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-

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

Fall 2009 semester is about to kick off!  I hope everyone had a great summer!  Christian Challenge has some great
opportunities this semester to get to know each other and to seek the
Lord.  My name is Garrett and I will try
to keep this site up to date as much as I can. 
To keep up on what’s going on this semester, check the calendar for
times and locations of Bible Studies, Foundations, and other shenanigans.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your
own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your
paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV