6|20|09

Acts 3:1-10

" ¹One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. ²Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. ³When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. ⁴Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" ⁵So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

⁶Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." ⁷Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. ⁸He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹When all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."

So before reading this I asked God to give me understanding, to be able to notice new things from the word of God. Now, I've read this story many times, studied this book for Bible Quizzes and Sunday School Lessons, but as God promised, I saw new things.

The first thing I noticed came from verse 3

"³When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. ⁴Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" ⁵So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them."

So this crippled beggar continues to pray at the temple gate day in and day out, constantly crying out to deaf ears. Finally he sees Peter and John and calls out to them as well but after routinely being rejected by others he assumes that Peter and John will also ignore him. But no, Peter looks directly at him and commands for his attention.

Sometimes we continuously call out for help, whether its from our friends, family, worldly comforts. But when God is standing right there, do we think he's like the world? Do we rid him off and continuously ask for help even when he's standing right in front of us? Does he have to wake us up? Call for OUR attention? But just as importantly, are we responding right away? Are we giving him our attention when he calls for it?

Rather than simply crying out for help to beings who cannot fulfill our needs, we have to put our attention on God who is always ready and willing to help us- if only we'd continuously give him our attention.

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Also after reading this I was wondering to myself... There must have been thousands of miracles that were performed, why was this one special enough to be written down? But as I kept reading the chapters that followed it became clear that this wasn't just some miracle but an event that changed the course of the church.

Simply because the two apostles decided to go pray at 3 in the afternoon

-a man was healed after 40 years

-Peter spoke to a crowd about the Gospel and about 5 thousand men came to Christ

-They were thrown into prison

-Sent before the Sanhedrin and was filled with the Holy Spirit

-Came back to the other believers and they too were filled with the Spirit and bold words were spoken for the Lord.

You see, one step for God can lead to the whole world turning on its axis. There are no small things for God, every simple prayer- every simple song- anything that God puts on our hearts can change the course of events. It is up to us to be ready at a moments notice, to be willing to come before God with the mindset that He can do big things. So long as we do not limit God- he will move in a mighty way.

Be ready for that movement.

Be ready when he calls you.

God Bless :)

6|19|09

1st Samuel 18:1-4
" 1 After David had finished talking with
Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2
From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his
father's house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David
because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and
gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his
belt. "

The friendship between Jonathan and David was an unlikely one. Although at the time Saul was not jealous of the young harp player, the struggle to keep their friendship became harder as time progressed.
Later on we see that while Saul hated and feared David, tried to kill him many times, Jonathan's love towards David never faded.

Samuel 19:1-7
" 1 Saul told his son Jonathan and all the
attendants to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David 2 and
warned him, "My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on
your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there. 3 I will go out and
stand with my father in the field where you are. I'll speak to him about you and
will tell you what I find out."

1 Samuel 20:1-4
1
Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, "What have
I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to
take my life?"
2 "Never!" Jonathan replied. "You are not going to die! Look,
my father doesn't do anything, great or small, without confiding in me. Why
would he hide this from me? It's not so!"
3 But David took an oath and said,
"Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has
said to himself, 'Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet as
surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and
death."
4 Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll
do for you."

Even though Saul and David continued in dispute, Jonathan's love for David never expired.

I believe the reason behind their strong, never wavering, friendship was the covenant created when they first met one another. As a way to seal the covenant Jonathan gave David his robe, tunic, sword, bow, and belt.

When we accept Christ as our personal Savior, our friend, we are making a life long covenant with him. But in order to make this covenant we have to offer everything we have.

The robe of the world that can no longer cover us- replaced by the cover of his precious blood.

"A tunic is any of several types of clothing for the body, with or without sleeves, and of various lengths reaching from the shoulders to somewhere between the hips and the ankles."

The tunic- Every piece of clothing that forms a barrier between God and us, we have to strip ourselves of everything that holds us to our old selves.

We must rid ourselves of our swords & bows which we use to defend ourselves against the world- Now that Christ is our protector we have no use of man made protection. Thing such as humanly advice cannot help us any longer, only the spirit & word of God can truly touch our hearts. The word of God and God himself can thwart anything the enemy puts against us.

And finally the belt- later in the bible it is referred to as the belt of truth. Truth is not something that comes to us easily but must come from God. Our own version of truth is not given by the spirit. The belt of truth given by God helps us go into spiritual battles & can only be worn once we shed our self-discovered truths.

You see, the old testament connects with the new in every possible way. Johnathan is shedding his former armor as he gets ready to put on the armor of God.

As we meet our savior and become "one in the spirit" with him, we have to shed all our old ways, all our old understanding, and be ready to put on the whole armor of God.

God Bless :)

6|17|09

Today was the most amazing experience of my life.
The difference from one moment to the next was so great that I strain to recall that transitional moment.

You see, about three hours ago God showed me what my purpose is, at least- the first step to my purpose.

He gave me gifts that I was beginning to believe were fictional and a renewed promise- a reminder of how far He can take me.

Ephesians 1:3

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Every spiritual blessing. We are promised every spiritual blessing- IN
Christ.

That's all I really want to write about today- to maybe let this blog become
second nature again.

I pray earnestly that my words may be drenched in the blood of Christ, that
every topic, sentence, word- may be given by the Holy Spirit & that he
may touch your heart through it.

You are all my brothers and sisters in Christ- I love you dearly with the
same Love that Christ has shown me.

Take Care, God Bless, and please visit frequently- I feel like there is much
to say & very little time to say it in.