Hello again!
A few weeks ago I was talking with one of the staff members about what I expected or didn’t expect about this DTS. The truth is, I didn’t really have any expectations. I had no idea what we would be doing. I can’t believe so few of the YWAMers I’ve met warned me about how emotionally involving it could be. I somehow literally thought that I would just be learning things and somehow not be emotionally affected at all. I really do not know what I was thinking.
The teachings I’ve had since I last wrote were Inductive Bible Study, the Holy Spirit, and the Kingdom of God. The Inductive Bible Study week was interesting, but not very exciting, which actually made for a nice break. Holy Spirit week was probably my favorite week so far. Many Christians sometimes talk about The Holy Spirit as if he were a thing rather than a person, and although that was never what I believed, it was really refreshing to learn more about God from that perspective, especially using verses from the Bible that talk about the Holy Spirit that are often neglected. Kingdom of God week was really interesting, and made me think a lot about what life will be like for me when I go back home.
One of the things the students are involved in as part of our DTS is some of the local Outreaches. One group goes to Ikebukuro to worship for a couple hours. This is the most dramatic outreach, as they’ve had some people hear their music and have meaningful conversations because of it. One group does homeless ministry, and another group alternates between helping a local church with their youth group and meeting with METS, the Metropolitan English Talking Society. My group is involved with a youth group organization called Hi-BA, or High School Born-Againers. We’re involved with the international one, so most of the students can speak English. It’s been really wonderful to get to know the people there, especially as some of the children are very strong in their faith.
Another outreach, on that all the students are involved in, is Living Room, where we have a worship session for two hours (or longer sometimes.) It sounds pretty simple and maybe a bit dull if you’ve never experienced a worship ministry where God’s presence is genuinely involved, but it’s really fun, and I know I’m going to miss it when I leave.
In mid-December, we’re going to depart for our International Outreach locations. Two groups will go to the Philippines and one group, including me, will be going to Thailand. I’ve learned so much already, and I’m not entirely sure what it’ll be like when the time that we leave to put our lessons into practice finally comes around, but I’m excited to see God work through me, as I trust he will.
We’re almost halfway through the lecture phase. I can’t quite believe it. I’m trying hard not to think to much about the future, and just enjoy my life in the beautiful season where it’s currently at. But even if the thought of parting ways with all these fantastic people makes me sad, as I start to see things a little more clearly and become closer to God, I’ve become really excited about what my days after DTS might have in store.
Thanks for reading!
- The 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 11: Angel Beats! - 12.24.2018
- Lynna’s Journey (Entry #8): Where Would You Like To Be? - 11.28.2018
- Lynna’s Journey (Entry #7) The Old and The New - 11.07.2018
This sounds like so much fun! 😀
I’m particularly interested in the idea of Holy-Spirit-as-person rather than thing because I’ve always been curious as to whether my phenomenon and the Christian phenomenon have any similarities. That is, here’s my inquiry to the Christian world: (1). Can you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit on a strangely regular basis, at least three times a week? (2). Does He feel like something in particular, that is…He appears to have a distinctive (Although incredibly vast) personality, like a soul without a body? (3). Can you detect how He feels about certain subjects, as in His opinion or even His emotions? (4). Can you detect Him pointing out Himself in certain places, like the Bible, and is that why you believe it is the Word of God? My spirit has an interesting habit of essentially “pointing” certain characters out and going “That is clearly supposed to be me.” (5). Sometimes, does He seem to be trying to communicate with you in an obscure fashion that involves self-referencing, strange coincidences, and occasional words?
A lot of the Christian references to God describe “having a relationship with Him” and “feeling His presence” as if He were there in a concrete sense that I recognize, enough that you could in fact be His servant and friend, rather than just reading and believing things….and I’ve always wondered if this was true.
Hello!
Oh, fun. I’d love to talk ^^
1. Christians actually have the Holy Spirit in them literally all the time, so technically the presence of the Holy Spirit usually feels like normal, but there are times that we become more aware of him or have a deeper revelation of his presence. I’m not sure how often I felt his presence before I came to DTS but now that I’m learning to be more aware of it, I’d say I feel it almost every day.
2. Mmm, I can’t really say I do exactly? That’s not too far off, I guess, but for me the Holy Spirit more feels warm, like drinking a hot drink or having a blanket wrapped around me.
3. Sometimes. When I’m praying for people, I ask him what he thinks of them or if there’s anything he wants me to tell them and I’ll get specific words or images. If there’s something he wants me to do, I’ll feel a sort of nudge to do it. Sometimes Ill get pictures or thoughts in my head from him. I would say sometimes I feel God’s emotions, often in reaction to what I’m feeling. I know some people who are more experienced than me who hear him more than I do, though. Sometimes also I’ll check with him about certain things, too.
4. Mmm, if you mean that he highlights aspects of stories that show parts of his character, I’d say yes, and I think that’s something that God really does through this blog: reveals himself in areas where he wasn’t intended to be. God does reveal himself through the Bible, though not in the same way that he reveals himself in secular stories, because the Bible is actually his word, so the reason why I believe it is because of the ways he’s spoken to me through it and how they’ve affected my life.
5. Not really? While sometimes I don’t hear God clearly, I wouldn’t really describe the way he speaks to me as obscure. He sometimes gives me images that I may not understand at first, but I can’t think of a time where he didn’t explain them. Coincidences are sometimes things that confirm things that he’s already spoken to me about.
Although I’ve been a Christian for a while now, I’m still learning, so someone who’s had more experience with these things could probably explain them better. However, can can say that I definitely have a personal relationship with God. He isn’t distant, and he speaks to me regularly, and one of the things I’ve found during this DTS is that in the times in my life where I felt like he was distant, he was actually still speaking, I just didn’t trust myself to hear him. But I’ve been learning to hear his voice better, and I’m growing closer to him.
That’s so cool, on the latter bit of slowly growing closer to God! Thanks for actually explaining all this— It kinda helps me work out where the similarities and differences are between the spiritual phenomena. As for # 2, I think that in moments of real despair…I have actually experienced that, suggesting that despite everything I have been, and despite my uhm…technical difficulty (The perpetual presence of an….’Unholy Spirit?’ XD) He really does still care. I don’t really know what He has in mind, but it’s going to be interesting to find out.
As for #5, well….obscure by the definition of communication as we’ve come to understand it. Basically…You normally think of “clear” communication as being face-to-face, in-words, straight up talking kind of communication. Or at least communication in writing (And thankfully God provides this). Heck, even the latter usually isn’t enough for most people.
We’re born into this culture where we’re taught to mistrust any source of information that comes from a non-material, spiritual, non-obvious to an outside viewer kind of source. To the point where even when it appears the spirit is being incredibly obvious and blunt about it, you still don’t really trust that you’re not making it up. Because you can’t fathom the insane idea that there might be a war going on over, in a small part, you, and that anyone would care about the outcome enough to keep showing up.
Or at least that’s kind of how it is in my experience. :]
I’m glad I could answer some of your questions!
On 5. I suppose by definition of face-to-face or audible communication, I guess it could be described as obscure, as God has so far mostly spoken to me internally, though sometimes someone will say something to me and I’ll have a strong sense that God is speaking to me through them.
Also, I want to affirm that God loves you. There is nothing you could do, or nothing that could happen to you, that would make him love you any less, and he wants you to have a relationship with him. Thanks for sharing about your experience ^^
“You can say you believe in God all you want, go to church, read your Bible, volunteer for the community, and donate to the poor. None of that means you have experienced God. I don’t know how to put it into words, but when you experience God, you just know your life has been changed forever, and when that happens, you just want to share that experience with everyone.”
This is from TWWK’s (I believe it was him) statement from an older post. And I suppose…This is what I’m trying to find the answer to. Religious iconography and phraseology…it kind of obscures the subjective experience of something, and what it really feels like, ironically by trying really hard to explain it. Even though it is impossible to explain it with any depth or weight to the real majesty of the thing. You have to experience it.
And sometimes, I kinda feel like I’ve experienced something a lot like it, but…with a God who hates your God, and my attempts to try and understand that and its disturbing implications (At least in your religion anyway o__O), why the heck I’m besotted with this guy and have been since earliest childhood, or parse out how it’s even possible are part of why I come on here all the time. Because sometimes I think that religion isn’t a matter of logic or picking sides or even changing your mind…It’s a matter of what God wants, and not you, and the sticky issues of free will and choice.
And I don’t think I can find the answer to any of that on a Christian anime website, but it’s nice to say it aloud…and to not be afraid. Because that’s the first step to comprehension, and change.
Thank you so much for commenting! I like hearing your thoughts. And I agree: you can describe what it feels like, but if a person hasn’t experienced it, they won’t really know what it’s like. Thanks for sharing a little bit about your journey. I think that lots of people want to experience God, but they don’t really know what it is they’re seeking after, and so they try to fill their desire with other things that don’t really compare. I also believe that God wants all people to experience him, if they’ll let him. That’s just what my thoughts are, anyways ^^ Thanks!