1 Timothy 6:6-8

God will provide for all our needs.  In the scriptures it mentions that God even provides for the birds of the air, so why would we be worried?  There is no reason to worry about my needs.  Verse 6 could screw some theology up and stump people into the prosperity gospel.  If I’m godly then I will receive great gain.  Then verse 8 says, that we should be content with the provisions we receive. I however really like verse 7, We can’t bring anything into or out of this world.  I can’t bring my bicycle, I can’t bring my clothes, my friends, my money, or anything.  Everything physical that I owe is vain.  It puts a prospective on things.  I need nothing in this life to be happy.  People especially back in the states talk about how money is happiness.  I however need nothing to be happy, because God will provide my needs.  Not my wants necessarily, but my needs.  I watched a documentary about minimalism and these dudes literally had like 15 physical items in their lives and they were happier than before when they had a lot of items.  I know I buy things out of impulse, when I should really just trust that God will provide my needs and I don’t need to buy anything more.  So today for my application I will find Five items that I have and that are just going to waste and purge myself of them.  Also it’s kind of tough here that I receive three meals a day, but I will fully trust in God that He will provide for me. 

Revelation 1:9

John had to wait patiently for the word of God to come to him.  John was sent to the island of Patmos for exile for nothing more than preaching the name of Christ.  I want that in my life.  I want to be able to patiently wait for God’s word.  In modern days we want instant satisfaction.  We want it now, the new iphone, computer, camera, in my case a new bicycle.  We don’t just want them, but we want them now.  We should practice patience more, I should practice patience more.  Patience is more than a character, it’s a lifestyle.  I say this because everything in life requires a little patience.  John goes on to say a companion in tribulation.  A friend in times of pain or sorrow.  John went through beatings and exile, we get upset when someone cuts us off in traffic, or cuts in front of us in line at the grocery store.  The apostles were beat man.  I need to be in my bible all the time in case of times of persecution.  I don’t want to be the weak Christian that gives in, I want to be strong and if times of pain and torture come, I want to be able to stand in the fire with the love of God in my heart.  Paul mentions of all his trials in the name of Jesus in the book of 2 Corinthians.  That is a man of God, I want to be a man of God.  Today I want to be able to patiently wait for God to speak to me.  I want to know what God has in store for me, so I will ask Him in prayer and patiently wait for an answer.  I will be in the word so if times of persecution come I may know what God’s promises to me are, and I will be able to share the same grace that I received to my persecutors.

Luke 21:19

Jesus calls us to possess my soul in my patience.  In context Jesus talks about watching your tongue.  So Jesus tells me to have patience so I don’t get upset and lash out on others.  Patience is hard to have control over and with my own self I can’t control it.  The only way is with the help of Christ.  I know in my own life I can get upset with others that are going too slow.  Mainly other drivers on the road.  I know I’ll unfortunately get super mad and yell at the other cars even though they can’t hear me.  It’s pointless and I usually curse in the process.  The only person being affected is myself.  What’s the point of yelling at others anyway?  There is no point, even if they do hear…It’ll just make them mad too, and then it’s defiantly no help at all.  I’m called to be a witness for Christ, not for my flesh, or the world, or Satan.  If I’m upsetting others I’m not sharing Christ’s love.  So today I will practice my patience, I will pray to Christ instead of lashing out on others.  I don’t want to be a witness for my flesh.

Luke 8:11-15

So in this parable, Jesus says we’re one of four of the places which the seed scattered.  Also the seed is the word of God.  The Devil can take away the word of God from me and I do not want that, I want to listen to the word of God and keep it and produce fruit.  I don’t want to be the person that hears God’s word and just completely falls away.  The second of the four received the word with joy, but they after a while fell away.  I was like this a while ago and I hope that I no longer am like this.  In junior high I would hear God’s word and love it, but then just fall away.  Number three of four was the ones that lived in the flesh.  It’s so easy to just live to please the flesh, but as Christians we’re called to be separate to the world.  We are not called to be apart of the world, we’re to be separate.  We obviously live in the world, but we shouldn’t live to please the flesh.  As humans the flesh is so easy to please, but as Christians God is easy to live for.  Or at least should be as it is our reasonable service which Paul says.  Today I will try to be the Good soil seed.  I will do this by hearing God’s word, listeng with attention.  Also I will pray before devotions that I may receive everything God has in store for me.

Hebrews 6:12

“Be not slothful.”  says Hebrews.  It then goes on to say, “But followers of them through faith and patience inherit the promises.”  Now who are these men or women that are our examples?  My first example would be Noah, Noah was told by God to build an ark.  Noah was told it was going to rain.  At this point it had never rained before, so I mean, what was Noah thinking, I can’t even imagine.  He out of faith built the ark, even whilst being mocked.  He practiced patience, he could have so easily given up, but through perseverance, he built that ark and God kept His promise and saved Noah and his family.  For my second example I’ll use Abraham.  Abraham was called to leave his fathers country.  He talked with God, and had never even heard of God before.  He got up not knowing where to go and just went.  Through him is the whole Jewish nation.  God kept His promise and still is keeping His promise with Him.  I think Abraham knew that He wasn’t going to have innumerable amounts of kids right away.  Abraham had to practice patience and faith, but through it, is still being blessed with children.  Even as I speak another Jewish child was born.  For my final example we have Sara.  Sara was told she was going to have a child and laughed.  She was an old lady at this point and was unable to have children due to this.  She did not practice faith right away, but she eventually held onto the promises of God and gave birth to Issac.  She practiced patience, God told her she was going to have a child.  That’s at least a nine month process.  They don’t just appear via-stork.  My application today is to practice patience and faith.  We all know at least one of God’s promises in our lives, which is where we are going for field time.  I know I’m heading to Uganda, but I need to not be in Uganda right now, I need to be in Guatemala.  I need to practice faith and patience that in God’s timing I will be in Uganda serving Him.  So I will do this by giving 100% of my effort and love to the Guatemalans, even if I’m on toilet duty for kids club again, I will faithfully serve while there and I will not complain like I did on Wednesday.

Colossians 1:11

I receive strength through the power of Christ.  Strength in patience and long suffering and I receive it with joy.  Through Christ’s death and resurrection I should be joyful about waiting.  I should be joyful about others being a little slower than me.  On Agua not all of us could go the same pace, but I am joyful that yes I had to wait for a few others that we all made it and that we had to rely on the strength of Christ.  I know that we honored Jesus by doing it all for His glory, and it wasn’t in our own strength.  It was a joy watching all of us do it and get up to the top.  It was a joy seeing all the tired faces after a hard days work.  It was a joy when we found Nolan still alive.  It was a joy eating pizza and especially as a family.  It was a joy when the dogs came along with us.  As a Christian we should be joyful all the time, look at Paul’s life.  Joy also doesn't came in my own strength.  I’m not trusting in Micah for joy, I have to ask God for joy.  I may naturally not be the most sad and down person ever, but I have some sucky times and I have to rely on God for my joy.  It should be simple to have joy, after all Jesus died on the cross for me, why can’t I be happy for Him?  Today I’m going to be joyful, even if everything goes slowly around me.  I’m going to take a moment and breathe and allow the peace of God to come over me.  I will do this by allowing everyone to go ahead of me in line at all the meals.  I will be joyful while waiting and not complain about how slowly the line goes.  If the plates run out before the end I will joyfully restock them.  I can’t do this in my strength, but rather God’s so I have to rely on Him 100%.

Ephesians 5:15-17

Paul mentions that to be wise, I shouldn’t waste my time.  I should use my time to discover God’s will in my life.  To pray and find out what comes next.  I know I waste a lot of time, especially at home.  How much time have I wasted by watching RedBull TV mountain bike vides, or the barista showdown?  How much time have I wasted watching mindless television.  Way too much.  The worst part is, I’ll never receive that time back.  How much could have I grown my faith, or my knowledge in the Lord?  How many more people could I have witnessed to back home?  Or maybe just have edified?  I’ll never have that time back.  I know I like to talk to some of my friends in my hometown.  One owns a coffee shop and one owns a bicycle shop I work at and I made friends with my workmates, but they don’t know the Lord, and I wasted my time watching pointless videos when could have grown my faith and witnessed to them.  Looking back, I just see how selfish I was, and still am.  Yea I would have that occasional talk of God, but never really a deep or meaningful talk where I actually witnessed.  Often times I would just blend in with them, you couldn’t tell much of a difference between them and myself.  Paul says though, which I really enjoy, “Redeeming the time.”  Yes, that time is gone, but I have a week in April, and at least two months after field time of which I can show them Christ’s love and His grace.  I don’t want to go home and be the same person that I was when I was home just a few short weeks ago.  I feel closer to God and I feel I have wasted a lot less time, yes I still waste time here, but a lot less of it.  So for my application I have two: My daily application will be to find at least ten more minutes that I can use to pray.  Then my application for April, is to cut my red bull tv intake out completely and use that time more wisely by praying, reading the word, or by using it to show the love of Christ to my friends back home.