nothing with my day except go out for dinner and rented a redbox.

Psalm 31:24 "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord"
I picked this not only as the verse of the day, but as the title for my blog. It's a reminder that I can rest in Christ; that I have strength to get through everything that comes along, only if my hope is in the Lord.

Grace be with you,
Ryan