Wow, the year is going by soooo quickly. As soon as I got back from Aspen I started teaching 8th grade language arts and science at my old middle school. It was a challenge, but very rewarding. Last Wednesday was my last day with them. On Tuesday I showed them a movie I had put together of a camping trip we went on last month--that trip was a blast. One of my students borrowed my camera and made a pseudo Blair Witch video--I included it in the movie. Some of the things they shared with me during that trip and at school can become so burdensome for them if they don’t give it to God. It's been awesome to be able to bear their burdens with them a little and be able to pray for them.
First time seeing snow…
for both my kids from school and church. I was able to go camping with the junior high students from my church, too. That was a blessing. My brother was the boys’ counselor and I was the girls'. I had a great time with three beautiful young ladies. We ran in the snow and played quite a bit of pool and foosball, but more importantly we shared what’s heavy on our heart, and put those things in prayer at the feet of Jesus. The theme was also great: Fixed
Fix a broken heart—only Jesus can do that completely
Your steps are fixed—if you’re a follower of Christ, your destiny is heaven
Fix you eyes on Jesus—He’s the best guide
You Must Have in Order to Give
I have also been able go to some awesome trainings and conferences. The first of which was a children’s ministry conference. The verse that we would constantly come back to was: “His word was in my heart like a burning fire” Jeremiah 20:9b. Throughout the conference it was emphasized that we as ministers need to make sure the fire is burning within us, so that we can share it with others. I also got to learn some pretty cool games to play with the kids in Mexico. The biggest thing was remembering I am serving the LORD not a ministry, and He is so awesome! How often I have to remember that: my God is a BIG God, an awesome God. When I recall this everything else gets put into perspective, everything else is small.
An Unexpected Word of Knowledge
As I was leaving my first seminar at this conference a woman asked me how the class was. I told her about it and continued talking about other things. It turns out she had been a missionary to Spain. She told me about her experience and encouraged me to go. The following morning I prayed that God would make it very clear to me what I should be doing. He made one thing clear during my daily Bible reading and another thing clear later that day. As I was sitting under a tree a man came and told me that the Lord had been telling him to come and talk to me. He said he had overheard some the conversation I was having after that first seminar, and that the Lord told him to tell me to take the step of faith.
Get Ready
After that conference I went to a leadership conference. It was amazing. When Ministry Hurts was the theme. I haven’t had to many hurtful experiences while in ministry, so for me this was more like: get ready this is what may come. We went through many chapters of the book of Jeremiah. Poor guy, he went through a lot. Forty years of preaching and no one repented. He went through some second guessing: "is this what God wants for me?" And I did too, did God really want me to go to Spain, or did that guy just misunderstood something. That however was quickly shortened. I went up to the mission’s pastor of the church the conference was being held at and asked him some questions. I told him I felt God was calling me to become a missionary to Spain. He said, “A couple from our church is leaving tomorrow to be missionaries in Spain. Here’s their information.” And so I began making plans to begin to find a place to minister and stay.
If Disaster Strikes
The third and final training was one on crisis intervention. The instructors were two men who helped victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, 911, and Katrina. They were very talented and made the workshop as fun as possible, given the information covered.
Formal Training and Teaching Come to an End
On March 20, that was the case. It was my last day of teaching and no more conferences to be seen in the near future. But, the Lord has plans for us everyday of our lives, if we are willing to give it to him. And indeed, my first day done with teaching I had an opportunity to be used. The building my apartment is in was being exterminated for termites. There was a young man drilling holes outside my front door. I went outside and gave him a glass of water. I told him how my pastor used to be an exterminator. For some reason, I felt comfortable leaving the conversation at that, almost as if I knew I would see him and be able to talk to him about Jesus the next day.
Sure enough, the next day as the men were finishing with their work, I was able to share the love of God with them. I offered them some lemon bread and orange juice. Rudy, the young man I talked with yesterday, came first. I began to tell him about what God had done in my life. His supervisor, Lucio, came and I continued talking about God. I asked Lucio if he was a Christian. He said yes and told me he attended a Baptist church. I was excited, not many times have I met a Mexican Christian in the US. Rudy saw I had a guitar and told me he played a bit. I asked him to play. He did; it was a beautiful classical song. It was just Rudy and I again outside my little apartment. He told me about his life, his work, and his daughter. He excitedly showed me a picture of his little girl—precious. We were able to read a little bit of scripture, when Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be born again. I told him what someone wisely had told me: if you want to know God’s will for your life read the Bible. I gave him everything I could think of that would help him be on his way to getting to know God and His plan for his life.
The third man came, Tony; he told me he is a Jehovah’s witness. It made me sad to hear him talk because he was so faithful, but so faithfully wrong. We debated on the deity of Christ and the reality of hell. At the end of our conversation he said I am happy for you. I couldn’t say the same for him because he does not believe in the Jesus of the Bible. If I would have known about this website I would have given it to him: http://www.carm.org/jw/ifurjw.htm.
Lucio asked if he could pray for me as I was leaving to become a missionary. I said of course. I prayed for a safe journey for them, for Rudy and his daughter, and thanked God for the day. Tony, asked if he could pray. At first I said no, but then allowed him. He uses so much of the same words, but again, not the same God. I shook Lucio and Tony’s hand goodbye and gave Rudy a hug goodbye. Rudy took a picture with me, as well as at the pyramid at the center of the world. After the pictures I walked them to their cool, yellow, animal inspired trucks.
Planting the best Seed
What a blessing it was to be at a revival at the local Methodist Church. Their singing blessed my socks off. They sAng those hymns. I was invited to be the youth teacher for the event and prepared the following:
Growing Spiritually
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD
And in His Law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
~Psalm 1:1-3
Accepting the Seed
You can only be in God’s presence and grow as a Christian, if you accept that Jesus died for your sins and give Him control of your life. If you choose not to accept Jesus you are choosing to go to hell.
- For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 The wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23a
- but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23b …without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22.
- Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7b
- The Holy Spirit…will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26
- …grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18
- We have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built with human hands. 2 Corinthians 5:1
~Read: John 3, 1 John
~Memorize: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) 2 Corinthians 5:17
~Prayer: If you want to have a relationship with Jesus and want to join Him in heaven the day you physically die:
Ask God for forgiveness of your sin (not following Him).
Believe that Jesus died in place of you on the cross.
Commit your life to Jesus, giving all of yourself to God, to be filled by Him and to follow Him.
Growing
Reading the Bible is the main way God speaks to people. Reading His Word helps you understand how great God is and guides you in how to live your life. If you have Bible verses memorized you can hear God talk to you anywhere, and you can recall His Word when the devil tries to make you fall.
~Read: Psalm 1, 139, 119
~Memorize: Psalm 119:9, 11, Psalm 118:8, Matthew 4:4~Prayer: God, thank you for all that you are: Father, Spirit, Son, and all that you have done, especially dying on that cross for me. Thank You so much for Your Word. Please help me understand who you are, who I am, and who you want me to become in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Growing closer to Him
Prayer is you talking to God. Just be honest with Him. He hears you and will respond with yes, no, or wait. Some people like to use ACTS:
Adoration- praise God for who He is: loving, all powerful, etc.
Confession- tell God the things you did wrong and ask for forgiveness
Thanksgiving- thank God for all He has done and is doing
Supplication- pray for others and ask Him to help you be like Him
~Read: Philippians 4, Ephesians 1
~Memorize: Philippians 4:6-8
~Prayer: Lord, thank you for allowing me to come into Your presence. Please give me Your wisdom to see clearly and really understand who Christ is and all he has done for me. Flood my heart with light so that I can see something of the future You have called me to share with You. Please help me understand how great Your power is to help all who believe in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Growing Fruit
The Holy Spirit comes to live inside you when you accept Jesus and empowers you to follow Christ. God’s Spirit also helps you bear fruit.
~Read: Galatians 5
~Memorize: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22
~Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for all you have given me. Thank you for sending your Son for me and sending the Holy Spirit to fill me and empower me. Please help me die to my selfish desires; please live through me and help me grow much fruit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
~If there is one fruit in particular that you know you need you lack ask God to help you see what sin is interfering with you growing it.
~How wonderful are the fruits the LORD helps grow in His followers!
The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way do the ungodly shall perish.
~Psalm 1: 4-6
Sharing the Seed with Others
We have all sinned, but those who choose to accept and follow Jesus are made righteous in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. Jesus’ sinless blood covers our sins and allows us to be in God’s presence. The ungodly are those without God in their life, those who choose to not accept and follow Jesus. Christians are to love all people. We are to tell others about God’s amazing love, share the Seed, Jesus; God will cause the growth.
~Read: Matthew 22:37-40, Matthew 5-7, Ephesians 10-18
~Memorize: John 14:6
~Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving me. Please help me love people as you have loved and love me. Please empower me to share Jesus with many, like I was once, ungodly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Made with love by: Luz Isabel Gonzalez
http://www.livingluzly.blogspot.com/
Please, e-mail me if you want daily Bible studies:
gonzalez.luz@gmail.com
May the LORD be your strength, comfort, your everything, for He is sufficient. In His love, Luz
So Nice to Reconnect Last night I got to catch up with a friend over the phone. It was so nice to hear from her. I hadn’t talked with her in a year, but we got to talking as if we had talked earlier that day. She told me about her dinner of apples. Then, we both went on tangents about food. As I look back at our conversation topics increased in meaning as the conversation went on. From food we went on to talk about work, relationships, the importance of character, and for at least the last two hours of our five and a half hour conversation we talked about faith. We went from fairness to love to the existence of heaven and hell.
As much as I could remember to I tried to bring it back to Jesus, how He is not just an example to follow, but how His death is a substitute for eternal death, for those who choose to accept Him. The verse that kept coming to mind was: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” John 14:6. And finally one of my favorites: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” John 3:16-18. This morning I e-mailed her some recent pics, the ones in my Aspen blog and this: http://www.biblebb.com/tnivarea.htm. It’s a website with Bible verses on a variety of topics. I was reminded of my gracious God's promises in my daily Bible reading: "And there you will serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul" Deuteronomy 4:28 & 29. "
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