I Timothy 4:14, "Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by the prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership."
Hm...this is convicting. I've been in a slump of sorts this summer, transitioning out of M.I. and all. Feeling unmotivated, frustrated, overwhelmed, lost. The next verse reads as follows...
"...take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you."
We can assume that if you do "this" and "that" happens, then if you don't do "this" then "that" won't happen. So, if Timothy studies the doctrine and takes heed to himself, two things will happen - he will be saved, and so will others. Let's apply this to our own lives. Myself, for instance. What is the gift inside of me? What gifts have I been given? Am I stewarding those gifts well? Am I using them? If not, why? I believe the Lord has gifted me in natural ways and also in supernatural ways. I didn't receive certain gifts until I asked God for them and had men and women of God lay hands on me in prayer. Some things only happen through prayer. Let's give an analogy.
So you want the iphone 4 really bad and you ask your parents to buy it for you multiple times. You ask and ask and they just won't give in. Your birthday roles around about a month later and they surprise you and give it to you with a blue tooth headset, a car charger, and multiple cases! You're ecstatic and you thank them over and over. Now, what if you used the phone for a day and then went back to using your old flip phone? How would your parents feel? They did you a huge favor, went above and beyond what you asked, and then you just toss it all aside because you feel like it. I think that's kind of how God feels when we ask him for things and then we don't use them. Do you think He's going to want to give us anything else after that? He probably won't be as inclined to.
So that analogy might not have made sense, but the point is that we need to use the gifts we've been given. This is really challenging me with where I'm at right now. I am learning new ways to stay motivated and hopeful. In my last blog I wrote about the flesh vs the spirit and if you allow your lower nature (let's call it our "dark side") to take over you won't be allowing the spirit to use you. We all have a dark side. Instead of getting up early so we can take care of things, we press snooze. Instead of leaving our credit card at home so we don't spend money we don't have, we leave it in our wallet.
So back to the point I was making in the beginning, if we don't steward (use, take care of) the gifts we've been given what will happen? Other people will be affected. Not always, but sometimes people will miss out on hearing about the love of Jesus because we keep silent.
What it comes down to is this: Are we going to be selfish or selfless?
I don't know about you, but I find it hard to be selfless sometimes. It's natural to want to look after our own well-being before someone else's. If you have the good news of Jesus inside of you, share it! If you have a prophetic gift, prophesy! If you are good at understanding and teaching, teach! If you love to bless others financially, give! Other people's lives and happiness could be at stake.
_______________________________________________
God, I thank you so much for the gifts that you have bestowed upon me. Help me to be grateful and use those gifts on a daily basis. Help me to be a bold witness and ambassador for you! You are so good to me, I don't deserve it. I love you, Lord. I surrender this day to you. Use me today. Help me see opportunities to help others today. Would I abound in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control today. Above all, help me to show your love today. Your love never fails! In your Son's precious name, amen.
Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
"I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy..." (down in my heart)
"Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you." I Timothy 4:16
If, then. Cause, effect. This is a fundamental idea in life - everything we do has a consequence, whether good or bad.
Now, I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. For the first time in my life (although I haven't lived that long) I have two jobs. Learning to balance church, family, friends, work, myself, has never been harder. Even when I was in Ministry Institute I don't remember it being this difficult. Part of that is because in M.I. I had structure. Now my work schedule changes every week and I don't serve every weekend and sometimes I even miss church because of work. But life is good and I'm grateful for this opportunity to grow.
Isn't that how we should all feel when it comes to trials in our lives? James says "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (NLT) We are to actually be joyful when we face struggles. We're not just supposed to avoid complaining. We're not just told to keep our mouth shut...we're told to be joyful. Let's take a look at what joyful means. According to dictionary.com joyful mean, "showing or expressing joy, as looks, actions, or speech." Showing or expressing joy, which is "the emotion of great delight or happiness." So...we're to be greatly delighted and show it outwardly when something sucky happens to us. That doesn't seem like the natural thing to do. And that's because it's not. There's a constant battle going on between our flesh and our spirit. Galatians 5:16, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature (flesh) craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions." Another verse says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." It is so hard to have joy in our trials because we have a sinful nature. We don't naturally want to do what's right. That's why we have Christ! He has made a way for us to conquer our flesh and do what He would do. Paul says to cast away our old self and put on our new self! We are no longer enslaved to our flesh, no longer in bondage in our sinful thoughts and actions. We have been freed by the blood of Christ to do what's right. Been set free from guilt and now able to walk in confidence. We are now able to have joy in our tribulations because we know that everything happens for a reason. We know that God never gives us more than we can handle (I Corinthians 10:13).
Do you feel encouraged? Do you feel lighter and freer? I do!
Now, how are you going to apply this to your life? Is there a situation you are just being grumpy about? Is there a person you can't even force yourself to smile at because you dislike them so much? Are you taking out your frustrations on the people you love the most? Do you find yourself being negative and complaining a lot?
How bout this: For one whole day let's only say positive and uplifting things.
I know it might sound daunting, but I believe you can do it! Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." You can do it, friend! And if you're feeling especially courageous, you could try a whole WEEK being positive! =)
I didn't begin this blog with the intention of writing about joy and positivity, but that's how it turned out! I wanted to write about actions and responsibility and walking worthy of what we've been called to. I guess I'll have save that for another time.
Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae
If, then. Cause, effect. This is a fundamental idea in life - everything we do has a consequence, whether good or bad.
Now, I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. For the first time in my life (although I haven't lived that long) I have two jobs. Learning to balance church, family, friends, work, myself, has never been harder. Even when I was in Ministry Institute I don't remember it being this difficult. Part of that is because in M.I. I had structure. Now my work schedule changes every week and I don't serve every weekend and sometimes I even miss church because of work. But life is good and I'm grateful for this opportunity to grow.
Isn't that how we should all feel when it comes to trials in our lives? James says "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (NLT) We are to actually be joyful when we face struggles. We're not just supposed to avoid complaining. We're not just told to keep our mouth shut...we're told to be joyful. Let's take a look at what joyful means. According to dictionary.com joyful mean, "showing or expressing joy, as looks, actions, or speech." Showing or expressing joy, which is "the emotion of great delight or happiness." So...we're to be greatly delighted and show it outwardly when something sucky happens to us. That doesn't seem like the natural thing to do. And that's because it's not. There's a constant battle going on between our flesh and our spirit. Galatians 5:16, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature (flesh) craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions." Another verse says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." It is so hard to have joy in our trials because we have a sinful nature. We don't naturally want to do what's right. That's why we have Christ! He has made a way for us to conquer our flesh and do what He would do. Paul says to cast away our old self and put on our new self! We are no longer enslaved to our flesh, no longer in bondage in our sinful thoughts and actions. We have been freed by the blood of Christ to do what's right. Been set free from guilt and now able to walk in confidence. We are now able to have joy in our tribulations because we know that everything happens for a reason. We know that God never gives us more than we can handle (I Corinthians 10:13).
Do you feel encouraged? Do you feel lighter and freer? I do!
Now, how are you going to apply this to your life? Is there a situation you are just being grumpy about? Is there a person you can't even force yourself to smile at because you dislike them so much? Are you taking out your frustrations on the people you love the most? Do you find yourself being negative and complaining a lot?
How bout this: For one whole day let's only say positive and uplifting things.
I know it might sound daunting, but I believe you can do it! Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." You can do it, friend! And if you're feeling especially courageous, you could try a whole WEEK being positive! =)
I didn't begin this blog with the intention of writing about joy and positivity, but that's how it turned out! I wanted to write about actions and responsibility and walking worthy of what we've been called to. I guess I'll have save that for another time.
Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae
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