Found more on Mike's teaching...The easy Yoke...more ideas!

The easy Yoke
Matt. 11:29-30 "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentel and humble in heart, and you will find rest in your soulds. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." I used to think 'yoke' referred to an egg yoke. I have no idea how I thought that applied. But we learned that a yoke, thank you Christine who's lived on a farm, is that weight that a mule or whatever animal is plowing carries to even out the weight distributed on their backs for the task.
1 John 5:3 "This is love for God: to obey his commands and His commands are no burdensome."
This all began our discussion on how to live a life as Jesus, it's easy. Right?
Following Jesus: Impossible yet Easy-
Don't look at the WWJD, What Would Jesus Do, but look at it as
HWJL How Would Jesus Live?
It's more of this constant lifestyle to decipher. I loved that Mike showed us a picture of a Jesus with an S on his Chest like Superman, and asked is this Jesus to you? And if you think of Jesus like this, that makes it really hard to think and live like him right? You can never be superman.
Perhaps you view Jesus as an athlete. He worked hard to become the skilled fit man that he is for his team, and that took work. He had to strive and work with others to be apart of an athletic team. that's more of the view of God we should have.
I like this next part Michael brought up. Romans 12 - Mike asked after reading, if we thought it was easier to Live for someone, or to Die for someone? Think about you answer? It's so true, that could be easier to die than to live. To lend someone 100 dollars if they ask is so much easier than if they asked us to work for 100 dollars to give them.
Mike brought our class back to reality in telling us to look at "Holy Sacrifices" as
1) Not thinking too highly of yourself. Always humbling.
2) Outdoing! Outdo each other in showing honor! Make it a point to say, no no YOU go first. No I'll take your plate to the kitchen!
3) Hospitality - do this fervenatly is another way of thinking of outdoing someone.
We view 'holiness' as just not sinning. But where are we serving? Look at Jesus and how he spent time with people. Paul isn't telling people, you guys are sinners. No. He's saying here in the church live THIS way. And, by the way We live we reflect Hoilness that the world will want to be a part of. This starts from the inside out!
John 13:35 "The world will know you are my disciples by your love for one another!"
Mike also had us look at the definition of Hate:
Hate--> Indifference -->Better yet it's not caring. They're the same!
So if I dont' care about my roomate or cleaning up my house for my company coming over, it could very much so be a view of hatred. I'm not lifting those people and things up!
How are we living? HWJL?
Just like us, Jesus awoke with bad breath, using the toilet, he had sexual temptation, he wanted to hurt people, he had a sore throat, he was 100% man!
In this I want to say, that I have learned from Mike, that He has fully enabled us to obey his commands. They may look huge! You may get a picture of the ten commandments, and woah! But We have been given the Holy Spirit! We CAN live like Jesus did! He told us, it was better that he leaves us so we can received His Holy Spirit living inside us to live like Him, and in Him, his father God.
I had a few more notes, but wanted to end on a story that I remembered during Mike's lecture.
This love that we must start from the inside, as it's there growing, that will change a nation. It starts there, and affects your family, then your friends, then your neighborhood, then your city and then the world! But something that I remember that happened to me my Junior year of soccer season with Concordia really spoke out the importance, of having a great relationship within, that then reaches your family...that can change a nation.
I can go back and say the statistic about criminals in prison who have no fathers. We met 3 little 5-year old boys on the beach and asked where their father's were, and 2 said jail and the 3rd said dead. Easy to find statistics eh?
So, I hope she reads this story too to be remembered and hopefully it's continuing in her life.
Before the soccer season was going tobegin in 06, we needed another player. Just one more to add to the roster. My coach was asking me if I knew of anyone in the community. I remembered Alex, and playing with her at Nike. She was awesome and so young. I asked her where she was going to college, and she ummed and ahhhed at not thinking about going right now because of circumstances in graduating and her relationship, or lack there of with her family.
Alex was living on her own already before graduating from high school, working and paying rent. I don't know the situation at home, I just know she wasn't there because of problems. I pushed Alex to check out CU, and that she could get scholarship to play.
I remember her talking about he dad investing so much of soccer in her because he once played pro. Somewhere that link was lost.
Somehow a miracle came through and we got this precious girl on the team. Man what a year huh? We had some fun. I always was checking in on her, and asking about her family. I can remember her telling me things like, they've been talking NOW. Now they try and come to some of her games, etc.
What really pointed me to true importance of family and relationships, was at the very end of teh season.
We LOST, yes we LOST at the national tournament in the semifinals. It was heart wrentching being my last game and everything of my college career. But MAN what a group of girls and team to have been a part of. I'd trade nothing for it. And what conspired through the weeping of tears at the end of the game on that cold field, was girls relentlessly hugging and just thanking each other for coming together. For striving to make not only the game wonderful, but the season as a whole! The Journey.
Then I remember Alex coming up to me to hug and weeping, and she said to me, Noel, you changed my relationship with my family. You saved our relationship by helping me get on this team. It's changed my life.
In some form of that converstaion, I just beamed with pure joy, that somehow, through a sport, a simple team, and simple game, IT connected and rejuvinated her relationship with her family.
I remember thinking to myself, if nothing else came out of all my season with that team, and just Alex gaining a better relationship with her family to be loved, then that's all tha tmatters! It's beyond the game. This is life and the astounding meaning! Thank you, and thank you Alex