The Comfort in God

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”

Psalm 23:4 (NKJV)

When I think of God, I think of His power, love and sacrifice for us so that we can enjoy worshipping Him for eternity. I think of Him fighting my battles for me, weakening the enemy so I will be able to defend against his attacks. I vaguely remember reading this Psalm in class when I was in elementary school. Our project for the year was memorizing Psalm 23 and I loved reciting it becuase of the imagery. Everytime I read “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” and pictured going down a dark road with Satan ready for battle up ahead. All who strive to follow Christ and become His disciple are going down the narrow path that is difficult to stay on. It takes steadfastness and strength to not veer away from God’s path. Sin is trying to pull us off the path and Satan, the prowling lion, is stalking us for the perfect time to devour us. But we needn't worry because Christ has a rod to guide us and a staff to protect us from the beast. When we think of God's unrivaled power and might, we don't need to be scared or doubt because God is right behind us watching for the enemy and is ready to jump infront of us to protect us.

Although I know of my God's might, I am continually reminded of God's comfort. God is not just the Superlative King, but also is the Great Comforter. When we stray from the path, lose our battles with sin or leave our Shepherd and we fall down to our lows in faith, why do we sulk or turn to other imperfect humans when we can turn to the person who knows everything about us and knows exactly what we need to hear? I am going to pray to God the next time that I am in distressed and turn to God the first time to talk to Him as a friend who needs comfort and advice

Trusting God under fire

Deuteronomy 3:22

"You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you"
(NKJV)

When I read this, I first think of the song "and if our God is for us, then who can stand against us". We all have God on our side when we put Him as Lord of our lives. This is a truth that all of us know, but is often forgotten. I have had many times where I have been busy, had things that I needed to get done and have had things pop up that overwhelms and consumes me. I am reading through the Psalms of David right now and I read time and time again him turning to God. I, lately, have been convicted on turning to God matter the situation and depending on God with my everything. In this passage in Deuteronomy, Moses is promised that he should not fear his enemies that he will have to face to enter into the promise land because God is fighting for him. God is not only Moses aid and cheif tacticion, but is also his best warrior. If you were a king going into battle, would you listen to the advice of your best ally, the best strategist and your top warriors before you enter into the fight? I believe that we are all guilty of ignoring the council of our best before we go into battle and even when we are in battle, but we mustn't. God will protect us, grant us prosperity and lead us to victory; for even though it may seem that He is guiding us to the path of defeat, He is really guiding us toward the path of true victory in the war.
I am going to remember this by writing down a time that I was in one of my worst battles and how God led me to victory.

Restoration

Psalm 6:1-3

Psalms 6 begins with David pleading to God for compassion and grace from the punishment that he deserves. When I read this I thought of all the things that made God angry and who made Him angry. I looked at David, the Israelites, past kings and many more people who have provoked God's anger and all I could think to myself is how many times I have done those same things. I think of all the people that have lied, disobeyed and turned away from God and all the punishments that they received I deserve. For many of them, especially in the Old Testament, they received harsh but just punishment, and I deserve those punishments. Psalms 6:3 says "I am sick at heart", which is exactly how I felt. Many times in my life I have felt like someone who is just wearing a mask; someone who everyone sees one way but really is someone else. We live in cursed bodies on a cursed earth and we, ourselves, are undeserving of God and of reward, but Christ has rescued us from what we brought upon ourselves. He has purified us and restored us so we are worthy, through Christ, to live with God for eternity. I have been convicted by this and am going to apply this by asking Christ the next three days for restoration.

Depending Upon God

Psalm 4:3

“You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for Himself. The Lord will answer when I call to Him” (NLT)

God has called every one of us to Himself, but few will pursue that calling. Many will hear of it and choose to pursue their own calling instead of Christ’s and, although it is fun in the moment, are not rewarded for eternity but rather are punished. But we that have accepted God’s calling in our lives and are in pursuit have been appropriated for Christ. We are both set apart from punishment and are deemed fitting for His purpose of spreading the gospel and sharing His love.

As Christ’s disciples we encounter challenges and trials that we cannot beat. We are attacked and persecuted as we proclaim His name by both others and Satan to the point in which we cannot bear. But 1 Corinthians 10:13b seems to contradict that because it says “(God) will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand”. How can we both face temptations we cannot bear and have no temptation to be more than we can stand? It is simply because of this, we will face trails and temptations that we cannot face on our own, but we have a God we can depend on that is mightier than anything and everything else.

I am going to depend on God in times of trial and temptation by praying that Christ will make me more dependent on Him so when trials and temptations come my way I am already leaning upon God for support.

Acting Wisely

Proverbs 12:1

“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish” (KJV)

How many of us love to learn and become wiser? When I read over this verse, the beginning seemed pretty self explanatory. If you love instruction, then you love knowledge. But so many of us instead love knowledge and are critical of instruction. When I was going to college, many of my fellow classmates would disagreed with the professor’s way of teaching and, in turn, take the course more for the credit than for the knowledge. See, if we want to truly love the knowledge, then we need to love being instructed and open, regardless of the instructor. As a Christian, I am in pursuit of Christ and am trying to imitate whatever He does with my life, but I don’t always get it right. I have made many mistakes; so many that I don’t even know about all of them. This is why Christ encourages us to disciple one another with love. I, because I love the knowledge of God, need to love receiving instruction from others that Christ uses to correct me. The second half of this verse says “but he that hateth reproof is brutish”. If I hate reproof, or correction and rebuke, than I am committing a brutish act, or an act that is stupid and carnal.

I have been guilty of committing sins against a brother in Christ more times than I would like to admit and many times I have hated the rebuke and have just casted the rebuke aside. I am going to work on acting wisely and not carnally when accepting rebuke next time by praying to God in thanks and praise after I have been rebuked.

Becoming Wiser

Proverbs 9:9

“Instruct the wise, and they will become wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more” (NLT)

We need to be students of the Word. When I think of this, I think of a school setting. You go into a classroom, listen to a teaching, do your homework and turn it in; but this isn’t the case in our faith. See we are always learning, both inside and outside of the classroom. When I first started learning Spanish, I practiced in the classroom and did my homework, but I soon learned that it wasn’t enough. To learn a language you need to practice it whenever you can and, even though you will never become an expert at a language, you will grow. This is true with our faith. We can go to church and do our devotionals, but that won’t lead to us being disciples of Christ. We need to always be learning and practicing our faith and we will grow closer and closer to God.

“Instruct the wise, and they will become wiser”; why is this the case? The wise become only wiser because when they are instructed they know the importance of what you are teaching them. They act with discernment and properly judge everything they hear. The wise only become wiser because they filter out all the incorrect/unbeneficial knowledge and dwell on the truth. In the same way, when you teach the righteous “they will learn even more” because they know what is right and will only increase their knowledge of what is right.

To work on being a wise and righteous student of the Word, I am going to ask Austin about one thing I have heard on a message and see why it is the case.

Jesus Speaking

Mark 4:10-11

“Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant. He replied, ‘You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders” (NLT)

We are all called to be disciples of Christ, but for most of us only act the act. In other words, many of us are followers of Christ and not disciples. Followers of Christ follow for what they can gain, while disciples of Christ imitate for what they can lose for Christ’s sake. So are you a follower or a disciple?

I have always wondered what it would be like to live back in the day that Jesus walked on earth. I have wondered what He would look like, what the experiencing miracles is like and, most importantly, what His teachings were like. I would pursue Jesus wherever He went, but how much would I be willing to give up? Would I be willing to give up my job, my plans for my life, my independence and my world for Christ?

In this passage Jesus shares “the secret of the Kingdom of God” to “the twelve disciples and… the others who gathered around”. Regardless of how “devote” we are and regardless of our reasoning for pursuing Christ, we all should desire to be with Him and learn from Him. Through Him teaching us, He can reveal to us what living a life for Him looks like. In this day and age Jesus isn’t walking on the earth anymore, but through His Word He can speak to us.

I am going to work on becoming a disciple of Christ by reading in His word with a different viewpoint; one that is of a listener of His teaching and one that believes that His teachings are for me personally.

Luke 2:46

“Three days later they finally discovered Him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions” (NLT)

Jesus’s parents at this time were looking for their twelve year old son for three days before they finally found Him. When they found Him, Mary said “son… why have You done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere”. I know personally I have searched for Christ frantically, looking for Him both high and low. I would speed read through the Bible, pray desperately and seek for Him. I would have temptations and enemies come my way, and I would cry out to God “where are You”. I can imagine Mary and Joseph being desperate as they comb through the crowds for their son; the Son of God that they have been entrusted to protect; but just as Jesus’s parents found Him, so we will find God if we are willing to seek. Think of it this way, if you were playing a game of “hide-and-seek” and the hider told you where he was, gave you a map showing how to get there and left a helper to guide you, would you give up? No one would because everyone knows how to find the hider. Many would argue that at this point the hider isn’t hiding, but rather is waiting for the seeker to pursue and discover him. For so many believe this is the case in their Christian walk. Once they have been born again in Christ, then they begin our game of “hide-and-seek”. Now there are many holes within this analogy, but the theme is true; God is waiting for us to seek Him. As we seek God, through being a student of the Word and a servant for Christ, He shows us the Way.

I am going to apply this passage to my life by seeking Christ through reading His Word and writing out five things that He has revealed to me.

Purification

2 Timothy 2:2

“And the things you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (NKJV)

Since I have been a part of the IGNITE program I have learned so much. I am leaving this week from the training segment in Guatemala and am going to be leaving for the mission segment in Uganda in a couple of weeks. God has shown me many things, but as He has shown me things He has revealed many things to others. Whether it is through His Scripture, through prayer, through worship or through others Christ is continuously teaching and we are all continuously learning; but as we learn we are commanded to help others. Many times what God is showing you He is teaching others. Sometimes God is showing you what someone needs to hear and other times God is speaking and discipling you personally. Either way, God has entrusted us with the “Secrets of Heaven” and we need to honor His teachings by sharing them. We need to be “faithful men”; proving our faithfulness by coming alongside other believers and encouraging them. If we share what God is revealing to us, then we are praising God and improving faith; our faith, others faith or both of our faiths. Now when we are called to teach others we need to make sure that we are teaching Christ and are teaching through Christ. When we share God’s pure truth we can’t use our cursed bodies, full of deception and evil, to proclaim truth; for it will only pervert it. We need to share God’s pure truth by relying on the Spirit to both purify us as we proclaim God and purify the message we teach, so that the message will include none of us and only God.

I am going to make sure that my discipleship and advice is pure and true by praying for God to fill and use me before I teach others God’s message.

Running Steadfasty

I Corinthians 9:24-27

“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I disciplined my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified” (NLT)

Our “walk” in faith is a lot like being an athlete that is running a race. An athlete is disciplined in his training because they all have realized the more effort they put into training the greater they will achieve in the race. In life we all are running a race and it is a very confusing and complex race because each of us have a different starting place and don’t know when we will finish. I like to think of it like this, we all are running this race, starting in different spots, and we all have a compass (the Word of God) to direct us through the paths toward our finish lines. We each don’t know how much farther our race is, for our only job is to run with endurance towards the finish line with endurance. As we run this race, we can help others read their compasses by running alongside them and talking with them but ultimately we are responsible for our own races. Paul encourages us to run our race in faith with discipline so we can win the “eternal prize” of everlasting life.

This really has been challenging me in my faith. I know that I run races like the hair (in the tortoise and the hair fable) and go through seasons of sprinting and then seasons of napping. I also comfort myself in the times when I am asleep by helping others, which gives me the illusion that I am moving forward in my race when I truly am not. I am going to begin to learn how to run my race with discipline and endurance by writing down this verse and putting it in my Bible as a reminder to be aware and pray to God.

Discipline Even When Your Tired

Mark 1:35

“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (NKJV)

We need to take control of our own walks. Many people say “I’ll do it tomorrow”, but then that tomorrow never comes. Others say “I just am not feeling it today” and “I’ll do it when I feel ready”, but they never act in their faith because of their delaying. Faith is not feeling based, nor is it a school assignment that we procrastinate; it is action. For how do we know that someone has faith if they aren’t expressing it? Is that faith then even faith? One of the best ways to know how to live a life of faith is to look at what Jesus, God in flesh, did and learn through His example. In Mark 1 Jesus has been busy teaching and performing miracles until sunset. He must have been extraordinarily tired both physically from the journey and exhausted spiritually from all the pouring out. So when Jesus rose “a long while before daylight”  and prayed, I don’t think He “felt ready” and He most likely felt it would be easy to “do it tomorrow”; yet He didn’t. Jesus simply rises, goes to a quiet place alone and prays to God. We need to have this kind of discipline in our faith: the kind that is disciplined and steadfast, regardless of what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. I have been learning a lot lately that our faith in Christ is lived out day by day. We don’t need to worry about tomorrow or regret yesterday; we just need to live out today for Christ in every moment. We need to everyday come to God in devotion and hear His voice to know the direction He wants to take us.

I am going to apply this verse by praying that God will show me His direction for me today.

Don't Exercise by Routine

I Timothy 4:8

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come” (NLT)

When I first read this I thought of all the people who go exercising every morning. They wake up early every morning to work out for hours, most of which do even before their first bite to eat and before their first cup of coffee. I look at these people with respect because it takes most of them discipline to first role out of bed when they could easily hit the snooze button and take the day off saying, “I’ll make up for it tomorrow”.

Exercises has a lot of benefits, and I encourage you try it, but “training for godliness is much better”. This is because when one studies, and puts into practice, Scripture God will bless them here on earth for their loyalty and servitude as well as reward them for their diligent work. Now Timothy doesn’t tell us to read for godliness, but rather to train for godliness. Just as an exercise nut wakes up with the purpose of training and exercising, so should we wake up with the purpose of training in God’s Word. Training isn’t easy because it requires discipline to continually participate in, and be all in to, the activity. We also can’t let our training in the Scripture become a regimen; for as all star athletes change up their routine so it is more impactful, so we also should switch up the regimen so we won’t be stuck in the pit of regimen.

I personally struggle with my faith becoming a regimen, so to prevent this from happening I am going to have my devotionals in another place and change up my pattern of how I begin my morning.

Serving Without Needing to Know

John 15:15

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have to call you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (NKJV)

Wow. I have thought of myself as a servant who needs to serve his Master, which I do, but I never thought of myself as a friend. What are the best qualities of a friend? What are the best qualities of a master? When I ponder on these questions it seems more and more apparent that Christ is a friend more than a master. A master rules over His servants, commands them and deserves their respect no matter what his plans are. A master sees a need and has a vision, which he commands his servants to complete it task by task without showing them his plans. A friend, on the other hand, comforts you, loves you, cares about you, fellowships with you and serves you. Christ didn’t come to earth “to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28) out of love as a friends have compassion for one another and help one another.

We need to remember that although Christ calls us friends we still need to serve Him. A true, covenantal, friendship involves serving one another out of love. We aren’t supposed to obey as mindless servants that are loyal to their master, but rather as a wife obeys her husband because she loves him.

We need to remember Christ’s reasoning behind calling us friends. He did not say that we are friends because we don’t need to serve. He did not say that we are His friends because we have earned it. Christ said we are His friends and not His servants because He has revealed to us what God has shown Him. In other words, we are solely not considered Christ’s servants because He has shown us His plan, shows us how others are working and shows us how we can help to complete His vision.

To not just serve God, but to begin to understand how to serve God out of love I am going to do the next kitchen cleanup with a loving heart that is there to serve a fellow friend.

Being a Servant on the Off Hours

Luke 17:7-10

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink. Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded of him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you were commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” (NKJV)

When I read these verses, I feel a sense of conviction. I have been working on putting servant hood into practice for the last month and a half, doing whatever I can and everything I am asked. I have been working on serving not only in the motions, but with the heart of serving. I have also been working on worshipping God with my service and have thought that I had figured out service and being a servant. But I now realize that there is no “figuring it out”; for being a hardworking, selfless, servant is only achieved through Christ living inside of us and pouring out.

We are all servants working in the field (both needing to faithfully work avidly for Christ as well as work on the mission field). We have our own battles we need to fight and have people we are called to minister to. Most of us Christians have realized this and are serving, while others need to begin, but I believe we are all guilty of being unfaithful servants. I have heard from many sources that the number one reason why missionaries leave mission fields is because of other missionaries. Potter’s Field Ministries has many missionaries in the world preaching the gospel and has a lot of experience in this topic. They say that one problem that all missionaries need to fight through is being a servant both on and off the mission field. In other words, many missionaries can serve God faithfully throughout the day, but when they come home at night they leave their servant hood at the doorstep and are selfish slobs in their house. They were faithful in the field, but then refused to serve when they came home. A servant who serves faithfully in the field, but then refuses to serve his Master is just as bad as the servant who is lazy in the field and refuses to serve his Master; for they are equally failures. Just as we need to have Christ flow into us for us to pour out, so we need to be a servant behind closed doors to be a true servant on the field.

To exemplify what I have learned I am going to pray for a heart of servant hood

Christ's Mighty Power

Philippians 3:10

“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death” (NLT)

Who wants to experience the “mighty power” of Christ? If that were asked in a church, I bet that almost everyone’s hands would be raised in the congregation. When you think of the power of Christ, you think of His miracles. I first think of Jesus casting out demons into swine, walking on water, calming the wind and the waves, healing the sick and wounded, raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus raising from the dead and Jesus rising up into Heaven. I want that power, but how do I get it? See Paul doesn’t just say he desires this power, but he also desires to “suffer with Him” and share “in His death”. We can only gain this power through death of self by crucifixion. This is a painfully slow process that is never complete until our time on earth is complete. But with that said, the process of death of self is the most rewarding process; for the more you die to self, the more you are filled with Christ and are filled with His power.

Yeah, when it is put this way it seems like a hard but rewarding objective, yet it is easier said than done. For me personally, I struggle with growth in Christ because I struggle with death of self. Before this training program I refused to give certain luxuries I had, but I eventually did and am now in Antigua, Guatemala where I have a set schedule, have no T.V., eat chicken and rice every meal (except breakfast, which is eggs) and I have none of my pleasures that I indulged in at home. Now being here I have learned that with sacrifice of self there is exponential gain, but there are still times where I grudgingly give them to God instead of wanting to do it; for it is important for you to do an act, but for an act to be valued by God you need to do it with the right heart). It is not easy to become willing to die to self, but I pray for all Christians that we may get to a place in our lives where we will yearn for death of self and through that yearning be given life.

To gain a desire to die of self and through that gain Christ’s power, I am going to pray for a yearning for Him to fill me.

Being One with God

Philippians 3:9

“and become one with Him. I no longer count on my righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith” (NLT)

How can we become one with God? What does being one with God mean? Is it something we should strive for? When I first think of being one with God, I think of stacking Legos to build a tower. I thought that being one with God means to be a part of God, which is a giant system of parts that make up Him. But this is all wrong thinking; for God does not depend on us, but rather we depend on God. So what is another way of looking at being one with God? My mind then immediately thought of our sins and how we, because of our transgressions, deserve death for not obeying God. God is perfect and sinless, and because we have sinned we are not even with Him. We aren’t one with His purity and are separated from Him. We become one with God is by following His path to Himself. “God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith” and is not based on our “righteousness through obeying the law”. Many people fall away from the Christian faith or don’t join it because they don’t understand how going to Heaven does not depend on works. Many believe if they are inherently good that they will be saved, while others believe they need to punish themselves for their sins and that is how they can “become even” with their God; but these are both wrong philosophies. We simply go to Heaven soley through our faith; “through faith in Christ” and through faith in God.

I am going to apply this verse by writing 5 things that I need to give to Christ in faith so I can be even closer to becoming one with Him.

Worthlessness Compared to Infinitude

Philippians 3:8

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” (NLT)

When I read Scripture like this all I can say is “Amen”. Everything on this earth is temporary and is worthless when compared with God’s infinitude and His grace in allowing us to partake in eternity with Him. We need to cast every desire aside to follow Christ and be willing to cast aside anything we “have” on this earth to follow Him. We are all called to be disciples of Christ; which means we need to play “follow the leader” with Him. We need to walk where He walks and do what He does; so we need to be willing to go where He directs and act in boldness with the things He tells us through the Spirit.

I believe that this is very true, as do many Christians, but I don’t always act with this in mind. I have had the Holy Spirit tell me what God wants me to do, but I chose not to do it because I wanted to keep my pride. Other times I have refused to do what God is telling me because I am not willing to give it up. If only I took a step back before I refused Him and thought to myself “Is this worth hurting my relationship with Jesus Christ; the One who gave His everything for me”. I need to count everything as temporary and be willing to get rid of anything and everything so that way I can gain Christ.

To put into practice counting all worthless when compared with God’s infinitude, I am going to dwell on the temporary versus God’s everlastingness in writing.

Serving As The Least

Matthew 20:26-28

“Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many ” (NKJV)

We all at one point in time desired to be great. We all have wondered what it would be like to become a king or become the manager at our jobs. Our community is centered on working up the ladder, but also is heavily engrossed in entitlement. We both desire that we should be at the top of the ladder as well as feel like we deserve better. We feel entitled because we believe that, because we are giving someone our hard earned money, they need to treat us like kings. But this is not what Christ has taught us. Christ is the “King of kings” and “Lord of lords”. Christ is the greatest person to walk on this earth, yet he didn’t live as a king or asked to be served. Christ came to serve us. We all are Christians who are striving to be true Christ-followers, so we need to walk like Christ walked and serve like Christ served. If we really do desire to become great, then we need to serve like Christ served; for “desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave”. Now maybe not all of us want to be kings and want to instead live the mainstream life in Heaven, which is fine; but if we make that decision and want to be served on earth rather than serving then we need to be careful. Although this is not a sin, it is the easiest way to gain pride which is the root of evil.

To try to become the least and live how Christ did I am going to read a chapter of the gospels where Christ has served others and take notes on how He did it and the heart He had behind it.

Serving as One Part

1 Corinthians 12:14

 “For in fact the body is not one member but many” (NKJV)

As the body of Christ, we need to be unified and dependent on one another just last a human body. The human body is made up of individual parts that all make up one “whole” body. Every part has its own function and its own special role that it was created specifically for. In a human body, when one parts begins to fail the others work twice as hard so the body can continue to function and, hopefully, overcome. Our church needs to be just like this. We need to accept our function, recognize our role we have been specially made for, work without complaining when someone can’t fulfill their role and overcome the problems. But just as a body fails and needs a doctor to take care of it and guide it, so we need our Doctor to heal us, keep us upright and guide us.

When I think of this analogy, my mind goes back to when one of my friends got diagnosed with Leukemia Cancer. His body was as healthy as could be because he was young, exercising most days and was eating healthy. When he would get sick or would break a bone, he went and saw a doctor that was able to nurse him back to health. But then Cancer came; a sickness that he couldn’t overcome on his own. Leukemia Cancer isn’t just an ordinary illness, it is lethal because your own body is attacking itself. His white blood cells, the very ones that were suppose to protect him, became mutated and were destroying him from the inside out. This is what Satan is trying to do with the church. If he is able to turn the body of Christ against one another, then he will be able to sect off the church and attack the more susceptible Christians. A unified church body is impervious to Satan’s attacks, but when it becomes a house divided and weak in God then Satan can cause unimaginable destruction.

To become more unified with my church body, I am going to pick the role that nobody else wants to do during servant time and do it without complaining and do it without any mention of the other roles others have.

Serving For Others

Romans 15:1

 “We then who are strong ought to bear with scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (NKJV)

“We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves” (NLT)

“We who are strong” is talking not just about “strong” Christians, but all Christians. How do we know this? When I think of weakness, it brings me back to when I played soccer. We would have this drill called “a gut” where we would have to sprint around a square and every corner we had to do push-ups, sit-ups, five stars or burpies. For the first 8 laps (a quarter gut) we would joke around and encourage one another; our spirits were high and there were smiles on our faces. Once we got to 16 laps (a half gut), the jokes were very little and we only talked when it was important; for every breath counted. We finished the “gut” breathless with tears of frustration and determination in our eyes. We would crumple at the finish line, crawl over to our water bottles and chug. How does this relate? I think us in our flesh is just like when we finish the “gut”. We are selfish, weak in both body and mind, self-centered and a little bit sad/bitter. We are weak and many can’t see passed their own weakness. Everyone in this world is born into their fleshly sins. We have all “fallen short of the glory of God”, but we are offered salvation and strength through Christ. Through Christ we are strong and have resilience. We are strong, yet need to be sensitive about the things that take away from other’s strength, that way we can proclaim the Gospel and help strengthen our brothers and sisters.

To be sensitive to what makes others weak and help build strength, I am going to ask my roommate Roaren what in my daily routine I can change because it isn’t building him up.

Serving by Following

John 12:26

“If anyone serves me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor” (NKJV)

We all, as Christians, desire to serve Christ. We accept Jesus in our hearts, ask Him to cleanse our hearts and then live a life honoring Him. We go to church and read our bible and so are Christians, right? We ask Christ for permission with the big steps in our life and live a “good” life; for if Christ disagrees with us, then He will condemn us and we will listen. No. This is all backwards thinking because we need to live a life for Christ and not for ourselves. I like to think of it is this way, the best way to lie is to tell as much truth as you can inside of the lie. We can either be a servant of Christ or a slave to sin. Satan, the “head” of sin, deceives us with these lies by putting as much truth into them as he can. We do need to accept Jesus, have Him cleanse us and live a life honoring to Him but we aren’t honoring Him how He wants us to. We aren’t supposed to live a “good” life and wait for condemnation, but rather need to live a life of honoring Him through servitude. I grew up in the church and lived a life as a “good” Christian. Everybody looked at me and thought that I was living a life as God’s child; and I was. But now I realize that we need to live a life more than God’s children, but as God’s servants. As a child, you need to submit to authority and obey, but it is a relationship that can be full of rebellion and doing things with the wrong heart. When a child grows up, they gain more and more freedom until they reach the point to where they are independent from their parents. We need to remember that we are, and act like we are, children of God, but need to serve Him all our life. We need to live a life of humility under God and learn to listen to His voice so we can serve Him with all that He desires and be where God is moving.

To work on servant hood, I am going to find five passages in the Bible that show examples of being a servant.

Serving always

Luke 17:7-10

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink. Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded of him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you were commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” (NKJV)

When I read these verses, I feel a sense of conviction. I have been working on putting servant hood into practice for the last month and a half, doing whatever I can and everything I am asked. I have been working on serving not only in the motions, but with the heart of serving. I have also been working on worshipping God with my service and have thought that I had figured out service and being a servant. But I now realize that there is no “figuring it out”; for being a hardworking, selfless, servant is only achieved through Christ living inside of us and pouring out.

We are all servants working in the field (both needing to faithfully work avidly for Christ as well as work on the mission field). We have our own battles we need to fight and have people we are called to minister to. Most of us Christians have realized this and are serving, while others need to begin, but I believe we are all guilty of being unfaithful servants. I have heard from many sources that the number one reason why missionaries leave mission fields is because of other missionaries. Potter’s Field Ministries has many missionaries in the world preaching the gospel and has a lot of experience in this topic. They say that one problem that all missionaries need to fight through is being a servant both on and off the mission field. In other words, many missionaries can serve God faithfully throughout the day, but when they come home at night they leave their servant hood at the doorstep and are selfish slobs in their house. They were faithful in the field, but then refused to serve when they came home. A servant who serves faithfully in the field, but then refuses to serve his Master is just as bad as the servant who is lazy in the field and refuses to serve his Master; for they are equally failures. Just as we need to have Christ flow into us for us to pour out, so we need to be a servant behind closed doors to be a true servant on the field.

To exemplify what I have learned I am going to pray for a heart of servant hood

Serving in Our Freedom

Galatians 5:13

 “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love” (NLT)

We, as Christians, have two types of freedom; the freedom from our chains and the freedom of choice. We are free from our chains because of Christ, yet many times we pick up and chain ourselves back to our sin because we have the freedom to do so. We are “called to live in freedom” in Christ but our freedom of choice allows us to stray away from God’s plan and calling in our lives.

I grew up in a church family and am a pastor’s kid. I grew up going to church on Sundays and going to youth group on Wednesdays. I knew about God’s freedom that He had for men and had accepted it many times, but would give it up. In other words, I would give up everything and become free in Christ on Sundays and Wednesdays, but then would turn back to pleasing my flesh on the other five days of the week. I thought I was free in Christ because I was a “good Christian” that went to church more than the average person and gave Him my everything when I went, but I was all wrong. You see, I had freedom in Christ but I wasn’t honoring Him in my freedom of choice. I wouldn’t do anything considered “bad” but I used my freedom to “satisfy (my) sinful nature”.

We are commanded to love another various times throughout the Bible, but Paul here takes it a step further by saying “use your freedom to serve one another in love”. It is achievable for us to love one another by looking at everyone in a good light, but it is difficult to use our freedom to do so. On our free time we so often please our flesh and not serve one another out of love.

Today I am going to use my freedom to serve Julio during my free time to put what I’ve learned into practice.

Submitting as Christ has Called Us

Ephesians 5:21-23

 “submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body” (NKJV)

God has appointed men as head of the household and “head of the wife”. In today’s day of “freedoms” and “equal rights”, many would argue that it should be a co-dominate household. God hasn’t created us to be co-leaders, but rather partners that are equally dependent on each other with equally important roles. God created men and women to be judged individually, but to aid each other throughout life. God has appointed men the role of leading his household for which he is responsible, while He has appointed women the role of nurturing both new life and their husband’s life and encourage them through times of trouble.

Jesus Christ is the head of the church just like men are the “head of the wife”. God should be the leader within our church as the head of the “household”. God is not only worthy of this role because He has Created us and is a superlative leader, but also because He is our Savior that has given us salvation. God should not only fulfill the role of a man in our lives, but also the role as a woman; for we are both made in the image of God. We need to allow God to lead and rule in our lives as the uncontestable authority and also allow Him to nurture and encourage us. So we really need to be a child in faith that obeys his father and runs to his mother in times of need.

To apply this, I am going to write down three ways of how God is a father and three ways of how God is a mother and then I am going to pray that I will turn to Him as a father and then as a mother.

Meeting Them at Where They're

1 Corinthians 9:22

 “to the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (NKJV)

We need to all be on a mission to save. In this world “all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:14) and we know this, but do we live like this? Many of us Christians believe in Christian Capitalism (Christianity in the sense that we all go to church and sustain a family, but that is all we do in our faith) rather than Christian Mission. When I think of living on mission for Christ, I think of Paul the author of Corinthians as well as a large amount of the New Testament. Paul dedicated his life for Christ and went through all kinds of suffering yet encouraged the church all the while; even up until he was martyred.

How can I live like Paul and become as radical as him in Christ? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:19 “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more”. For me to become an evangelist for Christ I need to first serve God; for “I am free from all men”. Once I am a servant of Christ I need to “become weak, that I might win the weak”.  Another word for the word weak is strength less. We need to be strength less in our own desires, mind and will in order for us to serve Christ and, in turn, serve others. We need to be strength less and not stubborn in our walk with Christ and from this we become desire less to our will; because it is God’s will. I need to serve men however they want me to and “become all things to all men” because through this “I might by all things save some”.

To  become weak in my own desires and “become all things to all men”, I am going to help whenever I hear that someone needs it and then praise God for the opportunity.

The Joy of Being Under Authority

Hebrews 13:17

“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (NKJV)

We need to be obedient to our authority. This is such a simple statement, but is very difficult to do. In our relationships with God we know that we are responsible for our own faith and our personal faith is what determines whether or not we get to enjoy eternity with God. We, as believers, are a group of individuals all helping each other towards Christ; but so many times we are just individuals. When we think that our soul has priority over others’ souls, then we begin to live the life of a selfish Christian; for they have knowledge of the Bible and are not sharing what they learn, therefore, only are helping themselves. All of us have authority in our lives who have been called by God to reign over us, and they have stepped up to their calling. We, in turn, need to following God’s calling in our lives, which is that we obey this authority. Many times we think that we are the only ones who are responsible for our faith, but this is not true. We are the ones that dictate which master we serve, but God puts leaders in our lives who “watch out for (our) souls”. They give an account for their soul and those they had the responsibility of being an authority over. So we need to let them be a leader over our lives and be content in that. It is a joy to have authority in our lives because they are another security for us on our walk of faith.

To be glad that I have authority, I am going to tell my leader how much of a joy it is to have them as authority.

Obeying Not Rebelling

Ephesians 6:1

Colossians 3:20

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right”

“Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord” (NKJV)

All of us go through a rebellious stage of life; whether we want to admit it or not is another story, but we all have struggled with obedience. I grew up as a pastor’s kid and whenever I would get into an argument with my parents I would hear that God wants us to obey our parents and He punishes the rebellious. Most of the time I would leave an argument and I would get sassy or would stomp away because I was annoyed with always getting “Bible slapped”. I would always go to my room afterwards and know that what I did was wrong, but was so irritated because I “knew” I was right and they wouldn’t crown me victor. I love to win and strongly dislike losses, but what is even worse is when you win and they don’t admit it. That is how I felt with our arguments and instead of me realizing the sin of arguing with my God ordained parents I became more and more hard pressed to win. I would tell myself that I will stop arguing and gladly lose a war when my parents will admit they have lost one battle. For a long time in my life I was so addicted to the idea of winning that I stopped thinking, or caring, if I was pleasing God. I didn’t care about what was right or wrong if I felt like it was justifiable, I just wanted victory. The root of the issue was not me being rebellious. My issue was putting my pride first before others and, in turn, before God. So when we get into arguments with our parents, because we are destined to no matter what age we are, we need to take a moment and read these commandments. We need to allow God to humble us and show us our faults; for we need “Bible slaps” to keep us from veering off the path.

To make sure I stay humble with my parents, I am going to apologize for how I acted in the past and break down any pride that I have built up.

The Heirarchy of Obedience

Acts 5:29

“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, ‘We ought to obey God rather than men” (NKJV)

What we obey makes who we are. When we are primarily obedient to the things of man, then we become sinful because we fall into the ways of this world, but when we are truly obedient to God and follow His will, then we glorify Him. God commands us to love Him, which in turn means we should obey Him. When a husband loves their wife, he will do whatever she asks of him out of love. With this same love that obeys we should serve God.

When Christ was asked what the greatest commandment was, He answered and said “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and all your mind’… And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. This is our order of hierarchy of love and obedience. We first need to obey God through the love we have for Him, then we can love others and obey them. If we are asked to obey God or men, we are commanded to obey God; for we need to ‘obey God rather than men’.

I love the Lord with all my heart, but I don’t always obey Him. Sometimes I have even only obeyed God out of fear and not wanting to be punished. God is all powerful and entirely independent, but we should not get caught up in that type of thinking. We, as trees, need to be deeply rooted in God’s love; for this is what allows us to stay upright in hard times. Through this over abundant love we shall obey God and then obey men.

To work on being obedient, today whenever I am asked to do something and be obedient, I am going to pray to God first for His love and then pray a prayer of love for the person who asked me to complete the task.

Christ's Obedience

Hebrews 5:8

“though He was a son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (NKJV)

Growing up, I was a rebellious child. I would get mad at my parents for having to do various tasks and question them on why I needed to do them at that moment. When I think of obedience, I don’t think of whether or not you have completed the task but rather how well you completed it and how did you obey. Christ not only obeyed His Father by living a sinless life and being crucified on the cross, but Christ also did it without complaining. For me personally, I would complete the task and get it done well, but I would question my parents, drag my feet and then complain later.

When I came to the Ignite program one of the first lectures we had was on obedience to authority. The Pastor said to us that we all truly hate authority being put over us; not in the sense that we hate the people, but in the sense that we hate not having freedom. All of us want to be self sufficient, praised and have the freedom to do whatever whenever without being questioned. This is because we live in corrupt bodies with selfish desires of self preservation and being like God. Many people, including me, have struggled and have rebelled against authority and many more have just wanted to lead their own lives. I have thought that life will get easier and simpler when I move out and pursue life on my own with nobody telling me that I need to do my chores. I thought it would be easier when I lead my own life and become a leader because then I won’t have to be steered by someone else and can instead steer my own life; but that was very wrong logic. My Pastor taught me that all hate authority, but even when we are authority we still have authority. We are really all playing a game of follow the leader; first it is God, then it is authority and lastly it is us.

To learn truly how to be a follower and be obedient, today I am going to ask my leader what the best traits for obedience are and how do we start pursuing these traits.

Being Slaves

Romans 6:16

“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (NKJV)

We all think that we are free because we have free will. I live in the country of the free where I can legally do almost anything from owning firearms to smoking marijuana. I can choose both to do good or do harm to both myself and to others. Although our actions all have consequences, either good or bad, we have the capability to do whatever we want.

But sadly this is not true. We have choice, but our choice isn’t about freedom; for it is the opposite. We have the choice of whether we want to be a slave to sin or a servant of God. In sin we have the illusion of being free, but really are only serving the master of sin (who is also under this same illusion). Our other option is to lay down all our pride and desires, obey and serve God. This makes us feel like we give up all our freedom, but really we are gaining a greater freedom that Christ grants us because of our love and faithful obedience to Him.

These are our two masters that we have the choice of obeying. We either obey one or the other; for there is no in between. We are not capable of serving neither and we cannot serve both. If we are under the illusion that we are not serving either or are faithfully serving both then we are really only giving into the desires of the master of sin. If we choose to serve the master of sin, then we unknowingly are a slave to him and are serving him whole heartedly. If we choose to serve God, then we need to knowingly serve Him and serve Him whole heartedly.

To whole heartedly serve and obey God, I am going to write down a prayer that will both be recommitment to Him and asking of His will.

Being Content in the World

Hebrews 13:5

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’.” (NKJV)

I believe that we all have covetous hearts. We all have this unquenchable desire for worldly things. I personally believe I am a content person with what I have, yet I will admit that I still covet. Even though I have a phone that is 3 years old and a computer that is 4 and am happy with them, I still want the newest and greatest things. This want is not sin, but when I see someone else with what I have been want, then I covet and sin. Being content is so difficult in this world of constant need and measuring up to society. We need to live in the world, but not of the world. I think back to the Israelites who were set apart from society. The Israelites needed to be circumcised, could only eat certain foods and had a ritual they had to follow to worship. The Israelites lived in a world full of sin and evil but not living for the world (when they were following God’s will).

So how do we live in the world, yet not for the world? How do we live in this world but not fall victim under its desires and values? This verse says “be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you”. Living separate from the world’s desires and values is difficult, but we can live apart with God’s help. If we believe that God has everything and we have nothing of value, then why would we ever desire more? God will never leave us nor forsake us. He is always there to help us when we are in need. He also has the best plan for us here and eternity waiting for us. So instead of being focused on living apart from the world, we just need to focus on God and He’ll help us with the rest. I am going to work on focusing on God by praying to God every hour that I am awake today.

The Secret to Contentment

Philippians 4:11

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” (NKJV)

Being content is seemingly impossible. Being content in all circumstances is impossible for us. We live in earthly bodies that are needy. Our bodies need food, water, sleep, relationships with other people and shelter. We need at least one meal, three cups of water, family and friends, four hours of sleep and a shelter to keep us from the elements. I think of eating ten times a day, think of drinking fifteen times a day, think of shelter at least five times a day and think of relationships and sleep all day long. Many people in this world go through many months of this thought pattern, yet they don’t think of God once. I am guilty of thinking of God once during my devotions and then forgetting about Him until the next day. Which is more important for you, God or survival? Let me rephrase this; which is more important for you, eternal life with the everlasting, unconditionally loving and all present God or your temporary desires that only lasts for a fraction of time in a temporary world that will perish?

Let me take a step back for a moment. It is not wrong to think of the essential needs for our bodies, but we should prioritize our thoughts; for thoughts turn into words, and words into actions, and actions into character, and character into desires, which these desires ultimately decide if we accept God or not. If we are having trouble focusing on God and being content in our normal state of thinking then how much harder will it be to focus on Him in times of tribulation? Paul says in his letter to the church of Philippi that he has learned that in whatever state he is in, he is content. So what is the secret to contentment? We are so unsatisfied in this world because we put our happiness and contentment in temporary things that fall victim to time. In order to be satisfied and content we need to put our happiness and contentment in God. He is all powerful and everlasting. He also will continually bless those who believe in, and obey, Him.

I am going to begin to put my desires and happiness in God by making a list of 15 things that I desire and secretly think will make me happy and will give them to God.

Being Content Every Hour

Psalm 17:15

“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness” (NKJV)

I’ll be honest, when I wake up in the morning I don’t feel satisfied. I am a night person and around 10 pm is my prime time. I usually eat dinner and seek the Lord at that time and am satisfied then. I am satisfied in the Lord because I know that He is my God that I am depending on, but I am only depending on Him after lunch. I wake up with a morning fog that lasts up till lunch and before then I am just wandering around clueless. I do my morning routine, but I don’t think about any of it; for it is just done out of habit. We all need to depend on God all the time. We should all need God every waking hour of the day. I think that if God asked me why I didn’t fully depend on Him, morning fog would be a very lame excuse.

If I know that I need to wake up content in Him, then why can’t I get myself to? When my alarm goes off, I wake up in a groan. I am not satisfied because I want to sleep more. I have tried to get up with a smile on my face, but I can only keep up the act for a couple of weeks before I give it up. I now realize that God doesn’t ask us to always be satisfied, He asks us to walk in the ways of the righteous and strive for Him. I have it all backwards. Instead of striving to be satisfied, I need to strive for Him. The less of me and the more of God in my life, the more content I will be; for God is our contentment and only with Him are we truly satisfied.

I am going to strive to become satisfied by reading 10 passages on how God is all we need.

Contentment Through Our Identity

Luke 3:14

“Likewise the soldier asked him, saying, ‘And what shall we do?’ So he said to them, ‘Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” (NKJV)

How many of us want the newest, top of the line, stuff? Our culture is centered on getting the best of the best. Many times I have thought to myself, “If only I have… then I will be happy”. We build our identity upon how much we have and what we still need. We cause strife with one another because we compare and covet. If we have a false sense of identity and hope, then we will never be content. When we place our hope in wealth and possessions, we turn to violence out of jealousy and even accuse falsely for our gain. This is why we should put our identity and hope in God.

I have put my hope in God, but I still find myself becoming jealous and covetous towards others. 1 Timothy 6:10 says “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows”. I now realize that the reason I am greedy, jealous and covetous is because, even though I believe in God, I am still dependent on money. My dependence on money is causing my mind to turn to the sin of things of this world.

I need to give up my dependency on money and self provision so I can become dependent on God. To do this I am going to stop looking for the money I am missing, for everything is done to further His Kingdom, and I am going to pray for God to shift my perspective of money from a means of survival to a ministry tool that is solely for glorifying Him.

Contentment in the Chaos

1 Timothy 6:6-8

“Now Godliness and contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (NKJV)

“Yet true Godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content” (NLT)

We all believe that when we are in need, God provides. Why is it then that we are so uneasy, stressed and worried when we know that God provides? Even in times of temptation Jesus says that there is no temptation that God would allow that is too great to handle. I have had many times when I have been stressed. At one point in time I was working half time, school full time, was taking the SAT, was preparing for Ignite and was a part of another school’s band. I was so stressed at times that I would exercise, write down a to-do list and work as hard as I could to get my mind off all I had to do. Many nights I would lie awake because I couldn’t ease my mind with how much I had to do the next day. I now understand that I could not have done any of it without Gods help and am very grateful for Him helping me in my time of need even though I didn’t ask or thank Him.

I have always been blessed with having food, water, clothing and much more. I had a loving family, had many privileges and was reading my devotionals every day; but I still wasn’t content. To be content with God is a difficult attribute to obtain and can only be received when one fully understands contentment and prays to God. When we find contentment with God, we are at peace that “surpasses all understanding”. So even if we don’t have food or water, we should still be content in God; for we know God is Sovereign and has everything planned out for “the good of those who love Him”.

To strive to be content in God, I am going to write down a list of 5 worries I have had and how God has helped me through them. This will help me because when I become worried and stressed, I can remind myself of how I can be content with God because He can handle it even when I can’t.

Having the Right Faith

Hebrews 6:12

“that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience will inherit promises” (NKJV)

Do you remember how you felt when you first became a Christian? Out of all honesty, I don’t remember because I was very young; but I do remember multiple times seeing people who first accept God. Everyone who truly accepts God into their hearts have felt convicted by God and have chosen to give their worries, troubles and future to God. When we see their conviction, we are all awestruck by God’s power and light that is radiating off of the new believers.

Many times I have been convicted or used by God and have felt His love in my heart. I feel this passion to further His Kingdom and all I want to do is glorify Him. After these moments, though, I go back to my daily routine and don’t do anything about it. I feel like us Christians, after we feel empowered by the Spirit, either get distracted and go back to our daily habits or drag our feet and become “sluggish”. Many times I feel like a puppy dog in faith. I am filled with God’s joy, am passionate for sharing God’s love, sees the good in people and wants to serve, but get distracted by the “shiny penny”. Other times I feel like a dog who doesn’t want to go on a walk; I obey, but I drag my feet and only do it because I am pulled along. We should neither be a puppy dog, nor a reluctant dog in faith. We need to be the one who will do whatever He asks or even looks at, without questioning or being reluctant.

To become more obedient for God, I am going to seek His face and see where His gaze is at, and I am going to write that down and go.

The Wisdom of Focusing on God

Ephesians 5:15-17

“See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is”. (NKJV)

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most out of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (NLT)

This world is full of distractions that all are trying to shake your walk with God. It is so easy to “live like fools” because that is what everyone in the flesh is doing, but we are instructed not to. We have to “be careful how (we) live”. We need to make sure that we don’t let the distractions in this world cause us to wander off of God’s path for us.

We have so many tools to proclaim the gospel. We can now not only preach and print out books, but we can use video, music and social media to proclaim His message. These “tools” we can use to spread the Word of God anywhere with the click of a button, but these tools can also do us harm if we aren’t careful. As tools can help, so they can also weigh down and cause more bad than good. So we need to make sure that, as we use these tools, we stay focused on God.

For me personally, I love music; I listen to it wherever I go. Music can make gloom become light and make sadness become happy. For the first 2 weeks of the Ignite Program I was not allowed to have any technology and wasn’t allowed to listen to any music. Our goal as Christians is to “understand what the Lord wants (us) to do” and then do it. I found that in the time I didn’t have music God spoke to me more than He has, I daresay, all my life. It takes no expert to see the correlation; the more music, the less I hear from God.

I am going to apply what I have learned by only listening to music before my devotions.

Revelation 1:9

 “I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (NKJV)

“I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus” (NLT)

We all know that we are called to be witnesses and ambassadors of Christ, but how far are we willing to take it? John was willing to share the Gospel no matter what the punishment is; are we? When I think of the role of being a Christian, I think about how we should be spreading God’s Massage of hope through how we live. Put simply, I think the role of a Christian is reflecting Jesus to others. If we fulfill this role as a Christian, then we are living Christ out and are a light in the world. Now we all should desire and strive for truly being Christ’s disciples. When I look at John preaching the Gospel no matter what the threats are and no matter what the punishment is, but then I realized something. Yes John had courageous faith, but it wasn’t his faith; it was Christ’s image being reflected by him. Jesus doesn’t want us to have faith in Him or even believe in Him, what He wants is for us to know Him and reflect His image so others can see and know Him also.

When we reflect His image and are basking in Him, than only intentional rebellion can stop the reflecting of Him. John remained faithful and was punished, but he knew it was worth basking in God’s light. As we go through suffering, it is easy to put over a veil and pretend we are still lit up with God but we need to stay faithful. Honesty and others are the best ways to stay faithful in Christ. John states that he is their “brother and (their) partner in suffering”. When we come together to help one another and are honest with each other, then our foundation won’t ever crumble.

I am going to apply what I have learned by asking my leader what the best qualities someone should have to reflect God’s light.

Colossians 1:11

“strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy” (NKJV)

This is a part of Paul’s prayer for the church of Colossi. Paul is writing a letter of encouragement to them because they have had steadfast in their “faith in Christ Jesus and of (their) love for all the saints”; another translation says “and your love for all of God’s people”. I look at the Colossi church and think to myself, what more do you need? Jesus commands us to love God and love one another (Mathew 22:37). My Christian walk so many times has been a battle of what is true, a battle of staying focused, a debate on current issues and what the bible says about them as well as big concepts in faith. I have complicated my walk so much because I want to follow God and be the best I can be, when really, because of this, I have lost focus on the simplicity of faith. Paul encourages this church by first telling them how well they are doing in their faith and then how he is praying for them.

What also speaks to me is how Paul encourages the church. Paul doesn’t just say, “good job! I am praying for you” but rather takes his time listing off specifics. Paul talks about how they started in faith and how they still haven’t strayed from their focus in the beginning. When we encourage someone, we shouldn’t just write them a small verse and a prayer, but rather we should pour out our heart for them. Paul shows his heart and his love for this church by presenting his prayers and joyful encouragement. Paul has shown he really does care, is a part of the church and wants to help them through whatever they are going through. In Paul’s prayer, he also shows them what to strive for. He gives them a goal and asks for God to help them to the goal.

To apply what I have learned about fruitful faith and encouragement, I am going to write out a letter of encouragement to someone in ignite who God chooses.

Luke 21:19

“But your patience possess your souls” (NKJV)

“By standing firm, you will win your souls” (NLT)

This passage is talking about the end times when “not one stone shall be left upon another” (Luke 21:6, NKJV). The passage states that there will be various disasters and tribulation for believers during these times; for there will be wars, blasphemy, famine and natural disaster. It says that the believers will be persecuted and betrayed by their family, friends and even parents; where many will face death; but through this all Jesus tells us to be steadfast in faith.

When I think of tribulation, I think of when my good friend passed away last Christmas. It brought me great sadness and shook my faith. I continued to read the bible and pray, but I lost the joy and love in it. It was a hard time for me, but I recovered and was restored because of the Great Comforter; God. But that was only a death of a friend; imagine what it would be like to know many friends who died for their faith. God says that the greatest act of love is to lay down one’s life for a friend (John 15:13). This is what Christ did for us; allowing us to have salvation. Now if laying down one’s life for a friend is the greatest act of love, then what would it be like for one to betray and sacrifice a friend for their own benefit? I would personally call that the greatest act of betrayal; this is what Judas did to Jesus. 

Jesus speaks of a very evil time that will be a dark time, but He said that God will give all the believers a gift of “the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!” Even though there is a lot of evil that will be against us, God will be for us and that is all we need.

Jesus says “don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you”. So many times have I worried in advance of the trials and situations that I am going to face, when really I shouldn’t because God is going to give me “the right words and… wisdom”, which is all I need. To apply this passage to my life, today I am going to write down 3 trials or situations that I worry about and am going to give them to God.

Being Prepared Soil

Luke 8:11-15

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are chokes with cares, riches, and pleasures of life and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (NKJV)

In this parable, God’s Word is the seed and we are the dirt. This analogy is really profound because we are made up of dirt. We were created from the dust of the earth which is where we will return. God’s word, the seed, can grow in us but it all depends on how much we accept it. There are four examples of seeds shown; there is the ones on the wayside, the ones on the rock, the ones in the thorns and the ones on fertile soil. So I asked myself which one am I?

But it isn’t that simple, for the seed is constantly being casted. All of us at one time or another have listened to God’s Word and then have casted it “by the wayside”. We are all guilty of hearing a Sunday sermon and then walking out of church not receiving the message. We all have also soaked up a Sunday sermon with joy and conviction, but then temptation and distractions pull us away so we forget the message. But sometimes we don’t even receive the message in the church because of our “cares, riches and pleasures of life”. Of all these seeds, there is only one that is impactful; the seed that falls on the fertile soil, which is heard with a seeking heart that is able to keep it and bear fruit.

So the question for me isn’t “Which soil am I” but rather “What soil (or church scenario) am I most guilty of being?” and “How can I change this?”. Just as all soil needs to be weeded and prepared, so do we before we receive the gospel. To be prepared before I am seeded, today I am going to pray for God to ready my heart before every sermon and to make sure I do this Julio is going to keep me accountable.