Kate- SURRENDERED

I grew up in church & when my dad passed away I wanted to run away but I felt a strong pull to stay. As I continued in church, I learned the basics about Jesus & how to live a moral life. This kept me out of trouble, but I knew there was more. I didn’t understand what it meant for Jesus to be Lord of my whole life. I did things for myself & I would ask God to bless my choices as an afterthought.
Going to college, I was ready to run from God again. But He had other plans & I got plugged into a small group my first day of college. My small group leader lived a life where Jesus sat on the throne of her heart, not dethroning Him when things got tough. Frustrated with my own walk, I went in my dorm room & prayed ‘God I’m not fully yours. I’m tired of running. Help me.’ Matthew 16:25 came to my heart, “For if you choose self-sacrifice and lose your lives for my glory, you will continually discover true life. But if you choose to keep your lives for yourselves, you will forfeit what you try to keep.”
I was gripping so hard to my life. I needed to surrender & give full authority to Jesus. I had heard from God. And I didn’t want that to stop so I obeyed Him. I gave up the things that He asked. It seemed impossible at first. But God gave me grace to do each thing as needed. He blessed me with more of His Holy Spirit & a community who fought for me to live out a surrendered life. In each new season, staying surrendered He provides everything I need right when I need it.
-Kate

INTRINSIC VALUE OBLIGATES

As human beings, by nature, we are creatures of value.  It’s why we order from dollar menus, why we love sales, and why we go shopping on Black Friday to buy things we don’t need. It’s why we keep reward cards and love getting things for free. In every decision we make, we are motivated by what is most valuable. Don’t believe me? Given the choice between a one dollar bill and a twenty dollar bill, which would you choose? You would be foolish not to choose the twenty.  Whats the difference? They are both money, made of the same material, ink, and color, but the bills have very different values. Jesus tells a story in Matthew 13 about value. A man is walking through a field, and finds a treasure buried there. The treasure is so valuable that he sells everything that he has just to buy the field. He found something so worth his attention that he was willing to part ways with everything he used to care about to receive it. Jesus says this is the way it is with the Kingdom of Heaven.  When we see who God is, what He has done for us, and how He loves us, it only makes sense to sell everything else to have Him. Whatever we used to care about fades away in comparison to the treasure we have found in Jesus. What is intrinsic value? The phrase intrinsic value means that an object is valuable in and of itself. A diamond is valuable without anyone’s help. It doesn’t need to be attached to a gold ring to be worth something. It has intrinsic value. On the same token, God is the most valuable being in the whole universe. He is the most intelligent, most powerful, most loving being that exists. He made the earth and everything in it and outside of it. He has never broken a single promise. What is it exactly that makes us want to follow Him? Should we listen to Him solely because He is powerful? Or because he is smart? Or loving? No single attribute that God has is enough to warrant following Him. However, when you look at the whole of His character, seeing God for who He is and understanding His heart, the very best decision is to throw out everything you used to live for and live for Him. Just like the man in Jesus’ story who wisely sold all he had to buy a field, give yourself, all of yourself to find the treasure that is knowing Him. You will never find anything or anyone more intrinsically valuable than God.

Practical Challenge

1. Do a value assessment— Sit down in a quiet place and write down this question: “Why do you do the things you do, and who do you do them for?” Just like screen time on your phone breaks down the different ways you spent your phone’s battery life, make a list of what you give your time, thoughts, and money to…Those are all forms of worship and show what you truly value. Take a good look at this list. What is most valuable in your life? What do you give the most time and attention to? Is it Jesus, yourself, your job, your future, your wallet, your grades, your boyfriend/girlfriend? If it is anything besides Jesus, ask God and a close friend to help you change that.

2. Pledge Allegiance to the King— Start every morning for the next two weeks by kneeling beside your bed and saying “Jesus, you are the King of my life. You are in charge, and I am not. I will live today to honor and serve you and your Kingdom.” See how doing this shapes the way you live!

Much love,

Craig Richey

Joel- RELATIONSHIP

My family raised me to be a Christian. This included Sunday school before church, VBS in the summers, and basically being there anytime the church was open. I remember really enjoying myself as a kid, but that began to fade once I got a bit older. I grew increasingly distant from my Christian identity, beginning with a departure from my relationship with God. Instead I served idols that influenced my every decision from the age of 13. The most significant of these idols was social affirmation, the need to be accepted. 

From before high school through my early college years, I spent all my time trying to be liked by those around me because that’s how I gained fulfillment in life. This led to failing grades, massive financial strain, and actually losing all the friends that I thought I thought I was impressing with my socially focused lifestyle. God met me there at the lowest point in my life. I realized my need for a savior greater than what the world could offer me. Jesus is now the Lord of my life and fulfills every void that I spent so long trying to fill myself. 

Transitioning into a life led by God included Him rewriting my entire understanding of friendship. He placed people in my life that love me as God’s son. A great example of this is when I met Craig, one of my small group leaders. Chi Alpha reflects the love of Christ in friendship and mentorship. Not only do you get to make lifelong memories with great people, but you also have trusted friends to lean on when times get tough. Small group has built my faith, developed me as a leader, and given me a family that points me to Jesus.  

Mariana- INTIMACY

Growing up, I did all the things a Christian kid was “supposed” to do. I had a lot of head knowledge about God. I knew of who He was, but I didn’t know Him. I questioned my faith. I knew that God was “savior”, but I didn't think I had anything to be saved from. I was self-righteous and began living a double life. I thought that the emptiness I felt inside would go away if I simply kept doing things for the church. I didn’t even know who I claimed to serve. The more I gave into my selfish desires in secret, the further I strayed from God. I wouldn’t talk to anyone about it because I felt shameful. I hit rock bottom when my double life was exposed. Despite this, I stubbornly continued to live this way, thinking I could keep running from God. I thank God for my parents’ faithful prayers and my pastor’s wife entering my life at this time. It was with her I finally was honest, and I truly understood that Jesus did not condemn me, that He wants me to walk in freedom, to go on in life and sin no more. I began here to truly walk with Christ. However, despite this awesome friendship, it isn’t easy being a Christian in college and my faith began to shake. When I joined Chi Alpha, how they walked with Jesus motivated me to seek deeper intimacy with Him. They have taught me practical ways to live a life devoted to Jesus. They encourage me to know God for myself rather than depending on the spirituality of those around me. I realize that what I had been longing for all along was intimacy with God. The more time we spend together, the more I realize that even though I had been running from Him, He never left my side. Understanding now what true surrender is, I no longer feel like I have to perform. My life is no longer an act. I now know what it means to walk in freedom, to be honest with God and the people around me. Most importantly, I know that God listens, responds, and heals. Through this all, I have experienced reconciliation with the One who loved me first. As He reveals Himself to me, my heart grows fonder of who He is, and the roots of my faith grow deeper in Him. I no longer walk in guilt and shame, but in the freedom, He has granted me.

-Mariana, junior

Kevin- DIRECTION

When I was found and saved, I wasn’t in the best of places. All throughout my life, I had been searching for a reason to live, something to be devoted to, something to justify all the choices I had made until now.

            When I was found and saved, I was feeling lonely and directionless. Due to Queens College being mostly a commuter school, I’ve never cemented any of the friendships that got me through the hardships of middle and high school, so the burdens of college really got to me, and so I ended up looking and asking for help… and now, in hindsight, I feel that the Lord really answered my prayers in an instant.

            I was not born or raised Christian, but I believed in miracles that can’t be explained by anything other than divine intervention. However, I went through most of my life looking for something that would validate my existence, whether that would be various crushes on girls, or good grades, or peace with my family. I wasn’t looking past these simple pleasures, and because of that, I still felt unaccomplished, even after I entered college, started a job, and all those simplicities went out the window.

            But I was found and saved, and my life in a few short moments, completely turned 180 degrees. Starting in my first ever small group, I learned about the life of Jesus, and there I found fellowship with others who were walking the same path, who had walked the path before, who were willing to lead a lost person like me.

            Now, I’m still walking and learning how to have a mind towards God, but already, I see others who I have personally affected in their path. This Chi Alpha community is one of the greatest blessings I feel God has bestowed upon a lost lamb like me, and I hope all those who feel directionless and lonely on the Queens College campus will have the opportunity to check out a small group sometime, and find out what kind of relationship they will have with Jesus Christ.

-Kevin, senior

Justin- HOPE

“Die to yourself today, and gain true life for eternity,” I heard the pastor say. “Die to myself?” I thought, “what does that even mean?” The only way I knew how to live was for myself: What did I need? What was best for me? How could I get ahead? All my life I had been living for myself because I thought it would get me where I needed to go: wherever that was. But it only left me in a state of depression, alcohol addiction and an overwhelming feeling that my life had no purpose. I felt worthless, and hopeless, and I didn’t want to be alive anymore. But all of that changed when I met the guys who invited me to small group: two Jesus-loving men who forever altered the course of my life. I didn’t know what it meant to live for Jesus, and I didn’t know what it meant to be a son in the Kingdom of God, but I knew that whatever it was that lived inside of these men, I wanted it to dwell within me too. I saw their passion, their humility, their desire to not only change lives, but to save them and reconcile them to God. They showed me there was another way  from the hell I was living in on earth, and from the hell I would have lived in for eternity, and they did it all in the name of Jesus. What Jesus did for his disciples, and what faithful men did for these two friends, they have done for me. They’ve given me their time, effort and love, which I can only repay by finding, feeding, and fighting for the lambs of God. They’ve modeled Christ: showing me what it  means to put the needs of others above my own, how to honor and glorify God, and how to walk in step with the Holy Spirit. With the leadership and guidance of these men along with many others, I gave my life to Jesus and He gave me the greatest gift of all: eternal life with Him in heaven. My life now has purpose: the greatest purpose of all, and it’s not my own: It’s His. 

I was lost, but now I am found. I was dead, but now I am alive. 

Thank you to all of the members of Chi Alpha for loving me, teaching me, and showing me what it means to live for Jesus. I love you all so much.

- Justin, sophomore 

NO LITTLE PEOPLE NO LITTLE PLACES

At the beginning of every school year when I was in school, our President would offer the same message during the first week of chapel. He would talk about the story of Moses and how God called him to do something incredible despite Moses' insecurities, weaknesses, and fears. Moses faced no small task, in fact, God had told Moses that he would be the one to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and into the promise land. We are talking about two million people to be led out of slavery by one man. This would naturally lead to cause for concern but I distinctly remember the words of my College President year after year when he asked: "What's in your hand?" The words are echoed from Exodus 4:2 from when after Moses complains to God about all the reasons why he is not fit for the challenge, God asked him, “what is that in your hand?” 

I will always love those words because God was not concerned with what Moses did not possess, He simply asked Him what was in his hands. The incredible thing about God is that He can take what little we offer him and use it in exponential ways. We may not feel as though we have talents, prestige, power, eloquence, in fact, the only thing you may have to offer to God is yourself, but that is more than enough. All that was in Moses’ hands was a staff, but given up to God, this would be the same staff that split the red sea, struck water from a rock, and would later be called the staff of God. I believe that there’s an important lesson for us all and it’s this: There are no little people and there are no little places. God doesn’t create “little” things. There is no one that we should look at with insignificance including ourselves because we are looking at people made in the very image of God. C.S. Lewis once states that “there are no ordinary people [and] you have never talked to a mere mortal.” I wonder how much would change in our lives if we actually believed that fact alone that we were talking to people made in the image of God. I believe we would begin to honor people, to speak kindly of them, to be patient with them, to believe the best about them. Similarly, if we believed that we ourselves were made in the image of God, the results would be incredible. Ephesians 2:10 states: "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” and this should give each of such a powerful level of confidence and assurance. We live in a culture where we compare what we don’t have to the things that other people do, whether that be talents, possessions, status, etc. But yet I am reminded of the kind words that God spoke to Moses, “what is that in your hand?” I don’t need much in my hands to be used by God, all I need is to offer what I do have and place it in his hands and trust him with the results. 

Secondly, there are no little places. We often view the meaning of our lives as the cultivation of the various “big” moments that they comprise. We don’t often view the menial, “little” tasks that comprise the majority of our days as that important or hold them with much significance. Much of life in fact becomes routine, dull, and boring and we await the next significant moment to give us a renewed sense of passion and joy. However, God has an intended purpose for every situation, season we find ourselves in. Hebrews 13:8 states that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” and so this means that God is active in every season, in every situation and in every place. The places and situations we view with insignificance are precious to God. Work becomes routine to us, grocery shopping, family, our co-workers, friends, hobbies, exercise, etc. all become routine to us but those are all places where God wants to reveal Himself. John Piper once stated that missions exist because worship doesn't. We look around our world and we see brokenness constantly. There are countless people who don't know God and there are a plethora of situations that don't reflect his glory and greatness. Therefore there are no small places because all around us, God invites us to advance His kingdom, He invites us to display His love, He invites us to spread His gospel and live on mission. We don’t need to wait for the big moments of life because every day we can live with intentionality and purpose fulfilling the life God called us to live. I believe that our lives would look radically different if we believed these two truths: there are no little people and there are no little places. 

- JORDAN PARKER

Practical Challenge: 

• Think about your daily routine and ask God how He wants to show up in the ordinary and obey what He reveals to you. 

• Think about someone in your life who you may view with insignificance and pray the prayer of Ephesians 2:10 over them right now. 

SOMETHING MUST BE LOVED BEFORE IT BECOMES LOVABLE

LOVING THE UNLOVABLE

“Something must be loved before it becomes lovable.” GK Chesterton. A call that echoes Christ’s command to love our neighbor as our self. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. says it this way “love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend”. In a culture where one can say they love their shoes in the same sentence as their child, let us define Christian love. Love is unselfishly choosing for the highest good of God and His children. 

How can something you do transform another? The principle comes back to Jesus’s prayer in John 17, that you and I would be one like Him and the Father. Though this prayer we see we are all interconnected as God’s children. Loving another does two things: transforms your heart to look more like Christ, and calls out the love in the soul of another. We love because He first loved us and we pull out that same love in others by loving them first. An example of this is Chesterton’s illustration of Pimlico, in his book, Orthodoxy. I will be using a NYC paraphrase. Think of your least favorite borough. Upon moving to NYC, I quickly caught on to the joke that New Yorkers least favorite borough is Staten Island, aka the dump. So I will use it, this is all in good fun, feel free to read it with your least favorite. 

“Let us suppose we are confronted with a unlovable thing – say Staten Island. If we think what is really best for Staten Island we shall find the thread of thought leads to the throne of the mystic and the arbitrary. It is not enough for a man to disapprove of Staten Island; in that case he will merely cut her off or move to Queens. Nor, certainly, is it enough for a man to approve of Staten Island; for then it will remain Staten Island, which would be awful. The only way out of it seems to be for somebody to love Staten Island; to love her with a transcendental tie and without any earthly reason. If there arose a person who loved Staten Island then Staten Island would rise into ivory towers and golden pinnacles… If people loved Staten Island as mothers love children, arbitrarily, because it is theirs, Staten Island in a year or two might be fairer than Manhattan. Some readers will say that this is mere fantasy. I answer that this is the actual history of mankind. This, as a fact, is how cities did grow great. Go back to the darkest roots of civilization and you will find them knotted round some sacred stone or encircling some sacred well. People first paid honour to a spot and afterwards gained glory for it. Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her.”

To love the unlovable is to take part in the transformation of someone becoming like Jesus. This takes a certain level of maturity to overlook people’s ugliness or hurts they might have caused you. Now seems like a great time to pray for a greater maturity in Christ. To love the unlovable is taking responsibility in helping our world, our temporary home, look more like Heaven. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John13:35). On this side of eternity we will never experience the promises of Heaven but we can exhibit Christ’s love to help to prepare hearts for an eternity with Jesus. I want you to ask yourself now, God who is unlovable in my eyes  that you are asking me to love? 

Now here are some ways to accomplish this, by living out these verses.

1.     Proverbs 10:12 “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.”

 Another word for covers up is conceals. This does not mean we give our brothers and sisters license to sin but covering transgressions that have been repented for and atoned for, meaning the damaging information stops with you. One of my heroes Dick Brogden says it like this.. “We love most genuinely when that knowledge of transgression dies within us, so deeply covered that it is forgotten even to ourselves. Covering transgressions that have been repented of and atoned for (when that covering is not injurious to the innocent) not only binds us to the forgiven, but it also empowers the forgiven to be bound to others who need not know what God Himself choses to forget. We all will at some point need that mercy. Our Lord Jesus absorbed sin and shame for the sincerely penitent, burying it forever in the grave. Only fools dig up what God has buried. Only fools bring to life what God has killed.” Do not pass along anything about anyone that dishonors them.

2.       Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

In a season of quarantine service looks different. Nothing allows you to die to yourself at the service of another that doing someone’s dishes. So when we can be together again do this. Also pay for someone’s bus or subway fare. Right now this could look like dropping of a care package, venmoing money for a coffee. Or simply ask how can I help you? Service helps us to remember that Christ dwells in this person and we need to consider them better than ourselves. Service gives us God’s heart and eyes for another. 

3.     Colossians 3:13. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Everyone outside of God himself will let you down at some point. Especially as you chose to sacrificially love someone (warning this at first can bring up feelings of insecurity in a person and cause some ugliness). But you did similar things to the Father and the people who first loved you so bear it! The bible is clear in 1 John chapter 4 and Matthew 6 that we cannot love God when we have unforgiveness towards another. It is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Don’t do it! Remember that forgiving is not condoning but saying '“God I trust you to defend me and act as my judge, I will seek reconciliation and not seek vengeance”.

It is difficult to love to the unlovable, as are many things in the Christian faith, to love and serve Jesus is not for the faint of heart. When we say yes to Jesus we say yes to His methods. No you cannot do this on your own but by asking God to continue to develop His love in you. To see a heart of stone turn to flesh will further drive out any stone left in yours! This week I challenge you all to apply these above verse to the unlovable person God asked you to love and look into the verses below and ask God how can these further help me to love the unlovable. As we make this commitment together we can see transformation at Queens College, NYC, the country and the world. We believe in you Chi Alpha QC, you are world changers! All glory to God.

Continue loving the unlovable by researching and applying these verses: Philippians 4:15, 1 John 3:16, Mark 12:31 & Ephesians 4:2.

— Kate Anderson

LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO

Waking up on Christmas morning when you’re five years old is already a magical moment. I can vividly remember the moment I ran downstairs and found a brand new Barbie bike waiting for me next to the Christmas tree- I will never forget that moment! All I could think about was flying down my street at lightning speeds while my glittering purple bike sparkled and pink streamers blew by in the wind. However, these first few hopeful moments on my new bike were so easily forgotten when I took my first big fall after hitting a pebble on the sidewalk. I quickly realized this would take practice and that learning to ride a bike isn’t about how much sparkle and shine your bike has. Learning to ride a bike is about practicing every day to be better than the day before. 

This was a small lesson that applies not just to riding a bike, but our spiritual lives as well. The only way to get where you hope to be, is to first look where you want to go. From learning how to ride a bike to knowing how to pay the bills, what draws and maintains our attention will determine the path we walk. If we look to Jesus, He guides us on our path. If we allow our hearts to be drawn to the beauty of our Creator, the kindness of our Friend in Jesus, the compassion of our Savior, the majesty of our Lord, then we will walk closer to Him. In James 4:8 we are promised that as we“draw near to God, he will draw near to you.”

In this season especially, we are all faced with the temptation to fix our eyes on the immense fear that has gripped our world. Every day we could make the choice to be scared of the unknown, be angry with the current circumstances, and be anxious about the future. If we keep our eyes on what makes us afraid, we will reap fruit of fear, anxiety, sadness, and worry. But if we fix our eyes on Jesus, we see that our circumstances don’t determine the fruit of our lives. 

Fixing our eyes on Jesus is a choice that bears the weight of eternity, and is a choice that we must make every day. Practically, this looks like turning to God’s word for truth over living in fear, or spending time in prayer over allowing anxious thoughts to overwhelm our minds. Choosing to be lead by God is an every day practice just like riding a bike. If we aren’t looking to Him everyday, how can we expect for Him to draw near to us?

My challenge to you this week, is to begin each day with the Lord. Practice spending each morning asking God to help you fix your mind on Him before anything else. If we all know that feeding our bodies a good breakfast is the best decision we can make to feed ourselves physically, imagine what could happen to the paths of each of our days if we choose to give our attention to the Lord first. If we want to walk closer to God we must remember to look where we want to go. 

-OLIVIA SCHMELTER