Christian Challenge at MSC

I never really liked King David. To me, he was the biggest sissy-la la in the Bible. I could imagine David lying around the royal palace playing his harp and doing things that sissy-la las would do. This was before I read any of his military records and realized that David was pretty much undefeated and could battle anyone.

In Psalm 101, the subtitle my Bible gives this psalm is “A Vow of Integrity” (Now would be a good time to find your Bible, borrow one, click over to biblegateway.com, or sock your friend in the face and steal their Bible and read it). In verse 6 David describes the type of person he wants around him as king. Since this psalm was written early in his reign (2 Samuel 5-7), most of his boys around him would be the ones following David in to battle. David wanted men who “follows the way of integrity” (Psalm 101:6b Holman Christian Standard Bible).

One definition of Integrity is “the quality of state of being complete or undivided” (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary). Throughout this psalm, David uses the phrase “I will…” over 7 times. He is determined in his young reign to live a life of integrity to God and asks the same of his men (v.6).

How does this apply to us in the 21st century? How do we live lives of integrity? Would we be the type of person that King David would want to go to war with? Are we the types of believers that can and would fight for each other spiritually (praying for each other ect…)? I believe we can and we are! Here are a few suggestions to become that person:

1. Love Unconditionally (1 John 4:11-12)
2. Pray Continually (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)
3. Read the Bible like it was a Crime (Psalm 119—yeah, all of it)
4. Get together a lot (Hebrews 10:25)
5. Don’t allow anything to get between you and the Father (Psalm 101:3 NIV)

This is not a simple 1-2-3 program for developing integrity. That takes time walking in the real world walking with God—and He isn’t going anywhere soon (Matthew 28:20).

CU around!

Garrett Barley aka g-
Psalm 19:14

My last entry on this site was back on the first day of fall semester! What has happened transpired in our country since then: Rockies make the playoffs, White House vs. Fox News, Balloon Boy, and Zombieland just to name a few. I will do better!

A Compassion Check-Up

In the gospel of Matthew, the disciples come to Jesus and ask Him what are the signs that the end of the age is coming. The rest of chapter 24 Jesus explains what the signs will be. Verse 12 states “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matt. 24:12 King James Version)

I don’t need to tell you that we live in crazy times. It seems that nobody really cares about anything but their own agenda. Jesus said that “because iniquity shall abound…” Iniquity is defined as gross injustice or wickedness (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary). When I accepted Christ, the Holy Spirit awakened me to the spiritual realities of this present age. Sin, once enjoyed, now offends me. When I read this scripture and ones like it (2 Timothy 3:1-5), I realize that iniquity, if not checked, can slip into a believer’s life and hinder or halt their relationship with God and compassion for others will die.

We truly need to check our compassion meters. I have had two people really check how I was doing. “Sam” was the first person I truly was involved with in a disciple-mentor/ Obi-Wan Kenobi-Anakin Skywalker type relationship. Sam is now a guest of Colorado Department of Corrections. Do I just cast him aside as an “untouchable” No! Of course not! The other person is “Sally”. She has been diagnosed with cancer—and she has an 18 month old baby boy. I pray that I am not too cowardly to talk to her about Christ or pray for her.
Ask God today where you are when it comes to compassion for others. Then think of ways to apply it in your slice of the world.

Have Fun, Stay Young, Drink Pepsi,
Garrett Barley aka g-

One of the amazing things of writing on a blog and being a campus minister is that every once in a while, I get the privilege and honor of being able to read certain bits of literature before most of the general population.  And so, I recieved a copy of the brand-spankin’ new Max Lucado book "Fearless" a couple of weeks ago. I’m not typically a Lucado fan, but I have to admit, I enjoyed it.

The fearless website - www.thefearlessbook.com - gives a good description of the book:

"Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

They’re talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn’t it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine your life without fear?"

 Mr. Lucado is a fount of wonderful anecdotes that describe whatever is going on.  From the spiritual life of Woody Allen to the time he personally got to ride in a fighter jet, this book gives some great examples of common fears we all face every day.  Of course, you haven’t ridden in a fighter jet, but you have been in a situation where things seem like they’re going out of control, but in reality there is someone who knows exactly what’s going on leading the way.  Check out Matthew 14 where the disciples are on the boat and Jesus is sleeping.  

 One thing that I have noticed about the way that Mr. Lucado writes is that it is very easy to read, but it never seems to hit the same super deep spiritual notes that some other authors I’ve read have hit.  Not that this is bad – often times it’s the simple truths that change us the most.  And this book is packed full of them.  Each chapter gives some practical advice on how to deal with the different fears we may come across during our lives.  In times such as these, when the world is freaking out about everything, this book does a great job of giving some perspective on an otherwise chaotic world.

 Should you read it?  Sure.  It’s good.  My biggest gripe is the price, but that can be allayed in a multitude of ways.  More importantly, be sure to pay attention as you read it, as it would be a waste of good time to read something this good and not remember any of it, kind of like getting a t-bone steak at a McDonalds drive thru.  It’s just wouldn’t be right.

-K 

As I sat trying to quell the playful bickering between a couple of my students yesterday, I had the opportunity to talk with one young man who wanted to know exactly what we do.  "Why is college ministry different than my high school youth group?" He asked.  I tried to explain it to him, but I really felt like I’d failed a bit.  

This morning, while checking out Twitter, a tweet by @CampusMinGuy caught my eye – "Characteristics of College Ministry,"  based on an article written by @bensonhines.  I clicked the link, and just finished reading through the article.  WOW, I wish I’d had a copy of this with me yesterday.  It does one heck of a job of explaining what I couldn’t get into words.  Here is an exerpt -

The practice of college ministry is far more like Missions than like Christian Education.

So ministering to a college campus is in many ways more like Missions in Mozambique than it is even like Youth Ministry.

The more I work with college students, the more I think this is true.  Go to http://bit.ly/JfPEY for the full article.  Or just track me down on campus, I’ll have a copy with me today, just in case….

 -Kevin