In Every Season

Carly // UGA Graduate

In every season, I will praise Him

Winter is not my favorite season. It’s cold, days are shorter, waking up is harder, and vibrant flowers and leaves fall away. Right when the cold starts to feel uncomfortable, I long for spring to arrive quickly. I long for the next season instead of enjoying or patiently enduring the present one.

Though this analogy is trivial, the reality is that my spiritual life is not too different than the way I treat winter. I don’t like uncomfortable things. When something difficult, disruptive, or discouraging happens, my instinct is to retreat and long for something better. Contentment and praise in every season are not natural for me, and they are things I have to fight for daily.

As I have shared this feeling with others and read the Word, I have found comfort in knowing this emotion is not unique to me. Our lives will be filled with a constant battle for joy amidst difficult things. Whether we are in the midst of difficulty, waiting, or peace, we are to continually praise the Lord. In every season, we are to praise Him.

One passage that illustrates this perfectly is in Habakkuk 3:

“Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation”

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Habakkuk’s words of praise are beautiful, illustrating his joy in the Lord despite lacking fruit, produce, flocks, and herds. Even while his life was in danger, he knew and worshiped the God of his salvation. When we understand the context of his praise, it is even more beautiful.

This song of praise comes at the end of Habakkuk after the Lord had just told him that the Babylonians would soon invade and destroy Judah for their sins. How could he possibly be singing after being told his people would be destroyed by a wicked nation? However, the Lord did not promise suffering to Habakkuk without also providing him promises to remember.

Even though a wicked nation would enter in for a time, the Lord cannot stand the one whose “soul is puffed up,” and He promises “the righteous shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). Though there was sin throughout the land, Habakkuk could take heart, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). The Lord would bring justice for Judah, and He would not leave Babylon unpunished.

What is Habakkuk’s response to these promises? Humble worship. He writes a psalm to be sung by God’s people. Habakkuk 3:17-18 is his invitation for us to praise the Lord no matter how difficult of a season God brings. Just as a husband and wife faithfully pledge themselves to each other “for better or for worse, whether rich or poor, in sickness and in health, till death do us part,” we pledge to rejoice in the Lord and take joy in the God of our salvation in every season.

The Lord delights in the humble faith, love, and obedience of His people even amidst calamity. This posture of praise during suffering is glorifying to Him. When all the things of this world are stripped away, and we can say with Job, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord,” we reflect the reality that heaven is our home and God is our greatest desire (Job 1:21).

Is there anyone greater to trust in than the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon? Habakkuk looked forward to when God would bring justice and provide His promised anointed one, and we now see God’s fulfilled promise in Jesus Christ. Is there anyone more worthy of glory than the God who brought us out of our sin, reconciled us to Himself through the precious blood of Christ, and will bring us into eternal life with His risen Son by faith?

We no longer have to wonder when justice will come because Christ sits on the throne, and he will return. We no longer long for a promised land or earthly kingdom because we are assured that we will be “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” and our inheritance is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven” (1 Peter 1:3-4). Though we might feel like exiles and suffering servants on this earth, we rejoice that we have been granted the privilege to share in Christ’s sufferings that we might also share in his glory (1 Peter 4:13).

Do I dread difficult decisions, seasons, days, situations, tragedies, sins, temptations, conflicts, emotions, and trials? If I am being honest, yes. Fighting for joy amidst suffering is just what it sounds like—a fight. However, we can trust ourselves to a faithful Creator, Redeemer, Father, and Friend while doing good for the glory of God and the salvation of His people.

The words from a Puritan prayer I read recently have been written on a whiteboard beside my desk for me to read every morning. No matter what season you find yourself in, I hope this prayer serves as a final challenge and encouragement for you:

“Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,

    and in love didst redeem my soul;

Thou dost love me still,

    in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust…

If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,

    thou wilt be with me in them;

If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,

    I shall not drown;

If I am to die,

    I shall see thy face the sooner…

Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,

    as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.”

“Year’s End,” a prayer from The Valley of Vision, Edited by Arthur Bennett. The Banner of Truth Trust; p. 111

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Carly recently graduated from the University of Georgia and is a past intern and is very involved throughout the church. She is passionate about the Word of God and praying for and serving the nations!

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Simple Truth

Everett Sinclair // UGA Student & Watty Intern

Growing up in the church, I have heard many titles for God, many “simple” truths stated hundreds of times, and many stories about God moving in peoples’ lives. And while I see this as a huge blessing, in many ways these truths never sunk in. I never truly understood what I was hearing or what I was supposed to be learning. So, when I sat down to write for this post, wanting to write about a cool metaphor or theme I’ve been tracing through the Bible, something didn’t feel right. And when I actually started to write, all I could think about were some of these so-called “simple” truths that have taken me so long to even begin to understand. And after thinking about it more, I think it’s quite possible that I’m not the only one to miss out on some of these awesome truths and facts of the faith.

God. Who is He? Why have I capitalized pronouns referring to Him for as long as I can remember? Why does He have so many names? I recently found an answer to a lot of these sorts of questions in Exodus 34:

Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,

“Yahweh! The Lord!
    The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
    and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
    I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
    I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
    even children in the third and fourth generations.”

Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped.

My first observation was “Wow! God stood WITH Moses and proclaimed His name to him. That’s cool. Also, Moses’ first reaction was to throw himself to the ground and worship. How often, in my 20 years of life, have I been in such awe of God that I threw myself to the ground and worshipped Him? 

On further study, I dove into God’s description of Himself. He commands Moses to teach the people to refer to Him at the burning bush as “I am who I am” which can also be translated as “Who I am, I will be.” Then, He gives Moses the name “Yahweh”, meaning something like “He is who He is” or “Who He is, He will be”, basically so it doesn’t sound like Moses is just referring to himself when he addresses the people. When the people thought about the One who saved them from bondage in Egypt, they thought of Yahweh and this description of who Yahweh is. 

Who Yahweh is - The God of compassion and mercy, slow to anger, filled with unfailing love and faithfulness, lavishing unfailing love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin, but not excusing the guilty - Yahweh will be. This reminds me of Hebrews 13:8 which says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” The point is, God’s character does not change, He is always who He is. All these beautiful and sometimes scary aspects of God’s character never change. Who He is, He will forever be. 

However, for fear of using Yahweh’s name in vain and to preserve a reverence and fear of Him, the Israelites began calling and referring to Him by other names, other titles. Some of these titles include Lord, God, Refuge, Creator, Lord of Hosts, and there are so many more. Over a hundred titles and over two hundred variations of them, according to Google. I began to think about how I refer to Yahweh in conversation with friends, in prayer, when I journal, etc. I almost always referred to Him as Lord. 

Consequently, I was missing out on so many aspects of His character. I viewed my relationship to Yahweh as a soldier kneeling before a King, his Lord, in submission, humbly waiting for commands to obey. And this is not bad, by itself. But, when I was reading in John 15, Jesus spoke to his disciples about how he no longer calls them servants, but calls them friends, my mind was blown. Jesus, God, my creator, is my friend. 

This spurred a search into all the names and titles for my Lord. Specifically, “Father” stood out. I have no idea how many times I have said the Lord’s Prayer and addressed God as “Father” throughout my life. But this time, it sunk in. The same God who causes the foundations of the earth to shake, whose voice sounds like rolling thunder, who controls entire armies as he pleases, who splits the sea in two, this same God is my friend, is my father, my Wonderful Counselor. I can talk with, cry in front of, and call out to the God of the entire universe. How crazy is that! This same God, according to Exodus 34 and countless other passages throughout the Bible, loves me. He sees my sin, my screw ups, my horrible imperfections, and He forgives me. He is slow to anger, despite my continual rejection of His commands and my repeated sin. And He sent His only son to die a horrible death FOR ME, to not just forgive my sin, but wipe it away so God doesn’t even see it anymore. So many of these so-called “simple” truths finally sunk in and made sense. It clicked. God is good. Praise Him!

However, the enemy is at work. He is real, and as Carlos put it on Sunday, he is alert and waiting for opportunities to attack us. In John 10:10, Jesus teaches that the enemy comes to “steal, kill, and destroy.” This thief will do anything and everything in his power to steal our joy, kill our relationship with our Father, and destroy the hope we have in His promises and in His Son. This deceiver, the father of lies, is actively working to prevent us from believing that God is who He says He is. 

There is a reason Exodus 34:6-8 is the most commonly referred to passage of scripture in the rest of the Bible. We must constantly remind ourselves of who our God, Yahweh, is, what He has done, and what He will do. He has already defeated the dragon, our enemy, and saved us from his power. There is a reason the prophets time and time again remind the nation of Israel of who their God was and what He has already done for them, who He is, He will be. But still, they doubted, and still, we doubt. The enemy attacks when we are weak. It’s not fair, but it’s how it is. 

Side note: I hope that makes you as angry as it makes me, that it spurs you on to fight in prayer, and that it refuels your love and gratitude towards God for who He is and what He has done. The enemy led me to doubt God’s character and blinded me from truly understanding the depth of what He had done for me to the point that even after hearing it hundreds, if not thousands, of times, I didn’t understand, and struggled to accept.

So, to wrap up, I encourage you to do three things in your next quiet time, prayer time, TAG time, whatever you call it.

1. Remember who God is and what He has done. Remember in your life, in the lives of others around you, and the lives of people in the Bible. Make a list that you can turn back to whenever you have doubts, because everyone has them sometimes.

2. Sit and wrestle with specific words Yahweh uses to describe Himself, specific titles people have used to refer to Him, and the so called “simple truths” you may have heard a hundred times. Don’t be like me using words and titles for years without ever stopping to really think about what they mean. Listen to “Great I Am” by Jared Anderson and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” by Chris Rice.

3. And lastly, be thankful. This might be random or unrelated to the rest of what I wrote, but that doesn’t matter. Carlos taught on thanksgiving as a part of his last two sermons and how they combat various sin struggles and maybe that’s simple or obvious for you, but it’s powerful. Being thankful for what you have combats greed and jealousy. Being thankful for who God is and what He has done combats anxiety. Being thankful for how God has worked in your life and how He has blessed you combats pride. Being thankful is helping me finally begin to understand so many things, and I’m sure it can help you too.

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Everett is a finance and real estate major at UGA. He is a Watty intern, doing administrative and behind the scenes work around campus. He also leads the Jackson tribe! He is always ready to make a new friend and talk to them about our God. He is passionate about sharing the gospel and coming up with creative ways to build community!

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Far Too Easily Pleased

Emma Yarbrough // UGA Student & Discipleship Intern

There is a C.S. Lewis quote I read one time that says, “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.” 

And like, come on! This hit hard because it is true, at least for me. Here I am, wishing for good grades, hoping for the EC bus to get to my stop faster, and worrying about what time I should get to the football game to get a good seat when God is trying to invite me into a life of dwelling with Him. Getting to do life with the Creator of the world is an invitation that is extended to me, and all of you, everyday. 

And maybe you aren’t literally making mud pies, but instead you're getting distracted by something else. Maybe you are spending too much time on social media or you are consumed with your career or school pursuits. Or maybe you are happy with where you are and do not feel the need to even pray right now. I mean, what can God do for me when I am content with where I am? 

The world tries to steal all of our attention and distract us from the true relationship that we desire. If we are not careful, we will become too satisfied by the world and ache for worldly things instead of longing for His love and remembering what He has already done for us. 

We are not the first group of people to be consumed by things on this earth. We are not the first to need reminding of what God has done in our lives. In Deuteronomy 8, Moses reminds the Isrealites of what God has done for them. 

“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 8: 11-14)

He is saying, do y’all not remember when we were in slavery not too long ago? Did you forget about those long years that we spent in the wilderness? Just because you have abundant flocks and nice houses, you cannot forget about God, the Provider of all of those things.

When I am in a season of abundance, I need to remember Who led me through the fire. When I am in a season of peace, I need to remember Who led me through the valley. When I am in a season of happiness, I need to remember Who led me out of darkness. It can be so easy to get on my knees to pray when I want help, but so easy to forget when I am content. 

Psalm 16 is becoming one of my favorite Psalms because of the reminders it provides for me. It says, 

“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.’

As for the saints in the land, they are excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices, my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

There is SO much encouragement in these verses. In His presence, there is fullness of joy. He provides us joy and pleasure, forever and ever. He put a desire in human nature for eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and that desire can only be fulfilled through Him. 

I do not want to settle for a life filled with earthly pleasures, especially not while learning of the beautiful inheritance that I am given. But that means I have to put to death all the things that I am familiar with, the things that come easier and are more comfortable than dying to myself everyday. Colossians 3 says we have to put to death the things of the earth and put on new things, as God’s chosen ones. 

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3: 1-4 

I have to put to death the idols I hold above to God. I have to put away selfishness, evil desire, and covetousness - which are all so easy to fall into. 

Brandon Lake’s “Wildflowers” song played in my car the other day and the following lyrics stuck out to me.

Your love is amazing / I can hardly contain it

It's the greatest thing I've found

And Your love doesn't waver / Now and forever

It's the greatest thing I've found

We can keep searching and searching the earth for all of our days and never find anything better than God’s love. His love is everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3, Psalm 103:17, Isaiah 45:17), and there is nothing we can do to be separated from His love. Romans 8:38 says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Desiring a good job after college is not bad. Desiring a true community or fulfilling relationships is not bad. But the only one that will ever truly fill our hearts - will fill us up to the brim until our cup is running over - is God. 

The rest of the quote by Lewis ends, “Indeed, we are far too easily pleased when we pine for anything less than God - and when we ache only for seeing his splendor from afar, rather than going further up and further in, to being accepted, welcomed, or taken into the dance.”

May we be so displeased with this earth that we only ache for God and are taken into the dance. May we desire to know Him more deeply and intimately every day for the rest of our lives.

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Emma is an international affairs major at UGA. She is a Watty discipleship intern and is involved in the Jackson tribe! She also serves in the kids ministry and leads worship for them! She is so good at getting to know so many different people and making them feel loved and poured into!

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What a Friend We Have

Alexis Kelley // UGA Student & College and Communications Intern

One of the things I’ve been learning most this past year is friendship, specifically friendship that is united because of Christ. One of my biggest prayers coming into college was that the Lord would surround me with people that loved and adored Him. I prayed that they would lead me closer to Christ and that they would encourage me to share Him with others around me. Now, as a third year at UGA, about to finish my fifth semester here, I can say with a filled and grateful heart that He has answered those prayers more abundantly than I could have ever imagined. 

Friendship is one of those things that teaches you about itself as you experience it. As you get to know more people and meet people with different backgrounds and opinions, you start to learn what it looks like to get along with and love unexpected people. In Christian community especially, the one thing that unites you is Christ, and so the people you are closest to might be completely different from you. But as you spend time with each other and do life together, it becomes more and more evident how the Lord teaches us about Himself through each other. Through friendship on this earth, He shows us how He is the perfect friend, who loves and cares for us more deeply than we could ever comprehend.

A passage I read recently that encompasses what I’m trying to say is Colossians 4. It’s a list of greetings at the end of his letter. Paul does this in many of his letters, and I’ve never really known what to take from these passages before. But the other day, it began to make so much sense to me. It starts by saying,

 “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”

These verses are very practical. They give us step by step instructions on what to do. Pray with watchful thanksgiving. Paul is urging the Colossians to be consistent in their prayers, to never give up laying their burdens before the God of the universe. And I love that he tells them to be watchful in it with thanksgiving. We have this great hope in Christ. Even though we know how the story will end, it hasn’t happened yet. And so we are watchful! We wait with great anticipation and thanksgiving. We thank God because He is at work and He hears our prayers. Paul even goes on to give them specific things to pray for himself so that they can have a first step in obedience to this call to prayer. Everything that we do should start with prayer - including friendship and community. This opening makes the next few verses so much deeper and more fulfilling because we know that friendship is from Christ Himself in answer to our prayers.

 “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” 

These next verses talk about how we should treat those that are not yet believers. Remember, Colossians is a letter to the Church. These people are presumably already believers and gather together to be encouraged in their faith. But still, Paul tells them that they are to be gracious to others. He says to walk in wisdom towards them. This is a call to pay attention to how we act towards those that are not yet following God. We should be taking every opportunity to show them the love of God and the grace that He gives to us. When we are intentional and gracious to them, it points to the goodness of God. He left us here on earth for this very purpose. 

 “Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.” 

Paul knows that the reason we have fellow believers and friendship is to encourage one another. He knows that the Colossian church loves him and has been praying for him. He sends friends to update them on the work of the gospel as an encouragement! The Colossian church is uplifted because these stories are the answers to their prayers. Their partnership with Paul in the gospel is special and fulfilling because it gives them a tangible way to see the Lord working in their lives and in the lives of people, like Paul, who partner in this mission with them.

“Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.”

The language of these verses is so sweet. Paul shares how these men have comforted him. It says they are the only men who are circumcised that are partnering with Paul in his efforts to share the gospel with the Gentiles. If you know anything about the life of Paul, you know that he was called to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. Through Christ, he fought against cultural norms to show how the gospel is for all people of every tribe and tongue. It was hard and frustrating work. But God gave Paul these men that were in similar places of life to comfort him. He was not the lone Jew who believed this message. There were others that not only believed it, but were willing to join the fight with him. How comforting is that!

“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.” 

This ties so well to the beginning of this chapter. Epaphras is an example of what it looks like to “continue steadfastly in prayer”. Paul says that he struggles for the Colossians in his prayers. The Christian walk, though the most joyful way to walk this earth, is hard. It is described as a battle in scripture. And one of the ways we fight for each other is through prayer. Epaphras was away from the people he originally fellowshipped with. But they never left his prayers. He continues to pray for their maturity - not that they would be released from their troubles, but that they would be mature and assured in the will of God. He wanted them to know who they were, Who’s they were, and why they were serving. It is hard work to lift up one another, but it is so worth it. The more we fight for each other in prayer, the more we see God move and lead us to His will and maturity. 

“Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, ‘See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.’” 

The closing greetings are to several people in the church that Paul wanted to address. He gives specific instruction and encouragement to them. He tells Archippus to carry on with the mission, and the Colossian church as a whole to partner and encourage the other churches around them by spreading his words. 

This last chapter of Colossians gives such great insight on Biblical friendship. It is so cool to be given a glimpse into what the early church community looked like. We get to know their specific names and the specific ways they encouraged one another. So as you continue to live in Christian community, thank God for the opportunities He’s given us to see Himself in each other. Pray steadfastly. Bring outsiders in. Share how the Lord has been working in and through your life. Comfort one another as you go through similar things. Fight for each other in prayer. And encourage one another daily to carry on to maturity. 

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Alexis is an English and marketing major at UGA. She is a Watty college and communications intern and is involved in the Woodall tribe! She also spent the summer in Boston through Watty this past summer. She is passionate about building relationships and getting to know people’s stories and loves serving the church!

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HAVE A COOL IDEA FOR A BLOG POST?

Contact Alexis Kelley (229-886-4086) or email college@watkinsville.org with your idea and we’ll talk about posting it here!

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All Creation Groans

Adria Stevens // UGA Student & College Intern

As I was preparing to write this blog post, I was sharing some ideas with another intern, and she said “Wow it seems like we are all writing about similar things.” At first I started panicking, searching my mind for a new blog post idea. I can’t write about the same thing as other interns! I have to bring something new, something creative, something that makes me look good. Then she snapped me out of my spiral into pride by saying, “but I guess we are all writing about the gospel, so that is bound to happen.” In the brief moment between her statements I completely lost focus of the gospel I wanted to write about. I lost sight so quickly of the good news that fuels every blog post, every interaction or activity, each mundane day that we live. So in this blog post, I am not promising anything you have not heard, any grand epiphanies, or life changing quotes that will change the way you view things (if you want any of that I encourage you to look straight to the Word). But I am hoping to share a bit of my heart and what God has been teaching me about the gospel lately. 

One of the most life changing things I am involved in is leading a 10th grade girl’s D-Group. I signed up last minute on a whim, but was not prepared for what God was going to do in my life through his Word and through these girls. Each week, as I prepare a chapter of Romans to facilitate the group, I am deeply challenged by Paul’s words. And each week, as I come before my D-group over dinner, I am so thoroughly reminded of the life changing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These 15 and 16 year old girls summarize and meditate on difficult passages of scripture and show me how the gospel takes root and transforms; it is for them and for me and for you. As we read Romans 8 together, we were especially amazed by this passage: 

Romans 8:18-25 

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we await for it with patience.”

Paul says that the current sufferings are “not worth comparing” to the glory we will experience one day. Paul didn’t say that our sufferings don’t exist, in fact Paul was experiencing far worse suffering than most of us ever will, but he continually encourages us to redirect our thoughts to future glory. One of my girls thoughtfully brought up this verse, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). Each moment of suffering and pain mirrors the groans of all of creation, and reminds us of God’s sovereignty and His future plans for us. My roommates and I jokingly say, “ugh and all this because of the fall,” when any inconvenience arises, but there is a level of truth to that. All of creation around us shows the fallen nature of our world. A really unique picture of what creation will be like is found in Isaiah 11:6-9 which says: 

“The wolf will live with the lamb,

    the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together;

    and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear,

    their young will lie down together,

    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the cobra’s den,

    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy

    on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord

    as the waters cover the sea.”

When Jesus comes back, creation will be changed. No more predators and prey, no more death and pain. Nature is longing for this transformation that will come just as we are longing to be glorified one day. (A side note: I love the reference that the “earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,” reminding us of how the “spirit of the Lord hovered over the waters,” in Genesis).

Now how can we wait for this as Paul states? It can be hard to want to keep going in this world when we are promised such a beautiful and unmatched eternity. Well the answer is not far from the root of this idea, it is found yet again in the gospel. I have been focusing on the post-resurrection life, and the future to come. However, turning back to just before the crucifixion and resurrection can bring us immense peace. 

Isaiah 53:3-5 states, 

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

We can take comfort in the fact that Christ experienced both deep emotional pain and physical agony. He did not just sometimes experience sadness, but He was “acquainted with grief.” He was not just lonely, but “despised and rejected by men.” He was smitten by His own father, totally alone in the world, far more alone than we have ever been. Yes, He rose again and has promised us an inheritance as co-heirs with Him in eternal life, but He also lived and breathed as a human being. We don’t serve some far-off God who fruitlessly attempts to understand our cries, but we serve a God who humbly came to experience our suffering, take it on, and promise us not just salvation but adoption into His family. How can we hear these truths and not be comforted in the arms of our Savior? 

Jesus wept because He was a man, but raised because He is God. We can take comfort in the fact that we serve and communicate with a God who not only loves us, but fully knows and understands us. We can look forward to even better communion with Him one day, a day in which creation cries out, not in anguish, but in praise of the Savior who has restored! 

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Adria is an English major at UGA. She is a Watty college intern and is involved in the Jones tribe! She leads a D-Group at Watty and is passionate about diving into the truth of Word and sharing that with other people!

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The Love of the Father

Wes Allen // UGA Student & College Intern

The Love of the Father

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 JOHN 3:1 (NIV)

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ROMANS 5:8 (ESV)

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ROMANS 8:37-39 (ESV)

  A Never-Ending Love

How often do we forget the unwavering, steadfast, never-ending, all-satisfying love of God? For me, the answer is almost daily. Since the fall of humanity, we have been ignoring, forgetting, and actively opposing this love. In my life specifically, I believed the lie that God was angry with me for the sin in my life, and unless I lived a certain way, God could not love me. I let the enemy whisper this lie in my ear every day. The reality is that God loves us more than we can even comprehend, so much that HE came DOWN to us.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” JOHN 3:16 (ESV)

 A Willing Love

God LOVES us so much that he sent his ONLY son. Jesus came to earth suffered every pain that we experience in this world. He showed us the true heart of God and WILLINGLY went to the cross for our sin.

“...I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” JOHN 10:17-18

In a conversation this past Sunday after the church service, a friend told me through tears, “I always felt guilty that Jesus had to die for my sin. Like it was my fault...which it is because He died for our sin. I never realized that Jesus faced the cross not because he had to, but because his love for us is that strong.” At that moment, I saw my friend experience Jesus’ abundant love and was reminded of it once more.

“Greater love hath no man than this, to lay down his life for his friends.” JOHN 15:13 (KJV)

 A Father’s Love

 My relationship with my dad is great. He always told me he loved me, and he was proud of me. He always took care of my sibling and me. This fatherly love always felt unconditional, despite all circumstances. I think of this love from my dad, and then I think of God’s love for me. It’s infinitely stronger! It’s infinitely more satisfactory! And is truly unconditional! It makes me emotional every time thinking of it from this perspective.

Jesus understood and perfectly remained in this love from his heavenly Father.

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” JOHN 15:10 (ESV)

Commanded to Love

 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” JOHN 15:12

 Here, Jesus commands his apostles to display for others the same love he displayed for them. Later, through the Acts of the apostles, we see this love on full display, helping to grow the church and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to the nations.

 Remain in Christlike Love

 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this, my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” JOHN 15:7-11 (ESV)

 How do I remain in the Love of Christ?

 Jesus tells us in John 15:7-11 to abide in His love, keep the Father’s commandments, so that His joy may be made full in us. This means encountering God through his Word---. The beginning of John tells us that Jesus is the Word, so to abide in the Word is to abide in Christ. --- and encountering God through prayer just as Jesus was in constant communication with the Father.

 How can I share this love with others?

  ‘And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”’ MATTHEW 28:18-20

 In John’s Gospel, Jesus commands us to Love God and to love others. Now in Matthew, he commands us to do the result of the first two commandments, to make disciples. How can the world truly experience the love of Christ without His people displaying that love to the world? I challenge you to share your faith with one person this week. So go! Abide in Christ and be filled with his love, so much so that it flows outwards to everyone you encounter!

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Wes is an English major at UGA. He is a Watty college intern and is involved in the Kempf tribe! He also went to Boston with Watty this past summer and is passionate about serving the church and diving into the Word!

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Unshakable Joy

Sophia Steed // UGA Student & College Intern

Unshakable Joy

“I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels and go out to dance with the joyful.” JEREMIAH 31:4

“When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” 1 SAMUEL 18:6-7

 “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.” PSALM 30:11 

Dancing with Jesus

This is a phrase I heard this summer, and one that has been a part of my daily prayer ever since: that I would find myself dancing with Jesus each day.

Does this mean I’m in my room every morning literally dancing while reading the gospel of John? No… but it does mean that I desire to find so much daily joy in the Lord that it overflows into something that is visible to those around me. 

But how can I find joy like that on days where it seems impossible? Answer: Look to Jesus.

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,” ISAIAH 53:3-4  

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” HEBREWS 4:15 

Jesus came down to earth and before our pain and suffering. He experienced humanity. He knows what it feels like to mourn, to weep, to grieve. He experienced ultimate suffering, and yet Jesus was a man of UNSHAKEABLE JOY. We see proof of that through his life.

 “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve” 1 PETER 5:2 

Jesus, our shepherd, not only obeyed the will of the Father by dying on the cross, he eagerly bore the burden of our sins. Jesus’s unshakeable joy never departed from him because he knew what was to come; eternal life in heaven seated at the right hand of His father.

 “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” JOHN 16:20-22 

REJOICE! We will see Him again. REJOICE! The God of all creation knows you by name and loves you just as you are. REJOICE! Heaven is next and it is forever. 

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.’ And the One seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.’” REVELATION 21:3-4

 When it becomes more difficult to wake up to your alarm in the mornings, when walking to class begins to feel like a burden, or when life just seems to be throwing you curveballs left and right, fix your eyes on the one who is holding you in His hand. Clothe yourself with unshakeable joy, and people will notice. They will want what you have, and you will have more opportunities to share the best news there is. 

The gift of eternal life has been given to all those who believe. He will dwell with us. He will wipe away our tears. There will be no more death, no more pain, no more grief, no more shame. 

Okay, but seriously. Doesn’t that just make you want to get up, jump around and shout with joy?! That’s delighting in the Lord, that is putting on unshakeable joy, that is dancing with Jesus. 

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Sophia is a Public Relations major. She is a watty college intern and is involved in the Kempf tribe! She also went to Boston with Watty this past summer and so excited to keep on serving the church!

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Pray and Persist

Kyle Wade // UGA Graduate

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

To begin, here’s a short parable from our Lord Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus told the parable because he wanted his disciples to know “that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (v. 1). Please set aside a moment to read it thoughtfully, even if you have read it before. It’s quite short and worth your attention:

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” -Luke 18:1-8 (ESV)

Corporate Prayer

“Devoted to prayer”--we see similar phrases to this one in the books of Acts surrounding the birth of the church:

Acts 1:14 - All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers...

Acts 2:42 - And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Acts 4:24 - And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God...And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Acts 12:5 - So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

In the early church, believers prayed corporately—meaning in groups together. The idea of praying together may seem strange to us, but if we want to be disciples and to imitate the church in Acts and to see the Gospel speed ahead, we should pray as they did. They prayed boldly, they prayed often, and they prayed together—corporately. And God clearly responded.

Strange? Maybe, yes. But it’s the pattern we see. Plus, consider the One we come to in prayer. Consider our heavenly Father and his goodness. Consider all the help He is capable of providing. Consider His heart. Consider how kind He is. He’s not annoyed with our requests like the judge in Luke 18. Consider how eager he is to reward those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6). And consider the joy he takes in his children being united together in seeking Him (John 17:20-23). Consider what he desires to see happen on the earth. Consider his joy when our hearts line up properly with his.

Put more plainly: Do you want to see your fellow classmates get saved? Seriously, do you want people far from God to miraculously call him “Lord?” If we want to see people go from death to life, we can ask God for that. We can plead for our loved ones’ souls. And as we do so, God will listen. We can even pray for our own boldness to share the good news. We can ask God to help us open our mouths so that we share His story with people. We can ask for courage to overcome the fear of awkwardness. We can ask for the right words and confess our fears. Remember, he shows favor to the humble (Proverbs 3:34). And that’s not all.

We can also ask God for help in our struggles. Is sin plaguing you? Do you keep failing? Crippled by depression or emotional hurt? Someone you know really hurting? Someone you love wandering from Christ? Lonely or discouraged? If we require supernatural help, we can ask God to sustain us! We can even ask this for other people, on their behalf, or ask others to pray for us (James 5:13-20).

Consider it all! We can ask for salvation, we can ask for physical healing, we can ask for spiritual growth, we can ask for practical help, we can ask for joy. Consider his goodness and his power. We have a Father who wants to help his children. We serve a king who lets us help usher in his kingdom. We can receive help in our smallest needs and play a part in his grandest purposes.  

“[You] ought always to pray and not lose heart...”

Evaluate yourself honestly. Consider the state of your heart. Where are your affections and desires? What do you really desire and really love? Are your desires directed toward godly things? Toward others knowing Christ? Toward the well-being of your fellow Christians? Do you actually want his kingdom to come? If not, start praying. He can give you these desires and conform you to his own nature. And if so, keep on going! Either way, the answer is to pray and persist.

 1. Practice Group Prayer: The early church modeled that we should pray together. You should find ways to pray with other Christians! Join a group, start a group, make a habit of praying with your roommates or family when needs arise. Make group-prayer normal and sincere. In your group, aim to pray for things that fit Jesus’s model of “Your kingdom come.” Pray for lost people, spiritual needs around you, missionaries abroad, the persecuted church, your friends’ relationship with the Lord. Let the Christians around you inspire you in how to pray so that your own prayers do not grow selfish and stale and self focused. Make a habit of praying together with other Christians for kingdom-minded things.

 2. Practice Private Prayer: Jesus exhorted us to meet God alone, as well. He modeled this in his own life and ministry, venturing off often to seek isolation. Evaluate yourself again: are you someone who only prays in group settings? Are you uncomfortable approaching the throne alone? Secretly, do you sometimes only pray so that other people will hear you and think more highly of you? Do you think he doesn’t like you or doesn’t love you? Do you think God has no desire to answer such trivial requests? If this is you, be encouraged! It’s alright for your private prayers to be “Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-25). Whether you struggle with this or not, pray and seek the Father alone. Ask him to grow you and change you and work in you. Pray for people you love. Wrestle with God. You can only be a fruitful branch if you will abide in the vine (John 15:1-8). Make a habit of praying alone where only God can see you.

 “...[w]ill He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8)

When Jesus returns to earth—an event that Jesus warns can happen at any given moment—who will He find ready for him? In the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus shows that prayer demonstrates faith. Persistence reveals the sincerity of our belief. Notice how the parable begins with a focus on “prayer” (v. 1) but ends with a focus on “faith” (v. 8). From this parable, we see the two must be intertwined. Where Jesus finds persistent prayer, he will find evidence of genuine faith. Those who keep asking are those who actually believe he still listens. Jesus wants us to seek Him and His kingdom. He wants us to keep praying and keep trusting. He wants us to persist until the end. He doesn’t want you to lose heart. We ought to pray.

To my dearest family in Christ: when our Lord returns, will he find faith in us, Watty College? Will he find us in prayer?

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Kyle recently graduated from the University of Georgia and now serves with his wife Carly on Watty's missions team!

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Perfectionism is not Holiness

Chip Chambers // UGA Graduate

“Chip, I think you have a control problem.”

I was jogging with one of my friends, telling him about how tough some of my classes had been and how discouraged I was. I was determined to fix the problem by simply studying harder, assuming that if I could just get my grades up, then surely the discouragement would go away.

My friend graciously pointed out how over the past several months, my initial reaction to my struggles had not been to approach my Father and ask for grace, but to try to fix them on my own first. My meticulous calendar-keeping, late nights studying, and fixation on my flaws were no longer just hard work. They had become a self-reliant perfectionism.

“Great,” I thought. “First he has to be a better runner than I am, and now he has to point out yet another area I need grace.”

The Holy Spirit was using him to gently ring the doorbell of my stony fortress of a heart before He had to show up with a battering ram. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I knew my friend was right. I had to pray that day repenting from my self-sufficiency and turning in humility and dependence to Christ. It’s a prayer with which I’ve become well-acquainted.

The Pervasive Sin of Self-Reliance

We can slap a lot of positive labels on our self-reliance. Work ethic. Attention to detail. Striving for holiness. Outside of the church, the world simply calls it “perfectionism.”

It even creeps into our spiritual disciplines. We try to never have a bad quiet time, always be fervent in prayer, and always encouraging, not for the sake of honoring Christ, but so that we can think better of ourselves.

The natural inclination of our hearts is not to depend on the Lord more, but less. The flesh often argues that if we work hard enough, we can handle most of our issues on our own. Psalm 127:1 argues otherwise. 

The Root of Perfectionism

The line between holiness and perfectionism, however, can often become blurred. Gospel-fueled labor, after all, is not a bad thing (1 Peter 1:14-16, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Hebrews 12:14) and distinguishing it from perfectionism requires looking deep within our hearts. 

Holiness is inherently God-centered and founded upon a recognition that we are not, cannot be, and should not be in control. We have no right to take up control of our own lives, only our own crosses.

Perfectionism, on the other hand, fears disapproval from others, so it works to make itself uncriticizable. In fact, much of its worth ethic stems simply from a fear of failure. It hates group projects because it does not trust others. It is often sleep-deprived because it refuses to accept that God can keep the world spinning for 8 hours by Himself. 

Ultimately, perfectionism is a direct affront to the sufficiency of the cross. It is the audacity to look at the supremely beautiful, transformative work of Christ and say, “that’s good, but not good enough.” Surely He needs our accomplishments and successes to do His work. 

But He doesn’t. He just wants us. 

Jesus did not say, “Come to me, all you who are heavy burdened, and I will give you maximum efficiency.” He offered rest. And there are some distinct differences between this restful, Gospel-driven, Spirit-empowered holiness and the flesh’s self-sufficient perfectionism.

3 Differences Between Holiness and Perfectionism

Ultimately, the difference between the two lies in their motivations and fuel sources. Does the power to change come from our own grit? Or from the Holy Spirit’s quiet torrent of grace? As we seek further dependence on the Spirit, here are three indicators of where our reliance truly lies.

1. Perfectionism is reluctant to reveal flaws. Holiness knows that the light is the only place they can be addressed.

Perfectionism fears that others might see our failures, so it hides smeared makeup, unmade beds, bad test grades, unopened Bibles, and candy wrappers behind a veneer of perfection. If we can’t actually achieve perfection, we will at least convince others that we have.

Holiness, however, is not interested in the appearance of doing right, but in actual righteousness. That righteousness often involves admitting our inadequacies to others and asking for help (James 5:16). Only in the garden of confession and accountability can genuine repentance grow. 

2. Perfectionism fears insufficiency. Holiness fears self-sufficiency.

I am afraid of inadequacy. Ultimately it’s because my flesh seeks to find my worth in my own resume, not Jesus’s. Even when I am overwhelmed, my perfectionism scoffs at the desperate neediness of prayer (Psalm 86:1).

Holiness, on the other hand, humbly approaches the throne of grace begging for mercy, assured that it will be given because it knows the King’s character. Holiness knows that inadequacy does not limit a God whose power is made perfect in weakness, but rather provides a canvas for Him to paint a beautiful story (Romans 5:20). It is not complacent with sin, nor does it find its identity in sinlessness. It finds it in Christ’s sinlessness.

3. Perfectionism is restless and uncertain. Holiness looks to the cross and sees the words “it is finished.”

Perfectionists are sure that God loves some future version of themselves but cannot love them in their current state. They struggle with contentment because it feels like complacency. They feel the need to be perpetually pursuing, tirelessly striving towards some abstract standard. To be sure, there is a standard, but it’s not abstract. It’s impossible. And it was met on the cross, and there alone.

Holiness looks to the cross and knows that the standard is met. We rest not in our own perfection, but in our Savior’s. It is a beautiful contentment. This then frees us up to go attack sin and with a Gospel-fueled passion.

May we say with Paul, “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me”. May we pursue holiness in the power of the Holy Spirit. And may we forsake the vain pursuit of perfectionism.

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Chip, a long-time Watkinsvillian and WFBCer, graduated from UGA in December, 2019 with degrees in biology and economics. He has served in Watkidsville and with the college teaching team while at Watkinsville, and will be attending medical school at the University of Pennsylvania in fall 2020. He enjoys puns, watching Planet Earth, and has a passion for people’s heads and hearts to both be full with the knowledge of Jesus, which is both conceptual and experiential.

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The Grace of Repentance

Chip Chambers // UGA Graduate

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”  - Matthew 4:17

“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” - Luke 5:32

“I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” - Psalm 32:5

It was the primary call of John the Baptist (Mark 1:4).

It was the first public command Jesus gave (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15).

And the first of 95 bullet points nailed to a 16th century German church door stated, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

So, when was the last time you consciously repented?

Do you even know what that would look like?

Because if you’re like me and much of the modern church, there’s a good chance you’ve lost the grace of repentance. If we haven’t repented recently, there are two possible options; we either (1) haven’t sinned, or (2) have neglected Jesus’s command. I have often fallen into the second category, and I’m guessing you have too.

But is repentance just something we do once when we become a Christian? Well, in the first few chapters of Revelation, we see God addressing believers that seem to have neglected one important action. Let’s see if we can pick up a theme here:

To the church in Pergamum: “Therefore repent.” (Rev 2:16)

To the church at Sardis:  “Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent” (Rev 3:2)

To the church in Laodicea (the infamous “lukewarm” Christians): “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent” (Rev. 3:19)

To the church in Ephesus: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Rev. 2:4–5).

Ouch.

I believe the reason we have failed to follow many of God’s commands (of evangelism, of holiness, of purity, etc.) is because we have not made repentance the air we breathe. We have not, as Martin Luther said, made our entire lives into lives of constant repentance.

God does not primarily sanctify us through annual church retreats where we finally decide to deal with the big, looming addictions and shortcomings in our life. He makes us holy through the day-in, day-out forsaking of sin and clinging to him. We move closer to God one step of faithful repentance at a time, remembering that he runs to us when we step toward him (Luke 15:20). 

“We move closer to God one step of faithful repentance at a time, remembering that he runs to us when we step toward him.”

Many of us have admitted in small group, “I’ve been bad in my quiet times.” Yet we don’t consciously repent of our apathy. We just feel a low-grade embarrassment. We admit “yeah I’ve probably not been the best with alcohol recently,” yet we do not repent of breaking God’s law. “I know I’m supposed to be more loving towards my family,” yet we do not repent of our hard-heartedness. “I should share the gospel more” but we do not forsake our self-centered idolatry of what others think of us.

Ironically, the reason many of us feel constant shame nagging us is because we have failed to repent. We go through life with a subtle, nagging sense of guilt, inadequacy, and failure, rather than dropping our idols and running back to the cross, where grace is always extended. If we would leave our sin behind, God would shower us with grace.

God does not call us to repentance because He wants to hurt us. He calls us to repentance because He wants to hold us.

Repentance names our idols and identifies them as enemies to be fought. It stops the gradual slide into sin because it recognizes and renounces subtle sins before they blow up. It reminds me of my sinfulness, but it also reminds me of Christ’s sufficiency. And because of that, it frees me of shame and makes Jesus look beautiful.

Why Don’t We Repent?

There are a few possible explanations. Maybe our idols have tougher holds on us than we want to admit. Repentance means being serious about leaving them behind. Or maybe our culture prizes being happy too much and misses the joy that follows Godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). 

Maybe we have justified our sin, seeing ourselves as victims rather than perpetrators. Or maybe we don’t actually believe that holiness is required to see God (Hebrews 12:14) and so we have the audacity to approach God in worship without confessing our sinfulness. 

Maybe we don’t actually believe sin will kill us. We would not ignore a hungry lion sitting in our living room, but we tolerate unrepentant sin in our lives. Apparently we don’t believe James when he tells us that sin “brings forth death” (James 1:15). Or maybe we don’t believe God when he promises that grace is always given to those who repent (Psalm 32:5-7).

It’s time to leave these delusions behind. So, what does repentance practically look like?

How to Repent

Charles Spurgeon explains that “Repentance is a discovery of the evil of sin, a mourning that we have committed it, a resolution to forsake it. It is, in fact, a change of mind of a very deep and practical character, which makes the man love what once he hated, and hate what once he loved.” I see in this definition 6 components of repentance.

1. Name the sin to God. Name all of it (Psalm 32:5), even if others don’t know about it yet.

2. Name the root. Identify the idol underneath the surface action.

3. Recognize whom we have sinned against (Psalm 51:4) because ultimately our sin is rebellion against God himself.

4. Embrace godly sorrow. There is a good kind of sadness that is eager to repent and be restored to God (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). While worldly sorrow is upset about the consequences of sin (like getting caught), godly sorrow weeps that it has turned its back on a loving Father.

5. Welcome guaranteed mercy. Your standing before God was never on your own merits to begin with (Titus 3:5). He is eager to receive you on Jesus’s resume again (Hebrews 4:16). We do not beat ourselves up, because Jesus took the punishment for us, and God is the executor of justice, not us.

6. Chase holiness. A truly repentant heart will never abuse grace, but always wants to imitate the Father in holiness (1 Peter 1:14-16).

This process doesn’t need to be a 3-hour ordeal. It might be as simple as thinking, “Lord, I made that comment because I wanted to be seen as funny (1). I care too much about what other people think of me (2), which is why I broke your commandment to avoid crude joking (3). I am sorry (4). Thank you for forgiveness (5). Keep me from this sin by your grace (6).”

Sometimes, there is one more step of repentance: owning consequences of the sin. Some sins will require making amends, like in the case of Zacchaeus, who repented and returned the money he had taken (Luke 19:1-10). There might be legal ramifications, a broken relationship, or church discipline required. True repentance accepts that there are consequences of sin and takes these head-on, without trying to avoid them or justify itself.

The beauty is that even repentance is a work of God. Much like faith, our decision and ability to repent is ultimately the Holy Spirit’s power working in us. And he promises to always supply it (Philippians 4:19).

Will you receive God’s grace through repentance today?

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Chip, a long-time Watkinsvillian and WFBCer, graduated from UGA in December, 2019 with degrees in biology and economics. He has served in Watkidsville and with the college teaching team while at Watkinsville, and plans to attend medical school in the fall of 2020 (James 4:15). He enjoys puns, watching Planet Earth, and has a passion for people’s heads and hearts to both be full with the knowledge of Jesus, which is both conceptual and experiential.

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What Truly is Trust?

Ryan Kone // UGA Graduate

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. - C.S. Lewis 

I have grappled with this topic in prayer and thought for some time. My prayer is that the Lord will use my words for his Kingdom however he sees fit. Nonetheless, I will use all the wisdom that he has given me to try and do the best that I can to convey what he wishes me to write regarding this topic. 

Well, the topic is trust. Not just trusting God as we have heard thrown about in our christian culture. Not just the kind of trust that we say we have, but do not show. Not the kind of trust we sing about, but never truly take to our hearts. For example, there is a popular worship song titled “All I have is Christ”. I ask, do we give everything to Jesus? All our fears and doubts? 

What about the song “Trust It All”? Is our life in His hands? Is our whole life for His glory? 

You may be in an introspective state and that is good a place to be. It’s important to sit and reflect about the way we are living our life. It is easy to become complacent or fall into a groove of business without giving each day to Christ. He is whom we work for, he is whom our words represent, and we should do everything to be like Christ. Ah yes, but we are fallen. We are all sinners and have desires that go against God. It manifests different in each of us but we cannot say it is not there as Paul tells us, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for they are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Gal. 5:17 ESV). We are in a constant war within ourselves and we must fight for purity before the Lord and obedience to Jesus. My friends, that is where our joy is found when we abide in Christ and put to death the evil desires of our heart. 

Nonetheless, we will have times when we fail to be obedient but, this is why we trust in the Rock that is our God. Let us really see the beauty of the Gospel as Tim Keller states it, "The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope”.  We cannot fathom the love that God has for us. It is immeasurable and lasts forever. If you believe in King Jesus then you have the Spirit of the living God with you even to the end of the age. His Grace is enough. If we trust God with our salvation and eternal life then why aren’t we trusting him with everything else?

There are three topics I would like to discuss regarding what I’ve learned as I’ve tried to trust the Lord with my life. 

REGARDING ANXIETY 

I struggled throughout my entire childhood with severe anxiety. I used to cry most days because of it. I missed multiple days of school because of it. My mind would make my body physically sick so that I would not have to go to school, or go spend the night at a friends house, or even just try to sleep at night. I struggled to control the uncontrollable and to feel total security. I was afraid of the unknown and of death most of all. I thank God for pulling me from that pit and teaching me that the only thing we can control is ourselves, what we do and what we say. Anything could happen at anytime without our control.  But God showed me I was secure in Him:

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us - 1 John 5:13-14

It is far better for us to give our lives and believe in Christ for he is in control of all things. Nothing in this world can truly harm you when you put all your trust in God. He has almighty power in his hands and he wants to hold you up with them. He wants to hear from you in prayer and he wants to give you a joy that is more bountiful than any other.  

Dallas Willard once said, “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life”. I believe that we must listen to the words that Jesus told his disciples in the boat during the great storm, “Peace, be still”. Jesus never worried and he never was too busy to love, to pray, to encourage, and to be present in each moment God had given him. Let us be present in this life that God has given us and enjoy it. Our life is fleeting, yet is in the hands of a good, good Father. A Father that will give you an everlasting joy and has a will for each of us. 

REGARDING WILL 

God’s will for our lives. What a fun topic of discussion. This is a top struggle for this generation, my generation. A wise mentor of mine once told me, "If you are seeking God and obeying his commandments then you won’t miss what he has planned for you”. This was a message that I needed to hear and I thank God for that reminder. So many of us want to follow the Lord, but don’t know where to begin. It begins with discipline in knowing that we must be in the Word everyday and in prayer everyday. We are weak in this life and must remember we are dependent on the Lord. God makes us strong when we need to be and he uses us in different way in different seasons of life. He is guiding us from place to place and action to action. He is our wise counselor. Seek his counsel. We lean on him for everything we do. 

However, he has also asked us to seek wisdom and to make choices in this life. Pastor Vic Doss likes to say, “Do the next right thing”. I love its simplicity and implication. If we are obeying God then when a choice comes our way, we  should consult wisdom and go to the Lord in prayer. After that we make a decision. We do it. For God says this, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Take the leap and get out of the boat when those times come because Jesus will be there to walk with you. Keep your eyes fixed on him and abide in him. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Often, we do not know His ways or understand his plans, but we know he is working everything for our good. For who are we as creation to think our creators plans are worse than our own? 

Finally, trials and hardships will come. It is inevitable. However, God teaches us through Job that we must always trust Him. Job laments, he cries out and he struggles immensely but he knows the steadfast love the Lord has for him. For Job says, “shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). When bad circumstances come our way, stay strong and always fight to finish the race the Lord has given us. It will always be worth it, no matter what happens, to choose the Lord. 

REGARDING LIFE

Have you seen the Rocky movies? Opinion: Rocky IV is the best one. If you have not  seen them, then go watch them. It’s a series of films based on a boxer named Rocky Balboa. A poor man from Philly who becomes heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He overcomes so many obstacles and takes beating after beating in the ring, but has an incredible determination to keep fighting. He says this, “The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward”. The Bible tells us we live in a broken world. It tells us we have a race to run. It tells us how to walk it, it even tells us where we are going, but it doesn’t tell us the length, the obstacles, the curves, or the pitstops. This generation loves spontaneous adventures, well life is the biggest one. Trust God with each step you take and let the fun begin. 

The hope of the world is the Gospel and the Church and let us keep our faithful focus on that truth.  I am going to give you a post reading assignment that I hope you will do for the rest of your life. Build your life around the Church, share the Good News whenever you can, make disciples, love well, work hard, and take joy in the life God has given. We are all intricately put together for him and through him for this exact time to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. 

“We are all intricately put together for him and through him for this exact time to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.”

P.S. 

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. - 1 Thessalonians 5:28

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Ryan graduated for the University of Georgia with degrees in anthropology and sociology. Ryan served as a college intern and tribe leader at WFBC. Jesus has changed his life in drastic ways and he has a heart for people hearing the life changing Good News of Jesus all over the world. He loves listening to long in-depth history podcasts, anything related with the sport of baseball, and experiencing new travel destinations. 

“Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.” for “a Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” -Charles Spurgeon 

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The Time Jesus Told His Disciples Not to Obey the Great Commission

Chip Chambers // UGA Graduate

“Then [Jesus] said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Luke 24:44-49

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:4–5

It’s the greatest rescue mission in all of human history.

Jesus has invaded creation and is launching the greatest military offensive the world has ever seen. The good news of His life, death, and resurrection has been moving out from Jerusalem since the first century. His kingdom is pushing back darkness, and one day it will finally culminate in all nations giving Him glory.

But none of this is surprising. It was prophesied all throughout the Old Testament, as Jesus points out in the passage above. He shows them that the Messiah was always supposed to be a suffering servant (Isaiah 53, Psalms 22) who was to die and rise again. The Gospel working out from Jerusalem isn’t plan B. It’s been plan A from the beginning of time (Revelation 13:8). God has provided a new hope, and His empire is striking back.

So, you would think, with such an important mission, time would be of the essence. If I were staging this invasion, I’d tell the disciples, “Get to work! Go! Stop hanging around Jerusalem! This is the most urgent message the world has ever known. Get to Cambodia, Norway, Argentina, and Algeria as quick as you can!”

But Jesus tells them not to go in v. 49 of Luke’s passage and the first part of Acts 1:4. He tells them not to leave the city… at least not yet.

It might seem like I’m harping on a minor point (with a click-bait article title), but this is actually quite important. When we read Scripture, we must beware of passing over the small details that don’t make sense. Ask the text questions, then let the text answer them.

So why did Jesus tell the disciples to stay in Jerusalem? Because they didn’t have the Holy Spirit yet.

Whoa.

So whoever this “Holy Spirit” is, He’s apparently central enough to the Great Commission that the mission can’t proceed without Him. The squadron is put in a holding formation until they’re fully equipped for battle. And this Holy Spirit isn’t just another solider in the fight; He’s the Commander-in-Chief, the Central Intelligence, and the Tomahawk missiles. We don’t move without Him. We dare not move without Him.

Have you been trying to accomplish the Great Commission without the Holy Spirit? Do you even know the Holy Spirit’s role in this fight? If not, I suggest you start figuring that out quick, because it looks like Jesus would advise locking yourself in the basement before trying to do this mission apart from the Spirit.

So, who is the Spirit, and what does He (not “it”) do? In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was always resting on people. Now, he resides in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). God’s presence has broken out of the temple, and He’s got an agenda.

The singular goal of the Holy Spirit is to shine a light on Jesus. John 15:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit’s mission is to testify about Jesus. In John 16:14, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will “glorify me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you.” He is like a floodlight on the cross. The point is never to stare at the floodlight, but rather to what it’s shining on. 

He does this in a myriad of ways, which will be helpful for us to examine. Here are 10 ways the Spirit accomplishes the mission of glorifying Jesus.

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The Holy Spirit…

1. Saves. The Jewish festival of Pentecost was the festival of the harvest, and when The Holy Spirit shows up on the scene, the first believers are brought in. It’s in the Holy Spirit’s DNA to regenerate souls.

    “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” - Titus 3:4-6

2. Seals. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just leave us on our own once He saves us. He indwells us and secures us as His own. We aren’t going anywhere.

   “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” - Ephesians 1:13-14

3. Sanctifies. Nearly every time we see the “will of God” in Scripture, it’s about shaping our character. Only by the Holy Spirit can we kill sin (Romans 8:13), forsake our former patterns of living (Galatians 5:16-21) and start bearing new fruit as evidence of His work within us (Galatians 5:22-25).

   “…God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” - 2 Thessalonians 2:13 

4. Specializes. There’s a lot of work to be done in this movement, so He has equipped some parts of the body for particular parts of the work. As JD Greear explains in his book Jesus Continued, a “calling” is just a specialization in an assignment given to all believers, conferring a particular effectiveness in a general responsibility.

   “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” - 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

5. Sensitizes us to sin, righteousness, and judgment. While the Holy Spirit is working corporately to specialize us, He also speaks to our hearts to convict us of sin, show us the path of righteousness, and remind us of the coming judgment. Let Him preach these to your heart today.

   “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” - John 16:7–11

6. Shouts “sons, not slaves!” I’m just going to leave this one here.

   “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry,  “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”  - Romans 8:14-16

7. Searches what’s on God’s mind and reveals it to us. The Holy Spirit doesn’t leave us guessing what God’s will is. He speaks it to us, giving our hearts a sense of the beauty of Christ and leading us to worship (Philippians 3:3).

   “These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” - 1 Corinthians 2:10-11

8. Sends and strengthens. When Jesus gives the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), He promises presence alongside the command to go. In Acts 1:8, the power of the Holy Spirit and the mobilization of the Gospel are introduced simultaneously. Don’t try to access His power without being willing to go, but arguably more dangerous would be trying to go without His power.

   “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - Acts 1:8

9. Speaks for us. As we go, we can rest assured that the Holy Spirit will take care of the words that need to be spoken. Trust this as you proclaim the Gospel today.

   “Do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” - Mark 13:11

10. Supports. Jesus called the Spirit the “Paraclete,” which can be translated advocate, helper, counselor, or comforter. As the Church moves in obedience to the mission of God, the Holy Spirit steers the moving ship. Greear points out that the Spirit "makes the word come alive in us. He reminds us, explains it to us, shows us the beauty in it, empowers us to obey it.” The Spirit is stocked with the arsenal of Scripture, and He will explode it upon our hearts, stirring our joy and passion.

    “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” - Romans 8:26-27

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I hope that these principles have clarified the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and led you to desire more of Him. John Piper says, “Without the Holy Spirit, we have no new birth, no confession of the lordship of Christ, no victory over sin, no progress in sanctification, no spiritual wisdom, no spiritual gifts, and no resurrection from the dead.” With Him, we have all these things.

We desperately need Him, and we dare not move without Him.

I close with one final quote from JD Greear’s book Jesus Continued, which I would highly commend (and have largely plagiarized here):

“The primary objective of God’s Spirit is to complete the mission. To know Him is to be devoted to that mission. Without Him, we cannot hope to succeed. With Him, we cannot fail."

“The primary objective of God’s Spirit is to complete the mission. To know Him is to be devoted to that mission. Without Him, we cannot hope to succeed. With Him, we cannot fail.”

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Chip, a long-time Watkinsvillian and WFBCer, graduated from UGA in December, 2019 with degrees in biology and economics. He has served in Watkidsville and with the college teaching team while at Watkinsville, and plans to attend medical school in the fall of 2020 (James 4:15). He enjoys puns, watching Planet Earth, and has a passion for people’s heads and hearts to both be full with the knowledge of Jesus, which is both conceptual and experiential.

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HAVE A COOL IDEA FOR A BLOG POST?

Contact Mac Willingham (478-960-0399) or email college@watkinsville.org with your idea and we’ll talk about posting it here!

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Unmasking Performance

Caroline Head // Communications Intern

“Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

Mark 12:41-44

I’ve been thinking a lot about this story lately and how I’ve seen the heart of Jesus in this interaction demonstrated to me through the leadership at Watkinsville. 

Jesus considers the faith of the woman rather than the value of the gift she gives. 

Interning at Watkinsville has helped change the way I view my identity and church leadership.  If I am being honest with myself and with you, I came into my first year as an intern thinking, “I wonder how much I will get to contribute to the church and how I can be the best at what I do.” 

Yikes... 

Not a very humble approach to serving, right? 

Instead of wanting to give wholeheartedly in faith and with humility, I wanted to give wholeheartedly out of my own works and call it invaluable service. I wanted to be the rich person putting in large sums of money, “sacrificing” to gain affirmation in myself and approval from others. 

The Lord has graciously been changing my performance-driven identity a lot since then, and my intern experience at Watkinsville has played a big part in that. 

One of the most impactful influences has come from watching the servant- leadership of my supervising pastor, Joel.  He works towards excellence without letting perfection or failure keep him stagnant. This was an area where I fell short. I sought after excellence for self-glorification and when I fell short I felt stuck in the shame of missing the mark.  

Working on the Watty College Podcast alongside Joel revealed these shortcomings and became a humbling teacher for me. 

If you listen to any of the podcasts produced in the fall of 2018 you will rarely hear my voice. My confidence and ability to speak even to an invisible audience was floundering on the depths of the ocean floor. I was so afraid of failing that it seemed to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

My performance driven mindset melted under the self-applied pressure of perfection.

One time, it took me twelve takes to record a single coherent thought for the podcast. Yep, you read that right. Twelve. For ONE thought. 

You can laugh. Please laugh. I still do!

That being said, having me speak on the podcast was not a very efficient or effective use of our time or my talents back then. Podcast production took up 50% or more of the time I spent at Watkinsville my first year. You can imagine my frustration since I came into the program thinking the quantity and caliber of my contributions reflected my value to the church. 

While I was learning more than I ever imagined from the conversations we had while creating podcast content, I felt of lesser value to myself and the church because I could not contribute the haughty amount of works I told myself merited successful servanthood.

I guess I expected the pastors to assign the least enjoyable parts of their work to their interns and for us to accomplish it and then leave. I didn’t expect the reality of being asked what I would prefer to do and receiving prayer and encouragement from my supervising pastor or intern staff members throughout the week. Didn’t they have better things to do? 

I did not yet understand that Watkinsville’s mission to make wholehearted followers of Christ applied to every area within the church too and the staff were truly committed to carrying out that mission. They desire to see college students use what they are good at for the glory of God, somewhere strategic for the mission of God, like in the local church. 

On my first fall intern retreat I remember thinking in amazement, “Wow… the church paid for us to be here this weekend, staff members gave up their time to be here, and we even received handwritten notes and gifts. And I don’t even know them.” 

During the weekend we were led in times of worship, teaching and community.  The leaders of the church were serving me? Wasn’t I supposed to be the one serving them? 

I was humbled to say the least. 

After the weekend ended, I recapped everything to my roommates telling them, “I feel so… honored… and I haven’t even done anything yet.”

Watkinsville doesn’t invite interns behind the scenes just because they want to accomplish more. They invite interns into the work they are doing, being attentive to their hearts before being expectant of their hands.  

Much like Jesus considered the faith of the widowed woman before the value of her gift, Watkinsville considers the faith of the young person pursuing Jesus before the value of their work. 

The staff leads the way Jesus lived: considering others better than themselves and making themselves servants first to God, then to the body of Christ, young or old.

If you’re worried about what you bring to the table, apply for the internship. 

If you’re proud of what you bring to the table, apply for the internship. 

With time as your currency, investing your two cents with Watkinsville can yield a heart that is humbled, challenged and cared for by the local church along with talents that are refined, revealed and rendered through your partnership in the work.

That’s my two cents… :)

Caroline

“Watkinsville doesn’t invite interns behind the scenes just because they want to accomplish more. They invite interns into the work they are doing, being attentive to their hearts before being expectant of their hands.”

If you’d like to learn more about the internship or start an application, click here!

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I am a 4th year journalism student at the University of Georgia and a 2nd year communications intern with Watkinsville. Because of my love for people, I am also pursuing a minor in human services counseling. My passion for people meets my artistic inclinations through my work as a wedding and portrait photographer, and a writer. Each person has something unique and valuable to share with the world and I thrive off of learning and showcasing that through creative communication. I’m always up for spontaneous adventures, a good cup of coffee or tea, and cultivating new friendships.

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HAVE A COOL IDEA FOR A BLOG POST?

Contact Mac Willingham (478-960-0399) or email college@watkinsville.org with your idea and we’ll talk about posting it here!

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Check out our most recent posts below!

The Heart of Worship

Caleb Barnes // Worship Associate

Years ago, worship leader Matt Redman wrote a song called “Heart of Worship.” The hook of the chorus says, “I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You.” This line is simple, but don’t be deceived by the simplicity of the statement. When we strip everything away – the music, the teaching, the lights, the people – it is all about Christ. Worship is for God.

John writes in his revelation, “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created” (Rev. 4:11). We also find that there is a multitude of angels surrounding the throne of heaven declaring that the Lamb is worthy. He is worthy of all blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever (Rev. 5:13). We see a great multitude that no one can count. People from all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages falling prostrate before the throne declaring the worth and supremacy of Christ. All throughout Revelation we see that eternity will be spent worshiping the Lion of Judah. The Lamb who was slain. The King of kings. The Lord of lords. Why? Because He is worthy. He created us, chose us, redeemed us, called us by name, and we have been bought by Him. So, if this is what we will spend eternity doing, are we doing it now? Are we preparing for eternity? Over the last several months I’ve been asking myself these questions. What does it truly mean to worship? And, have we missed the heart of worship?

Gerrit Gustafson argues that worship is, “the acts and attitudes of wholeheartedly giving yourself to God – spirit, soul, mind and body.” (The Adventure of Worship) I want to emphasize something here in this definition. It does not explicitly say anything about music. Worship is about the acts (or actions) and the attitudes (or heart/desire) of complete surrender and dedication to the Lord. Recognizing who He is and who we are.

This can come in many different forms. Worship can be expressed through the teaching of the Word (2 Tim 3:16), through prayer (Rev 5:8), through tithes and offerings (Phil 4:18), through any act of obedience to God in faith (1 Sam 15:22), and yes, through music (Ps. 69:30, Ps. 150:3-5). The heartbeat here comes from Romans 12:1 which says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Presenting ourselves, or in other words, wholeheartedly giving ourselves to God, is the way in which we properly worship God.

So, this is what worship is. This is “how you do it.” But my next question is, are we actually doing this? Are we truly worshiping? Would people call us worshipers of God? Or worshipful people? Do we yearn every day to enter into the Lord’s presence and grow in our intimacy with Him? Do we long to enter His house and join other believers in their pursuit of giving honor and glory and power to the King? Or, have we missed the heart of worship? Have we forgotten that worship is supposed to be about God, for God, and to God? Have we turned into worker bees who do Christian things because we are “supposed to?” Do we read our Bibles, say our prayers, go to church, attend Bible study because it’s “what we do?”  

This is why I am writing this article. I want us to see something simple, but also profound. We were made to worship. Our primary job is not to do a lot of things “for God.” Our primary job is to fall at His feet and delight in Him. To quote John Piper, “God is most glorified [worshiped, honored, praised] in us, when we are most satisfied in Him.” (Desiring God) There will be a day when all “Christian work” ceases. We will no longer share the Gospel. We will no longer go on mission trips. We will no longer do discipleship training. We will no longer plan and attend youth lock-ins (praise God!). But there will never be a day when our worship ceases.

We will spend eternity worshiping the King. “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.” (Let the Nations be Glad)

So, as a college ministry, as a church, let us remember this: worship is ultimate because God is ultimate. We exist to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. As a college ministry our goal is not to have the best teaching series, the best outreach program, the best discipleship training, or even the best ministry space (although let’s give our college team a round of applause. The place looks great)! Our goal should be to have the best worship. Worship that brings God the most glory. Our goal is to worship the King and worship Him alone. We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord. We are called to worship. And what is this call to worship? “It is an invitation to a deep-level conversation in which you give up you as your life’s center, and instead begin to live around the true Center of the universe – an invisible King who sits on an invisible throne. It is an offer of transformation in which being blessed is incidental to being a blessing to your Creator-Redeemer and to others.” (The Adventure of Worship)

So, what does that look like practically today? Let me give you a simple question to ask yourself when you have your quiet time today. Open your Bible. Grab your journal. Queue up your favorite worship song. Then ask yourself, what is the heart behind my quiet time? Truly be honest with yourself. If you view this time as a Christian checklist, then ask God to give you a renewed sense of why you spend time with Him. The Christian life is not a list of boxes to check off. It is a lifelong journey of walking with the Lord and enjoying Him. As David Mathis puts it, “Knowing and enjoying Jesus is the final end of hearing His voice [time in the Word], having His ear [prayer], and belonging to His body [corporate worship].” (Habits of Grace)

So, what do you think? Should we repent of this culture of laboring and become a culture of worshipers? If so, then we let us join Matt Redman in singing that we, as a college ministry and as a church, are coming back to the heart of worship. It’s all about Him.

“We were made to worship. Our primary job is not to do a lot of things ‘for God.’ Our primary job is to fall at His feet and delight in Him.”

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Caleb graduated from the University of Georgia in May of 2017 where he received a degree in Communication Studies and a certificate in Music Business. He now serves full time as the worship associate at Watkinsville and is also pursuing a master of divinity in Biblical counseling from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. When he is not at Watkinsville or studying for seminary, Caleb's favorite things include doing anything outdoors, listening to music, and spending time with family and friends.

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HAVE A COOL IDEA FOR A BLOG POST? IS THERE SOMETHING THE LORD HAS PLACED ON YOUR HEART TO SHARE?

Contact Mac Willingham (478-960-0399) or email college@watkinsville.org with your idea and we’ll talk about posting it here!

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Check out our most recent posts below!

Is God Really Good in our Pain?

BROOKE DAVIS // INTERN DIRECTOR AND YOUTH MINISTRY ASSOCIATE

There are moments in life when everything slows down to a screeching halt, when what you once were sure of, you no longer are. These moments can come with no warning and hit so hard that it feels like you can barely stand up to take another step. Hearing the word “cancer” out of the mouth of your surgeon is one of those moments. It is life changing and extremely disorienting. On December 19th, I was diagnosed with thyroid Cancer. This was a bit of a gut punch at the age of 23. Just like any other young 20-something, health and excitement for the future were on my mind, not CANCER?! It was devastating. 

Maybe you have found yourself in a similar moment. The details of my specific story aren’t the point. You see, to differing degrees and in various ways we will all experience pain in our lives. Don’t just take my word but see this in the Bible

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” - 1 Peter 4:12

It will happen: suffering will enter the front door of every human life. The weight of the curse will fall on all of our shoulders in some way. Each story will look different, ranging from death to disappointment, sickness, and various other curveballs we would have never written into our stories if we had the pen. 

So if we know it is coming, do we just sit in fear? Do we despise it when it comes knocking? Do we wrap ourselves in a bubble and never come out? Oh no, child of God, your father holds the universe. You have no reason to fear, and thankfully you have very little control over tomorrow. But your fickle heart will wrestle with God’s control and His goodness when what you never asked for becomes your current reality. 

There was a five day period in this entire journey that for the life of me I could not see the goodness of God. I have known and loved Jesus deeply since middle school, but when the word “cancer” was said, I was mad. I was reaching for every verse I have ever known, and I couldn’t believe any of them. I did not want this story. What was happening? I was doubting the goodness of my God. I was doubting whether Him being in control was actually a good thing. 

You see, the real attack when you suffer is not the actual suffering. The real attack is the one on the heart of the sufferer. The way you suffer will affect you more than the thing causing your suffering. A heart that began to doubt if God was good was way more dangerous to me than the cancer in my body, and I believe that with everything in me. Let me explain.

Great temptation always arrives in our pain. The temptation to let doubt, discouragement, fear, and envy become the masters of our hearts. Life isn’t the way we want it to be, so we suddenly feel temptation to lose hope. In God’s patience, He gives us space and time to wrestle with both our reality and His goodness when tragedy strikes. He listens to the cries of His people. Just look at the beloved Psalmist, David, to see this:

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

    How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul

    and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

    light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”

    lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.”

Psalms 13:1-4

The problem is not coming to God overwhelmed and with our doubts. The problem is when those doubts become our ruler instead of Jesus. When the way we suffer as the people of God seems like we have no hope, we have lost sight of Christ on the cross and we have begun to lose the battle of our heart in the midst of pain. 

When I have been tempted to despair, I go to the goodness of God’s guide, His Word. See what he says to the sufferer!

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” - James 1:2-4

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” - Romans 5: 3-5

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” - Romans 8:18

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” - 1 Peter 1:6-7

Do you SEE these promises for the sufferer?!? It almost makes you want to sign up for hardship (almost). We are “gospel amnesiacs” as Paul David Tripp says. We are “faithful forgetters” of the truth, especially when life is hard. We can easily forget the truth above in a crisis. God is offering us grace to walk through the bumpy road of the already (curse) and the not yet (glory). Psalm 90 reminds us that there is great wisdom in numbering our days. We are but a vapor on earth, and we have every reason to trust Christ in both tragedy and triumph. 

I want to end with this story. I was 24 hours out of my first surgery. There was a 10% chance that what had been removed from my body was cancer. The odds were low and the hopes were high. My phone rang, and, knowing it was my surgeon, I picked it up, fully believing he was going to tell me everything looked great. The call went like this, “Hello, is this Brooke Davis?” I replied, “Yes, it is.” His tone changed, and his next words came like a gut punch. “Brooke, this is Dr. Browning, and I am sorry to inform you that you have follicular thyroid cancer. I have an OR booked for Monday because we need to try and get the rest of this out ASAP.” I don’t remember much about the next few hours, but as my family took the phone because I was unable to speak, I heard Dr. Browning interrupt all their questions and say, “I can hear her upset in the background. Please tell her I am so very sorry.” 

Over the next few weeks, it dawned on me that that moment reflected what God was doing to my heart in all this. You see, I did not want another surgery. I had not even begun to recover from the first one. I did not want radiation and the fears that cancer brings. It was all going to hurt me, but the surgeon was telling me though the pain was intense and overwhelming, it was temporary and in the long run would save my life. That is the way God operates on our hearts. He won’t let up until every single inch of what would kill us is out. He might allow pain and hurt in ways we can’t imagine, but He is a careful surgeon who removes every last bit of our wickedness, refusing to let evil, self-righteousness, pride, lust, lies, and other things destroy our lives

On top of all that, just like my surgeon and FAR greater, God shows immense care for us in our pain. He interrupts all the chatter and chaos to say, “I am here. It is I who keeps you. I am with you, and I will never forsake you. I will give you all you need because I have already given you Jesus.” 

So we can trust the surgeon of our hearts. God really is good in our pain. No matter how many times we have to be cut, how much healing we have to walk through, and how many scars we have on the other side, we can ALWAYS know He is working so that we can be whole and healed in Him alone. He is a very good God. I hope you believe that even IN your pain today! 

“The problem is not coming to God overwhelmed and with our doubts. The problem is when those doubts become our ruler instead of Jesus. ”

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Brooke graduated from the University of Georgia in May of 2019 as a special education major. She started full-time as the youth girls associate and intern director at Watkinsville shortly after graduating. Brooke served as an intern for three years and has a passion to see young people love Jesus with their whole hearts! Brooke’s favorite things include walks, reading, and hanging out with all the lovely people that God has placed in her life!

Follow Brooke’s Instagram: @brookedavisss_

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HAVE A COOL IDEA FOR A BLOG POST?

Contact Mac Willingham (478-960-0399) or email college@watkinsville.org with your idea and we’ll talk about getting a blog post about it!

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Check out our most recent posts below!

Why We Pray

Kyle Wade // UGA Student

This past semester, Watty College launched its first regular Tribe gatherings. Tribes are small groups of college students and families who gather weekly to pray. The students meet at an older family’s home where they all join in prayer together there. It’s multiple generations—parents, students, children—all pleading to the same Lord. One might say we pray twofold: globally and locally. Globally, each Tribe adopts an international missionary from our church to intercede for in their ongoing needs. Locally, the Tribe takes time to share how they can pray for one another’s boldness in sharing the gospel here in Watkinsville and Athens. We pray Global and Local: we pray for our cross-cultural laborers in hard places and we pray that we ourselves would be faithful laborers here.

Much can be said about our Tribe gatherings—the strategy, the pillars, the structure. However, I believe it is most faithful to let the Scripture speak to us. The idea for Tribe gatherings arose from a group of college students imitating the prayer gathering in the end of Acts 4. Watch with me as the early church preaches the gospel despite threats and persecution. Watch as they pray in the midst of intense threats and their future martyrdom, all for testifying to the death, resurrection, and full atonement achieved by our Lord Jesus.

The Believers Pray for Boldness

23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
    and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers were gathered together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Acts 4:23-31 ESV

In light of our fellow saints in Acts, the main drive behind Tribes will always be ‘obedience.’ We gather to pray simply because it’s obedient. It’s what the early church did, and it’s how the gospel spreads.

Let’s look back at the earlier text. In verse 20, they said they could not help but speak of what they knew. The church rejoiced at the return of their savior, Jesus. They knew only in his name could sin be atoned for and life come to the world. Thus, they spoke…boldly.

In verse 24, they gathered and prayed. Specifically, they prayed for two things:

1. For the Lord to grant the strength to keep speaking in the midst of opposition

   Rather than praying for the opposition to stop, they prayed that they would be courageous and faithful in the midst of it. They knew the Lord intended suffering for them, but they didn’t forget the privilege they had to carry the good news to the watching world.

2. For the Lord to stretch out his hand to do miracles as they proclaimed Christ

   Then secondly, they prayed for the Lord to stretch out his hand. They knew only God had power to save and soften hearts. They recognized they were utterly dependent on the Lord. Only after praying were they filled again with the Holy Spirit and granted the boldness to continue speaking.

As we look at Acts 4, our Tribes gather to pray like them. We pray together because that’s what the early church did. We pray because we desire boldness to share the Gospel as they did. We pray because many do not worship our savior. We pray because many have literally never heard the name ‘Jesus’ at all. How can they hear if no one is preaching? How can someone preach unless sent? How do we send effectively? We pray because the harvest is plenty and the laborers are few. We plead to the Lord of the harvest to send forth more laborers and to sustain those who’ve already gone. We pray because we too are utterly dependent on the Lord to save.

“Rather than praying for the opposition to stop, [the Acts church] prayed that they would be courageous and faithful in the midst of it. They knew the Lord intended suffering for them, but they didn’t forget the privilege they had to carry the good news to the watching world.”

This coming semester, Tribes will continue to gather. We’ve seen much fruit in the college ministry in this time: a revived focus on community worship, a refreshing dependence in prayer, and exciting boldness in sharing the gospel among our students. Many college students are reading the Bible one-on-one with their non-Christian friends and classmates, helping them to see the story of Jesus. Many have befriended numerous international students, hoping to share the gospel. Also, as these new communities have given an avenue for many young men to lead, many of them have developed pastor’s hearts and grown greatly in leadership and maturity. New shepherds-in-training have risen up!

As we continue to share and pray as we enter into this new season, we invite ALL OF YOU to join us. We eagerly want more college students, singles, and families to join our Tribe gatherings, so the multigenerational church can gather for prayer more frequently.

Adults, please consider joining one of these groups. Believe me, many many of us are desiring discipleship from those older generations in the church……and you adults might find “minds for molding,” as well as a packed room of young and able babysitters for any overwhelmed parents.

We just desire the church to be fervent in prayer and hope Tribes provide one more avenue in which to do so. Join us as we pray for WFBC missionaries in hard places and communal boldness to share the gospel faithfully here. All are welcome to come to a Tribe and connect your lives with the hearts of college students who want Jesus to be known throughout the world.

For more info or find out tribe locations/meeting times/host families, contact click here!

“We gather to pray simply because it’s obedient. It’s what the early church did, and it’s how the gospel spreads.”

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I’m Kyle. I love Jesus. I love words. I’m a very late undergraduate student—translation, 7th year. I love studying ecclesiology...I’m a bit nerdy and I love the church.

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HAVE A COOL IDEA FOR A BLOG POST? IS THERE SOMETHING THE LORD HAS PLACED ON YOUR HEART TO SHARE?

Contact Mac Willingham (478-960-0399) or email college@watkinsville.org with your idea and we’ll talk about posting it here!

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Check out our most recent posts below!