Philippians 3:12-13 Inductive Bible Study: Sacrifice 3/20

Philippians 3:7-11 says, "But what things were gain to me, that I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God through faith: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Philippians 3:12-14 says, "Not that I have already attained or am already perfected; but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Paul admits that he isn't there. He isn't perfect. These are still things he is working on. But it doesn't matter that he isn't perfect. He still presses on. You don't have to be perfect for God to use you. You just have to be surrendered. So to me this shows me that what he has been telling us in these past few verses is a process. Doing these things is not a one time thing and then you're perfect. No, this is still something that Paul had to work at. But that didn't hold him back because he wanted to grab hold of God and all that he has for Him and what He has for him to do just like God laid hold of Paul. Again, he makes it clear that he isn't there yet. He isn't perfect. But what he is doing is forgetting his past: sin, reputation, whatever could hold him back and tie him down. He is reaching forward to what is ahead: all that God has for him to do here on Earth and then eventually heaven.

It's comforting when I realize that I don't have to be perfect to go to God. I've made dumb decisions and I've felt like, "Well okay you really blew it this time, you definitely can't go to God with that because He doesn't want to hear it." But I'm never going to be perfect. But realizing that brings peace because that means I don't have to strive so hard. When I mess up, I can bring it to God. This life is a process. It's a continual falling down and getting back up. But the key is actually getting back up. Nothing will ever get better if I stay down. I just have to ask God to pick me back up.

So 3:13 is one of the verses that God has been showing to me over and over throughout the past two and a half months. It has really helped me realize that holding onto the past will only weigh me down. When you're running a race, you cannot look back over your shoulder at anything. You just have to focus on what's ahead because if you look behind you,  you could fall or start running in the wrong direction. That's the picture here. I have to forget what's behind me so that I can focus on what is ahead: what God has for me to do here on earth and then eventually the prize of heaven. Pastor Mike Rozell was here this past week and he talked about labels. Everyone has labels. Things that they think define them. Being bullied especially left me with a lot of labels. But because of Christ, none of those labels that I have acquired throughout my life define me. I wear the label of forgiven, free and a child of God. This verse reminds me to forget those labels. All of those things that I have let tell me who I am for so long, I have to forget about them and reach forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Application:
This weekend I am going to make a collage of all the labels that I have been given throughout my life on a piece of paper in black marker but on top of them, I am going to write forgiven in red marker as a remind that those things don't define me anymore and that I have to let go of them and take hold of what Christ has for me.

Philippians 3:11 Inductive Bible Study: Sacrifice 3/19

Philippians 3:7-10 says, "But what things were gain to me, that I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God through faith: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,"

Philippians 3:11 says, "If, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

MaKayla-ese: "If there's any way at all that I may be able to work towards the goal of  the resurrection until I achieve it."

So keeping the previous verses in mind, after forsaking everything that the world has to offer me, gaining Christ's righteousness through faith and not my own, I am able to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, suffer like Him to be in fellowship with Him, and even die to myself and not stay dead but in Christ, I might achieve life after death. Truth life. Eternal life.

Something I have been struggling with lately is figuring out who I am. All throughout my life, I have had a really hard time making friends. I have felt unliked. I was bullied when I was younger and so I still struggle with believing the lies  that I was told about myself back then. I have never been confident. I have always had low self esteem. And throughout the last four years, I've been on a depression rollercoaster. Something that I've realized while I've been here is that I try really hard to be like other people, and because that isn't who I am, people don't like being around me when I'm like that because I'm being fake(which totally makes sense).

Ok so this might all seem random but I feel like what God has been showing me this week  through these verses is that if I do all these things that I've been mentioning over and over, and I die to myself, and then attain the resurrection, it's no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. That takes all the pressure off of me. I don't have to try. Christ is living through me. There's no more striving, it's just dying to me and letting Him live. Giving it to Him. Giving Him the struggles, the pain, the successes, the glory, everything. It doesn't really matter who I am. It's about who He is, because if I do these things, it's going to be Him living through me that people see anyways. MaKayla doesn't have to try to be anything anymore. That takes so much anxiety off of me. I just have to lay down my life and let Him live. There is so much peace that comes with that decision. Now this doesn't mean that it's easy. I have to die every day. But it is so worth it. And it is so much richer of a life than I have been living.

Application:
Today I am going to make a bookmark out of Philippians 3:7-11 and put it in my Bible and highlight verse 11 so that I remember to die and let Jesus live through me.

Philippians 3:10 Inductive Bible Study: Sacrifice 3/18

Philippians 3:7-9 says, "But what things were gain to me, that I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God through faith:"

Philippians 3:10 says, "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."

Paul didn't just want to know the power "in" the resurrection; the one-time event of Jesus resurrecting. He wanted to know the power "of" His resurrection. The power that the resurrection gives him every day. The power that is in the access to God that Jesus' resurrection gave him. He also wanted to know the fellowship of His sufferings and to be conformed to His death. Whatever Jesus went through, Paul was willing to go through the same thing to know the fellowship of Christ. But he realized to have this fellowship and to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, He had to first lose any worldly thing he was holding onto. He couldn't hold onto his own righteousness and know Christ's power. He had to count everything that he had before as rubbish in order to be found in Christ, gain His righteousness, His power and His fellowship.

Something that I think is awesome is that Paul wanted to suffer the way Christ did. He wanted to be conformed to His death. Losing everything he had, reputation, wealth, status, it meant nothing compared to Christ. Even if it meant suffering like Jesus. Paul understood sacrifice because he understood the mind of Christ.

I want to fall so in love with Jesus that not only am I willing to suffer like Jesus but I want to. I want to long to be like him in every way, even to conform to His death. It's one thing to say that I would die for my faith but than would I actually do it? If I knew that I would be brutally tortured and/or killed just for saying that I believe in Jesus, would I stand strong in Him and proclaim His name or would I deny Him for my safety and comfort? That's a convicting thought because with everything in me, I want to say that I would give my life for Jesus' name but then I realize how hard of a time I have with just standing firm when it comes down to if I mention Jesus, I might not be cool. That's pathetic. I don't want to be afraid of sharing His name anymore, no matter what it means. Especially because, if I truly have counted the things of the world as loss, I am found in Christ, through faith I have His righteousness, and I know the power of His resurrection. That is a lot of power. I have Christ. Nothing else matters. That's how I want to live. To live is Christ, to die is gain.

Application:
For the rest of this week, I will write "That I may know Him and the Power of His Resurrection" on my left arm to remind me what comes when I abandon the things of this world and cling to Christ.

Philippi

Philippians 3:9 Inductive Bible Study: Sacrifice 3/17

Philippians 3:7-8 says, "But what things were gain to me, that I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ."

Philippians 3:9 says, "And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God through faith."

This is a concept that I have struggling with lately. I have a hard time with believing and abiding in the righteousness that I know God has given me. I know that I have been forgiven. I know that I have been made righteous. But this is not a worldly righteousness but righteousness given to me through Christ's sacrifice. It is one thing to know this in my head and then to believe it in my heart and walk in it. To live it out.

That is totally different than just knowing it. But something that I have been learning since being here is that if I don't accept the forgiveness and the righteousness that I have been given through Christ, I am rejecting Christ and saying that His sacrifice wasn't enough for me. That's not what I'm meaning to do. By rejecting righteousness, in my head, I think that I'm doing right because I'm showing remorse for what I did but what I'm really doing is dwelling in the past. I'm still mourning the death of my old life. Instead I need to be rejoicing in the victory of Christ over my old life. I need to accept Christ's righteousness through faith.

Now I need to remember who wrote this. Paul. Formerly Saul. One of the chief persecutors of Christians. This guy has a nasty past. But through faith He was able to find himself in God and accept Christ's righteousness. He had to die and let God live through Him. If Paul could get over the guilt of his past, I think I can too. But I can't do it on my own. If I do, it will then be my own righteousness. My own righteousness will only keep me in chains. I need to accept Christ's righteousness and forgiveness by faith and by completing letting go of my past.

Application:
Today, I'm going to memorize this verse.

Philippians 3:8 Inductive Bible Study: Sacrifice 3/16

Philippians 3:7-8 says, "But what things were gain to me, that I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ."

So to put this in context, Paul is basically talking about how he was a poster child Jew. He's got all the credentials you need for being the best of the best. He's saying that out of anyone, he has the most reason to be confident in the flesh and in the worldly standards of success. But then in these verses(7-8), he makes it clear that all of those credentials of success mean nothing to him. He counts them as loss for Jesus. And he not only thinks of those things as nothing but he has given up everything that he had. Reputation, wealth, job, everything that means anything in the secular mind. He has sacrificed it all for Christ. He counts it as trash so that he can gain Christ. Knowing and living for Jesus and spreading His name meant more to Paul than everything that he had and the potential of what he could have had. And now I remember everything that Paul went through. He was imprisoned, tortured within inches of death several times and so many other horrible situations and still, he'd rather endure these things and lose his worldly reputation so that he could have Christ.

I am not someone who is very attached to material things. I would be okay with having little to nothing. But I don't even have a reputation like Paul's among people and yet that is something that I am worried about. I get nervous about talking to people about Jesus whether it's a stranger in an airport or a friend that knows I'm a Christian. I've had a hard time through my teenage years with trying to act cool. I have never been "cool" and I will never be "cool" and that's fine. I know now that it isn't important but as a kid who got bullied, it was a big deal. And even in Christian circles, being sold out for Jesus wasn't cool. I would try to talk and look like the "cooler kids" at youth group or school. And even now as an adult it's hard because I'm afraid of offending people but I'm also afraid of saying the wrong thing or not knowing what to say or not having the right answer. I know that I know a lot about the Bible, but I worry about getting nervous and forgetting the right words and looking stupid or misrepresenting Jesus. I worry too much about how people view me. I need to instead focus on Jesus and remember how He sees me and focus on the need of the people that don't know Jesus.

Since being in IGNITE a lot of things have changed. I'm learning to live with a lot less but still so much more than many people around the world.  And I'm learning how to die to myself. I'm learning to stop valuing other people's view of me so highly above God's view for me. The spark that I had in my heart for the lost has turned into a wildfire. But I know that the challenge for me is going to be remembering all of this when I go back to the States, even just for my 10 day break in April. It's going to be tempting to fall back into old habits, old rhythms, old ways of conversations. But I need to not lose my boldness, not lose the fire that God has placed in me since I have discovered the purpose that He has for me. I need to remember that what the world has for me is garbage compared to Christ. Gaining the world means losing Christ. I can't have both. I choose Christ.

Application:
Today I am going to write "Don't Lose the Fire" on my left arm. Also, I am going to do everything I can to share Jesus with at least one person in the airport/plane on the way back to California and then at least one more person on the way back to Guatemala.

Psalm 133:1-3 Inductive Bible Study: Unity 3/13

Psalm 133:1-3 says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing - life forevermore."

John 17:20-23 says, "I do not pray for these(the disciples) alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And the glory which you gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one; I in them, and you in me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent Me, and have loved them as you have loved me."

Ok I understand the first verse. It's speaking my language; I'm golden. But the rest of them. What in the world are we talking about here? Well, priests in the old testament, like Aaron, Moses' brother, would get anointed. "How good and how pleasant" is expressing the abundance of the goodness of unity. So "the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments" is talking about how unity among God's people is so amazing that it is that abundant, it's just overflowing. I just picture someone pouring a bucket of precious oil over Aaron's head and he's just covered in it; all over his face, in his hair, his beard, his clothes are soaked in it. That’s how good and how pleasant this unity we're talking about is. It's not just that though.  We're given another example. Ok, what or who is Hermon? This high mountain got so much water that it was actually a source of water to the lands below.

Ok so what I'm getting from this is that if God's people dwell together in unity, it's so good and so pleasant that the blessings of it overflow onto everyone around them. Okay, that matches up with my verses yesterday. "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." They had favor with everyone around them and most likely as a result of their intense unity and fellowship and closeness with God, the Lord added to the church daily. Everyone around them could see what they had and wanted a part of it. How good and how pleasant this is!!!

So many times, churches are trying so hard to reach out and bring people in but the church that they actually have is falling apart. There isn't any unity among the believers. It seems to me that if you're following the example of the church in Acts 2:42-47 and you're continually spending time in the Word and you're fellowshipping with believers and living in such amazing unity and investing in the people that are around you, just from your example, God will bring more. Not saying that you shouldn't try to invite people into your church but that shouldn't be your only focus. Especially when the church that you have is in shambles already because the people in it have no unity. If the unity of believers is so good and so pleasant, I have seen how intensely negative the opposite can be when there is no unity.

Application:
This weekend, I will purpose to get to know my country team better to form even better unity than we already have and see if maybe we can sit together for a meal.

Acts 2:46-47 Inductive Bible Study: Unity 3/12

Acts 2:42 says, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

Acts 2:43 says, "Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles."

Acts 2:44-45 says, "Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all as anyone had need."

Acts 2:46-47 says, "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

Again we see that intense unity. They were in the word daily in the temple together. We see that eating together is a big part of unity. That sounds silly but if you think about it, you don't have dinner with people until you are close to them. And then the dinner table is most often where fellowship happens. We spend so much of our lives eating so they did it together.

I love that they had simplicity of heart. I think of what Pastor Steve said when we were first learning the IBS process: Keep It Simple Silly. Don't overcomplicate things. Know what is important. Love God. Love each other. Everything else flows from that. They were joyful, praising God and had favor with everyone. I think these people were such an amazing example for the church. They knew what was important: God and then, fellowship. They were continually in the Word and praying and fellowshipping. And out of that came unity and harmony. They shared everything they had and no one cared about material things. They cared about the needs of others. And with this unity came joy and simplicity. Praise poured out of their hearts and from the wording, it seems that they had favor with all of the people, even non believers. That in particular doesn't seem to be common today. The term "Christian" doesn't have a good connotation among nonbelievers today which is so sad. So how do we go about having favor with everyone? By doing all the things mentioned in the previous verses. It will just happen when we are walking that closely with God, experiencing that intensely what He is doing and fellowshipping that much with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Having favor with everyone isn't something that we should try to do. It should just be something that flows from applying the example of these other verses.

I love the last part of this verse. "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." The Lord added. It doesn't even say that it was something that the people had to do or the apostles had to work at but the Lord Himself added to the church daily. There is no doubt in my mind that this was a result of the example that this church was setting. And it's so cool because all of this was just because they were obedient. They loved God, and wanted to know Him more and because of that desire, they were in the Word and praying continually and out of that grew so much good stuff. I want to live after this example. Not ritualistically. I just want to love God and do something about it. Not just talk about it but live it out in everything I do and say. I really believe if we all lived like that, churches would look like this church in these verses.

Application:
Today, I will write Keep It Simple on my hand to remember what is important.

Acts 2:44-45 Inductive Bible Study: Unity 3/11

Acts 2:42 says, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

Acts 2:43 says, "Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles."

Acts 2:44-45 says, "Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all as anyone had need."

We need to remember that there were 3,000 people. It says they were together so they probably lived close to each other. They shared everything. They took completely literally the saying, "What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine." Whatever they needed they could get and when someone else had a need they were willing to give what they had. They had experienced amazing things together and after what they had seen, material possessions probably didn't mean much anymore.

This makes me think of how things are here in IGNITE during training. We aren't 3,000 people but we're usually between 25 and 45(with guests), and we all live so close together. And the girls share EVERYTHING. One day, I'll be wearing Kelli's cardigan, Kaitlin's headband, Michaela's shirt and Katie's skirt. And the next day it's a new outfit with other people's things. But everyone knows that if they wanted to borrow any of my things, they could. Or if anyone needs anything like medicine or snacks or anything, someone will make sure they get it.

It's funny because I was actually just joking with some of the girls the other day because if they want something, like a sip of soda or a bite of something, they'll just take it because they feel that comfortable. We’re family. We've been through so much together in such a short amount of time and my bet is that we would do anything for each other. It is such a cool thing to live in a place where we have this type of unity. We look out for each other. We make sure everyone's needs are taken care of. We don't care about the material, care about the needs of those around us. Of course, we're human and it's not perfect all the time but I am certainly blessed to be where I am with the family that I have been given.

Application:

Today, I will look through my closet and choose at least one thing that I can put in the free box so that someone else can have it if they need it.

Acts 2:43 Inductive Bible Study: Unity 3/10

Acts 2:42 says, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

Acts 2:43 says, "Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles."

Ok adding on to yesterday. So, we need to be in the Word, in fellowship and praying and out of all of those things came unity. Because of their unity, godly fellowshipping and close fellowship with God, a godly fear came down on them. Ok so because fear of the Almighty God came down on every soul, they were convicted and saw how they needed to change and because of that, I believe that wonders and signs were able to be done through the apostles.

I love the wording of the next part. "Many wonders and signs were done through the apostles." It doesn't say that the apostles did the wonders and signs directly, but the wonders and signs were done through them. They were just the vessels for awesome things to be done. God just used them to show how awesome He is. It wasn't the apostles. To run off on a bit of a side tangent, am I wanting to be used to because I want to be looked at for how cool I am or do I want God to use me because I want people to see God doing miraculous things through a weak and unworthy vessel and see how amazing He is? I know that in the past it was my tendency to lean towards the first thing because I'm selfish and I like attention. But now I'm realizing how ridiculously worthless I am without Jesus and how much I need Him. So when people look at me, there's really nothing to see, but if God uses my broken life to do amazing things for His glory and I give Him all the glory, people can look at me and really see how amazing my God is because I would be nothing on my own.

Is this an example of what could happen to us if we are in godly fellowship and are experiencing God's presence and have a reverent fear of Him? If we are not in the Word, fellowshipping with other believers, and praying, we will not see the fruit of wonders and signs in our lives.  Do we have God's fear in our souls?  Obviously this verse puts a lot of questions in my mind but I think it's awesome. Obviously, a fear from heaven (because it came down) came on every soul there. That right there brings a unity in and of itself because they were all experiencing the same thing at the same time.

Application:
Ok so this one was really short because this verse confused me. Today, I will post this verse in my closet to remember to maintain this healthy and reverent fear of God and to let God work through me for His glory and not my own.

Acts 2:42 Inductive Bible Study: Unity 3/9

Acts 2:42 says, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

So in the context of the passage for this week, there were a lot of people getting saved into the early church and according to this verse, unity was a huge part of their lives. They were like sponges and absorbed everything that they could from the apostles about the Bible. They stayed in constant fellowship. They ate together and the breaking of bread might be referring to Communion and remembering Christ's sacrifice. And they continued in prayers. That looks like a pretty healthy church example

Can I say these things about my life? Am I continuing steadfastly in the word and listening to teachings and wisdom from godly people that God has placed in my life? Am I in constant fellowship and praying on my own with other believers?  We get a lot of homework right now during training and it's hard to balance fellowship and studying. I know something that I tend to do is sacrifice time with my team to do homework, even if it's just trying to get ahead. I get overwhelmed and so I feel like it's better to just study when time with my team might be more important at that time. I just need to have discernment and prioritize better. There is a time to buckle down and get work done and there is a time to spend time with my family here and get to know them better.

Maintaining unity with anyone is always hard, even when it's fellow believers, and especially when you're living so closely with so many people. All of these things are extremely important in maintaining unity. If I'm not in the Word and drawing near to God, praying and continuing in fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ, there is no way that there will be unity.

Application:
Today, I will tape this verse to my bed as a reminder to maintain fellowship and how.

1 Corinthians 9:19 Inductive Bible Study: Servant 3/6

1 Corinthians 9:19 says, "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more."

The verses right after this one are talking about Paul becoming all things to all men so that He "might by all means save some"(1 Cor 9:22).

Even though I, as a Christ-Follower, am free from all men, I serve all men so that they may see Christ through me. I don't have to answer to man but to God. But because I am called to tell everyone about the Good News that I have, I want to serve everyone so that they are more open to hearing the Gospel. If I don't humble myself what will make people want to hear what I have to say?

This past week we have been talking about culture a lot in class. As a missionary, when you go into another culture, you have to adapt to that culture in order to actually be effective and have people listen to what you're saying. If I come into Guatemala and try to push my culture on the people here, why would they want to listen to me? Am I saying that my culture is better than theirs? But on the flipside, if I embrace their culture and learn about them and become like them to the best of my ability, then that shows humility and love and hopefully would make them more open to hearing what I have to say.

Also, I just finished a book written by Hudson Taylor about his life leading up to the start of the China Inland Mission. When he started spreading the Gospel in China, he fully embraced the Chinese culture. He learned the language fluently(as far as I am aware) and he dressed like them. He broke through the barriers and became like them to the best of his ability. From how the book is written, it sounds like the people even thought that he was Chinese. What an awesome example of 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 he was.

This isn't only for foreign missionaries. As a Christ-Follower I am called to live a life of missions. I am called to share Jesus with everyone everywhere, not just when I leave the States. This is something that I want to remember when I go back to the States. By becoming a servant of God, I have made myself a servant to all. I need to live that out where ever I am.

Application:
I am going to hunker down and work more on studying Spanish outside of class so that I can actually talk to the sweet people here in Antigua, Guatemala and share the love of Jesus with them.

Luke 17:10 Inductive Bible Study: Servant 3/5

Luke 17:7 says, "And which of you having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?"

Luke 17:8 says, "But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink."

Luke 17:9 says, "Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded of him? I think not."

Luke 17:10 says, "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'"

In this verse, Jesus basically spells it out for us. When you have followed the commandments and been a servant as I(Jesus) have told you to, don't look for thanks, but recognize that you have done your duty; you have completed the task that was given to you; you have finished what you were supposed to. No one owes you thanks. But I know a lot of times I actually do receive thanks. But it won't always be this way, especially if I do something without people knowing about it.

I know that most people aren't as detail oriented as I am. For the most part, I notice when things change. I notice improvements. So in the past I know that I have expected people to be like me and then get frustrated when they don't notice something that I did for them. Sometimes, I would drop hints, "Yeah, I know when I was cleaning up your stuff for you, I noticed that…" or "Hey, the kitchen is looking pretty great, huh? I cleaned it completely by myself while you were gone…" I'm embarrassed to say that this is still something that I struggle with but I am actively giving it to God and asking Him to change this part of me, especially since I have been here at IGNITE. Fishing for compliments like that almost completely undermines the kind act in the first place. There is no humility involved when you have to mention it like that. Basically what I'm saying is, "Hey, did you see that nice thing I did for you? You should notice that nice thing I did."

Looking at these verses has made me think of my mom. She is a great example of a servant that doesn't expect thanks. From when her children are born, she is serving, knowing that she won't be thanked. She has done so much for me and I know that she has given up so much for me and I always took it for granted because I saw it as her job as my mom. She never had to homeschool me or take me to all the practices that she did, and so many other things. I hope that as I got older I was better at recognizing the amazing way that she served me. I imagine that there is so much that she did for me that I still don't even know about. But the awesome thing is that she never did something and then fished for a compliment like I so often did. She knew that she most likely wouldn't get thanks and that she was doing her job. I hope she knows how much she is appreciated. I hope she understands how much I respect her. (I love you and miss you mommy and really do appreciate you so much!!!)

It's so humbling to be surrounded daily by amazing servants of God that have given Him their life and constantly serve each other and most of the time, when extra nice things happen, no one really knows who was responsible. It's beautiful and such an awesome example of a humble servant. They don't need anyone to know that it was them who did the kind deed because they understand that a jewel on their Heavenly crown has so much more meaning than a pat on the back from a human. Matthew 6:3-4 says, "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."  I know that I have referred to this passage a lot this week but this is really something that I am working on so this is what I keep thinking about. God, My Heavenly Father, sees the things that I do in secret. He sees the kind acts that don't get recognized. And He will one day reward me openly. How crazy cool is that? I know that I also keep saying this but that sounds like so much better of a scenario. Someone gets blessed and doesn't know who did it but God sees and I get rewarded by Him. Okay, I'll take that one. I want to serve to my best ability in this life no matter who notices it or not and at the end of my life, there would be nothing more rewarding than to hear my Master say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord."

Application:
Today, I will write Matthew 6:3-4 on my arm so that I am constantly reminded of how I am to serve. (Also, when I get wifi, I'm gonna thank my mom for being great. :)
P.S.- Super cool thing, yesterday we got a name of a person that we are serving for the rest of the week and the trick is to not let anyone know and to especially not let the person know. So I am supposed to do one nice thing for them everyday without letting anyone see me. So for further application, I want to do this to the best of my ability.

Luke 17:9 Inductive Bible Study: Servant 3/4

Luke 17:7 says, "And which of you having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?"

Luke 17:8 says, "But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink."

Luke 17:9 says, "Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded of him? I think not."

Why do I think I should be thanked when I do what I am supposed to do? That's like if I clean my room and my parents thank me. No, that's my duty as their child. So why when I follow the commandments that God gives me and serve and love like He tells me to, do I get upset when I don't receive a "Thank you" or praise for my work? Um, ok I did my job. No one needs to thank me for doing what I am supposed to do. But yet so often I seek praise. I get frustrated when my works don't get noticed and appreciated. Jesus tells me that it's better when I can serve without being noticed because my Father in Heaven will reward me, and I don't know about you but that sounds so much better to me than any human praise or reward. If I am only serving with the intention of drawing attention and pleasing man than my attitude needs to seriously change.

When I was younger, most of my friends got allowance for doing their chores. But my parents mainly saw chores as our part in our family. It was our way to contribute to the family just like each of my parents contributed to the family. So because of this, we for the most part didn't get allowance. Sometimes this frustrated me, but I understood that this was my role in being part of the family. If I would have gotten an allowance for doing regular household chores, it would have been rewarding me for doing what I was supposed to do.

In the same way, I need to remember and understand that one of my roles in the body of Christ is serving. And because it is my role and my way to contribute, I shouldn't expect thanks. Yesterday, Scoot gave a great example that stuck out to me. Expecting thanks for doing what God asks of me is like completing my assignment for class and Pastor Jim saying, "Great Job! You know what, you get the rest of the day off…" It doesn’t work like that. Finishing my assignment is what is expected of me. It is one of my roles in being a student.

If I am looking for praise when I am serving than I am serving for the wrong reason. I need to be serving for God's glory and because it is what He has asked of me, not for the attention of man. Serving for the attention of man will not satisfy anyways. It will leave me empty. But serving God fills me up.

Application:
Even though it sounds silly, I am going to write "secret service" on the inside of my left hand today and tomorrow so that I remember to look for ways to serve and not seek praise. I will pray that God keeps working in my heart and helping me be a humble servant and not self-seeking.

Luke 17:8 Servant 3/3

Luke 17:7 says, "And which of you having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?"

Luke 17:8 says, "But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink."

Okay, so adding on today's verse to yesterday's.

Yesterday I talked about realizing what my job is as a servant of God. My responsibility as a servant doesn't change when I'm tired or not feeling good or having a bad day. I'm always a servant. That's the life I signed up for when I surrendered my life to Christ. And that shouldn't be depressing! Serving should be a joy because I should be focused on Who I am serving and why I serve Him. In serving Him, I have been given a purpose. Also, serving isn't what I have to do to earn salvation, because I already have salvation. I am forgiven. My past is forgiven. I am righteous in the sight of my God. Serving is what flows out of my love and gratefulness for what He did for me.

So now looking at today's verse, my job is putting my Master's needs ahead of mine always. Like I mentioned last week, I'm not told to completely disregard my needs, I'm just not looking at them first. I'm looking at my Master's needs first. And like I mentioned yesterday, when I serve my neighbors, I am serving Jesus so, just like Philippians 2:3-4 says, I am supposed to be concerned for my neighbors needs and interests ahead of my own. I need to make sure that everyone else is completely taken care of and then take care of myself because that's my job as a bondservant. I need to get my eyes off of myself, even when I'm tired. Even when it's been a long day of serving.

I need to have my attention always focused on others needs. But opposed to what I have done in the past, now I am focused on other's needs not because I am trying to please people but because I love God and I want to follow the commandments that He has given me and serving Him and others is one of them. People-pleasing is selfish because I am focused on what I can do so that others will be happy with me. I need to be serving with the correct attitude. I need to be serving without seeking praise or thanks. I tend to be a person that drops hints about nice things that I have done so that I can receive the compliment that I think I deserve. That is something that I am asking God to change in me.  And if/when I get praise, I need to have the appropriate response.

Application:
Today, I will purpose in my heart to serve without seeking praise. I will pray that God helps me with this because it really is something that I struggle with.

Luke 17:7 Servant Inductive Bible Study 3/2

Luke 17:7 says, "And which of you having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?"

So Jesus is posing a question. If you were the master and your servant came in from working, would you have food ready for him? Would you tell him to come and eat? Well, what is the job of a servant? A servant's job is to serve his master. It doesn't matter that the servant is probably tired from working all day. That doesn't change his responsibility.

Now I need to remember who is asking this question. Jesus. The Servant King. Who came not to be served but to serve. This is the King of kings that washed His disciples feet. God incarnate that gave His life on the cross for me even though He is perfect and my sin is overwhelming. I think that Jesus is wanting us to remember as servants what our job is. It doesn't matter that we may be tired; that we may have had a hard day. Our job is to serve. We need to be ready in season and out of season. No matter what, I need to be looking for opportunities to serve. I know that a lot of times, helping others helps me because it gets my focus off of myself. By serving others we are serving Jesus himself(Matthew 25:40).

I know that this is something that I struggle with. When I am going through difficulties, I tend to feel like it's my right to take a break from serving. "I had a hard week." "I don't feel good." I find excuses. I just get tired and focused on me. It doesn't matter what is going on, there is always an opportunity to serve. And serving might not be physical work, it could be praying for someone. It could be however I can serve God and my neighbor. Like I mentioned before, when I am able to stop focusing on me and serve someone else, even when I don't feel like it, it helps me more than I realize. Jesus knew that He was going to be betrayed and killed and He still served. Even His death itself was an act of service. And I need to remember that if Jesus, my Master, can do it than I absolutely need to humble myself and be ready to serve always because, "a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him." (John 13:17).

This week, my back/hip have been giving me a lot of trouble and I'm not sure what's wrong. It keeps me from doing a lot of things that I would normally do. I want to participate in activities and I can't so instead of sitting there wallowing in self pity, I need to find other ways to serve, even if it looks different. What can I do that will serve my neighbors here? I need to remember that my "job" hasn't changed just because I'm hurt, it just looks different.

Application:

I am going to pray that God would show me opportunities that I can serve others still and I am going to strive to seek and seize those opportunities, no matter what they look like. I am also going to write "remember your purpose" on my left hand today and tomorrow so that I remember that I am here to serve.

Philippians 2/8 Inductive Bible Study Adaptability 2/27

 Philippians 2:3-7 says, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men."

Philippians 2:8 says, "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross."

Ok, so to sum up the last 4 days, I need to get rid of my selfishness, humble myself and count others as better than myself. I need to not only look at my own needs but consider others needs, no matter who it is. The reason that I need to think this way is because this is the mindset that Jesus had and He is God. I'm just a sinner. I have no rights. If Jesus, who deserves everything, can humble himself to the form of a man and die for our sins, something He who was blameless certainly didn't deserve, than I, who deserve death but receive life and forgiveness, can most definitely humble myself to serve without receiving attention and put others ahead of myself and of more importance than myself.

Ok, now to add on today's verse: Philippians 2:8. Jesus didn't deserve death. He is God. He is blameless. He is The spotless Lamb. We deserve death; we are sinners; the wages of sin is death. Jesus knew that we could never bridge the gap between ourselves and God on our own. On this earth, we can never be perfect. The sacrifice needed to be from The spotless Lamb. Jesus wasn't exempt from pain just because He is God. Dying on the cross took obedience. But His love for us was so strong that He endured the pain for us, even the pain of torture and death on the cross.

This may seem silly, but it's comforting to know that Jesus had to be obedient. He understands obedience. He made a choice to be obedient. Right now, as trivial as it sounds in comparison to Jesus dying the death of a criminal on a cross, I'm having to choose obedience. Since I was 11 years old, I have felt God calling me to serve in Africa. I have always referred to it as a heart tug. I'm in love with Africa. I have always dreamt about Africa. My heart breaks for the people there and longs to be there. I came home from school when I was 11 telling my mom that I was going to Africa. So even though I shouldn't have, I came into IGNITE with the very narrow mindset of going to Africa. I wasn't really open to anything else. I kept saying I was "open to wherever God wanted to place me", but all I wanted was to go to Africa. And eventually I realized because I was holding on so tightly, it had become my plans and I wasn't trusting God with His plans anymore. I had a feeling at the beginning of my time here that because I wanted so badly to get out of Guatemala, this was exactly where He was going to put me. And I was right. I am staying in Guatemala for my 6 months of field time. But God has been doing an amazing work in my heart. I am excited to be here. I am sad to not be going to Africa but I still have hope that the calling God placed in my heart so many years ago will happen some day. It's just not His timing right now. It's hard but the more that I give it to God, I realize that I so wasn't ready for Africa. My heart wasn't in the right place. I was relying on my own strength. Placing me in Guatemala makes me have to completely rely on Him for strength and trust in Him. It's terrifying and hard and exciting. I know that God has an amazing plan for me here. I just have to give up my plans and let Him work it out. Instead of getting scared and relying on what I want and what I think should happen, I need to choose obedience. I need to remember that God's ways are so much higher than mine. Jesus asked God to change His plans if there was any other way to accomplish His will. But ultimately, He gave up His fears and what He wanted, and was obedient to God's will. Even though it's minuscule in comparison, I want to give up my plans and let His will be done, because it's way better than mine anyways.

Ok now that I just took 5 million rabbit trails and (in the words of Katie) word-vomited, let's wrap this up. Jesus loves us and set an amazing example of selflessness and obedience. My goal is to let Him live through me so that I can live out His example. I cannot be selfless or obedient on my own but I want to. So I am giving up my selfishness and my will. Can I just say that it blows my mind daily that Jesus knew that I would know about Him and what He has done for me, choose sin, and He still chose to die for me so that I could be forgiven, have access to God and spend eternity in Heaven, even though I so don't deserve it. How great is my God…

Application:
Today, I will pray that God would take my plans and help me to trust Him this year. I am going to post Philippians 2:3-8 on my door so that I will remember the example that Jesus has set for me.

Philippians 2:7 Inductive Bible Study Adaptability 2/26

Philippians 2:5-6 say, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,"

Philippians 2:7 says, "but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men."

Ok so I'm going to put today's verse together with yesterday's to help it make more sense.

Yesterday, I talked about how Jesus was fully God and fully man. He wasn't robbing by saying He was equal with God because He was. Okay, now to add on verse 7. Even though He was completely equal with God, He made Himself of no reputation. He humbled Himself to the form of a bondservant. A bondservant isn't just someone who has to be a servant. A bondservant is someone who chooses to be a servant. Jesus chose to serve us. He chose us. He came in our likeness. He walked like us. Talked like us. Looked like us. We can never say that God doesn't understand what we go through; our trials, pains, temptation. Yes He does! Just because He was God doesn't mean that the devil left Him alone or that He was invincible to hard times. He was tempted; He was just able to resist the temptation and go through it without sinning. He endured more pain than many of us ever will.

Jesus was God. He could have come as a great King. He could have been wealthy. He could have come however He wanted. But the God that created the universe came as a baby. The son of a handyman. He wasn't rich. His looks were plain. He was born in a manger surrounded by animals. He never boasted about Himself even though He had every right. So who am I to boast? If the King of kings can do this, why can't I? How dare I seek attention for myself? He deserved everything and humbled Himself to nothing and I deserve nothing and I look for my own glory in everything. Jesus is my example. I want to, as these verses say, have the same mind as Christ. I want to understand humility in the way that He portrayed and lived it. Even though He is God, He made Himself nothing, served us and related to us. I know that I get caught up in myself so often. "Hey, look at me! I'm a missionary in a foreign country!" "Hey, look at me! I'm serving my enemies and loving my neighbors!" Ok… and? That's what I'm called to do. Why do I feel like I should get noticed? Jesus was perfect and died for our sins. He was God and never called attention upon Himself.

In John 13:16, Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him." If Jesus can serve me, I who am so unworthy, than I certainly can humble myself to serve Him and others.

Matthew 6:3-4 says, "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly." Something that I struggle with is doing something nice for someone without drawing attention to it. I just want to be noticed. But that is not at all the heart or mind of Christ. I want to be humble and serve like Christ. Christ made himself of no reputation when he deserved to be treated like the King of kings that He is. If He can do that, then I can certainly love and serve without drawing attention to myself.

Application:  

Today, I am going to post a piece of paper with Matthew 6:3-4 on it on my bedpost so that I remember what my mindset should be when I serve others.

Philippians 2:5-6 Inductive Bible Study Adaptability 2/25

Philippians 2:5-6 say, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God."

Ok, so because of how my assigned verses are set up this week, I can't really look at this in the context of the next verse which would make it a lot clearer. But, so that I don't get blasphemous here by explaining it how it sounds if you just read it in the context of only these two verses, for today, I am going to dissect these and look at them as two separate statements and tomorrow I can connect them.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ." Ok so as a Christ-Follower, I am supposed to be likeminded with Christ. That is really helpful in the context of my verses from the last two days because without having the same mind as Christ, I cannot possibly look at others as better than myself or consider their interests instead of just my own. On my own and in my own nature, I am selfish. Christ is not selfish. He is perfect. He gave His life for me, a sinner, even while He knew that I would choose sin. He considered my need for God and did whatever He needed to meet that need which led to being tortured and murdered on a cross for me, the death of a criminal, the death that I was supposed to die, even though He was blameless.

"Who, being in the form of God, (Jesus) did not consider it robbery to be equal with God." Jesus is God. They are equal. Jesus is fully man and fully God. He wasn't robbing by calling Himself God. God came to earth in the form of man through Jesus. It blows my mind every day that the God that created the universe humbled himself to be a man and to die on a cross so that I can be forgiven of my sin and have a relationship with Him. He is the only one that truly understands how incredibly unworthy I am of His healing and forgiveness yet He is the one who has compassion for me and made a way. How great is my God…

Application:

Today, I will pray to see others the way that Jesus sees them and that I will be likeminded with Christ and also that I will understand the intensity of the sacrifice that Christ, in the form of God, gave for me.