Friends and Enemies

I ran today... I don't run. I don't like running. Being out of breath and feeling my heart go way too fast is just not my idea of fun. I wish it was! I wish I liked running... but I don't. But I feel better now and maybe I'll do it again.

Something God is teaching me lately is how important it is to have godly friends who go through life with you. With friends who confess that they have the same struggles I do, life is easier. When close friends share what God is teaching them, it encourages me to get in the word and see what God is teaching them and find something that God leads me to read and then God teaches me too.

In the last couple days I've been meditating on 2 main themes... 1 - how to treat unbelievers (believers too) 2 - how powerful words are.

My intent for this blog is for my own looking back on and reflecting at what God has done, so I won't make it long.

1- How to treat unbelievers

Romans 12:14-21
*Bless them and don't harm them.
*Be there for them in happy times and hard times.
*Get along - display harmony, complement each other's weaknesses and strengths
*Don't be prideful, but humble.
*Never be wise in your own sight.
*Give thought to do what is honorable - THINK!
*Live at peace
*Don't get even.
*Serve your enemies.

These things are not natural... but the verse I'm memorizing this week in the very next chapter, Romans 13:14 says we're not supposed to do only things that feel natural. "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires."

2- How powerful words are

Proverbs 16:24
Proverbs 17:27-28
Proverbs 18:2
Proverbs 18:21

I also learned that James is the "Proverbs of the New Testament"

James has so many wonderful truths and bits of wisdom that it would take a lot of space to share them all.

James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. They prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

spiritual goals

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions. I don't have anything against them, persay. But if I make up my mind to do something, I can do it anytime... and generally there's nothing that really hits me on Dec. 31. But for those who enjoy the "new start" (which is really just the next day), kudos to you for setting goals. Being the beginning of this year, my church is starting a new study called The Pursuit, focusing how to pursue godliness through spiritual disciplines. The reason I love this: Church is a body of believers who need to be fed spiritually. This is very practical for believers. Drives me crazy to be preached to in church as if the audience is unsaved. Today's message was on The Pursuit of Godliness. Don't stop reading now thinking I'm just repreaching what was already preached... I'm gettin to the point, just hang on. In 1 Timothy 4, Paul likens spiritual growth and training to physical growth and training. So many people set physical goals, but unless these goals are detailed, they probably won't last very long - especially not all year. The question was asked... What is your spiritual goal this year?

While I'm not into making up resolutions that I won't keep anyway, this question is legit and there's no reason I shouldn't have a spiritual goal. So I went home and thought this through... I first scribbled some general goals, just as a starting point. Then moved to specific goals - the same goals, just refining them. The general goals answered the question "What?" ... what did I wanna do, how do I wanna change? The specific goals answered the questions "how?" and "when?". I'm thankful to have been challenged to do this. After coming up with how and when and struggling along the way as to what's biblical and what's heresay, I turned the page and asked "why?" I'll share all this with you... not to brag or show off, but so that you can help keep me accountable, and maybe help me answer this one thing I struggle with.

General: what?

• memorize scripture and review often
• finish study of Colossians
• finish study of Holy Spirit (Chan)
• apply prinicples from messages in church
• be more bold with my faith and sharing the gospel
• pray more intimately with God
• love God with more than my mind - move facts from head to heart and take action
• finish Proverbs in January

Specific: how? when?

• follow the plan on the bookmark (which I also picked up from church... here's a link if you want to print your own. I have set 2.) set 1 set 2 - Start on Sundays, review on Saturdays - Sunday if I miss.
• Finish Colossians by end of February -- March 1
• Finish Holy Spirit study by summer -- June 1(ish)
• notecards with application points, sticky notes
• pray for boldness, look for opportunities, don't quench the leading of Spirit
  This is the one I have trouble with. Do I really need to wait for the Spirit to lead me to share the gospel with someone? The Bible says, proclaim the gospel. However, it's probably not wise to stop every single person in your path and start preaching Romans 3:23. But isn't that what the disciples did- preach all the time? But aren't there other ways to share the gospel than my literally preaching? Yes, by the way you live. Do I need to set a goal i.e. share the gospel with 4 people each week? That's what some legalistic churches I've been in would say. I know I've felt the Spirit leading me to talk to a particular person about Christ and share the entire gospel, and ignored it. So, in fact, the Spirit does tell me with whom to share. ... I could go back and forth all day. Please, share your thoughts on this. 
• Learn how to pray from Scripture - study this in Summer
• Ask God for a soft heart and teachable spirit, sensitive to the Holy Spirit

Why?? Coming from my family, "because I said so" is a good enough answer. Thankfully, God isn't like Paul (my dad, not the apostle) in this area! He actually gives us many reasons beyond "because I said so."

• The value of this extends to eternity 1Timothy 4:8
• For discipline Hebrews 12:10-14 -- for our good , so we may share in God's holiness, it yields fruit - righteousness, and without discipline, no one will see the Lord!
• to please God 1 Thessalonians 4:2-8 -- God calls me to holiness; if I disregard his commandments, I'm disregarding God Himself. (not really where I wanna be)
• reap eternal life Galatians 6:6-10 --Basically, you reap what you sow. Don't grow weary.
• God is faithful to do His part; I must be faithful to do my part. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9
• I'm called to be holy. 1 Peter 1:13-16
• and lastly... because I'm me... why not??

God certainly sent this message to me just in time. This week I start school, which makes my spiritual life suffer because "I don't have time" and "I don't feel like it." God doesn't take excuses though. I am obligated as God's child to worship Him with my entire life, and spiritually train myself for godliness. 

Galatians 6:9 gives encouragement not to give up - "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Isaiah 40:8  - my memory verse for this week (first verse on that bookmark) also gives a little push - "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever." Nothing else I'm doing really matters as much as learning the Word of God. The boring stuff I learn in school won't matter after finals in May and I won't remember it when I'm old. This is the only thing that matters.

I encourage you to pray about spiritual goals you have for yourself, and allow God to lead you as you write them out, general, specific, asking what? when? where? how? and why? Share them with a friend (me if you like ;)) and check on them every couple of weeks to see where you are. Are are you on track? Let's help each other out.

This was my memory verse from last week.
I wrote it on a sticky note and
stuck it on my computer,
took a picture of it,
made it look cool and
set it as the background on my phone...
works for me.