Is God’s Will A Mystery?

 

 “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” ~Mark 3:35

 

Many Christians spend countless hours on their knees, begging God for an idea as to His will for their lives. Thousands of sermons have been preached, books written and website columns produced, advising believers of the 10 best steps to finding His will (often there is a fee for the book or website subscription).

Considering the extreme measure God has taken for our forgiveness and eternal salvation, is it reasonable to think He would hide His will for our lives? Would God take a perverse pleasure in watching us grovel around begging Him to reveal His purpose and direction instead of happily and joyfully directing our lives to follow a path He alone has created just for us? No secret password needed fellow Christians, God reveals aspects of His will sprinkled throughout the Bible—His love letter to us.

Just as a building needs a foundation for support, God has provided the necessary spiritual support to guide us into all knowledge and understanding of His will. He gave us the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16-17, 26  ~And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

John 14:26  ~But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

1 John 2:27  ~You have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

Romans 12:1-2  ~And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  ~Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:9-10  ~So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

So you see, God has provided everything we need to hear His voice, and live according to His will. Romans establishes steps that open the door for the realization of His will in our lives: 1. Give our bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice which is true worship. 2. Don’t copy the world (be separate). 3. Let God transform our thoughts which gives birth to the understanding of His good and pleasing and perfect will for our lives.

I call out to God, “Oh God, show me your perfect will for my life.”

God replies, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances!”

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Mind or Spirit?

“The mind of man plans his way”  Proverbs 16:9

“It is quite plain in the scriptural revelation that spiritual things are hidden by a veil, and by nature, a human does not have the ability to comprehend and get hold of them. He comes up against a blank wall. He takes doctrine and texts and proofs and creeds and theology, and lays them up like a wall – but he cannot find the gate! He stands in the darkness and all about him is intellectual knowledge of God – but not the knowledge of God, for there is a difference between the intellectual knowledge of God and the Spirit-revealed knowledge.”  ~A.W. Tozer

Isa. 55:8-9  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

1 Cor. 2:14 , “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Jn. 16:12-14  “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

1 Cor. 2:6-9  “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.”

1 Cor. 1:18-29  “I know very well how foolish it sounds to those who are lost, when they hear that Jesus died to save them. But we who are saved recognize this message as the very power of God. For God says, “I will destroy all human plans of salvation no matter how wise they seem to be, and ignore the best ideas of men, even the most brilliant of them.”

“What about these wise men, these scholars, these brilliant debaters of this world’s great affairs? God has made them all look foolish and shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense. For God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find God through human brilliance, and then he stepped in and saved all those who believed his message, which the world calls foolish and silly. But God has opened the eyes of those called to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, to see that Christ is the mighty power of God to save them; Christ himself is the center of God’s wise plan for their salvation. This so-called “foolish” plan of God is far wiser than the wisest plan of the wisest man, and God in his weakness—Christ dying on the cross—is far stronger than any man.”

“Notice among yourselves, dear brothers, that few of you who follow Christ have big names or power or wealth. Instead, God has deliberately chosen to use ideas the world considers foolish and of little worth in order to shame those people considered by the world as wise and great. He has chosen a plan despised by the world, counted as nothing at all, and used it to bring down to nothing those the world considers great, so that no one anywhere can ever brag in the presence of God.”

Often we struggle to seem clever, smart, self-contained and able to tackle any task that comes our way. The result, when successful, is pride. Humans want to elevate people, to praise them and admire them. Large churches are filled with followers of a person. God has clearly explained He wants us to be dependent on Him, not ourselves. Many years ago, Billy Graham went on the Dick Cavett Show to be interviewed. Cavette was not a believer. Each time he asked a question to belittle Graham, Billy replied with a smile, “Dick, the Bible says. . .” After a few such answers, Cavette was visibly uncomfortable, wishing for the show to end. Billy chose to be weak in his flesh to be strong in the Spirit.

Is That What It Means?

 

“They searched the Scriptures day after day” ~Acts 17:11

The church building committee were filling their cups with coffee or tea, considering which donuts would be the least calorie-laden and sharing bits and pieces of the latest events in their lives as they settled in for another round of talks.

Twenty minutes later, after grappling with a mountain of issues that stood in the way of adding the education wing to the church, one of the elders said, “Listen folks, I think we’re missing the point here. We’ve got plenty of skilled people in this group and between us, we can find the solutions. After all,” he grinned, “God helps those who help themselves!”

That seemed to lighten the mood until another voice was heard. “God helps those who help themselves?,” Darrell repeated. “Where in the Bible can I find those verses?” His question was followed by silence and shrugging shoulders.

“Allow me to answer my own question, you cannot find any such statement in the Bible. Actually, just the opposite is true, God helps the helpless. Romans 5:6 tells us, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” Since we are struggling for answers about adding on to our church building, I think God would be more apt to reveal His will to us if we spent more time praying and less time trying to make things work according to our will.”

Although this is a fictional example, how many times have we repeated incorrect meanings to Bible verses? What is the context of a verse we quote and will it bear up under scrutiny? The following verse is a good example:

1 Corinthians 2:9 ~“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

“This verse is commonly interpreted to refer to the glories of heaven, and once we get that meaning into our minds, it is difficult to dislodge it and accept any other meaning. But Paul is really speaking here about the truths that have been revealed for the first time in the NT. Men could never have arrived at these truths through scientific investigations or philosophical inquiries. The human mind, left to itself, could never discover the wonderful mysteries which were made known at the beginning of the gospel era. Human reason is totally inadequate to find the truth of God.

1 Corinthians 2:10 ~”That verse 9 does not refer to heaven is proven by the statement in verse 10, God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. In other words, these truths foretold in the OT were made known to the apostles of the NT era. The us refers to the writers of the NT. It was by the Spirit of God that the apostles and prophets were enlightened, because (in the second sentence of verse 10) the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. ~Believer’s Bible Commentary; William Macdonald

Just as God directs our daily lives with His Holy Spirit, He also reveals the hidden wisdom in the Bible. To be like the Bereans in Acts 17:10-11 who examined the Scriptures daily to see if what they heard was true, we must ask God for wisdom, according to James 1:5-8. The next time we are tempted to pass along a snippet of Bible verse, let’s take a moment to research the context of the verse or verses and ask God for the true meaning.

What’s Past Is Past

 

“Do not call to mind the former things”  Isaiah 43:18

“How time flies,” he said to himself as he sat alone on the deck of his favorite restaurant, overlooking the river. “I had so many plans and ideas; so many ways to show God’s love and mercy through stories, articles and a few books too. What happened? Did I just throw my life away because of laziness or fear?”

   At that point the server brought his dinner which forced him to come back to the present, not dwell in the past. And then it hit him, or rather, the Holy Spirit reminded him; life is lived in the present, the here-and-now, not in the past. “I guess I’ll have to get a to-go container for this food,” he said as he shoved his dinner across the table and grabbed his smartphone and the notepad he always carried. Time for a refresher in God’s word.

   Isaiah 43:18 ~”Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.”

   2 Corinthians 5:17 ~”This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

   Ephesians 4:21-24 ~”If you have really heard his voice and learned from him the truths concerning himself, then throw off your old evil nature—the old you that was a partner in your evil ways—rotten through and through, full of lust and sham.

   Now your attitudes and thoughts must all be constantly changing for the better. Yes, you must be a new and different person, holy and good. Clothe yourself with this new nature.”

   Romans 6:4 ~ “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”

   As always, delving into the Bible brought answers, relief, encouragement and “peace that passes human understanding.” Imagine, in the same way that Jesus was raised from the dead by God’s glorious power, we may now live new lives! Not by our power or  mind-over-matter, but by His glorious power our lives can be transformed minute by minute. What a relief!

   Romans 7:6 ~”Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.”

   Romans 12:2 ~”Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you.”

   Ephesians 2:10 ~”For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”

   Philippians 3:13 ~Brothers and sisters. . .I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me

   Colossians 3:10 ~”You are living a brand new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you.

   There, it happened again, reading God’s Word had brought peace and hope; assurance that God has paved the narrow path with His love and guidance. These verses are promises from God Himself; a perfect series of reminders that the past is just that, past. He has already prepared the way to live our lives for Him as we fully trust in Him, relying on the Holy Spirit. He’s done the impossible part, we are to do the human part. Living in the past is not an option.

He Is…

“I am the Way the Truth and the Life”  ~Jesus

 

Beginning with His birth and the centuries following, a debate has been raging over who Jesus is. A good teacher. A prophet. A good man. A philosopher. An imaginary character created in the minds of religious men more than two thousand years ago. The Son of God. The Savior of the world. God. The Light of the world.

Since no one is alive who can testify of Jesus’ attributes, character, death, burial and resurrection, we must go to the only faithful record which is the Bible.

There is, however, one aspect of using the Bible which may prove a stumbling block to some people who aren’t sure who Jesus is. Belief! Yes, belief. In order to investigate the only thorough record of the life of Christ the reader must believe the Bible to be true.

If we were given an assignment to investigate the life of David Wilkerson, who was a well-known pastor, it would be easy to find books and articles, including the best selling book, The Cross and the Switchblade. And we would not wonder if the information was true, we would just believe it.

The Bible is a different matter. For millions of Christians, the Bible is the Word of God, written by 40 authors over a span of 1500 years as they were inspired by God. So, you see that finding the answers to the question, Who Is Jesus, will require some faith.

What the Bible says about Jesus:

Matthew 28:18  “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

John 6:35 “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.”

John 8:12  “I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 10:9 “I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved.”  

John 10:27-30 “I have told you,” replied Jesus, “and you do not believe it. What I have done in my Father’s name is sufficient to prove my claim, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep recognise my voice and I know who they are. They follow me and I give them eternal life. They will never die and no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. And no one can tear anything out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.”

John 11:25-26  “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.”

John 14:6  “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me!”

Acts 4:8-12 At this Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke to them, “Leaders of the people and elders, if we are being called in question today over the matter of a kindness done to a helpless man and as to how he was healed, it is high time that all of you and the whole people of Israel knew that it was done in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth! He is the one whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, and it is by his power that this man at our side  stands in your presence perfectly well. He is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone’.

In no one else can salvation be found. For in all the world no other name has been given to men but this, and it is by this name that we must be saved!”

Amazingly, Jesus is not only a man whose spectacular but brief life is written on the pages of dusty historical reference books, but God’s Son, the Christ. According to the Bible, Jesus’ brief earthly life, which ended tragically with His brutal death on the cross, was not a religious cult that got out of hand but rather the ultimate expression of God’s love for all of mankind.

God…The Great Dispenser of Stuff?

“You, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth” Psalm 97

Lawrence beamed at the capacity audience in San Francisco; the sixth stop of his Worldwide Evangelical Movement tour. “God is sitting on his throne, waiting for you to give him a hint. That’s right, God is leaning forward, anxious to hear your requests so he can give you what you desire in the deepest place in your heart. He made you to abide with him some day and until that day, he wants to make you happy and satisfied.

“Have you been passed over for that promotion? God knows and wants to release the blessings of that new job to you. Can’t find that special person to complete you? God is aware of that missing piece in your puzzle of life as well. What about the home you keep driving by, wishing it was yours? Yes, my friends, God is fully aware of your needs and he wants to fulfill them, make you happy and give you the greatest, most fulfilling experience that life has to offer.

“I know some of you are thinking something like, ‘How can I ever afford that home I truly want? I need a better job and less debt.’ Friends, God is the God of satisfaction and delight. He made you and knows how to make you satisfied and content on this earth as you prepare for eternal life with him.

Lawrence became silent, walking back and forth on the platform, scanning the audience as he moved. And then, “What is the key to unlocking God’s blessings, you ask? Sacrifice. Yes, it is sacrifice. Think of how he showed his love for us. Sacrifice! He sacrificed his own Son so we could have this wonderful life. And now he expects us to learn that same sacrifice. God GAVE so we could live and now it is our turn. We must sacrificially GIVE to release those blessings from heaven.”

By now Lawrence was commanding the audience with his fine-tuned and powerful voice, it was as though he hypnotized them…”Give, give give. Sacrificially give. Give when you don’t think you can. God is waiting. Release those blessings from the throne of God.” They were on their feet as the army of ushers passed buckets across the rows of excited, believing people.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Do you have, perhaps secretly, desires that God will bring to pass to make your life better? Desires of more money, better job, better marriage, better body, bigger house? If you do, admit it to God. As the famous southern pastor, J. Vernon Mcgee once said, “You might as well tell Him because He knows anyway.”

God does understand our secret desires of wealth, health, homes, trips, etc. But what he wants for us is far better. Does anyone really believe that God sent his only Son, Jesus, to live and die for us so that we could have more money, bigger homes, better cars, and more fun? Jesus did give sacrificially, didn’t he? His sacrifice was given freely so you and I could experience redemption and forgiveness of sins. Surely we can see clearly that Christ did not experience such an excruciating torture and death so we could accumulate more stuff on earth.

Psalm 97:1-5 “The Lord rules! Let the earth rejoice! Let all the islands celebrate! Clouds and thick darkness surround God. His throne is built on righteousness and justice. Fire proceeds before him, burning up his enemies on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees it and trembles! The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of the whole world!”

Our lives are actually spiritual. As such our warfare is taking place in the spiritual realms, every day…every hour. God’s great sacrifice has made it possible for us to walk in the spirit, guided by the Holy Spirit. As we gear up each day with the Armor of God, we engage in the battle with God as our guide. Do you see material things as important in this daily battle for souls and lives?

Ephesians 6:10-13 “In conclusion be strong—not in yourselves but in the Lord, in the power of his boundless resource. Put on God’s complete armor so that you can successfully resist all the devil’s methods of attack. For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil. Therefore you must wear the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground.”

Men and women who claim to speak for God but seek to gratify their flesh are, in truth, serving the enemy of our soul and feeding their own flesh. The Bible tells us to die to the flesh:

Romans 8:12-16 “So then, my brothers, you can see that we have no particular reason to feel grateful to our sensual nature, or to live life on the level of the instincts. Indeed that way of living leads to certain spiritual death. But if on the other hand you cut the nerve of your instinctive actions by obeying the Spirit, you are on the way to real living.

All who follow the leading of God’s Spirit are God’s own sons. Nor are you meant to relapse into the old slavish attitude of fear—you have been adopted into the very family circle of God and you can say with a full heart, “Father, my Father”. The Spirit himself endorses our inward conviction that we really are the children of God. Think what that means. If we are his children we share his treasures, and all that Christ claims as his will belong to all of us as well! Yes, if we share in his suffering we shall certainly share in his glory.”

A man left his house early one morning to attend a Bible study. It was then he saw an obstacle! A flat tire. Not low but dead flat. He had no time to change a tire. He pondered his situation and felt God nudge him to have faith that He would take care of the tire. So, he prayed and believed that God would do the impossible.

He drove three miles to a gas station, filled the tire with air and drove to the study. The tire never leaked or deflated again. Life is spiritual!

Intricate Divine Design

Letter To A Believer

Hello my dear follower-of-Jesus. I appreciate your God-focused life and dedication to hearing the Master’s Voice in everything you do. Praise God

Clearly, attempting to solve the financial mess our world is now in, falls under the category of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. It is the world, and attempting to solve its problems will never lead people to ultimate salvation. The mess the world is in right now is simply a manifestation of sin! We have only to remember the flood, and why God caused it. “There is nothing new under the sun.” If we work diligently at solving physical problems and neglect the message of the cross, we have thrown away our efforts.

“There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

I love your hunger for the Lord; your dedication to keeping your light of eternal hope brightly burning. Just reflect on the words of Christ while he was preaching and teaching here on earth, he commanded us to help widows and orphans and love! Love each other and our enemies! He also taught us to forgive, be humble, tolerant and patient, long suffering, etc.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace,

David

 

Our Trials—Allowed by God

“The Journey Begins – Marvelous Journey” by Dehong He, 2006

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Charles Stanley –Our Trials: Allowed by God

1 Peter 1:3-9

Some people have the wrong idea about the Christian life. Once they become believers, they expect smooth sailing. Yet Jesus made it clear that troubles are inevitable for God’s children. His own life was no exception: He endured false accusations, rejection by His own people, and betrayal by a close friend—to name just a few.

As His followers, we can expect difficulty. The cause of tribulation differs with each circumstance. Some problems arise from the fallen nature of the world, while others result from satanic warfare. And we can cause our own heartache from ignorance, sin, and poor decisions. There’s also another possibility—sometimes God Himself brings trials. While this last option is difficult to accept during a painful time, the Lord never brings hardship unless He has a beautiful purpose. And He gives strength to endure.

Remember, God allows struggles—whatever their source—for our benefit. Perhaps they are to purify and grow us for greater service. Maybe He has in mind to test our endurance and devotion to Christ, thereby strengthening our trust. Or He might be revealing His sustaining power. This side of heaven, we may never know the cause of each challenge. But we can trust God’s ability to deliver and mature us.

What trials are you facing? Jesus understands your pain, and He longs to be the One you cling to through good times and bad. You can choose to look elsewhere for comfort, or you can use your hardship as a source of growth. No matter how painful the trial seems, don’t waste the opportunity.