I Corth. 12:4-11

gifts - charisma , grace , one receives without any merit of one's self.
ministries- administration, act of over seer- service
activities- operation or a work, a demonstration of power

Jesus is LORD when He is the owner .

the gifts are to profit the body of Christ.
if we misuse or deny that these gifts exist , we are misrepresenting the spirit of the living God.

the gifts are given by the same spirit .

next week we will get a better idea about how we all fit together as a body.

my notes that I took Nov. 9 , 2008 while listening to Pastor Richard .
There was something in this lesson that is of the greatest importance.
I trust God to reveal to me how He would want me to use the gifts and how to not deny the power of the Spirit.

Princess

Story shared with me from Peggy P

Her name was Princess, and it suited her perfectly. She was half German shepherd and bore the beauty of that breed. She had a sweet and gentle nature but could be very protective of those she loved if need arose. She wasn’t easily provoked, but she did have her limits, and a pesky, ugly, neighbor’s dog harassed her to no end. The dog would stand in the middle of the street and bark continuously at Princess. She usually ignored the dog completely, but I guess one day she’d had enough because the neighbors told us they had to take the dog to the vet to stitch up her stomach after Princess got through with her. They threatened to shoot her if she came back into their yard. We didn’t have a fence to keep her in and the agitator out so we had no choice but to chain Princess to her doghouse in the backyard. This was humiliating to Princess, and not acceptable because you see her “other half” was Red-bone hound, and she loved to hunt…rabbits, in particular. We had found this out some time before this happened. She had quit eating her dog food, and we couldn’t figure out why until another neighbor (this one lived behind us) told us that Princess went out early every morning into the woods behind our house and caught her a rabbit for breakfast. I guess dog food seemed mighty bland after that. I’m sure as she lay there day end and day out all she thought about was how good those rabbits tasted because one day she broke free and ran away, taking her chain with her. She didn’t come back, and we looked and looked and called and called. Princess belonged to my son, Jeff and he was devoted to her. He was determined to find her. I don’t remember how long it was before we found her, but we finally heard her barking and followed the sound as it led us into the woods. We found her bound tightly. Her chain had wrapped around a tree and held her to it. She couldn’t move. All she could do was bark, calling out for help. She and my son had a joyous reunion.
I wish I could tell you that the story ended happily ever after, but it didn’t. Chaining wasn’t the answer (we hated doing it anyway), and we certainly didn’t want her shot. We took her to my dad’s house, and he gave her to a man who rode her around in his pickup truck and bragged to every one he saw about her great hunting skills. This was a mistake because one day someone stole her out of his truck. I just hope whoever it was treated her well and gave her the respect she deserved. She was a very special dog and was loyal to my son and our family. I know he still thinks about her and misses her. I know I do.
I was thinking about her this very morning and God used that memory to teach me something. He’s so good at that. You know that dogs were not meant to be chained up. Neither were we, but we come into this world exactly that, born in Adam, chained up to the god of this world, Satan and under the authority of his kingdom. But, praise God, Jesus Christ has set us free from him. All we have to do is ask Him, and He will cut us loose. We run free, not realizing we still have that old chain dragging behind us just looking for an opportunity to trip us up and get a stranglehold on us. What is that chain? Well, it could be childhood abuse, rejection, addiction, or our own bad choices. I could go on. Every link is designed by the enemy to cripple and hold us down. Remember Princess? All she could do was call for help from someone who cared about her. We do the same things, but sometimes it looks and sounds strange. We may reach for a drink or a drug, overeat or look for love in the wrong places. All are calls for help; all futile attempts to get free. God says He has good plans and special purposes for our lives. How does one get free enough to accomplish that? We loved Princess enough to pursue and rescue that beautiful creature. How much more does God love you and want you free from all that would keep you from your destiny? He’s given us Jesus, His wonderful Word full of His promises, authority to us the name of Jesus and the Holy Ghost. Plenty to untangle anyone and everyone.
You do know that if you belong to Jesus you are royalty, King’s kids, don’t you? There’s a popular secular song entitled, “Unchained Melody.” It’s a very popular song and my husband and I love it and claim it as our own special song, but the real “Unchained Melody” comes straight from the Father’s heart. He wants His sons and daughters (Princes and Princesses) to walk free, free from Satan and his kingdom, free from the past, with head held high, and showing forth His glory. Halleujah!

Blessed Be the Name of the LORD

A conversation with a fellow the other day prompts this blog. In one way what he said , sounded okay. Only it was not okay. Someone was stressed out and he commented about how the stuff that was going on , it was nothing compared to what his life had been like just a year prior.
I do this sometimes, I think , how much better today is compared to when.......
It is better and I do not want you to think I am not grateful.
What I want you to hear, is that I am grateful for back then ..............too.
Blessed be the name of the LORD, He gives and He takes away, I choose in my heart to say, blessed be the name of the LORD.
This means I believe He was a good God then, He is a good God now, and I believe He will be a good God for ever more.
If this sounds hard to do, looking back, may I suggest don't look back.
The next time you are stuck in the slowest line at the grocery store, do it then.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, last time You helped me pick a fast line, blessed be the name of the LORD , this time you took away that favor, I choose in my heart to say, Blessed be the name of the LORD.

Waiting On the Holy Spirit

So what happened to the Bible Study?
Actually no one asked. So I guess this was not a group effort after all. However, there is a group and we are praying. I personally find it liberating to have an avenue to express what I sense the Holy Spirit is revealing to me. It is as though my willingness to share is blessed by even more of His Spirit and as one of those boats I talked about in the last post, the wind seems to hit my sails and off I go.
The posts from the Breaking Free workbook may not be posted as a daily post. There is a desire in my heart to be set free and when I sense that there are still strongholds that need to be broken , I want to come back and work through my Breaking Free workbook. In it is a treasury of God's word that ministered and helped Beth Moore and many others see the truth. That truth is that Jesus did come to destroy the works of the devil. He did come that we might have life and life more abundantly. There are not to be any strongholds able to change that. It is the truth. The truth does not change with levels of our faith. It does not change with levels of our obedience to God. Truth is truth. The culture that we live in has completely taught us to ignore truth as fact. It is that re-training of our minds that we so desperately need. It is called , the renewing of our minds actually. It is called, learning to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
There is only one way that I know this process can be done correctly. That is that it line up with God's word . The Holy Spirit is vital to the word of God being a living word . Study and fact finding alone will never lead you to the truth that will set you free.

Our boats are ready . We are on the water, our sails have been cared for and made ready for a long trip. (allegorical analogy , water : accepting Jesus as the Way . sails : minds filled with God's word.)" Go ye out and be fishers of men, " comes the cry. So out we want to go . Is our boat moving ? Well, slowly , I seem to be rowing instead of sailing. Could it be that my sails are not up ? Could it be that I by myself can not raise them high enough to fully catch the wind ? When I am with others and I pray a wonderful thing happens . As one begins to pray and then another and another their words are coming up as mirrors to line up with the will of our Father. My turn will come, "what should I pray ?" I think of a prayer and decide when the time is right , I will say my prayer. A silence, I hesitate, someone else begins to pray. She is praying the prayer that was in my mind to pray. She is saying the things I had thought about to say. Oh, how wonderful and joyful is my soul. The Holy Spirit had given me a prayer that would line up with the will of our Father ! In my mind and heart I readily agree with her and in our spirits we are of one accord. There is "Joy in the Holy Ghost !" There is joy when we allow the freedom for the Holy Spirit to flow ! What if we never prayed together ? Of course it is not a must. You can row a boat even if it is made for sailing.
Another wind giving opportunity is when we share the bread of life with one another. Jesus, of course is the bread of life.When I share what He has shown me in His word , I feel that I have shared Jesus with whoever listened. Jesus is the best thing that ever happened to me , I want to share ! When I share what He has given me I feel that I have done something akin to what is done during group prayer meetings. I have spoken out what the Holy Spirit showed me, now possibly someone else is being blessed . In group Bible Studies when I share what answer I put for the question , I am saying ,"I am willing to share what I have." It might be wrong. Always remember that. However, it might sound a lot like your answer . Oh what a blessing it would be to the group if you would share your answers too !
I exhort you to find at least one prayer partner and have at least one person you are willing to share "some " of your answers to the questions with. Annette and I are always hoping to increase our circle of friends ,either one of us would be delighted to be that prayer partner or Bible Study confidant. However, if you would like us to pray with you that the LORD help you find that person with whom you can share, consider it done. Tell one of us that you want us to pray though. We are led by the Holy Spirit , but we do not read minds.
Join with us now ! The more the better !

Hezekiah

What I got out of reading about Hezekiah :
He really had a pride problem. I just recently discovered that I to have this problem and it shows up a lot like it did for Hezekiah.
I always want to have the answers. Even when I try to not have the answers, I am there , with the answers.
Beth Moore said she has gotten so that she just asks God everyday to forgive her for her pride. Whether she realizes it or not.
Later on we are going to study the removing of obstacles,and oh good, one of those obstacles is pride.
Actually , I think my problem started a lot like these guys problem.
They just did not understand the whole offering and sacrifice thing.
Unfortunately a person can go to church for years and no one know, not even one's own self know that "they just haven't got it."
Since I did not understand from the beginning that it was His sacrifice for me , that I was to do nothing but be thankful, there was no right way and wrong way to do that. Years and years of pride have built up in me.
What didn't happen overnight, seldom is removed overnight.
I did say seldom. I do not doubt those stories of people who are radically changed when Jesus comes into their hearts. But I know a whole lot more who are going through a process of being transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Reign Of Ahaz (cont.)

The question is:

Why do you think we make this kind of choice at times ?

Here are some of the reasons I have come up with .

I want credit for my victories.

I want approval for getting my own victory.

I want to prove it can be done by "the rules."

I want to feel valuable and important.

I want to prove I am smart.

Is 7: 13 (my comment) will I weary God by continuing to do it my way ?

Question:
Why is God so patient according to 2 Peter 3:9 ?

He is wanting all to come to repentance.

Question:
Why were the high places accessible to the young and impressionable Ahaz?

King Ussiah had not removed them.

As I reflect on our Bible Study this past week I think how it must be a human trait to worship idols. Worship and how you do it has been a great concern of our LORD's from the beginning and I know I still have a lot to learn. Making Him a God that wants me to do certain things to please Him, takes away from Who He really is. Almost like making Him an image. Letting Him be a the God Who accepts me just as I am, and lets me worship Him in Spirit and in Truth gives me freedom and joy.