Hello everyone,
Here is the next video. I hope you all are watching them! I will say to all of you who have commented or come to me with encouraging words, THANK YOU! It means a lot to get your feedback!
This is a perfect ending to our series and actually will be a good "kick-off" for the upcoming one, as it leads right into it. What we need to gather from this video is the call to put effort into growing stronger in Christ. Think of the Vikings; as Brett said, they would row themselves to battle though it was difficult, and through that diificult task they grew strong and were virtually undefeated. Now apply that to the Christian life:
Don't expect your parents or your pastor to "row you to battle". Don't sit in Church and only learn from what your Pastor is telling you; put forth your own hand and toil in the Word yourself. You will grow strong in the knowledge of His word that way and will be undefeatable by the enemy. The Word is your sword, and if you are consistent in welding it you will become an expert. Think of picking up a heavy sword and trying to fight a deadly army without practicing first! Or gaining the strength it takes to weild it with skill and precision! Our hermenuetics class at Church has blessed me in that point; I'm realizing how strong and "deadly" (towards our enemy, the devil) we can be if we have used our sword correctly... Pastor Gentry put it perfectly in the hermenuetics class: "A servant who knows how to use his tool correctly will be profitable, but one who does not know how will become dangerous". Which are you; profitable or dangerous?
So how well do you know how to weild your sword? Are you gaining the strength it takes to weild it? Or are you relying on others older then you to do that for you? Remember, they won't always be there to do that for you. Learn now, and glory in the strength the Lord has given you!
I know many times it can be hard to do the toil ourselves. It will take self denial and lots of hard work, but it is worth the effort on the end. Praise God for those who will try even when it is hard. That is the spirit of a true follower of Christ and someone who strives to live for God's glory. It will hurt in the beginning especially-just like a good work out will- but as you continue and begin to strengthen your mind and heart you will find it less of a battle. God blesses those who put forth the effort in seekng after Him. So, "be strong, quit you like men..."!
The beginning of doing hard things for Christ will start in your own heart. God only gives great tasks to those who are faithful in the small, such as reading our Bible, praying, honouring our parents, caring for others... the list could go on and on. You get my point though.
It all starts at the HEART.
Our next series will be discussing exactly that. We must strive for greatness of character, integrity, before service. And it will always come first for a Child of God.
If you all are wondering what Alex and Brett were talking about in the very beginning of the video on the issue of grown men and women who are still like teenagers, I would HIGHLY recommend you read their articles "The rise of the kiddult" ("The myth of adolescence" part 1 and 2 will also be helpful if delving into that subject,) at therebelution.com . It seems to be a growing trend (and problem that will face the next generation) , especially in the U.S. But I won't go into that now; I will just direct you to their articles. :)
Please be in prayer as we begin the next series; it is very important that the next series is taken to heart before all else, because it is the foudation of all other articles that will be posted.
Blessings,
1 Timothy 4:12,
Tawney Rae
Here is the next video. I hope you all are watching them! I will say to all of you who have commented or come to me with encouraging words, THANK YOU! It means a lot to get your feedback!
This is a perfect ending to our series and actually will be a good "kick-off" for the upcoming one, as it leads right into it. What we need to gather from this video is the call to put effort into growing stronger in Christ. Think of the Vikings; as Brett said, they would row themselves to battle though it was difficult, and through that diificult task they grew strong and were virtually undefeated. Now apply that to the Christian life:
Don't expect your parents or your pastor to "row you to battle". Don't sit in Church and only learn from what your Pastor is telling you; put forth your own hand and toil in the Word yourself. You will grow strong in the knowledge of His word that way and will be undefeatable by the enemy. The Word is your sword, and if you are consistent in welding it you will become an expert. Think of picking up a heavy sword and trying to fight a deadly army without practicing first! Or gaining the strength it takes to weild it with skill and precision! Our hermenuetics class at Church has blessed me in that point; I'm realizing how strong and "deadly" (towards our enemy, the devil) we can be if we have used our sword correctly... Pastor Gentry put it perfectly in the hermenuetics class: "A servant who knows how to use his tool correctly will be profitable, but one who does not know how will become dangerous". Which are you; profitable or dangerous?
So how well do you know how to weild your sword? Are you gaining the strength it takes to weild it? Or are you relying on others older then you to do that for you? Remember, they won't always be there to do that for you. Learn now, and glory in the strength the Lord has given you!
I know many times it can be hard to do the toil ourselves. It will take self denial and lots of hard work, but it is worth the effort on the end. Praise God for those who will try even when it is hard. That is the spirit of a true follower of Christ and someone who strives to live for God's glory. It will hurt in the beginning especially-just like a good work out will- but as you continue and begin to strengthen your mind and heart you will find it less of a battle. God blesses those who put forth the effort in seekng after Him. So, "be strong, quit you like men..."!
The beginning of doing hard things for Christ will start in your own heart. God only gives great tasks to those who are faithful in the small, such as reading our Bible, praying, honouring our parents, caring for others... the list could go on and on. You get my point though.
It all starts at the HEART.
Our next series will be discussing exactly that. We must strive for greatness of character, integrity, before service. And it will always come first for a Child of God.
If you all are wondering what Alex and Brett were talking about in the very beginning of the video on the issue of grown men and women who are still like teenagers, I would HIGHLY recommend you read their articles "The rise of the kiddult" ("The myth of adolescence" part 1 and 2 will also be helpful if delving into that subject,) at therebelution.com . It seems to be a growing trend (and problem that will face the next generation) , especially in the U.S. But I won't go into that now; I will just direct you to their articles. :)
Please be in prayer as we begin the next series; it is very important that the next series is taken to heart before all else, because it is the foudation of all other articles that will be posted.
Blessings,
1 Timothy 4:12,
Tawney Rae
Hi Tawney! I really liked this section! One Bible quote that really seems to apply to this for me is "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). We must really work towards the Kingdom of God, and we should work towards it with diligence and perseverance. Saint Paul compares it to a runner who wants to win a big race. He says we shouldn't just be content with running the race, we should want to actually WIN it. For fun, I just looked up the average amount of time an average marathon runner practices a week (and very few of these people actually attempt to win a marathon). On average, they run at least 10 hours each week (not to mention other strength training exercises). How many of us Christians work on our spiritual salvation for 10 hours a week? Another part of that passage that I find interesting is "I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize". I myself notice that I am often more willing to preach to others before working on myself. It seems so much easier to be patient and compassionate to other people's children before my own siblings....work hard when others are watching, but complain in the quiet of my own home etc. When working on interior conversion, I think that helping out with family and doing things for those who you live with is really helpful because we can grow to do hard things without the attention of others. Many of us who come from large families (or even small famlilies) could really take advantage of this spiritual training ground and work hard to glorify God without getting any credit for it. Do any of you have any advice for different ways to practice spiritual training? Do you have advice for different ways that we can we work on interior conversion? Sorry if this was already talked about in the video. For some reason, I can't watch this one (my computer might be doing something strange again). Thanks again for these wonderful posts Tawney!
ReplyDeleteSarah : )
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThanks once again for your input! The statistics about marathon runners was thought-provoking! Those are actually some of my favorite verses! And yes, I think we learn a lot about inward greatness in the quiet of our own home when noone is watching us. That can be the hardest part of serving God in great ways... yet in the small. It takes diligence and FAITHFULNESS; which is the main aspect we'll be studying in this next series...
In answer to your question, I'll tell you persay, what "method", the Lord has used to work inward manifestations of greatness in my own heart. This is not preached on enough in U.S. Churches, and definitely not practiced enough... fasting. In the Old Testament, men fasted for various reasons: direction/guidance, discretion/wisdom, protection from God, repentance, etc. In Matthew 7:16-18, Jesus tells us HOW to fast. But please pay attention to the wording; "WHEN ye fast" not "IF ye fast". Most try to make this priciple subjective to their own opinion and desires, when, really, Jesus makes it clear that it is mandatory in the Christian's life! In Mark 2: 19-20 Jesus says "...Can the children of the Bridegroom fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days." This shows the clearest, and, I believe one of the most valid, reasons for fasting. When Jesus isn't "right there". When seeking direction, and when in sorrow. The disciples would be in heaviness when He returned to heaven, and would need guidance in a new way. They wouldn't be able to just ask Him their questions face to face anymore. This is a wonderful tool that God has given us to learn to draw near to Him and hear from Him in a clearer way then before. I will testify that my own spiritual development really began to take on victory and direction when I began to fast as He led. This is really about drawing near to God and drawing on His strength for help in our weakness. In our humilty He will lift us up (see James 4:6-8). It's a beautiful way of learning how to be close to our Bridegroom even when we feel He is not near to us, or we need His guidance, or comfort.
Another point on fasting...
Like the verse you wrote says that we are to beat our body into subjection, when we fast and bring our body under control, we will learn deferred gratification, which is key in getting spiritual victory. When you learn to say no to food, and your body's wants, you will also learn how to say no to other temptations. Learn to bring your body into subjection, and you will get spiritual victory.
Now, how often? I don't make that a law in any way. I would really just say as the Lord leads. But honestly... I have found it, truthfully, a joy (and I know others who would attest the same) to do because it brings such a closeness between me and God during my day. But, I will say, if God isn't answering a prayer or your not getting direction, fast and pray and He will answer. I could recall several accounts where God worked mightily through that. The early Church is said to have fasted two days out of the week. But let the Lord lead you in it. And I suggest starting small... don't just jump at fasting for a week right off the bat. :) God will give you strength to, if He wills it, if you prove yourself faithful in smaller acts. So that is my advice to you. <3 I was going to tuvh on it eventually in our series, but I thought I'd give you a tidbit now. <3 If you have any questions about this, let me know, and I'd be happy to help. If you want more info on fasting I have some wonderful resources I could direct you to as well.
Hope this sheds some light on your question. :)
Love you,
Tawney Rae
Hey Tawney!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! I can really see the benefit to fasting. I don't do it nearly enough, but I am definitely inspired by what you said and would love to work on it! When you talk about fasting, are you talking about not having any food (except for maybe one meal) or are you talking about fasting from certain foods (for example, all sweets and chips etc.)? I had thought of fasting as a way to bring our bodies under control before, but I had never really looked at it as a way to truly draw closer to God and seek out guidance. Thanks so much!
Sarah : )
@ Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThere are several ways of fasting, I believe; whether abstaining from all food, certian foods, or particular things (media, for example). I meant complete abstinence from food, as the traditional way of fasting, but do as the Lord leads. I know it sounds rough, especially on a somewhat longer fast, but it is worth it! Typical fasts for me are usually breakfast and lunch, but I will say that depending on the circumstance they can last longer for me if I feel like I need to. It really just depends. Just let Him lead you in it, and He will show you what is best. I would still hold to total abstinence in a lot of cases, but maybe that means that some of your fasts focus on sweets instead, or media, or something that tends to draw your attention away from Him. So let Him lead you. Thank you for your questions though! It's a blessing to get your feedback and your thoughts! You really are a joy!
Tawney Rae