Several weeks ago, Kurtis asked if I would like to teach the lesson one week at Students for Christ. It went really well! Almost everyone was there...Denisa, Vana, Gezim, Xhuli, BJ, Dominic, Jenna, and of course, Kurtis and Amy.
I've posted before about Students for Christ, but here are a few details about their meetings. Each Tuesday night we meet at the Denton's home for dinner, fellowship, and then a lesson. They usually have a theme verse for each month and then the lessons each week are based on that theme verse. It's a great time of growing in the Word and discussing what we're learning and reading, where the students are free to ask questions. I prayed about what exactly the Lord wanted me to share. Our theme verse for the month was Jeremiah 29:13 "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." I was praying about this verse, and about 'searching' and 'seeking.' The Lord brought several verses to my mind about things being hidden, and that even He hides Himself sometimes. A lot of times you have to search for something because it's hidden. I handed out a word search before starting the lesson that I had made online with some of the words from Jeremiah 29:13 in it. Getting them to think about why we have to search for the words...because the words are hidden. I talked to them about enjoying the game of Hide & Seek when I was a child. I shared verses about God hiding Himself from us sometimes. Isaiah 45:15 says, "Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior." I asked them questions throughout the lesson and we had some great discussion. One was "why do you think God hides Himself?" We talked about several things we found in the Bible...because of evil/sin (Deut. 31:18, Micah 3:4, Isaiah 59:2)...in times of trouble (Psalm 10:1, Psalm 13:1, and many other times in Psalms), to be found, because He is sovereign and knows what is best, etc...
God tells us over and over to seek Him, that we may find Him. Seeking takes effort and time on our part though. He tells us how important it is for us to seek Him and promises we will find Him. Matthew 7:7 says, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." The first part of James 4:8 tells us if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. We talked about how, in the example of Hide & Seek, you don't want the person who's seeking you to only look in one place and then give up! You want them to keep seeking and searching until they find you! Like God telling us to seek Him with all of our heart!
I also asked them what they do when they ask God for something and He doesn't answer right away or how they thought He should answer? Why they thought He might not answer right when we ask?
We had some great discussion and they all gave great input about this. I told them I think God is more concerned with our relationship with Him, us growing in Christ, and our faith increasing than about us always getting what we ask Him for or answering on our timetable. He is sovereign and wise. God loves seeing us seek for Him and grasp for him even when we don't always understand what's going on in our lives. He wants us to be dependent on Him. Proverbs 25:2 "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter."
Even when Jesus came to earth, born as a baby boy, people began seeking Him out right after He was born. The shepherds and wise men traveled all across the country to worship Him and bring Him gifts. Crowds of people followed Him as He went from place to place teaching. People came seeking Him for knowledge, healing, mercy. Sometimes people did things that were very unexpected or even "socially unacceptable" just to see Him or touch Him. I asked them for any examples they could think of. We talked of numerous examples in the Bible. I had written down Zaccheus, a chief tax collector, climbing a tree to see Him, and the woman with the issue of blood fighting through a crowd of people just to touch Him. There comes a point in our lives where our faith can keep us going even if it doesn't make sense to us or to other people around us.
I ended with Acts 17:22-28. Paul is talking to those in Athens...basically He tells them he has perceived they are very religious and that he saw one of their altars with the inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. He says, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you. Paul tells them that God made the world and everything in it, that He doesn't dwell in temples made with hands...that He gives to all life, breath and all things. To wrap up our lesson, I especially emphasized verses 26 and 27: "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us."
This astounds me...that the Lord determined our times and even where we would dwell so that we would seek him, grope for Him, and find Him. He knows what we're going through and He is not far from each of us.
I had just talked with Maira a couple nights before I gave this lesson and our conversation really went along with it. She was a student in this group before she moved back to Brazil, so I shared with them a bit of what she had shared with me. Her transition back to Brazil has been a bit rough. She misses everyone here in Italy so much, but she knows God is in control. She was telling me how she's been pouring her heart out to Him and seeking Him about so many things. She's asked God for confirmation and direction about things....even while feeling lost, confused, or in pain about something, still having the faith to believe He will answer and show her what to do. It's been difficult, but it's been so exciting how God has been showing Himself to her. He's spoken to her directly regarding things she's been praying about through sermons, and even through people she doesn't even know coming up to her and having a word from the Lord for her...about things she had told no one, except the Lord. She said He's just been blowing her mind and she never wants Him to stop!
Just another testimony of how thrilling it is when we find Him...when we keep trusting, believing, and seeking Him with our whole heart. He wants to reveal Himself to us.
I love growing in the Lord with these international university students. It has been such a privilege to meet them and get to know all of them. I am so blessed to be a part of this ministry, and will continue praying for SFC and the Denton's ministry here in Padova. It is so awesome to see the students growing in the knowledge of the Lord and desiring more of Him.
Here are a few of the only pictures I could find of the SFC group. Not everyone in the picture below is in SFC...and of course, Joel and Melody are back in America now.
Bruni, Xhuli, Amy, Maira, and Vana
Maira and BJ at her going-away party
One of the only pics I have of Jenna...we're enjoying some time with Amy, Kurtis & family in the mountains!
