Philippians 1-3

Flp 1:14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

It’s amazing how by one man, Paul, that many men, the brethren, were encouraged to be bold, and to stand up for Christ. I myself know I need to be bolder and more diligent about proclaiming the gospel, and if I want to do that I need to surround myself with people like Paul.

At the same time, I should strive to be a person who encourages those around me to also want to be closer to God.

Flp 3:3 Porque nosotros somos la circuncisión, los que servimos en espíritu á Dios, y nos gloriamos en Cristo Jesús, no teniendo confianza en la carne.

Dios, tengo confianza en mis habilidades y poder demasiado, y no tengo confianza en ti como un Cristiano debe. Y yo sé que será muy difícil para confiarte todo el tiempo, pero ayúdame poner mi confianza en las manos tuyas, y decir “Haz tu voluntad, Dios. Te amo y tienes me confianza total.”


--Pray for Spain. Pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries and native Spaniards to take the gospel to the millions of lost souls in Spain.--

Ephesians 4-5 Efesios 6

Efe 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Efe 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.


God knows how much grace we really need, and gives it according to the measure of the gift of Christ. And we know, from chapter 3, that we cannot know how much Christ loves us. Therefore, God gives us so much grace that we’ll never know how much grace He really did give us.


It’s amazing how God can give me so much grace, and so much love, and then some more grace, yet I still manage to complain and worry about things.


Efe 6:20 Por el cual soy embajador en cadenas; que resueltamente hable de él, como debo hablar.

Dios, muchas veces tengo miedo de proclamar tu palabra. Y muchas veces temo a la gente cuando debo estar dándoles el evangelio, y mostrándoles el amor tuyo. Ayúdame para ser un hombre que hable de ti como debo hablar.

--Pray for Spain. Pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries and native Spaniards to take the gospel to the millions of lost souls in Spain.--

Respect.

I've heard pastor Gardner ask the question, "What are you doing for your personal growth (in your spiritual life)?" several times (or a question along those lines.)

And I think it's an excellent question that more people should be asking more often. It gets very easy, for me, to stop working, and think that I've done enough work, if not more than enough work for a while, which I haven't; and I don't think I'll ever get to a point where I can honestly say that I have.

But something that I need to work on, big time, is learning to respect my elders and authority. And I mean no disrespect by this statement, but I never had a constant, stable, man of God to guide me and train me when I was growing up, or not until Cornerstone Baptist switched to its most recent pastor. But by that point, I'd gotten used to doing my own thing. I'm not complaining, nor am I looking for sympathy, but I've never really been in a position where I had to deal with male authority before.

Sure, I had coaches for sports, and I had, and have, male bosses, but that's not a big deal. I like to run. A track coaches tells me to run a mile and I love it. A boss tells me to stock shelves, and I do it because I love getting a paycheck.

But, for whatever reason, it's so much harder for me to respect a man of God like I should. And that's what I need to work on now: respecting my authority better, both male and female.

It's easy to do what someone tells you. But respecting authority is just more than carrying out orders. And I'll do what someone tells me, but I won't talk to an authority figure the way I should. And I won't say thank you like I should. And I won't talk to authority on the phone like I should. So, I really need to start working on respecting my authority, but I also need to figure out why I'm so disrespectful to authority.

And I don't just mean why I have sin. I'm talking about what it is that I do that makes me seem disrespectful to my authority. In the last 4 days, I've been disrespectful to, at least, 3 men of God, even though I didn't mean to be. But I was.

And so I pray that the Lord would show me what it is that I need to do to start respecting my authority more, that I would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and that God would work in my life so I can start respecting my authority more.

--Pray for Spain. Pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries and native Spaniards to take the gospel to the millions of lost souls in Spain.--

Ephesians 1-2 Efesios 3

Efe 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Efe 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.

It's amazing how I have the peace of God, who is Christ Jesus, yet I often stress myself, and put myself through lots of problems I ought never face. And it's all because I don't trust Him like I should. But it's still amazing to know that He's there. And whenever I have problems, and I have trials, and struggles, when nothing seems to be going my way, it's amazing to know that He's my peace.

Efe 3:8 A mí, que soy menos que el más pequeño de todos los santos, es dada esta gracia de anunciar entre los Gentiles el evangelio de las inescrutables riquezas de Cristo,

Dios, aunque no soy ni el más intelegent, ni un gran trabajador, ni un rico, todavia eres capaz de usarme para glorificarte. Y gracias para dare me tu mensaje, el evangelio.

--Pray for Spain. Pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries and native Spaniards to take the gospel to the millions of lost souls in Spain.--

Galatians 4-5 Galatas 8

Gál 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gál 4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

I’m only 19, which isn’t too old; some would say that I’m rather young. However, I’d still rather be “the man” and doing things my way, as opposed to listening to advice from real men. However, we see that, no matter how much God has for me in the future, I’m still under tutors, teachers, preachers, and all other kinds of authority until the Lord decides to send me out as a missionary. (Though I assume I’ll have authority over me then as well)


Gál 6:5 Porque cada cual llevará su carga.
Gál 6:17 De aquí adelante nadie me sea molesto; porque yo traigo en mi cuerpo las marcas del Señor Jesús

Dios, Entiendo que a veces tendré una carga muy fuerte, y que la vida no va a ser fácil cada día. Pero, quiero cargar la cruz que me das cada día y quiero que sea obvio que te quiero para glorificarte. Pablo escribió <<…traigo en mi cuerpo las marcas...>>. Era obvio que Pablo era Cristiano. Quiero ser como Pablo en mi vida.


Pray for Spain. Pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries and native Spaniards to take the gospel to the millions of lost souls in Spain.

Gird up thy loins like a man.

I would like to say that I am in no way trying to complain, nor is it my intent.

It's starting to get real. It's to the point where I literally cannot trust in my own strength, or money, or ability to get me anywhere, or anything, because I don't have any.

I remember not so long ago when my wallet was a tad thicker, my belly was a little fuller, and things were a little easier. Now, my wallet's run thin, I'm a bit hungrier a bit more, and, I'll be honest, it's tough for me right now, because I have to totally trust God for everything.

But I know that the just live by faith. And, thanks to some godly advice, I realize that by seeing God work and provide now, it'll be easy to trust Him later.

And that I still need to just say thank you, and take what's given. I don't always need to put my opinion on anything, or try to prove that I know what I'm doing (because I'm only fooling myself).

--Pray for Spain. Pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries and native Spaniards to take the gospel to the millions of lost souls in Spain.--

Galatians 1-2 Gálatas 3

Gal 1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
Gal 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
Gal 1:5 To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Thank you for giving Yourself to save all who believe, Lord. Thank you for coming to earth and giving your life, though you had no obligation to do so. Help me to glorify and honor you more and more, Lord.

Gál 3:11 Mas por cuanto por la ley ninguno se justifica para con Dios, queda manifiesto: Que el justo por la fe vivirá.

Dios, quiero vivir por la fe. Aunque mis ojos miran al mundo, y veo problemas y estresa, ayudame pa' vivir por la fe.

--Pray for Spain. Pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries and native Spaniards to take the gospel to the millions of lost souls in Spain.--

Proerbs 31, Salmos 16

Pro 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Pro 31:5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

A message that resounds through all of Proverbs: alcohol will cause problems.


Psa 16:8 A Jehová he puesto siempre delante de mí: Porque está á mi diestra no seré conmovido.



Dios, quiero buscarte siempre. Siempre quiero que estés el deseo de mi vida.


--Pray for Spain. Pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries and native Spaniards to take the gospel to the millions of lost souls in Spain.--

Ouch.

Pro 29:5 A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.

I've been flattered for too long, and had peopel exalt me way beyond reason, and been basically lied to, and now I've fallen into a net, and been snared.

Last night was a very rough night for me.

In a matter of about two hours, I went from being happy, but only because of a false sense of arrogance, to incredibly humbled, because of the truth. Wouldn't it be nice to be happy, and humbled?

I literally cannot remember being as humbled as I was last night. I had to come crashing down to earth, and have my pride stuffed straight down my throat.

And I don't even think I got ripped on. What really happened was that people were finally honest with me, and someone(s) decided to care enough to tell me I'm not all that, and I have an absolute ton of work to do.

I'm not complaning, or at least I'm not trying to, because I can't grow in anything if I don't know I can grow.

For example, if I were at a buffet, and only got one plate because I didn't know it was "all you can eat," I'd get to eat, but I wouldn't be full. I wouldn't know I was able to eat all I wanted till someone told me I was wrong, and then told me the truth.

And, in fact, that's exactly what happened. I thought I was the best, or at least pretty darn close, and it turns out, I'm not anywhere close. Not by a long shot. But now that I know I have work to do, I can do it.

And it's interesting how a net will snare you, but the sword can cut the net to free you.

--Pray for Spain. Pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries and native Spaniards to take the gospel to the millions of lost souls in Spain.--

Proverbs 29-30 Salmos 15

Pro 29:20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

Sometimes, I really should just be quiet a little more, talk a little less, and think a bit more.


Psa 15:1 Salmo de David. JEHOVA, ¿quién habitará en tu tabernáculo? ¿Quién residirá en el monte de tu santidad?
Psa 15:2 El que anda en integridad, y obra justicia, Y habla verdad en su corazón.

Dios, da me un corazón que busque la verdada, piernas que caminen en integridada, una boca que habla la verdad, y manos y un mente que trabajen en integridad.

--Pray for Spain. Pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries and native Spaniards to take the gospel to the millions of lost souls in Spain.--