God controls

I was really stressed out recently since I have been studying very hard on my English tests, thus I was not very willing when I was challenged to follow up several wives and meet them in person who went to the hocking hills trip. 

It is so challenging to me to meet them directly in person so that I decided to compromise and email them first. And fortunately after two days, one of the three wives replied. She is the one that I met when I was helping check students in. Her name is Cici and we had good conversations through email. Then I prayed again for the other two wives to reply or that I can find ways to reach them. On the second day I met the Cici in the community center and got to know that she is doing her GMAT test and she told me she will join the wives group after the test. And she indeed joined the wives' group last week and said that she id interested in coming again. In the next week after I met Cici, I met an Iranian when I was doing exercise in the gym. Through conversation I found that she knows the other Iranian lady that I was trying to reach. Moreover, she told me that she is doing her TOEFL test, and we found a time to meet again since she wants me to share some experience about how to prepare for the test. 

I feel that God is so willing to help me when I was even only showing a tiny amount of initiation. This also encourages me to be more initiative in the future. 

The meaning of Christmas

In Italy, the Country I am from, when someone mentions Christmas the first image that comes to mind is a little baby in a manger, surrounded by Mary, Joseph, an ox, and a donkey. Then, you will start thinking of a man dressed in red with a white beard and you will immediately freak out because the list of presents you were supposed to buy is getting longer and longer and you haven’t started shopping!

But what is really Christmas all about?
Last week IFI partnered with Grace Polaris Church in order to promote “The Living Christmas Trees”. I have been there for three years in a row, and I think calling it just a Christmas play is reductive! The great presentation, the presence of live animals during the play, the high artistic level of the cast members made it the best evangelistic show I have ever seen.
The story develops in two parallel parts. The first tells the story of the crew members of a cruse sheep, while the second deals with the story of Jesus.

During the trip, they have to face a strong storm, which makes them wonder about the choices they have made, their priorities and the realization that life is like a ship: you can live on it, party and enjoy, but you are not really in total control of it, as you are not the one holding the rudder. But what should you do in the midst of a storm? How do you find directions? As well as when we drive and we get lost, even in our daily life we need a compass. That is why the protagonists start reading the Bible, that contains the information necessary to know who you are, where you are going and how to make sure your existence in the right hands.

In this way the characters begin reading the story of the first Christmas, the birth of the Messiah, his ministry and miracles. But it didn’t end here. Because the reason Jesus was born, the point of celebrating Christmas is that he was not only a lovely child, a great prophet, but he came to die, to pay the price for our sins, to make a way of reconciliation between us and God.
We had fallen short and walked away from God, there was nothing we could do to repair this damage. But Jesus took the initiative and came to Earth and he, the perfect Lamb, sacrificed himself, washing away our sins.

The Bible tells us that “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) and that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). But there is even more! In fact, three days after his death, Jesus rose from the death: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1Cor. 15:20, 22).

Now you see why I love this play? It wisely connects the dots! It does not focus on one part or the other, but tells you the complete meaning of Christmas! Make sure you see it this year, or write to me if you have questions!

Merry Christmas everyone!

What is your world view?

What is your world view?

During the month on November we had the privilege to have a special teacher in our Iseeders course, Ellen Foell , who taught us one of the best classes I have attended so far. The topic was “World view”. “What is a world view?” you may ask. It is the filter throughout we look at the world around us, the sum of our values and beliefs. A world view cannot be kept, as it impacts the way we respond to the events, people and situations in our life.

When I accepted God in my life and decided to follow Him, I choose to put on a new pair of glasses, in order to see things through a new prospective. I accepted the fact that we live in a fallen world. The reason why you want to turn off the tv every time it’s on, is because people decided to turn their back to God. But together with the awareness of sin I also embraced a filter of grace and love:
“ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).
So, I started thinking about my world view and questioning if when people look at me they could see what I believe. Is my faith in Jesus clear in my actions? Are my words filled with compassion and truth? How do I react when people go too slowly when I am in a hurry or cut my road on the highway?

The Bible gives us the example of four men who kept faith to their world views and honored God even when the situation was hard and their own existence was threatened. They are Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Their world view was based on the Law of Moses, which prescribed to eat only certain foods and to worship only Jehovah. This led them to say no to the culinary delicacies of the court of Nebuchadnezzar and not to fall down and worship the statue of the king. They were ready to make sacrifices in order to defend what they believed in, despite the circumstances.

Are my choices showing who I believe in? What am I watching, saying, thinking? Am I ready to give up things that are not healthy in my life?

As the Apostol Paul says “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:7,8).

Come and Rest

It's the holiday season again. And it's hard to believe that 2016 is soon coming to an end.

Lights, Christmas trees, and the classic songs, everything is filled with the festive atmosphere.

Since being away from home for college, holidays have never been too exciting for me. It meant cold weather, long hours of studying for finals, figuring out alternative plans since the dorms were closed, and not being with my family when everyone else seemed to be.

But this year is different. Being a part of IFI, I'm excited to see how God would use this season to open doors for reaching more students. I know this would bring perfect opportunities, to share the joy and gratitude we experience in Christ as believers.

Thanksgiving involved a lot of big meals, social gatherings and building new friendships. It was fun, but also exhausting. And quite honestly, 4 months into moving to Columbus, I didn't expect myself to be in a stage where relationships with people seem to be just forming, and opportunities for me to share the gospel with unbelievers in a natural way somehow feel limited. It just seems like the more I'm trying to do, the more there is waiting to be done.

Why am I not doing enough? I remember questioning God over and over again. And is there even much meaning to the things I'm trying to do here?

And in response, He reminded that it's His work to be done, that I need to trust in Him with patience, that even when I don't see it, He's still at work.

"Breathe, just breathe
Come and rest at My feet
And be, just be
Chaos calls but all you really need
Is to just breathe"
--- Breathe, Jonny Diaz

Sometimes we are too caught up in the busyness of our own world that we forget to look up to Him. We forget that in the world of endless demands, He's always opening His arms for us to rest at His feet. After all, it's never about what we do, but what Christ has done for us. When He died for us on the cross, His blood has covered all our sins, from the ancient days, and the days to come.

I'm still excited to uncover the rest of my journey here in Columbus and beyond. But the next time before I ask myself, what could I do, I will remember to ask God, what would you do through me.

I'm thankful He has a plan more amazing than mine. But I'm more thankful that He has me as part of it.