Valley vs. Mountaintop

Hello, Sigmas! I wanted to take a few moments to share something with you. One of my close friends shared this with me the other night and I was really humbled. That is the only feeling that can describe its impact. This passage is filled with great information and encouragement regarding our walk with Christ. Check it out!

http://utmost.org/the-place-of-humiliation/

As you guys know, we discuss a lot about Valley vs. the Mountaintop at Sigma- Valley being everyday life and Mountaintop being our so-called "Sky High." This was the message that hit me the most, "....but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God. We see His glory on the mountain, but we never live for His glory there." It is important to live in the valley, but it is more important to remain faithful while we are there. This semester has been that of a trying one for me...from college applications to battling with personal struggles, remembering to keep Christ as my focus wasn't that easy. But thankfully, God forgives. It is not the Lord who turns his back, it is us...his children and it is never too late to return to the embrace of our Father. We as Sigmas are blessed with a community to lean on...to hold us accountable while in the Valley. Sigma shouldn't be a 2 week experience...we aren't meant to live on the mountaintop!

I am praying for you guys! You are all incredible.

Caitlin Steves

How do you read your Bible?

My friend Curt writes a lot of songs.  The other day I was listening to one and it made me remember in a really tangible way:

God REALLY loves us...it took me by surprise.

Too often I act like He doesn't necessarily love me, or at least that maybe he does it out of selfishness (because it's for Himself and His glory in the end), or that it's not pure or satisfying enough to me.  The end of the story is that ultimately it IS all about Him, but that's not selfish or bad at all.  He is Almighty God.  I'm digressing.  Think of all the beautiful expressions of love you can imagine.  Every ounce of some burning thing inside of you that you can't explain but you know you can't live without; that kind of love is just a scratch of how he yearns and jealously loves for you.

Goodness gracious I think I might "feel" more from a movie than my Bible sometimes.  At least they often make me cry more.  I'm not saying that feelings and getting teary eyed are good measurements for love.  But sometimes I think I definitely allow my idea of God's love for me become just that:  a dry, philosophical thought instead of the real, exciting, crazy, burning, scary, monumental, perfect love that he has for me.  The problem isn't the Bible, and it's certainly not God.  That leaves me...did you know that you can have a real relationship with God?  I mean really, I pray for the grace and faith from Him to remember the truth and not allow sterile philosophy to come between me and my God.

are you a POSER?

first, check this out:
someone else's look at living out the gospel

People who radically look like Jesus challenge me.  In a lot of ways, I want to be just like them, and in some ways that's really healthy.  But in other ways I'm being a poser.

I do a lot of things because I see other people doing it.  I need to really listen and find out what God is telling me.  I want what I give up, sacrifice, serve, bless, etc. to be done because it's what God told me, not because it's what I see others doing...even when those others are awesome.

Martha Moments

I think that we all know just how rough this world can be on us. We have so many responsibilities and obligations and desires and, and, and... I think we would also agree that so many of these things weigh heavy on our hearts and keep us from realizing our full potential in Christ. A couple of weeks ago I was having a really hard time balancing all of my activities and my youth minister pointed me to this story from Luke:

“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. She went up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’” - Luke 10:38-42, ESV

Most of the time, I feel like Martha. I have so much to do that sitting at the Lord’s feet doesn’t seem like a good use of my time. But in each instance that I get too stressed and panic, I can hear the voice of God in my ear. “Claire, Claire, remember what is necessary.” Sitting down to read the Word and prayer journaling and listening can be so powerful and restorative. Matthew 6:6 says “When you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father.” I think that there is so much value in being silent with Him, we cannot discount the power of those moments.

Not only did Martha not make time or see the value in time spent with Him, but I think that it is important to note that instead her time was spent serving, preparing her house for Jesus’ stay. As crazy as it may sound, I think that sometimes what distracts us from Christ is our Christianity. It is all too often that I find myself being spiritually drained by planning Bible studies, organizing church youth events, or trying to solve my friends’ problems. Yes, Christ expects us to serve Him and work to bring Him glory, but we can’t leave ourselves high and dry. We are all leaders in our spiritual communities. Don’t forget to fill your cup. Seek out your elders, mentors, and wingmen. Be in community and always be pursuing new knowledge of who Christ is calling you to be. Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work as if serving the Lord and not men.” This may seem contradictory to my main point, but when we do need to get work done there is no excuse for why Christ can’t be a part of every facet of our busy lives. Being honest, maintaining integrity, and staying humble are hard things, but as Christians, I believe it is our responsibility in all that we do, and it brings glory to the God to whom we owe so much.

Jesus also makes the point that a relationship with Him, more specifically LISTENING to Him, is not something that can be taken away. Everything in this life is expendable. How great it is to know that this can not be taken away! That is priceless! What reason do we have to not hold that above all else in our lives?

So my Sigmas, I want to encourage you to make quiet time a part of your daily routine. Seek out silence and let the silence be filled with the echo of His might. Be like Mary, sitting at His feet and having faith that His teachings are worth more than anything else. In those Martha moments when we are consumed by worldly ambitions, don’t forget to make Christ consciously present. Be filled with the light of Christ in order to shine in the dark.

Love, Claire

Hebrews 10:24-25 “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet one another as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as we see the day approaching.”

Thoughts from Will Kirk

WHAT IS UP SIGS?!

Hey, so as some of yall might already know, I've been in a rough patch for a while, but one of my BCA pledge brothers told me this quote by Oswald Chamber that should be an encouragement to everyone.

"We are not made for the mountains, or sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life- those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength."

Just remember that even though we were at Sigma in the awe-inspiring mountains of Colorado, a place of spiritual enrichment and relaxation, now we are back here to reality, dealing with school, new challenges to our faith, and times without a community like we had at Sigma. Guys, remember that we are called to be on mission- aka the valleys. It's where we are tested, refined, and fortefied, not to mention it's where we make the most impact as Sigmas and, more importantly, disciples of Christ.

"Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands." -Deuteronomy 8:2

Yall are stinkin awesome, and I hope I get the chance to see yall soon!

Thanks and Gig 'Em.

DISCIPLINE

I was staying with some college guys at the University of Arkansas (Wooo Pig Sooie!) a few weeks ago and I had the wonderful privilege of getting to sit in on their house bible study one morning.  These guys have an incredible set up by the way, living with some of their best friends and challenging/holding each other accountable...it was refreshing to see.

Anyway, like I said, I got to sit in on their bible study one morning and they all went around talking about what was going on in life, praises, what they needed prayer for, etc.  The topic they were looking at was perseverance.  Great idea to study from scripture btw.  As we started talking about perseverance, persevering for the Lord, persevering towards Godly things, etc. a few ideas started to emerge.

First, we all had to admit that things were not going perfectly and we weren't "persevering" as we would ultimately hope to.  In each of our lives we found things that simply come between us and the Lord sometimes.  Things like school, girlfriends, work, being too involved in 9million different groups and activities, not getting enough sleep, etc.  All of those things are important on some level, and some of them are VERY important to us (the groups we're in and the relationships we have).  One thing we all agreed on was that we could all use some more DISCIPLINE when it comes to Christ.  Even through all of the difficult things around us, being more disciplined to make time for the Lord seemed to be something we all needed.

This is what I realized:
The situation never changes from day one!  From the day you were born, there were things going on that seemed like monumental, life-changing obstacles and difficulties to overcome; things that demand your attention and are great excuses for not doing the things you "ought" to or "really want" to be doing.

As an infant, your whole world changes when you feel hungry or need to poop, and you cry about it.  When you're a small fry, you freak out over losing a G.I. Joe or a Barbie doll.  As you get a little older, things like girls, boys, sports, and friends start to wreck your world and dominate your feelings and actions.

The deal is, no matter what stage of life you're in, there WILL be things that feel so important that they become the most important thing; but we have got to stop letting our circumstances and situations dictate who we are and what we do.  Even growing older I've got to be careful not to let something as important as my wife and my family become the most important thing.  At the end of the day, we can't forget that there is only really one thing that should dominate our lives:  Jesus Christ and our relationship with him.  That doesn't mean that those other things are unimportant.  Obviously, my wife and my relationship with her is crazy important.  But I always have to remember that even my relationship with Kelly is second, second only to my relationship with Jesus.

Check out my boy Job as an example.  Read the whole book.  The guy wasn't perfect, but even in the loss of everything he had, Job remembered that the most important thing, the thing that was above all others (even all of these horrible worldly afflictions) was his Lord.  What an incredible example for us.

So if you want DISCIPLINE in your walk with the Lord, you don't need to learn something special to get it.  God's given you what you need to be obedient in each moment.  I think most of the time, if we're honest, we're just making excuses and letting other things become more important.

Now how many of you thought I was going to talk about whether to spank your kids when you're raising them?

What is this Blog?

Sigma Alpha Phi stands for Soldier, Farmer, Athlete. For all Sigmas, that's a reminder of 2 Tim 2:3-7...to be a soldier, a farmer, and an athlete for Christ.

This Blog is for all Sigmas, Sigma counselors, and people who love Sigma to keep up with each other, pray for each other, and challenge each other in our walk with the Lord. It's a piece of the puzzle that will hopefully remind us daily what being a Sigma, what being a follower of Christ, is all about.

If you would like to be able to post, just send an email to: malcolm.pettigrew@gmail.com

...if you're reading this, that means WE WANT YOU TO POST! Let us know what you think and what you've been going through lately.

Anyone remember where that pic is from?! If you guess it I'll give you a prize