Followers

Friday, June 28, 2013

Snoop's life: Hebrews 10:24-25: using what God has given us for ...

Snoop's life: Hebrews 10:24-25: using what God has given us for ...: In the recent sermon at church, God has reminded me of his calling to use my gifts for his glory.  Lately, I have been trying to use my gift...

Snoop's life: Hebrews 10:24-25: using what God has given us for ...

Snoop's life: Hebrews 10:24-25: using what God has given us for ...: In the recent sermon at church, God has reminded me of his calling to use my gifts for his glory.  Lately, I have been trying to use my gift...

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Hebrews 10:24-25: using what God has given us for his glory

In the recent sermon at church, God has reminded me of his calling to use my gifts for his glory.  Lately, I have been trying to use my gifts more and discern how they can be put to use in a ministry context.  This is evidenced in the passage Hebrews 10:24-25.
Hebrews 10:24 says "And let us consider how we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds." God calls us to use the spiritual gifts he has given us to serve others in ministry.  He calls us to be an encouragement to others through serving in various aspects of ministry.  As disciples of Christ we are to use our gifts to further advance his kingdom.  By finding out what our gifts are, God will better use us in whatever ministry or area God has called us into.  Through this search, God's will can be shown through us.
 Some of my gifts are prayer, encouragement and patience. I also enjoy hanging out with youth. Lately, I have been helping with an encouragement ministry that someone from the church I go to started. I am trying to pray more for people across the world to know Jesus as well as using this gift for God's glory.
There are passages regarding spiritual gifts Romans 12:3-8 and and 1 Corinthians 12.Romans 12:3-8 KJV says  For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:4-6 describes how we are all apart of the body of Jesus Christ and we have to use our gifts for God's glory whatever they may be.   God has blessed us with unique gifts so we should use them  Paul reminds us in the passage in Romans 12.
In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 God gifts us many spiritual gifts that are empowered by the Holy Spirit.  Corinthians 12:4-12 says this about the spiritual gifts that God gives us Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.  God gives us all different gifts that the Holy Spirit can us for his glory.  
In order to help us serve others well, we have to keep encouraging one another.  Hebrews 10:25 says, "And let us not stop meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another all the more as you see the Day approaching." God calls us to use our gifts to serve others in the body of Christ as well as encouraging and leading others to a relationship with him.  1 Corinthians 12:25-26 ESV says "that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  If one members suffers then another members suffers, if one member is honored then, all rejoice together."  God can use us in order to build up and encourage others through the whole body of Christ.  
How did we see God's will through this passage in Hebrews?  Is there a way we can best apply this to our lives?  Why did God give us spiritual gifts? 

Thursday, June 20, 2013

God's sovereignty over our lives

God's sovereignty can be defined as the supreme encumbered ruler of all things.  He alone is independent in his power, wisdom, and freedom.  God does not need us but wants an intimate relationship with us daily.
During certain times in my life I was going through  hard times, God showed me he was sovereign.  He first helped me realize that he is sovereign and in control at D-focus in the summer of 2010.  Then, in the next year of my year he helped me put this truth into practice.  He showed he is in control of my life through that time in leading me to seminary.  Looking back, I can see that he was in control of that my life when I had a car wreck my junior year in high school.
He is in control in his power.  There are 100 billion stars and 100 billion galaxies in the universe.  Psalm 147:4-5 says God "counts the stars by name.  How great is our God.  He alone is absolute." The sun is 32.5 million miles from earth.  God used his power to bring us into relationship with him so we could be joint heirs with Christ in Isiah 52:10.
He is in control in his wisdom.  Psalm 139:1-4 says that God knows everything about us, our thoughts, and what we will do yesterday and tomorrow.  Everything that happens to us each day God knows.  He is supreme in his wisdom and knowledge about our lives.  He is omnipresent.
He is control in his freedom.  God is incomparable to nothing.  Our God is independent on his own.  If he didn't freedom, then he wouldn't be sovereign.
Knowing that God is in control will help us trust him more.  If we know that he is in control that will help us trust God in anything that happens to us in the present, past, and future.  Right now, I am having to trust with this YL int trip and my future after seminary.
1 Chronicles 29:11 describes God's complete sovereignty over our lives.  King David says "Yours O Lord is  the greatness, and the glory and the power, everything in the heavens and the earth is yours.  Yours is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all."  He is in control of even the small minute details that happen to us daily.  Job 23:10 says "But God knows everything detail of what is happening to me." Our God is always with us every step of the way even when we refuse to acknowledge him.
As I close this post I want to ask the readers a couple questions.  What has God shown us through his sovereignty? How was God's will shown through this attribute of God? Is there a way we can apply this truth to our lives daily?

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Blood of Christ that has set us free

It is a breataking thing when we realize the blood Jesus sacrifcied for our sins.  Jesus died for give us life in him.
Recently, I had an infection in my finger.  This infection I didn't know what it was when I first had it.  I put hot water on it and tried to pop it many times.  Then finally on Saturday of that week I finally was able to pop it after it had grown to it's highest height.  This was after it had grown to it's highest height.  This infection eventually stared bleeding and pus came out.
Through the blood of Jesus Christ we are set free from our old life.  1 John 1:7 says "the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, purifies us from all sin." This blood has set us under the new covenant in Christ Jesus.
The new covenant discussed in Hebrews has been established by Jesus through his death.  Heb 9:15 says "he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive his eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred to that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant." We have this new life in Christ.
In this old covenant there was gifts and sacrifices by those guilty of sin while new covenant there is self sacrifice by the guiltless Christ.  The old covenant there were conditional promises and the new covenant is unconditional.  The old covenant is limited access to God and new covenant is unlimited access to God.
The old covenant forgiveness is earned and new covenant forgiveness is bought.  In old covenant sins were covered temporarily, in new covenant sins the penalty of sin was done away with permanently.  In old covenant sacrifice is truly satisfying to God while in old covenant Christ sacrifice is completely satisfying to God.  In old covenant all people who die without faith will be judged while in new covenant all who have faith will never be judged.
Blood came out from the remnants of my finger.  Jesus' blood was shed for everything we have done in our life.
Jesus death was required to activate a will to receive his inheritance (Heb 16-17).  Also, in order for spiritual forgiveness and cleansing to demand blood, (Heb 18-22).  Lastly, because judgement is imputed from the sinner of the substitute (vv. 23-28).  Jesus became our substitute for our sins.  It was necessary for God's justice.
What does this passage show us about God's will? How can we remember Jesus blood shed for us today? Does this passage/post change us? and in what ways?

Sunday, June 9, 2013

A clear conscience

Lately God has been convicting me to clear my conscience.  This stems from something I have done a couple times.  It is not really bad but it is just merely a check on my integrity. Someone from this mission trip application called me out on something that I did. I have had to confess some things to God in order to clear my conscience.
In order for us to grow in our relationship with God we must have a clear conscience.  This principle is discussed in Hebrews 9:1-14.  This passage is speaking to the Hebrew people that are caught up in their old way of living in giving sacrifices to please God.
The principle of having a clear conscience is taught we are little and do something.  We confess to our parents and friends that we committed an act against them to clear our conscience.
A clear conscience keeps us whole and pure as we come to God.  The blood of Jesus Christ is the only thing that cleanse our conscience.  He makes us whole in Christ alone and by his blood we are set free.
A conscience that is not clean can pull us down in life.  It can hurt our relationship with Christ.  An unclean conscience can also cause guilt and a selfish nature.  A defiled conscience pulls us into Satan's thorns of attacking us and who we are in Christ.  These things throw us off the path that God has set for us.
Hebrews 9:9 discusses how we cannot bring any gifts or sacrifices to clear our conscience.  Also, verse 13 describes how we can't earn a clear conscience.  We can't clear our conscience on our own.  It will lead to no avail.
The only thing that can make our conscience new is the blood of Jesus; Hebrews 9:14. This helps us serve God we all we have.  It also renews our relationship with him.  Lastly, it gives us a sense of humbleness.
What is God causing us to see as we look at having a clear conscience in this passage? How is God's will shown in this passage? Is the a way we can better clear our conscience on a daily basis?

Thursday, June 6, 2013

From the head to the heart

In order to become a mature Christian, facts about God have to move from our head to our heart.  This has to be a change in a process of our thinking.  It molds who we are, how we acts, think, make decisions and treat others.
This is a transformation process in our lives that happens on a day to day basis.  It merely happens in simple happy situations.  Also, God could allow certain difficult things in our life. God uses struggles to help us learn to trust him.  All these things are used for our growth in Christ.
God knows every circumstance whether it be good or bad that we go through in life.  He will reveal himself to us when we learn to trust him in everything that we do.  Psalm 139:7 says "where can I go from your spirit, where can I flee from your presence."  It is a reminder that he is always there with us wherever we go in life.  He loves us no matter the circumstance we may be in good or bad.
God also calls us to be prayer and give thanks in all circumstances.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 discusses we should be in prayer in all things, in everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
Sometimes when we have difficult situations we try to handle them on our own instead of depending on God.  We are sinful creatures that think that we have it all together.  Although God calls us to depend on him when these hard times come.  He calls us to recognize our need for him in these situations.  In times, God used to conform us to his image.
When we become a mature Christian we stop handling situations on our own and learn to trust God in his faithfulness and provision.  This will happen over time and leads to being able to trust God more quickly and with more situations than we did before because of God's faithfulness.
How is God calling us to stop handling situations on our own? What is God's will for us learning to trust in in difficult is situations? How can we as a group understand certain facts so they go from our head to heart?

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