fill me up

November 18, 2011

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

     Before you go driving or use a power tool of some sort, you must first make sure it has enough gas in it. If its empty, than the smartest thing to do is always to fill it up as much as possible so it will last as long as possible. In the same way, before we go out into the field (wherever it may be) I believe it’s important to be filled with the Holy Spirit first. Right now I am being poured into, and soon I will be pouring myself out to the needs in Uganda.

Application:

     I will continually ask the Lord to be filling me up with the power of His Holy Spirit and to prepare my heart for my six months in the field.

“Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you.” Mark 11:24

    

end times

November 17, 2011

“He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.”

Acts 1:7

     If God wanted us to have the ability to know when the end times are, then He would give us that ability. But He didn’t, so therefore we have no possible way of figuring it out through any estimates and calculations. This makes me think of all the people who are lost and are going to hell today if they die. I’m bothered by the fact that as of right now, many people that I know and am even close to, will not be in heaven. Because we do not know when the end times will be, I believe Christians must do everything within us to let God use us to expand the kingdom while we still can. Another thing I get out of this is that we are not to worry about when the end times are, because we (Christians) know where we are going when we die. “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.” Matthew 6:33

Application:

     In applying this I will keep in mind the very important fact that the end times are near, as the Bible says so (Revelation 22:20), and work on being more aware of opportunities to talk to someone about Jesus.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angles of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Matthew 24:36

special day

November 16, 2011 

“So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, ‘Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?’”

Acts 1:6

     This is probably one of the many questions that were going through the disciples’ minds at the time. I’m sure it was very difficult and confusing for them. I know that I can personally relate to the disciples when it comes to not understanding what the Lord wants from me. This verse brings me back to three hundred and sixty-five days ago at my high school when Mike Rozell spoke and did his presentation. On this day a year ago I knew God had called me to come here. Of course I had to research a lot and asked a lot of questions to people   who had been to the program, but I knew eventually, even though I didn’t know when, that I would come here. One thing led after another and here I am. I had to wait quite a long time for this and it was always on my mind. But just like the Disciples, I had heard the calling, but I couldn’t go yet because it wasn’t time. This verse is about trusting God.

Application:

     When I KNOW that God has called me to go somewhere or do something, I will look back on this and remember that God was in control the whole time. I will look back to this for encouragement and reassurance of His sovereignty.

“Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” 2^nd Corinthians 1:9

Power of the Holy Spirit

November 16, 2011

“For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:5

     Being baptized with water is an outward symbol and an inward commitment of our renewed relationship with the Lord. I think of it as becoming more serious with our relationship with God, and that every believer should do it. Then there is being baptized with the Holy Spirit. This I have not experienced for myself, but my understanding of it is what Margaret told me. She said, “When we are saved we have an internal understanding and relationship with the Lord, but receiving power from the Holy Spirit has an outward result, meaning God has anointed us to be able to do new things such as speaking in tongues for example.” Some Christians receive the power of the Holy Spirit right when they become saved, and some a few years down the road of their walk with God. It’s not a one-time deal; we progressively need to ask for God to empower us with His Spirit.

Application:

     I’m going to talk to Pastor Gennarino and Margaret to gain a better understanding of this doctrine, and then I’m going to start continually praying for the Lord to fill me up with the power of the Holy Spirit.

wait

November 14, 2011

“Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me.’”

Acts 1:4

     When I first read this verse I didn’t understand what it was talking about. But after reading it some more and looking up other verses, I came across Luke 24:49 which says “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” I believe he is talking about the power of the Holy Spirit. This put the disciples in a situation in which they had to trust in Him and wait. Before they could go out and fulfill the Great Commission, they had to wait and be filled with the Holy Spirit first. In relating this to my situation, I am here at Potter’s Field Ranch preparing for battle, being poured into by the pastors and staff, and being vulnerable unto the Lord, letting him shape and mold me. Even though I am anxious, I am not ready to go out on the field yet, God still has me here to keep growing and learning more.

Application:

     I have less then a month left up here. I’m going to get up at 615 during the week to get more time with the Lord in the morning. I will also stay patient and remain open to what the Lord wants to do in me in these last few weeks.

“So with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12

confusion

November 11, 2011

“Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his trouble no more.”

Proverbs 31:7

     If you read this verse without knowing the real truth of alcohol, then it sounds like a dream come true. I cannot say that I know how it feels to wake up from a hangover because I have not experienced it and will not. From the people that I have talked to about it I know that you do forget about all your troubles for a period of time, everything seems perfect, and then you wake up the next morning. With an intense migraine and constant throwing up, and probably a lot more than that, I think it’s safe to say that not only are you resumed into your misery, but you have even more pain than before. Never have I met someone who doesn’t regret having a hangover. Other than the fact that Lemuel is not supposed to drink at all, I don’t understand why his mother is saying this because it doesn’t make much sense to me.     

Application:

     I will listen intently to what other people have to say about this verse and hope that God will show me what it is saying.

“Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your life.” Proverbs 19:20

Cant control others

November 10, 2011

“Give strong drink to him who is perishing and wine to him whose life is bitter.”

Proverbs 31:6

     We all know that an overuse of alcohol ruins lives. Nobody is supposed to ever get drunk, that’s a given. It says give it to those who are perishing. Perish is another word for destroy. I personally don’t understand why we should give alcohol to someone already on the verge of death. But I think Lemuel’s mother is just trying to make the point that he is a king, he must not drink alcohol, and let someone else drink if they want to. I believe it’s the same for us. We can’t control other people; we can only control ourselves and make our own decisions. We should never hand a bitter person a bottle of vodka, but we have to be ok with letting them have it if they choose, and make sure we don’t make the same mistake.

Application:

     I know people who are close to me that waste their lives with alcohol, and they know in their hearts that it’s wrong. I will never encourage it, nor judge them for it. I will only speak into their lives about it when God provides an opportunity.