Today’s scripture: James 4:13-17
I have an entire weekend retreat talk centered around knowing God’s plan for
our lives. I do believe God will reveal His plan—sometimes. Yet I do believe He
expects us to do a bit of planning ourselves.
It’s a fine balance. Trusting God and planning our futures.
I’m a big-time planner. I like to know what I need to do and where I need to
be—often months ahead. But I do my planning with a major caveat: I pray for
God’s will in all things.
In my book, The Best Laid Plans, I
quoted Bill Russell:
Any plan has to be submitted with the qualifier,
“Lord willing.” Still, although God may alter any plan through dramatic
circumstance or counsel, Jesus said, “No man builds a tower without first
sitting down and calculating the cost” (Luke 14:28). While we realize that God
is in control, he does expect us to make provisions for the future (When God
Builds a Church © 2000, p. 89).
We know this. We know we should say, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
But have you ever thought that when you don’t ask for God’s will—sincerely ask
for it—you’re being arrogant? Even more, you’re sinning?
When you commit your life to the Lord, you’ve given Him back what’s already His.
Plan your life. But put everything in God’s loving hand. Ask Him to do His will
in all things. And trust that His plan is perfect for you (Jeremiah 29:11).
Today’s scripture: 2 Peter 1:13-15
“… as long as I am in this earthly dwelling …”
Our Lord God knows the number of our days. He alone knows how long we’ll be in
our “earthly dwelling.” Some of us will live into our 8th or 9th
decades as my grandparents all did. Some of us will go to heaven much younger.
The important thing to remember is as long as we’re here, as long as God keeps
us on earth, we need to be diligent in pursuing God’s call on our lives,
purposeful in using our God-given gifts, and bold in sharing our faith.
And we can be confident that—however many days God has planned for us—if we
focus on Him and make Him our priority, we’ll stand before Him and hear “well
done, my faithful child.”
Isn’t that what you want to hear? Don’t you want to know that while in your
“earthly dwelling” you delighted your Father? The only way to do so is to be
all those things Peter mentioned in verses 5-7.
Or at least prayerfully attempt to be.
Today’s scripture: Philippians 1:23-26
The farther I go down life’s journey, the more I resonate with the opening
words of today’s scripture. I truly am “hard-pressed” between a
deep-in-the-heart desire to be with Jesus and remaining here in this temporary
body.
Now, I’m not certain my “remaining in the flesh is more needful for you,” but I
do know God has a purpose for every moment I live. As He does for you.
Do you know God’s purpose for your life? Have you determined your unique
mission? If you haven’t, may I encourage you to do so?
You have been gifted to serve God and others in a way only you can. God will
speak through you, through the stories He’s given you, to touch lives. And I
can tell you, once you understand what God has called you to do, your life will
be richer and more blessed than you can imagine. Knowing you’re following God’s
plan is liberating because then you can pray for His will in all you do. His
desires become your desires. And for as long as you retain your earthly
residence, you can be confident God will do those “needful” things through you.
And when you finally “depart to be with Christ,” you’ll hear “good and faithful
servant.”
I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine anything better.
Today's scripture: Ephesians 5:15-16
When Paul wrote, “… the days are evil …” he could well have been written about
our world today. No question.
So just as the Christians in Ephesus were cautioned, we should also take Paul’s
words to heart. We too should be “careful how [we] walk.” We must be wise, not
foolish.
We are to make “most of [our] time.” What might that mean? For me, that means I
should be focused on things of the Lord. Always. I should be concerned with
serving Him and others. I should love as Jesus loves. I should strive to use
our time in kingdom-building efforts. Sharing the gospel. Encouraging others in
faith. Strengthening our own faith through study of God’s word.
And finally, we’re to “understand what the will of the Lord is.” And we know
God’s will through prayer, through His word, and—sometimes—through godly
counsel from friends and family.
Yes, we live in evil days, yet we must not allow the evil of this world steal
our focus from what’s really important: doing God’s will and keeping our eyes
on the prize—eternity with our Lord and Savior.
Today's scriptures: Galatians 6:9-10
“… do good to all people …”
Sometimes it seems we try, really try, to do as Paul commands. But sometimes
it’s easy to lose heart. We smile and wish a good morning to that cranky
checker, and she sneers. We write a nice note to our child’s teacher, and all
we get is a “can’t you keep your child under control?” call in return.
We cook our spouse’s favorite dinner, the one that takes hours to prepare, and
he wolfs it down before plopping down to watch the game—not a “thank you” to be
heard. We patiently listen to our parent’s weekly tirade, and then even more
patiently listen to her complaints about us.
Or we volunteer to work on that church committee, and the first twenty minutes
of the weekly meeting is spent sharing the latest gossip.
Oh, yes, it’s easy to lose heart and grow weary.
When I was a child, my mom would always tell me that if I didn’t let people’s
meanness or selfishness get to me, often they’d stop what they were doing—at
least to me. It took me a while, but I finally got that old adage: It’s easier
to attract flies with honey rather than vinegar.
Kindness—doing good—really does impact people. And not playing the martyr or
sighing in self-pity. If we genuinely strive to do good to all people,
sometimes they’ll be influenced to do good to us.
Eventually, that checker might smile back. That teacher may say, “Thank you.”
That spouse may cook instead. That parent may say, “I’m proud of you.”
But even if they don’t, we can be assured of one thing: Our heavenly Father is
smiling—and He’s very proud.
Today’s scripture: Galatians 1:18-24
God changes lives. He defeats addictions. He calms anger. He repairs
relationships. He takes rebellious, sinful hearts and makes them white as snow.
And He sometimes takes the most defiant against Him or the most ambivalent
towards Him or the weakest and makes them His spokespeople.
Moses feared he wouldn’t be able to speak to Pharaoh. Paul actively sought to
destroy those who followed Christ, thereby destroying a new religious movement.
Corrie Ten Boom was in her sixties, frail from interment in a Nazi death camp.
Yet each of these became a powerhouse in proclaiming God’s truth.
On a quite lesser scale, I was a rebellious, fist-in-the-hand-of-God teenager
and young adult. I didn’t want to have anything to do with faith. Then I
recommitted my life to the Lord, and all I wanted to do was know Him better and
serve where He wanted me.
I never expected He’d use me to speak or write. I felt unworthy to do either.
Yet, God, in His mercy and grace, chose to give me the privilege of telling His
stories.
You may think your choices have somehow made you inadequate to be used by God
in a significant way. But that’s one of the great things about our God. He’ll
use the most broken vessel to do His will.
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been. If you surrender your
life to Him, willing to do whatever He asks, He will use you. You may be a
Moses or a Paul. Or you may be the only Jesus your neighbors, friends, and
coworkers see. In either case, others will be pointed to Christ through you.
Today’s scripture: Galatians 1:11-12
As I wrote on Tuesday, there is one gospel and one alone. The Bible is God’s
revelation to us through the pens of men, and it is that gospel we who follow
Christ believe.
Some of the so-called gospels being preached today aren’t found anywhere in the
Bible—or are found partially. The “name it and claim it” gospel, for example,
is partially biblical. The Bible certainly includes verses such as Mark 11:24 or Matthew 7:7-8. These seem to support the idea that “I ask and I get.”
However, if Mark 11:24 is read in context, we learn so much about how we’re to
pray, how we’re to ask. First, we need to, as the New King James Version
states, “Have faith in God.” If we have faith in God, we will desire to do His
will, and if we desire to do His will, then indeed, we will be able to ask for
anything. And He will do it—within His will. The second thing that
stands out is that we can’t pray for God’s will if we harbor unforgiveness in
our hearts. Jesus Himself prayed within God’s will (see
Matthew 26:39).
We must be very careful when we listen to men. And we must also know the Bible
well. Then and only then can we be assured that the gospel we follow is God’s
revealed word.
Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:19-21
When I meditate on these three verses, I see words of both exhortation and
encouragement.
The first exhortation, although I don’t know if Paul meant it that way, is that
we’re to plan within God’s will. Paul writes, “I will come to you soon, if the
Lord wills …” Paul made plans to visit the Christians at Corinth. He may have
already packed his bags. But he knew that he would only arrive if God willed
it.
We need to do the same. We can certainly make plans. The Bible tells us to plan
(see Luke 14:28), but we always need to ask for God’s will (see James 4:13-15).
The second exhortation is that we need to treat each other with “love and a
spirit of gentleness.” You’ve probably heard the old adage, “You can attract
more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Whenever we interact with
others—believers or not—we should do so lovingly, compassionately, and gently.
Even if we’re reproving someone for sin, we still need to show Christ-like
love.
Finally, I’m greatly encouraged to remember how powerful our God is. He is
greater than anything this world can throw our way. He loves us
unconditionally, and He is with us always.
These days, it’s easy to think that the enemy is winning. Corruption.
Perversion. Wars (and rumors of wars). Natural disasters. Disregard for the
pain of others. Pain. Suffering.
It’s a mess. But we can be assured that our powerful God—Father, Son, and
Spirit—is in control. And we can be assured that “greater is
He who is in [us] than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Today's scripture: Ephesians 4:20-24
When we committed our lives to Jesus, when we accepted His gift of salvation
through the shedding of His blood, His death, and His resurrection, we became
new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our sins were removed from us, as far as
the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
The Father saw us—and sees us—as clean and pure (Psalm 51:7).
However, we live in a daily battle against the enemy of our souls. Even though
he knows he lost the war with us, as long as he can keep us distracted from
serving God and impacting others for God’s kingdom, he can win a battle or two.
So we must be on alert against his wiles and lies (1 Peter 5:8-9). We
must—daily—“lay aside the old self” and take up the cross of serving God. We
must—daily—“put on the new self” by renewing our minds, by surrendering
everything to God.
When you wake each morning, ask God to give you strength for that day.
Surrender anew yourself to Him. Seek His will. Commit to live that day to
glorify Him.
Today's scripture: John 7:10-24
Each of us has a purpose, a God-directed, God-planned purpose. He has given us
gifts and talents to fulfill that purpose. In order to do what He's called us
to do, however, two things are required: We need to know our purpose, and we
need to give Him all glory, honor, and praise.
So, how do we know God's purpose and will for our lives?
First, of all, we need to be willing
to do His will. God works through willing hearts. If we resist Him and seek our
own paths, He will allow us to follow those paths. During my many years of
rebellion, I continually sought my own path, my own will. It was only when I
turned back to God and surrendered my life to Him that I began to see His will.
Second, we need to know Him. In order
to hear God's voice, we need to recognize it. And we know His voice by reading
and studying His word. Few of us hear God's audible voice, but we can certainly
hear it through His scriptures. Daily study and meditation of God's word is
critical to knowing Him and His will.
Then, we need to give God all glory, honor, and praise. Sometimes, it's far too
easy to take credit for what we do. We have the gift of administration, and
someone comments on a well-run meeting. We have the gift of hospitality, and
we're praised for a slam-bang event. We have the gift of speaking, and we hear
how amazing a speech was. Our humanity says, "Yes, I did a great job,
didn't I?"
We can forget that it's not us at all. We
didn't do anything. Everything we do (our gifts and talents) comes from God.
It's only by His grace that He allows us to do anything. We need to be humbly
grateful for what we are able to do through Him, and we need to give Him the
glory.
When I speak or sing and someone comments on what I said or how I sang, I've
learned to say, "Thank you. God is good, isn't He?" It's okay to be
graciously thankful for any positive comments, but eyes need to be pointed immediately
to the Giver of all gifts.
Be willing to do God's will. Seek His purpose in you by getting to know Him
more intimately through His word. And give Him all glory, honor, and praise as
He fulfills His purpose through you.
Today's scripture: John 5:30
Jesus is God. He is part of what we call the Trinity: God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One God manifested in three Persons.
The Son came to earth to be the once-for-all sacrifice to provide salvation,
and while He was on earth, He worked in perfect unity with the Father.
According to one commentary, Jesus is saying in today's verses, "I am the
Son that can do nothing separate from the Father, and contrary to his will, but
do all things in conjunction with him; who sees all that he does, by being in
him, and co-operating with him, and do the selfsame. I am the Son to whom the
Father shows, and by whom he does, all he does; and to whom he will show, and
by whom he will do, as a co-efficient with him, greater works than what, as
yet, he has done ..." Jesus did not "seek to gratify his own will, as
distinct from his Father's, or in opposition to it; for he had no private end
to answer, or separate interest, or advantage to pursue ..." (John Gill's
Exposition of the Bible).
Now, we are not God ... far from it! However, we
can learn from how the Son worked with the Father. We too should do
"nothing on [our] own initiative." We should "not seek [our] own
will." Instead, we should always seek God's will.
We have choices to make every day. Some are minor; some are life-changing.
Before we head down any path, we need to seek God's will. We need to align
ourselves with Him and, just as Jesus did, not try to do anything on our own.
So, as you head down whatever path that's in front of you today, pray for God's
leading. Pray for His will. Follow His path.
