Our 2010 30 Hour Famine is now over. Day 2 was filled with information about issues that plague so many lives around the world. We covered topics like the complexity of poverty, teens infected with “affluenza,” and the impact of AIDS on hunger and poverty. Knowing so many lives are affected, it’s easy to lose hope in trying to make a difference. But one thing we learned is that it all starts with us taking little steps to change our attitudes. Maybe we give up eating ice cream for a day or two, knowing Americans spend $20billion a year on frozen treats alone. Maybe we say a prayer for the homeless person we just passed, instead of ignoring him.

In Day 1, we spent time creating crosses out of popsicle sticks. We planted them in the courtyard to help bring awareness to the rest of the church (see image above). The sign reads “Did you know…while you were in service, 1,812 kids died from hunger and treatable illness? What are you going to do about it?” We wanted people to notice, if anything to get them thinking, but we didn’t expect our members to want to donate money right then and there. Those crosses will stay up for one more week, next time with a table to accept all those donations.

We concluded our 30 Hour Famine with worship time. We knew everything up until then was a lot of information. But it was now time to plead to God for action. It was a wonderful time for students to place God as priority over their lives. Our actions to confront hunger and poverty will only be effective to a point. We must be led by God to bring true renewal and hope to this world.

We planned and strategized to take concrete steps to get involved as a youth group. Some of the things that are being planned are a clothes drive, a game tournament, and silent auction to help raise more funds to donate to World Vision. All of these events will be led by our students! Way to take charge of what God has impressed upon us over the weekend!

Earlier, we discussed Jesus’ desire for us to shine His light into the darkness of hunger and poverty in this world. With 29,000 kids under the age of 5 dying from hunger and treatable diseases a day, the task seems daunting. But knowing that we now live in a generation that has the money, medicine, and food to eradicate hunger and poverty, it’s a wonder why so little gets done. It starts with a mindset – a change in attitude about what we can accomplish through the power of the church.

To help bring awareness to the church, we’ve built 1,208 crosses out of popsicle sticks. Each cross represents a young child that dies every hour from hunger and preventable disease. They will be planted in the courtyard of our church where we normally have snacks after service. The point is to bring awareness and hopefully stir up action amongst the church body.

Tomorrow brings a new day with more ways to see God’s heart towards the impoverished, and more importantly, strategizing to shine Jesus’ light in our communities and in this world.

Read about Day 2 here.

In 2 Samuel 24, King David declares “I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (v. 24).

This Wednesday is Lent. It’s the start of a 40 day journey leading up to Easter Sunday. Traditionally, Lent is the practice of giving something up (most people give up red meat) as a way to show God He is more important than that thing we are giving up. It’s also a call to go above and beyond what we expect from our “normal” Christian activities (group meetings, praying, devotionals).

Lent is fasting from something in our lives that can be replaced by prayer and “almsgiving” or service to our community. It is an opportunity to do some soul-checking and reflect on those things that distract us from getting close to God.

So what is one thing that could be preventing you from getting closer to God? TV..? Facebook..? In light of what Jesus had to suffer to restore our relationship with God, don’t you think we can give these things up to be replaced with a few more minutes of prayer?

To help you meditate on what God expects from our fasting, read Isaiah 58.

There is unbelievable devastation right now in Haiti, the western hemisphere’s poorest country. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed office buildings, homes, schools, hospitals, international aid headquarters, and many many others. The amount of destruction set this island nation back an entire generation.

Haiti is in so much need right now. We will discuss in tonight’s ARK meeting how we can and will do our part in extending our love through action.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Jorge Cruz

THE
CHRISTMAS TREE
I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God’s child. (John 1:12)
I am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)
I am united with the Lord. (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price. (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth. (Matt. 5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation. ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant. (Phil. 3:20)
I am free from any charge against me. (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God. (2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God.(Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God.(2Cor.1:21- 22)
I am assured all things work together for good.(Rom.8:28)
I have been chosen & appointed to bear fruit. (John 15:16)
I belong to God
And that is who He says I am. How about you?

“The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make His face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn His face toward you
and give you peace…”
Numbers 6:24-26

[Taken from Homeword Devotionals]

Google is known to ask some crazy questions during their interviews for prospective employees. No, I’m not talking about your typical “Tell me about your work experience” or “Name your greatest strengths and weaknesses.” The questions they ask you are to understand how you analyze complex issues and situations. Some of the questions they have been known to ask can be found on the internet. The reason they ask such crazy questions is simple. They want the smartest and the brightest people in the world. They want ivy-league graduates. They want people who have masters’ degrees and/or PhD’s. Google wants to make sure their employees are qualified!

If you want to work for the #1 tech company in the world, you better make sure you meet these qualifications. Otherwise, you can come sit in the corner with the rest of us normal people.

Google is #1 because they have such a strict interview process (have you seen their sample interview questions yet…??). This process is designed to weed out 99% of the people who apply to their job openings. If you don’t qualify, you can’t work at Google. And this process isn’t limited to just Google. Almost every company in the country has a hiring process to weed out the unqualified. If you don’t have the skill, experience, or intelligence for the job, you’re out of luck. It’s a tough world out there.

But the good news is that God works completely differently than the world, which isn’t surprising. God has a tendency to turn everything that “makes sense” upside down.

One of my favorite characters in the bible is Moses. His is a story of the unqualified. Sure, he started out well while growing up in the lush lifestyle of Pharoahs’ court, but circumstances soon pushed him to…lead sheep…in the desert. Yet, God saw something in him to use this now simple shepherd to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt.

Moses didn’t really have anything to offer. He didn’t have any of the “qualifications” of a typical leader. He hated public speaking, he stuttered, he was scared, he thought God should use someone else. Does that sound familiar to you? Does that describe you at all? If so, then God has a job for you!

Unlike Google, God is looking for the UNDER-QUALIFIED. You see, the “qualified” tend to be independent and self-sufficient. On the surface, that doesn’t sound too bad. In fact, those characteristics seem down-right admirable. But when it comes to the kingdom of God, these characteristics could be the very things that disqualifies you from ministry. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says that “the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”

Are you fully committed to Him? Whole-hearted commitment admits that we are dependent on God and need His guidance on a daily basis. God is looking to use us for kingdom influence. He is eagerly wanting to reveal that that His strength is perfect in our weakness.

If you think you’re not fit for God’s work, then you’re the perfect candidate!

Earlier in April, we had our very first Ark/Rev(ivalution) joint worship night. It was the first time these two zones came together to worship together. College students, high school students, and middle school students all came together to worship as one body. It was a beauty thing to see.

Then we played some games. That was good too.

Distractions. We all have them. But how much do you allow these distractions to come in the way of what God wants in your life?

This video is the personal story of a young man named Clayton McDonald. At the age of 18, he was diagnosed with leukemia four times and doctors did not give him much longer to live. His is a riveting story of living a life in God’s will.

Clayton is now with the Lord, but his message still rings powerfully and true.

For follow up videos, please go to: http://www.claytonsstory.com/

Post your comments and responses below!

Ark is here at the Court Marriot in Oxnard to join in on the Garden’s Maximum Impact retreat. Keep checking back here to catch the latest updates!

Update (2/28 9:45am)
Morning session after breakfast. Pastor James Ryle is speaking on influence of the church.

Update (12:15pm):
Lunch time.

Update (1:25pm):
Now it’s time for a quick afternoon session. Ryle is speaking on the need for the church to stop being a “secret club.”

Update (5:35pm):
After a few hours of free time, it’s time for a quick dinner before the evening session.

Update (8:10pm):
Final session of the weekend. Expecting God to be powerfully present.

Update (Sunday 3/1/09, 11:00am):
Sunday morning worship with Pastor James.

We leave with four words:
Let there be light!