Whats your role on the team?

I wonder how many of us know our place on the team. As in, how many of us know our specific role in the church? How often do we think about our spiritual gifts? What God has given us so that we can contribute and uplift the body. Most Christians don't think of this I believe. Yet how sad it would be to not use what God has given us. I consider that bad stewardship of the resources we have.
Too steal an example I heard.... If your a pitcher, you want to practice pitching. Thats what your good at. You don't want to waste time practicing your batting. In the same way, once we figure out what our gifts our, we want to develop and grow in them.
Just some ways to figure it out....

1. Of course, if you don't know what your gift is, one way to find out is to give anything a try. You never know. Try being an usher, trying welcoming, try setting up chairs, whatever opportunities are available, give it a try! You never know what you may be gifted in.

2. In one sense, we should all be "ordaining" eachother. As in helping eachother figure out where we fit in. One good indicator of your gifts may be what those closest to you have to say. They know you best, and they probably have a good idea of what your gift is. Ask them! This is one of the jobs of church leaders in particular, to guide and help equip each member for their specific role.
- By the way, if you think your good at something, you need others to confirm it. For example, if you think you have the gift of teaching etc, yet nobody has the gift of listening to you, you're probably wrong. =P

3. What do you like to do? Chances are your gift wont be something you cringe at. Wheres your heart at? Where do you feel like your role is? Just think about it more ok?

Find your place on the team. Dont waste what you've been given.

Need a reminder?

Can I encourage you to do something? Memorize one of the following. Start your day off with it. Don't just say it, meditate on it.

Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him. Romans 4:7-8

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a true. Galatians 3:13

We all like sheep have gone astray, each has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25

He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot, You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

Think about it.

For You Listeners

I just wanted to share a resource i've been using a lot more lately and that is listening to the Bible. I usually don't but i've found it really valuable in getting the big picture of a text, not getting bogged down by the details.
Especially for narratives like Genesis and Exodus, it has been especially valuable. I feel like i'm in the Bible world when I listen. That is after all how Scripture was originally spread during antiquity, through oral tradition.
Just a quick resource for those who intake well by hearing instead of reading.

http://www.esvstudybible.org/search

Just click any book or chapter, and theres an option on the top to listen to the text. Enjoy!

Old Testament struggles..

For those of us that struggle reading the OT and finding appropriate applications from it, I just wanted to share some thoughts and some of my reading. Reading the OT is definitely tough, and we probably treat it as "less inspired" at times in our attitude and approach than that of the NT, but if your like me, one may need to first start with an attitude adjustment. (The following is from my OT Survey book by Walton and Hill.)
As God's self-revelation, the objective of the Old Testament is that the reader comes to know God better. In addition, knowing God is also accomplished by experiencing his attributes. The Old testament should then be viewed as a presentation of God's attributes in action. What does this teach us about God?
Then, what must be achieved is that his attributes become the framework of our worldview. By this we mean that our perspectives on ourselves, our society, our world, our history, conduct, decisions, everything...should be knit together by an informed and integrated view of God.

This is obviously brief, but I just want to encourage you to keep trying, keep struggling with it. But learn to study it well, study it smart. Look up resources to help you understand the OT and the Bible. There out there! Don't try to do it by yourself, use the community around you and in the world. To end with a verse, Romans 15:4, Paul speaking of the OT...

- For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Think about it

* Just some resources you can read to help you understand and learn how to read the bible.
- Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for all its worth
- Walt Russell, Playing with Fire