Tired, Strong Hands
We had an incredible time at our first Night of Worship in CE 307. We had been praying that God would send 50 students our way, and God almost hit that number exactly. With the adults present, the sixty chairs weren't enough to accommodate everyone. God is so faithful!
Jess McGinnty of The Creek (www.thecreek.org) shared a powerful testimony of how God changed her life in college, and part of that experience came at IUPUI. Chris Fowler of Kingsway Christian Church (www.kingswaychurch.org) also brought a powerful message from Zephaniah 3:17 and Matthew 28:19-20. He shared how God had made a huge impact in his immediate family.
Both Jess and Chris shared from Zephaniah.
Of all the places in the Bible, God wanted to speak to us from Zephaniah:
From Jess: The Lord will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the earth. (Zephaniah 2:11 NIV)
From Chris: The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV)
This past week marked the week of midterms. It is the point in the semester when motivation and strength are tested. We closed with a passage that has the potential to change how a college student looks at the adversity of a long semester. Check it out:
No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. (Hebrews 12:11-13 NLT)
A new grip for tired hands. Strength for weak knees. Patience for that professor or that class. A straight path. We do all of this, not just for us, but also for others who need the same strength.
May all at IUPUI know just how much Jesus loves them -- and can carry them this semester.
Andrew Hodges // Volunteer Lead Campus Minister