Even so...It is well with my soul

So...I had a tough little ordeal yesterday that was out of nowhere. My dad was admitted to the hospital with a severe headache and numbness and we were afraid it was a stroke, however, it ended up being a migraine headache, which he had never had before. Anyway, as I was driving to the greenville hospital, something hit me. There is nothing that will shake my faith in Christ. I thought to myself 'if God decided to take my dad tonight, even so...it is well with my soul.' The Lord is faithful and his plan for our lives is better than anything we can conjure up in our wildest dreams. I found such peace and hope in the uncertainty as I drove the 35 minutes to greenville and learned that I WILL NOT be shaken...Christ is my only hope. It is in those moments of uncertainty, when our faith is tested, that we see our true hearts. If you would ask me how I would handle that situation, I am not sure how I would have answered, but Christ is more than enough for me.

Let me stress that this is Christ and the Holy spirit working in my life to bring this peace, it is not something that I have earned or deserve...it is the greatest gift...the GIFT of Salvation. In that salvation, the holy spirit lives inside of me and brings peace. I cannot say this enough, I suck...I fail all the time...I am an unworthy recipient of God's grace.

After getting to the hospital, I was calm and peaceful, knowing that whatever happened God was completely in control.

I left the hospital last night with no idea of what had happened to dad and still wondering if he would be ok...but I woke up this morning to read and read 1 Samuel 2. Samuel's mother, Hannah, said an amazing prayer that I want you to see...

Then Hannah prayed, "My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me. No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
-1 Samuel 2:1-2

She continues with her prayer and here are some of the verses that stuck out to me...

"The Lord gives both death and life; he brings some down to the grave but raises others up." 2:6

"The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up."
2:7

How amazing is our God?? How incredible is his power?

I know one thing for sure...no matter what life throws at me, I will not be shaken.

Even so...it is well with my soul.

I WILL GO
Chase Culbertson

The Week in Review...

This was an amazing week and God has done some amazing works in many lives! We have tons of work to, but God will provide. Here are some things that I learned this week...
1) I underestimate God.
2) I underestimate students.
3) I underestimate my abilities through God.
4) I underestimate the importance of true worship.
5) A week of following hard after Christ cannot be ruined by any circumstances.

Here are some verses that rocked me this week:

"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere."
-Ephesians 6:18

"People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives."
-Proverbs 16:2

Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.
-Proverbs 13:20

Young people who obey the law are wise; those with wild friends bring shame to their parents.
-Proverbs 28:7

And my favorite...

"A wise youth harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace."
-Proverbs 10:5

What a convicting passage! Lord, I pray to never be a disgrace to you. May I work, for the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few (Luke 10:2).

Ironically, in my own quiet time, I am not reading any of these books...I am currently in 1 Samuel and read a couple chapters in Judges and the Book of Ruth last week. As I was getting ready for The Chill service this week, I started flipping through Proverbs and the before mentioned scriptures caught my eye.

Lastly...here is a recap of The Chill service from yesterday. The series is called Distraction and week one was about 5 things that show your BF/GF is distracting you from God...we had 150 students there, btw!!

1) Your Quiet Time
2) Your Motives
3) Your Thoughts
4) Your Involvement
5) Your Christian Friends' Opinions

God is doing work...are you?

I WILL GO
Chase Culbertson

My journey through the book of Judges.

So I haven't been blogging much lately, mostly because I have been too busy, but also because the first 12 chapters of Judges are basically the same. God appoints a judge, the judge dies and the Israelites start worshipping false gods and God punishes them. But, a great story starts in chapter 13, it is the story of Samson. I know that many of you know Samson's story, at least the part about Delilah, but I had forgotten the beginning of the Story. Here are the things I learned in chapter 13

1) God calls his people to give up things.

In the story of Samson's parents, the angel of the Lord appeared to them.

"In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife and said, "Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food."
-Judges 13:2-3

With her becoming pregnant, God told her to not drink alcohol or eat forbidden or unclean food. If God was going to do a miracle in her life, she had to first submit to His will for it! What is God calling you to give up so that he can do a work in your life? It may not even be in Scripture directly, but if God calls you to give up something and you refuse, you are living in rebellion to the Lord.


2) God is too awesome for us to fathom.

"Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, 'What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.' 'Why do you ask my name?' the angel of the Lord replied. "It is too wonderful for you to understand."
-Judges 13:17-18

Look at this passage closely...
1) THE angel of the Lord....not an angel of the Lord...this is God himself in this passage! God came to them, spoke to them directly!!
2) They had faith...it says for WHEN all this comes true, not IF! Praise God!
3) God reminds them who they are...you can't handle to even hear my name. These were Godly people, however they cannot understand.

3) We must fear the Lord.

"We will certainly die, for we have seen God!"

Manoah was convinced that this encounter was the end of them, however, it was just the beginning! Look at his wife's reply...
"If the Lord were going to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn't have appeared to us this wonderful thing and done these miracles." -Judges 13:23

WOW! Let that sink in...she understood that God had an amazing plan for their life. A child that would save the nation of Israel was about to be born! What an amazing story of fear and confidence intertwined within a family. Manoah's first reaction was intense fear, but his wife talked some sense into the situation! (I hear that happens in marriages all the time).

I firmly believe that God chooses people that fear Him to do the most amazing things for Him.

This school year is setting up to be amazing...keep this scripture in mind.

I WILL GO
Chase Culbertson

My Heart.

We had sting night tonight, which is a fundraiser that athletes do at T.L. Hanna for the Booster Club. I started seeing former students and I just loved to chat with them and find out about their summers. I had a great time with them all and I am reminded of my purpose when occasions like this arise. After being in Peru for the summer, I have a new zeal and passion for TLH. I love the school, students, and fellow teachers and can't wait to see the school changed by Christ this year. I am excited about what is in store for the school that I love. I want all TLH students to know that I pray for our school and for them everyday. Here are a couple of requests for the students I love so dearly:
1) Come to The Chill
2) Go to a church
3) Love Others
4) Love God
5) Love me :) (Just Kidding, well...kinda)

I WILL GO
Chase Culbertson

What I learned about myself this summer

First of all, I cannot express how incredible this summer has been and how God has revealed himself to me. We didn't see any fruit this summer, but we tilled the ground for next years group and I know that our work was not in vain. Here are the things I learned this summer:

1) I am called to Anderson, SC.
After three days in our village God placed a burden for Anderson on my heart. I know at least for now that I am supposed to be a NewSpring, T.L. Hanna, and the sponsor of The Chill.

2) I can get very discouraged and frustrated when things don't go as planned.
Up until this point I thought I was pretty easy going, but when things didn't go well in the village I found myself frustrated and discouraged.

3) Working for Christ without evidence of life change is hard.
Going to a church like NewSpring, where Gods power is on display every week is awesome! However, I was not prepared for the very opposite environment, which is an area with very few Christians and none that want to share their faith.

4) I am prideful and selfish.
I realized that I can become very prideful and selfish, especially after discouragement and frustration set in.

5) I am not called to foreign missions.
I know that for now I am not called to foreign missions, but, I am called to equip others to go and do what I did in Peru.

In conclusion, God is just as real in a village in Southern Peru as he is here and the same God that conquered Satan will change lives whereever the Gospel is preached.

My blog will continue even though I am back home and the "I Will Go" motto will remain...because I will go anywhere to share the Gospel, but right now that "anywhere" is Anderson.

I WILL GO
Chase Culbertson