Acts

Yesterday, we had our first department prayer meeting -- basically, 2 staff members, me and 6 students all gathered to pray for big things we were believing God for.  It was awesome -- to reconnect with some students I already knew, to meet new students, and to hear what God is teaching them and what He's asking each of them to do.  It was so encouraging.  God is moving not only on campus in general, but in industrial engineering in particular.

Leading up to the meeting, I felt impressed that I should read Acts.  So I started it.

Man, Acts is intense!  God was really moving in that book.  It was incredible -- Pentecost, incredible healings, intense community, boldness in sharing the Gospel, intense persecution, blue collar men wowing judges with their ability to be great orators.  God was obviously behind it all.

It got me thinking.  Why are we settling for what we have now?  We are told

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ~ Hebrews 13:8

Jesus gave His disciples all His authority to cast out demons and heal people (Matthew 10).  Jesus says all authority is His, and He will be with us until the end of the age -- that we should use that power to go make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).  God says He has made us complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10).  Basically, God has given us the Holy Spirit's dunamis -- His miraculous power.  Why don't we use it?  Why do we pretend like it doesn't exist anymore?

As I was reading the first part of Acts, the following two passages just jumped off the page and into my spirit.

When the people heard [the Gospel], they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" ~ Acts 2:37

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ~ Acts 4:29.

I am praying that these things become a reality at the U of A.  I going to continue reading Acts, and praying for things that the early church experienced to be a reality in our movement at the U of A also.  It is fueling me to see what it could really look like if an entire group of people rose up and banded together for a common cause: the Gospel.  It is starting to happen already, and I believe it will continue to happen here at the University of Arkansas.  I am also praying this for my youth group girls and for my specific niches at U of A (my class, and my department).  I keep asking God not to let my view of what "big things" are be too limited.  He is the God of the impossible!!  Praying for an Acts 2.0 to happen on our campus.

Big things update -- Please continue to join us asking for God to move on campus and in NWA.  Here are some updates.

• Our prayer meeting yesterday was awesome.  There were 10 of us, and there are some really big things we are believing God for together -- specific people, the entire sophomore class in IE, pivotal leaders, students' careers.  It is exciting.  We are praying for each other.  God will answer us.
• As of yesterday, again just through Cru, there have been 9 students since school started that have accepted Christ.  I am praying for the tenth to happen today.  I believe she will come.  Please pray for her, whoever she is, whereever on campus she is, whatever she is struggling with.
• StuMo, one of the other big student ministries on campus, had about 700-800 students in their weekly meeting this week.   When we put the numbers of Cru and StuMo together, we see significant impact -- between 5-10% of undergraduates attended one meeting or the other.  That is incredible.  Praying for them to get involved in community there and to recruit others who do not know Christ.