Janzie

God gives spiritual gifts and natural. Natural talents are gifts which God has given us and we can use them to bless others but they are performed and developed by us. Spiritual gifts are gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit and anointed by the Lord to bless and minister to the body of Christ.

We should give ourselves to Christian unity and make every effort to live peaceably. Be in the bond of peace, that is , not cause offense, be sensitive to others feelings. Apologize when you necessary. When our intent is to argue, we need to pause and respond to the Spirit's leading. We need to tell the truth but do it in love still maintaining the bond of peace.

Because you can't have unity without patience and humility. People will see right through you. We all have idiosyncracies, that we maybe don't know we have, but other people have to put up with us. I like Dr. Wilson's saying - "We can split and be alone, or we can "bear with each other" and have unity." Seek humility and gentleness. The reputation of Jesus Christ then suffers and people loose interest and won't listen to our message. We are supposed to follow Christ and being arrogant and prideful turns people off. Being kind, humble, patient and loving. Telling the truth in love.

To live a life worthy of the calling I have received, bringing glory to God. We are called to follow Jesus to be His disciple in humility and service in unity with the body of Christ.

People would be more dedicated in coming to church and prayer meetings. More volunteers for connect groups, love one another and know that God is working in all of us. We are the Body of Christ to serve one another and reach out and minister the Gospel to the lost. Some are doing it but not enough. I would grow closer to God by spending more time with Him and hearing from Him.

To be filled with the Spirit is when you ask Jesus to be Lord of your life. Christ opens up your understanding to who He is. Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things have passed away, all thing are become new. (2 Cor. 5:17) He comes to live in you. Your body is the Temple of Holy Spirit. Not a one time experience, but a continual reality. To be continually filled with the Spirit, we want to know more about Jesus, His Word, being obedient, saying that we want to be more like Him, drawing on His grace. not on our own ways. He works on our hearts and changes us to be more like Him. Being filled with all the fullness of God is when we are totally dedicated to Him and He has admittance to every room/every part of our lives. Totally surrendered to Him. And we all having been unveiled in face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.(2 Cor. 3:18)

Distractions, doing things that we could put off. Not spending enough time with the Lord and having fellowship with Him and getting to know Him and how much He loves us. We would live righteously, in obedience, longing to hear what He has to say to us, how He helps us to live the Christian life, know how much He loves us. We would be at peace, have joy in our lives, our countenance would show it, be filled with the Spirit and able to minister, help and pray for others, and win others to Christ and bear much fruit.

I believe it is the same thing, To be strengthened by the Spirit is God's Holy Spirit living in us. Knowing He is inside our spirit, we can commune with Him. Our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. That also is Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith.

Because of Christ and our faith in Him we can come boldly and confidently in God's presence. We are not to be timid before God. God has given to us His Spirit. If we try to pray without these qualities we are ineffective and will not receive the mercy and grace to help in our time of need.

Paul careful to be humble about his call and apostleship because he knows the grace and forgiveness God has given him. Where he came from, what he did in persecuting the Church and the revelation God had given him. He is a servant, chosen, given a gift of ministry by the Lord, less than the least but appointed by Christ to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. We know that in giving our lives to the Lord, that He has changed us completely and given us a heart of flesh, keeps us from sin and sinning, saved us from a devils hell, leads, guides and helps us by His Holy Spirit, protects and provides for us as we lean on and trust Him. There is none like Him. We need to present ourselves as servants also, ready to do His will.

"This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 3:6) It was important to Gentile Christians in Paul's day because Gentile believers, were sometimes made to feel like second-class citizens around Jewish Christians.

God's Revelation: They are our authority for faith and practice: As they were given to the apostles and prophets by the Spirit of God. When we stray from that revelation we hearts are open to the work of the devil. Proverbs 4:20-23 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Danger of superceeding: There is no other truth except what God has given to us in His Word. Re: Denying God's revealed truth: If you have the Spirit of God living inside you can't deny the truth.

With this pandemic, it was like a great scattering in the Church. People couldn't get together, people should wear masks; people shouldn't wear masks. It almost caused a division in the Church. Some got Covid and some didn't. Some were fearful and some didn't care. People got lazy and didn't come back to Church. Our Pastors were holding on, being faithful. Our Church had meetings online, but there is nothing like getting together with the Body of Christ. You can't worship at home in front of a computer like you can in the Church with your brother and sisters. It goes to show you that we need the Body, nothing like being together with the saints, praying for one another and that all the congregation comes back. That is where we sense God's presence, learn to get along with others, grow in the Lord and seek His Spirit. It is a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. We can help to become more fully experience and appreciated by being an active member of the Church, such as being in a ministry in the Church - Sunday school teaching, doing a connect group, choir, greeter, usher and fellow shipping with the Body - getting to know one another, sharing our lives and finding out that we are pretty much going through the same thing and praying for one another.

We have access to the Father when we embrace Christ and the gospel with faith. The Holy Spirit makes this access available because He now lives is us. That is how we have relationship with God through His Spirit, by faith. Jesus enabled this access by dying in our place for our sins on the cross and being obedient unto death. That is the only way we can have access to the Father.

Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic law in dying for our sins, as He was the perfect sinless sacrifice who took our place on Calvary. There could be no one else. He was the only perfect sacrifice because He was sinless. In reading the OT and how each animal had to be perfect without blemish, pointing to Jesus. He died ONCE, and for ALL. The Jewish people are His people but until they realize that Jesus is their Messiah and they accept Him, there is no salvation. Their are Christian Jews and we are waiting for others to come to Christ. God has united both Jews and Gentiles in Christ. Ephesian 2:14-15 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

I think the world is in the condition it is, is because we have not been doing our job in being willing to tell people about The Savior and how much He loves them, and that He died in their place for their sin. We fear people, rejection, we don't want to offend them, even our own family. A friend who doesn't know Christ has no covering for their sins. Separate from God, and without hope. Now days people don't recognize that they sin or even talk about it. They feel they are a good person. They just go on and on doing what they do and everyone thinks they are going to heaven. They don't know God wants a relationship with them and he wants to help them live life. He loves, provides and protects them and so much more.

Faith is believing God! Stepping out in faith knowing and believing He will be there. No, I believe faith is a gift also from God, but it only works when we believe and use it. Faith for a 10 yr. old: You go into a room, you see a chair and want to sit down, you go over to the chair, sit down and expect/believe it will hold you up.

God has made each one of His children different and special has created us with special gifts natural and spiritual talents,all to the glory of God. Works we do after becoming a Christian. These are the special gifts an talents God has given us to use for His glory. -vs- The works that Paul discredits are works that people think will earn them salvation. Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

The church I was raised in I never heard about salvation. It was just religion. I wanted God in my life but didn't know how to get Him. When I was married and, it was not a good one, I had heard about Jesus and that He was living and alive. My friends just told me to pray and just talk to Him like I talk to anyone else. I just told Him that my life was a mess, " I give You my life and my family's life and said to Him, Do with it what you will." He honored that commitment and came into my life and rescued me from hell and from the addictions of the world. Jesus gives you a new life for old - delivers you from a life of sin, puts His Holy Spirit in you and you desire to do right and good. You now have a helper to help you, a provider, a protector, someone you can tell your problems too, You are not alone in this world.

We don't understand grace because we always think we have to pay back for what we get. Living in an apartment complex, close to my neighbors, being single and liking to cook, I always love to share my extras with neighbors. I am not looking for returns but people feel because you give them something, they have to give you something in return. It's like you just do it because you want to and grace is just receiving it with thankfulness. That you have to pay for what you get. You give someone cake that you made and it is free. God gives his life for you and you receive it willingly and thankfully.

God raised us up together with Christ and made us sit together in in heavenly places in Christ. Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: God's grace is abundant! It is the equipping us to live now, in the present time, with new power, power to transform our lives and the lives of those around us. God has given us spiritual authority because we are in Christ and seated with Him. We need to pray with boldness knowing who we are in Christ and use the Authority He has given us. We can exercise spiritual authority over the enemy and make him the victim of Christ's victory again and again -- that is, when we learn our place of authority, and understand how to exercise it.

His mercy, love and grace. Even when dead in trespasses and sins, He has quickened us together with Christ.

Through temptation from the devil: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own ****, and enticed. Then when **** hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. James 1:14-15 We are responsible. We have no excuse, God can blame us because we have the Word of God. We must then repent and ask the Holy Spirit to deliver us and obey the Word.

God is not real to them. They have not accepted Christ as their Savior and Lord. They are living by their own strength and do not need God. They have no knowledge of God and how He can deliver them, they are spiritually dead. They do not have the Spirit of God in them. In my life I realized there was more to life than what I was experiencing. I did go to church but it was not alive. I did not hear the Word of God that would change my life. I had a need in my life and I cried out to God and He rescued me. He is living in me by His Holy Spirit. We would tell them how much God loves them and came to save them from Original sin. The sin Adm and Eve committed when they obeyed the devil. The sin that gave them the sin nature that they have that makes them sin. The answer is Jesus. Jesus is the answer to all the problems in the world. Tell them that His Holy Spirit will help them through this life. Its a mystery how the Holy Spirit lives in us, but He is God and can do anything! God tells us this. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? I Cor. 3:16

We miss fellowship with other believers all having gifts given to us from God and to being blessed by other members in the Body of Christ. We are the Body of Christ here on earth, His hands and feet, to do His work. We are not to be an island unto ourselves by staying home and not having fellowship with the body when we do, we withhold a blessing to others. We all have something to give and share even in helping and loving one another and to doing His work and sharing His Gospel.