Goooood morning fambam!
We all love to get presents from people right? I love surprise gifts from Ben, they make me so happy because I feel pretty special. Or when Tyler's mom surprises me with a food gift or laveen gets me coffee, all these gifts...I love them!
Spiritual gifts are freaking way more awesome! Cuz they remind me that God loves me! When I hear someone say that they got blessed by my message or my blog or my singing or even just a text from me...I feel my heart is full because God's delight is on me for magnifying His glory! It is a gift, not a given, to be used by God! If you think about it, what could we possibly ever give God that is not already His? Absolutely nothing. Yet, God knows we were made to enjoy His love, so He gives us the gift of blessing others! And He does this through spiritual gifts He gives us.
Everyone has a spiritual gift. But not everyone enjoys the pleasure of having them, because these gifts are not like ordinary gifts. These gifts are connected to eternal purpose and epic love. Are you starting to feel the desire to enjoy your spiritual gift?
"So also you — since you are zealous for spiritual gifts,
seek to excel in building up the church."
To find your gift God gives us the first step in having a heart to be on His mission. The gift will certainly connect to His mission. So before you grab your gift you must be on a mission to do something good for the Church. (i.e.: encourage by counseling, clean rooms and bathrooms, organize education departments, media, etc.) God wants to see your heart that is simply set on doing SOMETHING ANYTHING to build the church...before your gift is made known. You may want to counsel, but when you do so you find out it's not your gift, so you go to cleaning and more than wanting what you want, your heart is wanting what the church needs. Then your gift will become more clear.
"For you may very well be giving thanks, but the other person is not being built up."
A litmus test for whether your gift is truly from God will be in how it builds another up. You may be thankful that God uses someone like you, but the real proof is that God uses you to build another up. That's a spiritual gift.
Paul writes:
"I thank God that I speak in other languages more than all of you;
yet in the church I would rather speak 5 words with my understanding,
in order to teach others also,
than 10,000 words in another language."
Paul was a smart guy gifted in languages, and he used this to remind believers that the gift is useless without the purpose. He said he'd rather say 5 words if it would teach people than 10,000 impressive words to show off how smart he was. It was all about the people being built up. His gift was for teaching, despite how much he knew or could do, he only did what was needed for the mission. Paul enjoyed his gifts like no other! He was content in all his life. Cuz every gift God gave him was put to God's purpose....which is wise of God to give Paul ALOT OF GIFTS. Happy is the one who is blessed by God!
"What then is the conclusion, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, another language, or an interpretation.
All things must be done for edification.
But everything must be done decently and in order.”
1 Corinthians 14:12, 17-19, 26, 40
When we come together for youth or fellowship at home with our biological families or in doing second service...we are on mission with spiritual gifts. The flesh naturally is about yourself. How you look, what others think about you, how you compare, etc...and the biggest hindrance to enjoying our spiritual gifts from God is self-centeredness. God's awesome gifts are all on a purpose: edification.
But if all you think about is yourself, then you won't have the time to enjoy God's gifts.
To the one with many gifts, God gives more, but to the one who has little, even what he has is take away, because every gift is meant to give glory to God.
"For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough.
But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." (Matt. 13:12)
The sole purpose of man's life is to glorify God.
Seek the gift that gives you purpose today.
Love you guys.
Jmegrey
The joys and frustrations of knowing and understanding an invisible God
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Friday, May 5, 2017
Follow is fishing
Good morning family forever,
Every relationship will reflect your relationship with Jesus.
Clarity:
The way you are with you boyfriend or girlfriend will reflect your relationship with Jesus. The way you are with you mom or dad will reflect your relationship with Jesus. The way you are with the homeless person on the street corner will reflect your relationship with Jesus. The way you are with your teacher will reflect your relationship with Jesus. You get the point? Your attitude towards others (anyone) will reflect your relationship with Jesus.
The best way to truly see our relationship with Jesus is by looking at the person we treat the worst in our lives. If you want more intimacy with God then look at the areas of your life with others that lacks the most love. It is there that you will find what you're looking for, because every person we have difficulty loving is Jesus with skin on. Want to go deeper? Then love harder.
Why?
Because when we follow Jesus we not only gain the awesome relationship of love with Him, but we gain His mission.
We become one with Jesus.
Jesus teaches us how to follow Him and live life on earth as His disciple. He died for the sins of all, so everyone essentially has the gift of being Jesus with skin on no more or less than you do! If you received forgiveness from all your sins (past, present and future) then your enemy gets the same free pass! Otherwise you mock the love of Jesus by trying to nail Jesus again with more sins that you hold on to, whether your own or someone else's! This is trying to kill Jesus all over, and many people live as an enemy of the cross!
Being Jesus with skin on is an honor that means you are now beloved and perfect.
Forgiven and free.
Every sinner saved by grace is now Jesus with skin on, and that's why the way we treat one another helps reveal how we truly relate to Jesus. You want Jesus? He's walking around with skin on all around you!
So, what do I do to be doing the will of God?
"Follow Me," He told them,
"and I will make you fish for people!"
Matthew 4:19
Jesus doesn't say, I will make you make sure other people treat you well!
(In fact it's the opposite)
If you decide you want to follow Jesus it means you will inevitably become a fisher of people! Laying down your life because people will not love you, they will hate you...but fish for those sinners!
"I will make you fish for people!"
Jesus didn't say, follow Me and we will see what happens from there.
Or follow Me and I will make your life easier!
Or follow Me and you won't have to deal with the bull crap of all these other imperfect imbeciles!
He said, "follow Me, and I WILL MAKE YOU FISH FOR PEOPLE!"
You become about His mission.
Think about your own conversion testimony. He found you in the dark, in the pit of your own hell, and He carried you into the light by revealing His humiliation on the cross for you. In the same way, He sends us out to one another to do the same...to bear our humiliation for one another. In this way we fish for people by the weapon given to us by Jesus...which is Himself! Be Jesus to others, because Jesus is in others! When we love those who don't love us in return then love more! Jesus is found in the forgiveness of sins, in our humility, and in grace given. Everything you give is everything you've got!
What you got from Jesus is ....freaking unsurpassable in awesomeness!
It's better than anything you could think of in your tiny human brain because it includes everything that God could think of!
“But everything that WAS a gain to me: money, temporary comfort, cool points, reputation, beauty, temporary gratification, family, etc...
I have considered to be a loss because of Christ, the eternal treasure!
More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in VIEW OF the SURPASSING value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ!"
Philippians 3:7-8
The process of growth and intimacy in a relationship with Jesus involves both what you know and do as well as what you don't know and don't do. What you know and do reflects also what you yet don't know and don't do. So...you want more love of Jesus? You won't find it in what you know and do, you'll find it in what you don't know and don't do...
When what you want becomes what you cannot gain on your own (the areas of what you don't know and don't do) then you're ready to be lead.
Jesus leads us in making us fish for people!
Follow is fishing and fishing is following.
Love you guys.
Jmegrey
Every relationship will reflect your relationship with Jesus.
Clarity:
The way you are with you boyfriend or girlfriend will reflect your relationship with Jesus. The way you are with you mom or dad will reflect your relationship with Jesus. The way you are with the homeless person on the street corner will reflect your relationship with Jesus. The way you are with your teacher will reflect your relationship with Jesus. You get the point? Your attitude towards others (anyone) will reflect your relationship with Jesus.
The best way to truly see our relationship with Jesus is by looking at the person we treat the worst in our lives. If you want more intimacy with God then look at the areas of your life with others that lacks the most love. It is there that you will find what you're looking for, because every person we have difficulty loving is Jesus with skin on. Want to go deeper? Then love harder.
Why?
Because when we follow Jesus we not only gain the awesome relationship of love with Him, but we gain His mission.
We become one with Jesus.
Jesus teaches us how to follow Him and live life on earth as His disciple. He died for the sins of all, so everyone essentially has the gift of being Jesus with skin on no more or less than you do! If you received forgiveness from all your sins (past, present and future) then your enemy gets the same free pass! Otherwise you mock the love of Jesus by trying to nail Jesus again with more sins that you hold on to, whether your own or someone else's! This is trying to kill Jesus all over, and many people live as an enemy of the cross!
Being Jesus with skin on is an honor that means you are now beloved and perfect.
Forgiven and free.
Every sinner saved by grace is now Jesus with skin on, and that's why the way we treat one another helps reveal how we truly relate to Jesus. You want Jesus? He's walking around with skin on all around you!
So, what do I do to be doing the will of God?
"Follow Me," He told them,
"and I will make you fish for people!"
Matthew 4:19
Jesus doesn't say, I will make you make sure other people treat you well!
(In fact it's the opposite)
If you decide you want to follow Jesus it means you will inevitably become a fisher of people! Laying down your life because people will not love you, they will hate you...but fish for those sinners!
"I will make you fish for people!"
Jesus didn't say, follow Me and we will see what happens from there.
Or follow Me and I will make your life easier!
Or follow Me and you won't have to deal with the bull crap of all these other imperfect imbeciles!
He said, "follow Me, and I WILL MAKE YOU FISH FOR PEOPLE!"
You become about His mission.
Think about your own conversion testimony. He found you in the dark, in the pit of your own hell, and He carried you into the light by revealing His humiliation on the cross for you. In the same way, He sends us out to one another to do the same...to bear our humiliation for one another. In this way we fish for people by the weapon given to us by Jesus...which is Himself! Be Jesus to others, because Jesus is in others! When we love those who don't love us in return then love more! Jesus is found in the forgiveness of sins, in our humility, and in grace given. Everything you give is everything you've got!
What you got from Jesus is ....freaking unsurpassable in awesomeness!
It's better than anything you could think of in your tiny human brain because it includes everything that God could think of!
“But everything that WAS a gain to me: money, temporary comfort, cool points, reputation, beauty, temporary gratification, family, etc...
I have considered to be a loss because of Christ, the eternal treasure!
More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in VIEW OF the SURPASSING value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ!"
Philippians 3:7-8
The process of growth and intimacy in a relationship with Jesus involves both what you know and do as well as what you don't know and don't do. What you know and do reflects also what you yet don't know and don't do. So...you want more love of Jesus? You won't find it in what you know and do, you'll find it in what you don't know and don't do...
When what you want becomes what you cannot gain on your own (the areas of what you don't know and don't do) then you're ready to be lead.
Jesus leads us in making us fish for people!
Follow is fishing and fishing is following.
Love you guys.
Jmegrey
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