Truett McConnell Assignment
Submit 1 final blog submission (1000 or more words) on comprehensive takeaways of the course. Make sure to focus on the impact that Scripture and your experiences have had on you, and to mention concrete steps you plan to implement in your life to better your walk with Christ.Copy and paste a link to your blog post for your instructor in the dropbox folder (no file submission required).
One of the biggest impacts this course has had on me and my walk with Christ, is the choice to question reality. No longer will I, blindly, read the Word of my God. There is something to learn about God, and about ourselves, in every story and testimony in the Bible. This causes me to no longer move past something I do not fully grasp. I will interrogate what I can not comprehend at the moment, and figure out how it applies to my own salvation with Jesus. The most powerful tool we have is the Bible, and through this course, I have further realized the authority and power I have through the Holy Spirit. I have done this through research for assignments and reading scripture. Knowing the Bible means beginning to understand God’s character. If you know God’s character, there is no challenge in this world you cannot face. There still may be difficulty; actually we are almost promised difficulty. I heard from one of my fellow squadmates on the race, “The enemy would not waste time attacking a person who is already going down the wrong path.” God guides us so gently. We must have faith, obedience, and pray for supernatural love.
One of the first experiences I had through this Truett McConnell course, was experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit in the first homework assignment. I remember the beginning the first assignment, being very discouraged, thinking there is no way I can accomplish this. Combining doing the writing assignments every month alongside ministry, made me feel stressed. This was because I was doing the work out of my own strength. The deadline was approaching fast, so I took control and went and sat down in a coffee shop. Before I began studying and working, I invited the Lord into he assignment and to aid me in my writing. Immediately, ideas and verses were popping into my head at a fast speed. They were things I would not have thought of on my own. I began connecting dots to stories in the Bible and the prompted section of text, we were given. It was an amazing exhilaration to feel the Holy Spirit in school.This was the last thing I expected to occur. This taught me that I can invite the Lord truly into anything. He never leaves my side and delights in me. I can spend time doing anything with Him. He is present not only in the basic grand missionary encounters like miracles, but He cares about being present in the little things with His children.
After experiencing such a high from the Holy Spirit, excitement for more of the Lord grew in my spirit. I could not wait to begin a new writing assignment. I could not wait to dive deeper into the Word of God and learn new things and make new connections. I became more and more eager to learn about my Savior. Through this, I was strengthening my dependency on Him.
This class opened my eyes to possibly wanting to attend a christian university. I have surrendered my entire future to the Lord’s will , so I currently do not know my future plans. I never thought about attending a God-fearing university before this course. Taking courses like this draw me to want to know more and more of God. I also am considered attending a worship school. There is so much more to know about worshipping our most deserving Heavenly Father.
To complete assignments, in this course, I had to do research in the Bible. Through research and reading and learning more about the Bible, I was discovering how to live and thrive successfully in this world. The Bible is a key and a set of instructions and lessons that God wants us to know. I learned that I walk in complete authority under God, through the Holy Spirit. After reading Acts 1, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth,” my team and I took this as something we must act on. We read this and digested it with a new look on missions. All around us are people that need a miracle. After praying many ties with nothing happening, in the moment, we prayed for Anne, one of our ministry partners, and the Lord healed her in front of us! Praise the Lamb! One of her legs was longer than the other, and once we were obedient in prayer, her leg grew right before our eyes. We were able to reap the Lord’s harvest!
This was a lesson of walking in obedience when the Holy Spirit prompts you do act upon something. We truly never know when the Lord says a seed if fully watered, so we should always pray people, even if there is a slim chance of a miracle occuring. Scripture simultaneously teaches you while humbling your soul, by making you want to live to Jesus’ standards. Through the course and scripture, the Lord taught me other lessons as well.
I have also developed healthy habits alongside the Truett McConnell work. I have daily time with Jesus that can span from 30 minutes to 4 hours. Each day can look very different from other days. I could be painting with watercolors or journaling with listening to Frank Sinatra. I am also learning how to love each individual on my team well. They all have different things they need to feel seen and heard. God has also been prompting me to develop the gifts He has already given to me. Gifts like leading worship and music in general. It is amazing to see the people He placed on my squad to disciple me in various art forms of worship.
The main thing I have learned is that the only thing we have to do as believers is, to be loved by God. We only have to be able to be loved by Him. Everything else we do is overflow of His heart and His love. He is love, so if we can feel His love, we will love.
