Jeremiah 29:13

This week at REALife we discussed how there are common misconceptions that many people have about Christianity. So many people consider Christianity to be just a list of rules. Others consider Christianity to be a checklist of things to do... as though Christianity only involves going to church, reading your Bible and being a good person. While those things are at times included in Christianity, that is not what it's all about. Christianity is about pursuing a relationship with the God that deeply and passionately loves us. When we see God as a list of rules or Christianity as just a checklist of things to complete in a week we severely miss out on a truly amazing relationship that has the power to transform our lives. Christianity is a relationship to pursue... not an obligation to keep.

This past weekend at REALife I challenged the students to this understanding of pursuing a relationship with God. Our passage of scripture was Jeremiah 29:13, where God tells us "you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." This verse tells us two very important things. First, God wants to be pursued by us. This verse is a relational declaration from God. He is calling us to seek Him. He is calling us to pursue a relationship with Him as we would a relationship with someone we truly love.

The second thing this verse tells us is that this relationship with God isn't always easy. But let me ask you a question; is any relationship easy? From my experience with relationships, if you don't put time and effort into it, it is going to be shallow at best, but most likely it will grow to be non-existent. We can expect nothing less from our relationship with God. If we're not pursuing Him and putting in the effort that relationship will die.

So I gave the students three ways to pursue this relationship with God: regularly practice a quiet time with God, engage in conversation about God with others, and continuously think about Him and His word. These are three ways that we can all grow to pursue God better in our lives. As we move forward with our year at REALife, these points will be ones that I encourage in the lives of our students, and I pray that you as parents will join in or continue on in this effort.

One way you can keep up-to-date on the topics we cover at REALife is by downloading our "Daily Dose of Awesome." This is a resource I create for students each week to help in their daily devotional life. It has daily readings that relate to the topic we cover at REALife, and is great for helping students relate what we are teaching to their daily lives. This resource is available to you to download on our website, so please click that link and check it out.

I know this could possibly be a new topic for some of you. Pursuing God as a relationship is different than what some of us might be used to. If this is a topic for which you would like more direction as it relates to your son, daughter or even yourself, please feel free to email me at rsmernoff@mecklenburg.org and we can discuss this further.

Super Bowl Party

We're having a Super Bowl party for REALife. It's Sunday February 6th, and it will last from 6pm until the end of the game. Your son or daughter may leave or get picked up before the game is over if it is running too late.

We'll be providing soda, pizza, and the game on the big screen at the church...all for free. So encourage your son or daughter to bring a friend, and we'll see them at the party

In Honor of MLK Day

I came across this quote from a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King from January 1965. He delivered this message to his congregation in Montgomery Alabama during some of the most difficult times in the movement towards Civil Rights . This inspired me when I read it... I hope it does the same for you.

God’s control is never usurped. If at times we despair because of the relatively slow progress being made in ending racial discrimination, let us gain new heart in the fact that God is able. In our sometimes difficult and often lonesome walk up freedom’s road, we do not walk alone. God walks with us. God has placed within the very structures of the universe certain absolute moral laws. We can neither defy nor break them. If we disobey them, they will break us. The forces of evil may temporarily conquer truth, but truth will ultimately conquer its conqueror. Our God is able.

Summer Camp

Good news for those of you who plan your summers early...

We already have our dates for S'CAMP (REALife Summer Camp). We're heading back down to Myrtle Beach June 20-24, so mark your calendars and get ready for the best week of summer. More details coming in Spring.