Spiritual Gifts

After Jesus died, he rose again and spent some more time with his disciples. When he ascended again to Heaven, he promised the Holy Spirit would come to them. It fell upon them on the Day of Pentecost during a time of prayer. Amazing things happened that day. People were healed, the believers were able to speak in foreign tongues and many were added to their number that day.

The Holy Spirit lives in each of Christ's followers today. I know he lives in me. What I don't know is what he has gifted me with. I've had many thoughts of what it could be over my life. Interpretation of the scriptures, teaching, evangelism, hospitality, encouragement, knowledge. All of these are things I enjoy and can be good at.

I want to know what God is doing in my life. I thought I knew, but now I don't. I need to practice trust. I need to pray and meditate on the scriptures. God wants the place of honor in my life. I don't even know what I've been giving it to. Something much less important than the Lord of all.

Currently Studying: Acts

What I've Learned

Lord you know me,
My every thought, passion, and desire.
My cares are your cares.
You do not need to be told what matters to me.

You love me and take care of me.
You defend me and comfort me.
No man on Earth can be,
what you are to me.

You know me, O Lord,
Every action, every movement,
All my hopes and dreams,
My accomplishments, my failures.
You know every piece of me.

You are there for me.
In times of sorrow
and times of celebration.
During shame and glory,
my constant support.
You know me.


Response to Psalm 139

Endangered Species?

So I just looked up an article on how researchers found 125,000 gorillas in the Congo, because I was bored and remembered hearing some morning radio djs making fun of the find. The reason it's so shocking is because that is more than twice what they thought was left of the species. The article mentions that the number they thought was left was based on a survey from the 1980's and projected loss due to poaching.

This makes me wonder how many other "endangered species" are based off old numbers and flawed projections. We trust these environmental groups without even questioning their methods.

Here's the link to the gorilla article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/science/05apes.html

And here's another article about how the list of endangered species is being added to: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/0502_060502_endangered.html

The reasons they cite for population decrease? Hunting and global warming.
How they reached the numbers they did? "the IUCN took a close look at sharks and rays" What does that even mean? The entire article has the same ambiguous wording.

Here's a quote that really bothers me:" "Here you have an unbiased, objective account," he said. "There's no guesswork and no political pressure. … The listings tend to focus conservation energy." " Really? It doesn't sound unbiased (global warming) and there definitely appears to be a lot of guesswork.

Just some thoughts.