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"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." - 1 Cor. 12:4

     Paul is addressing a problem that still lingers in the Church. The problem is that we compare gifts that were given from the Lord, and we sometimes become jealous. Well, I know I have, sadly. I've seen people's gifts and I begin to wish I had them.
     
     I fail to realize that we were all given these gifts for a reason. Pastor Mike once told me that we all have different gifts for different roles in God's kingdom. It's true, I don't have a gift for evangelizing, but that does not mean I don't play a role. And these gifts come from the same source: God.

Application: I will be content with my gift by using it to bless others around me.

Truth or Lies

"Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." - 1 Cor. 12:3

      No one who claims to be a Christian can say that Jesus is not Lord. So many cults twist scriptures to come up with strange claims like Jesus is an angel, or the brother of Lucifier. As I need to have a strong foundation for my belief that I may be able to respond to there claims. In order to do that, I mus be in God's Word to understand who God is and His character; to distinguish lies from truth.

Application: I have not been in the Word lately, so I will take atleast 30 mins. of my time to read.

Gifts

"Now concerning spiritual [gifts], brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:" - Cor. 12:1

      Thorugh the Holy Spirit whatich was given to us from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to dwell in these vessels of ours. God kew that the world would be difficult to live in with the values given to us, so He gave us the Holy Spirit, also known as a "Helper." It is the Spirit of God dwelling in us to guide us, to convict us; to comfort us.
      The Holy Spirit is the golden ticket and Heaven is the Willy Wonka Factory, but Heaven is far more exceeds some candy factory, in fact, no mind can fathom it. Because of the Spirit we will be able to stand in the presence of God, and wehen He looks at us He won't see a sinful person. He'll see Himself, like a man who looks into a puddle of water and sees a reflection of himself.
      With that being said, I am missing acouple things the Spirit also give us. The Spirit also gives certain people the gifts of: worship, leadership, teaching, etc. but we (and this is especially for me) can not be ignorant and believe that these gifts are from ourselves. That mentality puffs us up, rather then humbling us. Instead, we must realize that the gifts are from God. I always remember that.

Application: I will praise God and thank Him for my gifts.

Be Bold

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My Words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” - Mark 6:38

     Before I came to Potter’s Field Ranch, I was working and attending college. I was majoring in Philosophy. It’s a subject that has interested me for a while now. My faith in Jesus Christ led me to Philosophy.

     

     I would be questioned by my Atheist friends forcing me to look for evidence for my belief. I did. And God used Philosophy to answer them. As I began to go more I depth into Philosophy, I joined the philosophy club to enjoy philosophical discussions with people who enjoy deep discussions on subject. It was great at first, but then it went a direction I didn’t want it to go. We began to discuss about religion.

    

     A couple of them went on an all out attack on Christianity, misquoting Scripture, taking them out of context, and they attacked strawman arguments. I knew the answers to some of their recycled arguments such as, the problem of evil. But instead of standing up and engaging them in dialogue, I just sat their quiet as a church mouse. I was afraid of how they would view me, or that they would refute my answers. I did not see it then, but I see it now. I was ashamed of God. I could have just not cared about their opinions of me, and allow that experience of being questioned to push me to seek answers for them, which would strengthen my faith. But no, I was ashamed to be considered a Christian. I need to repent, and seek His forgiveness, and have a closer relationship with Him so that it won’t happen again, so I can say boldly, “I’m a Christian.”

Application: I will pray for the Lord’s forgiveness for my sin.

Pocket Full Of Change For Your Soul

"Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul.” Mark 8:37

            As I sit in my room meditating on this verse, events and certain philosophies from my past piece together in my mind. I wrote them in a story format:

            I’ve just arrived at my house coming from my friends, had a couple of bluts, and bong hits. I’m high, but it’s wearing off. As I sit in my room thinking of the things said during the Bible study that I went to earlier today. Pondering on the message, I then smell the weed on my clothes. Conviction strikes at my heart. I’ve done something terribly wrong and my heart knows it. I begin to see the truth: Satan has a snare on my soul. I drop to my knees asking God to get my soul back for me. I begin to try to bargain with God: “God, if you deliver me from Satan I’ll give up weed.” I hear His response in my heart: “It’s not enough.” “What more do you want from me?” I reply. “Give me your life; follow Me, and I will give you more than your soul. I’ll make you a new creation. I’ll become your Father and your closest friend. Salvation you will receive.” My heart begins to leap with joy and tears run down my face as I say, "You can have it." The prodigal son has returned home to his Father.

Verse That Came to Mind: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do [them]. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God."-Ezekiel 36:26-28

            Application: I will commit to praying more and reading His Word today to draw closer to God.

Fool's Gold

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul.”- Mark 8:36

            I’m sitting at a bus stop, listening to music, waiting for the bus to arrive to take me to my job. As I sit waiting somewhat patiently. I sit and stare at the cars driving by. Then I spot a 2004 Subaru WRX STI. It had the classic blue color with goldish brown rims, small wing in the back, and a turbo in the engine. My eyes open wide. I say to myself, “I want that car!” But then it drives away along with my desire for it.

            A couple minutes later the bus arrives. I get on, pay the toll and sit in the back. As I wait for my stop a kid listening to music enters the bus and sits right beside me. Curious to what MP3 player he has I look at it. Unnoticed obviously. I’m in shock. He has the brand new iTouch with a 16gb of memory, duel processor, games, wi-fi. This thing has it all. “Oh, how I wish I had it.” Then the kid leaves, I’m guessing it’s his stop, or he just thought I was creepy. Either way he walks away, taking my desire for the iTouch with him. Then I realize something, I’m desiring things I have no need for. Just like a baby that cries for a toy and when given it, it plays with it for a while and then throws it and begins to cry for a different toy. Here I am being that baby, forgetting to be content with Christ. Knowing that He is the one that actually satisfies my desire that fills in the God-shaped hole in my heart that no woman or object could fill.

Application: Material things either breaks or becomes obsolete, so today I will put away my phone for the whole day to focus on God more.

Losing Your Life

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”-Mark 8:35

            We often believe that if we do good deeds we would be saved. Its not just non-believers that believe this even some Christians hold this view as well. Its as if they missed the verse in Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself; it is a gift from God, not of works, lest anyone boast” (Eph 2: 8-9). No amount of good deeds can save us from the infinite punishment for committing a crime (sin) toward an Infinite Being.

God knew this so He became that payment to pay price for our sins, so through faith in Jesus we are given the gift of grace, which stands for: God’s Redemption At Christ Expense. I need to remind myself that this walk with the Lord is not always about doing good deeds,  but to walk with the Lord.

Application: I will spend more time in the Word by doing devotions in the morning and at night today. I will also commit to finishing the Old Testament before I officially leave Potters Field Ministry.

Going With The Flow

“When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Mark 8:34

                                        

            Jesus said, “Whoever desires to come after Me…” at this moment everyone is saying, “I do Lord.” They’re eager to interrupt Him and respond to Him, but then they hear the rest of His speech, “…let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me.” And as soon as that anxiousness to answer Him arose, it died and withered away. Now the crowd begins to discuss with one another saying, “Is this man mad?” They don’t want to deny themselves.

See, the problem is our society driven on selfishness. You may say that there are some who seek the well being of others, meaning they deny themselves and this is true. But I believe majority of them seek something in return, whether it be a material thing, or praise. They still seek a selfish desire. Our society teaches us to follow our hearts desire, and at times that means steping on someone else to achieve it, but I refuse to go with the flow of society, I’m going against it.  I’m going to deny my fleshly desires and follow Jesus.

Application: I will fast to weaken my flesh and draw closer to God.

Be Free To Reign...

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,” Acts 2:45

            The people gave up their possessions, sold them, and split the profit with the Church. They didn’t want their material possessions to be their god, and they wanted to contribute to the Church. I myself, like them, own a few things.

           

I grew up in a home that was broken. My mother worked back braking hours to provide for the household. No, I don’t have a lot of clothes. I don’t have a lot of money. I don’t have a fancy car. I don’t have a house, but I do have a loving family. I have a good amount of clothes. I have enough money to get by, I have a car that gets me from point A to point B. I have a small apartment with my family that I’m happy to call my home.

           

Although I have little, I’m content. But this does not mean that I don’t have a false god reigning in my heart. I have bitterness and anger on the throne of my heart instead Jesus Christ. I see it now, and I will dethrone those emotions so my God can truly reign in my heart.

Application: I will pray and seek the Lord to help me get rid of the anger and bitterness in my heart. To resolve my issues I have through the Lord's strength.

The Body Is Missing A Toe.

“Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common” Acts 2:44

            I walk into a room. I see a great number of people gathering together. I say to myself, “Nothing strange about that.” But then I see the faces of the people. A joy radiates from them. I can’t figure out why they have this joy. Then I hear a man and women yell out, “Praise Jesus!” and “Glory to God!” I’m determined to find out why they are gathering, so I go up to the man and ask him, and he responds, “Gathering together as one body.” But I did not understand.

           

Still confused on why they are gathering. I go up to a woman and ask her, “Why are you gathering together?” With a smile on her face she replies, “Because we are here to fellowship and encourage one another and talk about Jesus Christ because He is our God; our all; our everything.” I begin to feel convicted. I too am a believer, but I’m afraid to join them, but I must not be afraid because Satan wants me to be out of the body of Christ. Satan wants me to feel alone, but in reality, I’m not. I’m with brothers and sisters in Christ who love the Lord and are here for me.

Application: I can’t be afraid to be close to my team, this family. When I have a struggle I need to come to a brother for prayer and encouragement. By doing that we draw closer as the body of Christ.

Ashamed of Christ...

“Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonder and signs were done through the Apostles.” Acts 2:43

            After the apostle Peter made an altar call for anyone to repent from their sin and receive redemption through Jesus Christ. Three thousand came up and accepted Jesus as their Savior. After they committed themselves to the Lord, they followed sound doctrine from the apostles, fellowshipped with one another, had communion, and were in prayer.

           

Then something amazing happened, “fear came upon every soul” (Acts 2:43). At first, that event doesn’t really sound amazing. In fact, its sounds terrifying, but its not. The word “fear” means to be in awe. The people were in awe by the signs and wonders the apostles were doing through Jesus Christ.

           

Today, it’s different. I do not have the ability to do signs and wonders to display to people to win them to Christ like the apostles. Some may see this as unfortunate, but I don’t because I can do something equivalent, if not, greater. I can share the redemption through Jesus Christ and how He saved me. I get to share how Jesus was beaten to the point that recognizing Him was difficult. How He was whipped, tearing His skin and flesh. How he carried the cross and was pierced to it. There He hung until His last breath was taken from Him.

At this point, many would much rather see miracles, but then I share the best part: Jesus rose from the dead three days later with trumpets roaring. Death could not hold him down.  After I share that, I get to tell them that what He endured was meant for us. Showing that we deserved death because of our sins, but He loved us so much that He would take our place on the cross and offer salvation through Him, that we may be able to enter heaven.

Yes, I get to share the Gospel, but in order to do that I have to actually share it. I can not be ashamed or afraid to share the Gospel..

Verse that came to mind: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”-Romans 1:16

Application: I cannot be ashamed or afraid to share the gospel. I have to be bold for the sake of the lost out in the word. I can prepare for this by strengthening my relationship with God through prayer and reading His word.

Prayer: first resource or last resort?

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayer.” Acts 2:42

            The early church stood strong in the doctrines written by the apostles who were inspired by the Holy Spirit.  They fellowshipped with one another. The church had partaken in communion, remembering what their Savior did on the cross. They even came together and prayed.

            Every individual followed this, not out of legalism, but out of generous love for the Lord. We are to follow this example, but unfortunately, I did not. I thought it was unnecessary to follow that example. I viewed it as a burden. See, I read the Bible, attended church to fellowship; took part in communion, but prayer was something I struggled with.

            I had routine for praying, which was only to pray before I went to bed. It became spiritual laziness and legalism. On occasion I would pray when I was dealing with problems. Sadly, it was my last resort instead of it being my first resource. I wouldn’t start my day in prayer to thank God for another day. The thought of praying to ask the Lord to help me be a servant and witness to my co-workers before I went to work never came to mind. Not even once did I think of praying for my mother and father when they went to work knowing that they worked long and exhausting hours.

            At one point my “right before bed” prayer became a formula of words. It had no meaning. There’s was no heart in it. I’ve come to realize that in order for me to be a man of God I also have to be a man who prays to have a closer relationship with my Savior. I have to…no, WANT to discipline myself to be a man who “pray[s] without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17).

Application: I will discipline myself to be in prayer because I Love God and I want a more intimate relationship with my Lord and Savior.

God is good!

Slowly, God is exposing certain things, and challenging me. He's breaking me, and watering me to be molded into the man He wants. Well, I'll keep this short because I have to do homework. I'm learning that God has always had a missionary heart since the Old Testament. I also finished my Inductive Bible Study class. Pastor Steve, the teacher, is amazing,. God is using him to really learn to get into the Word. He also showed how people get the wrong theology by taking verses out of context...really cool stuff. Well, I have to go now. God bless.

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