Learning MPCWA

   In my early christian life, what I used to  do was to read my bible randomly like "mini miny moe".  Later on , I learned to read the Bible chronologically (Genesis-Revelation) and from my reading I just rely on the Holy Spirit  to know what God is speaking to me.  Another way I  tried was the  M-E-A-L-S.  Acronym for  Memorize, Examine, Apply, Listen and Study. 

            God is so good for giving me another way to study His Word.  The MPCWA way. 
MPCWA stands for Message, Promise, Command, Warning and Application. 

          Now, I am blessed for this very practical way because the Word of God becomes clearer to me.   I also go back using journal to record my devotions.

As part of my assignment, I will do this one :-)

        

^{Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)}

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?^{[a] 28} And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Context:  Part from Jesus Sermon on the mount
Characters: Jesus, Disciples and crowd

Key verse:  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to   you.  Matthew 6:33


Message:
Jesus is teaching the crowd not to worry.  He used illustrations to emphasize that even the grass and the birds, He supplies for their needs.  Instead of worrying, seek God first and all our needs He will provide.

Promise:  
 If we seek God first, all our needs (food, clothing, finances and etc.) He will provide. 

Command:  
The Father knows our needs so do not be anxious for everything instead put our trust on Him who is very much concern to those He created.

Warning:
  If we worry, we will be like gentiles who runs after all these things (basic needs for living).  Worrying will not help us, it's  an evident of our faithlessness to God.

Application: 
 I will thank the Lord for His love and concern.  I will praise Him more for the assurance that I can depend on Him for everything.

my journal

Upon learning MPCWA, I am now applying it on my devotions...
My Devotion for today, September 7, 2013

Mark 12:1-12 (ESV)

2 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. ² When the season came, he sent a servant^[a] to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. ⁶ He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this Scripture:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;^[b]
11 this was the Lord's doing,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

¹² And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

Context:
Jesus was walking in the temple courts (Jerusalem), the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him.
Characters:
Jesus, chief priests, teachers of the law, elders of the church, disciples

Key verses: 
¹⁰ Have you not read this Scripture:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;^[b]
11 this was the Lord's doing,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

Message:

Jesus speak in parables about a man who planted a vineyard and leased it to the tenants.  The parables of Jesus Christ speaks to His Father as the owner of the vineyard, Jewish leaders as the tenants, the servants are the prophets and He as the Beloved Son who was killed by the tenants. The vineyards can be mean blessings,  privilege, talents or the gospel, which was first entrusted to the first tenant, the Jews, but they rejected it so we Gentiles are blessed because it was given to us...wohooo!!

Promise:

-If we understand what the parables is saying to us, we will be more encouraged to preach the gospel knowing that the owner of the vineyard (Father God) will be pleased  if the vineyards will produce more fruits.
-If we put our trust to Jesus, "the stone that the builders rejected and has become the cornerstone",  we will be strong in our faith and will cause us to glorify Him more because He is too marvelous in our eyes.

Command:

Read and understand the scriptures.
"Make the vineyard produce more fruit". 

Warning:

The vineyard has been entrusted to us (talents, privilege, blessings or the gospel), beware not to cultivate, prone it, and water it that it will die and not produce more fruits.

Application: 

  Oh, how I praise the Lord for choosing me to be one of His child.  I will do my best to please Him in my everyday life.  I will use my talents to serve Him more.

As I read God's word each day,
I will ask my self three questions:
One, what does it says?
Two, what does it mean?
Three, what God is saying to me?
I will ask God's Holy Spirit
who leaves in my heart
to show me the answer clearly
that I may know God's message to me.

  The song above has become my prayer every time I open my Bible.  I will pray that God will continue to speak to me through my devotions.  Devotions is very important to me because it will make me grow, glow and go. :-)