I am on the IWU campus for another week. It is nice to be here and to learn during an intense week of classes but it is hard to be away from my wife and son for a week. I have had the chance to sit in on a great session my first day and my professor in his words "destroyed Christmas" for us. It was really good though to hear about what the birth of Christ was really like.
I am getting closer and closer to what God has for me and so it gets hard at times to finish. The race is almost over yet it feels like I have so much to do to finish my MDIV. I can honestly say that Wesley Seminary has been a place that I have grown and learned more than I could have imagined. The professors have been great and the fellow students have uplifted me and challenged me when I may have wanted to quit. God has a great plan for my life and my family. We are along for the ride.
Ryan
Ryan Trosen
Monday, July 29, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Growing up...
At times this is the hardest thing to do. As we age we still want to go back and remember the past and at times we try to relive those memories. I was together with some cousins last night and each and every time we are together we can talk about old memories like they just happened. Luke 18:17 says that unless you you accept the kingdom like one of these children you will not inherit the kingdom of God. When you see this you wonder what was he meaning? As you look at the previous verse you see how the disciples were trying to keep the kids from Jesus. But Jesus wanted them and their innocent lives to come to him. To come and accept Jesus as he was and to grow in love for him. There is nothing wrong with remembering the past it can bring us great joy. But let us not live there...
But yet God does not ask or want us to stay there in our lives for him. He calls us to a deeper level of love for him. We are called to live to a higher level. He calls us to grow up and to move to maturity. Here is what Romans 12:1-2 says:
"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." (The Message)
I just love how this puts it. Give it all to him. It is hard for an adult to do this let alone a child. That is why we need to grow up in him. We need to love towards this type of lifestyle. What an honor that God has called us to something beyond just acting like a child all the time. Could you imagine if we all still acted like kids in our daily lives? We already have this with some of our family. They refuse to grow up and act like little kids. Why do we want to do this with our faith? Why do we want to act like little kids with our faith? I challenge you as I challenge myself to grow up in your faith. Act like you mean it and want something deeper. When you look back in 1,5,10 years what do you want to look like? The same kid?
Be different! Grow up because the life in Christ gets better with age!
Ryan
But yet God does not ask or want us to stay there in our lives for him. He calls us to a deeper level of love for him. We are called to live to a higher level. He calls us to grow up and to move to maturity. Here is what Romans 12:1-2 says:
"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." (The Message)
I just love how this puts it. Give it all to him. It is hard for an adult to do this let alone a child. That is why we need to grow up in him. We need to love towards this type of lifestyle. What an honor that God has called us to something beyond just acting like a child all the time. Could you imagine if we all still acted like kids in our daily lives? We already have this with some of our family. They refuse to grow up and act like little kids. Why do we want to do this with our faith? Why do we want to act like little kids with our faith? I challenge you as I challenge myself to grow up in your faith. Act like you mean it and want something deeper. When you look back in 1,5,10 years what do you want to look like? The same kid?
Be different! Grow up because the life in Christ gets better with age!
Ryan
Monday, July 15, 2013
When the Passion seems lost...
I wish that I can say that this has never happened with my life in Christ. I wish that I could tell you that I have always been in love with him and that my life has always been filled with nothing but a passion for him. But there have been times when I am not sure where I am at or what I am doing. Many of the times I forget who I am to God. And who God can be to be when I am reminded of God really is for me.
Brennan Manning shared in his book Abba's Child that to often to are blinded by the earthly version of what we see God as. In his book he tells a story of an old man walking with his nephew. As the sun was setting the uncle started to skip down the road. The nephew stopped him and asked him why he was skipping? He said, "Because, you see my Abba is very fond of me." This man knew who he was and he knew where his life was at in Christ. His passion was right there. Yes MY Abba is very fond of me.
What if you started living in the promise that our Abba is fond of me. Not just that he loves you but that he is fond of you. What a difference maker in our lives. To know that your Abba is fond of you. About two years ago I went through a three week span where I was down and out. I was discouraged and wanted to leave the ministry. Things were not going well and I did not have the passion for ministry and did not feel the passion for my Abba that I remembered. But one morning I was walking with my dogs, while as I was walking I had this overwhelming sense and passion flood my soul. I felt God coming all over me letting me know he was fond of me. I had read this from Manning's book almost three years earlier but the understanding that I was his beloved and that my Abba was fond of me absolutely flooded my soul.
I must have looked like some kind of odd ball walking my dogs and sobbing. I was in tears because I was remembering the passion that He had for me. Mark Batterson in his book, In a pit with a lion on a snowy day, shares that the two ways Satan uses to neutralize us spiritually is discouragement and fear. I know that for me these two things are used very heavily in my life. But because i am aware of this I can keep my eyes fixed on Jesus who is the author and perfecter of my life (Hebrews 12).
SO WHAT? When the passion seems lost, I need to remember "My Abba is fond of me". I can lean on the promise that God is good, all the time. It might not always feel like that, but it is true. God has such a passion for me and he wants to foster that passion in us for himself and for the lost. Remember your Abba is fond of you. The passion is there, let him wash over you.
Thank you my Abba Father for being fond of me...
Brennan Manning shared in his book Abba's Child that to often to are blinded by the earthly version of what we see God as. In his book he tells a story of an old man walking with his nephew. As the sun was setting the uncle started to skip down the road. The nephew stopped him and asked him why he was skipping? He said, "Because, you see my Abba is very fond of me." This man knew who he was and he knew where his life was at in Christ. His passion was right there. Yes MY Abba is very fond of me.
What if you started living in the promise that our Abba is fond of me. Not just that he loves you but that he is fond of you. What a difference maker in our lives. To know that your Abba is fond of you. About two years ago I went through a three week span where I was down and out. I was discouraged and wanted to leave the ministry. Things were not going well and I did not have the passion for ministry and did not feel the passion for my Abba that I remembered. But one morning I was walking with my dogs, while as I was walking I had this overwhelming sense and passion flood my soul. I felt God coming all over me letting me know he was fond of me. I had read this from Manning's book almost three years earlier but the understanding that I was his beloved and that my Abba was fond of me absolutely flooded my soul.
I must have looked like some kind of odd ball walking my dogs and sobbing. I was in tears because I was remembering the passion that He had for me. Mark Batterson in his book, In a pit with a lion on a snowy day, shares that the two ways Satan uses to neutralize us spiritually is discouragement and fear. I know that for me these two things are used very heavily in my life. But because i am aware of this I can keep my eyes fixed on Jesus who is the author and perfecter of my life (Hebrews 12).
SO WHAT? When the passion seems lost, I need to remember "My Abba is fond of me". I can lean on the promise that God is good, all the time. It might not always feel like that, but it is true. God has such a passion for me and he wants to foster that passion in us for himself and for the lost. Remember your Abba is fond of you. The passion is there, let him wash over you.
Thank you my Abba Father for being fond of me...
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Embrace this place...Embrace me
Last night as I was asleep I awoke to a small cry. I knew that it was my son so I got up to see what was wrong. When I went into his room I expected to see him standing up looking for either my wife or myself. He was not standing but rather still laying down in the bed crying out to us. I bent down to see what was wrong and he had somehow gotten his arm caught around one of the bars in his bed and edged up against the wall. He could not get out and was in need of some help. I helped free his arm and as he was still crying a little I kissed his arm where it had been stuck. He immediately buried his head into my chest started to suck his thumb and hold onto my shirt.
He was still really sad and and started to calm down a little bit but as I held him there I was so grateful that my son was willing to call out to me in his time of need. As I held him for a moment while he relaxed and fell back asleep my mind went to how much he has changed over the past year. But one thing that has been consistent is that when he is in trouble or in need is calls out to his parents and we respond. I hope that he continues to grow up and mature. But I pray that he will always call out to us when he is in trouble as well as call out to his heavenly father.
As I placed him down I was reminded of a song that we used to sing when we were in college. Embrace This Place, it was usually played by John and he was so humble in how he would play it and be in tune with God. The song talks about allowing us to draw near to God. How we want to see God in his glory and we want God to embrace the place where we are at. But I love the part where the song shares that we can lay our head on His chest and have our hearts with his.
I was so reminded of this last night as my son was willing to call out to us when he was in need and it was such a special time that I could hold him and have him lay his head on my chest and allow me to embrace him. I pray that God would come and embrace me today. I love the fact that my ABBA, my Daddy, will come to my aid when I am in need. Luke 15 shares of how the Prodigal Son comes home and is embraced by his father.
If you have not experienced this I can tell you that there is nothing like being in the arms of your Abba. He is one that will allow you to cry, sing for joy, and pound on his chest. He just loves to have his child call out to him. He will come running to you. I can tell you this with authority because I have experienced it many times over and hope to pass on this to my son. Will you cry out to God when you are in need? Will you allow yourself to be embraced by your Abba Father today?
Ryan
He was still really sad and and started to calm down a little bit but as I held him there I was so grateful that my son was willing to call out to me in his time of need. As I held him for a moment while he relaxed and fell back asleep my mind went to how much he has changed over the past year. But one thing that has been consistent is that when he is in trouble or in need is calls out to his parents and we respond. I hope that he continues to grow up and mature. But I pray that he will always call out to us when he is in trouble as well as call out to his heavenly father.
As I placed him down I was reminded of a song that we used to sing when we were in college. Embrace This Place, it was usually played by John and he was so humble in how he would play it and be in tune with God. The song talks about allowing us to draw near to God. How we want to see God in his glory and we want God to embrace the place where we are at. But I love the part where the song shares that we can lay our head on His chest and have our hearts with his.
I was so reminded of this last night as my son was willing to call out to us when he was in need and it was such a special time that I could hold him and have him lay his head on my chest and allow me to embrace him. I pray that God would come and embrace me today. I love the fact that my ABBA, my Daddy, will come to my aid when I am in need. Luke 15 shares of how the Prodigal Son comes home and is embraced by his father.
If you have not experienced this I can tell you that there is nothing like being in the arms of your Abba. He is one that will allow you to cry, sing for joy, and pound on his chest. He just loves to have his child call out to him. He will come running to you. I can tell you this with authority because I have experienced it many times over and hope to pass on this to my son. Will you cry out to God when you are in need? Will you allow yourself to be embraced by your Abba Father today?
Monday, July 8, 2013
New Start
I had the chance to preach for a friend this past weekend and it was such a blessing. His church is making a transformation and the people are so kind and loving. While I missed being with my church this past Sunday it was such a blessing to be with these people. Seeing the transformation that God has given them has restored hope for me in other churches around that are struggling and not doing what God has called them too. If we are willing to stop what we are doing and start to allow ourselves to follow after the Missio Dei in our lives we could really transform what we are doing and who we are trying to reach.
I spoke on not allowing ourselves to have things i.e. sin control our lives. We at times can allow fear or sinful desires to pull the strings in our lives to keep us from all that God has for us. Think about all the things that we are missing because we have the fear in our lives that it might not be all that we want it to be. Think about the plans that we had for our lives that have not done well and why? Many times we try and get God to do our plan for our lives rather than to do what God has for us.
Dennis Kinlaw shares in his book, "Preaching in the Spirit", that we want to know the will of God not because we want to know but rather we want to place our stamp of approval onto it. I look at my own life when I see this and it helps me to keep things in focus. I do not need to be the one in control and I am so happy that God is the one calling the shots in my life. Please Lord guide me to where you want me to go.
Your thoughts?
Ryan
I spoke on not allowing ourselves to have things i.e. sin control our lives. We at times can allow fear or sinful desires to pull the strings in our lives to keep us from all that God has for us. Think about all the things that we are missing because we have the fear in our lives that it might not be all that we want it to be. Think about the plans that we had for our lives that have not done well and why? Many times we try and get God to do our plan for our lives rather than to do what God has for us.
Dennis Kinlaw shares in his book, "Preaching in the Spirit", that we want to know the will of God not because we want to know but rather we want to place our stamp of approval onto it. I look at my own life when I see this and it helps me to keep things in focus. I do not need to be the one in control and I am so happy that God is the one calling the shots in my life. Please Lord guide me to where you want me to go.
Your thoughts?
Ryan
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
That is not my whole story...
He is fond of me.
Did you know that? It took me a while to understand this and at times i still do not understand this all the time. But my Abba if fond of me. He really wants to know me and get into my life. It is not just a passing feeling but my Abba is fond of me. For those of you who do not know what the word Abba means it is translated Daddy. Imagine Jesus calling out to his Daddy Father. How personally and intimate this name is for him. And this is for us as well. When we (I) understand where we are and who we are calling out to it should change the whole game for us.
I have a Father, a Daddy Father, who is fond of me. HE IS FOND OF ME? I still find this hard to believe and understand at times. But I remember that even though Satan is attacking me right now I am loved and my name is His Beloved.
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