Category Archives: Mafe Quijano

Summer is here!

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Summer is here! And i know what you are thinking! Beach, Ice cream, Sun, Friends, Rest, and Fun Fun Fun!  Certainly those are things im looking foward to too! But how would a Summer surrendered to the Lord look like?? :) I found wonderful quotes in setapartgirl.com that i think apply too all of us!!
I pray that both you and I, would have a wonderful three months being pleasing to Him!

1. Thinking of others

“Spending the summer months in a worthy manner is easily achievable and does not necessarily mean radical elimination of pool-time. Turning outward is simply the Christ-driven, purposeful act of shifting our gaze from ourselves to those around us..” Maybe is just helping out in your home of helping your neighbors but seeking for ways to minister to others is an opportunity to follow Christ’s example and show His love! Because Jesus poured out His life for us!!

2. Being Purposeful

“For many of us vacation is a time to sleep-in every day, eat whatever we want, and do whatever sounds like fun.But if we have given our life to Christ, every aspect of our lives belongs to Him. Even during a break from school, we must choose to put God first…keeping a consistent routine with sleeping, eating and excercise is a discipline that needs to be maintained- even in the summer.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies). I know its easy to put pour guards down but if we are called to obey the Lord , we should obey, no matter the season or the weather!

3 Spending time in the Word.

With all this extra time, one of the best things we can do is spend extra time reading and learning about our God!

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

*All quotes above can be found in  setapartgirl.com issue for this month and belong to Leslie Ludy and her faithful writing team.*

Music and the Bible Believing Christian

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“Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” -2 Peter 1:3

Every aspect of your life must be consecrated to God. This includes music.  As a born again person God influences your life completely. The more you know Him, the more you will know what pleases Him! That’s why He is always the right place to start in any Bible study topic!

1. The Person of God.

“God is Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”- Westminster Catechism

God’s self revelation is found in: Creation- Job 12:7-9, The Nature and Constitution of Man- Genesis 1;26-27, God’s Mighty Acts- Exodus 5:1-2, His people’s lives – Matthew 5:13-15,The Bible- Hebrews 1:1, Jesus Christ – Colossians 2:9.

Some attributes of His Goodness…

Holy (set apart) Psalm 99:1-3; Exodus 15:11, True – Jeremiah 10:10, Loving - Isaiah 63:9, Righteous - Psalm 145:17, Faithful – Psalm 36:5, Merciful – 2 Cor 1:3, Gracious - 2 Kings 13:23.

Question: Does What I do Matter to God?

…Is there anything I do that DOES NOT matter to God? Do I get to make any life choices without regard to the Person or Character of God?

Answer:

“Whether therefore you eat or drink do ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD.” -1 Corinthians 10:31

God’s glory is the sum total of His attributes. Goodness attributes like His faithfulness and righteousness, we are commanded to mirror in our life’s choices and  His Greatness attributes like His omnipotence or power that we cannot obtain.

“God’s glory translates to life. It affects ATTITUDES, ACTIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS” -Pastor Tim Potter

2. The Principle of Philippians 4.

Verse 8 says:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Is the song I engage my mind in: true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent or worthy of praise?

3. God owns you.

Bible Axiom #1: In the choice of musical styles, you are not the judge and jury, God is. (1 cor 10:31, 1 Thes 5:21-22)

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?You are not your own, 20  for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” -1 Corinthians 6:19

4. God wants your body and your mind.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” -Romans 12 :1-2 

Could it be that what modern Christianity calls “freedom to worship however I want” is in fact slavery to the popular worldly styles just because is what the crowd likes? Don’t be conformed but be discerning!!

5. What is worship anyhow? Is worship just singing…is it just the music?

Worship is designed only for believers and not as a means of evangelism because unbelievers cannot understand the Biblical truths we sing about. Where is there in the Bible a place were the NT church invited people to “come worship with us”. Col 3 is very specific you must be saved to worship God through Jesus Christ.

Worship is also your money offering, it is also giving of thanks, obedience, and even  delighting in Christ is worship. (Romans 12:1-2) Worship is the full time activity of every born again person!

6. How about the words?

Can repetitive phrases bring comfort to the soul? Sometimes writers write unbiblically and can give a wrong understanding to the listener!

Example,  a CCM song titled How He loves said, “Heaven meets Earth like a sloppy, wet kiss.” Where is that in the Bible? Although I don’t fully understand what the artist meant  with that sentence, it sounds weird.

Christ-centered worship focuses on doctrinal truth, not repetition. It is focused on Him — not you or me! Be aware of music that only speaks of “I…I…ME…ME.”

7. God is our song!

“The Lord is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.” -Psalm 118:14

MORE BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES REGARDING MUSIC:

1. Use Spiritual Songs (Eph 5:19, Col 3:16)

Appeals first and mainly to the Spirit or to the flesh?

2. Live pure and holy lives. (Romans 12:1-2, 1 Cor 6:18, Eph 5:3, 1 Thes 4:1-7)

Associated with purity or fornication? Does it control my body?

3. Don’t love the things of the world: lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life.  (1 John 2:15-17 )

Does it promote any of these “things of the world”?

4. Honor your father and mother. Respect those over you in the Lord. (Exo 20:12, Eph 6:2,  1 Thes 5:12)

Respectful to parents and grandparents or the music of rebels?

5. Flee from idolatry. (Exodus 20:4-5)

Used to serve today’s idols or clearly separated?

6. Have a meek and quiet spirit, and live peacefully. (1 Tim 2:2, 1 Peter 3:4, Gal 5:22)

Is it loud, party music?

8. Don’t cause a brother to stumble and fall. (Romans 14:13)

First think, who would it harm or disturb if I used it?

P.S. I must confess, I used to listen to CCM a long time ago, but the Lord changed my heart strongly about it. The problem with Christian Rock and Roll is that it is Rock and Roll, which is associated with partying,  and all kinds of immorality I certainly don’t want to even think about! God calls us to be set apart. See a related Live Sharp post about how the believers song is NEW and DISTINCT from that of the world’s: http://livesharp.org/2012/02/08/proper-worship/.

I understand this topic is controversial and cannot be fully explained in only one post, therefore I provide here 2 wiser sources below if you still have questions:

TO SEE THIS INFORMATION IN A QUICKER WAY, THROUGH PREZI, GO HERE: http://prezi.com/fm3it9lvu7y9/music-and-the-bible-believing-christian/

Sources:

  • First Baptist Church of Troy
  • Dan Lucarini’s book, “It’s Not About the Music.”

The Gospel

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Have you been reading our posts, but have no idea of what we are talking about?

Well then this is the post to read.

What’s the Gospel all About?

“It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement.” -Hebrews 9:27

Everyone will die and everyone will face judgement. Why will we face judgement?  God created the world and everything in it in seven days, and all creation is accountable to God’s authority.

Adam and Eve, the first humans, rebelled against God and tried to rule their own lives. That was SIN, and the judgement for sin is DEATH. Since then, every human who has ever lived has sinned.

God is holy and there can not be any sin in His presence. Jesus says “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, [in other words, unless you are better than the religious, devoted people of Jesus' time] you will  certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 5:20). There is no such thing as a “basically good” person. Jesus’ standard is higher. That’s why the Bible says, “all have sinned and FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.” Our sin defiles us and makes us filthy. Our sin separates us from God. All of our efforts to be good are not good enough; we need to be perfect. But how can we?

God mercifully did something about our helpless state: He sent His only Son Jesus- who was also fully God- into the world as a human baby, born of a virgin, therefore fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies. Jesus lived a perfect life without sinning. Since He was sinless, He was the only One able to pay for sin. He gave His Own life as the payment for our sins at the cross and rose after three days, conquering death.

God gives us a second chance to submit to Him, our Creator and rightful King. If we accept His free gift and submit our lives to His authority, God promises to accept Christ’s death instead of ours and to forgive our sins; He will see Christ’s righteousness instead of our sin. We will spend eternity living with God!

If we reject Christ’s payment and His authority again, we will pay for our own sins, dying an eternal death in hell.

One day- no one knows when- God will come back to earth to judge His people. Until then, He invites everyone to accept His free gift of salvation.

Recap

-God is Holy and Creator, so we are accountable to Him.

-Our sin separates us from God.

-Christ suffered for our sin in order for us to be saved. God offers that exchange as a gift.

-To be saved you need to surrender and trust in Christ.

If you have done so, take courage and start reading your Bible regularly!

So let’s go back to Hebrews 9:27,28 it is a great summary verse!

“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.“

[This was written by: Janaya Richards and Mafe Quijano.]

How We View Unbelievers…

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As a public high school student, I struggle with this a lot. I tend to forget the true reality of unbelievers around me. A reality found in Luke Chapter 1 Verse 79 when Zacharias speaks of Christ as the Light who shines upon “THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH.” The Bible often calls them LOST or “SONS OF DISOBEDIENCE.” We tend to forget they really HAVE NO HOPE and NEED JESUS. We think they are ok but they really aren’t. We are accountable to God for sharing the gospel with them.

Would you this week prayerfully consider at least one LOST, BROKEN, FALLEN person to pray for? Pray that the Lord will grant you opportunities to speak the gospel with them. Sometimes we have not because we ask not.

See related posts:

http://livesharp.org/2012/01/19/there-is-no-plan-b-by-janaya-richards/

http://livesharp.org/2012/03/16/not-successful-only-faithful/

http://livesharp.org/2012/02/17/quote-of-the-day-the-greatest-injustice/

Verses of the Day- The Suffering Servant

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 Isaiah 53 (NASB)

1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; 
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence, 
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

10 But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guiltoffering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death, 
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

Hope you can meditate about the cross today and always. 

All things About Life and All things About Godliness

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“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours,  by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” -2 Peter 1:1-3

Everything, huh? Pertaining to life. That means that God cares about any little or big  thing I do everyday? Definitely!  And according to 2 Peter 1 through His divine power, and His Word,( the Bible), He has given us everything pertaining to how to live life and how to live it well. This means that He has given us the ability and the sources we need to actually keep His commandments and live in a way that is pleasing to Him.        (What a verse for those of us who think we cant overcome sin! It says we have all we need in Christ to live for Him!  ) So He cares about EVERYTHING (ALL THINGS!) ABOUT OUR LIFE and HE HAS GIVEN US EVERYTHING WE NEED TO USE EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIVES TO HIS GLORY. (That is, to live Godly lives) He cares because He knows people are watching, and though it may seem hard to understand, our actions affect others.

Most of us know 1 Corinthians 10:31, Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

So you say, sure  I want to do this thing, I want to do all things for the Glory of God. But how do I do that? What does that mean??

Well what’s God’s glory? God’s glory is the sum of His attributes. Of  His greatness like He is all powerful and all knowing!..etc (things that we cant imitate) and of  His goodness like He is compassionate, merciful, loving..etc (things that we are commanded to imitate). Jesus shows God’s glory because He is the exact representation of God’s nature.(Hebrews 1:3..And He [Jesus] is the radiance of His ['God's] glory and the exact representation of His [God's] nature…) God’s glory is His praise and His beauty. It is “the sake of His name” or “His fame” per say. To do things unto His glory means to do things that will point others to Him. Things that will give Him a good image because we claim His name. Things that will exult His name not our name.To do things that reflect His character. To do things that are pleasing to Him.

Doing things to God’s glory is not a mental game. My pastor likes to explain doing things unto  God’s glory  like this,

     Imagine you are eating a salad. Every bite you eat you are not to think..”Ok bite one, to the Glory of God!”..”Bite two..this is for God too..”.”Bite three..unto God’s glory”..But rather you should think of the bigger picture. Why are you eating the salad (and not a hamburger) right now? Because God says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20  ” Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body”. So that means you are eating the salad  because you want to please God and take care of His temple, your body. So you eat salad and exercise. Because you know it pleases Him. Because you are obeying Him. So His word is the ground were you base all your decisions from.

    All to the glory of God. Do I get to pick  what aspects of my life are surrendered to Christ’s Lordship ? No, He is Lord. God owns you. I don’t get to be “selective” in my obedience. I am a slave to righteousness now.  That means, God cares about what I watch, what I listen to, what I think about, what I eat, whatever I do, whether I take a shower in the morning or at night, or what time do I wake up or ANYTHING in my life? Yes. And all choices should be pleasing to Him, keep a good testimony of Him and point others to Him. He is a Good Master and willing to mold us patiently! We just need to submit to Him!

How can I learn what God wants me to do?  2 Peter 1 verse 3 says “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”  So i have all i need to obey Him, trough His power, not my own. So i can learn about His character and do things that would glorify Him by knowing Him better [through the true knowledge of Him]!! and the only way I can do that is through reading His Word! Wow! i need to believe this and act upon this!!! I understand we all still struggle with things, the important thing though, is to pray that the Lord will open our eyes to see how He wants us to live and being willing to obey and to read His Word. The more you spend time with someone, the more you know who they are,  and what they like/dislike. We need our time with God. That He would have mercy on us so that we would be willing to be changed by His Sharp Word!

“To the question Does God care about everything I do? The answer is YES! He is personal, you are His child and He is aware of everything you do even little things. A good father will care about every little detail of his child, because he cares about his child.” -Pastor Timothy Potter, Grace Church of Mentor.

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” -Romans 12: 1-2

“For the Christian, there is not such a thing as the spiritual and the non-spiritual, but once you become a  Christian, all things are spiritual.” -Unknown Author

Conclusion: God cares about everything in my life and the Bible is sufficient to evaluate EVERY single part of my existence.  There is no part of my life the Bible doesn’t talk about. The Bible is sufficient because it has everything  i need to  do even little things unto His glory and be a “living sacrifice and acceptable to God”. The Bible talks about all things in life and all things about godliness. I need to submit to Christ’s Lordship over my life and the Bible’s authority, that’s the only way i can understand what the will of God is..”that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” This is doing all things unto God’s glory. We will never be perfect, but we can be continually growing by God’s grace.

I should never do what Mafe wants, but i should be willing to do what God wants Mafe to do. I have a hard time understanding and applying this, perhaps you do too, so here is a plan, let’s pray  for each other! I will be praying for you and you pray for me!

Christian Blogging in a Christ-Honoring Way

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I have recently come across a great article in Leslie Ludy’s “Set Apart Girl” magazine (www.setapartgirl.com). This article had a big impact on me, so I thought I would share some thoughts about it with you.

Leslie says that whether we are writing blogs or reading someone else’s blog, we should be really careful concerning several things.

1. “All about Me Blogging”

She explains that in our current culture, we are often told “we are special.” Our flesh loves self-promotion, self-centeredness and self-glorification. Many Christian bloggers spend their time just writing about themselves. A life surrendered to Christ should be Christ-centered.

John 3:30 says “He [Jesus] must increase but I must decrease.”  (A great statement from John the Baptist that we can apply today!)

She states that it’s possible for a blog to pretend to be all about Jesus and still be all about you. That is if you try to bring glory to yourself through your eloquent words or thoughts. Leslie specifically states, ”The goal of every conversation…written or spoken…should be to leave others with a clear view of Christ and a blurry view of us…” (pg 15)

2. “Fishing for a guy (or girl) blogging”

This is when a person tries to impress someone else through blogging, maybe sharing too much information about themselves and expressing all the feelings that they have in their heart.  Psalm 4:23 says “Guard your heart with all diligence because from it flows the springs of life…”  Plus, Leslie explains that pouring out your heart to someone who you don’t really know and trying to pursue them, (specially when girls pursue guys, which I don’t think is something that any girl should do. Don’t pursue/chase a boy in any romantic way…the boy should be the one to pursue you…my two cents on that… ;) ) Doesn’t make you very attractive; it makes you seem a bit unwise.

3.” Blah Blah Blah Blogging”

This is when someone puts much of their effort in writing eloquently about “nothing in particular.”

“But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.” (2 Timothy 2:16 ESV)

So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual uplifting. (Romans 14:19 ESV)

4. “Fan Club Blogging”

It’s so easy to get caught up with this one. It’s even easier to become popular in our world today through the Internet, but we shouldn’t let that be the reason why we blog. Blogging shouldn’t be about getting subscribers or people to like our posts.

Let’s give the glory to God, not to ourselves.

I particulary like Leslie’s choice of verses for this one!

“On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.” (Acts 12:21-23 ESV)

5. “Fake Preacher Blogging”

The truth is that most of the time when we read blogs, we don’t really know how the person who writes them lives. We don’t know their character or testimony. Sometimes people can live not-so-godly lives while they are writing about the Bible. As a reader, we might think they are awesome because of their blogging skills. Let’s remember to TEST everything we read through the light of God’s word.

According to Leslie, when we are the one’s talking about the Bible through blogging, it’s good to bring James 3:1 to mind, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.“ We are  accountable. It’s God’s Word and it should be treated with respect. Leslie says “The truth we speak (or write) must first be tested, tried and proven in our own lives before we are truly capable of teaching it to others effectively.” (pg 20)

We should blog about the Bible with fear and trembling, because we will give an account to our Creator for every word spoken or written.

At the end, she encourages us to the fact that blogging can be used to bring Glory to God. So take this area of your life and allow God to set the standards for it, not your culture, not your friends, not yourself. The Lord may lead you to stop blogging if you need to, but remember this: ”Nothing is more important than your relationship with Jesus Christ…even the “good” things must be laid at His feet.” - Leslie Ludy

Ephesians 5:10 “Trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.“

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Quote of the day- Before the World

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“Before the world, aye, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts.” -C.T Studd

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Sin Brings Shame

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Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

(Ephesians 5:1-21 ESV)

Yep, sin brings shame. I know it because I have experienced it. The thing is, I have a Facebook account since 2007, yet I was saved in 2009. I realized I used to like a lot of things that were really bad, they reflected sins of insecurity and idolatry in my life. As I looked through my Facebook account and edited my “likes” and websites I was ashamed to read that my testimony in front of people, was embarrassing. At the time I “liked” these tv shows, websites and all the bad things I saw, I was proud I liked them, I mean I really liked them. I wasted my time in them. I never realized how bad they were and in my BLINDNESS I pursued them and I let everyone know about that. Now I deleted them because I wanted to keep a good testimony and I didn’t want to be a stumbling block to another believer.

That was a good reminder of a couple of things:

1. My heart is sinful and I’m able to deceive myself. I can blind myself. I can think something is right, but it might be wrong, that’s why I need God’s Word.

Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
(Psalm 119:18 ESV)

2. God’s truth does set you free! The gospel changes people! I know now those things are not acceptable for a Christian and I dont like them anymore. Some of the things I liked were dishonoring to parents and dishonoring to God. And as Christians we should stay away from that. Because we have a new nature, we despise those things!

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
(John 17:17 ESV)

3. God is working! God is growing Christians all the time! I was happy to know He showed me what was right, because He was merciful to me. But I needed to submit to the authority of His Word first, that’s the only way Christians can be changed.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
(Philippians 1:6 ESV)

Don’t do something that you would be ashamed of later. Prove and test everything by God’s word. Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:10 ESV)

Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. (Psalm 119:1-6 ESV)

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Ordinary Men

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But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.(2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV)

[God]..does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number.(Job 9:10 ESV)

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he [Jesus] saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.(Matthew 4:18-20 ESV)

Our God has power to do amazing things, I mean He created the earth! It’s amazing that I can read my Bible today because of the hard work of 12 ordinary men whom God used as TOOLS to show His power and His glory. They were just men with different skills. And they were sinners.  They didn’t have a whole New Testament written and they sure didn’t have the Bible in pocket size that they could carry everywhere and read anytime like we do. They didn’t have great theology teachers or amazing sermons to listen to like we do. Yet God accomplished great things through them. They sinned, but they were growing in Christ–likeness. The same Peter, who denied Jesus, is the same Peter who boldly speaks in front of thousands of people in Acts. The same John who wanted to sit next to Christ in His kingdom is the same one who writes about loving others and abiding in God’s love in 1 John, a love that would want the best for others, not self promotion. The apostles shared the gospel tremendously with people, they wrote great epistles that built up tons of believers in the first century churches and still build up believers today. Because of their hard work, the gospel came to OUR EARS more than 2000 years later! And you and I are being encouraged by them in the Scriptures!!!! But let’s not lose the focus. These ordinary men became unique not because of who they were or what they did. We don’t recall a “Great Peter” or “Amazing John” or at least that was not their point. They were amazing because their main point was exalting Christ’s name. That was the business they were about and only God made their efforts toward the gospel to yield fruit. Do we realize God doesn’t change and He still can use ordinary people like you and me? He calls people and once He does that, the people become EXTRAORDINARY people, (yes maybe not amazing to the world around us, but yes spiritual men and women!!) literally out of this world, unique, not the normal people! He can do great things for the Gospel sake through you, you just need to let Him have your life. Let it be consecrated to Him. Like the disciples who left ALL for Him. Surrender then to Christ. He is pleased in using those whom He calls and those who are dependent on Him. Don’t have a small view of what God can do (Again, He is Creator, He can do BIG things! Take a look outside, see the grass? What makes it green? See the sun? What holds the sun in a perfect distance that it will not burn us to death? See your hands? What gives them the perfect size and shape? God does!). Honor Him, be strengthened by Him through His Word and let Him use you. Pray that He will use you. Know you are not worthy to be used because you are imperfect, but God’s power is shown through your weaknesses. If God only needed 12 ordinary men consecrated to Him to spread the gospel around the world and write letters that continue to help the church grow today, imagine what He can do this generation with so many of us if we all as Christians would have a gospel surrendered heart!!! God could use us to accomplish great things.

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