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Hi all,

Any of you guys control freaks out there? Well, last Tuesday, at the conclusion of our faith trek through the life of Abraham, Rainier talked about giving up control to God. Because, God’s not really supposed to be just the co-pilot in our lives, He wants to the Captain!

We didn’t have the time to break up into small groups on that night, but here are a few questions from Rainier, and we can discuss right here!

1. What is the motivating factor in your relationship with God? Is it God himself or the hopes and benefits he offers us?

2. Are you withholding anything from God? Any territory in your life that is still off-limits to Him?

3. Giving up control is never easy, but do you think we ever had it in the first place?

4. Is there anything God wants you to give up right now for His glory? If so, what is it?

Let’s talk about it.

Ciao!

Stef

God is So Faithful:

As One looks at Genesis 15 to 17, one might expect that they can see Abraham’s patience.  Having to wait 25 years for a “promise: [i.e. a son] from God, must be tedious and overwhelming.  However, if that’s all we see from this story, getting something from God by our will-power and good luck, then this is no different than a “self-help” remedy.  However, when reading Scripture, we must be reminded it’s not about “how we can better ourselves,” but more how we “See God [His Character] in light of momentary set-backs.”  That life is not really about me but God.

Through our study last week, We See God as a Faithful God to Abraham, even though he tried to help God gain a son through Hagar, God did not stop being “faithful” and “patient” with him.  The point of the matter, is the main Character is God in the Bible, and we like to make the sub-characters the main star, and forget how God changes people when we put our trust and faith in Him.

When having a “High-View of God” it really changes your perspective in life.  It’s not about being or attaining “patience,” but seeing more of being Faithful to Him, which produces fruit [i.e. love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, etc.].  Realizing in the end, it’s not about being patient with God per se, as much as it is “GOD BEING PATIENT WITH YOU AND YOUR WALK WITH HIM BY FAITH.”

~God Bless,
Ro (Youth Director)

join in the conversation here. http://ucminterface.com/archives/38
See you all at Station One tonight for the conclusion of our series on Faith Trek: The Life of Abraham, 7:30 PM at the Basement 2 of UCM.

Blessings!
Rainier

FAITH TREK: THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM
August 12, 2008st 12, 2008
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja!

Speaker: Rainier Pagcaliwagan

Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

Dear People of the Lord,

How are you? Where are you now? What are you feeling?

Last Station One (the week before the last. Heh.), Rainier talked about stepping out of our comfort zones? What is a comfort zone anyway? I suppose, it’s whatever situation or status quo that you are in where everything feels safe, in control, predictable and comfortable. Kinda, like sinking into a soft couch with everything that you need within your reach. It’s warm and comfortable and safe. You don’t want to have to leave, ever. Not even for the bathroom—well, for as long as you can hold it. Hehe

Seriously though, staying in your comfort zone is never good. But we don’t usually get out of this zone because it causes us “unnecessary stress, just getting off your butt is a lot of work. But think about all the stuff that you’re missing! I guess some people have thought about it, but decided that they’re happy just where they are.

Abram (before his name was changed to Abraham—father of all nations)begun his own trek outside of his comfort zone when God called his family out of Ur. His father Terah, originally set out for Canaan, but pitched his tent in Haran where he worshipped other gods and eventually died. (Genesis 11:27-32Genesis 11:27-32
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. ²⁸ And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. ²⁹ And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. ³⁰ But Sarai was barren; she had no child. ³¹ And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. ³² And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.  

). In Genesis 12:1-5Genesis 12:1-5
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
12 ¹ Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: ² And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: ³ And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. ⁴ So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. ⁵ And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.  

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, God called Abram out of Haran and into Canaan—out of his comfort zone and farther and farther away from the land of his fathers.

Why are we scared to get out of our comfort zones? And what’s wrong with comfort zones, anyway?

The thing is, not just because something is familiar and we’re used to it, it doesn’t mean that it’s good for us. We define what is real by what we know—so if a person who’s only known fear, pain and abuse all his/her life, normal would be that, filled with fear, pain and abuse. But we know that it doesn’t have to be like that. Even the place that we feel trapped in is our comfort zone. Got a pet sin? A lifestyle that you know isn’t right in the eyes of God? They can be comfort zones, just because we’ve gotten used to them that we don’t want to change anymore.

We can’t grow if we don’t get off our couch, out through the door and into the wide wild world. There’s a big world out there, filled with opportunities, experiences and new people to meet! By staying in our comfort zones, we’re missing out on enjoying life to the fullest. Comfort zones only breeds fear.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1Hebrews 11:1
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
11 ¹ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. substance: or, ground, or, confidence  

, NKJV)

Abraham obeyed and left his homeland even if he didn’t know where he was going—or what he’s going to do when he gets there. This isn’t really blind faith, because he knew the object of his faith is worthy.

Perhaps the worst part about comfort zones is it ruins us spiritually. Faith becomes just religion. Faith is all about cultivating a relationship with God, but religion tries to box God in an effort to make Him more predictable and manageable. We come up with activities that give us the appearance of being close to God when we are really not!

We cannot put God in a box! The mere attempt is ridiculous! And. Yet. We. Still. Do. It. Because God can really get uncomfortable sometimes, and even seemingly crazy. We cannot predict what He does, or even dictate His actions.

The danger of trying to keep God within the confines of the comfort zone is we end up shrinking our faith. Because, whoever said that following God leads to a safe place? Comfort zones are not for us! It’s not only for those who pitch their tents and call this world their home. We are called to engage the world—to march into a strange and hostile land. This isn’t our home! Home is heaven people!

So, if you find yourself just settling into your comfort zone, wake up and get up!

Sorry for the super late summary, guys. Things have been really crazy for the past two weeks. Talk about getting out of your comfort zone… hahaha

We also have some discussion questions related to this sermon here: http://ucminterface.com/archives/37. Check it out! It’s never too late to put your two cents in.

See you at Station One (Every Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Basement 2 of Union Church of Manial, cor. Rada and Legaspi St. Legaspi Village, Makati City.).

Cheers,

Stef

Greetings Brethren!

I missed the last Station One, but I heard that it was awesome! Ro talked about God’s faithfulness, and how Abraham waited for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

Well, I wasn’t there. So I’m not going to talk about what I don’t know… But I do know this- waiting is hard! And for most of young adults, especially the singles, things still feel unfinished, like we’re standing on the brink of something big, but it’s just not happening yet.

We have to wait.

So, here are the questions for this week’s Real Life Conversation:

God’s promised Abraham to give him a son in his old age. The fulfillment took many years to happen. If you were in Abraham’s shoes, would you doubt God’s promise? What are you waiting for right now that God seems to be taking forever to answer?

You know what I’m talking about. Let’s discuss.

Love,

Stef