November Newsletter

Fresh Bread

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, it is he that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:4-5

I think the thing that’s been on my mind most recently is the word: ABIDE. Jesus tells us in John 15 to “abide in me… for apart from me you can do nothing.” More than ever I’m realizing how true His words really are. I’ve been blessed this year to see fruit in ministry, but I know all of that has been the Lord’s gracious provision because I often struggle with self-sufficiency, trying to do things in my own strength, which is so tiring. I wasn’t made to be independent from the true vine. I was meant to be given life and strength as I abide in Him. I’ve heard the word abide defined as “the habitually adhere to” or “to be at home.”  As the semester comes to a close things only seem to get busier. Please pray that I will abide in Christ, rely on him for strength, and make myself at home in his love so that I may bear much fruit and bring Him glory.

Blessed to be living with these ladies, From L to R: Carrie, Tina,
Me, Kelsey, Chrissy, and Lizzy

From Campus

I want to apologize that this newsletter is later than normal. I wanted to wait to send this one out until after our YouTube outreach because I knew the Lord was going to do some really amazing things last week and I wanted to share them with you. We had 157 students sign up to participate in this outreach November 5-9. Students picked one word that described their life before a relationship with Jesus and one word that described their life after a relationship with Jesus. Students wore green t-shirts that looked like the photo to the left.. Except instead of “before” and “after” they had the words they chose. Students wore these shirts for the whole week .Imagine walking on campus everyday and seeing 150+ people walking around in green t-shirts with strange words on them. As you can imagine MSU students and faculty were very curious. Many people asked our students, “What is with all the green t-shirts?” Students got to answer that question and share with them how Jesus has changed their lives. Students also recorded a short 2-3 minute video sharing their story and the transforming   power of the gospel. Every student posted their video on the same YouTube channel and then on their Facebook page. Usually a person's religion is something you can read about in their Facebook profile, but have no clue how that actually impacts their life. The point of the t-shirts and the videos was to get students into spiritual conversations with their friends, classmates, roommates, teammates, and family. We’ve had over 13,000 views on our YouTube channel. It’s been so cool to see God use our students, taking a huge step of faith, to put the gospel in arms reach of so many people. And not just on Missouri State’s campus but all over the internet. 

Check out some of the stories from this week:

Ashley is a leader in our athlete Bible study and the libero for the volleyball team. Last week Ashley was able to share her story with one of her teammates, Karen, over dinner. Karen believes there is a God, but doesn’t know Jesus as her personal savior. She is willing to talk more about spiritual things and Ashley is excited to continue having spiritual conversations with her.

Kiley, another leader in our athlete Bible study (pictured front row, center with other MSU athletes who participated in the outreach), saw her video reach farther than she could have imagined. Kiley posted her video on Facebook and one of her friends from high school who is going to school at University of California at Berkley. Kiley’s friend sent her a message, saying how the video really impacted her and was making her think about her own relationship with God, which is struggling right now. Kiley is excited to talk more with her friend over Christmas break.

Allie is a junior in Cru. Only a few people asked her about her shirt during class (not the best time to have an in-depth spiritual conversation). Allie was a little disappointed she didn’t have more deep conversations, but said, “The outreach helped me learn to trust God more. I was wearing a shirt that had my story on it and putting a video about my story on the internet, and I learned to rely on God through those experiences and put myself out there for Him.” Not only was this outreach great for Allie’s spiritual growth, but now she is equipped to share her story with people wherever she goes.

Jess is a junior on the soccer team at Missouri State. One of her teammates saw her video on her Facebook page. She wanted to talk more about what Jess shared in her video. After their initial conversation, her teammate wants to meet up on a regular basis for discipleship because she wants to grow in her faith. Jess is really excited that she gets to invest in a girl on her own team. 

If you'd like to see some of our students' testimony videos click here: MSU Cru Before and After

If you'd like to see videos from the athletes involved in our athlete small group Bible study click here: Cru Athletes

If you'd like to see my video click here: Melissa's Story: Hypocrite and Free

Enjoy some photos from before and after:

Morgan one of our students took this photo. She was watching the video of the girl
sitting across from her in the student union. 

Everyone has a story. What's yours?

Ruth (L) and Becca (R) having lunch with some friends.

The wood "t-shirt." An attention grabber.

Found this in the hallway of one of our dorms: love our students getting the word out.

Students and staff manning the outreach table. Students had the change to write a word that describes their lives on the wood "t-shirt." This opened the door to questions and spiritual conversations.

Allison looks on as an MSU students writes his word on the t-shirt. 

Ways You Can Pray

• Pray that this before and after outreach will have an impact past this month. Pray that the people who watched the videos and saw the t-shirts will continue to seek out what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. Pray that our students will use their stories to share the gospel with people for the rest of their lives. 
• I love December because December means Denver Christmas Conference. We want to see students' lives changed. We want to see the world changed. Every year college students have the chance to grow closer to Jesus Christ through prayer, powerful worship, passionate Bible teaching and community at Denver Christmas Conference (DCC). Students will be equipped with life and ministry skills, have the opportunity to connect and network with other students and reach out locally and globally. DCC is a chance for students to have an uncommon winter break! Check out this years promo video:

If you would like to scholarship a student who wants to go to DCC but might not be able to afford it please email me: melissa.gmur@cru.org. If you'd like to find out more about DCC click this link: Denver Christmas Conference. 

Cru's Annual Halloween Party

My roommates and I were Disney villains this year. From L to R: the witch from Snow White (Kelsey), the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland (me), Yzma from the Emperor's New Groove (Chrissy), Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians (Carrie), and Ursula from the Little Mermaid (Tina).

PLEASE PRAY THIS WEEK

Hello friends! I'm so excited to share with you what is happening this week. We are doing an outreach at Missouri State using YouTube and green t-shirts. Let me explain:

Cru students who have had their lives transformed by Christ signed up to participate in this outreach. They chose one word that represented their life before Christ and one word that represented their life after Christ. We had t-shirts printed that look like the photo below, except instead of saying before and after it says the words they chose.

Students also recorded a short video sharing their story: what their life was like before Jesus, how they met Jesus for the first time, and what their life is like now that they know him. Students uploaded these videos to a YouTube channel and will post their video on their Facebook page. They will also wear their t-shirts on campus for this whole week: November 5-9. That's right! Every day for a whole week. Some people might have to do some laundry come Wednesday. 

We had 157 people sign up to do this outreach. You can imagine the kind of impact that would have on campus and on the internet? Our goal is that students would have an easy transition into talking about what they believe with friends and family. Usually a person's religion is something you can read about in their Facebook profile, but have no clue how that actually impacts their life. When students see their Facebook news feed blowing up with these "Before and After" videos or walk on campus and see 150+ people wearing the same green shirt with strange words on the front there will be quite a buzz. Our prayer is that people who have never surrendered their lives to Christ will ask our students questions about their shirts and videos and that ultimately our students will get to share their stories with them and then the gospel. Will you please diligently pray this week for our outreach? 

Here's a few specific things you can pray for:

• This is a really big step for many of our students. Some of them have never shared their faith before. Some of them have never boldly claimed to be Christians and letting the whole world know is going to be hard for them. Will you pray for our Cru students who uploaded videos and will be wearing the t-shirts? Pray Ephesians 6:19-20 for them: "that whenever they speak, words may be given them so that they will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel... Pray that they may declare it fearlessly, as they should."
• Pray for a HUGE impact. University of Illinois did this outreach last year and had about 12,000 views on their YouTube channel. Pray for an impact like that for us too. Also, pray that our students get to have A LOT of conversations about their shirts. Pray that students at MSU would be curious and ask questions about the t-shirts. Each student who signed up was challenged to pick 3 people they wanted to talk to about their shirt. Pray that they actually take a big step of faith and talk with those people.
• Pray that students would hear the gospel, place their trust in Christ, and surrender control of their lives to him. 
• Pray against any spiritual warfare that might happen this week. 

If you would like to check out our channel and hear from some of our wonderful students click the link: MSU Cru Before and After

If you'd like to watch my video click this link: Melissa's Before and After

Thank you for your prayers and support! I can't wait to give you an update next week and share with you the impact this outreach had. 

Thankfulness and BIG Asking

The talk I gave at the athlete's Bible study a few weeks ago:

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful. At my house we go around the table and say one thing we’re thankful for before we pray and eat. It gives me warm fuzzy feelings inside until I stuff myself so full I’m going to explode. I was on Pinterest the other day, just wasting time looking at some-ecards?I think they’re so funny. A lot of them are super inappropriate, but I have found one that I find is both humorous and appropriate.

The sad part is it’s SO true. I have never been shopping on black Friday and one of my life goals is to keep that streak alive. But, I think one of the biggest issues in our culture today is lack of gratitude. We think we deserve all these good things and we’re just not thankful for the ways we have been blessed. Tonight we’re going to talk about the ten lepers that are healed by Jesus. This story is definitely about thankfulness, but I want to dig a little deeper and look into the way we pray and what that tells us about the way we view God. Open your Bibles to Luke 17. We’ll be in verses 11-19.

Luke 17:11-19

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”  Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

I don’t know how much you guys know about leprosy, but one piece of advice: do not search it in Google images. Seriously, worst idea ever. It’s gruesome and so very, very sad. This story starts off with Jesus and his disciples on the way to Jerusalem. We see this interaction between Jesus and ten men with leprosy. Leprosy is a skin disease that causes skin sores, nerve damage, and muscle weakness that gets worse over time. Imagine these ten men calling out to Jesus and they have skin sores and large bumps all over their bodies. Not exactly the most comfortable position to be in. And you notice that they are outside the village because they come in contact with each other as he was walking into a village. It was common to send lepers outside of the city because they were considered unclean. It was not just that they thought this disease was contagious. It was more than that. The Jewish people put a big emphasis on being clean: not eating certain foods, not touching things that were dead, etc. They had a lot of rituals and customs so lepers were considered to be unworthy to be in the presence of people who were “clean.” It was a common belief that leprosy was a sign of God’s disfavor. So these guys have been cut off from the community and sent out of the village. If you look back in the Old Testament, 

Numbers 5:2-3 actually contained instructions from God on how to deal with people who had leprosy. 

“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.” 

So before you’re like, “well that’s rude!” These were the instructions they were given by God because leprosy is actually somewhat contagious and in order for the presence of God to dwell there the camp had to be clean. The people in this village were doing what God told them to do. The lepers call out to Jesus saying, “Jesus, master, have pity on us!” I find it interesting that they ask for pity and not healing. Being outside of the city they were very reliant on other people for supplies, food, and shelter. They were used to asking for pity. But here is Jesus who has time and time again healed people of a myriad of things. He has a reputation for healing the sick and they ask "small." They ask him for surface level needs when their greatest need is to be healed and restored to the community. 

They kind of miss the greatness of Jesus there, but then Jesus tells them to go show themselves to the priest. You only showed yourself to the priest for one reason and that was when you were healed. The custom was when you were cured of leprosy you would show yourself to the priest. Priests, according to Jewish law, were the only ones who could declare a person healed of leprosy -- clean, and fit to re-enter society. Jesus doesn't actually come out and say that they are healed, but he certainly implies it. Therefore, they must go to receive a clean bill of health from the official who can grant it. I’m amazed at the leper’s faith! They did not actually receive the healing and then go. Jesus told them to go and they obeyed. It would be a waste of their time to go to the priest if they were not actually healed. So it’s pretty cool to see them in faith go, trusting that Jesus would heal them. And he did! It says, “as they went, they were cleansed.”

The lepers go show themselves to the priest and what we see next is their response to the healing. Notice that only one of the ten men come back to thank Jesus. It says, “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.” Can you believe that? Only one out of the ten men came back to praise Jesus. And then Luke throws in the point “and he was a Samaritan.” In those times Jews and Samaritans hated each other and did not spend time around each other. This was mixed company and some of the other lepers were Jewish. Even those who knew God and claimed to follow him did not come back and praise Jesus for healing them. I think how often I am exactly like those other 9 lepers! I ask God for things and when he answers I’m off to the next thing! I don’t bother praising him for what he has done for me. I don't want that to be true of me anymore.

I think Jesus’ response is funny. I just makes me laugh when he asks questions sometimes. It’s like he already knows the answer, yet he still asks. He says in verse 18, “Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’  Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’” At the end he makes this statement about his faith making him well. As far as we can tell all the lepers were healed (and stayed healed )of their leprosy, but here Jesus give a little more to the thankful Samaritan. Jesus offers more to him than the others. The Samaritan’s faith has prompted him to return to the feet of Jesus and by Jesus’ response we see that healing he gives this man is more than skin deep. He cared about the Samaritan’s physical body, but obviously he also cared about his spiritual condition and making sure he was “well” in that area too.

This passage causes me to ask myself a couple questions. And I hope you take the time to answer them as well.

#1 – What am I asking God for? I am asking small? I think so often I put God in a box. I limit him to what I think he can or will do for me. Ephesians 3:20 says that he is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” So I have to ask myself, “I am like the lepers?” I am asking for pity when I could be asking for healing?  I want you to hear that I am NOT saying this: "God does not care about your tests or safe travels or injuries or tiredness." He does care about those things. He cares about that stuff because he loves us and I know he delights in all requests being brought before him. But why don’t I ask for the big stuff? For the things I really need? For things that are internally going on inside? Why don’t I ask him to help me fight temptation? Or take away my bitterness towards that one person I can't seem to forgive? Or to fix a broken relationship within my family? It’s great to ask for help in school as you’re taking tests, it’s great to ask God to heal broken bones and stress fractures. So please do not hear that I don’t think you should ask for those things because you should. But I don’t want to be like the lepers. I don’t want to ask for only the skin deep stuff. I want to ask for real healing.

#2 – Am I thankful? The lepers shouted out to Jesus in a loud voice asking for pity. The one leper that came back to thank God shouted his praise. I like to imagine his praise was louder than that of his request. Do I do that? Is my praise and thanksgiving as loud or frequent as my requests? How much time do I spend praising God? He has given me an innumerable amount of good gifts. Do I take time to worship him for those things? For salvation? For being rescued from my sin? For a roof over my head? For a family and friends who love me? The list could go on forever! Do I thank him for those? In this passage it’s pretty clear that Jesus expects our praise. He asked where the other 9 lepers where. They were expected to come back. God is beyond worthy of praise. He deserves our worship and it’s expected of us. Will Arthur Ward said, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” That would be pretty lame right? 

#3 – And finally the question we have been asking all semester: who do you say that I am? What am I believing about Jesus? Do I believe he has only good things for me? When I don’t believe that he is good I tend to stop praising him and I tend to stop asking him for things. If I don’t believe he answers why would I pray? Do we believe that he hears and cares about our needs? Skin deep and beyond? Do I believe he’s able to immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine? The lepers had not been healed yet when they went to the priest. They went in faith, trusting Jesus that he would heal them. Do I believe God has the power to do those things? And am I willing to be obedient when he tells me to do something? Even if I don’t see results quite yet?

So here's the recap, number one: am I asking for more than the skin deep? Number two: am I thankful? And number three: what am I believing about God?

One thing my discipler, Kate, told me this year is praise and worship of Jesus leads to bold asking. When we rattle off the list of things we’re thankful for and remember the things he’s done for us we realize how good he is to us. It renews our faith and helps us ask for big things. The book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament constantly says, “Remember, remember, remember” over and over again. It’s a reminder to the Israelites to remember how God had saved them from the Egyptians and slavery. We should remember and thank God for all he’s done because he’s worthy of it, but also it helps us become faithful askers. So tonight  I’d love for you to honestly answer those three questions: Am I asking for more than the skin deep? Am I thankful? What am I believing about God? After that spend some time praising God. Thank him for the ways he’s blessed you. And after that I want you to ask for that big thing you have grown weary of asking. Sometimes I get tired of praying the same thing over and over because I doubt that God will really answer. When I remember all he’s done I know that he is beyond capable of answering. God has been so good to me and has answered so many prayers of mine, even ones I've forgotten I have prayed. He is able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine. So I want to keep asking and I want to encourage you guys to keep asking. To be thankful and to ask big.

Service Week

Two weeks ago our Cru students participated in Service Week. Each small group Bible study took a evening or afternoon and spent it serving the community of Springfield. We invited other groups on campus to come with us to serve. It was so cool to build relationships with students in other campus organizations while honoring the Lord through service projects.

The athletes' Bible study invited Missouri State Athletes and went to a center for at risk and homeless youth called Rare Breed. We played board games with the kids and asked them about their lives. It was cool to hear their stories and encourage them to stay in school. Springfield youth really look up to Missouri State Athletes so it was very special for them to interact with these kids. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from that night as the center doesn't allow for photos.

Hammons/Hutchens Bible Study went to 2nd Baptist Church's community garden and helped prep it for winter. The Victory Garden was donated by a family within the church. Each year the crop is given to a variety of local organizations that serve Springfield's hungry and homeless population. As winter approaches, there were no crops for us to harvest, however, we were able to prep for next year. We spent a Saturday morning with the International Student Bible Discussion group, Asian American Pacific Islander Organization, and Spectrum (the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Transgender group on campus) cleaning out planters. The garden is all set for next year's planting season. It was a lot of fun to be with such a diverse group. Our students were able to serve alongside other groups on campus, some of which they would never come in contact with otherwise.

Please enjoy the photos from this fun outreach!

October Newsletter

FRESH BREAD

Ephesians 2:4-5

“But God, is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!”

In our small group Bible studies and at our Cru meeting we  have been going through Ephesians. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of reading Ephesians 2:1-10. Paul starts off by describing our condition before Jesus: dead in our sins,  gratifying the sinful nature, and children of wrath. Then in verse 4 comes the best two words in all of the Bible: BUT GOD.  We did nothing to deserve God’s grace and yet he freely gave it making us alive in Christ. What a wonderful, amazing thing! Because of those two words, we are now described as alive, God’s masterpiece, and in possession of incomparable riches of grace. My prayer is that the students at Missouri State really understand these truths.

My beautiful roommates. From L to R: Tina, Chrissy,
 Me, Kelsey, Lizzy, and Carrie.

Missouri State students at Fall Getaway.

FALL GETAWAY

Fall Getaway was a major success! 130 students from Missouri State attended. I was so encouraged to see students worshipping God together during the sessions and hanging out during free times. Solid friendships were built  that will last long past one weekend in the woods. This is what Shelby (pictured below, center), a sophomore in my dorm Bible study, had to say about her experience at Fall Getaway:

“This was my first year going to Fall Getaway and I loved it. I had a chance to meet a lot of new people, build a great and supportive community around myself, and worship the Lord with my brothers and sisters in Christ. God really put it on my heart to be a leader that weekend and through Him, I succeeded. It was truly impactful on my growth, because now I STRIVE to be a student leader with CRU and eventually I would love to be intern after graduation.”

Students from my dorm Bible study stargazing at Fall Getaway.
From L to R: Aaron, Kate, Shelby, Spencer, Thomas, and Daniel.

Me, Tina, and Carrie at Fall Getaway.

MISSOURI STATE ATHLETES
The athletes’ Bible study and the weekly devotional I’ve been doing with the volleyball team have both been going really well. We’ve consistently had around 40 athletes each week at our athlete small group. We’ve been challenging athletes to  answer Jesus’ question in    Matthew 16: “Who do you say that I am?” It’s been really cool to see the athletes at MSU dive deep into their relationship with God and invite their teammates to come out to hear God’s word. In my weekly devotional with the volleyball team we’ve been working through John Wooden’s pyramid of success. Each principle is rooted in God’s word and it’s been great to see the girls discuss what it looks like to honor God through volleyball and being a good teammate. Please continue to pray for the athletes at Missouri State. God is moving and big things are happening.

PRAISE GOD FOR:

• The amazing words, “But God.” His grace is so undeserved!
• A new addition to our staff family. Nicole and Danny, full time staff at Missouri State, had their baby boy. Charles Keith Goeking was born on September 26th. He is healthy and both mom and baby are doing great!
• Fall Getaway. Students were challenged in their relationship with God and built some really meaningful friendships.

Our newest staff baby Charlie.

Proud parents Danny and Nicole.

WAYS YOU CAN PRAY: 

• The athletes at MSU would have a passion for sharing the gospel with their teammates. Also for one member from each team to attend Bible study on Wednesday nights.
• The YouTube outreach happening October 29—November 2. Students will be sharing the gospel using social media. For more information on this outreach and specific ways you can pray check back here in the next few weeks.
• For me please pray Ephesians 6:19-20: “That whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel… Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

We love Fall! Carving pumpkins with my roommates. 

Life's Roller Coaster

Hey guys! Be checking back for my next newsletter and an update on Fall Getaway. I will post it soon. Until then, here is the talk I gave at the athletes Bible study tonight. 

I know some people like roller coasters. I however, am not one of those people. I’m always the one who gets talked into going on one and ends up shrieking the whole time while holding onto whoever I’m sitting next to with a death grip. While I don’t love riding roller coasters I do like watching YouTube videos of people freaking out on roller coasters. I have no idea how I stumbled upon this video but it strangely relates to what we’re talking about tonight so here it is. Enjoy!

Ok, it’s kind of sad. I do feel bad for the kid, but I also find it hilarious so I can’t help but laugh a little. It’s a funny video, but in all honesty some of you feel this way in your relationship with God. One minute you’re doing fine and the next minute you’re being catapulted every which way struggling to stay in your seat. The Christian walk seems more like a bunch of ups and downs than a steady go to you can put your complete trust in. And you look next to you and you see fellow Christians enjoying the ride, but not just the times of calm. They love all of it. The ups and downs. The stomach turning flips. Everything. And you might be thinking, “What am I missing? What are these other Christians understanding that I’m just not getting? How do I tolerate the ups and downs that come with following Jesus?” These are all valid questions because let’s face it: giving your life to Christ does not mean everything is going to be perfect. It usually means quite the opposite.

The past few weeks we’ve been looking at people who have interacted with Jesus. People who have answered the question, “Who do you say that I am?” Tonight we’re going to look at Simon Peter who actually directly answered that question Jesus asks in Matthew. Peter ended up doing great things for God, but his ride was a little bumpy. He rode the roller coaster of life with Christ and not all of it was pretty. We’ll be flipping around a bit tonight, but let’s start in Matthew 4:18-20.

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman. ‘Come follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.”

So here is the first time we see Peter enter the picture. Here is what we know about him: He was a common man. He was a fisherman which means he probably wasn’t very educated. His name was originally Simon until Jesus renames him Peter which we’ll talk more about later on. And finally, he had a brother named Andrew. I love his response when Jesus asks Peter to follow him. He immediately leaves his net and follows Jesus. Peter may not have known exactly what he was getting into, but he knew this man was worth following and he dropped everything to do it. Flip ahead a few chapters to Matthew 16:13-18.

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’  Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

I want to touch on a few things in this section. First, Peter understood who Jesus was. He was able to answer the question with confidence. He knew that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Because he knew this to be true he spent his life following Jesus. Second, Jesus renames him Peter which literally in Greek means, “rock.” Jesus tells Peter that he will build his church on him and not even the power of hell could shake it. If you read on in Acts you get to see what Jesus says about him come true, but before any of those things happen the roller coaster takes its toll.Turn to Matthew 26:69-75. Here is the famous passage in which Peter denies knowing Christ which Jesus predicts a few verses earlier.

“Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. ‘You also were with Jesus of Galilee,’ she said. But he denied it before them all. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said. Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, ‘This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ He denied it again, with an oath, ‘I don’t know the man!’ After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, ‘Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.’ Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!’ Immediately the rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

So here Peter is, after following Jesus and claiming that he is the Son of God, denying that he even knows him. He’s seen him do miracles, he’s heard his teachings, he’s committed his life to serving Jesus and he then denies even knowing him. And he doesn’t say it. He swears it with an oath and even calls down curses on himself. That’s pretty bad. I can’t imagine having one of my worst moments recorded in the Bible for millions of people to read throughout history. And to be honest it gets even worse because after this Jesus is crucified. There was no reconciliation, no chance to take it back, to say he was sorry. He didn’t get to make it right. The good news is that Jesus didn’t stay dead and Jesus didn’t leave Peter to wallow in this horrible thing he had done. After Jesus rose from the grave he appeared to Peter. We see this interaction in John 21 the very last chapter of the very last gospel. Here’s the background. After Jesus rises from the dead he appears to Mary Magdelene, Thomas, and some of his disciples. The third time Jesus appears to his disciples is recorded in John 21 and this time Peter was in that group. They were fishing early in the morning and a man stood on shore. He asks them if they had caught any fish and they said no. The man then tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. They do and ending up hauling in a huge amount of fish, so large they couldn’t even pull the net in. The disciples end up recognizing Jesus and Peter takes off his cloak and jumps in the water to swim to shore. He was so eager to see Jesus he couldn’t wait for the boat to come in. Let’s pick it up in verse 15:

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ Again Jesus said, ‘Simon, son of John, do you truly love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’”

I find it interesting that Jesus ends the same way he started with Peter, asking him to follow. We get to see in Acts after Jesus ascends to heaven Peter really becoming the rock of the church. He builds them up, speaking boldly of Jesus Christ and the gospel. He even ends up imprisoned because of his message. And eventually ends up being martyred at an old age after a life spent serving Christ.

I think we can learn many things from Peter’s life but there are 3 main things that stuck out to me as I read.

ONE: The Christian life is full of ups and downs. So often we expect that following God means life will be easy, free from the bumps in the road. But we see from Peter that isn’t the case. Not only do bad things happen but there will be a lot of days I don’t FEEL like following Jesus. I know that has been true of me in the past and honestly it usually leads me to do dumb things like when Peter denied even knowing Christ. There may be times when we feel like we’re falling out of our seat like the chubby kid falling off the roller coaster. We know we’re strapped in, secure in the love of Christ, but we FEEL like we’re slipping. We panic because this ride didn’t go like we expected. It’s harder than we thought. It’s lonelier. It’s different. It’s fill in the blank… The point is so often we let the way we feel about our relationship with God dictate our actions. Do you keep hearing that word? FEEL? Our emotions often lie to us. My emotions tell me, “You can’t feel God near? He must far from you. You feel weary of doing the right thing? Just give up... just give in. You feel like a failure? God must think that’s true too.” When our emotions lie we must stand on truth. When Peter was fearful of crowds and claiming Jesus as his friend he should have remembered the truth: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” If that’s true he would have known there was nothing to fear. The first thing to remember from Peter’s life: don’t let the ups and downs dictate your relationship with God. He’s the safety belt that will always keep you from slipping… even if you FEEL like you’re falling.

      TWO: Following Jesus is a daily choice. Because our emotions lie to us, we will be tempted to worship other things. We will be tempted to serve other gods and give up following Jesus. It’s not by accident the very first and last thing Jesus says to Peter is “follow me.” It’s a choice we have to make every day. It’s like I keep saying: we must constantly answer the question: “Who do you say that I am?” Because when we answer that question we make a choice about who he is. And when we make a choice about who he is action follows. Either we drop everything and follow him or we choose to go our own way.

      THREE: You can always run to Jesus. Maybe some of you are thinking, “I’m in a low on this Christian life roller coaster because I’ve messed up bad. Like denying Jesus bad. I can’t come to Jesus because my sin is awful” Peter denied Christ three times and the very next time he saw him what did he do? He jumped out of a boat and swam to him because Peter knew that because of the cross and because of the resurrection his sin was washed away. His faults were not counted against him. He was completely loved, accepted, and valued by Jesus because his love alone and not the things he had done. Some of you guys need to jump out of the boat and swim to him. Your sin doesn’t have to separate you from God if you would just confess it (which he is faithful to forgive) and run to him.

So in the highs and lows there is hope. We know the Christian life won’t be easy and it certainly won’t be perfect but the good news is Jesus. He’s constant and his love is unconditional. Peter ended up getting it! Turn with me to 1 Peter 1:3-9. This is what he writes about our living hope:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Wow… that’s awesome. You have an inheritance than can never perish, spoil, or fade. Believing that with all your heart is going to allow you to be the lady in the video rather than the chubby kid tossed around by the ride: You’ll be laughing through the ups and downs of the Christian life because when you place your hope in Jesus Christ you are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy even when you must suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Calling All Prayer Warriors

Hello friends!

I can't believe it's already time for Fall Getaway! For those of you who don't know Fall Getaway is our first conference of the year. It's basically a relaxing, fun-filled weekend to connect with God and friends. Students  get away from the grind at Turkey Hill Ranch Bible Camp. There are large-group events with speakers and music, sports (sand volleyball, ultimate frisbee, football, etc.), hayrides, paddle boats, canoes, spectacular scenery to explore, a coffee house with snacks and games, and bonfires (with s’mores, of course). This weekend will be a great time for students who do know Jesus to reconnect with him far away from the distractions of school and homework. Students who don't know Jesus will hear the gospel and learn what it looks like to truly follow him. It's a weekend that definitely shapes the rest of the year for students because friendships are built and they will undoubtedly encounter Jesus during the talks and worship sessions. Because there is potential for amazing things to happen I'm recruiting prayer warriors. Please pray for this conference happening Friday through Sunday.

Here are some ways that you can pray:

• We have about 110 students signed up. Pray for 65 more to sign up by this Friday. Numbers aren't everything, but they represent individual people that can be changed by this weekend away.
• Pray for safe travels. Students from Missouri State, Mizzou, KU, and Kansas State will be driving on Friday afternoon.
• Pray for our speaker who will be challenging our students to grow in their relationship with Jesus.
• Pray for me and my roommates (Carrie, Tina, and Kelsey). We are each giving mini talks about areas females struggle in during a women's only session. 
• Pray that students who do know Jesus are challenged in their walk with God and inspired to live missionally. 
• Pray for students who don't know to Jesus to surrender their lives to him this weekend.
• Pray that students develop life changing friendships. 

MSU students at Fall Getaway 2011.

Students get tons of opportunities to spend time with God in his creation.

So much fun! Plenty of time for games and sports.