“The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” Zephaniah 3:17

Today! It is today and today I am encouraged. I want to take some time, with all of you, to recognize that our God, as a victorious warrior, is in our midst. And this victorious warrior brings joy and love. How great is that? Imagine Him. Picture a man fresh from battle, like William Wallace or Maximus Aurelius. (Obviously neither of these men is God but they are both awesome warriors, that’s where I’m going with this.) Then imagine Him (spoiler alert) not dying as a Scotsman or Spaniard.

I have this image in my head of this person walking among us. I just want to talk to him but I am so intimidated. I‘m terrified but overjoyed. Unsure of what happens next but I know that I am safe. Christ came to this earth not as a second David, not as a politician or war-hero. He died as the Lamb and has now risen as the Lion of my heart.

My friends, what a privilege this is! Our God is a victorious warrior who brings peace in our lives, love to our hearts, and joy for our souls. He is the great Defender and the only Protector I ever wish to know. I am encouraged and SO excited! Let’s take some time today in thanks of this. He loves us and finds joy in us. Guys, we’ve been created to make the Lord of the universe rejoice. Feel that love and cherish it. And don’t forget how ridiculously awesome our God is.

I can barely sit still in attempt to contain this excitement!

Katie

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;”
John 10:27

This is one of my favorite passages? You know why? I’ll tell you why. When I accepted Christ into my heart, I became one of the flock. I am one of His sheep. This verse is a plain statement: My sheep hear my voice. Jesus is telling me, “Hey Katie! You hear me, don’t pretend like you don’t!” He then tells me that he knows me. Then, simply put, that I follow Him.

You know why this really, really gets me? With this verse, Jesus became personal. Being part of a herd or a flock is not an intimate experience by any means. I mean, awesome… me and 10 billion other wooly weirdos are following the same guy. Cool. But with this verse, this picture, Jesus shows us that it’s not about us only hearing Him. It is about Him knowing us.

Jesus knows me. He is a personal Savior. That’s a beautiful picture. The fact that we devote ourselves every day to not only a King, a Conqueror, or Leader but a Friend is amazing. Meditating on this thought is doing wonders for me right now, how do you feel about it?

Being known in this cold, unfamiliar place is crucial. I’m not just talking about the world, either. I’m talking about high school. College. The workplace. Sometimes even in our on friend circles or families do we feel unknown.

Remember. You hear the Father’s voice. He knows you. Now follow Him.

Katie

(I missed day 6… I was sorta outta commission yesterday. So sorry! I will make up for it though, promise.)
Today’s devotional comes from Romans 12:10-13, it says…
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
This verse is my kind of verse: black and white. Cut and dry. It is what it is! I read this and reflect on my life and not only do I see where I lack but I also see where my friends supply.

I challenge each of us to love our friends and our God like this. But that is a normal challenge. For the new thought: I challenge each of us to look at the people around us and recognize who else loves like this. See who treats you with love and honor and serves the Lord diligently and is devoted to his/her friends. See them and acknowledge them.

Thank them. Pray for them. Ask the Lord to bless them for how they’ve blessed you. Spend some time today praising God for His gift of friendship to mankind. Our love for one another is a reflection of our love for God and it is only possible because He loves us (1 John 4:19).

Now that is a beautiful thing.

I already love you guys but I want to love you like this!!

Katie

May 4

Day 4

“The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine on you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance on you,

And give you peace.”

(Numbers 6:24-26)

These beautiful words were given to Moses to give to Aaron that he may speak them over all Israel. God gave Moses the words to bless His people. You know what this is just screaming at me right now? Bless each other!

It’s not about going to your friends and saying something deep (and probably a little creepy haha) it is about realizing the weight of your words and just how far a kind one can go. This is light and simple but so, so important. Think about it, when you leave for school in the morning and your mom says, “Drive safe!” or you’re boyfriend is going snowboarding and you say, “Be careful!” or even when you’re friend walks away to go to class and you say, “Goodbye!” These are all blessings. Just because you say them does not invoke some kind of sanctity of safety or awesome blocking power from bad stuff in their life. You don’t say them because you have secret powers that enable you to merely speak good things into existence (well… you might not but as for me…. Just kidding)

We say these things, and things like them, because we care about those around us and we want them to know it. You’re mom is really saying, “I want to see you and that car back here tonight. I love you both.” Kidding, she mostly just wants to see the car. Kidding again, it’s all about you!

God gave Moses these words, with the intention of them being spoken to His precious people, so that they would see His deepest desire for them. He wanted them to not only know that He loves them but how He loves them. Read those words and hear them spoken into your own life. Our blessings tell each other not only what we hope for each but, if we had the power to choose, what we would have for each other.

So, my friends, as you go into this day I have a send off for you.

May you not forget how much your Savior loves you and how close He wants to hold you. I hope that you see His presence in your life and recognize the grace that is yours when you need it. May you feel the approval of your mighty Lord because I promise, He approves of you and is so proud of you. And finally, I want you to know the peace that comes with knowing Christ.

The lives of our friends and family bless us every day. Let us let our words bless theirs as well. It’s what God wants

Katie

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Romans 12:12

Romans is a very special and uniqiue book. Unlike Paul’s other letters, it does not center on a single issue. Rather, it practically outlines Paul’s entire theology on Christ and His Christians. This verse delves into the core of that theology, giving us 3 instructions.

(1) “Be joyful in hope.” There is hope in our blessed Lord! Hope goes hand in hand with uncertainty but I think maybe it would be better if we saw it like this: hope is the answer to uncertainty. It’s not about the knowing, it’s about the believing. Take heart! When all else fails we have hope in one thing: our saving Lord, Jesus Christ. The joy here is that He is unchanging, He is certain.
(2) “patient in affliction” Troublesome times are inevitable. Wait on the Lord. Find comfort in knowing that it will get better and you will see the light once again. (There is so much more to be said about this but let’s save it for another day.)
(3) “Faithful in prayer” Do not stop talking to God, In fact, choose to see that you can’t, even if you want to, stop talking to God. We live our entire lives in the face of our Savior… every word we speak and action we make is a prayer to Him. So, what are the things we’ve been telling our precious Lord lately?

The prideful part of me says, “You’ve got so far to go before you achieve any of this.” While the Christ in me says, “You don’t achieve me. You have me. And look, we get to go so far!” I like what Christ has to say better.

Three closing thoughts:
(1) Things suck sometimes but when our hope is in the Lord we will have joy. So hope and you will find joy.
(2) Again, things suck sometimes but be patient! After all, you’ve got hope and joy… those don’t suck! I am not saying you have to love your circumstance but I am saying to love your God. He is NOT your circumstance.
(3) Our lives can be His praise. Let’s live it like we believe it! Maintain awareness of who you hears what you say and sees what you do and choose to praise God through that.

Fin. (that’s french or something for the end.)
Katie

Psalm 51

Psalm 51 finds David pouring his heart of sin out to his Savior, confessing & repenting the conviction in his heart. The thing about David is this: it’s not enough for him to see the error of his ways. He has to return to the Lord. It’s not about apologizing and cowering in shame and humility. It’s about being broken and humbled and then taking his place as a child of God! This, my friends, is what it means to not only be forgiven but to live forgiven.

There is restoration. David spends verses 1-9 detailing his iniquity and his short-comings in the sight of the Lord. He then spends verses 10-19 in restoration. He says things like, “restore unto me the joy of my salvation” and “O Lord, open my lips that my mouth may declare Your praise.”

My dear friends, King David knew what it was like to sin and sin in big bad ways. He also knew what it meant to know God. He was deeply enthralled in a relationship with the Lord when he had his, um, run in with Bathsheeba (wanna know what happened? Ask me!). Not only did he know that he needed forgiveness but he knew that, in the Lord, forgiveness was his. This is truth: God’s forgiveness changes our lives. As children of the King, we get to be restored. We are given the right to ask forgiveness and then to be changed. Our God is so, so loving. He doesn’t want to just make us clean. He wants to make us clean and then loved. And beautiful. And new. And special. And anything else wonderful you can imagine.

My friends, let us live forgiven and see the restoration in our lives. See your iniquity as having halves: the first half for forgiveness, the second for restoration. Find a friend and talk about this! Where do you see your life being renewed? Where do you see your life needing renewal? It’s yours! It’s mine! Let’s live like we are new!

Until tomorrow,

Katie

Ecclesiastes 4:12 tells us, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

When I read this verse I think to myself, “Katie, who are the cords in your life?” I have to wonder, who do I team up with when the going gets rough, who are the people that I choose to stand up with to be strong and safe?

Then I realize that no matter how I look at it, that third cord ought always be Christ. I can talk to my mom, my best friend, or Melissa. I can seek wisdom from my grandmother or encouragement from my friends. But none of that means anything if I do not recognize Christ as the third strand!

We are called to love one another and to love Christ. Let us see every relationship we have as an opportunity for accountability, as a triple-stranded cord. Our Lord is involved in every aspect of our lives, whether we choose to see Him or not. So, since He is there why not act like it? Let us be ever thankful and glad for each relationship we have and totally aware of Christ’s presence in each of those.

As the body, we are created for community. Find a friend to help keep you accountable for the next 31 days of devotionals.

You+ your friend + Christ = UNSTOPPABLE

So, let’s think about the cords in our lives, identify the strands and stand strong with them. Christ is our Lord and He saw it fit to give us community with one another.

I gotta tell ya, I’ve never been as happy as I am right now to find myself stranded and it’s because of the likes of you fine folk. Talk to you tomorrow. ☺

Katie ]]> http://edlstudents.com/2012/05/join-the-devotional-challenge-may-1/feed/ 0 http://edlstudents.com/2012/05/may-parent-update/ http://edlstudents.com/2012/05/may-parent-update/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 05:07:27 +0000 EDL Staff http://edlstudents.com/?p=1713 Hey Parents!

Its MAY!!! Here are a few updates!

Current Teaching Series: We have jumped into the book of 1 Corinthians! We will be studying this book until we launch into summer and focus on our summer theme (which is still a secret!). So far we have covered the issue of unity in the church, servant leadership, our role in holding each other accountable, and loving God in the place he has you. The rest of the series will cover the following: Freedom, worship, spiritual gifts, love, and hope for the church. We have been so blessed to see our high school students engage in Scripture. God has been moving powerfully in their hearts as they wrestle with integrating His commands into their EveryDayLife!

Summer Preview Night: YOU HAVE TO COME TO THIS!! You are invited on Wednesday, May 16^th to preview Summer 2012! We are inviting all parents of Junior High and High School students to come and get pumped about summer. The summer theme will be announced and you will get a chance to hear about the spiritual direction of the summer. We will talk about all of our trips, weekly events; give you a chance to ask questions, and an opportunity to sign up for River Romp. There will be funny videos, ice cream and a time of worship. You seriously don’t want to miss it.

Devotional Challenge: They say it only takes 21 days to create a habit….We are challenging the students to make a habit of spending time with God every day in the month of May. Every morning we will be posting a devotional on edlstudents.com. Pray that our students will encounter Christ in a deeper way as they make time to connect with Him every day. Please feel free to join us in the challenge!

Well May 2nd is your night! Start practicing because on May 2nd we are having a night of Open Mic fun!

This year our EDL Missions Team will be heading to Bucerias, Mexico! We will be partnering with La Fuente Ministries to help support their current church planting effort. We will be helping with various work projects and also hosting a Vacation Bible School for the local kids. Our goal is to help support the Bucerias Missionaries in establishing and growing their church. Our prayer is that through the efforts of our VBS and various work projects the local people will be drawn the the church so they can be introduced to Jesus!

The team will be gone from July 1st through the 9th

Bucerias is located a couple hours outside of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Its a popular surfing location and tourist destination. However, outside of the city and into the jungle there is a church that was started 10 years ago. The church is there to meet the needs of the poor, needy, orphaned and those needing the hope of Jesus Christ

Check out the website at lafuenteriviera.com