Pointing to a Redeemer...

Well, kids, the fun starts tomorrow! I'm reporting at 9:00 am to help with student move-in at Tennessee! I'm told it's scorching hot and absolutely chaotic, but oh yes, I'm excited. At long last, it is finally time!

I just got back from our staff retreat, and you can see our picture to the left. That's me (obviously), Mary Beth (2nd year intern), Anne (female staff), and Brent (campus minister). I have enjoyed getting to know them all better. Please keep them all in your prayers as well.

I've been continuing getting settled into the new apartment this week. I know I haven't posted pictures yet, but I'm waiting until we things set up a little better. The living room is definitely still in progress. Everything's looking great though! It will be great place to have people over. And to those of you who were wondering...the Bertolli meal-in-a-bag leftovers were delicious. And I even took another baby step and graduated to spaghetti. Paula Deen better watch her back...

I also got my official UT parking pass. I can park in any staff lot. Oh yes...I feel so legit now.

Speaking of legit: http://www.utk.ruf.org/the-staff (Not that I base my self worth on this or anything, of course. ha!)

I must admit, I'm still a bit anxious about everything starting up. There are going to be a lot of people at the first large group on Tuesday! I've heard the number 400 tossed around a lot. Overwhelmed will probably be an understated description of me by the end of next week. What an encouragement it was to open my email this afternoon and see that one of my fellow first-year interns (yes, the same one responsible for that awesome quote in my previous post) had sent me the following Scripture passage:

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

What an amazing promise. Well, I will certainly be upholding my end of the bargain, because I'll be providing plenty of weakness this week (month, semester, year, life, etc...), I'm sure!

Another source of encouragement has been the book we are reading for our Internship Study Program. The book is Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul David Tripp, and it's about personal ministry. I had read it before, but I guess it never really resonated with me...until now. Only half-way through the first chapter, and I was walloped upside the head with the following truth:

"We don't offer people a system; we point them to a Redeemer. He is hope."

So often we try to "help" people by giving them our own observations or our own bits of "wisdom." We share our own experiences, and even our own take on what God's Word says. We lay out truth, give them steps to follow, books to read, people to talk to, etc. What we don't do is point them to Christ, the only One who can really help them.

In my pride, I want to think that there is something inherent in me that made God choose me and place me as an RUF intern at UT. I like to believe that I have some good insights, that there are things I've read or learned from experience. I like to think that I'm going to meet with these guys and they're going to be blown away and their lives will change...because I'm just that awesome. Don't we all feel this way though?

But I can offer nothing on my own that will change lives, nothing that will heal broken hearts or mend broken relationships. All I can do...all that I'm called to do...is to point people to the Redeemer. As my campus minister Brent told me, my job, essentially, is to grow in Christ and rub off on others.

As I said, we had our staff retreat today. It involved a lot of logistics and planning. However, before we did anything else, we delved into John 15.

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5

But how often do we act as if this isn't true? Jesus doesn't mean we physically can't do anything apart from Him, but He does mean we can't do anything of any eternal value. We do plenty apart from Him! So much "ministry" today happens apart from Christ. So often when I try to "minister" to people, I'm giving them Stephen Moss...not Jesus Christ. This is a shame, and this should not be.

Please keep me in your prayers as I enter this next week. I'll be posting plenty on all of the assorted goings-on, but right now, in this calm before the storm, please pray that God's power will indeed be made perfect in my weakness, just as he promised the Apostle Paul. Pray also that as I begin meeting with students, that I'll be able to use the power of the Holy Spirit rather than the power of the flesh. Pray that I'll give them Jesus Christ instead of Stephen Moss. Pray that I'll point them to the Redeemer.

So yes, this is it. So much is on my mind right now, but I have no other option except to rest in the promises of God. He brought me to this internship, and He'll bring me through it. I am weak, but He is strong. Any impact I have on the lives of students will be by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not from my own.

Please also continue to pray for my support-raising. The Lord has already provided 85% of my budget through your generous gifts and pledges, and I have been allowed to move to Knoxville and begin the internship. However, I still have $6,000 left to raise to fulfill my yearly budget and remain in Knoxville! I'm trying not to let that distract me right now, but it's definitely still a reality.

Until my next post, which will include real stories of the internship to be sure!

Resting in Him,

Stephen