My Heart Upon A Letter

(So, it’s been a while since I've done this whole blogging thing. Its not that I haven't been having those hard thoughts worth sharing, its probably because they are so overwhelming that its hard to put them in words.)

Dear Friend,

If I have hurt you in some way or form, I am so sorry. I ask that you forgive me. I definitely don't deserve it but hear me out as I explain some things and the forgiveness that I have received from God through Jesus Christ. It would be very encouraging to hear from you and the thoughts you may have. I sort of feel like the apostle Paul, who wrote his heart upon his letters. My hope and prayer is that it leads you to Jesus Christ, as Paul's letters did:

What initially brought me back to this blog this evening is a post I ran across from a friend in high school. (I just realized that I graduated 3 years ago. I'm old. I'm like those other guys who write about what they did in high school "way back when".) From my perspective, we weren't that close, maybe more than an acquaintance but we never really "hung out". However, back in middle school we did. We were pretty close and spent some time together and were pretty open about our faith. We talked about different things our youth groups were doing and such, also played paintball on a few occasions. Once high school came around, we drifted further away and most of that was sadly my own doing.

Recently, I guess I've been in a funk of sorts. Constantly dwelling on the bad things in life and not coming to Christ with them has essentially made me pretty depressed at times. I am reminded of my years at high school mainly. Looking back at high school for me is mostly ugly. Even though some would disagree, I would say that I was a jerk. I look back at my interactions with others and see how horrible it is that I would seek out those who are "popular" and try to distance myself from those who aren't. I would be apart of those who made fun of those who were "different" and "unwanted". Honestly, it brings me to tears when I think about some of the awful things that I did. I was that kid sometimes, the one who was picked on. I hated it, I hated life. It made me miserable and yet I go and do it someone else! Oh how wicked and depraved I am! I can only hope and pray that those whom I picked on are still not struggling with self worth. God will you please intervene in their lives as you did in mine! Show them your love in Christ! They do have meaning as the image bearers of you! Restore them Lord, make them brand new through your Son, Jesus!

I am sad when I think upon these things. My heart aches for those that I treated poorly. The question is, am I doing that now and if so, how am I going to change that? Well the answer is yes, I am doing it still and I need to be a better neighbor. I am reminded of the story of the Good Samaritan. Being a church kid, I've heard the story a dozen times and seen most of the low-budget Sunday school films depicting Jesus' parable. The story is in response to a lawyer who asks him how to gain eternal life (Luke 10:25-37). This lawyer, as described by Luke, tried to justify himself by asking who is his neighbor in reference to loving your neighbor as yourself. Jesus answers him in his usual fashion. Our neighbors are more than those whom we hang out with on a regular basis. For me, I spend too much time in my Campus Crusade bubble of friends. Yes, time with them is great and it can be very beneficial in encouraging and spurring each other on but most of the time, its just simply hanging out. But what about those that have little or no friends? What about that guy that sits in the back of Cru all by himself? Or in the back of class? Down the hall in my dorm? At the table by himself? The homeless man I pass occasionally? Many others who I ignore? What was the lawyer’s answer when Jesus asked him who the neighbor was? "The one who showed him mercy." He couldn't even say the word "Samaritan"! He knew his ugliness! Jesus rightly revealed to him his pride. "Go and do likewise," said Jesus. See here's the thing. Number one is to be right with God. How can I love others without knowing what love is? I can't know love unless God reveals it to me. "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10. Now, second, I've got to love others/neighbors as myself. This is totally selfless, unconditional, unbiased and Christ-like love. True love. I can't be discriminate. Everybody is my neighbor. Everybody also has a soul. They are eternal in a sense. They either know Christ or not. Do I love them in such a way that they may know Christ? Am I being purposeful in my interactions with others? Am I neglecting to share what it truly looks like to love? Yes, I am.

I am quite inadequate by myself. However, in Christ, I am fully capable. I am a new creation, brand new, born-again, truly living. It is not of myself, but a gift of God. I am to love my neighbor as God has loved me. God loves me unconditionally. Take a minute and think about that, really! Despite all the wicked things that I have done, I am loved beyond my understanding. I am forgiven and I am loved!

Again, for those that I have hurt. I am deeply saddened in the way that I treated you. I am a sinful human being who is quite selfish and prideful. I was especially more-so years ago but today I still am digging up the roots of pride and selfishness. Through my relationship with Christ, I am killing sin and walking in righteousness, earnestly seeking to glorify God in my actions so that I can love my neighbors. Please, hear my plea. Look towards Jesus for your identity. You are made in the image of the all-powerful Creator God who loves you. Find your hope and trust in Jesus, our Savior, as he is the firm foundation to build your life upon. Cast your cares and worries upon him for his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

If this is confusing in any way at all (which it probably is knowing my writing skillz), please ask me. Facebook, email: devin.thurston@gmail.com or respond by comment. Thanks for reading and Soli Deo Gloria,

Devin

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the of God for salvation to everyone who believes,to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."" - Romans 1:16-17 ESV

I am so blessed to have spent another summer at Camp Barakel. The verse above was one of the verses that I memorized each week. The others were Romans 12:11-13, Acts 18:9-10, 13:38-39, 2 Cor. 2:17 and Hebrews 4:16. I found most of these verses while reading 'Ashamed of the Gospel' by John MacArthur. These verses guided me and encouraged me to unashamedly proclaim the Truth to my guys throughout the summer.

I really don't know where to begin...

Coming into the summer I was somewhat prepared for what I was going to face as a counselor again. Obviously I didn't know what kind of kids I would get each week but I had already counseled before so I knew sort of what I was getting into unlike my first year. I felt more prepared. I looked back and evaluated myself from the previous summer, looking at what worked, what didn't; what I did wrong, where I was a slacker... that kind of stuff. I feel that I came into the summer with more of a urgency to share the gospel with more energy and personal plea. It seemed like my first year I tried to do it on my own, not allowing God to lead me or depend on Him for the results.

Because of this, I look back and I am very pleased on how I did representing Christ and proclaiming Him. I'm not saying that I am completely satisfied, there were times where I slacked off and lost sight of God's role in the process but, it was such an improvement. I can't believe the difference it made to approach everything prayerfully and really ask God to use me and speak through me rather than to make it on my own. It has shown me that when I really do give up control to Him, God works in amazing and powerful ways. Praise God!

Again, I am so thankful that God brought me back and further revealed Himself to me this summer. I highly recommend giving up your time to serve God through some form, it is very rewarding.

Here is the hard part though. I'm back at school and here is where the rubber meets the road. Will I continue to live for Him as I did at camp or will I shrink back to hiding? This is especially hard because I'm in a new place. So far, I really enjoy being at NMU and it is great to already have Christian friends established but, will I carry out Romans 1:16? This is what God has been picking at me at all summer. Sure, I'm involved with Campus Crusade, I go to bible study, church and help out with service stuff but when it comes to sharing my faith, I sit on the sidelines. I've already ignored opportunities to share True Love through Christ crucified and no doubt God is convicting me of that. I am very weak in this area. Now, God is not calling me to stand in the middle of campus and quote scripture (even though there is nothing wrong with that, it is biblical) but, I am to live for Him and that means carrying out the Great Commission. I should be loving those around me, reaching out to their needs, encouraging them with the Truth, sharing my experiences this summer, giving testimony of His work and sharing the gospel because Jesus is the ONLY avenue of salvation. This is not something that I can or should be doing on my own power. I've been challenged by the camp director to carry over the same counselor mentality at school. To do "one on ones", play games with others and to be there for one's needs. I need to live my life for Christ because it is not my own. When I live for Him truly, others will see Christ shining through and hopefully take note of that (curious, interested or persecuting). Persecution and rejection is what holds me back. I pray that I will give those to God and let Him reign sovereignly over my life and those around me, "for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,"

This year will be different, just like this summer was different from ones past. It is time to live unashamed of the gospel, to reject passivity, cast all my fears to Him and live my life radically for Christ.

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. " Philippians 3:14

Take care and I'd love to hear some comments,

Devin

Ashamed of the Gospel?

Hey there,

I have finished classes at Tech now all that stands in my way are 4 finals. It still hasn't hit me that I won't be coming back here next year. I sure will miss this place. So much growth has happened here. It is sad to leave, sometimes I wish I didn't have to but God has other plans which of course I know very little about. So, as I sit here delaying to start my studying I've got something on my mind which I would like to share. (Its okay, I've still got a day and a half til my first final which means plenty of time to procrastinate)

I love music. I love all kinds of music (normally I would add "except ska" but, I've started to tolerate it, in moderation of course) I especially love artists that are "Christian". When I say "Christian" I mean artists that declare themselves as Christians and also what they say in their lyrics. I still enjoy music by artists that aren't Christian but, for most genres I have a hard time with the lyrics that aren't focused around a life pursuing God. There is one thing though that irks me about some Christian artists and organizations that find themselves in the secular scene, which is the phrase that comes in forms like, "We don't want to be too preachy." or "We don't want to shove our beliefs on people." and "We don't want to be too pushy about our beliefs."

Artists that make these claims have lyrics that are good. They speak of a life worth living, helping others out, the emptiness of pursuing sinful desires, seeking help from God and they might even mention Jesus. Thats the thing though, when you listen to most Christian bands that have a secular following, they rarely speak of Jesus and who he was and what he did. Why not sing about your savior who rescued you from your sins? Why not take the opportunity to speak the glorious truth, the Good News of salvation? Who are you trying to please? Man or God?

Now, as Christians it is not our job to MAKE people believe in Jesus Christ and his atoning death which has saved us from the wrath of God (which we deserve); only God can change the human heart. We cannot shove or push our beliefs on others but what we believe should be the foundation of our lives. Everything that we do should scream "Jesus is my savior!" to people, everything. "Sing to the Lord, all the Earth; proclaim his salvation day after day."- 1 Chronicles 16:23 I'm not saying that every band needs to be making praise music, sound like Hillsong United and make songs that sound like they come straight from Psalms. Lets have songs of hope, godly living, struggle and happiness but speak of how we find hope, overcome struggle and where our true happiness lies; in God, through Jesus.

There could be many reasons why bands and others don't do this. I think most of them revolve around fear of rejection. When Jesus Christ is mentioned as the way, the truth and the life, often times people get angry.

I know I sound kind of harsh. I also know that this is something that I struggle with as well. I sit back on the sidelines when it comes to proclaiming Christ for fear of rejection. This is something that I have always struggled with since I became a Christian and have always felt convicted about. When I went down to Panama City, FL this past spring break with Campus Crusade I was very nervous to share my faith with others. There were practically endless opportunities to talk to people. College kids were EVERYWHERE. Seriously, once I eft my hotel room, people were everywhere, the lobby, the beach, shops, walking everywhere around town. Also, just about everyone was drunk as well. All day long, morning to 3am, people were sipping their alcohol. Everywhere reeked of it. It was a different environment to say the least.

Anywho, in the afternoon our Cru group would hit the beaches to go out and share the gospel with others. This isn't your normal beach adventure with happy families playing games, digging in the sand with others lounging around soaking up some sun. Nowhere close. This was an intense party scene with booze and barely clothed people everywhere. Vendors such as Monster energy drinks, Geico, Garnier, Trojan condoms, Coke Zero and the Marines are giving out free stuff as well as various stages with music and booty shakin' contests. It is very crowded in these areas. Beer cans and trash are everywhere and again, one might be able to get a good buzz just from sniffing the air around. I have never been in an atmosphere like this is. It was hard. Thanks be God I never was interested in the party lifestyle because it was rampant.

The hardest thing was talking to people. Here is the great dilemma: 1. Everybody is pretty much drunk. 2. Guys are looking to impress girls so they wander around with only that on their minds. 3. Girls wear skimpy clothing trying to impress guys and either lie around or walk around as well participating in various drinking games. At first glance, it seemed to me that no one wanted to talk about God. This was challenging for me. I had the hardest time approaching people. I felt that no one wanted to talk to me. I felt like an outsider. I would walk around looking for someone on the outskirts sitting by themselves who looked approachable. Again, I was convicted that even the party-ers need to hear about Christ but I just couldn't get myself to approach them. How do you talk to someone who is laughing up, playing beer pong with all their friends? I would think I don't have that kind of personality.

I ended up only talking to about 5 people on the beach over the course of 3 days. Again, I can't stress how hard it was for me to talk to someone. I can barely put these feelings into words. "My style" I felt was more personable, over a longer period of time, someone who wasn't busy or involved in something at the moment. That just wasn't the case on the beach. Looking back, I lacked so much faith, trust and wisdom. I was leaning on my own power and not God's.

As well as sharing on the beach there was also something called Commando Cru. Commando Cru was sharing with people at night, from 10pm-whenever. This could be on the resort in the hot tubs, on the strip, in the fast food restaurants and by the bars and clubs. I was more comfortable with this. People were walking everywhere and didn't have much to do in between. They were more approachable to me. I had an easier time talking with someone walking next to them to wherever they were going rather than a distracted drunk guy interrupting me every 30 seconds by asking for my confirmation on a pretty girl. I talked to more people and had longer conversations at night.

So, I kind of sound like one of those street preachers/people who go around preaching the gospel. They oftentimes get a bad reputation. I struggled with this as well. Sometimes I felt like I was "selling Jesus". Again, going back to what I am comfortable with, I'd rather develop a relationship over time. Cru advised us to use their spiritual surveys and their gospel tracts when talking to someone. Again, I felt like a salesman, reading my performed script. Instead, I mainly started a conversation off asking them where they were from, how their day was going and such. Then lead that into asking their religious background. That normally went into what they thought a relationship with God was like and how does someone get to heaven. Then went into the gospel (pretty much the tract but just speaking to them instead of pulling it out which looking back I wish I did to give them something to read and look at.) I was mainly trying to make the approach my own and base it on each person.

So, you are probably thinking, "Well how did it go Devin?" I say, "100% successful." Huh? Every single person I talked to became saved? Really? No, just about everyone that I talked to fell into 3 categories: 1. Someone who said they were a Christian but didn't care for being "religious" and thought that just "loving God and Jesus" was enough. 2. Someone who was apathetic to religion in general. Life is about having fun and feeling good. 3. Someone who attacked Christianity and the idea of religion. There might be a higher power but any religion could be right or God does not exist because natural disasters happen.

How am I 100% successful then? Because every conversation I talked about God, truth and the gospel. They listened and how am I to know their heart whether it was after I left or later in their life? Despite my own struggles, I still stepped out on faith, preaching the gospel and allowed God to work in their lives and I was 100% successful in that. We often forget that it is God who does the saving work, not us. We are the means by which truth is spoken. It is then up to God for that heart change. No matter how pretty our message is, how eloquent it is spoken, how attractive it may sound to us, it is fully up to God to do that saving work in their lives. We cannot make anyone believe. Again, this was troublesome for me. I have recorded in a prayer book 14 names that I talked to and shared my faith with. I saw no immediate change in any of them. I was disappointed at first. "It must have been something that I was doing," I thought. I still get some feelings of disappointment occasionally. How wrong I am though. I spoke the truth, the good news about Jesus Christ and in return mainly got "whatever... thats cool for you." replies. But, it does not stop there. It is not fully in my power for them to understand it no matter how long I spend with them, answer their questions and lead them through the gospel. It takes prayer for those words to set into their lives. Matthew 19:25-26, after the rich young ruler approaches Jesus, Jesus speaks to his disciples about salvation, "And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?" And looking upon them Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Jesus also states in Matthew 11:27 that, "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." Also, Paul shows in Romans 3:10-12 (which is referencing to Psalm 14:1-3 and 53:1-3), "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one."(One thing to note, repetition is used to stress importance) I believe what is taught here is that no one by themselves can come to a decision of choosing God. We are so sinful, so lost, so evil, so focused on the things of this world that we don't desire God. Back to my story, it is fully up to God to save those people that I talked to based on his awesome and perfect plan. I earnestly pray that the truth is revealed to them and that they turn from their sinful desires and seek after God and the only true happiness that can be found in him.

Now in a very long round-a-bout way to tie all of this smatter of thoughts together is to stress the importance of evangelism and proclaim Jesus Christ in all we do. When I look back at this, I have started to realize how awesome it is to be used by God as a means of sharing the gospel with people. We don't know who is going to be saved, who God is going to radically change. Romans 10:13-15 says, ""for whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." How then shall they call upon Him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!"" I like this excerpt from R.C. Sproul that goes along with this passage, "God has chosen the foolishness of preaching as the means to accomplish redemption. I suppose he could have worked out his divine purpose without us. He could publish the gospel in the clouds by using his holy finger in skywriting. He could preach the gospel himself, in his own voice, shouting it from heaven. But that is not his choice. It is a marvelous privilege to be used by God in the plan of redemption. ..... We must never underestimate the importance of our role in evangelism. Neither must we overestimate it. We preach. We bear witness. We provide the outward call. But God alone has the power to call a person to himself inwardly. I do not feel cheated by that. On the contrary, I feel comforted. We must do our job, trusting that God will do his."- Chosen By God.

So, in summary, in whatever we do, do it in the name of Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:17). Back to the music I spoke of earlier, I have found to treasure bands, artists and songs that speak about the truth of finding complete happiness in God which is directly spoken in the lyrics. With evangelism in mind it is such an awesome thing to hear the gospel and have it constantly remind me of the awesomeness of it. It is encouraging. So, lets not be ashamed of presenting the gospel in our lives whether it be through song, word and deed.

If you have any questions please ask and I always enjoy your comments. I hope you find this encouraging (sorry for the length).

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20.

Same old, same old.

Looks like I'm back to that monthly blog kind of deal. Sorry. It's been pretty busy up here.

There really has been ALOT going on. Schoolwork picked up, focus for schoolwork went down, time seems to have decreased and my faith has been rising. It has been awesome to seek God in the craziness of life, I have truly been blessed.

So, what's new? Well, the biggest thing is that I will be transferring from Michigan Tech to Northern Michigan. As I have been taking my Engineering class and retaking my Calc class, I realized that this was not the path that I wanted to go down. I did not want to get stuck teaching a class that I was not passionate about. Unfortunately, that means going to a different school. So, I have been going through the application process and such and finally got all that done. It will be quite the change.

Next big thing, I will hopefully be working at Camp Barakel again! Story time:

So, after last summer, I had some doubts about working at camp again. No doubt it was an awesome time to see God at work in so many lives but, I figured that it was time for me to take a summer and get some experience for my future career. I found a job opening up here at Michigan Tech with our Summer Youth Program (SYP). SYP is a a summer program/camp style which engages middle and high schoolers in fun, scientific classes, sessions and activities. I was so stoked when I found this. 1. Job experience. 2. Living up here in Houghton=the great outdoors to be explored. 3. Taking some classes (Mountain Biking, Frisbee golf, Wolf Ecology, UP History) 4. Earning money. This was just about the perfect thing that I was looking for. I applied for a counseling position and got a part-time counselor offer. Even better! So much more time to relax, read some books, explore the local area and just enjoy my time! Well, back over winter break I got the chance to hang out with some counselors from camp. After this, I started to feel convicted about working at camp again so, I prayed about it. As I was writing the director for camp staff about the situation I was in, I REALLY felt like I should work at camp. I was starting to write reasons why I was unsure about working at camp and I felt like I had no good reason. Also, I wasn't really bummed. It's true, I wanted to spend my time up here but my calling back to camp definitely outweighed that. So, now I am stoked to work there again this summer. I'm already starting to do some prep work for my talks which will be based on 1 John 1:3-6. Bring it on!

Other than those 2 major things, life has been pretty swell. Again, life still seems to be very interesting and spontaneous direction wise. I've got one more week of classes then 4 finals and I'm done! I would say I'd be halfway through my college career but, I'm pretty sure I'm on the 5 year track... Whatever. I will be staying up in Houghton the 2 weeks after school which will be great to do some of those things that I wanted to do over the summer like read some books, explore and just kick back and relax for a bit.

Please be praying for me this summer as working at camp is very challenging. Thanks and until next time,

Devin

AHHHH!!!

Well,

It's 2:40 am and I feel like writing. A lot has been going on recently (which I really want to share but, I don't think it would be smart for to type out a long blog with an exam in, ohh 7 hours, so I will try to keep it short and sweet and post the big one later (hopefully in less than a month)).

I have really wanted to get my thoughts out on paper or here but really haven't chose to. Not too sure why, it doesn't help when they are always in my head preventing me from focusing on my schoolwork so it would make sense for me to take the time to get them out to make me a better college student. But, that hasn't been the case.

There really has been SO MUCH going on that it has been quite overwhelming for me. I think I've learned that I don't do too well when I need to focus on more than 2 things. Kind of sad but, thats how it has been for the past couple weeks. With classes getting much more demanding, it has really been a struggle to persevere. Luckily, we have this thing called the Bible and it teaches us cool things that we should learn and apply to our lives. As a former track star (4 years, 30 pounds and 4 inches ago) I was reminded of Hebrews 12:1-2 which says, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing [fn] our eyes on Jesus, the author [fn] and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has satdown at the right hand of the throne of God." (Courtesy of http://www.blueletterbible.org)

I seem to lose sight of the fact that I'm running this race called life and during it, I encounter many obstacles. I am normally one who panics when troubles come but that shouldn't be the case. When I encounter this uphill challenge, I need to adapt and continue on. Running up hills is very hard. It messes up your pace, rhythm and mindset. You need to slow your pace, shorten your stride, increase the rpms and move on. I am called to endure and continue running. Not take a break, or find a way around the course or call off the race. I must endure, casting off everything that weighs me down and strain for the finish. Go hard, or go home.

Yes. I listen to HIp Hop*

* I was informed that this was not Rap, rather Hip Hop. Rap is music with no meaning, emotion or purpose, just a beat, vulgarity and promiscuity. This definition is taken from the exhaustive Paolo's Modern Dictionary.

I have a Confession to make...

Good Morning all,

Well, I have been debating on whether to write this post or catch up with "24" but as you can tell, I'm writing so, good for me! Well, where to start. School has been quite busy and it has been hard to stay on top of all my work. It is rough taking classes such as Engineering and Calc when they don't really apply to my major but, I am somewhat enjoying them, until I get stressed. Ahhh stress. What a wonderful thing you are. It has been very stressful recently and dealing with it has been challenging. Because of said stress, it has started to impact my faith in small ways. I am now almost a week behind in memory verses, I have lost my daily bible reading routine and mostly when I get a free chance, I decide to be lazy or deal with it in a manner that is not focused on giving God the glory. And this is how it currently fits in to story of the week, probably the month.

During this time of year, Michigan Tech holds its annual Winter Carnival. Winter Carnival is a time where students spend a month to build snow statues that pertain to the theme which this year it was games. This is the biggest event that Michigan Tech is known for. Alumni, parents and tourists come to visit well-engineered snow and ice sculptures and statues. What is even more well known for by students is the amount of partying and drinking that goes on. It is insane. The main drinking event is the All-Nighter which is the Wednesday night which kicks off Winter Carnival and the smaller statues that can only be built within the night. I think I missed most what went on last year but I sure saw it in all its "glory" this year. People, (students, locals and even professors) walk around drinking on campus. They carry various containers such as coffee mugs, water bottles, camelbaks, gas cans and even labeled beer and liquor bottles and cans all full of alcoholic concoctions. Cops are right there while it is all going on, only intervening if things get violent or unconscious. At about 3 in the morning, when most everyone is gone, you can just smell the stench of booze and witness the litter of cans all over campus.

Anywho, I did not partake in these activities (nor do I care to) and did something else. Ever read the book Blue Like Jazz? I think that it is a good book that lacks some things here and there but the message of it is being christlike in what seems to be unconventional ways. I would recommend it but, read with caution, he lacks some scriptural foundations of who Jesus was and what he did. Anyways, there is a chapter in the book discussing about his involvement with a small group of Christians at Reed College. During his time there, he felt the need to reach out to his fellow classmates on campus and share his faith with them. At one of their Bible Study meetings he brought up his conviction to the others. Ideas were thrown out and one stood out from the rest, "Lets build a confession booth during Renn Fayre." Some laughed, some were scared but some were serious. After some deliberating they went with the idea to build a confession booth with a reverse confession, they, Christians, would confess and apologize for their short comings of being Christians. They went with it built a booth in the middle of all the craziness and waited. Don (the author) was first up in the booth, dressed as a priest not really knowing what to expect. One guy stumbled in and questioned him, "What's this?" Don explained what they were doing and the guy had a change of heart. "It's really cool what you guys are doing, people need to hear this." It came down to that Don was there representing Christ and standing up in his name. He then describes the impact it had on people, being being drawn into their Bible study and weekly service activities. God truly blessed their ministry and people came to know Christ.

A group of us within Campus Crusade got together prior to Winter Carnival and discussed ways to impact the campus and this came up. We were pretty skeptical at first but ran with it. Myself and some other bought some wood and built some walls and then All Nighter we set it up. Now, I had a pretty crappy day. I was really stressed with all my school work and such so, I was not feeling like I could by any means share the gospel. After some prayer and reading I was ready. Praise God! Still very nervous, thinking that it was going to be a horrible night of ridicule and problems with drunk people. We didn't have any problems other than our electricity kept shorting out which was awkward to talk in the dark but, whatever. So, it was pretty much me and my good friend Alex talking to people with others coming and going. We would stand outside and wait for people to come up to us. Standard procedure was to answer "So, what is this?" and "Are you guys priests?" "No, we are not priests and we aren't affiliated with the Catholic church but we are Christians on campus who would like to confess to you." And then they would either nod, say Ok and walk away or step in the booth and talk further.

Well, it turned out to be a huge success. We were right in the middle of campus, between 2 sidewalks so, you couldn't miss it, prime picken's. We talked to a TON of people. I confessed my shortcomings with people, talked with them about who Jesus was and most importantly shared the gospel with almost every person. AMAZING! Sounds fun and easy right? Wrong.... I, Devin, got all the skeptics, atheists, agnostics, humanists and others that attacked my faith. I talked with at least 3 people for over 30 minutes. It was challenging and I was not prepared at all at the time. I'm not one who is weak in the faith, I know my stuff but I'm also not a scholar. But, for some reason I could not remember scripture, was scrambling for words and was just totally left out to be attacked.

At first, it was pretty heavy. After one conversation with one guy who tore me up, I had to take a break. I wish I could recall what we talked about, their points, my points but due to my awesome memory and just the overwhelming amount of emotion I really can't remember specifics. During my break, as I was walking, I was thinking and praying. "Even though these guys think they ruined my faith God, they haven't. I really don't believe in what they say. They are so far from the truth, blinded, hard-hearted Lord. O God, thanks so much for guiding me, saving me, having grace, mercy, sending your Son, Christ. Wow. I need to read my Bible more with understanding. Make your words mine." It was also great to go to a room where there was constant prayer. Such a blessing.

It may sound weird at first but it was a successful night. Christ was preached and people heard it. I didn't encounter any immediate life changes but how do I know that? I had the opportunity to talk with some of the most hard-hearted, God haters and they got to hear the gospel! There is really NOTHING that I can do to have them believe, that is up to God and his sovereign power. I will say that I prayed for those that I talked to, asking God to change them, work in their lives and reveal himself to them. Before we know God, we didn't want anything to do with him. We enjoyed the pleasures of this world, so lost in our sinful desires. We deserve his wrath because of this. There is nothing good that we have done to "earn" a way out. God, full of mercy and grace, sent his Son to cover our sins, all of them, paid in full for those who repent, turn and live. Our lives should no longer be set on the things of this world rather than God and his glory. Being humans, we loose sight of that, a lot. The most important thing that I can take away from this is that I need to focused on God in everything I do. In class, sleeping, not sleeping, doing homework, reading my Bible, eating, longboarding, driving, you get the point. "It is no longer I who live but Christ in me." I am a new creation, with a purpose and meaning in life.

So, now I ask you to examine yourself. 2 Corinthians 13:5. Where does your allegiance lie? Think about it. I'm always willing to talk about anything. Please be praying for me,

Devin

Prayers Answered

I get asked a lot of questions as a college student. Where do you go to school? What is your major? Why are you at Michigan Tech? What is the derivative of the square root of x? Would you like to go large for just 59 cents more? How are you? I get asked those first three and that last one alot (but taking Calc again this semester I expect a lot of math equations). Answering those four questions in the past couple of months has been quite challenging. I have hit yet another road block in my life where I'm confused as to where to turn next. If you remember, I originally attended Tech as a Mechanical Engineering major and then changed to Sec. Ed. in Social Sciences because of the math well, here I am again with the same problem.

Sec. Ed. in Social Science majors have to have a minor in either a math or science at MTU because it increases hire-a-bility. So, naturally I chose Technology and Design which means pretty much the first two years of Mech. Eng. So, I'm back at this point where I'm struggling to understand the language of love, Calculus. To some, it seems natural, to me it's very foreign. I don't know why but its just freaking hard! Since my path is teaching, I really want to be passionate and knowledgeable on the topics that I would teach. I very much enjoy history, geography and government is... ok. But, at the moment I am not to fond of math. Now, my minor doesn't mean that I would be teaching a math class (scaaaarrryy) rather something like a computer drawing class or intro engineering/problem solving stuff. Still, math is the base of all engineering problems. So, to me it's scary to be pursuing something which I am not too passionate about and that I think I would be a crappy teacher at. I really want to make sure that I can involve my students and engage them and I really want them to understand the material that I would cover. I just don't feel that way about math.

So, how have I been handling these feelings? Well, like any natural Devin Thurston would, worry about it 24/7. Last semester was one of change. I moved off campus, learned (learning still) how to make food for myself, took on leadership roles within Campus Crusade (leading our Service team and also disciple-ing someone) and took all classes that only pertained to Social Sciences which means a lot of reading and writing. And to say the least, I was overwhelmed. And for most of the semester, I felt lost, defeated, confused and bewildered. I did not always turn to God for deliverance and guidance and if I did, most of my prayers were a bit selfish. This made it rough on my grades, relationships with others and most importantly my relationship with my Father.

Winter break came and I was desiring time to relax and get away from most of my troubles and hoping that I could spend more time reading the Word and praying for direction. Even though it was great to be around family and all my friends down in VA, my focus on God was somewhat lost and ignored. (Side note story: Even more proof that I worry too much and don't like events happening the way I want to is the story of the broken Jeep. Long story short, I was planning on leaving VA the last Wednesday of break. But, I had this REALLY bad vibration and rattle under the frame all the way down from MI to VA. I took it into the shop that Monday before hand thinking it would be out in time to leave Wednesday and definitely Thursday. Nope, apparently it takes a long time for parts to get sent to major dealerships. So, it wasn't out of the shop until Friday afternoon (2 days before school starts and I'm still 24 hr.s away from school) Not exactly the most desirable timeframe but I made it up fine.) So, pretty much I lack faith.

As Christians, we know that God has this ultimate plan for our lives. Sometimes we understand what's going on and other times not so much. But why should we worry? Being born again, our sin has been dealt with and we are now justified and named Sons of God, no longer Sons of Wrath. It finally clicked with me the other day as to why my semester was the way it was. I thought back to counseling at Camp Barakel last summer and remembered some prayers that I prayed often. "God, I need more faith in you. God, I need to rely on you." Prayers answered. Last semester was a big lesson on faith and it still is. My goal this semester is to memorize all of Philippians (it's very hard, just like Calculus but actually serves more a meaning in my life) and the verse I'm approaching is Philippians 1:5-6 which says, "... because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." God has our best interests in mind even if they may seem troubling and trying.It's kind of amazing how God can turn crappiness into a "huh, so that's what you were doing God....". Thats pretty much the story of mankind, God turning those who are sinful and destined for punishment to righteous and upright through the redeeming sacrifice of his Son, Jesus.

So, I have learned not only to have faith in God in every aspect in my life, trusting that he will guide me but also how to pray, praise him in the good and not so good and the importance of using my time for his glory. What can you take away? Maybe you are going through some painful struggles. I urge you to have an eternal outlook on what might God be trying to show you when you think he is not present. And when we pray, we should pray for a change within, not a temporary fix because most of the time the fix begins with us.

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God."

Philippians 1: 9-11