Judson College :: Academics/Digital Judson

This Sunday, at my home church, the message was on pressing towards what God has planned for us in the New Year. I thought some of these verses would be appropriate to share with my fellow students. I hope they’ll help you all set goals and work towards them!

We are called to walk in God’s victory, towards God’s higher calling.

Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV) - ^“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

To work towards what God has planned for us, we need to forget about the past, negative things that pull us down. We need to walk in faith, not fear. How can we be effective for Christ when we’re wrapped up in the past? Christ has already died for and forgiven us of our sins.

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) - “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

We need to reach for what’s in front of us. There is always hope and redemption in Christ. Through his trials, Joseph kept his sight on God’s plans and in the end, all that had been meant for harm had worked for God’s glory. In the end, everything we go through serve as a testimony of God’s grace and goodness.

Genesis 50:18-21 (NIV)  -“His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. ‘We are your slaves,’ they said. But Joseph said to them, ‘Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.”

Romans 8:28 (NIV) - “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

We need to press towards a mark of high calling, set goals for ourselves, do something different. First, we need to desire to be in God’s presence. Set aside time to delve into the word, spend time in worship and prayer.

Psalm 27:4 (NIV) - “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”

Abide in the Lord.

John 15:7 (NIV) - “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

Have a vision – set goals for 2010.

Proverbs 29:18 - “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.”

Without a vision, people perish – nothing gets done.

Isaiah 43:18-19 - “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

 
Seriously though, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your families with lots of love and maybe some good food too.

Luke 2:8-14 - And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

It’s the time of year that freshmen begin to ask Jr/Sophs to be their big sisters. It seems like every day there’s a new bunch of signs hanging somewhere. At Judson your big sister is usually in the year above you. She leads you through traditions and passes on the bonds of sisterhood. It’s all very exciting and confusing, and no one was more confused than I was my freshman year. But I ended up with a pretty neato big sis’ if you ask me.

Hey, hey, Heather, you’re reading this right? Who’s the best little sister in the world?

Two of my future grand-little-sisters (wow, a mouthful, right?) cooked up a great plan to ask Crystal (my little sister) this afternoon. We all met in front of Jewett to set up for the grand scheme around 11:00 sharp. Then I realized I had forgotten my photo card and had to run back to my room. Then I realized I needed some gloves or I might lose a finger to a tragic case of frost-bite, so I ran back again.

So, when I finally arrived, armed with camera and toasty hands, I set out to capture this auspicious event in photos – or something like that.

April and Courtney wrote out “Will You Be Our Big Sis?” in garland on the front lawn, while Heather and I supervised (One of the benefits of being a grand-big now, I suppose. Down with manual labor!). Crystal, who was supposed to be in class on third floor Jewett would then look out the window when prompted to do so by her professor, Dr. JoAnn Williams (who was in on our plan).

Unfortunately, when 12:00 rolled around, Crystal was not in her class.

Instead, she came walking up the front steps. She walked into Bean Hall without seeing any of us out on the grass and the beautifully written question. In the hopes of salvaging the plan I told Courtney and April to hide in the bushes. Heather and I would hang around in front of Bean so we could distract Crystal when she came out. If she asked what we were doing, Heather would just explain that I was being my normal, strange self, wandering around taking photos and she was just along for some fresh air.

BRILLIANCE guys – this is why I got into college.

When she then, inevitably, saw the shiny, Christmas garland lying out on the grass, we would feign innocent surprise at its presence and then go explore it with Crystal. When we reached the garland, April and Courtney would jump out of the bushes and ask. Foolproof AND brilliant! Right.

At this point Dr. Williams hurried out of Jewett towards us, apologizing, explaining that she had no idea where Crystal was. We informed her that she had walked into Bean Hall, probably to work on the Ivy Vine. She then went into Bean, got Crystal, walked her past the VERY shiny and obvious Christmas garland, around Jewett and back up to the third floor, where she could finally see the question sprawled out on the lawn. Success!

So, with plenty of creativity Courtney and April finally got to ask and I got a good photo to boot! Yay! Dandelion!

  Also, no frostbitten fingers – seriously guys, wear gloves.

Wow, this was a lot longer than I thought it would be. Why is nothing simple!?