Refined By Fire

Mark 1:35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. Waking up in the mornings is not an easy task for me. Getting out of bed is something I struggle with big time. Ask my roommates, they're pretty sick of hearing my alarm go off several times because I keep hitting snooze asking for 5 more minutes. It's one thing to wake up before the sun is up and devote your time to the Lord, but as you read the surrounding text you see it's far more then just that. The evening before, after the sun had set the whole city was gathered together where Jesus was and He began healing and casting out demons. You can imagine how long it could have taken Him to heal all these people and not to mention the time He spent with them building a relationship and talking amongst them. All this after traveling to Capernaum and immediately entering the synagogue and teaching, even in there He healed a demon posse

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you obtain it. [25] And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. [26] Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. [27] But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. I love how Paul used athletic training and competition as a picture of the endurance and perseverance that we as Christian need to continue in our ministry. I've never been a disciplined person even when I played sports. The only time I would practice was when I actually had practice. I rarely ever took time on my own to practice to develop my skills and when I say rarely I mean never. So making the transition for me isn't an easy deal. I do struggle waking u

1 peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. Peter was aware that the Lord will be coming back soon. He encourages us to be serious and watchful in our prayers. In the ESV translation says to be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of our prayers.  I've often thought sober-minded to mean to abstain from the influence of drugs or alcohol but you could very well not be of a sober-mind and lose that self-control while being completely sober and that was something that I've realized recently. To be sober-minded I believe is to be aware of the situation at hand, and not only that, but handling yourself in a manner that allows you to continue to be affective in your ministry. It was pointed out today that we don't have a lot of time left here in Antigua, and since we're drawing near to the end, we may have the tendency to become intoxicated with the excitement of going to our new field locations and even becomi

2 Samuel 11:11-13 And Uriah said to David, " The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my Lord Joan and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing." [12] Then David said to Uriah, "Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. [13] Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and made him drunk and that evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.  In the surrounding context we know that David did not practice self control when he saw Uriah's wife. He called for her and he had a sexual encounter with her and got her pregnant. In David's desperation he tried to trick Uriah into laying with his wife to cover up his wrong. It's interesting to see the contrast bet

1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. Disciplining yourself physically is nothing compared to disciplining yourself in the things that are godly. Even being in the setting that I'm in where it's geared towards removing distractions and truly gives me every opportunity to be immersed in the Word, I still find a way to miss devotion time regularly. Not to mention my prayer life. I'm sure it seems that it would be easy to maintain a prayer life but the truth of the matter is sometimes I just don't feel like praying . With that being said, those are the times I find I need it the most, and in that I believe that's when I need to press in even harder. Trying to be aware of situations that prayer would be important(Not saying prayer is not always importing) is not always an easy task. I find myself to be very distant at times and it's har

Philippians 3:12-13 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.[13] Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. Paul knows he's not perfect and he knows his need for growth and I can agree that if Paul is not perfect, then I am so far from it it's not even funny. I need growth and with growth comes times that will stretch you. Times that involve sacrifice. Times that will call you to put aside your comforts and step into situation where you're outside of your realm. But that being laid aside, I press on that I may lay hold of the perfect and complete resurrection that is our goal. That is the prize that we lay our eyes on, to be resurrected with Christ and to spend an eternity with God. It's easy for me to get stuck on certain things and

Philippians 3:11 - if, by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Romans 6:4-5 Paints a wonderful picture of what these verses are saying; [4] "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life [5] For we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection," Now, back to Philippians, if, by any means I key word MAY attain to the resurrection from the dead. Paul knows that if strays from Christ and isn't walking under the blood, He's not covered. I would dare to make reference to the Passover scene in Exodus, where Gods people were commanded to sacrifice a lamb and paint the door frames with the blood of the lamb and when the time of the Passover came, they were to be in the house or they would suffer death. Likewise, our faith must come with acti

Philippians 3:10 That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death  2 Corinthians 4:10 Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. So indeed we know we must sacrifice, count all things as loss. By counting all things loss, consider them not yours to be had, all things are Gods and if He so grants that we obtain it amen. So with that sacrifice the laying down of all things, through that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection. By that, I believe Paul is talking about a new life. Resurrection from the dead replacing that flesh with the power of the Spirit of God and by the power of the Spirit, we have the power to endure. We may know the fellowship of His sufferings , and become conformed to His death. I believe that through all of this we have true fellowship with God, in the laying down of our lives, being conformed to His d

Philippians 3:9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. In my last Inductive Bible Study, I talked about letting all things go and I believe all things would include striving to make myself better. In striving to do it on my own I believe it hinders God in the transforming work He is doing. Which leads me to this verse and where it begins I absolutely love. And be found in Him. If we in our finite efforts try to do things on our own we can only get so far. But if we're found in Him, Abiding in the Vine, we have a faithful Vinedresser that will care for us, watering us when we need it, with-hold water to allow our roots to search deeper for water thus making us stronger and prune us when the time is right to allow for more fruit to bare. A vine has no say in what the Vinedresser does, the vine just merely sinks it's roots in the ground and allows the

Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ What does it mean to count all things loss? That's the question that sticks out to me. The more I think on it the more it leads me to believe that it's not talking only about possessions. Many times I look at loss and think it's merely items or money. But Paul tells us he counts all things loss, and not for nothing, but for the knowledge of Christ Jesus and yes, it is excellent. To count all things loss is to already have all things given up into the hands of God, holding on to nothing. This means letting go of all plans, all desires and all things. The pursuit of money, that well paying job, that Ivy League college that trust fund. Even the dreams of ministry. Wanting to serve at a specific church under a specific group of people in a specific ministry.

John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. After reading this verse I moved to the surrounding verses and 13 stuck with me. It says " Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends". Now, I take that two ways. one, is literally laying your life down for your friends, Jesus being the ultimate example. Two Laying your life down in the sense of putting others before yourself. After reading that and then reading verse 15 and understanding that we should be willing to lay our life down for our brothers and sisters daily is huge. Being that we have group assignments and for some of us worship and just being together on a day to day bases, this can have huge application. I know sometimes my personal desires get in the way of helping my team. This verse got me because today I had my group g

Matthew 20:26-28 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. When we talk about the Kingdom of God, you truly see it's completely opposite of the world. To be great you must be a servant, and whoever desires to be first, he must be a slave. This is how God designed the Kingdom. But as we look through worldly eyes, we want to have people serve us, we want to be the best, having the highest position. Looking back at verse 24 you can see the disciples are upset with The son's of Zebedee probably because of pride. They were looking through worldly eyes. They may have wanted to ask to be by Jesus side when they entered heaven but James and John beat them to it. But in the Kingdom of God, if we want to be somebody we have to be a nobody. Humbling our

Luke 17:7-10 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, Come at once and sit down to eat? But will he not rather say to him, Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk and afterward you will eat and drink? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do. As we look into the life that Jesus lived and we see how he served, how can we expect anything less. Jesus, as He served, didn't want any special treatment from anyone. He came to do what the Father sent Him to do and didn't expect anything special just because He was obedient. Even before going to the cross, Jesus cried out to the Father, asking Him if there was any other way but submitted and knew that He was going

John 12:26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him my father will honor. As we serve the Lord, we follow Him, not the other way around. He says " Where I am, there My servant will be also." You see in Exodus God leads His people with a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. And as they followed the pillar God led them into a situation that He knew they couldn't handle on their own, but He was with them and made sure HE handled the situation. Nowhere in it does it say that we are to lead these pillars. There will be times as we serve the Lord, He will lead us into situations that are far above our abilities and what we're capable of and it's for a reason, He wants to do it with us. Though we're probably not going to part the Red Sea as Moses did in Exodus 14, as we follow the Lord and serve Him there will be times God calls us to do the impossible, and He does it to str