IBS: Conviction

Acts 7:54—

“Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.”

Stephen was speaking the Word of the Lord to the high priests and they didn’t like it. Maybe they were feeling convicted or maybe they just thought he was blaspheming, but either way, they were enraged.

When people tell us things that we don’t want to hear our immediate response is to stop up our ears and harden our hearts to them. Many times we don’t even realize we are doing it, but we just let subconscious anger fester inside of us and every time we are around the person who spoke the truth to us that anger grows and grows. Before we know it our hearts are hardened and bitterness has overtaken us.

A few years ago I turned from the Lord and thought nothing of it, but I knew the change of heart would be apparent to my family so I became a master impostor. I thought I was doing pretty good until one night I was driving home from church with my brother and he looked at me and put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Liv, I love you, but you’ve backslidden.” My entire life my brother had been my best friend, but when those words left his lips I hated him. I hated that he noticed, I hated that he cared, and I hated that he confronted me. It wasn’t any of his business whether or not I had a good relationship with God and it wasn’t his place to convict me. Now, looking back I am thankful that he realized, as my older brother and best friend, it was his place to step in and force me to examine my life because it did impact me.

Although I didn’t go and stone my brother, I, to an extent, can understand what these high priests were feeling. I was enraged and I ground my teeth at my Collin, just as they did to Stephen.

Even now I have a hard time when someone tells me something that's hard to hear and this verse really made me realize that I need to be working on my own heart. I will be striving to listen to and adhere to what people and the Lord tells me. 




Written: 7/25/11

IBS: Humble Joy

Acts 2:46:

"And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts."

It’s amazing to me how in each verse we study we get to see the members of the church grow closer together in brand new ways. Aside from attending the same church, they pray together, fellowship together, pull together to help those in need, and now open up their homes and share meals together. It’s such a perfect picture of what the church should look like, but also a perfect picture of what most churches are lacking.

The first thing that came to my mind when I read this verse is what we are all experiencing here at the ranch. Everyday, we attend the same classes, receive the same teachings, and share the same home. We share meal times together and even share food from plate to plate, and I can’t speak for everybody, but I have never had a more glad and generous heart. The Lord has knit us together in a way that I have never had at any church I’ve attended. Don’t get me wrong, I love my home church; I love that Metro Calvary is filled with such servants and we are fed breakfast at the morning services and dinner at the evening services. I love that the congregation is so friendly and I’ve made friends there, but it’s different here at potters field.

I was having a conversation with one of my new friends, Shaylene, today and we were talking about the first time we accidently called the ranch our “home.” Shaylene said that we were calling it that because even if you’re away from your house, your home is where your family is, and we are all family here. I feel so blessed to be able to share meals with everybody here.

I think this verse is another example of the importance of fellowship with our brothers and sisters, and I thank Jesus everyday that I have such amazing brothers and sisters to fellowship with. As Pastor G described it, the people were filled with Humble Joy. I loved that phrasing, and it reminded me that I need to be filled with humble joy whether I am here at the ranch with all of my friends, or back at home in a less intimate family-like setting. We should have humble joy no matter what our circumstances are. The members of the church were so filled with the Spirit and filled with joy because they spent time with the Lord everyday. Not on Sunday, not on Sunday and Wednesday but everyday! By spending time with the Lord everyday with are sure to be filled with joy, how could we not be?

Written: 7/22/11

IBS: Where Are Your Treasures?

Acts 2:45

“And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”

In this verse we see the group of new believers selling their belongings in order to give to those who were in  need. It is so great to see them pulling together to help each other, and maybe even those outside of the church.

It’s amazing to see one of my favorite passages being lived out, Luke 12:32-34

“Fear not little flock for it is the Fathers good pleasure to give you the kingdom. sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that don’t grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail. Where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

The members of the first church are inspiring. They held the people’s needs before their own and that’s not something we see very often in society today.

As for me, I have struggled with this a lot in the past. I used to shop when I hardly even had money to spend , and the moment I made any more money I was out spending it on myself again. It was so easy to overlook, not only those on the street who were in need, but the people who I knew personally who were in need.

I began to see how selfish I was but it took some time and practice before I was able to turn down a good sale or say no to the road trip my friends were planning. I began to help buy groceries and diapers for my family and put more gas in the car, but I was still in the trap of myself. What I  wanted!

One night I was talking with Jesus about wanting to go out on the mission field and He pointed out to me that it would be difficult to help people while lugging all my own stuff around. He also pointed out to me that yes I had cute clothes, but no money anymore to get me to the mission field.

It didn’t take long before i started donating a lot of my clothes to people in need and having yard sales to raise money. i was feeling pretty good, doing the right thing and helping people, but at the end of the day i was sad and somewhat regretful that i didn't have anything. i went back to these verses in Acts and Luke and remembered there's more to it then selling your stuff to give to the needy a, but i also need to be storing up my treasures in heaven and providing myself with moneybags that do not grow old. i know what the command is and the Lord has been working in my teaching me how to place my treasures in heaven. 

Written 7/21/11

IBS: Family in Christ

Acts 2:44
“And all who believed were together and had all things in common.”

The new believers stayed together because they found comfort in the fact that they had ALL things in common. When you surround yourself with other believers you will be among those of like minds and that is the Lords intentions for us…when we have friends who love the Lord as we do we have accountability and can be strengthened in the way of the faith.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says,

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil, for when they fall one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up.”

I need to be thanking my Lord everyday for the new family He has blessed me with here at Potters Field. It is truly a blessing to be surrounded by such wonderful friends who I know will be here to encourage me when I am down trodden and pick me up when I fall. 

Written: 7/20/11

IBS: Move When He Says Move

Acts 2:43
"And awe came upon every soul. and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles."

Because the apostles were doing the will of the Lord and teaching His Word, God was able to stir up the believers’ hearts and fill them with awe. Because the apostles were glorifying the Lord the Lord glorified them and blessed them by doing many wonders and signs through them.

When we follow the will of the Lord, He will bless us and our ministry, and He will also bless those around us who we are pouring out onto.

It’s terrifying to go to a foreign place and commit six months to living amongst people who don’t even speak the same language as me, but I know that the Lord has called me to the mission field, and so I can find comfort in the fact that He will fill the people with awe. And do many wonders and works through myself and everyone else on my team.

I feel like the Lord is calling me to minister to a certain group of people and everyday it is heavy on my heart and I hear the lord tell me that it’s the right thing to do and ya it’s gunna be scary and ya it’s gunna be tough, but as long as I move when He says move and I speak when He says speak, He will bless the places that I move to and the words that speak.

Also I’d like to take a second to share with everyone that since I’ve been here at potters field, the Lord has been moving inside of me and working in my heart like he never has before and I am in such awe of Him. 

Written: 7/19/11

IBS: The First Church

  Our two-week blackout has been lifted for a very specific cause. The staff at the ranch believes in utilizing every outlet available to us to reach the world for Christ, and with social networking on the rise they have encouraged us to create blogs. Pastor G is instructing us on how to share with all of our readers what the Lord is showing us, and the great works that He is doing within us.

  We will have weekly blogging assignments (which I think is pretty cool). I hope you all continue to read on and are blessed by what the Lord is blessing me with.

  We are, over the course of our time here at the ranch, going to be studying out of the book of Acts.

  Acts 2:42—And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and of prayers.

  In the previous verse we see three thousand souls added to the body of Christ and get baptized; the “they” in verse 42 is talking about the group of new believers. After being baptized they immediately took to devoting themselves to the teachings of the apostles and creating fellowship in the name of the Lord amongst themselves. They broke bread and prayed with each other, just as we, as brothers and sisters in Christ, are commanded to do. Hebrews 10:24-25—And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

 This group of people was eager to learn about Christ and eager to spend time in fellowship with their brothers and sisters in the Lord. The fact that they devoted themselves to the teachings, and to the things that the Lord wanted to bestow upon them stirred up some strife in my heart. I’ve been a follower of the Lord for most of my life and somehow the excitement of hearing from my Savior has faded. These people are just babies in the faith, yet they have so much to teach us. No matter how long we’ve been following the Lord, He still has things He wants to teach us, and we must devote ourselves to hearing whatever it is He may say to us.

Another aspect of this verse that pierced my heart was that they devoted themselves to fellowship. The understood the importance of surrounding themselves with other believers who could fill them up and spiritually encourage them.

Secondly, I pulled out a couple of applications from this verse. The first being, when the Lord called me to the mission field I was stoked, but when He called me to Potters Field I didn’t want to go because I didn’t want to be taught or have to go to school and do homework. The Lord had to work in my heart to show me that I need to devote myself to the teachings of His word and to fellowship in His name before I could be useful on the field.

I have never dedicated myself to applying the teachings I’ve heard, nor have I devoted my life to finding and dwelling in good fellowship. I’ve listened to pastors and took notes in church and said, “Oh what a good nugget, I must be sure to apply that.” But it never seems to stick with me once I leave the building. And I go out to coffee and lunch with my friends and fellow believers quite often, but what young Christians, myself included, tend to forget these days is that fellowship means more than coffee shop hopping. The believers of the first church devoted themselves to praying for each other and with each other. I need to apply this to my life by cherishing my brothers and sisters in Christ and devote myself to praying for them and with them, and I would encourage you all to do the same.

Written: 7/18/11

And so it begins

So far, things have been slow here at the ranch, but today is the first official day and from here on out, we've been warned, we will be extremely busy all the time. Orientation is today and classes start tomorrow. Also, starting today (or maybe tomorrow, I'm not entirely sure) is two weeks without Internet or cell phones, so I'm sure I will have a lot to say after two weeks.


What I know of the daily schedule so far is:


6:45-8:00 - Wake up. NO sleeping in. Quiet time, and get ready for the day.
8:00- Breakfast. DONT be late.
9:00- Classes.


That's all I know, and it's all going to take some getting used to. 


When I return to the world of the Internet in two weeks, I will post a ton of pictures, and do my best to show you all what I am so blessed by. It is so beautiful here, I wish you all could just see it through my eyes. 


To end: this verse is quickly becoming my stronghold and comfort...


Proverbs 19:2- Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste in his feet misses his way.




Sneak peak: This is Dog Lake, this is what I get to gaze upon when we eat...When it's not too rainy that it is. 

The Last Month...

     

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee,

to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

And when they saw him they worshiped him

but some doubted.

And Jesus came and said to them,

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, 

baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe 

all that I have commanded you. 

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Matthew 28:16—20

He said, 

"I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 

'Make straight the way of the Lord,'

as the prophet Isaiah said."

John 1:23

"Truly, truly, I say to you,

whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; 

and greater works than these will he do,

because I am going to the Father.

Whatever you ask in my name,

this I will do,

that the Gather may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask me anything in my name,

I will do it.

John 14:12—14

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 

And I will ask the Father, 

and He will give you another Helper,

to be with you forever,

even in the Spirit of truth, 

whom the world cannot receive,

because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.

You know Him, 

for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:15—17

  

Prayer

          In just four days I will be on my way to Montana, and I'm scared to death! 


          I have no idea what life will be like at the ranch; I have no idea what to expect. I guess having no expectations is a good way to go though. I am going to be meeting new people, going to school, going to be extremely far from my family and everything that is familiar to me, and pulled far away from my comfort zone. I would appreciate everyones prayers; prayers that I would be encouraged, and have no anxiety, prayers that I would adapt quickly to this brand new environment, prayers that I have safe travels, and prayers for my family back at home. 


         My most specific prayer request would be for the financial aspect. I feel as though the Lord has called me to be on the mission field for a full six months, which makes the cost of the trip a lot more expensive that I had originally planned on it being. I am about $4,000 short, and am fully trusting that the Lord will continue to provide as he graciously has been, but I would also appreciate your prayers in this area. 

"Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! 

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! 

O men, how long shall my honor 

be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain

words and seek after lies?

But know that the Lord has set 

apart the godly for Himself; 

the Lord hears when I call to 

Him."

Psalm 4:1-3