3/31/17 – Friday – IBS – Proverbs 12:1 - Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

    but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Julie:

Pretty direct.  Those who love and accept discipline, accept knowledge.  Those who hate discipline, hate knowledge.  This verse is so simple, but means so much.  For instance, no one can ever take knowledge from you, so why not accept it?  This point should help us to realize how special knowledge is.  The next point is, why we think we shouldn’t.  It is because we think we already know.  But all over God’s Word it says that the prideful are not wise.  The world thinks those two characteristics go together, but in reality (or in God’s eyes), it is a hindrance to any growth.  Not accepting disciple for the sake of gaining knowledge hinders our growth in not just knowledge, but it also hinders our humbleness, our self-control, and the softening of our hearts.  This person is a fool (or stupid as my ESV says – but we don’t say that word in our house).  

Thursday March 30, 2017 II Timothy 2:2 And what you have from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Nick:

The revelation and understanding that God gives us through his word is a blessing that we are not to keep to ourselves. We are to have fellowship over it. Some are called to teach it to other faithful men who will then in turn teach also. But we all are called to be students of his word. We never know when God will place us in a circumstance that requires us to draw upon the knowledge we gained during our time here as students. We were all called here for a reason and I believe its because God in some way wants to use us all for his kingdom work. There will be some of us who will be called to teach and some even to preach and pastor churches. This season is to prepare us fro the next season, and the next for the next and so on. Knowing this, we must continue to be students of his word in each season because we never know when he will call us to teach what what we have learned to other faithful men.

Julie:

This verse is the truth of a disciple. In verse one, Timothy refers to the readers as children.  What they have heard and what has been taught to them should be then taught to other faithful men.  In doing that, they will turn around and teach others the same.  If we think about a nicely stacks display of glasses, with fifty on the bottom then forty-five then forty and up and up until it gets to one cup on top, then we pour water into the first cup.  What happens?  The first cup gets full and begins to overflow, but the cups that are holding it up now get poured into until they are overflowing, then the next cups, then the next.  This is a beautiful picture of what it means to disciple.  Timothy understood that what these children in the faith learn, they must eventually get to a point of spiritual fullness where they go out and and teach others, who go out and teach others.

Wednesday March 29, 2017 Proverbs 9:9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

Nick:

Our righteousness is our faith in Jesus Christ. Teach one who belongs in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will increase in learning. Why does the righteous man increase in learning? The righteous man knows that he always has something to learn. He knows that he can never fully understand all of what God is. Teach him can come in many different ways. Know . ledge is one way of learning. Like here in ignite, there has been a curriculum laid out for us to learn from, to walk in. We learn from pastors and teachers teaching from the word in a class room setting. We also learn from experience. An example here has been Austin letting the guys teach a message on an area of scripture that God has put on our hearts. For me learning from experience is the most efficient way to learn things. Counsel is another way of being taught. Something comes comes up in our lives and we want to make sure we are doing things pleasing to God. Sometimes we are so caught up in the circumstances we can’t see through the fog. So we go to trustable godly men for couple or advice on what route to take. Proverbs 15:22 Without couple plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. All these different ways of being taught in the end come from Gods providential hand, and I think that is the key to increasing in learning. God is always trying to teach us something, we never will fully understand it all.

Julie:

So many times I think I'm wise enough.  So many times my pride stands in the way of receiving instruction.  But this Proverb says that a wise man takes instruction.  So what I'm understanding from this verse is that a wise man humbles himself to receive correction.  He may know the measure of his wisdom, but he also knows that it is never enough.  The hunger to humble ourselves so we can be filled with more is wisdom.  What I am is skewed and foolish.  I'm full of my self in this sense.  So how can a person who is full of themselves be full of anything else?  They can't!  And the worst part about it that, is pride is a synthetic fullness.  Nothing about it fruit bearing.  Today I was given instruction on how a godly woman should act.  I felt my pride welling up inside me saying "You are already a godly woman.  You don't need to change anything.  Especially what this person is saying. Be meek!?! Ha! No way!  I need to be a light.  My efforts, my credit, me, me, me."  But I knew, after reading this verse, that those thoughts are nothing more than the enemy trying to get a foothold of me so I cannot grow.  He wants to stunt my spiritual growth by letting my pride hinder my acceptance of instruction.  I pray that the Lord will give me more opportunities to choose the humble road of accepting intruction instead of choosing pride.

3/28/17 – Tuesday – IBS – Luke 2:46 - After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

Julie:

I can only imagine how terrified Mary must have felt when she realized her son was missing.  If Mary was confident enough to have Jesus’ head count before they left, then I can only assume that was because he was such a well-behaved child.  Plus he was twelve, not seven!  Anyway, if Jesus, being a well-behaved character was drawn so far from obeying his mother and father, it must have been for something worth it.  And it was.  It was for God.  Something sparked in him deep enough to say to himself “God over parents”.  I bet it was the Holy Spirit drawing him in closer to where he came from, heaven.   I feel that sometimes.  I feel the Holy Spirit attempting to draw closer to me.  But He only draws as close as I’m willing to soften my heart.  If I remain stiff-necked and hard-hearted I do not get to experience Him on such a deep and intimate level.  Unfortunately, this softening requires letting go of things in the world.  But Jesus didn’t leave his parents forever.  He was with them again.  Which gives me hope when I have to let go of things and it hurts.  Jesus chose God over literally everything.  His family, his source of food, protection, shelter, his everything.  He watched it keep walking and he chose to stop sit at God’s feet and dwell there instead.  Jesus truly is the greatest example we can have.

Monday March 27, 2017 Mark 4:10-11 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything is in parables.

Nick:

Jesus is the secret of the kingdom of heaven. The disciples had Jesus, the word in the flesh. Everything that was prophesied in the Old Testament about the coming of Christ was sitting right in front of them in the flesh. Colossians 1:27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the rich of the Glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Being born again and baptized by the spirit, we have been born into the kingdom of God. We are part of his body, the church. He dwells within us using us a vessels to accomplish his master plan. Colossians 2:9-10 For in him the whole fullness of the deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. Jesus is the secret of the kingdom of God, and we have been “crucified with Christ, it is no longer us who lives, but Christ who lives in us. and the life we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Julie:

Jesus told the people, including the disciples, about the parable of the sower.  He taught many things in parables.  But why?  This was the same question that the disciples and a few others had.  He said, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables”.  That sounds like another riddle as an answer to his first riddle.  But what Jesus is actually doing is letting them know that the very fact that they are asking for an explanation shows that they already know the real secret past the sower parable.  They did not here, not comprehend, and walk away.  They were hungry for answered and stayed to get them.  They did not understand but wanted to!  The other people, which were so many he had to get in a boat to teach, did not care to understand his teachings.  They are considered “outside” in Jesus’ explanation.  When we search for understanding of God’s Word we are searching for God.  I am guilty of thinking, “Oh, that teaching went way over my head. Oh well…”  And when I do that, I am just like an outsider, not gaining the secret of the Kingdom of God.  I am a student to God, so everything I here, I should want to understand.  I do not want to just here someone’s doctrine and run with it because… well…. It keeps me from thinking too hard.  I want to be teachable to God’s Word.  That desire is the secret.

3/21/17 - Tuesday - IBS - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 -  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Julie:

What I feel when reading this is conviction of not having the self-control that I should have.  I have a big heart and the right motives, and that is good momentum, but without self-control, I'm useless.  Self-control helps me to not exhaust myself.  It keeps me from keeping simplicity alive.  It keeps me out of danger.  I need self-control over my thoughts, my actions and my words.  I tend to get excited and let that take me too far.  This is immaturity because it is a lack of self-control.  It's a form of being impulsive.  I may not be impulsive to buy things or make changes in my life, but when it comes to expressing myself, I am impulsive.  But I am running a race.  And just like runners, I do not want to sprint the whole time less I tire out and quit.  Sometimes I have to slow my pace down.  Long distance runners are constantly calculating how much distance they have left vs how many calories they have eaten to burn.  They are deliberate with their actions.  That is self-control.  And at the least, they do not quit when they get tired.  I want all of these qualities in my spiritual race.  I wan to obtain the imperishable crown for running with endurance and self-control.  I want to get to the finish line where my Father tells me how proud he is of me.  These forms of self-control are something that I have desired for a long time, and I am just not able to obtain them.  So I know that I can only get them through God.  I just have to stay in prayer for him to give me self-control.  I have put myself in enough bad situations from lack of self-control to realize that I need to pray for God's discipline to rule over me until it becomes natural to run with self-control.

Monday March 20, 2017 I Timothy 4:8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and life to come. 

Nick:

While practicing self control and whipping your body into submission as Paul likes to put it is of value here, godliness holds both value here and in the life to come. What is godliness? I Timothy 3:16 says "Great indeed we confess is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” The understanding  of what God did through Christ and magnitude of it. So training myself in this understanding of Jesus Christ and the knowledge of him is of much more importance than physical training. Christ crucified should be an importance in my daily walk with the lord. It should be a meditation. Reading scriptures on the events leading up to, during, and after should be a daily discipline. Having fellowship with other believers over these scriptures and revelations would only increase my understanding and would draw out more insight into his life. Seeing that he is the way, the truth, and the life, why would I seriously devote the majority of my time to something other than growing in godliness. Keeping ourselves in what he did and his love for us will be the source of our joy and hope here and in the life to come.

Julie:

When we think of bodily training, we may think of running and working out.  And although that is correct, it is not the only kind of training that we need to strive for.  Being self controlled, patient, and loving all require training as well.  They are fruits of the Spirit, and as we all know, fruit does not just appear.  It must be grown.  Or else it is fake or plastic fruit.  It is easy to be discouraged when we do not see immediate fruits after three days of caring for a garden.  If we get more real with this metaphor: It is not easy when we give our brother our other cheek when he has struck one.  It is not easy to acknowledge the plank in our own eye, when we are focused on the speck in our brother's.  It is not easy to lay our fear down so people can taste and see the Lord through our boldness in faith.  It is not easy to cast our anxieties onto the Lord.  I could some all of this up by saying it is not easy to way the costs of following Jesus and still pick up our cross to follow Him.  That is why we train in the little things, so that when Jesus calls us to deeper water, we go.  The training place may be nothing like the arena, but it's all relative.  As an example, walking with 5 lb weights on each ankle may not seem necessary.  It may actually be a nucence.  But as you walk, your body is building up muscles stronger than if you had no weights, so that when the day comes that you need to run, you can do so faster.  God is working out our muscles of self control, love, patience, endurance, unity, faith, discipline, and so many others.  It is hard and it hurts, but the Heavenly reward is so worth it.  I pray that when I am in seasons of suffering or lacking, that my perspective would be thankful that I am actually training for godliness.

3/16/17 - Thursday - IBS - Philippians 3:11 - that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Julie:

What power resurrected Jesus from the dead?  What power resurrected Lazarus from the dead?  The power was the Holy Spirit.  I too want to attain the resurrection, the Holy Spirit.  I too want him to breathe life into me.  Whatever the cost.  But if I am already, dead then I have nothing to do to earn or give to receive It.  I believe the only thing I can do is give my body and allow myself to actually let go and die.  That is the only time that the Spirit can really resurrect.  He will not revive what is not fully dead.  I have done a lot of dying to myself since being in Ignite, but I have been noticing this area that is still living in me.  And it is breeding sin.  But to let that part of me die would require me really having to take that step of faith and trust that God will revive me when I let it die.  Does that make any sense??? In other words, or an illustration, I am this crepe myrtle tree.  I identify who I am by my pink or purple flowers.  "I am a pink crepe myrtle", or "I am a purple crepe myrtle".  But what am I going to identify myself in when my Gardener prunes my branches and all of my colors are gone?  Who am I then?  The world won't look at me and say "look at that bare tree.  She is beautiful".  BUT, what should I care what the world thinks?  The world does not take care of me, my Gardener does!  And I know that when I allow my Gardener to prune me in total submission, then He is happy with me.  And more, my flowers come back.  The difference is that I now find my identity in my Gardener and not my flowers.  "I am God's tree, and I am in total surrender to Him.".  The total surrender is death to self.  I am honored that God loves me enough to expose my wicked branches and prune them back, so I can be the best tree that He designed me to be.  Because without His love, my wicked branches would hinder my growth.

3/15/17 - Wednesday - IBS - Philippians 3:10 - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Julie:

The two words that initially stand out to me are resurrection and death.  Paul says that he wants to know the power of the resurrection and he wants to share in the suffering of Jesus' death.  I believe that we cannot have one without the other.  To know the power of the resurrection, we must first be willing to suffer and die.  And to be willing to suffer and die, we must first understand the power in the resurrection.  I want to be like Jesus on this level.  I want to think like him on this level.  I have the desire that Paul has, to not be a sideline Christian, but instead jump in and walk with Jesus.  I want to crawl through the trenches with Him, and be ostracized with Him, and die an undeserving criminals death with Him.

3/14/17 - Tuesday - IBS - Philippians 3:9 -  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Julie:

My righteousness is found in my faith not the law.  That is what I am getting out of this verse right now.  Yesterday in my persnal devo God spoke this to me in Numbers 19.  I learned about a sin offering and what it was used for.  A whole young cow would be burned in the sight of the priest until it was simply ashes.  Then those ashes would be poured into water.  This water was kept for people who came in contact with a dead body.  If they touched a dead body, then they would have this water sprinkled on them and they would be considered unclean for seven days.  The law said that to be righteous again, aftering touching a dead body, they would have to go through these rituals and sacrifices.  It was such an eye opener to me, because I was that person who not just touched but held a dead body five months ago.  And I had never felt closer to God.  I did not feel the guilt or shame of what I was doing.  I didn't feel like I had to do a bunch of nonsense to become clean in God's eyes again.  I felt clean as I held him.  I felt peace.  I felt righteous in the eyes of God.  And that is because of the faith I have in Jesus Christ being my Sacrifice.  He sacrificed himself so I could touch something dead and mourn without guilt.  And he is my Savior because I felt peace. This is an applicable way I have found my righteousness in faith and not the law.

Monday March 13, 2017 Philippians 8:8 - Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

Nick:

This was one of the key verses when I first got saved. It encouraged me to let go of everything I was or had so that I could gain more of Christ. Paul counted any title he may have had, any position, anything attained, as loss. Sounds like Jesus earlier in Chapter 2 verse 6-7, "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant.” This has been something that has been coming up in my life recently. I have been given a destination and a position in which I am being raised up for. I have recently also found out from the Lord some of my giftings that I will be applying once I have taken the position. What God is teaching me is even though I am called to theses things from him, they are not something that am to hold on to. They are not my identity. They are not some level of christian that I have now attained. Its not something I have earned because of me service to God. It is so easy for me to become prideful and become confident in the flesh. Paul says earlier in the chapter that if there is anyone who should be confident in the flesh, it should be him because of his background. Paul Counts them as garbage, worthless. Jesus did the same when he came to earth. My righteousness or identity isn’t in titles or positions, its in Christ and what he did for me. Its in the love of God. Its in the faith that God has given me in himself. Its knowing, trusting, and depending on who he is and what he did. It isn’t the things he calls me to or the roles and circumstances in which he puts me in. It isn’t the things in which were predestined for me. I didn’t save myself and I haven’t gotten myself here, God did. 

Julie:

In this section, Paul is having to get on the same level as the Philippians to get them to understand.  Paul is not an arrogant guy, but he knows the Philippians will not listen to him unless he talks like them.  They are like children who think they know and have everything.  It's the same way I talk to Trent when I want to make a point.  I cannot talk like an adult because he is not one.  I have to talk in terms that he will understand.  So these Philippians think they are set because they have all of this knowledge and status.  And Paul tells them that not only did he once have have the same thing, but he was greater.  They may be circumcised, but Paul was circumcised more.  He was a Hebrew and a Pharisee.  He truly knew the law and abide by it.  He persecuted those who followed Jesus because it did not fall in line with the law.  I can only imagine that right now the Philippians are thinking something along the lines of "Wow, this man Paul is the real deal.  Look at all that he is and what he has done.  Obviously he isn't an idiot.  Maybe we should listen to what he says and take his advice.".  Now that Paul has hooked them, he begins to reel them in.  He goes on to tell them that all of his fame and accomplishments, he counts as loss for the sake of Christ.  I'm sure the Philippians are scratching their head thinking "You are willing to totaly give up your life and your status and your control to follow a man?".  I believe that's why he starts v8 with "Indeed".  Paul counted everything as loss.  Everything truly is a lot.  But in the same breath, it is so freeing once it is let go of.  Especially, when we let go because we know that simply knowing Jesus Christ is worth more than anything that this world has to offer.  Paul actually said that it was a "surpassing worth".  So him being a Pharisee (being with the "in" crowd of religion), being a Hebrew (higher social class), and knowledge he had from both was so far less important to him than Jesus that it was surpassing in worth.  I want to feel the same way for Jesus.  I want just knowing Christ to be worth more than what I own, or my family, or my status, or my money.  My true identity is being the daughter of Jesus.  And praise God that Paul, this man who seems to have no problems with letting go of the world, says that he "suffered the loss of all things".  He is assuring us that it will be hard, but putting Christ on the throne of my heart is not the hard part.  It's when I have to remove my idols and count them as nothing.  But in doing that, God does not forsake me.  I believe that I will actually draw closer to Him.  I should know that I will not be left alone with Jesus on the throne of my heart.  And I believe that in doing that, I will gain Christ.  

3/9/17 - Thursday - IBS - Matthew 18:15 - If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

Julie:

If a brother or sister who walks with Christ wrongs me, I am obligated to address it with them, because I want to see them flourish in Christ.  They may not be aware of their exposed area that is hindering their growth.  And what kind of sister would I be to not want my fellow brother or sister to grow in Christ?  I know I want to flourish in Christ, so if I have a spot in me that is keeping me from growing, I would expect my fellow brothers or sisters to point it out so that I can pray about how to remove that from my life.  The enemy came to steal, kill, and destory, so when we choose not to confront a fellow member of Christ about their sin, then we are allowing the enemy to steal our fellowship, kill the good fruits growing with the sin, and destroy our confidence in God to redeem and restore.  I know I want to continue to grow in God as long as I am living on this earth, so if you brother or sister sees a flaw in my walk with Christ, I would hope they would bring that to the light.  And I would hope that I had a mature enough heart to recieve it as corrective criticism and not let it become something wicked.  I do not want the help to fester in my heart as someone out to get me.  That just means that there is still pride in me that is hurt.  But if I am really dead and now live in Christ then who am I to worry what counsel another Godly brother or sister has to share?  It's all for the growth of our love for God and each other !

3/8/17 - Wednesday - IBS - 2 Corinthians 13:11 - Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 

Julie:

Paul is concluding his letter with five commands. Rejoice.  Restoration.  Comfort.  Agree.  Peace.  As he says in the verse before, these are commands given for building up and not tearing down.  Jesus walked with these traits.  And since Jesus is our cornerstone, these traits should be a part of our foundation.  If our foundation is not built on these traits, then whatever we build will have to be to torn down because it cannot withstand the weight the world puts on us.  These five commands are the materials that make up that cornerstone to keep us from being shaken.  And crazy enough, all five of these commands are not for our own building up but the building up of others.  Rejoice with others.  Restore others.  Comfort others.  Agree with others.  Be at peace with others.  So as we keep the foundation of our cornerstone as Christ-like, then we help others lay their foundation as a Christ-like one.  When two people come together that are both built on Jesus' solid foundation then they are stable enough to be in unity.  When a congregation comes together on the same foundation then there is unity and fellowship and there you see the body of Christ.  I know that I cannot take it upon myself to build someone up because they have the free will to listen or not, but what I can do is be a strong tower unto the Lord and let that be an example for anyone.  

3/7/17 - Tuesday - IBS - Romans 12:16 -  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.  Never be wise in your own sight.

Julie:

I believe that this passage is portraying that when the proud and low love each other, there is unity. The sound is harmonic.  The chemistry is beautiful.  Just like a magnet, the two opposites attract bringing together something that cannot be broken (without extreme effort).  When the proud and the low can come together there is a common ground.  There and only there is where Jesus dwells.  Jesus does not live above with the proud.  He actually opposes the proud.  He does not dwell with low, or else he would not try to pick them up. He is close to the brokenhearted but not to dwell with them.  God designed man to live in harmony amongst each other, which requires us to lay our pride and things that puff us up aside.  It also requires us to lay our mourning and poorness aside.  But to where do we lay it aside.... at the foot of the cross!

3/6/17 - Monday - IBS - 1 John 1:5-7 - 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Julie:

The message that we have heard from Jesus is that He is the truth, the life, and the way.  We are to walk in that Way.  And when we do, we find ourselves walking in light.  "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill that cannot be hidden."  God's word says it.  "You" being the body of Christ is a light in the darkness.  But how can this be for me, when I know that I still have sin in me?  I know that there are still dark parts of me.  If there were not, then I would be perfect.  I would be Jesus!  But I'm not.  I'm still a sinner.  We are all sinner because we have Adam and Eve's blood in us.  So this can't be something that John forgot or overlooked when he wrote this.  So what does he mean? The point of this section is not to evaluate where we are as far as darkness or light, but what kind of action we are taking in our walk.  Remember, we are sheep of God's.  We are  spiritually stupid.  We do not know how to do anything without our Shepherd.  If I am a lost sheep in the dark forrest and my Shepherd gives me direction to get back to Him, which is a field of light, and I choose to go further into the forrest, then I am "walking in darkness".  I am a sheep who is alone and choosing to not walk in fellowship.  And as I venture further into the darkness, the dirtier I get.  If we do choose to listen to our Shepherd's direction and follow it, then we are "walking in light".  So, even though we are still in the dark forrest, we are still in fellowship because we are walking in the light of our Shepherd who guides us.  And what does He do when we finally step out of that forrest?  He cleans us.  I once thought of myself as a smart sheep who could find my own way out of darkness.  I was stubborn, hard-hearted, and stiff-necked.  I was deliberately walking in darkness. But God has let me wonder to the point of exhaustion.  The darkness gets so dark that I am asleep and obliveous to where I am.  Only the revelation that happens when God's light shines in and pierces the darkness can awaken me.  His light shows me the truth, the life, and the way and as I walk in that light I know I am cleansed dispite the darkness that I am walking through.

Friday March 3, 2017 Luke 12:37-40 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or the third,  and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Nick:

Faithfulness and stewardship. Will I be looking for Jesus’ when he returns. Will I still be seeking him and his kingdom when he comes. Hopefully I won’t be like the servant in verse 45 who says, “My master is delayed in coming, and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk.” I don’t want to take my hands off the plow I don’t want to turn back. He has brought me so far I don’t think I could ever turn back. But the spirit is willing but the body is weak. Thats why I have to keep my lamps burning even when they seem to be out of oil. I want to be faithful with what he has given me. I want to be faithful with season in my life. I want to take full advantage of this time alone with the Lord. But not only growth with the Lord but with my family. What ever God is calling me into, we come as a package. Its would be “our” ministry not mine. So I want to be faithful and a also a good steward of the blessings and possessions he has given me. I have to constantly be aware of this perspective that everything I have in my life has been given to me from God. Nothing is mine and when I disregard these things, I’m not being a faithful steward of Gods blessings. This opportunity is a gift and so were the finances that got us here.