Have you been with Jesus today?

Acts 4:13. There are many sayings that i believe, are partially correct, like: Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are; you are what you eat; i think, therefore i am, etc. When i say i believe they are partially correct, it's because you can be a godly person and have ungodly friends; eat bitter melon and never be a bitter person (bitter melon is known as the most bitter vegetable in the world) or even if you are not a thinker, you still are (exist). Examples: Matthew 11:19 Jesus was called "friend of sinners" because He loved the sinners and yet He never sinned; Mark 1:6 John the Baptist ate locust and was never able to fly; Acts 12:21-23 after the crowd called Herod "god", he died because he really thought he was a "god" (of course he wasn't). The point is: What you think, eat or who you associate with will only influence you to become what you will be, but you still have the freedom to decide what you will be. You can change your "environment", be changed by it or be in constant fight against it. I know it still sounds kinda confusing, so, let's use the disciples as an example: Judas Iscariot walked with Jesus as much as Peter did. Judas betrayed Jesus and Peter denied Him. Nevertheless, Peter repented and lived and Judas had remorse and killed himself. Peter became so much "like" Jesus (likeness is not equality) that the religious leaders realized that, as in Acts 4:13, Peter had been with Jesus. Many times we try to lead people to Jesus by "saying the correct words", "quoting the correct Bible verses", "showing ourselves to be morally correct", etc. In this case, Peter and John went to jail because they reflected the "Light" (Jesus Christ) so much that even the "blind people" (the religious leaders who Jesus called blind), could see the Light in them. Let's compare Jesus with the Sun and Peter with the Moon. We all know that the moon doesn't have light in itself, it only "reflects" the sun's light, so: We have "night" because "at night" the earth have rotated (the other side of the earth, let's say Japan, they have day), and we suppose to have the sun's light being reflected by the moon. Of course the moon has its phases: New, quarter, full. The moon is at its best when is full, it fully illuminates the night (darkness). The same way we suppose to live (operate): The more we align ourselves to reflect Jesus (the bigger Jesus is in us) the brighter the Light (Jesus) will be reflected through our lives. When we are born again we are like the "new moon" (partially reflecting the sun's light), then we should grow to "quarter moon" and then to "full moon". Of course, the more the "earth" gets between the sun and the moon, the less the moon will shine. The same way it works in the spiritual life: The more attached to the earthly (worldly) living we are, the less of Jesus we will have in our lives, therefore, the less Jesus Christ will shine in and through our lives. 1 John 2:15.
Conclusion: The more Jesus grows in us, the more His light will shine in us, the more His light shines in and through us, the more people will see His character in us (we'll be more like Him). Matthew 5:16.

What to do when doubt strikes.

I think satan's best weapon is doubt. From the beginning (literally), we see him using that weapon. His first "victim" was Eve: Genesis 3:1. Here is what God said to Adam: Genesis 2:16-17. See how cunning satan was, he changed just a little bit what God said (half-truth) and gave it a whole new meaning: God said that they should not eat only the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they could eat from every other tree of the garden. Along the Bible we see satan using the same tactics over and over again, even when it's not explicit, like with John the Baptist, when asking if Jesus was the Messiah. First, John gives testimony about Jesus being the One: John 1:32-34. Then he doubts and sends his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the One: Matthew 11:2-5. What is beautiful is that Jesus didn't answer yes or no to John's question, He only quoted Isaiah 35. To me it means that Jesus was assuring John that He was the messiah but at the same time saying that John still had to believe what God told him. There are different ways that satan uses the weapon of doubt: Through people, circumstances, etc. How many times you and i were pretty sure about something and someone came and said something else and our faith (assurance) just melted down? I remember (i wrote about this) when waiting for our son (it took five years to see the promise fulfilled) that i was completely sure about the promise, and the promise was a Son (boy), when Fabiana got pregnant, people started saying that it was a girl, i kept saying: "No, it's a boy!". Until one day, when one's the most godly friends i have asked this question: "Are you sure God was specific or generic when He spoke about the child?" Like: Didn't God say it was a child instead of a Son? That question struck me so bad that my faith was shaken. Then i started praying like crazy, asking if what i had was faith or only a "deep desire" to have a Son. Couple days latter the Holy Spirit said: "What I said, I said". After that i was ok, but God taught me a great lesson: Make sure that you are hearing God's voice and whatever He says, that's what you have to believe. So, what to do when doubt strike? Keep believing! Just like Jesus Christ told Martha: John 11:40.

Complacency: A Disgraceful Grace.

As of today, the most common definition of grace I heard is: An unmerited (undeserved) pardon (forgiveness). Well, I always bought it, until today (silly right?). When writing this post, I came across with different definitions and distinctions of grace, making my already shortsighted view of grace even shorter (cuckoo). The problem with this limited view of grace is that it is a half-truth (since Jesus Christ is the Truth, there's no half-Jesus). I say that because this vision of grace has a limited application. We could apply it in the case of our salvation: Ephesians 2:8. But, if you consider grace as an unmerited pardon only, how do you reconcile what the Bible says in John 1:14; John 1:17. Can you say that Jesus was full of unmerited pardon? If so, what did Jesus had to be pardoned (forgiven) of? Was He guilty of something? Yep, I know it is a complex subject, right now my mind is twisting and turning trying to make sense of it (I’m praying right now to have a clear understanding about God’s grace). To make matters worse, read this passages: Psalm 45:2; Proverbs 3:34; Proverbs 22:11; Zechariah 12:10; Luke 2:40; Acts 4:33; Acts 13:43. Pay attention to what the Bible says in Luke 2:40; Luke 4:17-19. How about this: Acts 13:43; Galatians 3:3; Galatians 5:16. And this: Romans 8:26; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Acts 1:8. Well, then you ask: What all of this have to do with Complacency? I’m glad you asked! Here is what Complacency means: The feeling you have when you are satisfied with yourself. Why is Complacency a Disgraceful Grace? Because it's not the grace of God! Matthew 16:24. Today, this is the church’s motto: I’m leaving my life by the grace of God! Yeah right. If Jesus Christ said that we must loose our lives: Matthew 10:39; Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; Luke 17:33; John 12:25. The question is: Are you satisfied with yourself?
Conclusion: What is now my understanding about grace? Grace is the Holy Spirit in me, helping me to lose my life, therefore, fulfilling God’s Will for Me. James 4:6. Don't be complacent, be filled with the Holy Spirit!

What's the state of the water you're walking on? If so...

Matthew 14:28-30. Of course you know the three states of water: Solid, liquid and gas. Figuratively speaking, walking on water means walking by faith. So when I'm asking what state of the water you're walking on (if you are), I mean, how deep is your faith, because even if you're walking on water (the vast majority of christians are not), you can still be walking on solid water (ice). I remember, about 9 years ago, me and my wife went to Michigan to our friends house and her boyfriend took us to a "ride on the lake" (his car was not amphibious), of course the lake was frozen. It was amazing to me that the ice was so thick that even a car could ride on it. He had some friends ice-fishing in the middle of the lake, really cool, it was an unforgettable experience. So, comparing our walking by faith to walking on water, I could say that when we're born again, we start walking on a very thick ice (it's already water), but as we progress in our journey, the ice starts to get thinner. So, the thinner the ice the bigger the faith. Of course, as it was for Peter it is for us, the purpose is not to keep walking on thick ice, but to progress to a point that we would be able to walk on liquid water, as Peter did in the beginning (also after the Pentecost). I'm sure that Jesus already knew what was going to happened: The storm, Peter walking on water, Peter sinking, etc., and the purpose was to teach His disciples how to walk by faith, that even when it goes against all odds, against the law of nature, laws of physics, etc., still the Word of God, which is Jesus Himself, (in our text: So He (Jesus) said, “Come”), is above any other law. So, when God tells us to walk on water, if we obey, He will give us enough faith to do it. In the beginning of our walk by faith, we don't have enough faith to walk, but, as we obey, we start seeing the results, then our faith will (should) grow to a point where our faith will lead us to obedience. God only asked Abraham do sacrifice Isaac when Abraham was able (had enough faith) to do it. We should stop giving Cain's excuse (when sacrificing): I'm not Abel (got it?). Of course, even when we are able to walk by faith, sometimes we are not willing to do it. So why did Peter began to sink? Because when he (Peter) saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid! So, fear is probably the biggest giant we have to defeat (it's our personal goliath). Just like Jesus' disciples, We are in the same boat, the difference among Jesus' disciples (ourselves) is the willingness and courage to step out of the boat. Remember what the Bible says in 1 John 4:18.

Unforgiveness: The Cause, The Symptom and The Cure.

Probably one of the hardest issues to talk about in the christian life is forgiveness. Unfortunately, it's not often preached or taught, and people like myself, live most their lives imprisoned or entangled by a deep feeling of resentment and even hatred, finding no way of escape. If you ever experienced that, you know that unforgiveness drained the life out of you. I remember that the worst thing about unforgiveness was seeing the person I was hating living a happy life, smiling and such, and I was just slowly and painfully dying. Why do we feel so guilty and ashamed when we don't forgive others? Jesus answered this question in extremely simple words: In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus tells the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, and in verse 35 He says: "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses". It means that if, from the heart (words are cheap), we don't forgive, we are not been forgive by God. That's why I felt so guilty and ashamed, because God was not forgiving me, of course, because I refused to forgive others. So, for the Cause of Unforgiveness, the guilt feeling is one of the easiest symptoms to detect and of course the Cure is Forgiving. It may sound easy and cheap, but, since there is so much unforgiveness in our world, it is everything but easy and cheap. Of course if you are, like I used to be, in bondage and slave of yourself and the devil, you need deliverance and only Jesus Christ is able to do it, and since there's no magic pill, you have to fight for your freedom. The worst enemy that needs to be put to death is the giant called self, then you must submit yourself to God, then resist the devil, and the devil will flee from you. It's very interesting how satan operates: he cannot touch us, so he will find his way in us through our minds (thoughts), that's why Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5, once satan captures our thoughts, it touches our emotions (soul), then our emotions touch our spirit and our spirit touches our bodies, as it says in Proverbs 17:22. I'm not a psychologist or a psychiatrist, but as I used to have depression, I can see clearly the way it works. I was amazed when I started writing this post, because I was listening on the radio a song from Chris August called 7 x 70 (I never heard before), let me borrow some lines from his song: 7 times 70 times. If that’s the cost I’ll pay the price. 7 times 70 times. I’ll do what it takes to make it right. I thought the pain was here to stay, but forgiveness made a way. Forgiveness is not a feeling, is an attitude of the heart. Only after we decide (act) to forgive we will really forgive. As Paul talks in Philippians 2, we must to have the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus, it means that as much as Christ forgave we must forgive. For the children of God, forgiveness is not an option, is a commandment!

Jesus Christ Crucified: The Counter-cultural Preaching.

It didn't take long for false doctrines and acceptable sins to appear among the early believers. Actually, in the very beginning Peter dealt with what we would call today in our churches, "white lie". When confronting Ananias and Sapphira, Peter makes it very clear that before God, there's no "white" (acceptable) lies and if you lie in His presence (Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit) you will die. In the context (early church), Peter didn't allow it to continue because it would be like a "yeast", Galatians 5:9, sinful living would be fine or normal, just as it is in today's church. Unfortunately, since the beginning there are false teachers and prophets spreading false doctrines in the church. Paul calls the false teachers "savage wolves", Acts 20:29-30. Jesus Christ himself dealt with false prophets and false teachers. When writing to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, He says that some people held the doctrine of Balaam; that there were false apostles; some were "synagogue of Satan"; there was the spirit of Jezebel, a woman who called herself prophetess, teaching and seducing people to sin against God. Today it's worse than ever, there are many false doctrines and half-truths being preached, so much that the vast majority of believers can't discern between truth and lie. Be honest, how many times you heard a preaching about "Jesus Christ Crucified"? If never, why did Paul specifically said that they (apostles) preached Jesus Christ Crucified and very few preachers today are preaching this Jesus? There are only two reasons for not preaching Jesus Christ Crucified: Preachers don't know this Jesus therefore can't preach Him; Preachers know that Jesus but they don't preach Him because they love the praises of people more than the praise of God. John 12:42-43. I already wrote about Jesus Christ crucified, that means: Unconditional Obedience to God! It's not popular to preach this kind of message, it's a lot easier and more convenient to preach Jesus the Savior, Jesus the Bread Maker, Jesus the Healer, Jesus the Good Shepherd, etc., but it's hard to preach Jesus the Lord, because the vast majority of people want a Savior, not a Lord (owner), again, as Paul said: Is Christ divided? If your answer is No, than: Jesus is not the savior of the one He is not Lord! If you're asking: How do I know if Jesus is my Lord? It's simple: Since Lordship means ownership, if Jesus Christ asks you to follow Him will you do it? If He asks you to leave everything to follow Him will you do it? I'm not saying that He will do it or He will ask you to abandon your family, I'm only asking you if you are willing to obey Him whatever He tells you to do. I know it's tough, but the cowards will not enter in the Kingdom of God, as the Bible says in Revelation 21:8. So, as God said to Joshua, in Joshua 1:9. So, don't give up, don't loose hope, be strong and courageous, fight the good fight and God will be with you wherever you go. We must think like Paul: Philippians 4:13.

But the fruit of the Spirit is...

In the beginning of my "new life", God taught me a very important lesson, it was about the fruit of the Spirit, found in Galatians 5:22-23. As a newborn christian, I desperate desired the "pure milk", 1 Peter 2:2, so I dedicated as much time as I could to study the Bible, to pray and meditate about what I was reading. The Holy Spirit started to teaching me many lesson in ways that were easy for me to understand. Regarding the fruit of the Spirit, He showed me two grapes, one had seeds and the other had none. Then He directed me to the passage in Galatians 5 and told me that even if the fruit is ONE, the fruit of the Spirit, still it has the potential to have many seeds, love, joy, peace..., and that's the very purpose of the fruit, not just to be eaten once, but to have seeds to be thrown into the ground again. Then I remembered the passage in Luke 10:5-6. See that Jesus is telling His disciples to sow the seed of peace, if there was a fertile ground (read the parable of the sower), the seed would germinate (sprout) bringing forth fruit. See how clear Jesus is: Your peace, meaning, if the disciples didn't have peace, they wouldn't be able to give peace. Remember what Peter said to the beggar? Acts 3:6. Unfortunately, today we think words are enough (if we don't think, we act like we do), but spiritually speaking, we cannot give what we don't have, that's why we are so inefficient (there are exceptions) in our prayers, that's why we don't see the same results Jesus' Disciples saw.We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and Power Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8. See that the disciples already had the Holy Spirit dwelling in them John 20:22, but they needed the Power to be effective in their preaching, teaching, etc. The truth is: We lack God's Power! We must go back to the beginning, embrace the full teaching of Jesus Christ, then, we'll turn our world "upside down". Acts 17:6.

The Entertainment Syndrome: From Sound Doctrine to Sound Effects.

Titus 2:1-10; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Mark 7:7; John 7:15-18. Those are some texts that show us the importance of teaching and keeping Jesus' doctrine as He and the apostles taught, not adding or taking anything from it. You can see that, from the very beginning, Jesus had a hard time with the religious people, because their doctrines, that He described as "commandments of men". The religious people had the correct doctrine, the Law and the Prophets, but they added so many things that at the end, they themselves were not willing to obey their own commandments. Jesus says how bad it became, in Matthew 23:15. Nowadays, the focus is attracting, entertaining and pleasing people. Of course there are some exceptions to this rule, but in general we see the same pattern: 20 minutes worship, 5 minutes announcements, 30 minutes preaching, 10 minutes fellowship, etc., if it goes over just 1 minute, there's an uproar. I'm not saying that we shouldn't have order, that we should abandon the current "model", i'm just saying that we make rules and tell the Holy Spirit to work according to our rules, that we don't allow Him to move the way He wants to move. No wonder we don't see God's glory as they did in the early church, the difference is just one: In the early church the Holy Spirit was the "leader", the disciples just "followed" Him. Of course if we go back to the beginning, many people will be displeased and will leave the church, because the first change they will see is: Prayer will be a priority, not just another activity. I love music, but we drifted so far from form true worship (music is part of it) that some churches are using secular music instead of worship music, like U2 Eucharist for example (if you think i'm joking, check that out). We make our churches so nice, cozy, pretty, etc., that we attract thousands of people, unfortunately, we repel the first One we suppose to attract: Jesus Christ. He wrote to our churches in Revelation 2-3: To the loveless "Ephesus", to the persecuted "Smyrna", to the compromising "Pergamos", to the corrupt "Thyatira", to the dead "Sardis", to the faithful "Philadelphia" and to the lukewarm "Laodicean". Since there are only seven last-days churches, where does your church fit in? Better, since we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (church), where do we fit in?

The ONE THING!

Luke 18:22. This is a very interesting story. It's about a young man who became rich (the young ruler) and his riches were the very reason for not fulfilling God's calling for his life, meeting Jesus Christ, who being rich (God), made Himself poor and became a servant man (read Philippians 2), in order to save the first one (humanity). Let me ask you a very personal question, so personal that only you and God can answer: Is there ONE THING that is or would be preventing you from fulfilling God's calling (will) for your life? You may not have the answer right now, so, meditate, pray and ask God to search your heart and reveal to it you. Of course, you have to be honest before God and consider the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 10:37-39. Well, maybe you are saying to yourself: "I don't have a calling". If you are saying that, there's only two possibilities: First: You are not part of the Body of Christ (Church); Second: You are believing in satan's lie. Paul, the apostle, compares the Church (Body of Christ) with the human body and says that we are members of the Body. Think about your body: What's your eyes "calling" (purpose, mission, job)? How about your mouth? How about your legs? Stop using your left leg for only a day and see how it goes. Because most believers don't know what "part of the Body" (member) they are (calling, gifts), the whole body is SUFFERING! For example, let's say that "you are the left leg", because you are not working (functioning), your church is a one legged body! Meaning, it is deficient, lacking, wanting, etc. Unfortunately, today's church is struggling really bad, probably for two reason: First: Believers are not taught that they must know their calling and gifts or when they are taught, they ignore it, because it will cost something and it's a lot easier to "warm up" our comfortable seats or pews. My advice to you is this: If you don't know your calling and gifts, start serving in your church (congregation), there's always something you can do, but also, find out what your calling and gifts are. Don't let the one thing prevent you from following Jesus, because, He is the way that will lead you into the Kingdom of God!

Meditation: A Transcendental or a Conscious Practice?

I remember, in the 80's, that the church was fighting fiercely against a movement called "new age". If you never heard of it, here's a basic definition: "New Age thinking has its roots in Eastern mysticism which bypasses the mind. There is a new organ of perception, "the third eye", which gives spiritual light. One needs to get to the "psychic self" by training one’s self to ignore the messages from the mind. Really it is throwing the mind in neutral". After that, meditation was associated with new age. In the Bible we can find many places that tell us to meditate in the Law of God. Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2; Psalm 119:15. So, what is the biblical definition for meditation? Well, while writing, I came across with the best definition of meditation I ever heard (very biblical), it's from J. I. Packer: "Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God... It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God". As J. I. Packer states, there's nothing to do with emptying our mind, reaching the "psychic self" and entering into another realm, where the imaginary is the new reality. That's more like "Avatar" the movie, where James Cameron created something I would call "imagiality", where the imaginary becomes the "new reality", he mixes fantasy and spiritism in very subtle way. Unfortunately, because of our busy life, it's very hard to find time to meditate in the Word of God. Maybe this will sound kinda disgusting to you, but, in simple words, let me compare Meditation with Rumination. Cows are ruminant animals, which mean they regurgitate, re-chew and re-swallow their food as part of the digestive process. That should be the process of meditation: We hear the Word of God, we think about It, after that It goes to our unconscious mind (subconscious), then we remember that Word, we think again... After that It becomes part of our being, It goes to our hearts. Jeremiah 31:33. We must learn the importance of Meditating in the Word of God, like the food we eat, some teachings are harder to "swallow" (absorb) than others, but those are equally necessary to our spiritual growth. We cannot meditate in the Word of God if we don't hear fo read it!

Spiritual Growth: From "milk" to "solid food".

1 Corinthians 3:1-2. Today, I see a huge gap, spiritually speaking, between the leaders (pastors, teachers, preachers, etc.) and the regular believer. There are three probable causes: The regular believers are receiving milk only; they are not absorbing the solid food or they are rejecting the solid food. If you pay attention to what's being preached lately, the vast majority of the preachings, are milk only, as the writer of Hebrews calls: "The first principles of the oracles of God". Then there are a few preachers who try to preach, as Paul says in Acts 20:27, but, even among those few, there are even fewer who preach, what Paul calls, Jesus Christ crucified, Galatians 3:1 (read Post "What Jesus: The Narrow Way or the Broadway?). Ok, we all know that there's different factors that contribute to our physical growth, like, genetic, nutrition, environmental conditions, among others. If we compare the physical and the spiritual growth, we can say that: Genetic: Only the ones who are born of the Spirit will grow spiritually, John 3:6; nutrition: When babies, we need milk, but after that we need solid food, Hebrews 5:12-13; environmental conditions: If we only associate with evil people and are not part of the church (body of Christ), we won't grow spiritually. God didn't call us to be a hermit, but to be a part of His church, Hebrews 10:25. So, in order to grow spiritually, first we need to be born of the Spirit; when babies, we need the pure milk, 1 Peter 2:2; then we need solid food, we need to study and meditate in the Word of God, Psalm 1:1-3.

The Purpose, the Time and the Way.

Ecclesiastes 8:6 For there is a time and a way for every purpose. A couple years ago, a friend of mine gave me a copy of the very popular book called "the purpose driven life". I confess that I'm not a good reader, but, I read this book very fast. It soon became a "must read" among Christians (at that time already sold over 10 million copies). A lot of churches did that 40 days of purpose study. Of course, just like the other "fix me quickly" kind of books, didn't last longer. Why? If it was so nicely written, so easy to apply, so broaden that any and every church could use as their "new bible"? BECAUSE IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE THERE IS NO QUICK FIX! We are, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:9 ...You are God’s field. God is "cultivating" us! He prepares our field (heart), sows the good seed (His word), waters and gives the growth. But along the way comes the enemy (devil) and throws the bad seed, Matthew 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. For about "forever", I had this question in my mind: Why does the "bad seed" grows along with the "good one"? The answer we find in Jesus' parable of the sower: When the ground is ready to receive the seed (good ground), whatever is sowed will grow! Do you realize how many times the enemy sows "bad thoughts" in our minds? I'll give you an example. I used to hate people for no reason at all or any reason was a good reason to hate someone, and it used to work like this: I met someone, there was something I didn't like about that person (behavior, appearance, etc.), then I started thinking about it, as I ALLOWED that feeling to grow, in no time I was hating that person, why? Because the enemy sowed that "bad seed" and I ALLOWED it to grow. In Matthew 5:21-23 Jesus puts Murder and Anger without a cause in the same level, so, from Jesus' perspective, I was killing people! Do you remember that old Chinese saying: You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair? It's kinda like that! Bad thoughts (bad seed) will always come; the devil will always throw the bad seed. Our job is to prevent them to grow in our hearts. Going back to the purpose (literally speaking), if we read the story of Joseph, for example, he says to his brothers in Genesis 45:4-5 And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life". If we read carefully, we see that the Purpose (to preserve life), the Time (from the "pit" to becoming governor of Egypt) and the Way (trials and tribulation) worked perfectly to accomplish God's will. Until Joseph's meeting with Pharaoh, God was working IN his life, after that God worked THROUGH his life. If we study the life of other God's servants, we see the same pattern. Even in Jesus Christ's life we see that pattern, for example: Purpose: Our salvation; Time: About 2000 years ago; Way: Cross. Do you remember Jesus' prayer in the garden? Matthew 26:42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done". Since Jesus died on the Cross that was the Way the Father chose to save us. Remember when Jesus turned water into wine, what He said to His mother? John 2:4 Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come". Jesus knew the exact Time He would do it. Unfortunately for us, we're living in a time that everything is for "yesterday", we're always behind, we don't have enough time to do what we suppose to, if we had 48 hours in our day, it wouldn't be enough. We must learn how to discern the Purpose, Time and Way as Jesus did; after all, we are His disciples. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 8:5 Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. We need to pray for wisdom to be able to discern the Purpose, Time and Way. James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Ps.: The only thing I disagree with Mr. Warren is on pg. 10 where he says: The spies were transformed by 40 days in the Promised Land. If you really believe the Bible, you'll see that the spies didn't change a bit, Joshua and Caleb believed, as always, that God delivered the people, including the giants, in their hands. The other 10 were the reason why the people didn't enter in the Promised Land. Besides he assures the on pg. 10 that: The next 40 days will transform your life. My suggestion to you is: Never set a timeline for God to transform you or your loved ones, but always allow God's perfect will to transform you in His Time, by His Way to accomplish His Purpose.

On This "Rock" I Will Build My Church...

Matthew 16:13-20. From my childhood I've been hearing different opinions about what Jesus meant with this statement, some plausible, others fictitious. To me, the "Rock" Jesus is talking about, is the Father's revelation of Jesus, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Jesus is saying that His church will be built in this revelation. This means that the Father wants to reveal (to impart) His Son to us and our objective as God's children is to know His Son. That's probably the reason Jesus made it very clear in Matthew 7:22-23. This passage confirms what God declared in Hosea 6:6. See that Jesus says they will come and tell Him what they did: They prophesied, they cast out demons and done many wonders, all in the Name of Jesus. We need to answer these questions: Can we expel demons, even in the name of Jesus without His power? The answer is no! Acts 19:13-16. Is it really possible to cast out demons (prophesy, etc) in the Name of Jesus and yet do not know Him? I did cast out demons and prophesied in Jesus' name, and I can assure you that is possible. Why? First and foremost: There is Power in the Name of Jesus; second: If you have the gift you can do it! Then you ask: Did this people really had gifts? The answer if found in Romans 11:29. Many pastors and preachers don't believe that is possible to have the calling and gifts and yet don't know Jesus Christ, i believe it is possible! The best examples I can give you, both in the Old and New Testaments, are Saul the king and Judas Iscariot the apostle. Saul prophesied and was anointed as king. Judas was the only apostle who had a "visible" ministry among Jesus' disciples, he had charge of the money. I personally don't believe that gifts and calling are the "evidence" or "assurance" of salvation, I mean, once receiving them one is automatically saved. I believe they only reveal God's character. Think about this: Couple times the Holy Spirit came upon Saul. 1 Samuel 10:9-12; 1 Samuel 19:24. The Holy Spirit left him. If after all of this you still have any doubt that it is possible to have gifts and calling and be rejected by God, I'll give another passage to think about. Hebrews 6:4-6. See that there's the "enlightenment", the "tasting" of the Holy Spirit, the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and yet there's the "fall away", it means that all of this are not the assurance for salvation! The other question is: Do I lose salvation? I believe we don't lose our salvation, otherwise, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ wouldn't be sufficient, but, we must to pay attention in Jesus' words, as in Matthew 7:20; John 17:3.
Conclusion: We can gain the whole world, even for Jesus Christ and yet lose our soul, if we don't make the knowledge of God our way of living.

Submission: To Be Under Christ's Mission.

Submission comes from the latin Submittere and means: sub=under + mittere=let go. It is defined as: To yield or surrender oneself to the will and authority of another, to obey. This is a very controversial issue that has divided the church and led many Christians to abandon their faith, because we are rebellious by nature. Jesus Christ lived a life of perfect submission, and we Christians are called to follow His example. In the Bible we are commanded to submit to God: James 4:7; to submit to our parents: Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 3:20; to submit to the government: Romans 13:1; Titus 3:1; to submit to one another: Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 5:5; wife to her husband: Ephesians 5:24; 1 Peter 3:1. As we see in Jesus’ life, submission is a voluntary act, God never forced Him to do it, Philippians 2:6-8; Matthew 26:39. Jesus Christ fulfilled His mission, the same way we are called to submit ourselves to Christ or to be under Christ’s mission. Probably the most controversial submission is the wife to her husband, since feminism is as strong in the church as it is in the world, women don’t think they have to submit themselves to their husbands. Even if submission is a voluntary act, before God it is a commandment, and just like any other commandment we must choose to obey. The problem we have when dealing with submission is that we don’t see it the way God sees it, submission is beneficial, it’s for our own good, there’s no salvation, eternal life, etc, without submission. When the wife submits herself to her husband, she is fulfilling God’s call for her life. Genesis 2:18. Here we see that God considers husbands and wives to be similar, equivalent, but yet the wife is the helper, the husband is the leader. Jesus Christ is the authority over the husband; the husband is the authority over the wife. Unfortunately, there are a lot of husbands (I’m talking about christianity) abusing their authority, they’re nothing but dictators in their houses, leading their family with an “iron fist”. Another way is the wife being the authority of the house, as they say: “for every Ahab there is a Jezebel”, meaning, if the husband doesn't take his place as a leader, the wife will do it. Another way is when nobody is the leader; the house becomes a total mess. Another one is when both husband and wife fight to be the authority, then the house becomes a battlefield, they end up divorcing or killing each other. Then there’s God’s way, Jesus Christ being the authority over the husband and the husband being the authority over the wife. If we analyze Jesus’ leadership over His disciples, we will see God’s concept of Servant Leadership (Robert K. Greenleaf stole God's idea and started a movement in 1970) the best scripture to explain it is John 13, where Jesus washes His disciples’ feet and tells them that He was giving them an example, the same way, we are called to wash one another’s feet, meaning, to serve one another. We husbands must learn how to serve our wives and be willing to give our lives for them. Because Christians, both husbands and wives don’t understand God’s way for marriage, the divorce rate is higher in the church than it is in the world. In December of 1999, George Barna published the results of a survey which found that 34 percent adult members of non-denominational Christian churches have experienced divorce in their lifetime, in contrast with 21 percent for atheists, agnostics and Roman Catholics. Baptists had the highest rate for born-again denominational Christians at 29 percent. The Mormon divorce rate was 24 percent. Overall, 27 percent of born-again Christians have experienced divorce compared to 24 percent for the rest of Americans. Nearly four thousand interviews were conducted, leaving a very small margin of error. Submission is not an option, is a commandment! Of course when dealing with marriage, there’s no place in the Bible where God calls the wife to be a doormat, a punching bag, an object to be used and abused by the husband, absolutely, the husband must honor and love his wife. 1 Peter 3:7. The same way Peter talks about Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him “lord”: 1 Peter 3:6. I know this is a very controversial subject, but, just like any other commandment, we have to believe and obey, there’s no other way. If we read the story of Abraham and Sarah, we don’t see Abraham mistreating or abusing his wife, absolutely, he loved her so much that he cared, honored and respected her. We husbands must follow Abraham’s example. I’m married for about 10 years, it may sound amazing for some people, but we never fought, we have our differences, disagreements, but, from the beginning, one of us always gave up for the sake of our marriage and what is really incredible is that my wife always followed me, even if she disagreed with me. I remember that every time we left one church to go to another, she was very sad and didn't like it at all, but she always decided to follow me. I’m not claiming perfection, but we are trying very hard to follow God’s commandment: I’m submitting myself to Jesus Christ and Fabiana is submitting herself to me. I believe that every problem can be resolved when we deny ourselves, take our cross and follow Jesus, by doing that, God Himself will make a way where there seems to be no way, if we do what is possible, God will do the impossible! So, what was Jesus Christ’s mission? John 6:38. His mission was to do the will of His Father!

Spirit vs. Flesh: The Invisible Battle.

Most people think, that once they're born again, sin is a thing of the past. That's a huge mistake! Because as soon as they wake up the next day, they're confronted with a terrible, but truthful reality: They still sin! I remember, long time ago, in a far far land, in a youth retreat, hearing this terrible lie: “Believers don’t sin!” That hurt my soul really bad, so much so that I had no option but confronting that lie. At that time, I was a young sinner in desperate need of a deliverer and savior, now I’m a lot older, but still a sinner running after the savior Jesus Christ, the more I know myself, the more I realize how much I need Him. Why I’m saying what that pastor said was a lie? 1 John 1:8-10. At that time I had no clue about this passage, I just knew it was a lie. I used King David as an example and the pastor had no answer, of course because there was no answer. Since God anointed me, He gave me a spiritual gift called discernment; I confess to you that sometimes it’s painful “seeing” things others don’t see, because usually people don’t believe what you say. The one thing that bothered me a lot when that happened, was that none of the pastors and leaders stood up to confront that lie, only myself and my sister, may the only self-aware sinners there. I know the other pastors confront that man in private later, probably they didn't do in public because a thing called friendship. James 4:4. Speaking about Spirit and flesh, after we’re born again, we’re spiritually alive, the Holy Spirit lives in us, but we still carry the “old sap” called sinful desires, God taught me that whatever we feed the most, spirit or flesh, that’s the one who will control our lives. After being born again, a battle starts: Galatians 5:17. If we keep feeding our flesh, we cannot expect to have victory against our sinful desires. Galatians 5:16. Remember: A war is made of many battles! That’s the reason Jesus Christ told us to deny ourselves and take our cross daily: Luke 9:23. Yesterday’s battle is past: Philippians 3:13; tomorrow will worry about it’s own: Matthew 6:34. Our focus must be today’s battle against sin and we must do whatever is necessary to win: Hebrews 12:4.
Conclusion: We must remember this: 1 Corinthians 10:13. To win the battle against sin and the enemy (devil), we need the full armor of God: Ephesians 6:14-17.
Belt of Truth: John 17:17.
Shoes of Peace: Romans 10:15.
Shield of Faith: Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:38.
Helmet of Salvation: 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10; Hebrews 9:28.
Sword of the Spirit: Hebrews 4:12.

Grace and Truth: Complacency or Self-Righteousness?

It’s amazing how far we got, generally speaking, from the Real Jesus Christ. Nowadays, it’s hard to find a church that has the balance between Grace and Truth. Along the way, we got Complacent (grace-only) or Self-Righteous (Truth-only) with some exceptions. Whenever we see Jesus Christ in action, we see a perfect balance between Grace and Truth. When He met a “sinner”, someone who didn’t know God and His Law, Grace came first followed by Truth, when He met a religious person, who knew about God and His Law, Truth came first followed by grace, if they accepted Jesus or not, that was another issue. If you don’t see God’s grace in the Old Testament and you think (like many believers) that the people who lived before Jesus Christ were saved by observing the God’s Law, John 1:17, how about Abel, Abraham, Joseph, etc, who lived before Moses? How were they saved? Through the Grace and Truth called Jesus Christ, they and everyone after Moses, as we read in 1 Thessalonians 5:9. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17. Paul also wrote in Romans 10:4. If we are Grace oriented people or church, we will transform God’s Grace in personal “disgrace” (condemnation), because we will never abandon our own sin or confront people’s sin and will be just like the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 5). Likewise, if we are a Truth oriented people or church, we will transform the Truth in self-righteousness or half-truth. We will be an angry preacher telling every sinner they are going straight to hell or a complacent preacher allowing iniquity (perpetual sin) to flourish in our lives or churches. Jesus and His Apostles revealed Grace and Truth to the “sinners”, John 5:5-14; John 8:10-11 and Truth and Grace to the ones who knew about God and His Law, 2 Corinthians 7:10; Acts 2:38.
Conclusion: We must learn how to Condemn the Sin (Truth) without Condemning the Sinner (Grace). We must have the balance between Grace and Truth, otherwise we will be sitting in the “judgment seat”, replacing Jesus Christ: Romans 14:10; Psalm 98:9; Acts 17:31.

Who is Your Hero?

I remember, when I was a child (last century, man I’m old), someone in family gave me a collection of books called “The Heroes of the Bible”, I just loved it. After reading the stories of David, Sampson, Joshua, among others, I got so impressed that I dreamed to be like them. In my childhood, my dad used to manage a huge farm, many times I went with him to bring the bulls to get vaccination, there were a lot of them and they were big. I remember whenever they fought each other (it always happened), we had to get out of their way, otherwise we’d get killed. A couple times I was chased by them, but I rode a horse that was a lot faster then they, so I always manage to run away. I was never afraid, I was extremely courageous. But, growing up, the enemy (devil) turned me into a coward person, going from a courageous teenager killing a giant (David) to a coward adult hiding in a cave (Gideon). If you read my Personal Testimonies you’ll understand it. But, along came Jesus Christ, my biggest hero, to deliver me from my enemies. I know for sure the difference between slavery and freedom, as Jesus says in John 8:36. I know a lot of people who are trying to be free from sins, addictions, etc. by their own efforts, by trying to apply biblical principals to their lives, by being morally correct, by doing Christian things, so they fight and fight… but never win! Why? Jesus explains that in John 8:34. I can assure you that Jesus is speaking the truth! I was slave of my own sin! Until we are set free from our sin, we have no other option but sinning! You can try to rebel against your sin, but after a while you’ll go back to it, because you’re slave of it! That's what Peter says in 2 Peter 2:22. It was true for me before Jesus Christ set me free and it’s true for everyone else who needs to be set free. Nowadays, the church is putting a lot of effort in behavioral change, trying to get people to be morally correct, but the real problem is: They are spiritually dead! At the end the church's efforts are worthless, even if looks like everything is going great, it’s like giving a Tylenol to a person who's dying of cancer, the headache will go away, but, sooner or latter they will die, because they never dealt with the cancer. It works the very same way concerning sin. How many times Jesus tried to make people morally correct before dealing with their condition (sin, disease, etc.)? You can see that Jesus’ priority was always the spiritual one, even when he physically healed people, there was always a message preceding or following it, like: Go and sin no more, for example. Of course He healed the sick, He taught how to behave in order to please God, but the reason He was called “friend of sinners”, was because He saw the sinner’s need for deliverance (freedom) before addressing the behavioral issue. We see (if we want to) this truth in Matthew 7:17. The only way to bear “good” fruit (I talk about it in the post The Tree, the Branch and the Fruit) it’s being “in” Jesus Christ, the Good Tree. Let’s go back to the “hero” part. We see in Hebrews 11 and throughout the Bible, a lot of heroes, all kind of people like, strong and weak ones, young and old ones, ex-thieves, ex-harlot, ex-coward, ex-murder, none of them were better nor worse than us today, the difference between them and us is Faith and Obedience! My modern heroes, among other few, are my parents. They gave their lives to serve others. I’ll try to be brief, but I want to speak about them a little bit. As I said in the beginning, my dad use the be a manager in a big farm, after quitting that job, he supposed to have a percentage over all the livestock in the farm, but he didn't get anything (the reasons are irrelevant), after that, the tried doing other things, until he met my brother’s father-in-law. My dad “saw” Jesus Christ in this man (he was a pastor, a real one), after a while my parents became born-again Christians. Then this pastor invited them to run an orphanage (like oasis) for street and poor kids. There they gave their time, money, life for those kids, my parents treated them as if they were they own kids, some of them did very good, at least one became a pastor. After many years my parents were “replaced” by another people (the details are not “nice”). From there, they went to run a public shelter, were the poor, the destitute, the forgotten (by society) came for food and shelter. Again, they gave their lives to serve people they never saw before and never saw again after that. I never saw my dad and mom discriminating or mistreating anybody, they made no exception of people and they treated everyone equally. James 2 talks about it. I never understood why they did it and honestly I thought they were wasting their lives for nothing, until I read what Jesus says in Matthew 6, where He talks about “reward”, that’s when my dad and mom became my heroes. Today in our “Christianity”, the “hero” ones are those who are “famous”, who have “diplomas”, who are “eloquent”, who sold millions of books and cds, etc. If we pay attention to Jesus Christ, He was impressed with a poor widow who offered all she had: Mark 12:42-44. Or the centurion who understood all about authority: Matthew 8:5-13. Or the greek woman who had a tremendous faith: mark 7:25-30.
Conclusion: We must review our “list of heroes”, check if we don’t have any “American idol” among them and realize that the heroes in the Bible were persecuted, rejected, despised and even killed. Before God they were heroes but before man they were the enemies. Of course God considered them heroes because they were faithful until death. Revelation 2:10.

Wisdom vs. Foolishness: What kind of Believer are You?

Matthew 25:1-13. Let’s find out who are the characters in this parable:
Virgin (bride): Christian (church) – Revelation 21:9.
Lamp: Word of God (Bible) – Psalm 119:105.
Oil: The Holy Spirit – Ephesians 5:18; Exodus 29:7; Acts 10:38.
Bridegroom: Jesus Christ. Mark 2:19.
This parable is very interesting, because Jesus shows us that it’s not enough to be a Christian and to know the Bible. Jesus is showing us the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Let’s see the process Christians go through: When we confess Jesus as Lord and Savior and repent of our sins, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. After that, we are commanded to be baptized. The baptism with water is the first one, it’s a public declaration of our repentance. Matthew 3:11. In the second one, Jesus Christ will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. We all need the second baptism, we can see that in Acts 19:2-6. This is the time when we receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. But, there’s also the Process called being filled with the Holy Spirit, there’s the first time event and the Process. How many believers confess Jesus as their Savior and Lord, are baptized with water and with the Holy Spirit, then they drift away from God and the Church or they still go to the church but their “fire” is extinguished? I have friends like that! That’s exactly what Jesus is talking about in this parable. Those are virgins (Christians) who have their lamps (Bibles), who have the Oil (Holy Spirit) in their vessels (lives), the wise ones have enough Oil and the foolish ones don’t. You may be asking this question: How do I know if I am being filled with the Holy Spirit? To me, the only “visible” characteristic is Obedience, not Gifts. The more you obey God, the more of the Holy Spirit you have in your life, or I should say, the more control the Holy Spirit has over your life.
Conclusion: We need to be born again, to be baptized with water (repentance), to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and also to continue to being filled with the Holy Spirit, otherwise, when Jesus Christ (Bridegroom) returns for His Bride (Church), we won’t go with Him.

Are You a Dreamer?

Everybody, at least once in their lifetime, dreamed about something and some had their dreams become reality, others didn’t. My point is: If you don’t dream, you’ll never see your dreams become reality. Through the Bible, we see “dreamers” dreaming impossible dreams. The best example is Joseph, the King of Dreams. He was a young man with impossible dreams. Like the one where his family would bow down before him. It’s hard for us to comprehend the deepness of his dream, because we don’t have the same cultural background, for us, the birth right of the first-born means nothing, or at the best, that someone is older than someone else and has some priorities. For them, it was a matter of rullership, a matter of sovereignty, it showed who had the blessings. See how powerful it was in Genesis 27:28-29. Jacob, with his mother’s help, deceived his father to get that blessing. Let’s go back to Joseph’s story. Joseph’s dreams caused him many problems, read his story in Genesis 37. He was sold by his brothers, he was slave in Potifhar’s house, he was thrown in jail unjustly, God remembered him and from being a slave in jail, God put him as a second in command over all Egypt, only pharaoh was more powerful than Joseph. If you pay attention when reading Joseph’s story, you’ll see that it was only God’s treatment for him, God was building His character in Joseph’s life, to accomplish one purpose: Save not only his family, but, all Egypt from dying of hunger. I’m a dreamer, I always had dreams, even if I didn’t see many of them become reality, I still kept dreaming. After being saved, God gave me new dreams, my old dreams were very selfish ones, God’s dreams are unselfish. One of them, I remember exactly when God put it in my heart. I got home from working, got something to eat and also started watching tv. As I started flipping channels (men are good doing it), I stop in one where I saw many children, in Africa, in a big line waiting to get food, the food was something like oat meal with water in a huge pot, then the children started running to get the food, they beat each other, it was chaotic, the little children were behaving like “hungry animals”, all because they were starving to death (literally). That was the most shocking scene I ever saw in my whole life, I was shocked, I couldn't eat, I started crying, crying… For months I couldn’t take that scene out of my mind. At that moment, God put a dream in my heart: Open Orphanages around the world. You can see God assuring me that those dreams will come to pass in the Post Personal Testimony: Fasting, this is the part concerning my dreams: You are also a thinker, a dreamer, a planner, I’m here to tell you that your plans that never worked for you before, because you started to dream something wonderful and started to work and it crunched, but at this time as you put your trust in God, those plans that you’re dreaming of, that are burning in your heart, they will come to pass, the dreams that seemed to be so impossible, they will come to pass, because they were given to you by God, they are come to pass this time, you know why, because now you have decided to concentrate on God, in the past you was fluctuating like a yo-yo, but now God will bless and use you. Until hearing this prophecy, I honestly thought many times that I was crazy, my dreams don’t just "sound" impossible, some of them "are" impossible, but, as they were given by God, they will come to pass, because God is the “God of the Impossible”. After 120 years He sent rain in the desert (Noah); He gave a son to a 100 year old man (Abraham); He turned a slave into a Ruler (Joseph); He turned a coward into a might man of valor (Gideon); A teenager, with God’s power was able to kill a lion, a bear and a giant (David); If they were thrown in an extremely hot furnace, they were not harmed (Daniel and friends); They turned the world “up side down” (Disciples). Why? Because they dreamed God’s dream, they thought God’s thoughts, they walked in God’s ways. Isaiah 55:9.
Conclusion: Don’t be contempt with your “little” dreams, dream God’s dreams. It will take your life “out“ of you, but, God will put His life “in” you. You will loose your life, but, will gain God’s life.

Personal Testimony: Anointing or Annoying?

I remember, right after being saved, because God also anointed me (read the post Personal Testimony: New Life), that I became really emotional when seeing the “results” after praying or speaking to people, it had to do with the manifestation of gifts. Other day I was watching my 3 year old son playing with his new car toy. In the beginning he was playing with it as if it was a car toy, but after getting bored (they say a child can concentrate 1 minute for each year they have, 3 minutes in David’s case) he started playing with it as if it was a plane, after that the toy became a ball, he was throwing it all over. This reminded me of what happened to me, in the beginning, concerning to gifts. As I was a child (spiritually speaking), I started using the gifts childishly, driven by emotions, immaturely misusing them. You’re probably thinking: “I didn’t even know it was possible to misuse spiritual gifts. Yes it is! One’s the most chocking stories I ever seen, is about a little girl named Grace, she had (or still has) a condition called “muscular dystrophy”. She started watching a televangelist, you probably heard about Hinn many times, then she asked her mom to take her to his crusade (sounds more like a medieval battle), a the time of prayer for healing (after making sure the offering was “in the plate”, the bigger the miracle, the bigger the offering), Grace asked her mom to take her to receive prayer. They didn't even get near Hinn, probably because of her “visible” condition (muscular dystrophy), she wasn't allowed to receive prayer from Hinn, otherwise if she wasn't healed at the platform, people would wake up from their “spiritual hypnosis” and see that their money wasn't buying the expected healing. At the end of the “show”, they didn't “show” Jesus Christ’s Grace to the little Grace. Why people receive prayer and are not healed? I don’t want to be simplistic, but here are some reasons: It wasn't God’s will to physically heal them to begin with; the “healer” didn't have the gift of healing or enough faith to heal the sick; it wasn't the right time, because through that sickness God was dealing with the person’s heart (read the story of Job); some people won’t be healed through prayer, period (Paul had faith and the gift of healing, but Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23) and Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20) were not healed). Let’s talk about spiritual gifts. People think I’m a musician, well, I play some instruments and I probably have some hidden talent, once I tried to study music, but it was “greek” to me, way too complicated, because of it I kept playing “by ear”. As a musician, I can understand what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:7.That distinction is necessary when using our gifts, there must be “order” in our minds first, then in our churches, otherwise, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:23. There will be evidence to the unbeliever that we are “out of our mind”. We need all the gifts in our churches, but we also need to learn how to use them. God has promised He will give me the gifts of “faith” and “healing”, and during this time (about 10 years), He is teaching me how to use them. 1 Corinthians 14:31-32. Here Paul is teaching how to use a gift in the church, and he says that the spirit of the person is subject to the person (prophet in this case). Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 14:33. If there’s confusion in the work (service), God is not the author of it, and at the end, the work (service) is a mere work (service) of a man. I know, many times I sound repetitive, but, as the Baroness Edith Summerskill said: “Nagging is the repetition of unpalatable truths”. I don’t know about you, but I prefer to listen to a hard truth then a smooth lie.
Conclusion: 1 Corinthians 14:1. If you don’t know what spiritual gift you have, ask the Holy Spirit, He will tell you. But, desire other gifts too. We need to have spiritual gifts and learn how to use them. The spiritual gifts are given to edify (build) the church.