Jul 17, 2013
Touching Godliness by K.P. Yohannan was a blessing to me. Some might think that it’s a scary subject, but it really opened my eyes to how the Lord sees submission.
One of the things that I learned was that submission is a matter of the heart. I can do the motions and obey my delegated authorities, but that is not submission, it is obedience. Submission is the attitude towards my authority, whereas obedience is an action.When it is done this way, our Lord is pleased. I would encourage you, please read this book. There is so many things in it that will deepen your relationship with the Lord. May the Lord bless you.
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Jun 22, 2013
I am learning a ton of new things here at School of Discipleship…. but don’t worry…. I still do manage to have fun 🙂 Like today, for example… we got to start our house meeting before supper, then have a wonderful supper of barbequed burgers, macaroni salad, chips, and pickles….
Then, best of all 😉 ice cream, chocolate sauce and bananas for dessert 🙂 It was scrumptious!! While enjoying our dessert, we finished our house meeting. Tonight was an evening where a few of us girls were having tons of fun just being silly 🙂 After fooling around for a bit, we got down to doing our assignments…
Right now, we are going through the book Before You Hit the Wall, along with the booklet Learning to Pray, the combination of these two are called Spiritual Disciplines. Prayer is a huge part of the ministry of Gospel for Asia, and it is an area that I consistently need to work on at this point in my life. Going through this book has been quite helpful, it has given me quite a bit of head knowledge, but the issue is that now I need to get down to it and make the choice to apply what I am learning, otherwise this year will benefit me very little!
Sometimes the choices that we have in life can be aggravating, and we complain that we have too many, but then when we were not given as many choices…. we complained that we didn’t have enough choices! I am so glad that God is in heaven, and that He knows what we are in need of and what will be a hindrance to us! May God be praised!
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Jun 21, 2013
The Lord has definitely been trying to teach me different things since I have been in Stoney Creek serving as a student for Gospel for Asia. The staff people had said that I (as a student), would have to learn to die to myself but I didn’t really think a whole lot about it until I was actually into the program. It was then that I noticed that God wanted me to give up everything! My plans, my ways of doing things, and my will is what I needed to learn to totally submit to God. Praise the Lord that He is working in my life in that area, not that I have achieved everything but I am getting there!
God has been teaching me that I need to pray more. I need to be a person that is totally devoted to praying for others and not just me. I need to be praying for the nations around me and for those in other countries. I want to have more of a passion and a burden for the lost souls around me. I never realized until I came to Gospel For Asia that there was so many people that have never heard the Gospel of Jesus being preached. They have never even heard of His Name! That’s something that was very shocking to me! I really appreciate at Gospel For Asia that they have so many prayer times together. They take the time to pray and stand in the gap for these nations. They are definitely a praying people! “Lord, help me to be more of a prayer warrior.”
Another thing that God wants to teach me is to be more encouraging to people. I have been a fairly negative person in the past but I am seeking to change that. By God’s grace I will seek to encourage others in their walk with the Lord instead of putting them down. I want others to lift me up especially when I am struggling and so I need to do that for others as well.
I believe that the Lord has so much more that He wants to teach me this year while I’m at the School of Discipleship here at Gospel for Asia. Please pray for me that I will be open to the Spirit’s leading and that He will work marvelously in my life. Pray that I will go home a changed person (for the better) and that I will become the man of God that He wants me to be.
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Jun 21, 2013
There are SO many different types, or facets, of fear…there’s the fear that comes to me when I see a spider crawling towards me, the fear that grips me when I know I’ve done something wrong and must suffer the consequencs, the fear when I know I need to do something but I’m scared of what will happen after…the fear of losing someone I love, or of leaving someone or something that I love, the fear of change and fear of the unknown.
This year I’ve been faced with my fears in those areas and more – and let me tell you, my knee-jerk reaction is to curl up in a corner and plug my ears and shut my eyes and wait till things are “better” again…even if means avoiding and prolonging the inevitable. But the Lord has shown me that not only is that EXTREMELY unhealthy for my sanity and sense of reality, it’s dangerous to my spiritual growth and my relationship with Him.
You see, when I choose to allow the strong emotion of fear to creep up my backbone, it means I’m not trusting God. I’m not trusting the Creator who made me with brown eyes and brown hair and size 7.5 feet. Who knows every hair on my head. Who has kept track of every tear I’ve ever cried. Who has written the story of my life and knows how it (and I) will end.
Okay, yeah yeah, we’ve all heard this…do not fear, trust in God. But it isn’t easy, is it? When you’re in the moment, it’s insanely easy to accept that fear without thinking twice about it. It’s naturaly to us. Because we are naturally fearful and untrusting creatures. And that’s where Christ comes in!! Because of His death on the cross for our sins, He delivered us from sin and that includes the sin giving into fleshly fears and not trusting God. As believers with the Spirit of God living within us, we HAVE the power to not fear. We have the power to choose to trust God.
I’m reminded of Ruth. I just love her story! She chose to enter a life full of unknowns and potential uh-oh’s, and she did it boldly. Yeah, maybe she was nervous, but I don’t think she was fearful, at least not from what the Bible says. She put her trust in the Lord, and He pulled through for her. Because He’s God…He isn’t like a mischievous sibling who says he’s going to catch you when you jump off the steps and then backs up and lets you fall at the last second. Yet we act like He’s that way all the time.
So, next time you’re in a situation where fear is threatening to cloud your mind and overcome you with stress and doubts and what-if’s, hold onto the promises of the Lord – hold on to TRUTH when the enemy wants you to believe lies. Truths like He will never leave you or forsake you (Deut. 31:8) (Heb 13:5), and Psalm 139, where David talks about how intimately the Lord knows us and protects us. Psalm 23 – our good Shepherd is with us even in the valley of the shadow of death. It takes a conscious effort on our part, for sure! But it is possible to live a life free from fear. Except, of course, when it comes to spiders…in my case at least. 😛
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Jun 21, 2013
When I was growing up in Michigan, I loved the changing seasons. I loved summer’s vibrant blues and greens, fall’s leaf-strewn paths, winter’s snow shimmering in the moonlight and the freshness of spring.
Now I’m living on the other side of the world and have gained another season – the monsoon. This is the bring-your-umbrella-everywhere time of year. It can be inconvenient at times, but I do like the fact that I can break out into “I’m Singing in the Rain” as I slosh through the puddles.
Life is full of seasons. Some are fun and some are challenging; some are encouraging and some are hard to understand. But one thing never changes. “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.” His mercies are new every morning. His faithfulness is great. In the midst of shifting seasons, He is constant.
Let’s look to Him no matter what season we’re in. And even if it’s a dreary day full of puddles – just twirl that umbrella and sing!
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Jun 18, 2013
When I first started reading Touching Godliness, it was kind of hard for me to grasp, and sounded like it might be kind of boring. But as I read I started to see that submission is an important thing in our life, and I started to understand it better. It pleases our Father in heaven when we submit, not only to Him but also to those He places over us. Whenever there is someone over us, God always has that person there for our own good.
I learned that submission and obedience are two very different things. I can be obedient outwardly in my actions, but my heart can be rebelling and complaining. Where submission is doing the right thing outwardly, AND is also having the right attitude in your heart.
Of course, we won’t magically be submissive all of a sudden. It takes time. But fortunately we have Jesus to help us live it out and learn it. 🙂
“It is through our continual choosing of the way of the cross and the work
of the Holy Spirit that we are transformed to the nature of Jesus.” – K.P. Yohannan
I really like this quote because it shows us that it is totally God making us more like Jesus. We cannot do anything on our own. But we can make the choice, with His strength, to die to ourselves daily and ask Him to work in us and make us more like Himself. And one of the ways He chooses to do so is through submission. So let’s ask Him to show us ways we can start learning it and living it out!
www.gfa.org/touching-godliness
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