Chi Alpha

I just re-watched the hit animated movie Monsters, Inc. It is based on the idea that kids are afraid of what lurks in their closet(s), and their fear provides the electrical power for Monstropolis, where the monsters live. The main scarer at Monsters, Inc., is a furry blue giant named Sully, assisted by a green, one-eyed creature named Mike.

The plot of the movie is something we all can relate to based on our childhood – when the lights go out, we get afraid of the dark. Yet the fear subsided when mom or dad came into the room at the sound of our cry and turned on the light (and of course, looked under the bed or in the closet).

When we live is spiritual darkness – away and apart from God – we may experience fear. We cannot see what lies behind or ahead, we are not sure what is in the shadows, and our feelings may get the best of us. We need God to enlighten our way. If and when we ask the LIGHT of the World (John 8:12) to be light to us, he responds by initiating friendship with us.

We can also struggle with darkness as children of God if we ignore Him and his Word. We have a responsibility to develop and feed our faith. If we refuse to read Scripture and walk in the light God shines into our lives, it should not surprise us when we stumble around in the dark. We often revert to our old ways. We ignore and even shut out God’s light. You know what happens next: we get more easily enticed by temptation, we seem to enjoy darkness more than light, and even stop following God, saying we are too busy.

The apostle John had a pragmatic approach to life and spiritual health. Read 1 John 1:5-2:2. To him, living in the light involved walking in the light. John felt following the example of Jesus had two obvious implications: First, it calls for obedience. That theme is reflected throughout 1 John…”anyone who claims to be in Jesus must walk as he did” (1 John 2:6).

The second implication as you walk in the light is that you notice other believers (Christ-followers). John said when we are in relationship with God, we are also enabled to develop proper relationships with others, and we can walk in the light together.

One helpful benefit of light is that it helps you see everything. Light repels the darkness. No monsters can hide, because the light will expose them. We have nothing to fear while walking in God’s light.

How will you walk in the light today? Will you get back to (or continue) a daily discipline of reading the Scriptures? Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Grow devotionally. How about reading Psalm 119 once a day for a week? 5 Psalms a day for a month? One chapter of Proverbs a day for a month? Remember that whatever you feed (darkness or light) will grow.

How will your life change because you are walking in the light? The characters of Monstropolis do not need your fear to power their gadgets. But your spiritual adversaries crave and seek to cultivate your fear so they can rob you of the spiritual energy and resources made available by Jesus. Ignore them, turn on the light and walk in it. It is always easier to get around in the light, and you’ll find more joy and laughter.

Love is a verb

Mike O

P.S. Don’t miss the other benefit of walking in the light listed in 1 John 1:7-9. If and when you stumble and sin, God is ready and available to forgive you. That’s something not even Sully and Mike can do for you.

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Chi Alpha Boston, launched a series of weekly podcasts back in January to aid in the discipleship and development of students, as well to others in the digital world. I am excited to report that it has recently been added to the NEW & NOTABLE Listing on iTunes.

As far as we can tell, this is the only campus ministry sponsored podcast that has garnered such attention, but we need your help in three ways.

1. Go to www.abovethehaze.org and click on the green subscription button. It will automatically subscribe you to iTunes, and you can get the podcasts we make available each week. They cover topics such as Christian biographies, arts and culture, the vocabulary of worship, apologetics, and much more.

2. After joining and please write a review of the podcast.

3. Help us spread the word. Place a link on your facebook, invite friends to view the pod cast, etc… The more traffic and reviews bumps us up the viewing list.

Thanks for considering my request.

Eric Lovejoy

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A friend of mine traveled to Japan and later told me about a shrine he visited. This shrine held hundreds of similar looking figures, with minor, but subtle differences. The tour guide informed my friend that worshipers would select a figure that resembled an ancestor and pray to that statue. My friend said he remarked that the custom seemed a bit odd to him as a western Christian, but the tour guide informed him that it was a very normal response in many Asian cultures.

I have worked with many international students over the past 26 years and remember a young man from Japan who went by the name Lee. He had come to the United States to study economics and we met through a friendship conversation program on campus. I learned that Lee practiced ancestor worship and he found stability and comfort in praying to his grandfather, who had passed away when Lee was a boy. Lee had fond memories of his grandfather and told me he found the experience warm and personal because he could pray to someone he knew.

I had the opportunity to introduce Lee to Christianity when he asked about the religious practices of my family. As I described some of the spiritual disciplines I followed, like Bible study, prayer and fasting, he remarked they seemed a bit odd. Why learn about, worship, and pray to an invisible God? Christianity sounded like a fairy tale to him, based on western ideas and thinking.

But then Lee had the chance to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas in the home of an American student colleague and his family, all whom happened to be Christian. He experienced a Christian family in action, learned about American and Christian traditions, and even heard the story of Jesus for the first time. While different from the narratives he had heard in Japan, the story of Jesus captured his attention. He asked for the story of Jesus in Japanese and received a Japanese Bible a week later, which he started reading. He read the Gospel of John over a weekend and kept coming back to John 1-3 with a lot of questions.

Lee realized he never actually received any tangible help from ancestor worship and prayers. But as he read John 1:1-18, he began to feel the pull of the Holy Spirit. After a while, he decided what John was describing was not foreign worship, but the truth, and trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord, according to John 1:12 (believe + receive = right).

It took patience, love, a few members of the Body of Christ doing their part, listening, asking and answering questions, and a clear explanation of the gospel before Lee even showed interest in exploring the person and work of Jesus. Of course, it also took the work of the Holy Spirit to draw and convince Lee to trust Jesus.

Read Acts 17:16-34. When people we know see Christianity as foreign worship or something that does not make sense to them, we need to respect their ideas, questions, objections, skepticism, and even their heritage while showing them unconditional Christ-like love. We also need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit by taking initiative to reach out to others around us with the message and grace of God. The Holy Spirit knows how to do His part. Will you do yours? Serve globally.

Mike

P.S. Take a look at www.onemorefriend.org for help in caring for the international students around you. Ask God for help in initiating friendship with a student from another country and culture.

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Every year, millions of children are born into the world with no valid proof of their existence. Many are from developing countries where government registration of births does not take place. Just because there is no official record does not mean they are not alive. It only means they cannot produce an official document to prove it.

Have you ever been challenged to prove you exist? Or that you belong at your school? Or questioned why you had a job or internship? Has anyone ever asked you to prove you are a follower of Jesus? The question could come from another Christian who believed that if you could not name the time and date of your conversion, your salvation may be in question. A skeptic could state that it is impossible to say God is in your life, and that you cannot be absolutely sure of the result of faith. Both questions seem a bit narrow and restricting.

The New Testament is full of admonitions for followers of Jesus to connect belief and behavior. Like two wings of an airplane, belief and behavior are crucial for balance, health, and maturity. Read 1 John 3:11-24. Verse 23 is a command from Jesus to BOTH believe in him, AND, love one another.

Do a brief study of the New Testament and look up all the “one another” statements such as, love one another, serve one another, and care for one another. Jesus expects our love for Him (and the evidence of a changed and empowered life) to be expressed in our love for one another. Remember the words of the apostle John: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. (1 John 3:14)

If someone asks you to prove that you are a Christian, go ahead and admit that it is very difficult to do. But continue to live out the teachings of Jesus each day and demonstrate what the Scriptures call us to be. When you love someone with the love of God, they will know that you are His disciple. Live communally. Love is always louder than an argument.

Love is a verb,

Mike

P.S. If there is a skeptical person in your life, will you ask God for an opportunity to love that person today?

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