"1 Am Ryan" Ryan Schmidt ♦>. Business Major ♦ Lakericlge High ♦ Grew up: Ft. Collins, Colorado ♦In to - Fishing, Football By now, you've seen the "Do You Agree With RyanC stuff everywhere. Whatever your opinion, I hope these past few clays have caused you to stop and think about what you really believe and where you stand with God- My goal isn't to have everyone rally around me - I'm just a regular student like you - but to cause people to take a look at the things I've stated and to explore whether or not they're true. College is a great time to determine what your faith will be. In fact it was coming here to school that really enabled me to figure out my own relationship with God. “There is a God shaped vacuum inside of every person that can only be filled by Him" Pascal J The quote in the box is by the French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal. His words perfectly describe the feeling I had as I entered the 17 of O. High School for me was a great time. I had good friends, did well academically, and excelled in sports. Everything seemed to be going great - and it was. Ironically it was*tbis' success that showed me my real need for God. I wasn't satisfied with my life and knew there must be more than what I was experiencing. I had a "head knowledge" that there was a God, but I didn't really follow When I showed up for school my freshman year, I was definitely facing the biggest challenges of my life. Classes 3nd football pushed ime mentally and physically in ways I had not been pushed before! For the first time in my life, I w^sn t confident I could handle things on my own. Together with my roommate, Tim, I began to understand that faith in God isn't just a mental exercise or religious ritual but a real relationship with God that effects everything we do. 1 began to trust in God to help me - I even blew the dust offthe Bible on my shelf and began reading it. There's a Bible verse that says, whatever you do, do for the Lord". As I began to live this out - in class, on the field!, in every area of my life - God really gave me peace and happiness. The more l got to know Gocj - His character and attributes - the more joy I found in my life. One thing I really struggled with was really believing God had for given me for every one of my sins - especially some bad memories from High School. But His word makes it clear that all my sins are paid for by Jesus death on the cross. Knowing that has helped me understand how much God loves me and how He sees me in Christ. My identity now isn't in being a student or football player or anything but Him. My desire now is to live for Him and show I Agree With Ryan sponsored by Christians at V of O including Campus Crusade, Navigators Chi Alpha, InterVarsity, CCF, Onyx House, ACF, B5U, Young Life & a bunch of others! http: //i a g reewit h ry a-n. we b j u m p. n et Talk with Ryan today! Haon ~ Amphitheater How To Become A Christian God loves us. So how do we follow him? You don’t become a Christian by some magic formula. The desire of your heart is what matters most. We enter into a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Ask a Christian friend to help you or look up the following verses in the Bible and you can begin your life in Christ today. This is just the start - the fundamentals of faith! First, understand that God created you to know Him and to live for Him. (John 3:16 & 17:3) Second, we have all sinned and our sin has separated us from God. (Romans 3:23 & 6:23) Third, Jesus Christ is God’s answer for our sin. It’s through Him alone we can know God. (Romans 5:8, 1 John 5:11-12) Finally, when we individually receive Christ, we begin the walk with God for which we were meant. (John 1:12, Rev. 3:20) Your faith can be expressed in a simple prayer, such as “Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. I yield control of my life to you and ask you to help me become the person you desire me to be. Amen. ” For a great website that explains more check out www.ccci.org/wyltkgp