Learning Obedience Through Our Suffering

Hebrews 5:8

The author of Hebrews reminds us of obedience through suffering when he describes Jesus in verse 8: "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered."

This is a very solid verse, so let's begin. "Although he was a son..." Even though Jesus was a son and was taught everything He knew by learning from His father and reading the bible, He also learned more through suffering. That's what this is leading to. Since Jesus was a son, there was a lot of room for other people to teach Him obedience and for Him to read about it in God's word. "...he learned obedience through what he suffered." Jesus learned to have more and more controlling obedience through His sufferings here on earth. He was tempted just as any human was because, well, He was a human! He went through the life of a man, though He was the son of God. He wasn't spoon-fed obedience and He didn't learn how to be obedient by reading, He learned to be obedient through the hardships of being a man and being tempted by Satan.

So what exactly is the author of Hebrews teaching us here? Wen need to experience temptation and suffering in order to practice full and complete obedience to God. It says right there that Jesus learned obedience that way! It requires suffering to fully trust God and to fully obey what He has set for us. How else are we supposed to show trust and obedience anyway? During our worst times, when we are going through a really bad situation, turning to Him, trusting Him, and allowing Him to work is the best way to show how much you fully put your faith in God. Not allowing suffering to take over and putting forth faith in God is what will show ultimate trust in Him. 

How to Tame the Untamable Poison Within Us

James 3:7-10

James brings down the hammer and convicts us all when he clearly and boldly says, "For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." (ESV)

Before we start I would just like to mention that these verses are my top three favorite verses in the bible for reasons you shall see. It's time to start. "For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue." This bluntly says that it is impossible for us to control what we say! We have been able to domesticate and tame every single kind of animal, but we cannot tame our own human tongue. and never will be able to. "It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." Wow, our own tongue, the part of our body that we use to speak, is restless and full of lethal poison. So, we are being told that we are not able to control the one part of our body that is full of killing poison and is also unable to sleep. Our tongues are the source of evil in our bodies and we cannot control it, no human can. "With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God." This is how James shows how the tongue makes us all to be hypocrites. He says that we sing praises to God and pray to Him and worship Him, while on the side we are slandering our fellow human beings; the very creatures God made in His likeness. That sounds absolutely terrible when you really take it in: we are worshipping our God with the same instrument that we are cursing His image with. How dare we?! "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." James wraps it up here by summing up what was said above and strictly tells us that "this ought not to be so." He commands us saying that what we are doing needs to go, NOW!

So when you read all of that, it seems like we're pretty helpless, right? We contain a restless and deadly poison that makes us to be living hypocrites, and worst of all, we can't control it. What are we supposed to do then? Well, it's hard, but it is the true solution: we need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us and take control of our tongue at all times. In the text, it is said that no human can tame the tongue, James never said that God can't tame it. The only way for our tongues to be tamed is not by our own doing, but by the Spirit talking through us and keeping control of our tongues. This requires major obedience along with total submission to God's will, and in order to know God's will we must pray. God will tell us what He wants, He will take over when we are unable to do so. By communing with God as much as we possibly can, we will soon lose control of our tongue, not for it to go into darkness, but for God to take hold when we lose hold. Let the Spirit speak, He certainly has more wisdom and knowledge to share then we do.

Understanding and Comprehending the Full Power of the Sharpest Sword

Hebrews 4:12

The author of the letter to the Hebrews really brings out the full meaning of the Word of God when he says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Dang, it's time to get crackin' with this one. "For the word of God is living and active..." The word of God, meaning the entire Bible, every word, is living and is active in our lives. It is obviously called the Word of God, and since God is living and active, so therefore wouldn't His words be too? "...sharper than any two-edged sword..." I'm not sure who knows what a two-edged sword is ad what not, so I'll explain. A regular sword has one end that is sharp and the other that is slightly dull, sort of like a kitchen knife, but bigger. A two-edged sword is sharpened on both sides of the blade, making it very dangerous and leaving room for many injuries if the wielder does not know how to properly use it. The author of Hebrews here is saying that the word of God is even more powerful than a two-edged sword! It is lethal when used correctly, and can convict anyone. "...piercing to the division of soul and of spirit..." Do any of you know where the division line is between someone's soul and someone's spirit? I have absolutely no clue. We can't even see a soul or a spirit, yet, God's word is capable of drawing a fine line between the two. "...of joints and of marrow..." A joint is where two bones collide and create a bend, such as our knuckles, our elbows, our fingers, etc. Marrow is inside of our bones, marrow is part of the bone itself, it's what makes up the bone. How is it possible to take one without the other? Or, let alone, separate the two? You can't take a bone without the marrow and you certainly can't just have the marrow without have the bone in there also. BUT, God's word is capable of easily dividing the two components. It has that power, metaphorically. It can do the impossible, accomplish what has never happened. "...and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." By reading the word of God, any difficult decisions or choices you're about to make can easily be settled in it. Discernment is the knowledge of what is good compared to what is evil. By reading the Word, we are able to be shown and told what is good in our hearts and what is bad in our hearts.

Guys, this take away is a matter of salvation: READ THE BIBLE. Read read read read read!!! After reading all of that depth about what the Word can do, why don't we read it?! It's been a gift FREELY given to us, and it has IMMENSE power to do the IMPOSSIBLE! We can accomplish so much by staying in the Word and by reading it daily. IT IS GOD'S WORDS SPOKEN BY HIM TO US. So why don't we USE it?!?! I feel like if this entry doesn't convict of SOMETHING, then I have failed. Guys, use the power God has given us, it can accomplish the impossible and can discern the toughest of choices; use God's words.

Living a Dead Faith

James 2:17

Near the middle of the second chapter of James' letter, he writes, "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (ESV)

When you read that, I pray that this verse shakes some people. This verse is very short and can be broken down easily, so we'll get into it. In this chapter James was talking about doing good works, and then he throws this verse in the mix. Looking at the overall verse, James is pretty much saying that if you talk the talk but don't walk the walk, then your faith is worthless. And that's true! What kind of Savior would Jesus be if all He did was walk around and say He's the Son of God without performing miracles or traveling or allowing Himself to be crucified? He wouldn't be a Savior! The main goal for believers is to go out and share the Gospel to the ends of the earth, you can't do that if you're sitting on your couch all day and not doing anything to benefit the Kingdom. That is our goal: building up the Kingdom and sharing what God has to say.

So what is James ultimately saying here? If you are living a faith without works, you are a hypocrite, you're lukewarm, you are not building up the Kingdom of God, and Jesus will ultimately spit you out of His MOUTH! By sitting down playing XBOX all day or gossiping and partying every night (No judgement intended at all), you are not glorifying God, you are being idle. James says your faith is dead. If you are doing nothing physically to go out and live your life dedicated to Jesus, your faith may as well be dead, and a dead faith is a faith that God won't accept. This verse is simple and hard to the punch, but has the most truest of words. If you talk the talk then you better walk the walk, because Jesus won't have a lukewarm attendee in His Kingdom.

Praise Is the Key to Kicking Satan Out

Hebrews 3:13

The author of the letter to the Hebrews gives us a sort of "final call" by saying, "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today', that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

This is really good stuff. You ready? Let's go. "But exhort one another every day." The word exhort means to give praise to, or encourage. The author is telling us that encouraging, loving, and uplifting our brothers and sisters is something that is considered very important. "as long as it is called today..." Right here the author is referring to the end of history, or, "Judgement Day." He is saying that we need to start showing more love and encouraging each other before times runs out here. "...that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." By encouraging others and showing love to them, it will give them another reason not to fall into the temptations of Satan. If we are constantly encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ, then there is no room for Satan to come in and mess things up.

What is the author trying to tell us here? The same thing we've been hearing in Roman's a lot: by constant encouragement and love, Satan cannot make his way into the hearts of believers. We need to be always uplifting each other so that we all feel loved. That is Satan's lie, isn't it? He tells us that we're not loved and that God has forgotten us. But if we are always showing love on our fellow believers, then they won't believe Satan's lie! How can you believe one false lie from Satan when you have hundreds of believers showing love on you? It cancels him out. So let's start encouraging and loving our brothers and sisters in order to keep Satan OUT.

Don't Get Mad Over Spilt Milk

As you all should know, we finished Romans! Which now means that it is time for another book to be studied through; and that book is James! My personal favorite book. Let's start!

James 1:20

In the beginning chapter of James' letter, he pours out much wisdom and informs us that, "The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

That is such a deep verse when you really read into it. Think about it for a moment: how often do we angry? Whether we're mad for a second because we hit our toe against the wall or we are in the midst of holding a grudge because someone betrayed us. No matter how it comes up or how long it lasts for, anger is anger. "The anger of man." Anger comes from man. God does not hold anger in His emotional chest, it's not His! Since anger is of man, it is of the flesh, and as we know, anything being of the flesh is sin created by Satan. Anger is from Satan and is a sin. "...does not produce the righteousness of God." Isn't that our goal though? To be showing the righteousness of God throughout the earth? But, James is saying here that if we are angry, we are doing the exact opposite of what we are aiming for! We're not helping God when we are revealing angry, we are working against Him! We are just showing more and more proof that Satan is active with the more anger we show. 

I think this is a gimme with the take away: we need to develop patience and relaxation in our lives. Instead of instantly getting upset and angry over your jammed toe, just take a moment to wonder if screaming a curse word and yelling is going to help. Is it? No. So then why do it? Why not just sit right on the ground and hold it to try and muffle the pain? That requires patience. Same thing goes for speech. If someone says something that would normally anger us, just sit back, relax, and think about if that is really something worth getting mad about. Just lightly brush it off, or lovingly react to what they said. Praying for patience and peace is a genuine prayer that will be answered. Letting go of anger and holding onto love and peace is something we all need to do. This is something everyone struggles with, and it can be solved. Living a life more surrounded by peace, patience and love is the key to flourishing God's righteousness.

Calling on the Power of the One Who Overcame

Hebrews 2:18

The author of the book of Hebrews explains a little about Jesus' compassion through this verse in the end of chapter two by saying, "For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (ESV)

When I read this verse just now, it was almost like a "Oh wow, that actually makes sense," moments, if you know what I mean. We shall see. When the author says "he" or "himself", he is referring to Jesus, keep note. "For because he himself (Jesus) has suffered when tempted." Jesus was a human. We was man. He was also God in the form of man. We know that. Seeing as He was a man though, He was open to be tempted, which He was, by Satan. The author here also gives us information that Jesus suffered when He was tempted! He suffered. He wasn't invulnerable to temptation, He was a man. He suffered just like we suffer and struggle with our temptations. The only difference? He always overcame them. He was a man that was able to overcome any temptation that was thrown His way. So, by knowing that, the author finishes up by saying, "he is able to help those who are being tempted." He has been there. Jesus has gone through temptations that are worse than what we have to go through today. It's one of those "been there done that" situations. Whenever we are going through a hard time or are struggling with a temptation, Jesus is compassionate on us and tells that He has gone through temptation, and since He has, He can help us through it! We are not alone in temptation, He is capable of helping us seeing as He is God and has gone through His very own temptations.

The gist? When we are going through tough times and are in the midst of being tempted, we need to call on Jesus for help. He offers help to us! He can and will help us because He has been able to overcome temptations 1,000,000 times worse! When we admit that we can't fight through this temptation on our own strength and call on Him for help, He will rescue us out of it. It's even said here in verse 18. He can help those who are also being tempted. Let's start doing that then, huh? Since we are only human and can't overcome temptations on our own, why not ask the God who went through the worst temptations of all and overcame them for help?

Being Wise as to What is Good and Innocent of Evil

Roman's 16:19-20

To finish up the letter that he wrote to the Roman's, Paul brings down the final gist of his writings in two verses: "For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." (ESV)

Dang, what a statement. I just want to dig right in! So, in the beginning, he says, "For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you..." Paul is giving them encouragement here. He is telling the Romans that their obedience to God is making him happy and he is proud to rejoice over them. Everyone loves a little encouragement, and that's what Paul is doing here. Then, though, he reminds them of something he wants them to stand by when he says, "But I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil." That's a children's song that I remember singing! "Be excellent, of what is good; be innocent, of evil." That's a great status or statement to stand by. He is telling them to master, to know, to live by everything that is good, and to stray, and avoid, and block out everything that is evil. So that when Christ comes back, we will be blameless and be called innocent of all that is evil; because, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." Satan obviously has everything to do with evil. He is called "The Prince of the Earth", or otherwise known has the prince of evil. He thrives off of sin. So when it is said that God will crush Satan, that means all of evil will be crushed as well, which is why we must be innocent of evil. If we are innocent of evil, we will not be crushed, but will be saved. But, if we are not innocent of evil, we will be crushed with Satan as well. Then Paul just closes that paragraph with his normal letter closing.

I feel like the call of this verse is pretty clear: "Stray from evil and thrive off of what is good." God is good, Satan is evil. If we live off of what is good and "be wise as to what is good," we will be living with God. But if we live with evil, we will not be innocent of it and we will be crushed by the living God. Guys, we need to start throwing away the addictions or the parts in our lives where Satan has control and where there is no good. We will be crushed if we are living by evil, it is said so here. Here is a good statement someone told me: Do you believe in God? Yes. Do you believe in Satan? Yes. Do you believe God? Yes. Do you believe Satan? NO! There is a HUGE difference between believing something and believing in something! We need to stop falling for Satan's lies, and start falling God's arms.

Since we just finished Romans, I would like to close in another prayer:

God, thank you so much for the wisdom You poured out into us through the apostle Paul. We thank you for his letter to the Romans and all of the knowledge we can gain from it. We are thankful to be reading and writing this blog and understanding key concepts you want us to understand. I pray that somewhere in these 16 chapters in these 16 verses that we will be convicted and understand a change that needs to happen. I pray for renewing through the book of Romans and Paul's writing. We love You so much and couldn't be anymore thankful for all that You have blessed us with. Amen.

Getting a Glimpse of What Angels are About

Since we finished 1 Thessalonians two days ago, that means it's time for another book to be studied through. Through prayer, Hebrews was the chosen book. Keep in mind as well that there is no definite author for this book, so we will not be mentioning who wrote it or exactly to whom it was directed towards.

Hebrews 1:14

The author in Hebrews gives us some insight about angels in the beginning chapter when he says, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" (ESV)

The concept of angels has always interested me. Finding out exactly who they are and what they are and what purpose they have and what they look like. It's just so fascinating. And angels are the topic of this verse here. In the beginning of the verse, it is said, "Are they not all ministering spirits..." That's the beginning information. So what we were just told is that angels are meant to be ministers. They teach us about God, they deliver us messages. Throughout the entire Bible angels deliver messages to prophets and people. They are spirits that are purposed to be ministering. "...sent out to serve..." They are servants. So, they are of no authority is what this author is saying. They are servants, meaning they are serving a person, or a being, known as, well, God! They serve God just like we do, so we are somewhat near the same level perhaps? We serve God on earth, they serve God by delivering messages for Him. That's pretty interesting. "...for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation." There it is, boom. They are ministering servants who are meant to serve the ones who are heirs to salvation, or, in other words, US! They are sent out by God to give us information about God. They serve both God first, and then us! Isn't that a cool and unique feeling? God has created angels and sends them out to preach messages given by Him and they serve us by creating that message system. So interesting.

So I'm sitting here trying to figure out how we should go about living off of this. I've come to one of probably many conclusions: we need to listen carefully in the quietness of our lives. I'll explain. So one, we need to be able to spend time in quietness for God to hear what He has to say. Angels came to prophets and people in the Bible in softness. There was never chaos and havoc happening when all of a sudden an angel came! It was in peaceful moments, moments of quiet time. Then, we need to listen. Prayer. Praying is our key and our direct communication to God. By praying, we understand what His will is and what He has to say to us, whether it is form an angel or from the Spirit inside of us. Let's devote silence to God and hear what message needs to be delivered. 

Roman's 15

Roman's 15:20

When Paul is talking about his ministry in the mid eastern areas, he makes it clear what his aim is when he says, "And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation."

Paul has made a great and clear goal with this verse to us. This verse also speaks to us in the sense of preaching the Gospel. Firstly he says that "I make it my ambition to preach the gospel." That should be everyone's ambition. Whether we are pastors or garbage truck drivers, it is our goal to be preaching the Gospel to everyone that we meet or come in contact with! Then he says, "not where Christ has already been named, lest i build one someone else's foundation." This is a big one. He is saying here that he does not want to go to different cities and countries that already know Christ and have heard the Gospel. That would be a waste of time, no? Why spend your time trying to preach the Gospel to a zone that already knows it and is living by it's standards? Paul makes the metaphor that he would be "building on someone else's foundation." Why build a water fountain at a park that already has seven? Go to a new park that has none and build one there! Same thing, why build and raise up a church in an area that already loves Jesus, when there are hundreds of countries that are filled with people who have never even heard of the name Jesus!

So what is this calling us to exactly? Well, Paul is telling us to not waste the time we have here on Earth and make the most of it by spreading the Gospel. Why would a pastor go to school and get a major in Christian Ministries and then go to a church that is fully functional and already succeeding? That's a waste of time! Instead, he should go out to poverty stricken cities in the U.S. or countries in Africa or Asia where there is poverty everywhere and Jesus no where. We need to check our priorities here and understand that there is still work to be done everywhere else on EARTH, not just in our neighborhood! So let's go out and start planting the seeds of Christ in people's lives who have never thought of having a relationship with Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

To finish up the book of Thessalonians, Paul gives us another command to help our fellowship with God by saying, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (ESV)

What powerful words! Let's go through them, shall we? "Rejoice always." That's something we never do. Do we rejoice if our car gets hit by another? Do we rejoice when we jam our toe on the table leg? Do we rejoice when we find out that our credit cards have been denied? No! But Paul is telling us to do so. Back in the days when Paul wrote this letter, the Thessalonians were going through horrible persecution on a daily basis. The last thing they wanted to do was rejoice! But Paul told them to do so, because it will matter in the end. "Pray without ceasing." That's another tough one for us. I can tell you honestly that I do not pray every chance that I get. What Paul is telling to do, though, is just that. If we are killing time or waiting for something, why not say a quick prayer? It'll do nothing bad but grow our fellowship with God, and that is something that He loves. Lastly, "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Paul retouches the same concept of rejoicing always. Give thanks in all circumstances! That's nearly impossible for us! As humans, it isn't normal to give thanks for the death of a family member or a friend. It's hard to give thanks when our house burns down, or we lose a job. There is a key component here though: THIS IS GOD'S WILL FOR US!!! God's will is for us to always give thanks, no matter the situation! Whether we are happy about it or sad about it, we are to always give thanks and continue on. It is His will after all.

The take away can be really hard to apply, but here it is: we need to obey God's will, no matter what it consists of. If He wants us to be happy, then we must be happy. If He wants us to rejoice, then rejoice. If it will make Him delighted when we talk to Him through prayer, then let's start praying more. Somehow or someway, by doing these things it will benefit us or others for the greater Good. By constantly showing happiness, it will inspire others to be just as happy or to ask us why we are always happy and give us a chance to share our faith. If we rejoice in pretty bad situations, then people will notice that and ask us the same thing. The more we pray, the more we will get to know God's will, which is never bad thing. Prayer grows our fellowship with Him, so we need to be taking advantage of that. Let's start doing what the Earth tells us is wrong, so that we will be given opportunities to share our relationship with Jesus.

Since this is the end of the book of 1 Thessalonians, I'd like to finish off with a prayer below:

God, I pray that throughout these 5 chapters of 1 Thessalonians, somewhere we were all convicted of something. I pray that everyone who reads this blog will get a new and different taste of what You have to say to us, and allow us to apply radical changes in our lives. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to write blogs like these and continue to analyze your Word. I love you so much and continue to pray for more comprehension and more blogs to be written in the future. Amen.

Roman's 14

Roman's 14:20-21

Paul gives us a very detailed type of sin to put into consideration in Roman's 14 when he says, "Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble." (ESV)

This is such an overlooked sin. Let's break it down for complete comprehension. So, let's first use real terms. Paul uses eating meat and drinking wine in this context. This verse is not limited to just those acts. Back in that time period, eating meat and drinking wine was against Jewish morals. So when someone that was Jewish did that, they were very looked down upon and treated like a Gentile because of it. The Jews hated that back then. So in comparison to today, that would be if somebody walked around cussing in church or claimed to be a Christian and continued to drop "F Bombs" in every sentence. That's not cool. So now we have that broken down. "Do not, for the sake of food (enjoyment), destroy the work of God." That means that just because you feel like cussing is cool and you're not slandering anyone, don't do it because it will make others question the work of God. "Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats." This part means that even though you're not hurting anybody by doing so (cussing), it is still making other people look down on you and your fellow Christians are getting upset about it. "It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble." So, it's a very good idea for you to stop cussing or doing whatever you're doing that makes others or fellow Christians stumble or generate irritation. 

So what is this really saying overall? Even though something that you're doing may seem harmless to you, other believers might take offense to it because that is just something that they have a hard time with. For example, I'm a believer, but say I sagged my pants. Obviously there's nothing in God's word that says not to sag my pants. So technically that's okay. BUT, if I'm causing other Christ followers to question their views on sagging or making them question my beliefs because I'm sagging, that's a sin because I am causing someone to question what they believe. Does that make sense? If something I'm doing isn't a sin but is making my fellow Christians screw up, then I'm sinning. So all in all, watch out for what you're doing and how it is affecting the body of Christ, because we do not want other people to question God's works.

1 Thessalonians 4

1 Thessalonians 4:18

After Paul writes about the second coming of Christ and what that will be like, he finishes the chapter off with this verse: "Therefore encourage one another with these words." (ESV)

I love how Paul has the capabilities of writing such a simple verse but making it have so much meaning behind it. Earlier in this section of the chapter, Paul was talking about how the deceased Christians will come back down with Jesus and share in His glory, and we will be comforted when we are taken with Him. Then he throws out this verse. "Therefore encourage one another with these words." The word encourage is used, meaning that the end of time, when Jesus comes back, is supposed to be a happy time for us! We shouldn't fear it or be scared, otherwise we wouldn't be called to encourage people about it. Paul's words about us being taken up with Christ and Him allowing us to be comforted with His presence should be the ultimate comfort for believers. Paul is telling us to use his words to bring joy and comfort to the believers who are weary, or scared, or fearful, or petrified of the end. It is supposed to be a joyful time for us!

What are we going to take away from this verse? Be on the lookout for fellow believers who are having a hard time grieving or getting over something tragic. Yes. If a friend dies and one of the people affected are upset and worried and just overwhelmed with the event, telling them about how Jesus will come down with their friend next to him on clouds will be so comforting. Their friend's destiny wouldn't be in their "things to worry about" list anymore. They can be comforted by that. Or know that if someone is being bullied or harassed or just not being encouraged by others, Jesus will come to their rescue when His second coming arrives. We don't know when that will be, or how long that will take, but God will not let His children suffer without Him having a say about it. We need to be excited about the Second Coming and if other believers are having a tough time with something, perhaps the words of Paul here can comfort them. 

Roman's 13

Roman's 13:14

Right at the end of this chapter in Paul's letter to the Roman's, he finishes it off with this command, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." (ESV)

What Paul says here is the key to living through life. When troubles come, this is what we need to do to get through them. When anything gets hard or we don't feel capable of completing something, this will help us. Anything that's stresses us out will be tossed away if we live by the strategy this verse gives us! Paul says "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ," that has some deep meaning to it. Think about the way we wear clothing. We wake up, shower, then immediately we put on a fresh pair of clothes, and we don't take them off until the end of the day before we sleep, and then we repeat it. Imagine if that's how we lived with Jesus. The first thing we did was wake up in the morning, pray, read and equip ourselves with the Word and with Christ, and then throughout our day we always have Him with us and we are always prepared! That is obviously harder than it sounds, but it very much is accomplishable! Then Paul states, "and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." When we have Christ on and we are equipped with Him, we will have no desire to please our flesh or our sinful desires. When we have Christ with us, we also need to block out the need or want to live by the flesh. We can't serve two things, either one or the other. If we are living with Jesus on us all day, then we can't live with the desires of the flesh among us as well. Make no room for our earthly desires to peer into our lives, because sometimes that's all they need to take hold of us.

So the wrap up? We need to prepare ourselves daily by starting out the morning with Christ. I know myself, and if I don't read in the morning or give myself the motivation to get up, I'm not going to the rest of the day, and then I feel guilty for not writing a blog. That's what this is mainly for. But, I do my best everyday to make sure that sometime early in the day before anything happens, I make sure that I fit in my reading time, everything else can wait. And I've noticed that if I have a busy day and I stop and read, nothing happens. I don't miss plans, I'm not flooded with texts or calls, I'm not stressed out, it's like my daily life goes on pause while my Jesus time continues. It's a great feeling. It also is a necessary preparation we all need to do. If we don't equip ourselves with Christ daily, chances are the devil can take hold because we're not guarded. Protecting ourselves with Christ is a daily routine that will allow us to throw away the sinful desires of the flesh we ever had, and live in peace with Christ on a daily basis.

1 Thessalonians 3

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

Paul asks God a great request for us in the end of chapter 3 when he says, "And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." (ESV)

Paul is such a great writer. He completely describes what God wants for us to do throughout this earth in two verses. He is praying that God will fill us with such love for each other as the body of Christ. That's the first thing that is mentioned. We need to be loving of all believers: male, female, tall, short, young, old. We are united under Christ and therefore we are called to love each other. "And for all", we also need to love those who are outside the body. Those who are unsaved, those who are living in the darkness. We need to be the light in their lives and show them the same unconditional love that God has shown us through Christ. No matter who they are or what they've done, we need to love them abundantly. Love is the most powerful strategy God has given us, it's time we use it on everyone. "So that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness". The more we love and the more we live by love, the easier it will be for God to establish us. He will declare us blameless. It makes perfect sense too, if we love everyone on this earth and live by what Christ stood for, then what does anyone have against us? They can't call us out on anything because all we've done is love everyone. We will be titled blameless and holy by God in the time that Christ comes back to earth with all of the citizens of Heaven. Can you imagine that? Christ comes down to this earth and has angels and saints and animals and prophets with Him, and He looks at us and awaits fort God to speak, and then God says, "This child has been blameless on earth." What? God wants to declare us blameless, and we do that by loving all.

I feel like the challenge here is obvious: love. Love. That's it. We are called to love everyone here at all times, and that won't be easy no doubt. But, if we live by Christ and live with constant prayer and peace with God, loving the unlovable and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ will be accomplished. Only through God can we love everyone, for God is love. The more we pray for the ability to love everyone, the more opportunities will come for us to love people and share Christ's compassion with others. This can and will change the world guys, let's start loving the unlovable.

Roman's 12

Roman's 12:19

Paul gives us this comfort in Roman's 12 to clam us and remind us to be peaceful and patient by saying, "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord.'"

That verse just gives me chills and comforts me so much when I read it. Isn't it comforting to know that we have a jealous God that wants us all to Himself? He is also jealous with revenge. He tells us that revenge isn't something for us to take, but that is His job. Paul writes for us to "leave it to the wrath of God". He is giving us such comfort! We don't have to worry about getting even with someone, we can just ignore it, knowing that vengeance will be had on God's part, and we don't have to lift a finger.We are to love those people, show them God's grace in an attempt to save them. Depending on if they are accepting or not, God will have vengeance for His children. Knowing that, I am incredibly comfortable.

So what exactly do we need to do with this? Love. That's the key. Love. Jesus loved the lowest of the low as well as the highest of the high. He may not have wanted to, but He still did. That's what we are called to do. If we are bullied, harassed, tormented, made fun of, picked on, yelled at, or denied, we just need to throw it away. Forget about it, because God's perfect justice will come for us, and He will avenge His children. No Father lets people hurt His children and get away with it. God is a God of love, but He is also a God of just. He wants what's right to happen, He will let no evil get away unpunished. Justice will be served in due time; but while we wait, we must love everyone, no matter their actions. God loves all, and so we must love all as well. God will not forsake His children of the Light.

Roman's 11

Roman's 11:29

As Paul writes about the saving of Gentiles and the the history of Israel, he begins to talk about God's faithfulness by saying, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."

Out of all of the verses in this chapter, verse 29 really kicked me. Just like the verse I wrote about yesterday, this one as well can also serve as a reminder for us. First and foremost, Paul starts this verse by saying "For the gifts and the calling of God...". That right there tells us that God has given us and will give us gifts. He will also call us to different things on this earth. Gift. Something freely given to another. God has freely given every believer something. Every single one of us. We all have a gift, whether it's worship, or speaking, or evangelizing, or serving, or encouragement. No matter what it is, if we are using it to better God's kingdom, it is a gift freely given to us by God. Then the next word, calling. Just as every believer has a gift, every believer also has a purpose. God has given us a purpose. A gift and a purpose. They go hand in hand don't they? We are given a talent or a gift by God, and then He presents us a purpose or a path that He wants us to take that allows us to use that gift or talent! Lastly, our gifts and our calling is irrevocable. The definition of that word is not being able to be taken back. No turning back, no regret, no stoping. Irrevocable. There is no going against what God has given us. There is no going against what God wants us to do. We can fight and disagree with God and say that we aren't meant to preach or be a missionary or be a worship leader as much as we want, but if it is our calling, then it is going to happen. You can't stop what God wants done. We permanently have our gifts, and whatever we are called to do, we can't avoid it.

So out of all of this, what is the gist? Well, I'll explain it. Listen and do. Listen and do. God comes in a whisper, He speaks to us in a loving manner, not with a loud thunderous approach. We need to quiet our minds and listen to what God is telling us. Discover what we are good at. Seek our gifts and talents. They may come randomly and we will discover them in a random event, but find out what God is giving you. Take hold of what you are good at and embrace your weakness. Let God work through you. And whatever you feel you are being called to do, do it. Remember, clearing your mind is the greatest way to here what God is saying to you. And He will speak to you, trust me. You just need to shut up your busy daily life for a couple minutes and focus on God. What He tells you is very important. Wherever you are called to go or whatever you are called to do, listen and do it, because God has the best interest in mind at all times. Remember, Paul says that our gifts and callings cannot be redone, they cannot be revoked, they are irrevocable. You can't turn left on a path that only goes straight. We are going to forever have our gifts, so we might as well use them for the kingdom of God. Obey the God of the universe.

1 Thessalonians 2

1 Thessalonians 2:4

When Paul is writing praises to the Thessalonians, right in the beginning of chapter two, he reminds them, "But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts".

I think that this verse is such a great reminder that every believer should keep in mind when they are out and about in their daily lives. The beginning of this verse is so important and so vital to us: "but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel". WHAT?! God has approved us and let alone trusted us with the gospel?! Yes! Think about that, God has trusted us with the good news about what Jesus has done. He has approved of this decision. God is trusting us with His word! That blows my mind when I think about it deeply enough. Then the second half of the verse is the reminder and the commission: "so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests out hearts". Paul is telling us that we can't focus on making sure that everyone on this earth is pleased with us. Not everyone in Jerusalem was pleased when Jesus was around talking about how He was the Messiah. So nor will people be happy with us when we share the gospel with them. But, that's not our goal. We don't have to worry about making everyone here happy. What matters is that God is pleased with what we are doing to better His kingdom and give Him glory. That is our end goal.

So what exactly is Paul telling us here? Well, it's right there: it doesn't matter about what people think of us, but how we please God with our actions. Who cares what people think or say about us? In the end none of that is going to matter, so there is no point in stressing out about it now, or ever. We were not brought here or called here to make everyone happy. We are here to share the gospel with people, whether they accept it or not, it's the Truth. That's our end line, to spread the good news, to let people know about Jesus. And if they bash us and slander us, then let them do it. Justice will be brought in the end. Our labels given to us by man have no meaning compared to the titles given to us by God. The key point: our focus shouldn't be on our reputation with others, but on our resemblance of God.

Roman's 10

Roman's 10:17

Paul convicts us in Roman's 10:17 when he says, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (ESV)

Almost all of chapter 10 in Roman's is Paul talking about salvation and how one receives salvation. Earlier in the chapter he says that once one confesses that he accepts Christ and in his heart believes that God has risen Christ from the dead, that is when one person is saved. Later down now, we see this verse pop up. I feel that this verse is Paul summing up the entire section of what he has just written, and leaves it has a conviction and a calling for all future Christians to take part in. It makes total sense too! He starts by saying "faith comes from hearing". That is true. How is someone supposed to be saved or supposed to accept Jesus if no one comes to them and tells them about the Bible or about the Gospel? Every Christian to this day has been preached to at least once in their life (hopefully more) and probably asked questions for another more informed believer to answer. It's all verbal if you look at it. Preaching is verbally revealing the Gospel and sharing the good news, and answering questions is informing the new believer or nonbeliever about what following Jesus is all about. We all hear about the Gospel, and then later on begin to study it and read it in our Bibles. That's where "and hearing through the word of Christ" comes in. Once we hear about the Gospel verbally from another believer, that should encourage us, or we encourage others, to pick up their Bibles and actually read the Word of God to hear what else He has to say to us! It's a three way process: one hears the Gospel, confesses and believes in our Lord Jesus, and then hears what God has to say through reading His Word.

So what is the calling, or what does this mean for us to do? Evangelize. That's exactly what Paul is saying through this verse. Evangelize. How are we supposed to win more believers if they never hear the Gospel? Or how are we supposed to save people who don't get the chance to read the Bible unless we go out and tell them about it? There's people in third world countries who will never get to hear the Gospel, and that's not their fault; no one is telling them about it, therefore they have no idea it even exists. That's our job! We need to inform the people who don;t have the opportunity to be informed. But it's not just on foreign countries: we can also bring this to our home cities and states. Speak to people you meet! Speak to your friends! Speak to your families! Speak to strangers who you don't know! Speak to the homeless in your neighborhood! Speak! Some of our friends have no clue who or what Jesus is, and that's our job to inform them! Some of our relatives know little to nothing about the Gospel, let us come and pour out His grace to them. Give a homeless man some money or some conversation and there's an opportunity to reveal Jesus to him. There are unsaved and uninformed people everywhere around us, and it is our duty as followers of Christ to come to them with love, grace, mercy, and respect and tell them about what Jesus has done for them.

1 Thessalonians 1

First, before we start, I just want to say that I'm switching up the normal Roman's routine just to add some spice to the blog. Roman's is not over, trust me. I'm just starting up another book:)

1 Thessalonians 1:7

Paul writes in his first letter to the Thessalonians, "So that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia."

Let's start! Firstly, this verse can be read in two ways depending on the mindset of the reader: the first way can be a limited view, the second an unlimited view. The reader with the limited view will see this verse as a praise to the Thessalonians and nothing more. The reader with the unlimited view will see this as a challenge to all Christians on earth. Seeing this as a challenge would be the greater way to understand this. At the time, the Thessalonians had just given up their idolatrous practices and began to worship our God, which was a huge thing back then. Paul was giving them praise for that earlier in the chapter. Geography wise, Thessalonica was a city in the nation of Macedonia, and Achaia was its own separate nation. So, to catch up: two nations, Macedonia and Achaia; one city in Macedonia: Thessalonica. Boom. So here we see that Paul says that they became examples to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia. Both nations! One city of believers became an example to TWO NATIONS. Of course the Thessalonians deserve praise for that! Now if that happened nearly 2,000 years ago, why isn't it happening now?

Here it comes: if one city of Christ followers became an example to two separate nations over 2,000 years ago, imagine what can happen 2,000 years later! If Thessalonica can do it, why can't Phoenix? Or Detroit? Or Manhattan? Or Los Angeles? They had no enhanced ways of travel like we do today, and they were still able to set the stage for Macedonia and Achaia! Phoenix, or Detroit, or Manhattan, or Los Angeles can be an example for the U.S., and then Canada or Mexico. I believe it. We just need to step up our game as a body of Christ. Evangelism needs to take place as well as discipleship of fellow believers. It is totally possible. If Thessalonica could do it, so can we.

Roman's 9

Roman's 9:20

In Roman's 9:20, Paul uses an incredible metaphor, saying, "But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this?'"

I personally absolutely love this metaphor. It is commonly used, but sometimes misunderstood. It's a perfect description of what our attitudes need to be like towards God. Paul begins by saying "But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?" showing that we are little. We have NO authority over the God of this universe. None. We were given the gift of being here and experiencing life, so who are we to question God? We are created, not creators. Which is when Paul uses the great analogy that the creation has no right to question the intentions of the Creator. We don't have our best interests in mind, God does. The Creator of everyone and everything. Clay can't talk back to it's molder, and neither can we talk back to our God.

I feel like this has such a convicting take away as well. We need to be submissive at all times. All! We are no where near being in control of anything that happens, God is. So why do we constantly stress out about making sure things are going perfectly or smoothly? Or planning so far ahead that we lose track of what's going on right in front of us! God wants us to obey Him, listen to Him, be submissive to Him, day by day. We can't question Him or try to put authority in our own hands because it's not possible! Lastly, I'd like to finish up with a paraphrase of something that C. S. Lewis states in "Mere Christianity": It is impossible to argue or disagree with God. Why? Because you are arguing with the very Being that gave you the ability to argue. Boom. Nothing left to say after that. Be submissive and accepting of what God wants for you.

Roman's 8

Roman's 8:28

In Roman's chapter 8 verse 28, Paul makes an incredible statement saying, "And we know that for those who love God all things will work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (ESV)

Right when I read this verse it just hit me. It stuck to me hard and I kept flipping back to that verse to re-read it all the time. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made: if we are God's children, why wouldn't He want the best for us? Father's on earth want the best for their children, so why would God be any different? Especially a perfect Father in Heaven. God wants good to happen to us, through His will. His will comes first, and if we yield to that will, good will come for us.

As I read into this verse, I realized a lot of misunderstanding could come from this verse as well. When Paul says "all things will work together for good", the word good could be very loosely handled. God is not of this world, so He would not give us things of this world. When the word "good" is used, Paul is not talking about "good" earthly things, but good Heavenly things. This verse does not guarantee us earthly comfort, but perfect conformity with Christ. It promises us a better relationship with God, closer fellowship with God, bearing the fruit of the Spirit, and glorification with God.  None of those things promised are in relation to the world, but with God. So when we're promised "good" things in Roman's 8:28, don't expect a Mustang, or a gorgeous house, or plenty of money, or great health. None of those things matter in the end. What we need to expect is perfect peace and unity with God.