Friday 12 May 2017

Ability (part 7) Thought about the ability to grow as a member of the Body of Christ

Having received the ability to live we also got some talents, which may be totally different from the talents one of our siblings got.

All having received the ability to think about life also got the ability to come to see Who God is and for what purpose we are on this world. The same when we have used the ability to come to know God we have the ability to choose of Him and to serve Him according to His Will.

That ability to serve God is not based on your past, but on your faithfulness today. A person may have been an adversary of God, a big criminal, a lover of fleshy sins, but when he had come to know Christ Jesus and his God, he might have changed. In his conversion to Christianity he not only received the ability to grow as a member of the Body of Christ, sharing with brethren and sisters the love of Christ and the hope to a coming Kingdom of God.

When having hear the call of God, and having answered it positively, one can come under the blessings of the Most High. Being able to feel those blessings one is eager to follow the commandments of God and the commandments of His sent one, Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God. That son gave his followers tasks, which also still count for us today. Jesus asked his followers to go out into the world and to preach the Gospel, the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God.

There are the tasks given by Christ Jesus and the ones given by his heavenly Father. If you are faithful with the tasks God's son and the heavenly Father entrusts to you, God will enable you to accomplish it.

Don’t distinguish between big and small assignments from God. Paul saw every one as a privilege he did not deserve. Whether God has asked you to pray for someone, to minister to a person in need, to lead a Bible study, or to care for those who are sick, strive to be faithful. You will experience His enabling as you serve Him.

If you are faithful in a little, God will entrust you with more. You will be able to join Paul in praising God for having counted you faithful, putting you into His service (Luke 16:10).
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with a lot. Whoever is dishonest with very little is dishonest with a lot.” (Luke 16:10 GWord)
Even when not experienced, like Timothy was, we can do the work of God and grow in our faith and in the community, like so many before had an opportunity to grow  in their ecclesia.

Paul urged Timothy not to allow his youthful insecurity to blunt his zeal and faithfulness in doing what God had told him. Rather than arguing with those who criticized Timothy, Paul urged him to live as an example of godliness. Paul advised Timothy to live a life that was so spotless in word, conduct, love, spirit, faith, and purity that his life could serve as a model for others in the church to follow. Timothy’s life was to be the evidence that God had called him. God looked beyond Timothy’s youth, timidity, and physical weakness and saw his sincere heart.

We too should take on the right attitude and show others how we are willing to give ourselves to the call we heard from God.

As you seek to follow God’s will, you may identify with Timothy.

Whatever your position at this moment, do know that by using your abilities you make it possible to grow and to develop as a Christian (a follower of Christ).
By allowing God to guide you and to enforce your abilities you shall be able to help not only yourself but also those around you who want to go with you on the same path, laid out in front of you by Jesus, the Way to God.

Just as a tender plant finds a way to grow in a hard and unreceptive environment, so the love of Jesus has the ability to emerge in a life that seems completely unresponsive to the call of the Divine Maker of all things. Giving in to God's call and doing His Will, you shall find that often you shall be able to do more than you would ever thought. This shall be possible when you allow God to demonstrate His call upon you by transforming your life into a model of godliness.

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Preceding articles:
Ability (part 4) Thought about the ability to have ability
Ability (part 6) Thought about the ability of God’s Provision Bringing Glory

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Additional reading

  1. Today’s thought “Ability to receive ableness from God” (May 11)
  2. Today’s thought “Ability to see that God is not dead” (May 12)
  3. Thought for those who think it is not necessary to do any works any more
  4. Lost senses or a clear focus on the one at the stake
  5. Worthy partakers of the body of Christ
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Ability (part 6) Thought about the ability of God’s Provision Bringing Glory

God’s Provision

Brings Glory


Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.
Psalm 50:15

    Did you know that you bring glory to God by calling upon Him when you are in distress?

God promised He would deliver you if you turned to Him. You deny the Lord honour that is rightfully His every time you find yourself in difficulty and you fail to call upon Him for help! There may be times when God allows you to reach a point of need so that you can call upon Him, and thus let Him demonstrate to a watching world the difference He makes in the lives of His children.

If God never allowed you to experience need, people around you might never have the opportunity to witness God’s provision in the life of a Christian. If you never faced a shortfall, you might be tempted to feel self-sufficient and without any need of God in your daily life.

    Pride will tempt you to think that you do not need to seek God’s assistance. Self-regard will seek to convince you that you can handle your dilemma through your own wisdom, resources, and hard work. Pride will also rob glory from God and seek to give it to you. Don’t allow your pride to take what rightfully belongs to the Lord. Call upon your Lord and wait exclusively upon Him to rescue you. Then give Him the glory that He deserves.

    Self-sufficiency can greatly hinder your ability to experience God and bring Him honour. The next time you are in distress, turn to Him!

From Experiencing God day by day

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Preceding articles:
Ability (part 4) Thought about the ability to have ability
Ability (part 5) Thought about the abilities to be under God's Spirit
Be not afraid of those trials which God may see fit to send upon thee
A Living Faith #4 Effort
Remember there's a light in the next day
If your difficulties are longstanding, try kneeling
Your struggles develop your strengths
Even in tough times remembering the blessings
Frank risks taking
The soul has no rainbow if the eyes have no tears
Preaching to an unbelieving world

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Additional reading

  1. Creation of the earth and man #23 Man in the image and likeness of the Elohim #7 Corporeal and spiritual change
  2. Dealing with worries in our lives
  3. Looking at three “I am” s
  4. Some one or something to fear #6 Faith in the Most High
  5. the Bible – God’s guide for life #5 What is God like
  6. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #15 Exposition before the Creator
  7. Is God behind all suffering here on earth
  8. Seeing or not seeing and willingness to find God
  9. God’s never-ending stream of much-needed mercies
  10. In Defense of the truth
  11. May we have doubts
  12. Fear in your own heart or outside of it
  13. Watch out
  14. Welcoming writing that can help to heal, to grow and to learn about ourself
  15. Philippians 4:4–7 – Do Not Be Anxious
  16. Ruth having reason to grief
  17. How can we prepare for the Kingdom of God
  18. He who knows himself, is kind to others
  19. To Live Gratitude
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Thursday 11 May 2017

Ability (part 5) Thought about the abilities to be under God's Spirit

Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Awaiting the Passage...
Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Awaiting the Passage of Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Poor in Spirit


“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3

    The Bible presents many paradoxes that challenge our human way of thinking. We think of the poor as possessing very little, yet Jesus said the riches of heaven belong to the poor in spirit.

Self-reliance robs us of God’s good gifts.

    Jesus insisted that in order to follow Him, we must deny self. As long as we rely on our own resources, we will never place our trust in Him. As we acknowledge the poverty of our souls, we realize how desperately we need a Savior. Jesus declared: “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 4:17). God has so much to give the one who recognizes his need and will call upon Jesus!

    Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. He had just encountered the rich ruler, who valued his possessions so much that he could not give them up to follow Jesus (Luke 18:18-24). Jesus later encountered Zacchaeus, a wealthy, notorious sinner (Luke 19:1-10). Despite Zacchaeus’s material wealth, he recognized his spiritual poverty and found salvation. Jesus taught the disciples that true wealth is found in a relationship with God. Those who realize their inherent spiritual poverty apart from God will trust in Him, and He will enrich their lives immeasurably. Do not allow your resources, wisdom, talent, or abilities to prevent you from trusting the Person who can bring you abundant life.


From: Experiencing God Day by Day

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Preceding articles:
Ability (part 4) Thought about the ability to have ability

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Additional reading

  1. When having found faith through the study of the Bible we do need to do works of faith
  2. Facing our existence every day
  3. Leading people astray!
  4. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) versus Christianity and end times
  5. Justification – salvation is by grace through faith – JI Packer
  6. January 27, 417, Pope Innocent I condemning Pelagius about Faith and Works
  7. Thought for those who think it is not necessary to do any works any more
  8. Which is worse–works without faith, or faith without works?
  9. Christians remaining hidden not sharing the gospel
  10. 100-Day Identity Makeover: Day 56
  11. Worthy partakers of the body of Christ
  12. Seeds, weeds and kingdoms
  13. The Mountain: Radical Obedience
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Ability (part 4) Thought about the ability to have ability

God’s Abundance in Your Life


And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

    When you relate to God you always deal with abundance, for God does nothing in half measures! This is true regarding His grace.

The Lord is not miserly when it comes to providing grace to His servants. When you seek to perform a good work that God has asked you to do, you will always find an ample supply of God’s grace to sustain you.

If you begin to lose heart in the work you are doing, God’s grace upholds you and gives you the love for God and His people you require in order to continue.

When you face criticism and are misunderstood, God’s grace enables you to forgive your accusers and to sense God’s pleasure even when others do not understand what you are doing.
When you make mistakes in the work God has appointed you to do, God’s grace forgives you, sets you back on your feet, and gives you strength to continue the work.
When you complete the task God gave you and no one expresses thanks for what you have done, the Father’s grace surrounds you, and He reminds you that you have a heavenly reward where everything you have done in the Lord’s service will be remembered.

    God does not promise to provide all you need for your dreams and projects. He does assure you that, for every good work you attempt, you will never face a shortfall of His grace in order to successfully complete the task God has given you.

From: Experiencing God Day by Day

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Preceding articles:
  1. Ability
  2. Ability (part 2)
  3. Ability (part 3) Thoughts around Ability
Next
  • Ability (part 5) Thought about the abilities to be under God's Spirit
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Additional reading

  1. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
  2. Failing Man to make free choice
  3. Looking for a spiritual new life
  4. Challenging claim 2 Inspired by God 1 Simple words
  5. When having found faith through the study of the Bible we do need to do works of faith
  6. Salvation, Baptism and Re-baptism
  7. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #13 Prayer #11 Name to be set apart
  8. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #15 Exposition before the Creator
  9. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #18 Fulfilment
  10. Omniscient God opposite a not knowing Jesus
  11. Lost senses or a clear focus on the one at the stake
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Ability (part 3) Thoughts around Ability

English: President Complement of photo File:Pr...
English: President Complement of photo File:PresidentJamesAGarfieldStanding.jpg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)




  No man is without some quality, by the due application of which he might deserve well of the world; and whoever he be that has but little in his power should be in haste to do that little, lest he be confounded with him that can do nothing, --Dr. Johnson.

   We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.--Longfellow.

   Every person is responsible for all the good within the scope of his abilities, and for no more.--Gail Hamilton.

   The possession of great powers no doubt carries with it a contempt for mere external show. --James A. Garfield.

   The art of using moderate abilities to advantage wins praise, and often acquires more reputation than actual brilliancy. --La Rochefoucauld.

   Ability is a poor man’s wealth.--Mattew Wren.

   The measure of capacity is the measure of sphere to either man or woman. --Elizabeth Oakes Smith.

   Natural ability can almost compensate for the want of every kind of cultivation; but no cultivation of the mind can make up for the want of natural ability. --Schopenhauer.

   An able man shows his spirit by gentle words and resolute actions. --Chesterfield.


Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > ...

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Next:
Ability (part 4) Thought about the ability to have ability

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