Archive for the ‘God's Will’ Category

THE WILL OF GOD

Friday, November 12th, 2010

Day 249

“This is the will of God, your sanctification . . . ”
1 Thessalonians 4:3

Many fret about the will of God. Their actions range from believing that there is a precise will of God for every action to dividing His will into different stages of operation. It can be very frustrating and leave one in a state of “missing the mark” and being out of God’s will more than in it. The problem with all this is it does not fit the true picture of our Father.

What is it that pleases the Father’s heart? Is it not our response to His great outpouring of love, grace and mercy and the peace He has imparted to us in Christ Jesus? Is it not our response to building a continuous relationship with Him? Is not our response to loving others more than ourselves? Is it not our response to seeking the kingdom of God first and His righteousness?

Want to know the will of God? Set your heart and mind on pleasing Him by seeking righteousness. Seek to love others more than yourself. This will please the heart of the Father and make you one with Him, and by doing this you will be walking in His will.

“This is how we know we love the children of God:
by loving God and carrying out His commands.”
1 John 5:2

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HE SHOWED THE WAY

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

DAY 201

“I can of Myself do nothing . . . because I do not seek
My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me”
John 5:30

If people are asked what the purpose of Jesus was, the answer most likely given would be that He came to save sinners. While it is true that He did that, His greater purpose was to do the will of God. In that, sinners are saved and reconciled to the Father. Hebrews says, “Then said I, lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Without the accomplished work of Christ and His resurrection, we would not be who we are today. But there is more. By subjecting Himself to our flesh, living on this earth 33 years and going through His final agony, He perfectly obeyed the Father. He accomplished this as man and became the first to do so. In doing this, He showed us the way. He made the way for us – “Anyone who obeys My Father in heaven is My brother, sister and mother” [Matthew 12:50].

The zeal of Christ was to do the will of His Father. By doing the Father’s will, He not only brought us into the kingdom, He has given us the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that dwelled in Him and experienced perfect obedience. He now lives in us, guiding us in that obedience and revealing the Father to us.

“And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”
Hebrews 10:10

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OUR GUIDE

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Day 199

“…in Him we live, and move, and have our being”
Acts 17:28

We all agree that God has a plan. But, most of us wrestle with knowing God’s will. From that point on it gets more difficult. Some believe that you must know each point of that plan so you will not miss the mark. And to “miss the mark” is to be out of the will of God. It seems to suggest that God creates a robot state of life for His children.

What kind of a Father would He be if we had to precisely fulfill every minute detail of a plan to be in His will? This is a gross misunderstanding of our Father and His purpose for us. He leads, we follow. This is how easy it is. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). By focusing on Him is how we walk in His will. Everything else will take care of itself. It is why Christ and the Apostles were able to say “do not worry”, “do not be anxious.” We have a good Father who leads us each day of our lives and we know His voice.

God guides His own. “When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice” (John 10:4). This refers to several flocks of sheep kept together at night, but in the morning each shepherd would lead out his own sheep. His own sheep, and they alone, would respond to his call. He then goes ahead of them and the sheep follow. He leads. He does not drive. For He is our Father and within His plan there is freedom.

“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification”
1 Thessalonians 4:3-7

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SEEING GOD

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Day 134
“Having his eyes open”
Numbers 24:4

Balaam’s career was somewhat checkered. It seems he tried to use God to his own selfish purposes, but always ended up doing what God had instructed him. Interestingly, the scriptures give accounts of others doing the same. Jonah was assigned a mission, but ran away. God dramatically delivered him right back to where he had to go and after fulfilling his mission successfully, he sat under a tree depressed and complaining.

Esther wasn’t interested in putting herself on line with the King to save her people. Elijah ran away after carrying out a major mission for God. Joshua got his men killed because he didn’t take counsel with God. Moses killed a man and later in life struck a rock in anger. Two disciples wanted to call fire down from heaven. Peter denied knowing Christ three times. The list goes on and on.

The acts of these men and women varied in depth. But everyone had their eyes opened to see their God. He didn’t strike out in anger, punish them or reject them. Instead, God met them in patience, tenderness and love. He took time to reason with them. He led them to His way.

“The Lord redeemeth the soul of His
servants; and none of them that
trust in Him shall be desolate”
Psalm 34:22

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THE LORD’S PASSION – PART 3

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Day 113

“He might be the firstborn among many brethren”
Romans 8:29b

Jesus was to be the firstborn of many brethren, leading them to be conformed to His likeness, members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones, and set apart as sons of God. His love was so immense and so deep towards us that for the joy set before Him He endured the cross, despising the shame, to save us [Hebrews 12:2]. This is why He is declared the Author and Finisher of our faith.

That passion which brought Him to humble Himself and die on a cross is the same passion He has for us today – “The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” [Romans 8:26b]. We are loved so much by God that the Holy Spirit yearns for the day we are free from every sin so we will glorify God forever in the perfection of holiness and joy. That groaning that cannot be uttered is the deep cry of His heart. He is working God’s purposes out in our lives.

The Spirit which He made to dwell in us yearns for us even unto jealous envy [literal James 4:5]. It is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin. Do you hear the cry of the Father’s heart? Read how He cried over His children: “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I cast you off, O Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboim? My heart is turned over with Me. All My compassions are kindled” [Hosea 11:8].

Yes, He is a God determined to bring His children home.

“It is Christ . . . who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us”
Romans 8:34b

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GOING ON

Monday, May 24th, 2010

Day 96

“I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass;
I have purposed it, I will also do it”
Isaiah 46:11

God the Father’s eternal counsel willed and planned for us to be His children. He desired for us to know Him intimately. Adam made a decision to disobey and sin that many think changed all that. The truth is Adam was a natural man created by God in His image, but had not yet become a partaker of God’s life. Understanding this will help understand the Father’s plan for us.

The Father’s plan goes on – it hasn’t changed. His plan calls for us to become His sons through a birth relationship [Romans 8:14], to share in joint heirship with Christ [8:17] by growth and development of our character unto the fullness of Christ [Ephesians 4:13], and throneship [2 Timothy 2:12], where we will share in ruling with Him. We are called ‘to become,’ ‘to share’ and ‘to reign’ with Him.

Think about it! What a glorious truth – we’ve been destined by God to share in His (a) life, (b) nature and (c) plan! He has purposed these for us. We have been chosen to be partakers. We have been trusted with His treasures.

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His
own purpose and grace, which was given us in
Christ Jesus before the world began”
2 Timothy 1:9

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GOD MAKES MY WAY

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Day 93

“It is God that girdeth me with strength,
and maketh my way perfect”
Psalm 18:32

There are some verses in the bible that can be difficult to understand. Take for instance Matthew 5:48, part of the Sermon of the Mount, that reads: “Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Is this really possible? Can you be perfect? Are you perfect? For us to understand this verse, we must understand what ‘perfect’ means. Being ‘perfect’ is our being brought to completion, fully-grown and lacking nothing in Jesus Christ. It is the fullness of maturity.

The fact is that we are called to be perfect, and it is possible for us to become perfect. God does not call us to do anything that is not possible. It is the way in which it is done that brings the revelation of His glory. You and I can not be perfect on our own or by our own strength. Our lives are filled with shortcomings, failures and sin. No matter how hard we try, we can not perfect ourselves. The glory of all this is that He takes us in our ragged condition and makes us His children. Then, as any good Father, He trains and raises us up to be full grown.

David wrote this psalm because he experienced God giving him strength and wisdom in battle. God made his way safe and perfect. David was victorious because of it. And it is the same for us. God’s divine nature is in us. The Holy Spirit is filling us and working His mighty power in our character teaching us to know Him and His will. And the glory is this: “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His purpose” [Philippians 2:13]. Yes, He makes our way perfect!

“By one sacrifice He has made perfect
forever those who are being made holy”
Hebrews 10:14

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