Traveling Desert Roads has moved to www.travelingdesertroads.com. We will begin December 13, 2009 with the use of the following books found at Amazon.com 1 & 2 Thessalonians: Living in the End Times (John Stott Bible Studies) (Paperback) and The Message of 1 & 2 Thessalonians: The Gospel & the End of Time/With Study Guide (Bible Speaks Today) (Paperback).

I'm looking forward to the new look and the new Bible Study.

if you have questions, please email messenger@travelingdesertroads.com.

This week we conclude C. Peter Wagner's book "Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow" with five steps to take for your local church to utilize spiritual gifts to help your church grow and how to take the Spiritual Gifts Inventory and apply it to your life. I hope you have learned from the podcast, the Holy Spirit, and C. Peter Wagner as much as I have. One of my primary spiritual gifts is administration and helps. I'm posting this early because I'll be on the rode putting my spiritual gifts into action in a local church in Pottsville, PA; what are you going to do with your gift? Just like Nike says "Just do it!"

Using your shape is the secret of both fruitfulness and fulfillment in ministry. You will be most effective when you use your spiritual gifts and abilities in the area of your heart's desire and in a way that best expresses your personality and experiences. The better the fit, the more successful you will be. (Oct 10. Purpose Driven Calendar Quote). This week we learn about the rest of the gifts. Next week we will conclude with this text and help define your spiritual gifts and how to get started.

This week we cover just the gift of evangelist. Evangelist is the primary organ for growth of the church and is possessed by 5-10% of your local church. Because church growth and the growth of the Family of God is so important to all members, this gift is one that tends to be 'gift projected' onto others. Many people feel guilty if they do not possess this gift or do what someone is supposed to do with this gift of evangelist. This week we discuss the gift, who may have it, the dangers and pitfalls of a church that 'gift projects' this gifting, who has the most opportunity for evangelizing, and the importance of the other gifts.

Growing a church requires more than the gifts we discuss this week, but these gifts are especially needed. Remember that each gift is needed for the church and its own purpose. This week we discuss the spiritual gifts of pastor, administration, faith, and more.

It can be a difficult process to discover your spiritual gift sometimes. There are four requirements that must be met before you can pursue discovering your spiritual gift(s). Once you complete these four requirements, you are ready for the journey of discovering your gift(s). After working on the five things to discover your spiritual gift, you then have a long journey of using your spiritual gift during the time you are developing your gift(s) while discovering the purposes of your spiritual gift(s). Remember: It's not the destination, but the journey that makes it all worth wild. Merely finding your spiritual gift does not mean the journey is over; it is the beginning of fine tuning, using, and rediscovering your gift(s) and their use, and their purpose. Overall, being obedient to God, His calling, and His relationship with you is better than stopping your journey at the "Ah ha I found what my spiritual gift is". Your true destination is your gift(s) continued use and the final destination is when you are standing in front of the Lord of Lords, the All Mighty God and to hear "well done, good and faithful servant"

It can be a difficult process to discover your spiritual gift sometimes. There are four requirements that must be met before you can pursue discovering your spiritual gift(s). Once you complete these four requirements, you are ready for the journey of discovering your gift(s). After working on the five things to discover your spiritual gift, you then have a long journey of using your spiritual gift during the time you are developing your gift(s) while discovering the purposes of your spiritual gift(s). Remember: It's not the destination, but the journey that makes it all worth wild. Merely finding your spiritual gift does not mean the journey is over; it is the beginning of fine tuning, using, and rediscovering your gift(s) and their use, and their purpose. Overall, being obedient to God, His calling, and His relationship with you is better than stopping your journey at the "Ah ha I found what my spiritual gift is". Your true destination is your gift(s) continued use and the final destination is when you are standing in front of the Lord of Lords, the All Mighty God and to hear "well done, good and faithful servant"

There are many areas in the secular and christian community that call something a gift that is not truly a gift. In this weeks message we learn about what gifts are not and some of the dangers of calling something a gift that is not.

"Spiritual gifts are utilitarian. They are functional. They have a task to do and if they are working properly, the task will be accomplished." In this episode we begin to discuss the definitions of the Gifts of Celibacy, Gift of Martyrdom, Gift of Hospitality, the Gift of Intercession and we read about some gift-mixes. As we define each gift, keep an open mind and pray if this gift is one the Holy Spirit has given to you. ***Should be posted monday***

God wants us to individually and collectively grow closer to Him as well as grow in maturity and in numbers. God has given us the Spiritual Gifts to complete those tasks. God has given every believer who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior at least one Spiritual Gift. We are to use those gifts collectively to minister to one another; being a good steward of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10). We cannot sit back as members of a church and expect our professional pastor or staff do all the ministry of the church. As we become more aware of our Spiritual Gifts, there are traps that we can caught in that will lessen the effectiveness of our church or gifts. This week we discuss what those pitfalls and traps are and how to avoid them so we will not be ignorant of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1).

Many churches have rediscovered the gifts of the Holy Spirit the last several years. This has prompted a renwed interest in the work and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Please read Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthiams 12:1-11; Ephesians 4:1-16 and make a list of spiritual gifts mentioned in these passages.

The closing prayer is not audible, but what follows the prayer is ok. I am working on the issue.

We will begin the Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow on August 23rd. In the meantime, this is a message of encouragement I recieved from my daily devotional today. God Bless you and your family until August 23rd.

Have you ever wondered why you are here; what is your purpose? Yes, we are here to spread the Word of God to all nations, and fulfilling the 'great commission', but many churches are not maximizing its abilities because many churches are ignoring the gifts that God gave to each person to make the church run smoothly. During a recent car ride God showed me that I can do it my way, but it will take longer than if I just submitted to Him and did what He asked His way. Many church goers are either (1) not aware of the spiritual gifts that God gives to His people, (2) they believe their gift is not the gift they truly have, (3) they are afraid to utilize their gift because they are young spiritually, (4) they believe they can't be used by God because of their past, or (5) they know their gifting, but refuse to use it because they just 'plain don't want to'. During the next 12 or so weeks, we will be going through C. Peter Wagner's book titled "your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow" to help christians know their gift, how to use it, when to use it, and be obedient to God with the Gift in all areas of their life. I encourage you to purchase the book and the questionnaire as well as utilize the ability of the server to communicate with others through email on this Bible study. travelingdesertroads@travelingdesertroads.com is the address to send email to and the server will remove all your information. The server will take just the body of the email and mail it to all subscribers of the Bible study. This week I touch on the journey I took yesterday and what God taught me during that 3 1/2 - 4 hour car ride. Let's dig in and prepare ourselves for the next twelve weeks. If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to the Bible Study, please go to www.travelingdesertroads.com/subscribe.

Well, we come to the end of this 12 week course on Daniel and I have to admit that I have learned and applied much of how Daniel lived into my life. We see Daniel who was given insight into the future and was told to lock it up. The title eludes to a phrase I have heard growing up; "it's always darkest before the dawn". Let's see how Daniel receives this message and applies it to his life.

Put on your hard hat; we are going to learn from Daniel about prayer and the spiritual warfare that is going on that will keep prayers from being answered. As I type this I realize how prayer is so great. I have been praying for God to use me, guide me, heal me, give me wisdom, and protect me. On the way to the annual conference, my uncle asked if I would give him a ride because his ride couldn't go until later in the day. I picked my uncle up and he asked me "how long has your truck been making that noise". I told him a while (not letting on that a while meant two years). My uncle advised me to have it looked at before I took off on my "Desert Road" trip. I took it to a mechanic and $1200 later, my truck is now road worthy. The mechanic advised me that it was well past due and that I probably wouldn't have made it (meaning my life or my truck) too much longer. In this week, we learn how Daniel was troubled about something; Daniel Prayed, fasted from choice foods, and was determined to do it until he received the answer from God (which was three weeks later). Let's dive in and see what we can learn from Daniel.

As I look at my computer with a sticker the teacher across the hall gave me, I see "A person can't stumble when he's on his knees". This week we watch Daniel praying for himself and for others (Supplications). Daniel prayers for the the nation and everyone else can demonstrate to us how our prayer life should be. Daniel prayed three times a day; those prayers included prayers for others. When we pray, we should (1) worship God, (2) confess our sins, (3) thank God, and (4) pray for others. James 4:2 says that you do not have because you do not ask God. Let's dive in to Daniel Ch 9 (Ch 10 of our text) and see where it takes us.

We all have difficult times in our lives. Many times we wish we knew the outcome; sometimes we even pray for the knowledge of the outcome. Imagine if you were the one who knew the outcome and it wasn't that great. In this episode of Daniel Ch 8 (ch 9 in our text), we see Daniel seeing a vision that made him sick for days. Let's dig in and see the superpowers in conflict

Have you ever wondered where human history is going --or how it will end? Nations and empires rise, expand, weaken and fall. Leaders live, rule and die. But where is everything headed? Some people say that history is going nowhere. Others try to sound more optimistic and say that history is going wherever humans take it. Christians who know God's Word, however, realize that history has a plan. God is not sitting in heaven hoping everything will work out. he has already told us how history will conclude because he has planned it all. (intro taken from textbook by Douglas Connelly). Let's dive in and see Daniel's dream...

Daniel's life seems pretty amazing to me. I've learned a lot through these snapshots we have had from when he was taken captive in his mid teens through his 80s. Daniel was always obedient to God and a hard worker for his employers. This time his obedience put him in a den of lions, but God protected Daniel for his obedience. Let's dive in and see what else we can get from Daniel's life.

The song "God is in Control" really comes to mind when reading Daniel 4. Some times the 'best' christian can make bad decisions or get overly proud of themselves. I was moved at the last minute to not do as much fancy stuff because I felt that I too was getting a little prideful. I was reminded that this ministry was given by God and can be taken away just as easily. King Nebuchadnezzar had yet another dream and sought out the God of Daniel; by the ned of the story, God was also Nebuchadnezzar's. It is easy to say the right thing or repeat stuff from rote learning, but it's different to do the right thing because of your relationship with Jesus Christ and the love of Him. Let's dive in and eat a piece of humble pie; I had mine and I'm glad I had it.

Most of us have never had to face death or persecution for our commitment to Jesus Christ - but that doesn't mean the pressure is off! The secular culture in which we live has other ways of pushing us away from wholehearted obedience to the Lord. If you ever revealed your faith convictions in a university classroom or turned down an invitation to the wrong kind of entertainment on a business trip, you have felt the pressure to compromise in order to be accepted by others. This week we see how Daniel's friends were persecuted until almost death because of their willingness to follow and be obedient to God.

Daniel 2:31-49
Every year tabloid headlines in the grocery store checkout lanes shout the same promises - bold predictions for the new year from the worlds most notable psychics and fortunetellers! Some of the predictions are obvious, some are moronic, most never happen. But every year thousands of people buy copies hoping for some glimpse into the future. In this chapter we see King Nebuchadnezzar getting his dream told to him and interpreted by Daniel. Let's see how these verses can be applied to our lives today; would you want to know everything about your future?

Can you imagine going into class and your teacher asking you to complete the assignment the teacher was thinking about but refused to define the assignment? King Nebuchadnezzar expected his staff to interpret his dream as well as tell King Nebuchadnezzar what he had dreamed. Both scenarios seem impossible, but not for our God. In this weeks message, we learn about how Daniel was able to tell the king his dream as well as interpret the dream. Daniel demonstrates to us how to work with a hard boss, giving God credit, and trusting in God and His power.

Daniel: Chapter 1: Have You Got What it Takes?
Daniel around 13 years old is taken captive and moved 800 miles away from home to Babylon. How did he cope? We too have are aliens in this world. As christians, we must live a christian lifestyle, but it's difficult not to become assimilated to the World like the Babylonians tried to do with Daniel and his friends. Let's find out how this can be applied to our lives today.

In this podcast we learn one way to do a daily Bible reading and how to S.O.A.P. scripture as I learned from Pastor Wayne from the New Hope Oahu church through a nationwide broadcast (no, I have never been to hawaii). This is a great method to do you daily devotional. If you would like to get more in depth then what this podcast does, go to Pastor Wayne's website http://www.enewhope.org/firststeps/journaling/ which will review this method. I also encourage you to purchase his book for $6.50 (for journalling)http://resources.enewhope.org/store/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=1278&osCsid=4b22ad625154df2f86458215a7c5fbd5 (plus shipping and handling). Finally, I encourage you to get with someone who you will share you daily devotional. God bless.

Our next Bible study is over Douglas Connelly's Daniel: Spiritual LIving in a Secular World. This 12 week course will begin on April 19, 2009. Next Week, March 26 I will post a 'how to' for daily Bible reading. We will not have a message for two weeks for Easter break. Daniel is a great story: A permissive society, a power-hungry people, a nation without God. Daniel's situation in Babylon sounds a quite a bit like our own. In the midst of such forces, how can we remain loyal to biblical values? How can we have a positive impact on those around us? Daniel gives us very practical and personal help in living a life for God in a world that does not acknowledge our Lord and Savior. The ISBN to order the book is 978-0-8308-3031-2 or 0-8308-3031-6; runs about $8 news and $2:14 used.

This is our last chapter of the Bible study and I have really learned a lot about what I need to be doing; I hope you have as well. In this weeks message we learn about how we are to treat the poor and how outward appearances can be misleading. This one spoke to me, so I paused a lot during the video; my apologies. Textbook opening by John White: "Have you ever been embarrassed by those who say that religion is merely a source of comfort for the weak? have you heard it said religious people pay no attention to those who are hungry or suffering? Christianity does not teach passive suffering in the face of injustice and oppression. Christ class us to serve those who are in need" Enjoy

Do you ever give yourself to Christ, but still hold stuff back? The author of our text says in this chapter that "The last parts of us to be converted are our pockets and purses". Areas of our lives we are eager to give to Christ, but others we 'try' to keep or manipulate them ourselves. In this weeks parable, we learn about a guy who does just that; keeps things to himself. Let's dive in and learn from this parable.

This week we focus on the spiritual mentality that we may show. It's easy for people to see themselves more 'holier than thou', but we must remember that we have all fallen short of the glory of God; only Jesus makes us clean and whiter than snow. This week we discuss the pitfalls of people evanglizing to others.

God has given us each a gift or some type of resource used in furthering His kingdom. Sometimes we have excuses not to do it now; "I'm not ready", "When I'm older", or "Is it really a gift of God?" We need to understand that God gives us resources in moderation to our abilities to take action now. Let's dig in to this weeks parable to help us to use those resources.

Would you live your life differently if you knew that Jesus was coming back today? if so, why? Shouldn't we live our life as if Jesus was coming back today. In this weeks parable of the wise and foolish virgins, we see what happens when we are not prepared.

You deserve the best." "Demand your right." "I'm worth it." People today want everything that's coming to them, and they want it now. Convinced of our own worth, we demand higher paying jobs, better working conditions and more fringe benefits. If these are denied, we feel we have been treated unfairly - and perhaps our feelings are justified. --John White, Parables: The greatest Stories Ever Told (ISBN: 10-0-8308-3037-5).

We all wish God would remove evil from the world. But put yourself in God's place for a moment: if by a simple word of power you could snatch evildoers away from earth, what complications might arise from your decision? AS on person has said, "If God were to destroy all evil at midnight, who would be left at one o'clock? As followers of Jesus we live in an environment which is hostile to his life and teachings and to his way of love. What difficulties can this hostile environment create for followers of Jesus?

Are there areas in your life that you became so discouraged that you stopped praying or considering to stop praying? Why is it that you are considering to stop praying for this? Is it belief? Is it Hope? In this lesson we focus on the Parable of the Widow and the unfair judge to learn the power of prayer and the love of our Father in Heaven.
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Matthew 18:21-35


In this parable Jesus teaches us how important it is to respond with gratitude to His abundant love and generous mercy, so that we can let go of our fear and self-judgement and freely extend love and mercy toward others. --John White, Parable The Greatest Story Ever Told.


**Currently the email address of the Bible Study travelingdesertroads@travelingdesertroads.com is experiencing some technical difficulties; I will email everyone when it is up and running. This allows us to discuss without giving our personal email to others. If you need to get a hold of me to add you to the Bible Study, please email me at messenger@travelingdesertroads.com **


God Bless

We fall into the trap of joining cliques and refusing to associate with those who do not belong to our groups. Sometimes our cliques are our church. In the lesson this week, we focus on the parable of the Good Samaritan. The hero of the story was not a typical happy-ever-ending hero by the Jews who listened to this story told by Jesus.

"If people really knew me, they would reject me" To avoid this risk, we often wear masks we think people will like. We hide who we really are, putting ourselves under constant strain. We often feel this same way about God. We think we are jected and condemned rather than welcomed and loved. We do our best to please him but feel that we will never measure up.


During this Christmas season, these stories are a great way to appreciate the 'reason for the season'and to be reminded of the love Jesus Christ and God have for us. Let us dig in and see the love Jesus has for us, and the love we should have on others.


Billy Graham's steps to pease website

http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepstoPeace.asp

Have you wondered why the same book or the same sermon will produce strikingly different results in different people? How is it, for instance, that some people seem unable to grasp the simplest and most obvious spiritual truths while others are transformed by them? In teh parable of the sower Jesus talks about differnet types of soil in order to tell us why this happens. (John White: Parables: The Greatest Stories Ever Told).


Billy Graham's Webiste for Starting a relationship with Jesus Christ

http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepstoPeace.asp