Seek first Your Kingdom

May this encourage you as you continue to learn that there is no alternative to whom we live for.

 - Dan

Lyrics:

Verse 1: You are the best thing to sing about And I could write a song for You You are the best thing to think about And I could fill my days with thoughts of You

Chorus: For I've found no alternative And there is no other choice No there is no alternative For which I will use my voice to sing about To sing about You

Verse 2: You are the best thing to talk about And I could write a speech on You You are the best thing to figure out And I will spend my whole life chasing You

Chorus: For I've found no alternative And there is no other choice No there is no alternative For which I will use my voice to sing about To sing about You

Bridge: And even though the world will steal my heart away, away from You Still I know your love will make a way, a way for me to You And even though the fleeting pleasures of the world I do pursue By your mercy and your grace You'll turn my eyes to fix on You...

Outro: Because You are the best thing to sing about And I could write a song for You For You For You

Baptisms always get me, in a good way.

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” 

Quoted from an email conversation with someone who was there from IFA’s beginnings. (names changed to protect privacy)

“Back when I was in IVCF at CMU (about 1993), there was a lot of interest in cross-Christian fellowship activities and ministry.  There were two IVCF members in particular that wanted to better organize inter-fellowship activities, A.G. and T.L.  We did a number of joint worship services and some joint outreach.  In order to better organize and describe the purpose for the inter-fellowship activities, I organized the Joint Fellowship Council (JFC) with the other leaders.  I remember the main fellowships involved at that time were the Koran Christian Fellowship (KCF), the Asian Christian Fellowship (ACF), and Shadyside Christian Fellowship (SCF). There was some debate among the groups that if we did too many things together, then we would become too inward focused.  The emphasis on JFC was partially fellowship, but specifically focused on joint outreach and prayer meetings.  KCF, ACF, and IVCF had a number of joint prayer meetings that year we started. The other side of the debate was we were “competing” fellowships over the few number of Christians on campus.  My point in organizing JFC was to tone down the “competitive” spirit and challenge the fellowships to focus more on prayer and outreach in order to reach the other 80-90% of the campus that weren’t Christians.  We also discussed coordinating our outreach efforts to better cover the campus and not duplicate outreach activities. It was generally mildly effective in 1993 and 1994.  I’m glad to see it’s still going.”

I think leaving a place has made really made me count my blessings. I don’t do it enough, but whenever I do, I realize how #blessed I am.

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow...” has a lot more meaning and brings a lot more joy when I look back at all that I have been #blessed with.

Counting blessings however is not the end of it. It should be:

Count blessings (acknowledge God’s gifts)

Be thankful (actively thank God for His gifts)

Respond (now that you have been given something, be a good steward and use it to glorify God)

Also...

One of my favorite passages is Matthew 6. In it, God promises that if we seek him above all other things, He will provide for the rest of the things we need. Sometimes, however, I think God has already provided for these needs. But in those situations, we still need to seek Him first. Seeking God first when you have all you need may be just as challenging as seeking God when you are in need.

Also also...

very thankful that no matter where I may be, God provides a place for me to Bible study. ACF Summer Bible Studies may be a good thing for you to check out if you are also in need (though it should not substitute looking for a physical small group to Bible study with)!

How do you leave a place?

There's a lot that you can learn when you're in the position to leave a place.

I think the biggest lesson for me thus far has to do with really appreciating the fact that God is constant. The things around me are changing - the people, the job, the location - it’s being able to have that anchor, that solid rock that can be depended on. Knowing that God is the one that goes before me and the one that comes behind me, that’s the peace of Christ that keeps it all together.