Wednesday 29 February 2012

i may just "get" Jesus a little more...

Hey y'all! So I want to share something that I learned last week, to me it is epic, and I hope it will be to some of you too. But if its something you knew already, even better.

Starting out with the honesty part.
Since I've been thinking about Jesus and who he is, I've never had the greatest impression of him. I always known he is both God and Man. But to me, him being on the earth, was just pretending to be a human, but he was secretly operating as God.
To me that meant that miracles were all His personal doing (nothing to do with God the Father). That Him being "tempted" was just going through the motions of what we go through, but really He wasn't affected by it because He is God. That dying on the cross didn't hurt him, because he switched over to being God and kept himself from feeling the pain, and just faked it. That during the three days, he was just chilling and waiting to re-inhabit his body on earth. etc.
I'm not sure if anyone else can relate to this, and if you do, there is good news. This IS NOT TRUE!
Let me explain... or try to.

First off, lets start by calling Jesus by the name he would've been called by his own family and friends, "Yeshua". The only reason we know about the life of Yeshua is because four of his friends decided to write down his story. The four being Matthew, Luke, John, and Mark.

Yeshua was fully human and still is. He has perfect relationship with God, and still is God, but he chose to limit himself to just a human, out of love for us, so that he could come and reveal to us who we are intended to be as humans.
I think this is one of the most difficult things to grasp. One thing that has really helped me, is the disciples. Until Yeshua rose from the dead, they didn't believe or understand that he is the Son of God. So as they are following him and being his disciples they would have been seeing him as fully human, and witnessing a perfect relationship with God the Father.
For example. When Peter sees Yeshua walking on the water, the only reason he would dare to think that he could too, was if he saw another HUMAN walking on the water. If they knew that Yeshua was the Messiah than Peter would never think that he could operate in the same way.
I think the best way to really grasp who Yeshua is, is to read through the gospels, knowing that the disciples would not have recognized him as the Messiah.
Than maybe think on what it would mean to the disciples to finally realize that Yeshua, their friend, and rabbi, was the Messiah.


We need to relate to Yeshua the way the disciples did. See him as a man first so that you can truly understand the wonder of his character.

Jesus didn't come to give us a system of salvation, He came to show us a new way of living. A Holy Spirit-filled life looks like Jesus'.

This is, for me, a pretty intense revelation. Frankly I'm not sure if I've explained it well. Please feel free to post questions, and as best as I can, I'll rally some answers together and get back to you with them.
Much love,
Becca

Thursday 16 February 2012

simply difficult

Hey y'all! Time for an update, yes?
To start-off, I'll fill you in a bit on what I've been learning about these past 2 weeks!

Last week we had Donna and Tom Cole come and speak to us about Pure Heart. It is basically a week of dealing with your heart; the good, the bad, and the ugly. But the great thing is that you get to sort through it and get freedom in a lot of things! My favourite days were on true femininity and true masculinity. We got to learn so much more about what it means to be a woman and how fantastic that is, and how we reflect God's beauty and His heart. Then for true masculinity, we got to learn about how God designed men to have godly authority and how that is intended to be exercised, as well as calling them out of passivity and into their role as leaders and conquerors.

This week we are learning from Danny Lehmann. He's been speaking to us on what it really means to be a disciple and to discipline yourself in your walk with God. This has really challenged me to commit to my relationship with God. As we've been taught, a walk with God is simple, but its not easy. Like any relationship, it takes time and energy and effort. Its time for me, to really delve into the Word, and spend time with my God. There is a verse that says:
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes even his own life - he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26
Its pretty scary to read it, but what I believe its saying, is that your love for God has to be so much greater than your love for people who are dear to you, that your love for them seems like hate in comparison. That is hardcore. And this doesn't mean you have an excuse to hate people, it means you are seriously in love with God.

Danny has been talking to us a lot about Spiritual Discipline. That we are meant to take dominion over our lives and discipline ourselves to grow Spiritually, Physically, Socially, Mentally, and in Relationally.  Its so easy to over-spiritualize our walk with God. I've done it, and still am in many ways. But its not just a good feeling, its about truly knowing who my God is, and from that place there is no response but falling in love with Him.

For me during DTS, that means that I'm not going to be going-through-the-motions anymore. It means being truly dedicated and studious in everything I do. It means taking time that I would spend being with my friends, and spending time with my God. It means really getting into the Bible and digging for answers. It means spending time talking to and listening to God.

Like we've been told, its not complicated, but it isn't easy either.

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Sri'li mini update

So just a quick update on the Sri Lanka trip!

Flight Schedule:
With teams Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal:
Kona > Honolulu > Seoul, Korea > Bangkok, Thailand.

Then teams: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, will continue to Mumbai, India.
We'll be doing 2 weeks of Orientation in Mumbai... and possibly travelling to:
Pune, Lonavala, Calcutta, Patna, Agra, and Varanass.

After the 2 weeks, every team but Sri Lanka will be travelling by train/bus to their countries/the northern part of India.
My team will be flying out to Sri Lanka, and our adventure will begin! 

This week we've been applying for our India visas, and we'll be applying for our Sri Lanka visas this Friday!

Please keep us in your prayers that we'll have no issues with our visas, and also that we have good communication with our contacts.

Thanks so much for your support!
If you're wanting to support me financially in my trip to Sri Lanka, please see the "How You Can Help" tab at the top of the page! Its looking to be upwards of $5,000. for the trip, so any support would be greatly appreciated!

Much love,
Becca

Wednesday 1 February 2012

financial miracle!

Day 2 of this week and as a school we have witnessed 2 miracles!

When we were in the prayer room yesterday, during worship a bunch of students heard Angels singing with us!

But tonight we were able to witness a Financial MIRACLE!
Between 49 students, we had yet to pay $93,189. Which included the remainder of our Lecture Fees, and our Outreach Deposit.
After sharing some scriptures about God calling us to give generously...
Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands - all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you. 
- Luke 6:38 
... We each asked God if there was an amount He wanted us to give to someone else in our school, or just as a general donation to be distributed between the students still needing money. Those of us who were told to give, put an IOU note in a basket.
The leaders counted up the totals, and we raised:
$68,010
Considering that around half the students in our school don't have the finances to pay for their own fees, this is truly a miracle!
I am truly convinced that God moved in this time of generosity and multiplied the money that was being given.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and financial support!
I will be paying my Outreach Deposit of $2,500 this Friday, and will then be raising money for the next payment!
Please continue to pray for financial miracles, and if you are able to support me financially please see the tab "How You Can Help" at the top of the page!

Much love,
Becca