Do You Know Your Bible

A Devotional By  Margot Cioccio

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Philippians 2:12-13 NIV84

  

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, 

as you have always obeyed—

not only in my presence, 

but now much more in my absence—

continue to work out your salvation 

with fear and trembling, 

¹³ for it is God who works in you 

to will and to act according to his good purpose. 

I had an interesting day Sunday. I had fun singing old 80's folk songs with a guy who came to our feeding, who called himself Shadow. Told me his dad was Cat Stevens. Said he was never raised by Cat Stevens because he'd gone off to become a monk. He sure sang and played guitar like Cat Stevens. Vocally he had the same unique Cat Stevens sound. I don't really try to sort out the stories I hear. I generally take them at face value and leave it at that. What I can say for sure is that he was a delightful person and I had the honor of sharing a few songs. I must have prayed with 8 or more people during our service usually its one or two most weeks. I had several people ask me theology 101 questions after the service and during the feeding and I was able to answer them.

One was a guy had been asked by someone when it was that he had gotten saved. In his mind he equated that with when did God make you perfect. I got to explain that they were asking "was there a day that you decided to begin your journey of salvation with Jesus". That is the day that God begins the process not the day of perfection. He was having trouble reconciling the idea of obedience is better than sacrifice from 2nd Samuel with another in James salvation not being by works. It is not ever our good works that make us some how more or less acceptable. Certainly, the Lord has prepared good works for us to do, but those good works are not what save us. They are more a response to an inward change and out of thankfulness we find ourselves wanting to do things more like Jesus. What saves us is not our obedience or good works but Jesus who obeyed and went to the cross and became a sacrifice for our sins. Our righteousness is filthy rags - you just won't be able on your own to make yourself clean enough for a Holy God. We are to be holy like He is holy, but it is not the measure of our cleanness that somehow tips the scales. It is the decision to believe and follow Jesus. Salvation is an on going thing. We must work it out and walk it out day by day as we are lead by the Holy Spirit.  Its a process and a journey.


Taked to another guy about love and hate and realized that he was drunk and his reasoning was circular and I finally told him I agreed to disagree with him. That we were not getting anywhere with our discussion because neither was going to budge from the positions we held. He seemed to be ok with agreeing to disagree. I'll talk to him again.

I have been often asked during our feeding the question "Do you know your bible?" Generally what follows is an attempt to prove you don't with some little known Old Testament story. They are always surprised that I do know my bible and am able to talk to them about it.  The real question is are you really a believer? Or you just another person dishing out a salvation message and not knowing much beyond that message.  The folks on the street don't see that much difference between people who say they are believers and those who are not. I think also they have had to hear a salvation message to get a meal or a coat so many times that they are pretty jaded to it all. After all how many times does one need to get saved to get a coat or a pair of socks. They will tell you anything you want to hear. Most of them can quote all the verses having to do with getting saved. Which is why we find it frustrating when churches from the suburbs sweep in on high to do their yearly good deed. If you want to do something for the inner city poor and homeless, don't just come do your Lone Ranger good deed. Make the effort to work with the ministries that are already down in the inner city. We could all use some help. The majority of Lone Ranger groups never contact us they are not really down here to minister to the poor but to some how ease their own conscious and to some how get the boy scout badge in heaven for serving the poor. There was one group that came down so their folks could practice sharing the gospel. They really didn't care about the homeless it was a training experience for their congregation. Most do their good deed and go home to their cushy churches and we never see them again. Generally these folks bring a meal and some stuff to give away as bait for those who will listen to a salvation message. They make notches in their belt for all the people who got "saved" and go home patting themselves on the back for bringing people into the kingdom. Which makes our work down here that much harder. Down here you have to earn the right to be heard. It can take months of being kind getting to know some of these folks before they will open up and have a real discussion. Even then they have so much pain, brokenness that it is a long long journey to freedom. That life transformation is really helped if there are people who will commit to walk beside them and encourage them. It is most often two steps forward and one step back. They will do really great for a while and then sabotage themselves because they just don't feel they deserve a better life. This is a harvest field that is ripe but takes some real work to bring into the kingdom. I'll stop there on that subject - we need harvesters but don't come unless you can really want to come to know and love these folks because they will see right through you other wise.

All total we fed 154 people yesterday with a very small team. It is God who works in you 

to will and to act according to his good purpose. I know that God is transforming me - as I step by step, day by day work out my salvation. It is a journey of following and walking with Jesus to know Him more. We've had people ask if we've had any special training to work with the poor and homeless. The answer is no - anyone who has been a Christian for more than a year and is spending time in the Word has the training manuel - its called your Bible.
You may not be called to work with the inner city homeless and poor. We are all called to Go and make disciples but that is more than preaching a salvation message.
Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. If you have not yet read the book Radical by David Platt I would highly recommend it. Heres a brief summary of the book that I found on Amazon "What is Jesus worth to you?

It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily...

But who do you know who lives like that? Do you?

In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus."

Prayer:

Dear Lord,
Help us to work out our salvation, to realize it is a process of picking up our cross daily and following you. That cross is not the cool little emblem around our necks. It is putting our flesh, our carnal nature to death every day and deciding to do things your way. Work in us to will and to act according to your good purpose. Lord thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to lead and guide us on this journey. Thank you for this day and help us be a living Bible to the people who cross our path.  
 

When My Faith Seems Small

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When My Faith Seems Small

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio
 

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see. 

 

I have faith in chairs, that when I sit in them they will hold me up. I have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow. I have faith that Mt.Rainier is still there on cloudy days when I can't see it looming over the Western Washington landscape.

Do I have faith to believe that God's promises in His word are true? Beyond that do I have faith to believe the things He has spoken to me in my quiet time with Him? Do I really trust him like Abraham even when every circumstance seems to shout the very opposite of what God has said?   I do - I'm not saying I don't have days when doubts creep in and my faith seems very small - I do. We all have those days.  I want to share some of the things that I do on days when my faith seems small. 

 

I Spend Time With Jesus: The first place you will find me is at the feet of Jesus. I lay it all out before the Lord. He already knows the condition of my heart and I ask like the father in Mark 9:24b
 “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

 

I Remember: I remember the mercies and the goodness of the Lord. I make a point to tell others on those days about some time that the Lord has helped me in the past. In Revelation 12:11 "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." The word of your testimony is a powerful weapon by which we overcome the enemy. 

 

I Use My Weapons: I  remember 2 Corinthians 10:4 -5 "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." We have already been given powerful weapons for demolishing the strongholds in our lives and in the lives of others. If I know the Word then I will know when an argument is setting itself up against the knowledge of God. The more of the Word I have in me the less likely I am to sin against God. Psalm 119:11 is a good case for Bible memory. It say's "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you". Now I have some friends who really work at Bible memory, they practice in their spare time and they have many passages memorized word for word. I am not very good at memorizing. I may not be able to quote word for word, or give you chapter and verse but the Word is in me. For example just in writing this devotional post I am able to remember key words and concepts so that when I can quickly find the verses that I want to use. I have may not have spent time consciously memorizing, but I have spent lots and lots of time reading the Word. I have spent lots of time singing the Word. God wired me in such a way that allows me to remember things that have been set to music. We all have little tricks that help us remember the things we want to remember. My point is that knowing the Word is a powerful weapon against the enemy. 

 

I Stand on the Word: As I am praying and seeking the Lord often I will come across a verse that jumps out and speaks deeply to me in some way. That becomes a Word that I begin to stand on. It is like it jumped out just for me. We are promised that the Holy Spirit will teach us in John 14:26  "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Those words I often put on 3x5 cards and carry in my pocket or I post it places where I will see them and be reminded. 

 

I Ponder: There are things that I don't know how or when God will work out - I just know that He will. I remember that He is able.  They are for me like money in the bank. I know it will be there when I need it in the future. I am making faith deposits for the future in the little steps of faith I take today.   I don't generally tell anyone those private things that God has spoken to me. Like Mary I take those things and treasure them or ponder them. Luke 2:19 says "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." I often journal those things so that when they do happen - I have created yet another testimony that will help me with things in the future. 

 

I hope that these little tips are helpful. This is certainly not an exhaustive list but these are some of the ways that I build myself up. 

Oh one last thing...

 

I pray in the Spirit - I don't always know how to pray but I trust that the Holy Spirit knows the mind of the Father and is able to pray through me. I love how the message explains this in Romans 8:26-28 "Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." I have to quote something my friend Mark Kenney posted today "Someone asked if I believed in tongues. I said I'm pretty sure that most everyone I know has one..so I'll say yes." I try not to make that subject a divisive issue. For me praying in the Spirit for me has been a huge blessing. It has added a deeper dimension my prayer life, particularly when I don't know how to pray. Its a gift - not a badge of spirituality.

 

I have found that I have faith for a given trial when I have been spending time at the feet of Jesus. It is a bad idea to wait for a trial and then to beginning cramming trying to work up faith. One must consistently be using faith and practicing faith in small things. Then when bigger things come our way we are able to look to the many small things that helped us to practice and grow in faith. David had practiced on lions and bears before he stood before the giant Goliath. Use what is going on now to build some spiritual muscle.

 

Prayer:  Dear Lord, Help me build some spiritual muscle in this trial I am facing. Help me to remember and to try some of the ideas in this devotional. Help me grow in faith so that I honor you in the situations that I face as I walk through day to day life. I invite you to be present with me as I go through this day.