It is Tuesday afternoon and millions of people in 16 different states are still without power. Death tolls have reached the dozens and millions of people are suffering from loss of homes, property, vehicles, and much more. According to the Associated Press, damage was projected upwards of 20 billion dollars, meaning it could be one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. This is also the first time Wall Street has shut down for consecutive days since 1888. What do we even do with this? More than ever, we need to seek the author of our faith. 

In Psalm 121 we see the words of David:


I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

We don't know why things like Hurricane Sandy happen, but we do know we are in the hands of a sovereign God, a God who could shut Sandy down in a second or allow it to go on for days. At the end of the day, we also know that God is good. 

In Romans 8:16-18 Paul says, "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

Later in chapter 8, Paul says, "All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes." It may not always mean life is going to be smooth sailing, but it does mean that it will be for the good of His people. God has a plan that is infinitely greater than ours.

Refreshing Mountain with Hanover Community!

It is retreat season again! Team Charger Challenge traveled to Refreshing Mountain in Lancaster County Pennsylvania where we joined Hanover Community Church to serve them in their weekend retreat. Both students and leaders were excited for a great weekend! We kicked off the night with pizza. One student named Alex amassed over ten slices!

Brett kicked off the weekend on Friday night with the first Be 4 Real lesson. This message covered authentic living before and after Christ. We parked in Matthew 11:28-30, which says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” After this time, students and leaders broke into small groups where they discussed what they just experienced. The night ended with games in the gym where students were free to release their energy!

On Saturday we led team building for the youth group, which consisted of many good and hilarious times! Still not sure who was more dominant Pepsi or Coke? Peanut butter or Jelly? One of the coolest parts about the weekend is that students were encouraged and even given time to have alone time with God. This time consisted of prayer, reading scripture, and just sitting silent before God.

Flick kicked off the second Be 4 Real message with a video from Matt Chandler. We then moved into ‘Walk the Line’, which was very powerful! God moved in amazing ways and knocked down doors for many students and leaders. One thing is for sure, Hanover Community Church has each other’s backs! We were encouraged all weekend by the quality of leaders and how much this team loved their students. Not to mention, the students were awesome! Small group time was next, which served to be one of the most valuable pieces of the weekend.

Up next: free time! Most of the students and leaders participated in a football game out on the field. Some of the leaders still might feel like they took a few years off their life! Saturday evening ended with T.J. sharing his life story and reality that God needs to be on the throne of our lives. Many times we can fill our “couch” with things such as school, sports, relationships, etc. These are all good things, until they become idols and place God on the backburner. The night ended with awesome community via small groups, bonfire, capture the leader, and other games!

Sunday morning was a time set aside for reflection. Many students shared commitments they made or how they were going to change. They also has the opportunity to thank those who had impacted them this weekend. Once again, it was awesome to see the love the students and leaders had for one another. This weekend we saw true community lived out!

Community in Action

On Thursday October 18^th and Friday October 19^th, we had the privilege of being a part of Mount Calvary Christian School’s Spiritual Emphasis days. For Flick, the trip to Mount Calvary provided an opportunity to build upon relationships he had formed with students and teachers during his student teaching and assistant coaching days at MCCS. As for T.J. and Brett, they looked forward to building some brand new relationships during our two days there. As we arrived on Thursday morning, we were excited about the opportunity to challenge students in a new way.

We kicked off our day with the 5^th through 8^th grade students. The beginning of our time with these students included some icebreakers and games. Many laughs were shared as students attempted to form various positions during a partner game, such as “toe to nose.” 

After a few more games, T.J. had the opportunity to share a challenge with the students. He started this challenge by having students describe and imitate a few “mood” faces. The final “mood” face was and angry face. He built off of this face during his message on Job. T.J. challenged the students in their reaction to unpleasant circumstances in their lives. Our natural and sinful reaction to when things are “taken” from us is to be angry or upset, just like the “mood” face. However, Job’s reaction was worship. He praised the Lord despite all of his loss. 

After the message with the 5^th-8^th grade students had come to an end, we spent some time playing a few more games with them before our time with them was up. We then had the opportunity to spend some time with the 9^th-12^th graders. Throughout our time with these students, we were able to enjoy some fun times through icebreakers, games, and team charades. 

The highlight of our time at Mount Calvary was seeing students being real with one another and watching the transformation within the student body. By revealing what was below their waterlines, sharing their own story with one another, and Walking the Line, students grew in unity and love for one another. This all culminated in one of the coolest scenes we have ever been a part of, a time of celebration! Mount Calvary students celebrated one another by cheering each other’s names, carrying students on their backs, dancing, etc. After that, the entire body of students came together for a unified cheer which ended in the singing of Silent Night, a song that is often sung at athletic events. This was quite a change from our first day with the students of MCCS.  

We were thankful to take part in MCCS’s Spiritual Emphasis days and we hope that the community that was created during out time there will carry on throughout the school year!

A lot of times we as Christians feel the need to do, do, do. There is no question that we need to be living out our faith and producing fruit. But this is not a recipe we can stir up on our own. In fact, it is impossible to do without God. A part from God our gas tank winds down until we find ourselves on empty. In life, we find ourselves on the side of the road disgusted, looking for help. When this happens, we often do not think of anyone but ourselves.

Today I want to remind you of what has already been done. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Christ has finished the work and we are now being sanctified day by day.

The other day I was reading Tullian Tchividjian’s book, Jesus + Nothing = Everything when this truth hit me clear as day. The right way for us to think about our Christian lives is always to start with vertical, then move to the horizontal. If we truly want to bless others and pour into their lives, we first need to be poured into so we have something to pour out. The cool thing about this is that when we first emphasize what Christ has done, this outpour will become genuine and natural. Otherwise, we are pouring out of an empty pot.

As Tchividjian says, “We’re always to soak first in what God has done before we set out to do.”

Vertical first. Horizontal second.

– Team Charger Challenge

Jesus Doesn’t Lose.

It is that time of year again. It’s time for some NFL football! If you are like me, you have been eagerly waiting for this time of year. There’s something great about this time of year as the leaves change colors, the brisk fall breeze picks up, and football starts every Sunday at 1 p.m. If you are a football fan, you are spoiled with Thursday and Monday night football as well.

I will unapologetically say that I am a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan. Yeah, life is not always easy! I can’t say I am shocked by my teams performances so far this year, but there are some teams that caught my attention. The Green Bay Packers who went 15-1 last season have started off 2-3 so far. Even more of a surprise is the New Orleans Saints who went 13-3 last year lost their first four games and are now 1-4. There is so much inconsistency from week to week and year to year that it is hard to rely on one team. This isn’t even mentioning all the scandals, chaos, and nonsense that takes place in sports. People will let you down. Such is life.

The other day I was reading through John 6 as I was reminded of the one who will never let you down, the one who never loses. Jesus is in Capernaum not long after the feeding of the 5,000 when a crowd approaches Him. There is no doubt that these people were amazed at Jesus’ miracle when He fed them loaves of bread and fish. The crowd said, “Sir, give us this bread always!” Jesus tells the crowd that He is the bread of life and that whoever comes to Him will never be hungry or thirsty again. He then goes on to say something very interesting. Verse 39 says, “This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day.”

It was/is the Father’s will that Jesus should lose none of His people. Here is the good news for us, Jesus doesn’t lose. Wherever you are in your life and whatever you are going through, you can rest in this truth. Maybe life is beating you down and you feel like you are constantly losing. Rest assured that if you are in Christ, you are His. And when you are His, He will keep you.

As Christian rap artist, Lecrae says, “You cannot lose what you never did earn.” The reason you can’t lose it is because you never earned it in the first place – Christ did.

Jesus doesn’t lose.

– Team Charger Challenge.

More than cardboard

Hello. Aimee Cannette here. I am the lyricist and videographer of “Home”. I was asked (quite some time ago, to be honest – I’m slacking, and I apologize) to write a short entry about this song and video. I’ve been thinking on it, and I’ve decided that the best place start is always the beginning. So let’s begin there.

Last year, during the Spring Semester of college, my dorm section seemed to be hit by one thing followed by another. It didn’t seem like our lives would ever calm down or seem slightly normal. Two of the girls that were living with us the previous semester moved out due to financial issues, one girl lost her father over the break, another one of our girls (who had just joined us for the spring semester) found out that her grandfather was very sick… the list really does go on and on.

Facing these difficulties, I realized that it is so easy to lose track of who we are or where we’re going in life. It’s easy to lose sight of God, and to feel like He’s nowhere near where we are. “Home” is about that. It’s about losing sight of God, but finding our way back to Him.

We fight with God so much in our lives, complaining and blaming (Him, ourselves, and others) about every new turn that comes our way. And we cry out to God, yelling, “Where are You now? Where are You while I’m going through this? Where are You, God? You said You would never leave me or forsake me. You said You would catch me when I fall. But where are You?”

We seem to forget that God doesn’t ever leave us. As the bridge of the song goes, God is the whisper in the silence, He is the calm in the storm, and He is the light in the darkness surrounding us. He’s there, and He loves us unconditionally. He will help us through whatever it is that we’re going through.

The video was much easier than writing the song, in all honesty. It kind of just came together. All of those people in it have or are going through what is written on their papers. They struggle, just like you and me. These are people that I know and that I consider friends. I can go to each of them throughout the day. They are real. I sincerely hope that you understand that. You aren’t alone in whatever you’re going through. Other people are going through things just like you. They know pain, and they know suffering.

But here’s the great thing that they’ve found out, and I hope you know as well.

God is always there. He is always here. God is our Home. He is our refuge and our strength. When we’re so confused and so scared that we’re crying out to God “Save me, God. I need you now. Where are you?” He whispers back that He is here. During the chaos of the world, when nothing seems to slow down, God is the whisper that says, “I’m here…” When the storms are raging in life, God is there to calm us and protect us, saying, “I’m your comfort…” When there seems to be darkness all around us that we can’t get out of, God is there, shining His light and is calling to us, “Come home…”

So, that is where this song came from. It was my cry to God, asking, “Where are you now? Why can’t I feel you?” But, it’s also God’s response. His whispered words of encouragement… “I’m right here. I’m waiting for you. Come home.”

Think this video is cool or you were encouraged? Make your own!

You don't have to be a technology guru to get involved. Simple steps:

1. Identify an area of struggle. Write this on one side of a piece of cardboard.
2. Identify the freedom Christ gave you from this area and who you are in Him. Write this on the other side of the cardboard.
3. Get friends to do the same!
4. Use your creativity and make a video, slide show, or take pictures.
5. Send them to us so we can share them with others.
6. Sit back and watch God move!

Send us your story at teamchargerchallenge@gmail.com or post it on one of our social media sites!

Prayer...

In Luke 11, we see one request that shows sheds an enormous amount of light on the importance of a thing we call prayer. Jesus is with His disciples when they ask Him to teach them to pray. Verse 1 says, " One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." At the surface level, this might not seem like that big of a deal. The disciples were just curious what this guy was doing and wanted to learn more about it right? Wrong. This was actually the only account in scripture when the disciples ask Jesus to teach them something. There is no doubt that these men saw that God Himself placed a high priority on prayer and needed it. If Jesus needed to pray, how much more do we? I'm sure the disciples thought the same thing.

Last week Pastor Mark Batterson of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. spoke here at Lancaster Bible College. Pastor Mark spoke on prayer and revealed many life-changing truths behind this, but there is one thing he said that just stuck out to me. He said, "Prayer is the difference between the best you can do and the best God can do." Guys and girls, if you want to see big things happen, if you want to see your friends change, if you want to see your own life transformed from the inside out...start with prayer. Things may not happen overnight, but you never know when God is going to move. 

The reality in Luke 11 is that the disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them HOW to pray, but rather TO pray. In Psalm 109 David said, "I give myself to prayer." Give yourself to prayer today.

 As Pastor Mark would also say, "Praying is recognizing that God is God and I am not."

Brett from Team Charger Challenge