teachthedead.com

Published by Guido

Would you believe it if I told you that in 2010, there were five divorces for every 1000 marriages? This equates to roughly 25% of all divorced marriages with children will end up leaving that child with a “step” parent. The top two reasons for this are:

1. Irreconcilable differences
2. Sexual immorality.

While the range of why couples can be dis-satisfied runs from logical to completely irrational, too often we as Christians hone in on sexual trespasses. In fact, in this day and age, its so very common for a marriage to weather an affair (or two, or three…) and the taboo nature of an affair has largely been replaced by the comfort of an abortion. Sadly, US News and World Report claims that as of 2010, 1 out of ever 10 babies born in the US are NOT the result of that mothers husband.

What is going on here?

The bible, however doesn’t paint the most clear picture of how to deal with this; I know, I wish it did. We are left with a few archaic lines from Paul and Peter about the functions a wife and husband should dutifully be engaged in, but no where does the bible provide any comfort to the one who endures an affair. What we are left with, is what Jesus says and if we are not careful, we can interpret what he says incorrectly.

Mat 19:1 – And it came to pass, [that] when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;
19:2 – And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.
19:3 – The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
19:4 – And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made [them] at the beginning made them male and female,
19:5 – And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
19:6 – Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
19:7 – They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
19:8 – He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
19:9 – And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except [it be] for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
19:10 – His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with [his] wife, it is not good to marry.

…because of the “hardness” of our hearts. At first read this statement actually angers me. What about the adulterer? Was not their heart already hardened? Study after study reiterates that affairs are the result of selfishness. In fact, a recent study of the top reasons why women have affairs concluded the number one reason why women cheat is that the act improves self esteem. With 80% of all American married partners both engaged in affairs it seems evident we have a self esteem problem or another way to see it, we think we are that important. Trust me, an affair can not only RUIN the spouses self-esteem (while the other is out on a quest to fluff theirs) but also permanently destroys the value of the marriage. There is no way to repair the lifelong pain except by staying faithful to Jesus.

In Matthew 19:9 Jesus uses two words for adultery – moichaō (μοιχάω) which is expressly (means only) to have unlawful sex/intercourse with another’s wife. If you have a King James, in 19:9 both times you see the phrase ‘committeth adultery’ that word comes from moichaō. However, more importantly I believe, is when Jesus says “…εἰ μὴ ἐπὶ πορνείᾳ” or EXCEPT it be for fornication. If we are not careful we can insert our own idea of what we think Christ would have said. His words are clear though, he uses the word ‘porneia’ (πορνεία). Porneia means, yes illicit sex to include homosexuality and sex with animals but also carries with it another meaning – the worship of idols.

Jesus took their question and tilted it a bit to make his point. Yes, adultery is a tough thing to deal with and because it will likely always be an earthly thorn in your side sure, separate, but you know what? While we’re at it, if your married and your spouse is putting their job or their sports or their other “idols” ahead of you, then you can too.

There could be months worth of articles on this topic from Teachthedead.com – I have read just about every worldly article, advise periodicals and at this point I’ve even had a question about affairs posted on a semi-major website/newspaper but in all that I have read and studied and searched, the bottomline is in what Jesus says in verse 6:

So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.

In the end, we have to remember the beginning. God (like it or not) made the union. This is why even after you divorce God sees the individuals engaged in affair after affair until certain stipulations are met that in today’s society no longer happen. I can only speak to/for the victims of affairs, the kids and the significant other who kept themselves for their spouse faithful – perhaps now, you bring Christ into your marriage. Granted, from here on out, your marriage will never be the same – the other cannot know what its like to have the sleepless nights, fear of intimacy, fresh sores every time your spouse ignores the gracious nature of your forgiveness and puts you down. But while your spouse is oblivious, Christ is not. He knows, and by you not being the agent of ending your marriage, you are remaining faithful to what God joined together; you are following God’s will.

I have received a good handful of emails from people that I have spoken with regarding what I have and am still going through including what I am subject to each and everyday. A good portion of Teachthedead’s recent visitor-ship have been from people and readers I met while trying to console some gentlemen who were Christians going through the same thing. Its common to ask why and to grieve the loss of that part of your marriage (of course if you end the marriage then this wouldn’t apply to you) because you will never get it back. Today I want to encourage you that by remaining faithful to the INSTITUTION of marriage is something to be proud of and stand up for. While your significant other cannot possibly understand this (obviously as they engaged in blatant disregard for the institution) you MUST understand this – as a full understanding acts as an effective shield from the world that seeks and desires to SEPARATE man from woman, husband from wife.

Be different, honor the sacred institution you are already in and look at this horrible thing as perhaps a new motivation to give your love (that you had previously reserved for your husband or wife) solely to Christ and your kids if you have them. Christ is always eager to be in a relationship with you, he is always 100% faithful to you and he will always provide for you the affections your heart desires.

…after all, isnt that what we all wanted our marriages to be in the first place?

~ Until next time, God bless

2 Comments . Jan 13, 2012
Filed under: Uncategorized, adultry, affairs, cheating, married to christ

Published by Guido

One of the most fabled and widely cited “stories” in the life of Christ is that of Peter walking on the stormy Sea of Galilee.  While essentially the account is only detailed in Matthew, portions are also in Mark and John; the later two making no mention of Peters endeavor.  Here’s what Matthew had to say…

Chapter 14
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled , saying , It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying , Be of good cheer ; it is I; be not afraid .
28 And Peter answered him and said , Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said , Come . And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid ; and beginning to sink , he cried , saying , Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased .
33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying , Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

For further reading in the other Gospels, see Mark 6:45-56 & John 6:15-27. I’ll refer to these later on…

Last night at dinner, I asked my 9-year old brother if he could recite to me this account – which, he did. He said something along these lines: “…Peter and the Apostles were on a boat in the water and they saw Jesus and Jesus told Peter to come onto the water and then, the storm got worse and Peter sank” (emphasis and, obviously, underlining added by me). That does sum the story in Matthew up in less than fifty words and I’m willing to go so far as to say a larger portion of Christians would (being 9 or 109) have similar narratives. What I want to point out to you today is that we miss so much by a cursory reading of this.

As this is part two of my exploration into what faith means, and especially into what faith should look like in your journey, we’re going to break this chapter up because to me, in this single chapter (and if you haven’t, I demand you read chapter 14 in its entirety right now, all 36 verses – you can go here or here and even here - of course a good physical bible would be the best) the true gamut of faith is explored and expounded, the application is even overwhelming.

So, since you read the whole chapter, you now know this is the chapter that Jesus provides for the 5000 men and at least as many women and children with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Everyone was there, all the Apostles, the community and no doubt the horde of “followers” who trailed Christ’s each and every move throughout his ministry. But I want to stay focused on the Apostles here because we are about to see them go from simple pupils to totally acknowledging Christ as “…that Prophet that should come into the world” (see Deuteronomy 18:18). This is huge. This is like driving a compact car on Monday and on Tuesday driving a Tank. Only illustrated in John 6:14, the people, the average Jew had no issues then and there admitting to each other who exactly Jesus was; if only the Apostles were aware. What follows, I believe, is Christ’s tear-inducing and enriching experience of how awesome faith is, not just to the Apostles (for certainly they were the immediate illustrations of the Christian walk) but for us. Faith is what filled every single one (not counting Judas) of the Apostles as they boldly faced Martyrdom; faith, as our unspoken compass, points us to a life lived for God and breeds within us the heavy weight of Grace.

While I could go on and on about what exactly happens next, notably the idea that the Jews there wanted to forcibly make Jesus a king – John 6:15 (See the notes at the bottom of this post for more –  no democracy will ever have the right to elect Him into office) – the paramount point of this verse that I need to emphasize is that it was Christ who constrained his Apostles to depart, and out of obedience they do, but notice here, to constrain is a verb, it indicates a forcible action by Christ on the twelve to leave and leave with a bounce in their step. Mark 6:45 puts it more into action, In other words, these guys were highly urged by Jesus to, turn around (the twelve obey their Lord and finally surrender, Jesus pats a few of the Apostles on their backs, and after some strong, reluctance and insistence for Him to leave with them) get in the boat and sail; Jesus can be like that to us sometimes, sometimes we need his stern, experienced-in-all-things approach. “Listen, stop what your doing, turn around and look at this Cross!”, He says, while we’re wrapped up in our selves, sinning and slowly (or faster depending…) sinking, having too long neglected what He did for us and what exactly that sacrifice should mean to us everyday we breathe.

A short detour here – this verse is very similar to an account found in Exodus (Exodus 33:12-23 to be exact) where Moses pleads to God on behalf of a people who had really messed up. Moses is one of a few of the early examples of a ‘type‘ of Messiah, a precursor and its illustrated well here. Moses, now having the displaced nation back in line, calls on the Lord once again for…mercy. How unspoken is God’s, Christ’s mercy through out the bible on those people who really mean it honestly; that is to purse God and God alone. This mercy is identical to the mercy Jesus is about to shower on His Apostles, but knowing that the testing on the sea will bring about an awareness – (just as the Israelite’s experienced as a collective peoples of God’s worthiness to truly be worshiped) – of who He is and why He deserves to be seen for who He said he is. Make sense?

The narrative now splits, Jesus going his way, alone to spend time with his Father. Do you see the type of faith Jesus demonstrates towards God here? In the midst of everything else going on, Jesus privately goes onto the mountain to pray. If you are following Christ and acknowledge that Christ is our firm foundation (I Corinthians 3:11) then realize that Christ also humbled himself before God just as a servant should. Jesus didn’t come to just perform miracles, but to realize God’s will; Jesus wanted only to bring honest glory to God. Think about this, Jesus just sent his Apostles right into a massive storm, being the Messiah, he absolutely knew this. He loved those men far more than himself, yet sent them out into this storm alone, just twelve, weak men.

Cue violent storm.

Each of the three Gospel accounts detail different aspects of this storm – Matthew at least gives us a time frame; in the fourth watch of the night – or early morning, probably 3am to 6am. John 6:19 says the dozen had rowed about twenty five to thirty furlongs, which at it’s widest point the Sea of Galilee is 7-8 miles so, they were halfway to the coast on the other side. Mark 6:48 says they were “toiling”, these guys weren’t getting anywhere. Rowing, toiling, pain-ridden using all their power to just survive another wave roll. Under their own power, the Apostles were able to make it halfway. To many people (irregardless of faith) are ok getting halfway; after all, that’s pretty standard nowadays – halfway must count for something.

…working on a few notes about Dogma and the Church

Post a comment . Jan 11, 2012
Filed under: Apostle Peter, Jesus walks on water, Matthew 14:24, New Testament Teaching, The Apostles, Faith, Matthew 14, Matthew Jesus Walks on Water, Peter walks on water

Published by Faithful Servant

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.” Eccl. 12:13,14

As I finished my study on Ecclesiastes this morning, I was left with this resounding in my brain and my heart. Of the 3 books I have exhaustively studied this year, one word remains a constant fear to me; judgment. Over and over I have read the truths of being careful in my own judging of others as well as the final judgment that will come to me from Him, in all of the things I have done and not done for Christ on the days I spent chasing the winds of the Earth.

I have always loved the first day of September. Summer has a careless abandon that often leaves us tired and for lack of a better word, crispy. Dried up; literally by the overexposure to sun, late nights and treats that did no useful good and spiritually because of the vacation inevitably taken hunting the joys of the day. But in September comes the break of Autumn, when the wind shifts to a gentle cool and new years are started in the young. The plants begin to die off and shed the toxins of summer, resting to be woken with a fresh start in the Spring. I am excited today for the dead leaves that He is killing and shedding from me, for the peaceful rest under winter’s frostbite that is coming and most of all for the fresh start I am given through Jesus.

We so often get trapped in the ways of ourselves and it is a wonderful reminder that through Christ, we can change. Its easy to remember that God forgives us but we often get caught up in not allowing others to be forgiven or even more dangerously we forget to forgive ourselves and in doing so we halt the change that God wants to make in us. An example, I go on many “I’m gonna have a perfect week” kicks just to find out Monday afternoon that I am a failure (even my best= filthy rags) and so by Monday evening I have given up on myself and the rest of the week. I do not forgive myself for making faults and then simply move on to try and have a better day than the previous one through what I have learned by the trials He gave me today. I realized this some months back, I recall it dawning on me that I wasn’t forgiving myself, I held myself up to my own judgment and so I stopped, gazed in the mirror and said “Who do you think you are?”…. and I wept…… Who did I think I was to believe that my forgiveness and my judgment was higher than His? Slowly, I am breaking down the walls that are keeping me from being what He see’s in me by learning to forgive myself. After all, forgiveness is the enemy of judgment.

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Matt. 7:1-3

” Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. he who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” James 4:11,12

Post a comment . Nov 20, 2011
Filed under: Uncategorized, Christian Lifestyle, forgiveness, judgement, mishpat

Published by Guido

In 1 Timothy 1:18-20 , Paul closes out the opening chapter to Timothy with a stern warning concerning his (Timothy) faith.  Paul, probably the most traveled in terms of literal distance, likens those of us who have “forfeited” our faith as having figuratively become cast-a way’s as a result of spiritual shipwrecking.  I know right now, in my life, this verse has hit home in quite a personal manner because as I sail these waters, affectionately called life, the less I become dependent on my faith and try to live my life using myself as the compass, and I just get closer and closer to running this ship aground.

Paul uses the word ναυαγέω here, pronounced nauageō – we derive our word for nausea from this – and means simply to shipwreck. This word is used only twice in the bible – both times by Paul and for good reason.  As we see in 2 Corinthians 11:25, Paul uses the word in exactly the same manner as we would today; there is no hidden amazing discovery when studying this verse and word out.  Paul was not only the survivor of three shipwrecks prior to even penning this letter to Timothy, but in his prior life, Paul WAS shipwrecked and stranded from God because of his rejecting faith.  It wasn’t until Christ arrived on the scene and offered Paul a life raft that he even REALIZED he had been lost at sea, alone with a belief system that was vacant of true life-saving (and giving for that matter) faith.

Paul is throwing two main points, two lifesavers if you will, to Timothy in encouraging his faith but also in encouraging his ministry.  The first is faith, which aside from Christ, is Paul’s central theme in all of his Epistles. Very often in my own bible readings, I sometimes reflect on what exactly faith is? As an honest Christian, we all assume it’s nothing more than believing in Christ. What we don’t fully understand is, almost everyone in a civilized country does too. What makes us special?

Faith in the New Testament is rendered πιστις or pi’stis which quite simply means, properly persuaded.  People have faith in jobs or friends or parents or money but, Paul exhorts Timothy to remain faithful; holding faith. You see, just a few decades ago now, Paul himself was a witness to faith in abundance, held by an early Christian saint named Stephen. In Acts 6, shortly after Pentecost and at the beginning of the Christian persecution movement, which would last for centuries, Stephen was only one of seven men selected out of thousands of disciples to take charge of the food ministry in Israel. Whats noteworthy is that of the seven chosen, only Stephen is cited as a “man of Faith” not to mention the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5).  Again, in Acts 6:8 called out specifically as full of faith and, this time, power. Paul, having a direct role in this giant of faith’s death, in subsequent years reflected on the mighty, life SAVING faith of Stephen (Acts 22:20) – for the Judaizers that fateful day HAD made shipwrecked their faith and as mentioned earlier, Paul was sinking with them.

Sola Fide (Faith Alone)

It’s to easy to attach Grace here to Paul, sans Saul, miraculous conversion. To Paul it’s a given (Romans 8:29), though not to be abused or mistreated. It is however our individual faith that speaks to our reverence and humility. Again, for comparison, in the English Standard Version “Faith” occurs 250 times in the New Testament while “Grace” appears 124 total times. Grace isn’t something we can do anything about, we swim in it. It’s our faith that Christ is looking for; never ever let go of it.

Next week, “Sinking Faith”. Until then…

Post a comment . Oct 20, 2011
Filed under: Basic Biblical Concepts, New Testament Teaching, Faith, I Timothy, New Testament, Paul, Timothy

Published by Faithful Servant

In bible study last night we covered the first 10 verses in chapter 4 of James and in personal study this morning I was taken back to my notes where 2 things have been laid on my heart.

First

Our study pointed out that there are 3 weapons against us that allow our sinful nature to bow to Satan….

1. the devil himself
2. the world
3. the flesh

These are God’s enemies and James warns us to not be friendly with any of these. The question arose (from my faithful husband), “How do we know if it is Satan testing or the desire of the flesh? What distinguishes them?”. I have given this a lot of thought. How many times do I face adversity and simply brush it off by accusing the devil and not taking ownership of my sinful flesh.. or how many times do I do the opposite and take full ownership of my disobedience to God and think that Satan is just some scary shadow that doesn’t really show his face? It all started to make sense to me, is it possible that like the Holy Trinity the three listed enemies above could be considered the Evil Trinity? Acting in a likewise manner, the 3 are the same yet independent. Just as in we cannot have the spirit apart from God, we cannot have the flesh apart from Satan. The 3 are one in the same. Thank the Lord the Holy Trinity is set in place to conquer these spiritual enemies. For as God conquered Satan, Jesus came and conquered the world, and the Holy Spirit came to conquer our flesh. What a beautiful battle it is and I rejoice in the power of my God.

Second

“You have not because you ask not”, I have heard this quote, so many times, taken out of context by loving Christians and it has always made me uneasy. Here in scripture is states that you don’t have because you don’t ask but it is not speaking of worldly wants… rather that we do not have peace and contentment because we aren’t asking for it. If our life isn’t full of heavenly pursuits then they won’t be given to us. It is backed up with verse 3 in saying that we will ask for our own will and we will not get it because we ask for selfish gain and not gain for the Kingdom. There have been a few moments in my short walk with Christ where I have been fed-up and shouted to the Lord ” oh yeah, well here I am asking Lord and I have faith that you will deliver”.. my selfish anger pushed me to trying to manipulate God’s promises for my own glory. Ironically each time he has delivered but it has never been what I expected because I don’t know what is best. These are glorious lessons and have tempered me in my asking. I have not heaven if I ask for the world, but if I seek Him (God’s will) then heaven I will have.

James 4:1-10

Post a comment . Jul 19, 2011
Filed under: Uncategorized, Christian Lifestyle, evil, Holy Trinity, James

Published by Faithful Servant

Yesterday as I sat down for my morning devotions, I starred adrift at my Bible.. until finally stopping at Philippians 3. I read it and reread it feeling enlightened but not engaged, so I turned to my journal. Looking down at the blank pages, I remembered the homework assignment I was given at church this past Sunday;split a notebook open and write on the left page heading “what I have done wrong..” and one the right page heading “what is good in my life..”. And no,my writing is not a confession of self sins, but a confession of discernment.

As I listed each and filled them with ease until the last line, I felt shame and joy but mostly wondered, why am I doing this? I read them over and again and said (aloud) “man, I sure used the word “I” a lot”…. in every statement actually.

A bit of a spiritual masochist, I delight in knowing what a failure I am, deserving of the trials but as it was so eloquently pointed out to me by my Pastor, I was not being humble as I had thought, but have been self absorbed.

I looked at all the sins I had committed, each starting with “I”… “I did this wrong, I thought this in my heart, I treated him/her this way, etc”… I began again to think, I am so aweful, I am the greatest sinner, I, I, I, I, I…. ahhhhhhh!!!

Just as I was about to fall back into my sinful thoughts, the Holy Spirit snatched me back in…. I know that because of Jesus, I don’t have to carry the weight of any of these things. That is why He came, to completely blot out those sins. So I reread aloud all of my sins, this time replacing the “I” with “Jesus”…. and I began to weep, wail to be honest. I repented to the Lord in a way I have never felt before, I am so sorry for treating Jesus so unfairly, for using Him like I shouldn’t. It brought my desire to strive to be more Christ-like to a whole new level.

I then looked to the other side of the page and saw I had been given just as many wonderful things in my life as sins I had committed.. and that is also because of Jesus. I am such a child at times thinking things aren’t fair for me but when I look at this and see all the things HE does for me despite my sinful flesh.. I wonder who is being unfair?

Philippians 3:13 says this “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.”

I now know why He pointed me to this chapter. If I continue to live obsessed in all my mistakes then I will not be able to see all the good that He is doing right now. As MacArthur says in my study Bible, “To be distracted by the past debilitates one’s efforts in the present.” I recommend this exercise and look forward to hearing what you take from it.

Post a comment . Jul 18, 2011
Filed under: Uncategorized, Christian Lifestyle, fair, Jesus, journal, Philippians

Published by Faithful Servant

As I read through Hebrews 12 one early morning, I was drawn to this verse;
Heb 12:13, “and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.”
Being a runner I was drawn to the analogy used here. The author (I’ll save that debate for another time) is once again likening the trials of Christianity to a race, where we are often weary and worn like a runner in a marathon, we are encouraged to make the path to our God clear and free from debris as it could break the already weakened foot. But if that path be clear then we can pace ourselves and heal through Him.

The Bible often speaks of the path with importance. In Isaiah 40:3-5 it is prophesied:
” The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

And then seen in Matthew 3:1-3 as the prophecy comes about through John the Baptist:
” In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’”

As a mother and a neat-freak, I am constantly getting on my children, husband, neighborhood kids, etc., to not leave their shoes in the path of the front door; It is one of my biggest pet-peeves! After years of ranting and raving over something so mundane, I stopped to ask myself, “why is this so important?”. Today, I found my answer. I simply believe that the path to and from my home should be free of clutter, that in the case of an emergency (the power is out or I need to rush out or in the door) I can do so without a stumbling block in my way. What a powerful metaphor. I want more than anything for my path to and from my eternal home, salvation through Christ, to be free of debris.. so that in the case of emergency, (I am lost in the dark or facing a trial that forces me to run to Him) I know that there is nothing in my way. What “shoes” do you have in your doorway? The red stiletto’s of hatred and unforgiveness? The muddied boots of addiction? The babies first booties of immaturity? The running sneakers of fleeing Him? These are mine…. what are yours? What is keeping you from that clear path to God? If we can face and then set them to the wayside, we can find the peace that will come from knowing the pathway to our Lord is clear and ready for us to run home….

Psalm 16:10-11
“For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will you allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy;”

Psalm 27:11
“Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.”

Post a comment . Mar 04, 2011
Filed under: Uncategorized, Christian Lifestyle, Christian walk, Hebrews, Jesus, path

Published by Faithful Servant

Along the “modern-day” Christian walk, I have found myself attending common placement assessments or gifting classes, which provide an insight through doctrinal application as to our God given gifts. Simply put a series of questions that assigns your strengths, they remind me of the Teen Magazines I read a decade (or so) ago which told me just what career I should have or if it really was ‘true love’. We usually know the outcome to these tests before taking them but confirmation in our beliefs is the most comforting and natural desire. Last year I learned of my top Spiritual Gifts…

Faith.
Discernment.
Intercession.
Mercy.
Pastoral.

I was very proud of my line-up and a little surprised! Faith? That was an exciting #1 for me, having grown up in a far from religiously faithful home I feared that seed was never planted and that faith would be my choking weed. But here, it said it.. I have faith! For days I danced around singing George Micheal’s Faith with the lyric change of “I already got faith, faith, faith”…. notice no where in my gifting list is any word resembling “humble”.  Nonetheless, God had me at a place in my walk where I was broken before Him. He was striping me down and revealing so many things to me that I spent a lot of my time curled up, weeping with my face pressed to the floor so intensely it left marks. I had moment after moment of  “ah-hah’s” and began to surrender. I was given the chance to serve and use my gifts over the past year which allowed me to face some obstacles and learn hard truths. It has been beautiful.

Here I am a year later, thousands of miles from last years launch and sitting in another assessment class. I thought, I already know this but I’ll tag along… I mean gifts are gifts, right? What I failed to realize was that I had spent a whole year growing through Christ, I spent a whole year investing. What were my top 5 this go round?…..

Pastoral.
Mercy.
Discernment.
Encouragement.
Administration.

While three of my gifts were consistent, two were not. I scoffed this off to “different tests, different results”. But have since been eaten away with analytical thoughts about my results…. Did I lose my faith? My number one, had me dancing around the house, oh-so-perfect gift of faith?!? How could something as absurd as Pastoral move up my list and my beautiful Faith be gone? These questions have been burdening my attitude and I finally stopped to ask “WHY, GOD?”, I don’t know why I try to answer these things first before consulting Him, it just wastes time.

I have been a big preacher to my own kids and the ones I have taught of Matthew 25:14-30, which tells the story of the 3 servants given talents and how 2 of them invested in the talents and made a profit (or grew them) and the 1 who was given the least buried his to make sure he kept it safe. Lesson being if we trust in God enough to invest in what He has given then He will trust us with more and if we keep our gifts to ourselves then we benefit no one. I have not been practicing my speech and beg forgiveness. God’s answer is right here in the scripture I already know. I took my Faith card and danced around with it then set it down because I was content with it just as it was. There were gifts that I applied and they seemed to be the ones I disagreed with the most, but they had risen on my list. How faithful He is.

So, do I still have faith? Yes. But did I apply it and watch it grow double in size? No. What a wonderful reminder to not be stagnant with the gifts that God has given, be them spiritual or material. And as for me no more lyric changing, for I am now shouting “yes, I GOTTA have faith, faith, faith“.

Post a comment . Feb 11, 2011
Filed under: Spiritual Gifts, Christian Lifestyle, Gifts, Spiritual