This post is just a shout out to God for all that he is doing. I hope that this post and all of the posts really, can be an encouragement to you as we go through this life together. I've been in Ocean City for 3 weeks and 2 hours at this point in time and I have seen God do amazing things. For one, he has revealed some areas of struggle in my life that I never thought that I had. I was coming into project on a spiritual high and God really humbled me very quickly. He forced me to face sin that I had suppressed or ignored and it has been a real source of growth in my life. It is amazing how God works in our lives, even if it is not evident at the time. God is in control and he desires for us to know him better and we cannot do that when we are wrestling with and not dealing with sin. For that, I thank God for pursuing me and exposing areas of sin in my life.
Another thing I wanted to mention is God's answering prayer. There have been numerous answers to prayer since I've been here but I want to share one specific example. Last week, I came to the realization that I haven't really had any deep friendships in a while. I had and have lots of friends but not very many deeper relationships with any of them. Well, I was praying about this and in the middle of my prayer, someone came up and said that he wanted to get to know me better. I've never experienced such an immediate answer to prayer. But, the story doesn't end there. Later that same day, I was able to have a deep conversation with a friend back home on the phone. That was such a blessing and a great answer to prayer. The next day, my devotional in four sevens was about deep friendships and how valuable they are so it was just a confirmation of what I had been feeling so that was a little bit different answer to the same prayer. Then on that day, a friend from Ohio State (I know what I just said) invited me to a getting deep session with some other people. Yet again, God answered my prayer. If that wasn't enough, I was able to have another deep conversation with a Cru coworker of mine. It was such an immense and immediate answer to prayer that I am still amazed. I am so thankful that the Lord is watching over me, with me, and caring about me. Never underestimate the power of prayer.
God Bless and Go Blue!
Tedd Sheets Jr.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
More than Birds
As I continue to work through Luke with the four sevens devotional, I am learning more and more. I am only posting a few of the sections of the devotional and Luke on here so I would really recommend you go through Luke and meditate on small sections at a time.
This section of my devotional was on 12:1-34 and it spoke on worrying about trivial things. The point of this passage was how much God cares for us and how much attention he shows us. God cares for everything on this earth from the smallest creatures to us. He provides food and other essential things for life to the ravens and plants of the earth so why would he not provide for us? Are we less valuable than birds or grass? Of course not! God loves us so much we cannot even comprehend it. Why then do we worry? Why are we so focused on things in life rather than on God? Why don't we trust him to provide? These are all rather difficult questions in my opinion. God is looking out for us and will provide us the things we need. Sometimes we don't get what we want but we have what we need, God is faithful.
I'll try and answer from some personal experiences and hopefully you can relate or be encouraged by my failure. The first case that I am going to talk about is my support raising. First of all, thank you again to all of you who donated to get me where I am today, your donation is not being wasted! Anyway, before I was fully supported, I had no idea how I was going to come up with that much money. I had heard stories of many people that had no trouble raising support but I feared that would not be the case for me. I was so worried about raising the support that I found myself questioning God, even when the money was coming in! My focus was not on the Lord but on money. In the end, I obviously had no reason to worry because God provides even in our worry and doubt. "Of how much more value are you than the birds!" If only I had read this during my support raising, I would have had a less stress filled couple of months.
The second failure on my part is something here on project. About 2 weeks ago or so, the screen on my phone cracked and I was freaking out. It was manageable but it needed to be fixed. To get it repaired would cost an upwards of $150 and I did not want to spend that much because I treat money as an idol sometimes. So, I ordered a repair kit of the internet and tried to repair it myself. God having a sense of humor and a plan decided to teach me a lesson about my idolatry of possessions in that the repair kit was incomplete and I had to order another part. Well, my phone is disassembled at the moment and I have been experiencing a lot of worry about the whole situation because it is a very delicate process. The day after my failed repair attempt, I realized something. I was so worried and concerned about my phone that my relationship with God was taking a back seat. I was not seeking God or even caring that much about being on project, I was caring only about my phone and the money that I may have to pay to get it fixed. Luke 12:15 really spoke to me shortly after this whole ordeal, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." God is in control and there is no point in worrying about possessions here on earth when we are only a dot on the line of infinity. We need to trust God and let him have control of our lives in every aspect, not just certain ones.
So, hopefully you can learn from my poor examples and possibly examine the priorities and areas of worry in your life. Really take time and think what you worry about and value in life. Some things are not apparent to us until we really spend time with God and look into our lives. Let God divulge what you are struggling with, knowingly or not, and let him work in you to take steps to change your heart because we are more valuable than birds.
God Bless and Go Blue!
Tedd Sheets Jr.
This section of my devotional was on 12:1-34 and it spoke on worrying about trivial things. The point of this passage was how much God cares for us and how much attention he shows us. God cares for everything on this earth from the smallest creatures to us. He provides food and other essential things for life to the ravens and plants of the earth so why would he not provide for us? Are we less valuable than birds or grass? Of course not! God loves us so much we cannot even comprehend it. Why then do we worry? Why are we so focused on things in life rather than on God? Why don't we trust him to provide? These are all rather difficult questions in my opinion. God is looking out for us and will provide us the things we need. Sometimes we don't get what we want but we have what we need, God is faithful.
I'll try and answer from some personal experiences and hopefully you can relate or be encouraged by my failure. The first case that I am going to talk about is my support raising. First of all, thank you again to all of you who donated to get me where I am today, your donation is not being wasted! Anyway, before I was fully supported, I had no idea how I was going to come up with that much money. I had heard stories of many people that had no trouble raising support but I feared that would not be the case for me. I was so worried about raising the support that I found myself questioning God, even when the money was coming in! My focus was not on the Lord but on money. In the end, I obviously had no reason to worry because God provides even in our worry and doubt. "Of how much more value are you than the birds!" If only I had read this during my support raising, I would have had a less stress filled couple of months.
The second failure on my part is something here on project. About 2 weeks ago or so, the screen on my phone cracked and I was freaking out. It was manageable but it needed to be fixed. To get it repaired would cost an upwards of $150 and I did not want to spend that much because I treat money as an idol sometimes. So, I ordered a repair kit of the internet and tried to repair it myself. God having a sense of humor and a plan decided to teach me a lesson about my idolatry of possessions in that the repair kit was incomplete and I had to order another part. Well, my phone is disassembled at the moment and I have been experiencing a lot of worry about the whole situation because it is a very delicate process. The day after my failed repair attempt, I realized something. I was so worried and concerned about my phone that my relationship with God was taking a back seat. I was not seeking God or even caring that much about being on project, I was caring only about my phone and the money that I may have to pay to get it fixed. Luke 12:15 really spoke to me shortly after this whole ordeal, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." God is in control and there is no point in worrying about possessions here on earth when we are only a dot on the line of infinity. We need to trust God and let him have control of our lives in every aspect, not just certain ones.
So, hopefully you can learn from my poor examples and possibly examine the priorities and areas of worry in your life. Really take time and think what you worry about and value in life. Some things are not apparent to us until we really spend time with God and look into our lives. Let God divulge what you are struggling with, knowingly or not, and let him work in you to take steps to change your heart because we are more valuable than birds.
God Bless and Go Blue!
Tedd Sheets Jr.
Fathers
I know this post is a few days late, but I would like to dedicate this post to my dad. I've been really busy here in Ocean City and this was the first chance I've had since Father's Day to blog.
I'm going to talk a little bit from Proverbs about fathers and a little bit about fatherhood in general. Along with this, I will probably tie in some thoughts on being a husband too although I do not have any experience, I've had a great example.
I would suggest reading and keeping Proverbs 4:1-4 and 20:7 in mind as I talk for a bit. The first set of verses there talks about how a son should listen to his father and heed his teachings because they provide us insight. This makes a lot of sense when you think about it, our fathers have lived this life for probably 20+ years more than us. They have experienced the trials and hardships that we face and have insight into what we are going through. This being true, fathers should pay special attention to Proverbs 20:7. They are called to be righteous and full of integrity so that they can provide an example for their children. If they are to be able to teach their children as Proverbs 4:1-4 calls, they need to strive to have integrity. This being in the Old Testament, Christ hadn't entered the picture yet but I would say that striving to be Christ-like is in here as well. Father's should be able to provide an example for their children and hopefully this example is one of Christ-likeness and of integrity. I think in every way, fathers can look to our heavenly Father for an example. I believe this goes along with Christ-likeness however. They have a duty to love, care for, teach, provide for, forgive, and discipline their children. These are just a few attributes of our heavenly Father but they are a good start for an example of a good father.
A lot of fathers are also husbands because that is what God intended for our lives. As Ephesians 5:25 says : "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her". I feel like this is the best one sentence summary of being a husband there is. One simple sentence that says so much. Husbands are the head of the household but should not abuse this power. They have power over their wives but they are also called to love their wives. Comparing the love a husband shows his wife to the love Christ shows us is an incredibly powerful image. This kind of husbands provides for his wife, loves and cares for her, forgives her, guides her, is a rock for her, and anything else that comes to mind when you think of Christ's love for the church. So, when you are looking to be a husband or looking for one, keep in mind the love that they should show their significant other. If you already are a husband or have one, strive to make that relationship into one that is Christ centered.
One last note, I just want to take a second and thank my dad for all that he has done for me. He has always been a rock in our family and I am grateful for that. No matter what our family was going through, he was always there and always provided something to hold on to. He has brought me and my three brothers up in a solid Christian home and set an example for us. The love he has for my mother is evident along with the love he has for us. From stern discipline to saying "I'm proud of you", he has showed us what it means to be a loving father and husband. I cannot wait to start a family of my own and see if I can live up to that standard. I have learned so much from him. Thank you dad.
God Bless and Go Blue!
Tedd Sheets Jr.
I'm going to talk a little bit from Proverbs about fathers and a little bit about fatherhood in general. Along with this, I will probably tie in some thoughts on being a husband too although I do not have any experience, I've had a great example.
I would suggest reading and keeping Proverbs 4:1-4 and 20:7 in mind as I talk for a bit. The first set of verses there talks about how a son should listen to his father and heed his teachings because they provide us insight. This makes a lot of sense when you think about it, our fathers have lived this life for probably 20+ years more than us. They have experienced the trials and hardships that we face and have insight into what we are going through. This being true, fathers should pay special attention to Proverbs 20:7. They are called to be righteous and full of integrity so that they can provide an example for their children. If they are to be able to teach their children as Proverbs 4:1-4 calls, they need to strive to have integrity. This being in the Old Testament, Christ hadn't entered the picture yet but I would say that striving to be Christ-like is in here as well. Father's should be able to provide an example for their children and hopefully this example is one of Christ-likeness and of integrity. I think in every way, fathers can look to our heavenly Father for an example. I believe this goes along with Christ-likeness however. They have a duty to love, care for, teach, provide for, forgive, and discipline their children. These are just a few attributes of our heavenly Father but they are a good start for an example of a good father.
A lot of fathers are also husbands because that is what God intended for our lives. As Ephesians 5:25 says : "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her". I feel like this is the best one sentence summary of being a husband there is. One simple sentence that says so much. Husbands are the head of the household but should not abuse this power. They have power over their wives but they are also called to love their wives. Comparing the love a husband shows his wife to the love Christ shows us is an incredibly powerful image. This kind of husbands provides for his wife, loves and cares for her, forgives her, guides her, is a rock for her, and anything else that comes to mind when you think of Christ's love for the church. So, when you are looking to be a husband or looking for one, keep in mind the love that they should show their significant other. If you already are a husband or have one, strive to make that relationship into one that is Christ centered.
One last note, I just want to take a second and thank my dad for all that he has done for me. He has always been a rock in our family and I am grateful for that. No matter what our family was going through, he was always there and always provided something to hold on to. He has brought me and my three brothers up in a solid Christian home and set an example for us. The love he has for my mother is evident along with the love he has for us. From stern discipline to saying "I'm proud of you", he has showed us what it means to be a loving father and husband. I cannot wait to start a family of my own and see if I can live up to that standard. I have learned so much from him. Thank you dad.
God Bless and Go Blue!
Tedd Sheets Jr.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Walking in Christ
"We can run towards Christ because we have nothing to hide and we can run with each other because we have nothing to prove." The project director's wife, Jill Fuhs, spoke on this last week and I just wanted to share what she said and a few thoughts on it.
If you think about it, this is both a great and terrifying truth. Christ knows every single thing about each and every one of us. Every sin, every secret, every joy, every fear, every pleasure, every everything. To me, this is a bit terrifying but very refreshing because he loves me through it all. This being true, we have no reason to hide from Christ. He sees us as we are and accepts as that way. We don't have to worry about Him falling out of love with us or about messing up one too many times. Since this is the case, we should run towards Him. We should desire for that relationship with him and pursue him in our lives. Who else is going to fully know us and fully love us like that?
The second part of that quote is a bit more challenging for me personally. The theme of it is that we should not compare ourselves to other Christians because we are all in different spots in our walk with Christ and we are all equal as sinners. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, we should be trying to encourage one another in our walks of faith. We have nothing to prove to one another because we are all sinners and fall short. Our salvation is not works based so we should not try and see if we are "better or worse" than anyone else. Think of how much closer we could be with God if we were encouraging one another for every time we compared ourselves to each other. I would encourage you to find someone to encourage this week. Just offer a simple compliment or inquire as to how they are really doing. Don't try and prove yourself to people but be open to being vulnerable.
If you think about it, this is both a great and terrifying truth. Christ knows every single thing about each and every one of us. Every sin, every secret, every joy, every fear, every pleasure, every everything. To me, this is a bit terrifying but very refreshing because he loves me through it all. This being true, we have no reason to hide from Christ. He sees us as we are and accepts as that way. We don't have to worry about Him falling out of love with us or about messing up one too many times. Since this is the case, we should run towards Him. We should desire for that relationship with him and pursue him in our lives. Who else is going to fully know us and fully love us like that?
The second part of that quote is a bit more challenging for me personally. The theme of it is that we should not compare ourselves to other Christians because we are all in different spots in our walk with Christ and we are all equal as sinners. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, we should be trying to encourage one another in our walks of faith. We have nothing to prove to one another because we are all sinners and fall short. Our salvation is not works based so we should not try and see if we are "better or worse" than anyone else. Think of how much closer we could be with God if we were encouraging one another for every time we compared ourselves to each other. I would encourage you to find someone to encourage this week. Just offer a simple compliment or inquire as to how they are really doing. Don't try and prove yourself to people but be open to being vulnerable.
Inspirational videos
There have been two videos that have really stuck out to me over the past 6 months and that I wanted to share. Both of these videos are beautiful and both have brought me to tears so I would encourage you to take 15 minutes or so to watch them.
This first video is just a video describing Jesus and how he is our King. It states some of his attributes and is just a really moving video. I'll leave it at that and let the video do the talking.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Come and Follow Me
As I am starting to get into Jesus' life and ministry in my devotional, one thing is blatantly obvious, people were willing to drop everything just to follow Jesus. In Luke, starting around chapter 5, we start to see Jesus' ministry really come to life. He starts to perform miracles of physical healing, demon expelling, and sin forgiving. Clearly the appropriate response is to drop everything and follow him. We see a woman have a demon expelled from her and immediately she begins to follow him. Some other miracles that we see in this area are: healing of a mass group of people, cleansing of a leper, healing of a paralytic, causing empty fishing nets to become so full they break, the raising of a widow's dead son, and the forging of sins (the Pharisees didn't like this because only God could forgive sins and they didn't believe that was who Jesus was). So, as we can see, Jesus performed some pretty amazing miracles while he was here and people responded with praise and began to follow him.
One story here that I find especially interesting is when Jesus calls Levi. Many many many people started following Jesus but this story of Levi starting to follow Jesus is set apart so I want to set it apart too. Levi is a tax collector and one day he was just minding his own business at his tax booth. Jesus walks up to him and merely says "Follow me". What's his response? Luke 5:28 "And leaving everything, he rose and followed him". I think this is just awe inspiring. Sure, Jesus' reputation probably preceded him, but that doesn't make Levi's response any less awesome. This tax collector, one of the most despised professions of the time due to a lot of corruption like stealing people's money, dropped everything he was doing to follow Jesus. Just like that. The way I take this is that there was no hesitation just complete dedication. Amazing, isn't it?
Now, imagine Jesus came knocking at your door, the door of a broken sinner, and said "Follow me". How would you respond? If you're anything like me, you hope that you would respond like Levi and leave everything and follow him. But let's pause there for a second and think. Hasn't Jesus already done this? No, I'm not saying he's actually physically knocked on your door and spoken to you but has he not knocked on the doors of our hearts? Has he not made his point clear that he was and is the Son of God and died to save us from our sin and brokenness? Maybe you're not like me and wouldn't like to respond to Jesus' command to follow him like Levi did. But, if you are with me and would want to respond like Levi did, why haven't you? Maybe you have, I'm not claiming to know your life but I feel like more of us have not responded like Levi did. What are you waiting for? What's holding you back? Maybe there is an idol standing in your way that you just don't want to give up. Maybe you like sitting on your own throne. Maybe you are just too lazy and unmotivated.
For myself, I often find myself in the third category there, simply unmotivated or too lazy to get up and follow Jesus. I'm not sure why or what motivates me to be so unmotivated but it's something that I struggle with it. When I sit down and think about it, it really is silly. This man, who was fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life only to die a brutal death on a cross for my sins. He endured our temptations, our trials, and our circumstances but was stronger than all of us and did not give in to sin. Isn't that amazing? That being true, why wouldn't we drop everything and follow him? What's holding us back? There is so much more that runs through my mind that I can't put to words but that is the gist of it. This was a bit of a longer post but I just had a lot to say on this I guess. I would encourage you to really consider this though and even read Luke 5 and maybe even Luke 6 and 7. Really think about your life and how you have responded to Jesus knocking on the door of your heart and asking you to follow him. Consider the questions that are throughout this post and pray about them and try to see ways in your life you could really commit your life to Jesus.
God Bless and Go Blue!
Tedd Sheets Jr.
One story here that I find especially interesting is when Jesus calls Levi. Many many many people started following Jesus but this story of Levi starting to follow Jesus is set apart so I want to set it apart too. Levi is a tax collector and one day he was just minding his own business at his tax booth. Jesus walks up to him and merely says "Follow me". What's his response? Luke 5:28 "And leaving everything, he rose and followed him". I think this is just awe inspiring. Sure, Jesus' reputation probably preceded him, but that doesn't make Levi's response any less awesome. This tax collector, one of the most despised professions of the time due to a lot of corruption like stealing people's money, dropped everything he was doing to follow Jesus. Just like that. The way I take this is that there was no hesitation just complete dedication. Amazing, isn't it?
Now, imagine Jesus came knocking at your door, the door of a broken sinner, and said "Follow me". How would you respond? If you're anything like me, you hope that you would respond like Levi and leave everything and follow him. But let's pause there for a second and think. Hasn't Jesus already done this? No, I'm not saying he's actually physically knocked on your door and spoken to you but has he not knocked on the doors of our hearts? Has he not made his point clear that he was and is the Son of God and died to save us from our sin and brokenness? Maybe you're not like me and wouldn't like to respond to Jesus' command to follow him like Levi did. But, if you are with me and would want to respond like Levi did, why haven't you? Maybe you have, I'm not claiming to know your life but I feel like more of us have not responded like Levi did. What are you waiting for? What's holding you back? Maybe there is an idol standing in your way that you just don't want to give up. Maybe you like sitting on your own throne. Maybe you are just too lazy and unmotivated.
For myself, I often find myself in the third category there, simply unmotivated or too lazy to get up and follow Jesus. I'm not sure why or what motivates me to be so unmotivated but it's something that I struggle with it. When I sit down and think about it, it really is silly. This man, who was fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life only to die a brutal death on a cross for my sins. He endured our temptations, our trials, and our circumstances but was stronger than all of us and did not give in to sin. Isn't that amazing? That being true, why wouldn't we drop everything and follow him? What's holding us back? There is so much more that runs through my mind that I can't put to words but that is the gist of it. This was a bit of a longer post but I just had a lot to say on this I guess. I would encourage you to really consider this though and even read Luke 5 and maybe even Luke 6 and 7. Really think about your life and how you have responded to Jesus knocking on the door of your heart and asking you to follow him. Consider the questions that are throughout this post and pray about them and try to see ways in your life you could really commit your life to Jesus.
God Bless and Go Blue!
Tedd Sheets Jr.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Ocean City
Hello everyone! It is great over here in Ocean City! Everything is so beautiful from the weather to the ocean to my fellow project mates! I have already met some great people and I am looking forward to getting to know them better and being a part of their lives. I've been here for about 5 days now and I am already being challenged to grow in my faith and I am loving it. We have had several sermon type things and evangelism training and opportunities and fellowship and worship and it's all been so great! I can't express how happy I am to be here right now. I just want to thank you all for your support, whether that be prayer or monetary, I really appreciate it.
The people here are fantastic. They all have hearts for God and want to do his work. I am really looking forward to getting to know, grow with, and have fun with all of them. I've heard stories of how people make best friends here and I can already tell that is a possibility. I have met people from UC Burkly, Chico State, Miami of Ohio, Kenesaw State, Sacramento State, Arizona, and even Ohio State and many more! I am excited that I get to meet and get to know these people from all across the country.
One thing that I can already tell is that I will not have a lot of free time so I will post when I can. We have a three hour block each week to spend with God and I plan to utilize this time as much as I can so instead of journaling in a notebook I will just be posting my thoughts on here. It's not really much different than what I have been doing but I will be doing it as I read and study rather than later that day or the next day or whatever it may have been. The ideas and thoughts will be more fresh. Thank you again for all that you have done!
God Bless and Go Blue!
Tedd Sheets Jr.
The people here are fantastic. They all have hearts for God and want to do his work. I am really looking forward to getting to know, grow with, and have fun with all of them. I've heard stories of how people make best friends here and I can already tell that is a possibility. I have met people from UC Burkly, Chico State, Miami of Ohio, Kenesaw State, Sacramento State, Arizona, and even Ohio State and many more! I am excited that I get to meet and get to know these people from all across the country.
One thing that I can already tell is that I will not have a lot of free time so I will post when I can. We have a three hour block each week to spend with God and I plan to utilize this time as much as I can so instead of journaling in a notebook I will just be posting my thoughts on here. It's not really much different than what I have been doing but I will be doing it as I read and study rather than later that day or the next day or whatever it may have been. The ideas and thoughts will be more fresh. Thank you again for all that you have done!
God Bless and Go Blue!
Tedd Sheets Jr.
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