charisbarak

The earthen jars are us. Some of us are cracked, others nicked, but a willing vessel is one God can use. The treasure of God's Word needs to abide in us & we need to be faithful sharers of this Truth. Yes! It's not about us!

There is hope until the day they die. Only God's Word can take away the blindness from their eyes & hearts. We need to be faithful to present the Truth to them so the Holy Spirit can work in their lives. Prayer is key to being faithful witnesses.

Questionable ethics & ministry tactics confuse the non-believers/searchers. It is a poor role model. Ministers are directlly answerable to God & it will eventually ruin their own ministries. It is dangerous to add or subtract from the Word.

Spending time with God changes us!! His will becomes mine. I can see with His eyes of love. Transformation--changed by Christ. Yes, always changes occuring. I have gone through seasons of change. Each time I read the Bible through, more is revealed--more growth comes. Praise Him! Lord, Change Me!

We can get that "glow" by spending time with the Lord--the more the better. God reveals Himself in scripture, therefore, if we're immursed in scripture we can know more & more about Him. I believe a lot of Christians today look very much like those who are perishing in the world--taken up with the things of the world & not dedicating the time to God. I need to constantly be putting my priorities in order so I can spend special time with Him each day!!

The Holy Spirit removes the veil of blindness so the truth can be seen. The Holy Spirit draws people. The Holy Spirit gives us freedom from sin & it's enslavement.

Moses' face shone because He spent time with God (whose glory is bright) face to face. He covered his face because it shone so & I think they were distracted by it. God didn't allow many people in that day to come near Him. The glory of the law then, cannot be compared to the glory of the Holy Spirit today.

God has set up the church fellowship to encourage us & let us encourage others. It also keeps us accountable. If we drop out of church, we tend to stray--not get closer to God. For the work of the Kingdom, it suffers. Our gifts are needed to keep the church together & healthy.

Balance is absolutely necessary. You need the head knowledge to teach & lead others. You must also lead/teach from the heart with the Holy Spirit's leading. I am learning to listen to the Holy Spirit more each day. I think if you have these things & God's call to the ministry it would be best--we need to speak to the minds & hearts of the people and if the Holy Spirit is leading much can be accomplished for the Lord.

People can read us by how we live our daily lives...that our words match our walk. People can see the phoniness in us especially if they spend a little time with you. Thank them and thank God.

Sensing we are bringing life to those perishing. Repugnant when they choose death over life. My fragrance over the years has been suppressed, but God is changing that! By totally abiding in Him & obeying Him.

Satan takes advantage of our unforgiveness by stepping in & helping us become bitter. He would love to see us fall. The symptoms of our unforgiveness are bitterness and anger. We miss out on God's forgiveness if we hold on to it. Pray first, then go to the person & apologize. Unforgiveness eats away at a person, builds walls keeping others out of their lives & are unable to really love.....

Obedience to church leaders keeps unity in the church & keeps it healthy. Obedience to self-serving leaders causes factions that split the church & ultimately destroy it. Yes. I know God placed them in that position over me. I may not agree with them, but then, I don't have to! (unless they're causing a split in the church--then you begin the route to healthy church discipline.

To Lord something over someone is to put them down--making ourselves in our eyes better than they. When leading is too strong--it causes oppression and is really controlling. Opposite that would not be taking responsibility for our position and the decisions that must be made. That puts too much pressure on those they're leading and disappointing the ones over them. We must pray for wisdom & guide in a loving, firm way.

The Holy Spirit in our lives signifies we belong to God/we're sealed and promised eternal life. The HS unites us with God by indwelling us.

Paul asked for prayer because he knew there was power in prayer when people come together & pray. Jesus is in the midst of prayers when two or three are gathered in His name. I realize the power of prayer--both in my life and my son's life in two different illnesses--not knowing if we'd come out of them or not. We relied on prayer heavily at that time & God answered!

Going thru harrowing trials draws us closer to God. We find we need to cry out to him often. The more we keep in contact with God the stronger our faith grows! We know we cannot rely on ourselves and we lean on Jesus! Pride goes out the window with our self-reliance and we become more joyful, dependent servants for the Lord. Others will be able to recognize this in us & our witness will be stronger.

I recieve comfort knowing I am saved and will live with him forever. I receive comfort daily because of my faith in God, knowing He is there with me, upholding me, leading me. I could listen to them, cry with them & share with them. I could especially comfort those who have gone thru similar things I have--knowing God carried me thru them!

I love the fact that Moses loved God & the Israelite people, even before God called him into service for Him. He grew in love & trust. But like every human being, he had been filled up with Israel's constant complaining & folly--which led him to not keep focused on God & his precise instructions & was moved by his emotions. I need to follow Jesus at His word regardless of emotions flooding me! I would desire Moses' strength in the Lord, trusting in Him fully and that He is able in every circumstance!

Nowadays, our gov't doesn't respect or serve God & they view enemies of God as those who need to be defended--that they have rights too. Balaam first lead Israel to sin by placing himself in the place where he and his position in God could be bought for $. He encouraged unpure behavior for Israel--was not a true representative of God. Phineas was quick to stand up & defend God & take action--netting him a place in the Bible for all to read and a covenant of lasting priesthood. It's easier to stand with the crowd & not go against the group. It takes courage to stand up for God.

The people became impaitient & complained about God & his provision for them. Being impatient with God and speaking out against Him was a sin. They were not honest or trusting. The bronze snake & Jesus lifted up both healed people & delivered them. Both instances took trust & belief on the part of the people to receive this healing.

He was told to speak to the rock, instead, he struck it twice in anger. He sinned by disobedience and pride, not giving God the place he should have. He totally acted in anger. Leaders must repent and ask forgiveness

Pride & power were the root causes of Korah's rebellion. Some of the assertions were true, but he failed to see that the persons in charge were set there by God. Challenging a spiritual leader is like challenging God, himself. Moses realized that he could have been part of this rebellion had God given him the wisdom & courage to rule them. Ruling is like sheparding. You don't just shepherd the sheep when they're behaving!! A leader needs to lead--sometimes that includes building bridges!

The failure to enter the promised land was a big thing. Dreams were left unfulfilled. Sadness came upon the congregation. It represented unbelief by the people and punishment from God. No, it would be a way to clear out the unbelievers so that faithful, believing men & women would be able to enter the land after their parents had passed away. Their trip might have been days or weeks instead of 40 years. Desert lessons are long!

Their motivation for speaking out against Moses was to try to attain power. People think that if they can list the reasons why they are better than the incumbent, that people would think more highly of them. Moses let God handle the situation. Moses wasn't in it for the power. Had he not been humble, he would have used his power to fight for more power. God answered by explaining to Miriam & Aaron that they had been wrong to accuse God's humble servant. He punished Miriam by leprosy for a time.