Fall Workshop Devotion 2023

Fall Workshop Devotion 2023

After the campus AI policy was announced last week I have been trying out Chat GTP. I was with my niece so I asked it to write a song about Wildland Firefighters. It wasn’t half bad so then I asked it to do a song about a Great Pyrenees named Sadie. I was slightly impressed by the speed and accuracy of it. So then I asked it to write a devotion for the first day of work. It was actually a really motivational devotion that accurately portrayed God’s role in your life, quoted a related verse, and even included a very nice prayer at the end.

To be quite honest, it kind of blew my mind. I was shocked at how much it was capable of generating and it really made me think. How much of my job is replaceable by AI? Could we be replaced by AI? It has probably entered all of our minds, but remember this:  that the God of the universe who loves us has an individual plan for each of those who have believed in his son as savior.

AI is not capable of displacing God's plan. God has a plan for your lives here at ONU & I’m assuming his plan is for you to be part of our library team since i prayed about you before hiring you. I'm looking forward to working with you & we will depend on a loving god & his word rather than on a robot.

The Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ & you will be saved."

If you have never made that decision, simply tell God the Father that you are believing in Jesus Christ & you will belong to His family & have access to His perfect plan for your life.

Our verse for the year will be: Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you & not to harm you, plans to give you hope & a future.”  

Devotion from Fall 2022

Devotion from Fall 2022

 

 

 

Devotion Fall 2021

Devotion Fall 2021

This is a different world than when I was your age. The pressure is greater to keep your eyes on the Lord and to stand for what you believe. One thing never changes – God. God is immutable. He never changes. Every time I see a rock or a boulder it reminds me of God’s immutability. Of course rocks/boulders do eventually change over time but they are one of the slower things to change. Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever. That means every part of God including his character or essence never changes. One of God’s character traits is integrity. So God’s integrity is immutable. It never changes. 

What is integrity? Webster dictionary definition. 

• The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles personal/professional/artistic integrity to behave with integrity a man of great integrity
• (formal) the state of being whole and not divided

Our ultimate goal should be to define integrity the way that God defines it.  Not the relative way that the world defines it today. Our world is becoming more and more relative with people to finding things based off of what they want and what’s best for them but we’re lucky as believers in Jesus Christ we have the absolute truth we can define integrity through that truth. God has given us the ability to discern truth from lies integrity versus relative integrity by studying his word and his principles and his standards that are immutable and never change. They are true and no matter what age we live in. 

I personally liked it if I integrity is what I do when nobody else is around and I often learn more about integrity and raise my standards after I’ve made a wrong decision. And none of those wrong decisions are life-threatening or life altering but the more we give into or justify the more we chip away at our overall character of integrity. I can’t imagine being your age again living in today’s world I’ve not done any research but I feel like you guys are under pressure to be perfect and too often just train yourselves on things and you know what to do. I feel like it’s an Internet thing where you can find any answers you want to so people don’t have to bother taking time out to train you. 

Our hopes is to take that pressure off you here in Informatics. Covid kind of changed what Informatics was because we didn’t get to work with you or spend time with you but we spent a lot of time in the summer meeting and talking about how to help you and of course then help us in the long run. 

We are going to try to be good leaders both positive and negative reinforcement . We are going to try to be more consistent and do more write ups to make sure we’re being fair to everyone . That being said the first two weeks will be considered training and correction weeks we will give you verbal or email warnings and just take away points for the first two weeks . This gives us an opportunity to express our expectations and standards and gives you a chance to learn and apply them. 

We will work with you probably weekly or every couple weeks. The model will look different with each of us but we have the same goals we’re going to spend a little time talking to you Giving you an opportunity to talk about any troubles or struggles you’re going through and then we will talk to you about work performance will use whichever tool you’ve been instructed to use to review what you’ve accomplished from the last time that we met. 

So our renewed expectation of you is not that you’re perfect but that you give us the integrity that you have and will continue to work and train you on what we think integrity means. Our first challenge to you is to follow our instructions and read the procedures we don’t wanna spend this whole meeting because we would have to meet tomorrow for sure to to teach you every single procedure that we have. One true test of your integrity will be the homework policy there will be no homework on library shifts anymore. 

Our goal this year is to do our jobs as into the Lord. 

^{Colossians 3:23} Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, ²⁴ knowing that it is from the Lord thatyou will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

 

Fall Workshop Devotion 2020

 Philippians 04:11, “Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Philippians 04:12, “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” Philippians 04:13, “I can do all things through Him who keeps on pouring the power into me.”

For most of us this is not a time of prosperity but we have been blessed to know what prosperity is and how much grace and love God has shown us. During one of my Bible studies recently my pastor said, “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble as well?” Adversity is when we really see who we are and if we trust God.

Adversity is a great time to reflect on what is inside us, our souls. Who are we when we are alone and no-one is watching? That is the real us that God knows. 1 Samuel 16:07, But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Are you someone who feels sorry for yourself because life is not going how you expected it to go? Are you someone who pretends like nothing is different and lives in denial? Are you someone who puts on a show for everyone around you but when you go home you sink into a sadness or depression? Are you someone who does the right thing in a right way even though no one is watching? Are you someone who finds grace in even situation - adversity or prosperity? Are you someone who is at peace whether you are alone or with others?

Even though in human terms we are living a new normal, it doesn’t have to be different. What we carry in our souls is who we really are. We can not only do our jobs as unto the Lord but we can encourage each other. We can remind each other of God’s grace and how He promises to always protect His children, those of us who have believed in His Son as our Savior. After salvation we have to fill our souls with God’s word, with those promises. Then we have to claim or live that divine wisdom that he has given us through His word. We have to turn our focus on Him and His promises especially when we get discouraged or frustrated with what’s happening around us. We have to remember Him and His promises when we have prosperity or adversity. We all will get discouraged and react from time to time. When we catch ourselves doing that we need to pick up, confess that reaction to God, claim a promise He has given us and move forward.

Even though we have to respect the guidelines that have been set before us and we may not be able to interact as we have in the past, we are still a family and we are always here for you. When you get frustrated and discouraged don’t hesitate to reach out to us. On the LLL windows we have set up a place to add praises, prayer requests, and promises. Feel free to add or take a verse. Don’t put names or private information. Email those types of requests to us instead. When you are out and about take a second to stop and read some of them, take a verse card or pray for one of the requests listed.

Grace - Praise wall

Help - Prayer wall

Worship - Promises

Fall Workshop Devotion 2019

It’s probably safe to say that many of you who came here to this Christian University consider yourselves Christians and if asked would say that you love God. Many of us even are to the point where we want to get out there and serve God and demonstrate our love for God.

Shortly after Christ’s resurrection, he was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee later called the Sea of Tiberias, with Peter and John and a few other disciples. He turns to Peter and says: John 21:15, So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” John 21:16, He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” John 21:17, He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.

Peter was starting to get frustrated with the Lord repeating the question so many times. What Peter was missing was what the Lord was saying. In the first two verses Christ used the word AGAPAO but Peter answered with another word for love PHILEO. He doesn’t say, “I AGAPAO you.” He says, “I PHILEO you.” When the Lord says, “Do you AGAPAO Me?” Peter says, “Yes I PHILEO.” In the English, it all says love and both of them are translated love so you don’t get the nuance of what is going on. Peter’s problem here is that he misunderstands the nature of the love that Jesus is demanding of him. He doesn’t really understand the love Jesus demands. AGAPAO means to love but in this case it’s a very specific type of love. This love is internal. It is a mental attitude. The attitude is directed toward a worthy object. This personal love is never self-centered as in: I love you because you are beautiful or I love you because you make me feel good or I love you because of your strength and leadership abilities. Human love is fickle. It changes. It comes and it goes. It lacks sustaining power and stability. It comes and goes with anger and disappointment.

Peter is being honest. He does love the Lord but that PHILEO love has failed him in the past. PHILEO is not a bad word, it’s just being contrasted here to the ultimate in love - AGAPAO. PHILEO actually means a tender affection. It reveals a close personal relationship or a great friendship. It carries an emotional connotation which is the type of love Peter has for the Lord at this time. Just a week or so ago Peter had denied the Lord three times even though he PHILEO loved the Lord. It was an unstable and unreliable love for what Peter’s mission requires. It is not the strength of AGAPAO the personal, virtue love based on the worthy character of the flawless Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ knew this so He asked Peter if he loved Him with a selfless, objective virtue love, AGAPAO love. Peter had experienced that type of love throughout the time he was with Christ. Christ had demonstrated it. He has just experienced the ultimate in AGAPAO love. Barely a week before this time together on the beach, Jesus Christ had sacrificed Himself for Peter and the whole world on the cross. Did Peter reciprocate that kind of love for Jesus Christ? Such that he would die for Christ? Obviously not. He had the chance to demonstrate it when they questioned him during the trials, “Don’t you know Christ?” Peter said nope three times and even cursed Him the last time and then he ran away.

How is this special AGAPAO love for Christ developed? It comes from getting to know our Lord and Savior better. It doesn’t come from what YOU do for Him. Our service to the Lord is a result of AGAPAO love. In the spiritual/Christian life we always have room to grow more. In our mental attitudes there is always room for growth. The more you know God/Christ, the more you appreciate God/Christ, the more you develop certain qualities that Peter must now develop toward Christ. Peter demonstrates that he finally gets it when he writes 2 Peter 3:18: Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior who is Jesus Christ. There is never enough. Continue to grow in grace and knowledge, don’t ever quit. As knowledge of doctrine and grace orientation increases so does your personal love. 

AGAPAO love takes time. AGAPAO for God needs to be the motive for your life, for living the spiritual life. The question is asked to you as well: Do you love Me? Inner virtue must be involved, not just emotion, or enthusiasm, or subjectivity. Serving God and praying are very important but unless you make time everyday to get to know God and learn about Him, those reflections of love will not have the full power and impact that they could have.

What does this have to do with Informatics? I will make some human applications over the next few days but ultimately if your love for God is increasing so are the qualities of integrity and leadership growing in your human life. It reflects in everything that you do including doing your job as unto the Lord.

Software Engineering Collaboration 8

Our Open Rooms group is making a lot of headway. The developers completed one of our main goals already. They have updated the default editing capabilities to make it easier for the administration to set up and make time changes. They have also changed all of the CSS code to Bootstrap so now they will be able to make CSS changes very quickly and achieve our second goal which is to make the program look and feel more like the library website. We hit a roadblock with our third goal because we would need to change our library website over to https in order to make LDAP work with the program. The product owners are currently discussing the implications of rushing this change through before school starts. We may have to put this project in the "parking lot" for now.