Prophesying and Tongues

Just doing some background checks on prophesying and speaking in tongues and such things. I just want to know if that's something that the Spirit inspires, that only some people do, that I should or shouldn't do.. all those questions. I'm pretty tired, haha, I hope this makes sense.

1 Cor. 14 - "Prophecy and Tongues"
This is in the NT, so in my understanding, it should still apply to today. We are under the same everything that Christians were of that time.. Unlike the OT, where our relationship with God and stuff is really different, right.

Prophecy: a prediction about the future said under divine inspiration.

V1. Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
- Prophecy is God's message spoken through human words, so there is room for mistake. (That's what my Bible footnotes say, I don't know if I believe that. If God inspires it, it can't be wrong. What about the Bible being inspired by God, and it can't have mistakes or else that defeats it's whole purpose.)

[Side note: I always wondered if all Christians were supposed to be able to perform miracles, cuz they have the Holy Spirit, and that's what accomplishes the miracle eh?
1 Cor 12:27-29

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

It doesn't answer the question! Haha. Do they, or don't they?? My Bible footnote says no.]

V3-5. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

I guess God wouldn't give spiritual gifts that didn't benefit His kingdom. They're not for himself, they're for the people to better see Him I think. So that says plainly that speaking in tongues (language of God, that people can't understand [yo, if two people were speakin' in tongues beside each other, could they understand the other one?] ) But maybe it's a deeper, more intimate way to praise God. 

But then there's prophesying, which is directed to other people and not at God. Paul says he wants all these people to speak in tongues, so it seems like a choice thing.. 1 Cor 12:31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

That's kind of big. So we should be striving to get them. Not that we earn them necessarily, but are given them. What does that mean I'm supposed to do? 

These studies always lead me to more questions than answers. I guess I'll try to get my questions answered better.

1 Cor. 14:6-12

6Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. 12So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church. 

It sounds like speaking in tongues is not necessarily a good thing, and we shouldn't really do it because it doesn't serve any purpose. The purpose should be to build up the church.

1 Cor 14:13-14

13For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 

Speaking in tongues is your spirit speaking. That reminds me of that verse (Romans 8:26) where it says that the Holy Spirit prays for us with groaning. That's really powerful to me. I think that's along the same lines of that language of God and the angels (1 Cor 13:1), tongues. That's probably a beautiful sound. But the person speaking's mind is unfruitful. It's like their body is turned off and their spirit, not necessarily the Holy Spirit takes over. Huh, interesting. That's kind of key to what I was trying to figure out.. So you don't just believe what people say when they're speaking in tongues, not that you can understand them, haha, cuz it's of them and not God. 

14:19

But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. 

14:22

Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.

So if you have the gift of speaking in tongues (what benefit is it?) then I guess you can do that with God in private. But prophesying seems to be a useful gift in convincing non-believers (v.20-25).

Matt 7:21-23

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Just cuz they prophesy in Jesus' name doesn't make it true.. How do you know then?

1 John 4:1 

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 

How do we test the spirit? I'm not sure what they're referring to by spirit actually. Footnote says to see the difference between the Holy Spirit and demonic spirits. And only some people have the gift of discernment to tell what the source of the prophecies are (1 Cor. 12:10). Ok, ok, I'm following.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21

Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything.

Again.

1 Cor 13:8

As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 

I've heard a few people say that this verse means that speaking in tongues and prophesying will end. It was definitely used in the NT times, but maybe now they aren't around anymore. So what are these people doing then? Faking it? Maybe we're not at that time yet? They say it "ceased after the apostolic age of the early church."

Getting somewhere.

Obeying Your Conscience, Or Not.

Are you always supposed to act on your conscience? What if your conscience says something is wrong that isn't.

Situation:
My friend gave me a usb of tons of good music to put on my ipod. No big, everyone does that. But it's driving my conscience insane. I have downloaded music too. I'm all or nothing on this one. Either I buy everything, or I don't need to buy any of it. Someone once told me that downloading music is relative morality, socially acceptable and therefore ok. Someone else told me that you should always follow your conscience and certain things bother some ppl more than others because "God has called them to a higher standard of living." I don't know if I believe that. I just believe there's right and wrong, and I don't think that changes depending on the person.. The Bible also says that doing something you think might be wrong, is wrong.. Ha, just answered my question there eh. I should find that verse..

I can't find that verse.

I don't know. But I don't feel good about it. And I directly, purposefully went against my conscience and did it. So I might have something to take up with God on this one.





Honestly, I think I'm looking for an excuse. I know it's wrong, but it's such a sweet option. All this good music right at my fingertips. Frustrating.
Maybe now is that time to restart my iTunes from scratch, with paid for music.
:(
That hurts.

Sin.

I think I have a messed up understanding of sin.
I have all the head knowledge. I know sin is wrong, and it disgusts God. And that no one sin is any worse then another sin. I don't know, I feel like that's what you need to understand.

But I never made the habit of keeping track, of paying attention to every time I sin in order to ask God for forgiveness for specific sins. I guess it's because I know He'll say yes and forgive me, and that I'm already forgiven for everything I have done and will do. I think that's right at least, so somehow that takes the weight of sin off. That's a bad thing.

Also, those noticeable and remarkably wrong things are not my most common sins. It's more the subtle things, like thoughts and attitudes where I sin often. I never made that habit of catching it, and stopping to ask God for forgiveness. Someone once told me I couldn't go to heaven because of that. If you don't keep up with sin, hate it and have a heart of repentance about it, then Jesus' sacrifice doesn't cover you. That's what he said. I don't agree. I was gonna say that you just gotta believe! But then again, I don't think you get to heaven if you believe that Jesus was once a real person, or believe that there is a God. You gotta know the whole story, gotta understand sin, and holiness, and forgiveness and reconciliation. I think it's a fundamental part of the whole concept of Jesus and God and our relationship that I'm not understanding. Because if I did, I would be acting different I think. If I saw sin the way God saw sin, and if I thought of myself as the unholy, sinner person that I am, then I would feel the guilt of sin, be humbled and be broken before God over my sin, but I have never felt that. I've felt guilty before, but I've never been face-down broken and in awe of God's mercy and grace to forgive me. It's never held that magnitude. But I get it! In my head, I understand that this is HUGE. That this is everything. But my heart doesn't reflect that kind of total broken response it should.

I think this is a problem. I think it should be dealt with. I think I should be different.
God, would you show me my sin for what it is? Give me your eyes to see it like you do. Help me understand the separation sin causes between us, and how you are perfectly holy. Totally different than me. Totally pure. I don't feel right about letting sin slide. I know I shouldn't, and I should constantly be watching for it in my life, and I haven't done that, at all. Little sins like allowing a bad attitude or the quickest thoughts are the same as murders and adultery in your eyes. I want to have this right, I want to understand you for what you are. I think maybe I'm missing the whole point of it almost. Work with me to set my perspective right in your sight.


My pastor was talking about forgiveness today, and this picture came to mind.
It was of our black sin, and how it's washed away by God's forgiveness because of Jesus. His white forgiveness just pours over our sin, covering it completely. Consuming it, destroying it. And His forgiveness never stops flowing. It is endless, constant, consistent. It's kind of a physical picture I see. Of a black box being swallowed in this river of thick white current. Knowing it'll never run dry, never slow down, never stop, never end. No matter how many black boxes we chuck in the river, there is always enough of it to wash them away. Disintegrate them into nothingness.

Would this work?

God calls us to give. So many times actually, it's ridiculous that we forget and don't do it.
I've been kind of thinking about how to give, what God would want me to give, how much, when and where and why. I don't necessarily know..

What about this:
For a certain amount of time (I'm thinking 2 weeks), I will promise to God that I will give everytime he asks me. Every opportunity that I see, I will give what I have.
Whether it's food, or clothes, money, time or whatever, I will give it.


I wonder if God will actually bring opportunities for me to do this. Isn't that how life should always work? Everytime the opportunity comes up, you can count it as God's hand and we should act on it? So really, I should constantly be on the lookout and be giving every opportunity? Or does God ask us to say no sometimes?
I'm a little worried that will ask me to give some ridiculous amount, like all my savings for school lol.
As scary as that is, God is so good. He has over-provided for me and He promises to keep doing that. I shouldn't worry about that. It feels good too, to take a leap of faith like that. Knowing that it is a sacrifice, and it hurts, I feel like those are the kind of things God is pleased with. That is the kind of giving He expects.

I'm gonna mull that one over a bit.

Day Two

I learned a bit about this lineage. There's this whole tricky deal about a royal line and a priest line, from King David and the Levites. I don't necessarily have an answer for that. In the next paragraph, it goes on to tell about Jesus' virgin conception, which to me rules out that Joseph could be his father.. That never seriously crossed my mind, I just didn't like how I couldn't see the blood line, it was only like a legal connection through his "adopted" father. Still counts. There were a couple different ideas of interpretation about how it's actually talking about Mary's line.. Hard to tell.

This is maybe how I picture the "Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." Luke 1:35

Actually, just pause and take this in. An angel comes to you and says, you're going to have a baby boy. Like she's 15 or something! Mary, in your womb there is a baby boy. He's going to be great. He will be the son of God. Oh my! That just knocks my socks off. Maybe she didn't want children, or at least wasn't thinking about it yet. I'm picturing this happening to me. I'd be like, what about my plans for my life? They're all gonna stop cuz now I'm pregnant with God. What a weird concept. Weiiird actually! Woah, blowing my mind. She must have been soo careful, not to let anything bad happen to the baby. I sometimes picture Jesus as a baby, or a toddler even, and he falls and scrapes his knee and cries, and Mary looks at him and thinks to herself - that's God! In this little baby form, who can't feed himself, and cries to  me when he gets hurt. How could this little baby be God?
She replies to the angel: "How could this be, since I am a virgin?" I might feel uncomfortable saying that out loud like that. Kind of a private thing I wouldn't go around telling a man. I'd want to know how it worked too though. How is God going to impregnate her. She must have been so confused. And what about Joseph too. I also only realized this recently, how awkward that conversation is when Mary (who is engaged at this point to Joseph) has to tell him that she's pregnant. Poor Joseph! He was probably brokenhearted. All pumped to marry her, plans are half done and everything, is planning his life with her, probably thinking about her all the time, just to realize she's gotten herself pregnant, or so it seems. He must have been so mad, and probably caught off guard, seeing as Mary was a good girl - actually, no where does it say that Mary was any better than anyone else. So I'm going to take that last statement back.
She must have felt something when she became pregnant, when "the power of the Most High overshadowed" her. Just like how Jesus felt the power leave him when that woman was healed by touching his shirt, Mary must have felt something along those lines. A miracle, a transfer of power. You can feel the Holy Spirit. I can feel it sometimes. I feel like every cells breathes in a breath of life, and are just rejuvenated with life. It's a lively, tingling, shivery, airy feeling. Like a cool wind on your neck. It's a beautiful feeling, and I just feel that when he's close. But if he were working some kind of miracle inside me, it must have been such a strong feeling, I think.
In the movie The Nativity Story I watched around Christmas, Mary falls to the ground holding her stomach and gasping and like laughing. Something has happened inside of her. That's crazy! Man!
Another cool part, this is not what I read in Matthew tonight, but it's when Mary goes to visit her cousin who is also miraculously pregnant cuz she's really old, with Jesus' cousin, the baby jumps inside of her stomach. I wonder if that even happens normally to other women, with contact with certain people the baby jumps? Or if that was a miraculous connection in spirit. That's beautiful!
Question: (I have had this same question for months) God chose John the Baptist to be the guy to prepare people for Jesus, right? God chose him, before he was even born. It seems John had no say in whether or not he believed what the Bible (was it even around then?) said or if he wanted to follow God and stuff eh? How does that work?

Gots to go. It's good breaking it down this way, cuz I never ask those questions about actual life and actual feelings and stuff. I kind of just take the text at face value, but you kind of connect the dots and it's this whole real, crazy thing. I love it.

Day One

Ok, deal is, I'm tired of opening my Bible, reading it, closing it and never thinking about what I read again. I'm sick of it, and though I've been in this spot many, many times before, I'm trying something different to see if it'll work.
I want God's word to have impact in my life. To matter, and change and speak and influence, and I can't seem to make that happen. I recognize the importance of it, God speaking to us through the Bible and everything, I just always leave without anything.
James 1:23-24

²³ Those who listen to the word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look like.
Alright, let's try this out.

I got a book on Matthew, asking discussion questions and stuff. That's where I'm gonna start.
* We forget what we read, but we remember what we ponder.

What's with the geneaology?
Maybe Matthew put it in there cuz it makes it seem more real. When there are names and records of real people that you could physically trace down to Jesus, it just affirms his humanity and reality. Apparently Jewish people kept extensive records of genealogies. He also emphasizes Jesus' descent from King David, as a fulfill to Old Testament prophesies.

 Why did he mention the Gentile women?
Cuz they were women, and Gentiles. Both things Jesus reached through to, broke barriers for. Also, as they are mentioned earlier in the Bible, it shows that Jesus didn't come from a line of "good" people, necessarily. They were sinning men and women.

From Abraham to David was 14 generations, and David to Jesus was 14. Double 7, which is a huge Biblical number. God is such a symmetrical, structured mathematician!

We're setting up for the arrival of Jesus. Ironic that it's after Christmas to be reading about it, haha. But I don't think historically Jesus was born in December anyway. It's a pagan holiday or something like that. I only half know what that means anyway.

What am I going to do about this..
1) Be reminded that Jesus was a real man, with humanly inherited characteristics from his family and his ancestors.
WOAH - Question:
Matt 1:16, why does the blood line go to Joseph and not Mary? If it was on the way down from King David all the way to Joseph, Joseph has no blood claim to Jesus? I don't get it.
Google.

Google says that it is just cuz Joseph was his legal father. I'm not really cool with that answer..
Apparently both Mary and Joseph are descendants of King David, I can't find Biblical proof for that yet though.

To be continued..