Starting Point Week 1

Every Sunday I try to watch North Point Online. This weekend, they started a new message series called Starting Point. 

Lot's of great takeaways from today's message:

"The Bible says" was never intended to be the starting point for Christian faith. 

"The Bible says" is not an adequate returning or starting point for adults. 

How and when did you begin your faith journey? How well has your faith held up under the rigors of life?

THE starting point is a question. And the question is... Who is Jesus?

God has given us insight, confidence, and proof. He took the "un" out of "unknown", Acts 17:23.

The proof of the resurrection moves us from "hope so" to "know so."

The starting point for the Christian faith wasn't a book but an event. 

Hurry! Great Deal Ahead!

I just need to share a great deal I found on Amazon tonight. "Empty Promises: The Truth About You, Your Desires, and the Lies You're Believing" by Pete Wilson is only $6.40!!!! The book usually retails at $15.99 so get it now before it's gone- There are only 13 left!!

The link is below: 

http://www.amazon.com/Empty-Promises-Truth-Desires-Believing/dp/B00A17ZGQU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363412495&sr=1-1&keywords=pete+wilson

I'm SO excited to start reading this book next week!

GPS

I took a GPS or Spiritual Gifts Assessment and found my results surprisingly close to what I expected the results to be. Now that I know my strengths and weaknesses I am working on ways to fine tune each area. I started by ordering 3 new books off Amazon tonight. Here are my gifts from my strengths to weaknesses. Many of these fell into the same number category. 

Teaching: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by teaching sound doctrine in relevant ways, empowering people to gain a sound and mature spiritual education. 
 
Exhortation: Serve and strengthen the body of Christ by helping others live God-centered lives through inspiration, encouragement, counsel- ing, and empowerment.

Healing: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by healing and restoring to health, beyond traditional and natural means, those who are sick, hurting or suffering.

Hospitality: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by providing others with a warm and welcoming environment for community.

Miracles: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ through supernatural acts that bring validity to God and his power.

Leadership: Serve and strengthen the body of Christ by casting vision, stimulating spiritual growth, applying strategies, and achieving success where God’s purposes are concerned.

Pastoring: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by taking spiritual responsibility for a group of believers and equipping them to live Christ-centered lives.

Wisdom: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by making wise decisions and counseling others with sound advice all in accordance with God’s will.

Giving: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by joyfully supporting and funding various Kingdom initiatives through material contributions beyond a regular tithe.

Faith: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by stepping out in faith in order to see God’s purposes accomplished, trusting him to handle any and all obstacles along the way.

Service: Offering others assistance in reaching goals that glorify God.

Knowledge: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by communicating God’s truth to others in a way that promotes justice, honesty and understanding.

Discernment: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by recognizing truth or error within a message, person or event.

Apostle: Serve and strengthen the body of Christ by launching and leading new ministry ventures that advance God’s purposes and expand his Kingdom.

Mercy: Serve and strengthen the body of Christ by ministering to those who suffer physically, emotionally, spiritually, or relationally. Their actions are characterized by love, care, compassion, and kindness toward others.

Administration: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by effectively organizing resources and people in order to efficiently reach ministry goals.

Evangelism: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by sharing the love of Christ with others in a way that draws them to respond by accepting God’s free gift of eternal life.

Prophecy: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by offering messages from God that comfort, encourage, guide, warn, or reveal sin in a way that leads to repentance and spiritual growth.

Tongues/ Interpretation of Tongues: The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by communicating God’s message in a special language unknown to the speaker. / The God-given ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ to interpret the special language that is unknown to the speaker of tongues.

Thank you EBC for the video and definitions of each category. To view more or find your Spiritual Gifts please visit: http://eaglebrookchurch.com/gps

Sun Stand Still

I finished reading Steven Furtick's book, "Sun Stand Still" a few weeks ago. The book is about audacious faith. Below are a few quotes I wrote down:

- " If you're not daring to believe God for the impossible, you may be sleeping through some of the best parts of your Christian Life."

- "If the size of your vision for your life isn't intimidating to you, there's a good chance it is insulting to God."

- "If we have the audacity to ask, God has the ability to perform."

- "God gives people the exact experiences he wants them to have in order to shape the specific destiny he's designed for them."

- "When you examine the lives of people who are called to do great things for God, you'll notice 3 things:

They offer God a long list of excuses, God doesn't seem surprised, and God doesn't change his mind." 

- "I'm not raising two kids to survive the world. I am raising them to change it."

- "Extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary acts of obedience."

- "Faith opens your eyes to see the potential to serve a God who is already at work on your behalf."

- "Audacity is believing that God's promise is bigger than any (my) perhaps."

- "It's not wrong to feel fear. It is wrong to let that fear have the last word in your life."

- "The level of you impact will be directly proportional to the price you are willing to pay."

- "If your problem is to big for you, it is just the right size for God."

- "The image that comes to mind when you think of God is the most important thing about you."

- "Build your confidence in his goodness and his greatness and He will do the impossible."

- "If your faith isn't rooted in God's promises, it's not scriptural faith. It is just wishful thinking."

- "You can't claim God's promises if you don't know God's promises."

- "God's grace is so audacious that he will use failure itself to show off just how capable He is."

- "Nothing you've ever done is so repulsive that God can't redeem your potential and love you through it."

- "The very sin you've been ignoring and minimizing may be the one that's limiting your ability to rise to greater heights in Christ."

- "Sometimes we get to see the miracle; other times we get to be the miracle."

- "Sometimes God lets the sun go down so that he can be our only light."

- "Most of the time, if you don't move, God wont move. That's just the way He designed faith to work."

- "People who walk in audacious faith don't stop and pray. Audacious faith teaches us to push and pray."

- "Vision begins when you hear the sound of God's voice speaking something to your heart. It's not an audible voice. It's more like an unshakable impression, an inner sense." (2 Cor. 5:7)

I had 13 pages of notes so this post was very brief and doesn't get into the book like it could, but I encourage you to check it out. You won't be let down!

Spiritual Awakening

 

Saw this in my newsfeed on Facebook and had to share it. I am working on many of these and one day, I'll have all 12 down!