God's gifts to us!

I know, this is the 4th blog that I’m writing that isn’t with my devotional book, but God has just been speaking to me, telling me to write these things to you, therefore, if you don’t like it, well HA, too bad!

A few weeks ago at a Bible Study that was being held at my house, our pastor spoke about the gift that God gives each and every one of us. This passage I am basing this post on is in Romans 12, so open up your bibles, and follow along! I pray that as you do, God shows you something completely different in these passages than what He has showed me.

The beginning of this passage reminds us that without focusing completely on God, we get tied up in worldly issues and things that will not matter later on in life. We are to forget worldly things and give all our heart, mind, and soul to our Lord in every minute of our lives, which none of us do. It’s so easy to just think and focus about all the evil that the news and tabloids show us, but reality is that everything on this planet is evil. We are surrounded by sin everywhere we turn, and instead of trying to avoid it, we have debates in our heads about how bad it really is. Moral of the story, if you have any doubt or feeling that whatever you’re doing/thinking isn’t right, than you shouldn’t be doing/thinking it. Even though we know these things, the arguments in our heads are always based on what God wants us to do, vs. what we want to do to. God is sinless, we are not, to be cleansed, part of the deal is to give everything up to God and do all that He wants for us. It’s not just praying a simple prayer and then going back to the lives we have always lived. We are to be transformed, to be completely made new. It’s either live one way or the other, enough of “living on the edge”, because you know what happens when you live on the edge? You end up falling hard, begging for help, praying and hoping that this isn’t the end of your life, because if it is, your life feels wasted.

While we live on the edge, we always assume that it’s fine because there is always someone worse than you in the world, doing something horrible. Did you know the Bible says that no sin is bigger than any other sin in God’s eyes? So to Him, if you treat someone with disrespect, its the same thing as if you were committing murder. That’s the truth, and sure it hurts, but we’re made to be His, and His word is true, who are we to judge the word of the Lord? It’s time to rethink your thoughts, and give everything up to God. Stop judging, because all it does it put others down, and leads you to boast yourself up higher. No one likes someone who is cocky, be honest and true to yourself, others and God because that is what is important. Remember that you are a part of God’s body, and so are others around you. Just like our body parts, every part of His is different, and made for different things. God gave you a gift, learn what it is and how to use it properly; how to honour our Father with the gifts He has given you.

The first gift this passage talks about is prophesying, those who have this gift shall honour God by working hard in growing in faith, and spreading His word to others in every opportunity possible. Don’t pass up the opportunities God has given you, because those are the things that make you who you are and who you are going to be. An experience with the Lord can change someone’s life completely. Share the word of God, and you will be greatly rewarded.

Serving is not a gift for everyone, although I feel that it is important for everyone to try to serve as much as you can, because we are to follow Jesus’ example, and He was put on this earth to serve. It is very important as a Christian to be willing to serve anyone at anytime, although our human nature does make it difficult at times, we must pray to be more willing to do this. Everyone could always use some help in whatever circumstance. Just be strong in the Lord, and no matter how difficult the task may seem, with God, nothing is impossible as long as you have faith in Himself and yourself.

Teaching is definitely not easy for everyone, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t able to teach. Maybe we feel uncomfortable about teaching because we think about it as something that can only be done verbally. We can still teach others through our actions, by serving God, helping others and ignoring worldly things and focusing on what really matters, God. Sometimes actions can make a bigger impact than words.

I think my favourite gift of all is the gift of encouragement. Without encouragement, so many people would not even recognize their gifts, talents, and how precious they are in God’s eyes. I challenge each of you to encourage somebody today, in any way possible. Everyone needs encouragement, and without it, so many people would be lost and feel hopeless in the world. Instead of thinking bad thoughts about someone, think of a way you can encourage them, because maybe they are acting the way they are because they feel like the mean nothing; because they feel useless, which is due to no encouragement or love in their lives. You don’t know what is happening around them, and what they have going on in their minds, so I just pray that you are able to encourage someone today and by doing so, you will also be encouraged.

Some people have the gift of giving, and the world needs more people who are willing to give. So many countries are in need of help, and if you are someone who has the gift of giving, I pray that someone encourages you to keep going with all the contributions you have done, because what you are doing is great, and we need more people who are like you. Don’t be scared to give to much, and to be stuck with nothing, God will always provide for you as long as listen and do what He wants you to do. He is a gracious giver, just have faith that He will not leave you astray, He will always reward you and never leave you empty. He is ready to give you everything you need, even if you are ready to give it all away. You are serving Him, and that is what matters. It may be challenging, but I promise you, you will be better off after you have given away whatever you feel is needed to be given.

Many people are meant to be leaders, but do not know how to act upon their leadership abilities. Don’t be scared to show people that you are a leader, and use it for God. To show others how important He is in your life, and how many great things that He has done in your life, and that He will do in theirs as well. Let them know that you may be a leader, but God is still you’re leader. Never ever forget that, because that is what is important in your life, along with everyone else’s.

Once again, praying for you all!

Until next time!

SaraKath.

Are you willing?

Alright people! Time to focus, and use your minds. I have highlighted questions in this post that I want all of you to take time and focus on, to be able to find direct truthful answers. God will show you something individually to each of you. I pray that He speaks into each of your lives as you continue on in this blog. I tend to think to much sometimes, but in doing so, God shows me so much! So I challenge you to really concentrate on these questions! So let's begin shall we?.. :)

Luke 22 reminds us of so many things. I want you to first read the passage on your own, and think about being in Peters position and try and answer these questions. Would you fight with Jesus if He told you that He knew you would deny Him 3 times by the end of the day? Would you stick up for Jesus even if you knew you could be killed for believing that He is the Messiah?

The first thing that it reminds us of is how often and easily we exchange our faith for worldly things that won't last forever. We so often let ourselves get distracted from God and our spiritual lives only to please others, and to do wrong things with them. Why aren't we as easily distracted from our friends and worldly lives to please God? Some would say because we are surrounded by worldly things, like news and gossip. I however, don't believe that. I use to, until just now actually. We are also surrounded by Gods love and beauty, whether it's the beauty He made for us to see within Nature, or individuals, children. Seeing the good and beauty in the things all around us. That is all from God, & why would/should we shut that out to fill our hearts, minds, and souls with junk that makes us lose our positive focus? It's just not rational, right?

The second thing that it reminds us is that we shall never put ourselves before others. We are of no higher class of any other individual on this earth, no matter what our ranking in society is. Jesus shows us this as He kneels down to wash His disciples feet. He made it very clear that He was a servant of God, and that was His duty on earth. We are also God's servants, which means we are servants to others as well. That is what God has called us to do. We need to remember to listen to God's directions for our lives, so that we can be the servants that He wants us to be. Are you willing to serve? Are you willing to give up everything that you have to become an individual child of God who is willing to serve others to show His love? We need to be willing to do these things, to show the differences between Christians and nonbelievers. It was what we were put on earth to do; serve Him, worship Him, praise Him, and show His love to others.

Some of us have a hard time acknowledging that Jesus was in fact human. Somehow we forget that during the crucifixion, Jesus questioned God on if this was really what He wanted Him to do. It's not like Jesus was all excited to get tortured, He had feelings towards the issue, on which He cried out to God asking questions. He needed the reassurance that this is what God put Him on earth for. He was a true servant of our Father, which shows through His crucifixion. God sent an angel down to tell Him that this is what He had planned for Jesus' life, to prepare Him for what was about to happen. Jesus now knew that this was His purpose on earth, what He was born to do. He did not run away from God's plan, He followed it, as we all should. Jesus ended up dying for a great cause, and we need to be willing to do the same if that is what God has called us to do. Are you willing to die for God? This is something you should really reflect on. No matter what we go through, if it's God's will, He will prepare us as He prepared Jesus. Maybe it won't be as clear as sending an angel down to us, but as long as we listen to His words, we can be positive that God is preparing us currently for whatever that has yet to come. He will always prepare us, and equip us with what we need to survive, as long as we have faith in His abilities, nothing in our lives will be lost, but everything will be gained. We just need to have enough faith to be able to believe that. Do you have enough faith?

Verses 47-53 got me thinking of how many times we let Jesus down, by acting out aggressively towards others, meanwhile He cleanses us from all sin. As Jesus was being put to be crucified, one of His disciples chose to act aggressively towards the guard who was bringing Jesus to be tortured. The disciple sliced the guards ear off, and Jesus was very disappointed in his actions. He stated that He has never shown or disrespected someone like that, therefore he would never want his disciple do such an act. He then repaired the mans ear, and by doing so, He shows us that we should be treating all others the same as God wants them to be treated, respectfully, lovingly, and kindly so that we can show them what God is like, and be an example to others. Instead of fighting back, we need to show God's love by doing something good for our enemies & no matter what the circumstances are, be strong in the Lord, and He will make you strong enough for Life itself.

In verses 54-65, we are reminded that no matter how hard we try and deny that we will sometimes lack faith, or become embarrassed of our faith, that we end up hiding it through tough times, these situations do occur. When we do these things, we are choosing to hide our relationship with God. When was the last time you hid your faith/relationship with God? Why were you embarrassed to show your love for God? Why did you find it difficult to share? Why did you feel uncomfortable? We need to think about these questions, and answer them truthfully. For each of us, the answers will be completely different. Reflect on these questions, because unless you do, you will continue to deny the Lord's presence in your life more and more each and every day of your life. We need to start looking at the problems in our relationship with God, and for all of us, I don't care who you are, this is the biggest problem of them all. It needs to be focused on, continuously. Each time you find yourself denying God, I want you to think of these questions as you're in the situation. Answer them truthfully, because if not, you'll only be lying to yourself, and God, in which both of you already know the truth, so there is no point in lying. Do not doubt God, He knows everything about you and your future, where as you know nothing. Do not contradict the Lords words to you, or His plans for you. You will only continuously make a fool out of yourself.

The last part of Luke 22 reminds us that God has always shown us and told us that He is real, that He is living in each one of us. Why should He fight against us if He has already given us proof of His existence? God is willing to take over, but He wants us to choose for ourselves that He is living, and the One Christ and to see how much we will doubt Him along with His existence. That is like saying I am nonexistent as I stare at myself through a mirror, as I type this with a witness beside me. It is obvious that we are living, it's just leaving our stubbornness aside as we move on with our faith.

This chapter is a great part in the Bible, and I really hope that it spoke to you like it spoke to me. I pray that God speaks directly in each and every one of your lives.

Sending lots of love, peace and blessings your way!

SaraKath.

Spiritual Refreshment!

This weekend I spent my time at a camp where I worked at last summer and where I will continue to work at this summer. All the staff of 2010 were there, aside from a few who couldn’t make it. This weekend was suppose to be a training for all the staff, and although we did get training, I found that it was more like a retreat for me. I felt so at peace with everything and everyone, and I just enjoyed the company of my fellow coworkers.
Along with training, we also did some worship sessions to deliver more of spiritual development with our Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone was tremendously blessed by our worship sessions, and our boss did a terrific job leading us into the Word of our Lord, and here I am about to share what has refreshed my mind & soul this weekend!

On Friday we focused on putting God first in our lives, and began to explore what God’s will was for our lives. Each and everyone of us are put on this earth to be followers of Christ, and this is what God’s will is for us. Jesus was brought on this earth to show the world what Our Father is like, to set an example on earth for us to live like. In order to do this, we need to believe that God is capable of changing everything in our lives, and we need to trust Him fully with every little thing.

A great example of this is found in Luke 5:1-11. Jesus showed a boat full of fishermen that He knew best, no matter how much experience they had with fishing. He went out into the water with Simon Peter and his fellow fishermen. They were fishing all night, and never caught a single fish, but once Jesus gave them direction, everything had changed. Jesus had told them to fish on the opposite side of the boat, Simon did not believe that this would work, but did as the Messiah had asked. Their nets became loaded with fish, and Simon Peter felt horrible for not believing in Jesus’ power and word. Even though they has betrayed Jesus by not believing in His words of wisdom, He forgave them, and told them not to worry, because they will now be fishers of men.

This passage is so much like our everyday lives. Jesus is with us during our troubles and journeys, and we always doubt the direction that He gives us, meanwhile once we realize that we were in the wrong, we feel ashamed and hurt for not trusting God. Let us not forget that Jesus is the only one who can Forgive all and everything. This is why we have other chances to listen to His words for our lives. If we do listen, we will be greatly rewarded, as Simon was with all the fish in His nets.

We may doubt God, but if we do take His direction for our lives, we will be greatly rewarded. This is a perfect story to prove that! We are human, and we will always have our doubts no matter how hard we try, about whatever it is that we are having difficulties with, the great thing about our difficulties is that we have Jesus who took away the biggest difficulty of all! Our sins! He died and went through the worst torture anyone could ever even imagine, for all of us to be able to live freely, without this sinful burden in our lives, as long as we have faith and live our lives the way God wants us to. We are so spoiled in that sense. God gives us things we don’t deserve. He sent His Son down on earth for us to die! Can you imagine killing your own son for others freedom of strangers?

I was taught this weekend that while studying the Word of the Lord, there are two questions you should always ask yourself. The first is, What Does This Tell Me About God? In this specific passage, I think it tells us that no matter how much we do not believe that God’s direction may not be the right direction for us, or that it may not work for whatever situation we are in, that He knows exactly what will happen. God will fill up our nets with plenty of fish, as long as we give Him the chance to and listen to His directions.

On Saturday we focused on Making right decisions and how it’s all about God’s will, not our own. We broke down some verses in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. The first verse we broke down was verse 18, which was broken down to The Cross Is The Center Of All We Believe.

If we are Christians, this has to be a fact; it needs to be true to our lives. We need to believe the bible, and that Jesus has died on that cross for our sins. A lot of Christians still struggle with the existence of Jesus, but for me, when I look at that cross, there is no doubt in my mind that Jesus was and is the Messiah. If you are someone who struggles with Jesus being the Messiah, I advise you to read the bible way more than you do now. Get your soul nourished! God will show you the light, and teach you the ways. Don’t be scared to go and open up your bible to have a little devotion before bed. If its not something that scares you, why aren’t you already doing it? Take the time to search for answers, they’re right there, it just takes you to really want to find out the answers to the questions you have in your head. God will answer them for you, just spend time in His word, and pray.

In verse 19, we came to the conclusion that God dismisses human wisdom for salvation. What we meant by that was how so many people believe that just being a good person will get you to heaven, and it will just carry you through the gates towards God. Reality can be scary, but this is not the way to get to Heaven. It will not work, and it is human wisdom for salvation. If this were true, Jesus would have never been sent here to die for us. In the Bible it states that no sin is bigger than any other sin. So whether you are committing a murder, or telling a fib (little white lie), it is all the same in God’s eyes, it’s sin. You need to live your life fully for God, and pray and seek the ways that He wants you to live. You also need to ask for forgiveness for all the sinful things you have done, and no longer hide or lack faith in His existence. You need to believe it, feel it, and spend time with the word. Feel His spiritual presence, and you will never have a doubt about his existence again, as long as you live like Jesus did.

Sadly, we all know that we’re human, and although it was very hard for Jesus, we seem to think it would be even harder for ourselves. Well, I got news for you, Jesus even had His questions He had to ask God, so don’t be scared to ask them, He will answer! If we have faith in God, and in ourselves, nothing is impossible. We just need to be more positive about our spiritual lives, and grow closer in relationship to Our Lord Jesus Christ!

God chooses what seems like foolishness to save people is what verse 2, 27, 28, 29 basically say to us. Christians are suppose to live as Jesus did, imitate His life. I have been thinking of this a lot lately, and how people are on a line, not willing to pick a side to go on. Reality is, that you can’t stay on that line forever, or you’ll just end up falling harder than ever before. You need to pick a side, which is either God’s side, or the worlds side. If you pick God’s side, some may think it’s foolish, but people will be able to see a positive difference in your attitude and lifestyle that can leave such a huge impact on an individual. For example, friends think it’s foolish that I don’t like partying, or doing other things they do because I have higher morals, but it makes it clear to them that I have something different and more important in my life. It brings a certain frustration to others, because they try to figure out ways why I’m not like them, and why I do these “foolish” things like go to church, work at a camp, go to worship services instead of going out partying. They get so frustrated that they end up asking me questions as to why I do these things, which opens doors for me to share my faith! People can get saved in this way, and the stronger we are with our “foolish” ways, the more they’ll ask questions, and we could be used to save their lives!

So often we listen to others advise who seem wiser and stronger instead of turning right to God and asking Him ourselves. Why do we do these things? In verse 25 it states that God is wiser than the wise, and stronger than the strongest, so why wouldn’t we just ask Him? Why don’t we take His advise? Does it really seem that foolish? We want help, and we turn to other humans who have their own troubles and faults, instead of turning to our Lord who is capable of all things, and who has no faults, who is wiser and stronger than anyone we could ever imagine! I challenge you to focus more on asking God what He wants for your life, instead of turning to someone who seems wise and strong. God is the Almighty, and I pray that you never forget that. Take His word first, do His will for you first. Forget worldly things and focus on Him, because in the end, that is all that will ever matter.

At the end of the day, we answered a few questions to ourselves and then had a quiet time with the Lord in prayer. I challenge you to think really hard about these questions, and possibly play some nice worship songs in the background to really get your mind set on God. This worked wonders for everyone at the camp, and I’m sure it’ll help you figure out a few things for your own life as well.

First question : What is a good decisions that I have made in my life, + what did I base that decision on?
Second question : What is one wrong decision that I made + what can I learn from the difference?
Third + final question : What will I base my decisions on now?


Now, on Sunday, our last day together we looked at John 13 where we focused on having a servants heart. We talked about how we thought Jesus felt as He was being prepared to die on the cross, and what He was thinking. No matter how many times He was portrayed as something that He was not, and tortured for reasons unknown, He was always still so noble, kind and humble. He was never bitter towards anyone, not even the ones who brought Him tons of pain and suffering. He set a huge example for us, and I think we really need to think about His actions way more often than we do already. Next time someone starts gossiping about you, don’t cause a big fuss or get angry, just sit back and pray. Pray for them, and act humble towards them. Think, what would Jesus do? Even though this is such a common saying, how many times do you actually think about it during your day to day life?

In John 13 we are told the story where Jesus’ disciples were unwilling to serve as a servant to wash each others feet because they felt like they were higher power than a servant. They thought they were too good to do that type of work. Meanwhile, once Jesus watched them not being willing to serve, He knelt down and soaked the cloth and washed the feet of His disciples. The disciples tried to stop Him, saying that they were not worthy enough to have their feet washed by Him. Jesus taught them that you should never be bold, and think that you are a part of a much higher class to be able to “sink down” to someone else’s level. We are all made the same, and should all be treated with respect. Jesus showed them as well as us that in this particular story. We are put on this earth to be a servant to others, but mostly a servant to God. We need to be willing to do the things we don’t want to do to be able to show God’s love through our actions by serving others.

During our Reflection time, we were asked to answer these two questions. Do I need to be washed spiritually? Am I willing to be a servant? We then did an exercise where we had to go wash our hands in a bowl of water, than later on we took face clothes and soaked them in the water and went up to someone in the room and asked permission to wash each others hands + then tell them that you are willing to serve them whenever they need anything. It was a really great exercise because it’ll all be something that we will always cherish and remember. Instead of just reading and talking about it, we also had a visual, which at some points got emotional, and just really moving. I think it would be a great idea for other church settings.

I think we often think of others when we try to answer the question “Do I need to be washed spiritually”. We compare ourselves to others around us, and how we act better than them, or whatever it may be, therefore we think that they may need spiritual cleanliness, but we shouldn’t have to because we don’t do bad things like they do. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others. It’s about OUR relationship with God, not their relationships with God. We need to focus on how God looks down at our lives, and what He sees. Yes, everyone struggles, but not everyone takes a step to fixing their problems the right way, not everyone turns to God and asks to be washed spiritually. We need all our worldly thoughts and ways to be washed away and made new for our spiritual lives and relationship with God. It’s a must, not something you can think about for a while, and decide later. Pray about it, seek God’s grace and wisdom. Stop looking upon others lives, it has nothing to do with yours. Focus on yourself, and what God wants for you. Without God, without the cross and Jesus, we would be living worse than what we already are living now. We owe it to Him to give Him our lives, and let him cleanse every part of it. So what are you waiting for?

Being a servant of God may seem foolish to others, but like I said previously in this post, God uses what seems to be foolish things to the world, to save people. Start helping and serving others. Serve God first, serve others second, serve yourself third. Be humble towards others, and work closer to them, even if it’s difficult; God will give you strength. You just need to have faith.


Sending much love and blessings your way,

SaraKath.