A Deliberate Call

The book of Acts is one of my favorites. It is rich in historical data, sets forth the foundation of the New Testament Church, chronicles the exploits of the Apostles, and provides an overview of the life of Paul. For today's post, I want to use a portion of chapter 26; copied here from the KJV. Follow this link for the entire chapter.

16But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Here Paul recounts the words previously recorded in Acts 9:3-6 then elaborates a bit more on the message from Christ in verses 16 - 18. For our study today; I want to glean from the text some reasons Christ makes Himself known to us. Why He takes us out of the world just to send us back unto it.

1. to make us His ministers/servants
2. to make us testimonials/witnesses of His power/acts
3. to use us as His heralds of the revelations He will show us
4. to enable us to enlighten others; to be guides
5. to aid us in turning others from darkness into light; to be reflections of the Light
6. to use us to loose those who are bound by satan; to be agents of deliverance
7. to use us to teach sinners what is required to be forgiven; to be teachers
8. and to show them how to lay claim to what belongs to the sanctified; to be models

No different than Paul; we all are called and empowered to be His witnesses. We must declare the same message as Paul, as we minister to the world .

Also worth mentioning: We must be knocked off of our "high horse"of sinfulness before we can be of use to the Lord. Secondly, we have to stand up/become attentive in order to receive instructions for salvation and ministry. We can't work in the Kingdom lying down!

How would they know? II

There seems to be a lot of folks taking on-line personality tests these days. Many take them as I did, just for fun. Others may genuinely be interested in how they present themselves or how they are perceived. Still others may be seeking suggestions for changing unwanted personality traits.


Truthful answers are required for correct analysis. If a person’s evaluation of himself is skewed then the results of the personality test will be invalid. Often taking more than one type of test will yield better results.


Actually, you can put a label on your personality by simply asking another person to state their observations of you. What do they see when they look at you? What do they hear when they are listening to you? How do they feel when they are in your presence?

Much of what they will share will be based on external actions. Externals can be manipulated to suit the occasion. Stressful situations will often bring out the true condition of the heart. Personality is influenced by character and character by one's relationship with Christ.

“Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” Matthew 7:17, 18 KJV


“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” Matthew 12:35 KJV


“What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become the servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Romans 6:21, 22 KJV


“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” James 3:17, 18 KJV



"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22, 23 KJV

How would they know?

Personality Preview- Bible lesson to follow in upcoming posts.
I picked this up over at Diane's Place . I don't put a lot of stock in crunching numbers and putting a label on someone. I just did this for fun. My sister over at BTIW thought it fit me pretty close.

Here are personalDNA maps that uniquely represent your personality. Mouse over any part of the box or strip to learn more about the traits that the colors represent. According to these folks I am a dynamic leader, but I am short on empathy. Click on the "my personal DNA report" link to read what they had to say about me.

Dynamic Leader

My personalDNA Report I can buy the "leader" part, but I've never thought of myself as dynamic. Guess I should start thinking "Dynamite". Yeah, I have always enjoyed fireworks and blowing things to bits.

The following is an excerpt from the "Leader" portion of my report.
"You're not set on one way of doing things, and you often have the skills and persistence to find innovative ways of facing challenges. You are well-attuned to your talents, and can deal with most problems that you face. Your independent streak allows you to make decisions efficiently and to trust your instincts."


This excerpt is from the "Dynamic" part of my DNA. "You are not overly concerned with what others may think about you, which leaves you free to be thoroughly involved in the world around you. "



I think these excerpts fit me just right. Some of the other stuff is up for debate. The stuff in the "if you want to be different" section is, well, good advice. I think. Take this one for instance. "Those who are as outgoing as you are often need to remind themselves that time alone can be just as fulfilling—take some time for yourself and you might find that there are many things in your inner world that are just as compelling as the world outside your window."

RFIDs = 666 ???

All in the name of medicine, or is it?

"An American company, Verichip, is developing an RFID chip implant that will permanently store your medical records under your skin, so any hospital equipped with a reader can know all your pertinent health information even if you are unconscious. A simpler version of this subcutaneous chip is already implanted to help identify pets." writes NewsWeek .

"Injectees would thereafter be able to breeze past bouncers and entrance lines, magically open doors to VIP lounges, and pay for drinks without cash or credit cards. The ID number on the VIP chip was linked to the user's financial accounts and stored in the club's computers. " See full article here.

"The June report points out that until recently RFID technology was used mainly for logistical purposes to identify cargo. "Now it has entered the public space on a massive scale: public transport cards, the biometric passport, micro-payment systems, office ID tokens, customer loyalty cards, et cetera." excerpted from e-week.com.

Globe and Mail reports: "In design, the tag is simple: A medical-grade glass capsule holds a silicone computer chip, a copper antenna and a "capacitor" that transmits data stored on the chip when prompted by an electromagnetic reader."

NewsWeek reports: "The technology has the potential to transform our relationship to the objects around us. In theory, stores could dispense with checkout counters—instead, you'd grab items off the rack or shelves and walk out the door, while an RFID reader takes note of the items and takes the money right out of your e-wallet."

Steps Toward the Mark is dedicated to teaching on the relationship of prophecy and current events related to the 'mark of the beast.' The site provides additional links about RFIDs.

This is mean to be an FYI post. I know what I think about all of this, but I couldn't decide exactly how to post about it. Your comments will be appreciated. Thank you.