People and Nature

April 6th, 2010 by Karissa Craft

            Some people are like rivers and just go with the flow.

Some are like trees; they decide which way they want to sway.

            Some are like the sky, always blue.

Some are like the sun, always happy and shining.

            We need to be all of these as we follow Christ. We need to be willing to go with his plan, make decisions with Him in mind, to be sad occasionally. But most of all we need to be happy. We need to be like the sun to this dark world. Although it’s not always easy, we need to buckle down, do daily devotions, study God’s word and enjoy the ride!

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Streams

April 5th, 2010 by Karissa Craft

As I sat near a stream, I started thinking about people being like streams. The more I thought about it the more I realized this:

Running water doesn’t know its destination; it just keeps on going. As born-again Christians we know we will end up in heaven, but we don’t always know where God wants us next.

This is a difficult concept for me to really apply. I like to know what is going on and what is going to happen. In life, I can’t always have those answers. I may know what is going on for the day, but I don’t always know what is going on tomorrow or if I will even finish today.

This scares me to know that my life isn’t in control, but what comforts me is the fact that I know who is in control. God is in control, and no matter what happens, He is there to help me through it – to be the only one who understands, the only one who knows exactly what I am feeling at every second of every day. That is an amazing comfort! We know where our destination is, but we need to seek God for the next step!

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God, Cars, and Thankfulness

April 1st, 2010 by Dan Nichols

Proof for the law of entropy can be found in many places, but our cars rise to the top of the list in many ways. My sister and I share our parents’ Toyota Corolla. It’s more like a go-cart than an actual vehicle, but the gas mileage is phenomenal. Though, as most used cars operate, our little Corolla has its fair share of trouble.

At the beginning of this semester, we lost the hub-cap of our right rear wheel – no clue where we lost it. A few weeks later, this terrible squealing noise erupted from a loose fan belt or something. (I’m not sure what the “something” is yet – still working on that). These are all normal occurrences, and every car owner either has or will eventually deal with these types of scenarios.

I spent the first 5 semesters of college without a car. It wasn’t difficult because I held almost all my jobs on campus. Once my parents let me borrow their car, the newness and thrill of actually having a vehicle was tremendous! But eventually, the thrill faded into routine. I’m so used to having a car now; it’s hard to think about life without one again.

God gives us blessing after blessing day-in and day-out. We tend to think of life in terms of routines and normalcy, and this leads to lifestyles full of ingratitude. I know I tend to live this way most of the time. Instead I need to be thankful for having a car, a cell-phone, a job…all these things are from God.

Remember to be thankful today – even if your car is falling apart!

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Summer 2010 @ BBC

March 31st, 2010 by Dan Nichols

Usually I stick to spiritual growth posts, but this is going to be simple and informative. I’ve worked at BBC for the past two summers. There are tons of awesome events during the summer at BBC! See which ones you might want to experience…

Men’s Conference (May 14-15): http://www.bbc.edu/mensconference/index.asp

LYFE Women’s Conference (May 20-22/June 3-5): http://www.bbc.edu/lyfe/default.asp

Golf Tournament (June 10-11): http://www.bbc.edu/summer/golf

Summer Volunteers Week (June 20-26): http://www.bbc.edu/summer/volunteers/index.asp

Big Blue Basketball Camp (June 21-25): http://www.bbc.edu/bigblue (Grades 5-8)

Defender Basketball Camp (June 27-July 2): http://www.bbc.edu/sportscamps (Grades 9-12)

Lady Defender Basketball Camp (July 4-9): http://www.bbc.edu/sportscamps (Grades 9-12)

Summer Volunteers Week (July 11-17): http://www.bbc.edu/summer/volunteers/index.asp

Jr. High Boot Camp (July 12-16): http://www.bbc.edu/bootcamp

Teen Leadership Conference (July 19-24 & July 26 – 31): http://www.bbc.edu/tlc2010

Defender Soccer (August 1-6): http://www.bbc.edu/sportscamps (Boys and Girls)

Lady Defender Volleyball Camp (August 8-13): http://www.bbc.edu/sportscamps

Big Blue Soccer Camp (August 9-13): http://www.bbc.edu/bigblue (Grades K-8)

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Common Religiosity

March 29th, 2010 by Dan Nichols

Last week I was watching the cop show Southland. The LA policemen investigating the murder of a college athlete stopped a woman to ask her if she knew anything about the crime. The woman responded by saying…

No sir. You know how it says, “See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil.” That’s the best thing I learned from the Bible!

The officer replied…

Ma’am, I believe that’s Buddhist.

As humorous as that scene was, it got me seriously considering the common religiosity that plagues our society. In America today we tend to be somewhat religious and tend to believe that’s a good thing. The truth is that religion kills. Common religiosity is NOT a good thing. Anything that is good comes from the good news or gospel of Jesus Christ. Below is material from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA:

“Religion says that if we obey God He will love us. The gospel says that it is because God has loved us through Jesus that we can obey.

Religion says that the world is filled with good people and bad people. The gospel says that the world is filled with bad people who are either repentant or unrepentant.

Religion says that you should trust in what you do as a good moral person. The gospel says that you should trust in the perfectly sinless life of Jesus because He alone is the only good and truly moral person who will ever live.

The goal of religion is to get from God such things as health, wealth, insight, power, and control. The goal of the gospel is not the gifts God gives, but rather God as the gift given to us by grace.

Religion is about what I have to do. The gospel is about what I get to do. Religion sees hardship in life as punishment from God. The gospel sees hardship in life as sanctifying affliction that reminds us of Jesus’ sufferings and is used by God in love to make us more like Jesus. Religion is about me. The gospel is about Jesus.

Religion leads to an uncertainty about my standing before God because I never know if I have done enough to please God. The gospel leads to a certainty about my standing before God because of the finished work of Jesus on my behalf on the cross.

Religion ends in either pride (because I think I am better than other people) or despair (because I continually fall short of God’s commands). The gospel ends in humble and confident joy because of the power of Jesus at work for me, in me, through me, and sometimes in spite of me.”

Shows like Southland illustrate our need for rescue – but it doesn’t come through common religiosity. The truth is that a real relationship with Jesus Christ is our only rescue.

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Signs of the End

March 26th, 2010 by Jamie Knowles

Projects, projects, and more projects. 

It’s spring, the weather is getting warmer, and projects are coming fast.  Within the next four weeks, I have three big projects due one right after the other, four papers, and a bunch of tests.  However, the summer is coming and so is the end of my junior year. 

For some this year will be the end of the beginning – a time when seniors will leave the halls of BBC and join the work force.  That is what scares me the most.

What am I going to do?  Next year I will be leaving BBC to use what I have learned during my time here to hopefully better the community where I live, but the question is how?

I have one more year left, but today I feel as though tomorrow I will be gone and I will be wading my way through life looking for a way to be of help in society. 

I wonder if this is how the seniors feel.  I wonder if they feel like me wondering what the future holds or if they know exactly what they will be dong for the next year or two.  I know I wish I knew.

Kudos to all seniors out there – go out and make a difference.

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Reaction vs. Interaction

March 24th, 2010 by Dan Nichols

In Romans 13:1-7, Paul writes:

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

American Christians seem to lose sight of Scripture when events unravel that make them feel uncomfortable. I’m included in the American Christian category as well. We tend to REACT instead of INTERACT. The recent political trends have sparked outcries across the country from America’s politically conservative base – especially Christians.

As followers of Christ, we should be known as people who interact with wisdom, love and truth as opposed to people who react with stupidity, hatred and disrespect. The challenge from Romans 13:1-7 is to maintain a high respect for government. (And Paul was referring to the Roman government which was, believe it or not, far more corrupt than our present situation). The challenge from Paul still stands today – even for American politics in March 2010.

Christian, remember our call to be salt and light in a dark world.

Refuse to react with stupidity, hatred or disrespect.

Interact with wisdom, love and truth.

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The Options Are Written

March 18th, 2010 by Dan Nichols

Yet another guest blog from Karissa Craft. Hope you’re enjoying her new style and thought process. The variety is a welcome change of pace!

The options are written, but the choices remain!

We tend to view our lives as a blank page in a book to write whatever we feel like. The options of our lives have been written out, we have yet to seek God in all of them. We have the tendency to go through our days as if God is just in the background.  I know that’s how most of my days are. I believe our generation has an extreme problem with this as we tend to go about our days doing whatever we feel like doing without consulting God. Our days should be spent seeking God’s page for the day.

So how do we take the time we need to seek God during our busy lives? Simply put we need to pencil in the time. We need to remove an event from our schedules. Whether it’s an hour of sleep in the morning, time during a meal, or an hour later at night, we need to seek the page written for that day.

Take time to seek the pages and create the cover for God’s glory.

The pages are there, but the cover is blank. 

- Karissa Craft

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Winter Makes Spring?

March 15th, 2010 by Dan Nichols

In Clarks Summit, winter seems to last for at least six months. Today was the first glimmer of the hope for most of us who are avid winter-haters. As I went to fill up my Toyota Corolla before leaving for spring break this evening, I asked myself this question:

Would I enjoy spring without winter?

I’m sure that in tropical climates with primarily warm weather the people do still enjoy the warm environment even though winter is non-existent. But would they enjoy it more if winter encompassed them for months on end?

Subconsciously, winter makes spring’s resurgence enjoyable.

We’re loving it today in Clarks Summit.

(3.11.10)

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Fasting… A Few Days in the Life of A Youth Leader

March 10th, 2010 by Jamie Knowles

Throughout the Bible we see instances of God’s people separating themselves from life’s distractions by fasting. This time of separation allowed them to personally interact with God, without tangling themselves in the daily routine. There were different situations that caused the believers to fast. In Esther we see the entire nation of Israel fasting and crying out to God for fear of extermination because of Haaman’s wicked plan. Moses fasted before bringing God’s Law to the children of Israel. Even Jesus himself fasted before beginning His earthly ministry.

Each biblical account of fasting involved God’s people seeking for His involvement in a specific situation. Over this past weekend, our Youth Group, as well as the leaders fasted for 30 hours. Our goal was to consecrate our Youth Group, to ask God to take over and make a difference in the next year.

The night started out with us watching the Passion of the Christ, which immediately set the tone for the evening’s activities. After that, we spent a half hour singing songs that focused on the cross, and what Christ accomplished for us there. Then there were various games, activities, and lessons throughout the night. The evening then came to a close when each teen split off into their own separate room to read the book of Philippians, and connect it to their response to the cross.

When the teens woke up the next morning, everyone pitched in at 8am for the AngelFood food distribution ministry put on by our church.

Sunday morning we all came together again for worship in the morning and described to the church some of the things we saw God do, including adding new teens to a stagnant group, and convicting us all of ways we can better show Christ’s love to others.

That is a brief preview of what I would say it’s like to be a College Student training for ministry, as well as serving in ministry at BBC.

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