Speak Out - He Will Show You the Way

God has been doing a lot in my life the past two years. I graduated from AFLBS (Association Free Lutheran Bible School) this past May and am currently a youth worker in Wheatland, IA. It all started two years ago during spring of my senior year of High School. I was set on going to a Community College near my home
town of Lisbon, IL. I had been accepted and taken my placement tests. I had been to campus days before and fell in love with Bible School, but at first my parents weren’t too keen on the whole idea of me taking two whole years off and going to a school with barely any credits that would transfer. Then one day I was looking at the AFLBS website and saw that there was a Dean’s Luncheon that I could take a tour and eat with some of the staff. I told my dad that I really wanted him to see the school and how much it meant to me. After that trip my dad loved the school and environment! That next fall I began my Bible School adventure.

These past two years have been a time where I have matured and grown very much spiritually. Being out of the house from my parents forced me to grow up and grow in my relationship with the Lord. Some great scripture from Ephesians 4:22-24 says, “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Those words of the Lord hit me hard. After four years of public high school I had been corrupted and needed to be renewed. I dug deep into the Word and experienced it in a whole new aspect. I remember Pastor Haugen saying that we would never leave his class the same person. Oh and it was so true, my faith became stronger and I discovered just how great God’s grace truly is.

During the middle of my second year of Bible School I started to worry about what was next, what was after this? Then I became very stressed over my future. I was stressed most because I truly wanted to do God’s will. I had taken Intro to Youth Ministry class with Jason Holt and LOVED it. I learned so much about working with youth and what that ministry was all about. One day Jason told a story about a boy in youth group that had not felt accepted and didn’t enjoy youth group very much. It had a lot more detail, but it ended with the leader saying that he had lost a child today. My heart suddenly went out to kids everywhere and that I didn’t want to see that happen. Jason invited our class to the annual Youth Workers Retreat this past January. I still didn’t know what was up for the summer. If it was summer teams, a mission trip, or stay at home and work. At this retreat on the second night I and some others stayed up all night. During that night we had some deep discussion, about our spiritual lives and how we were doing. I told them about my situation and stress about doing God’s will. One man pointed out that yes I wanted to do God’s will, but I wasn’t trusting Him to show me the way. Proverbs 3:5-6 comes to mind… “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” That next Monday at school Nate came to school and announced an opening for an
internship as a youth worker in Wheatland, IA. I felt God pulling me towards that position and I talked to Nate and applied. It’s a small town just like I grew up in and has a group of girls that needed God’s love. I have finished the internship and have been asked to stay for this next school year. God showed me the way and I followed. Stick close to the Lord and He will show you the way.

by Emily Holman
originally posted August 2008

Speak Out - Practice

After growing up in a Christian home, and learning about Jesus for 22 years, why do I still feel insufficient for God’s work? Inadequate? Not smart enough? After finishing Bible School, I thought I’d have my life together, have seen God do awesome things with my life, and be bringing people to Christ left and right (and yes, God did do many amazing things while I was at Bible School, more than I had imagined or even thought
possible). But,

ONE YEAR LATER… I haven’t fallen away from God or ruined my life. I haven’t stopped doing my devotions or praying, but I still feel like I don’t know enough about my faith and that I’m too much of a hypocrite to be “out there” affecting people. I think this is one way that Satan can and has been discouraging us (or at least me). Our struggle (my struggle) is not against flesh and blood. There is a spiritual battle going on, more than we realize, so much more than we realize! The Bible mentions it more than
just in Ephesians 6 and it is shown so often in the Bible! Many people in the Bible had spiritual battles: Adam and Eve, David, Solomon, the disciples, even Jesus had to fight against the powers of darkness.

NOW… “IT’S TIME.” It’s time for me to trust Him, completely. God has laid it on my heart to stop being a wimp. I’ve got my foundation now, and it’s time to start applying. Even if I don’t do it right or am clumsy at it, I don’t have to know everything before I can start applying it. I am not God, and therefore I will never be done learning. It’s a constant process, and we can never stop growing closer to Christ. I will make mistakes sometimes, but I will never grow and see new things if I’m not trying out what I’ve learned. Sometimes we can “know” what God has taught us, but it doesn’t really sink in and really affect us until we test it out or God allows us to be tested. God doesn’t want to just tell us the answer. So many times He wants to show us too, if only we (I) would let him!

I have been studying the Bible with just the intention of learning, but there is so much more to it! After all, the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). And God’s word, which goes forth from His mouth, does not return to Him empty, without accomplishing what He desires (Isaiah 55). How cool is that? Why am I afraid again? God’s word is so powerful. It’s not just a learning tool—it has so much more to offer! I have not been taking advantage of what God has available to me.

Don’t get me wrong, learning is not a bad thing. But God has been telling me to get up and start using what He’s been teaching me. I need to practice… yes, practice. I haven’t been practicing very much. Practicing usually means doing something and more than once, with the very real possibility of messing up. I need to practice what I have been learning, and trust God that He will use it for good as He promises in Romans 8. Even if I mess up!

And if I do need help, or encouragement, if I get somewhere and don’t know what to say or do, well… hello! That’s what God is there for!

There is so much to learn and God has changed my life and done some amazing things. I have not been disappointed in God at all. I will never stop learning, but God wants me to do more than learn. He wants me to practice. He wants me to apply. He wants me to do. It’s time for me to walk the walk in my heart as well as in my actions. Now, that is a lot easier said than done, but bring it on because God is my helper, my joy,
and my strength. He’s also my teammate, my partner, my friend, and my Savior. And this is going to be a grand adventure!

NT
originally posted July 2008