Blog for GOD

It is most likely that is you asked any Christian if they wanted and strived to live and do whatever God’s will for their life was, I am sure that almost all of them would answer with an emphatic “YES”! Well… Ok, some may say I hope so or I am trying to, but the overall answer would be that we are trying to or want to have God’s will be the driving force of our lives.

Of course there have been many books written to “help us find that will” and most notably in my mind is the 2002 book by Rick Warren “The Purpose Driven Life“. ?I read through this book as part of a small group and then again on my own study agenda. Even though this book sold over 30 million copies, it by no means gives the reader some clear cut answer as to what God’s will for their life is. Nor does it help you find out why you are here and what you should be doing for the kingdom. ?Or at least it doesnt’ tell us in black and white what those answers are. As if we didnt know it already, there was already a book that gave us these answers. And in fact it was the first book ever published when Gutenburg invented moveable type (the printing press). That book… The BIBLE, sometimes referred to as Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.

Unfortunately for us people of the flesh, we are far worse than “doubting Thomas” could have ever thought to be when it comes to having faith in God’s word. Maybe we pass it off as the Bible being to vague about such an answer or that we just couldn’t find it or that we just need a more clearer message. The sad fact of the truth is, that if God himself were to send us a text message as to what our purpose or his will for our lives was to be, I am sure many of us would still dispute it and possibly even overlook the message entirely.

But not to totally bash the book, you can actually read through it and actually figure some of what God’s will for your life may be. Its just not spelled out in black and white. And thats because God’s will for your life is probably nothing at all what it is for my life and so forth. But yet in the Bible there are many places that tell us point blank what His will is. But I also think that far too many of us read through the scriptures and pass it off as stuff meant for the times back then. That life today is different, everything is different. While yes everything is different today… well except for a few things. God is no different today than He was when the scriptures were authored. And the Scriptures are just as relevant in life application today as they were then or will be tomorrow.

It will not always be as clear as the account of Gideon asking God for proof as in Judges 6:36-40. In this case God did show Gideon the signs he asked to be shown but it certainly will not be the case every time. ?And it is certainly not a good practice to try and bargain with God to have Him do things for you just to prove himself to you. But then of course if the spirit of the Lord comes over you and causes you to blow a trumpet, then I guess there is no telling what other kind of visual signs God will show you to get His point across. But I think you probably can think of many things in life that have happened that in mans wisdom were not supposed to. Say for example you sold your house in a matter of days in a totally dead market. Or you got a job over many candidates that were so very much more qualified for the job. Maybe you got a check or money from an unexpected source that was the exact amount you needed for some other financial burden or need that you had. And going a step further, what about the times when the faith in God and the strength he actually gives you helped you through the loss of a loved one.

At times God has supernaturally revealed His will through miraculous circumstances as seen in Acts 8:26. But this shouldn’t be sought for proof of God’s will for your life. God often places within us a desire for the very thing that will accomplish His will, but we must be careful so as to not do something out of selfishness and claim it as his will. For the most part we can also use common sense as a guide for God’s will, but that too can be put aside when He request things of us that are not of the natural. Such as the account of Noah and his boat building project… The Ark.

If we have confidence and peace about our decision it is a good indicator that we have found God’s will because when we are walking in His light and seeking his council, he will let us know when our choice was against what he would preferred we had done. Especially when it comes to choices that we make that we know even before we make them that they are not and will not be blessed by God. And when we do some of those stupid things we need to watch that we don’t let Satan cause havoc in our minds and cause us to then continue to go against God by telling God that he hasn’t forgiven us. Yes you heard me right…

As an example, say you did something that clearly was not a choice God would honor and even before you have finished your wrong doings, you already begin to feel guilt and remorse for what you have done and that God certainly didn’t approve. Well of course the next step is to go to Him and clear the air, and let Him know that you know you screwed up and you are not blaming it on anybody or anything but that you just downright were wrong. After you have repented and told God just how sorry you were and he has forgiven you, then who is it that keeps bringing it up in your face. Well I will tell you this… It’s not your Father.

Much in the same way when your day of judgement comes, its not like God will open the book and read out everything bad you ever did. If that was the case then the spilling of Jesus blood was for nothing and we know thats not the case.

One of the biggest things about finding God’s will for your life is actually right under your nose and you just are too blind to realize it. much like we think we can’t wait to live in eternity when is essence we actually already are once we found salvation. If we are walking and serving and asking God for His will to be lived out in our lives, then probably for many of us, it is already. I think that most of us think that we have to be of living in a tent in a third world country, or in seminary to become a preacher or holding up repent signs in the middle of a busy street to say we are living in Gods will. That is so far from the truth that it is funny, and in fact there are probably lots of Christians doing those things because they think by doing those things that they are getting into God’s will for their life.

Two big facts to take note of when trying to figure God’s will for your life are that we are told not only in 1 Corinthians 9:16 about preaching the gospel. But there are several places in scripture where we are instructed to preach the good news. And then in 2 Corinthians 5:20 we are plainly instructed to be ambassadors for Christ. It just can’t get any clearer than that but for some reason those answers just are not good enough for many of us. It can be very likely if you are wanting to walk and live in God’s will that you are doing that where you are. For example if you are a school teacher and the opportunity came up where some one in your class needed to hear of Gods love and you told them, well, that is of no less importance than a preacher speaking to hundreds of hardened Christains on a Sunday morning. ?That may be the only news of the gospel that child will ever hear. Or possibly you have some words for a stranger while you are pumping gas into your car. That is of no less importance than a missionary pastor speaking to hundreds of people in a third world country. There again that may be the only news of the gospel that person may ever hear and it may just be the catalyst that makes them realize they need to have Christ come into their hearts. That my friend is living in Gods will, its not some type of life that is visually religious or evangelistic. There is no scales on the way or the amount of people that get saved is measured.

Since you may already to actually be living in God’s will for your life, there may not be some great life changing event that is going to happen that suddenly says “you are now living in God’s will for your life”. You must also remember that one thing Satan can not stand to happen is for a person to live in God’s will. And he is a mastermind at making a person think that they are not living in God’s will and to cause doubt in their minds. And then as an added bonus he can use the alluring powers of temptation to get you to do stupid things so that you can be reassured that you are not in God’s will. ?But yet it is God’s will for your life that you come to Him when those things happen so you can clear the air with Him and not go around letting Satan continue to tell you that you are not worthy of being a child of God. They don’t call him the father of lies and deceit for just no reason, he can twist and pervert the truth into such a way that it seems so much like truth.

If you have made it this far and you still think that you don’t hear from God in a clear enough voice, then you are probably not alone. But I do know that if you have constant relationship with God, and you have told him in all truth that you desire to live in His will for your life and you actually mean it, then you know he knows if you mean it. You wont be fooling God trying to look good for Him, for He will no the heart with which you petition Him by. If you truly want to live in His will, then you will be living in it, unfortunately for some, it just wont be what you have pictured. But maybe if you accept that and continue to live in His will and pursue the world spreading the good news and standing up for God when he is wronged, then maybe you will finally begin to see His will being played out in your life.

Just like in any relationship, if there is distance between you and God, there will be difficulty hearing His voice in reference to His will. We must be communing with the Lord so that we will be able to communicate with Him and accept the fact that His will for us may not be what we have pictured. Asking the Lord to mold you and male you in His visoin of you is going to be painful at times, so then why would we expect some miracle life changing event with flashing signs that says “you are living in God’s will”.

His will for us may come in visions, by an Angelic messenger, a physical miracle, an audible voice or even a prophet. And just as we may see and learn of His will in such an array of ways there is an even greater variety of lifestyles and things in life that will be how God’s has us live in His will. Sometimes it is going to be hard to define the line between the desires of our heart and what His will for us may be. Especially when we look at what we “don’t have” and what our brothers “do have”. Then we begin to take scripture and make it justify our misfit lives and needs and at no point is it ever told to us thats what we are to do. ?If you want to live in His will, then that may just mean you wont be driving a Lexus but yet your brother in Christ may own two of them. His will in our life is not about material things, our job, our family or even our health. And for some of us, its those very things that can impede our ability to live in His will.

Now that you know God’s will for your life… Go Live It!

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Gods will

In my recent studies I really hit upon the awareness of just how righteous a person can be. Of course we probably want to associate that with people in two ways. (1) Being that unsaved people are quick to point out where others are doing wrong or are inferior to certain people types. (2) Being someone that goes to church regularly, is Christian, and prays a lot.

The dictionary defines it as:
righteous |r? ch es|
adjective

1. (of a person or conduct) morally right or justifiable; virtuous : he is a good, righteous man, I am sure | feelings of righteous indignation about pay and conditions. See note at moral .
2. informal perfectly wonderful; fine and genuine : righteous bread pudding.

So then what happens when you ad the word “self” in front of righteous? Obviously you end up with “self-righteousness. A term that most christians will say certainly is not them. Well… I hate to bust anyones bubble, but I think that just about any christian and non-christian alike has several varieties of self righteousness.

One of the most obvious examples can be seen in our recent Presidential election. I personally made it a point to not express my views of who I was going to vote for, due to the fact that it is a great tool for satan to use to cause division among God’s people without them realizing it. I find that in just about everyone who was old enough to vote, that if you were not for the person they were voting for, then inside, you felt they were wrong just as they thought you were wrong.

But this simple variety of “I am right and they are wrong” goes much deeper than just political views. If you start to examine your own self, you will find it creeping into almost every corner of your view of the world and others. Some mild examples may be…

Have you noticed a friend having a diet coke for breakfast every day, and you tell yourself “there is no way “I” would have a diet coke for breakfast. That stuff is just so bad to drink as the first thing of the day“.

Or observed a fellow friends wardrobe, and told yourself “there is no way “I” would ever wear something like that to work“.

Have you heard a friend tell you about a show on TV they watched the night before, and you thought to yourself just how much you would never watch that type of show because it is garbage?

Before I continue down this path. lets stew on this line of scripture. Of course you can read the whole chapter, but Romans 1:22 reads Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

And I think in this particular passage this is pointing to an outwardly spoken criticism of people. So do we for some reason think that if we don’t speak it out loud that the person didn’t hear it. Maybe not… but does that mean God didn’t hear it either and that he doesn’t really know our silent heart but just our verbal heart.

My best friend has told me that I am an “opinionated person” and to the point I will speak out my opinions and not just keep them to myself. So here I am speaking out that our silent bits of self-righteousness are just as equal as our verbal ones. And don’t think I am trying to put myself on a pedestal and claim I am above that. Just like YOU… yes I said YOU, I have my degrees and varieties of self-righteousness. And I guess since I am so vocal about my opinions, that gives the silent ones a chance to point me out as being self-righteous.

So do you want more to chew on… because since I am so “opinionated” (which my friend said wasn’t actually a “bad thing”) I will just give you some more food for thought.

Do you get up every morning and jog 2 miles to stay in good health and condition. If so, when you are in line at the store and the person in front of you weighs 240 pounds and is taking their sweet time about checking out… Does your silent mind never say a single word about how huge they are. Especially since you are in such great shape.

What about if you are in a group of fellow christians, and one of them lets several cuss words slip out… Oh No! Can you believe they said that, and in front of other christians as well?

What about when you are so in tune with the Pastors morning message, and the child in the seat in front of you is playing with a toy they brought in or just totally being a distraction to you. Are you suddenly the best parent in the world that would never let your child behave that way in church… even if you are not a parent?

In Psalm 64:3 They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows.

Do you think that only applies to spoken words?

And its not just one little passage warning against this. Lets look at James 3:9-10 (9)With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. (10)Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

So.. do you think that our idle words that are not verbally spoken are exempt from this scripture?

I recall one morning while I was getting my morning sausage and biscuit, that the guy in front of me was getting a twelve pack of beer. Of course silently I was telling myself how right I was by not having beer at 9 in the morning. As a matter of fact, I was so righteous that I told the clerk about how I just couldn’t see how anyone could drink lots of beer that early in the day. Then the slap in the face… The clerk informed me that the guy getting the beer was her boyfriend. (Can you say “open mouth and insert foot”)

I could probably go on and on about the stuff we look at on a daily basis as nothing more than a silent comment to ourselves. And like a lot of mans diseases that are hidden until x-rayed we may not even think about the fact that indeed there is someone who hears those swords flying. “He” may not spank us for that, but just like your earthly father, He does get discouraged that we would say such a thing to our brother even if it was in silence. So then, just think of the pain He feels for us when we say the stuff out loud.

What I think is the best cover up for this self-righteousness is how we justify it by claiming that we are doing it out of love. When all we are really doing is reverting back to the old habit of picking a spec out of someone’s eye when we yet ourselves have a plank protruding from our own. Don’t give me this crap about doing it out of love, or that it is scripture based that we go to our brother when they are wrong. There are guidelines in scripture if we are going to feel that we need to correct someone who we think is doing some sort of sin.

But of course lets not compare this to the plank in ones eye, or the adulterous woman who the people were wanting to stone to death. But if you examine both of those examples alone, you will see that the root of the answer is that if you don’t have any sins in your life then go ahead and speak out about those in mine.

In the end all that really becomes of this is usually hurt feelings or some degree of anger towards the person that was “helping you”. So then, if in your process of helping them see their sin, you ended up causing them to sin by slandering you in their own mind… Did you actually help the situation.

There are a few scriptures that do seem to make one think that it is their place to point out sins of others to them. But I think if you read a little more carefully and also know to whom the scriptures are written to originally, you may find that it’s not really the everyday fellow christian that is the one to be that judge and to point out his brothers thorns.

Even if you have an unsaved friend who has some horrible habit, such as a friend I use to ride my mountain bike with every weekend. He used the cuss words “GD” in about every other sentence. It was so bad that I cringed when I talked to him. And of course if I just told him that it was wrong for him to say that, do you think that would have made him stop. Maybe… but if it did, I guarantee you he will be pointing out all my wrong doings since I was a christian and supposed to live above reproach. (in his mind) I know this for I have had most of my secular friends always point out to me anything I said or did that they felt was not what a christian should do.

So anyway, back to my friend’s story. I decided to take my issue up with God instead. I mean if he is doing something against God, then why not talk to God about it myself. With in a month or so of riding every weekend with him and praying that he not use those words when I am with him, miraculously he stopped. And as time went on, he met a christian girl, married her and began attending church. I can only hope that one day he met Christ and lives in eternity. But I moved away and lost contact before I found that out.

OK…. so this has been quite a long entry and if you are still with me… which I hope, then you will by now begin to examine your own silent self-righteousness before you start imposing your own ideas of right and wrong upon the people you come in contact with. And before you go getting out your bible trying to justify a way that you should confront your brother on his sin… make sure that you have prayed about and talked to God about the issue first. You may just find that He can speak to them a lot better about it than you could ever try to.

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Love, self-righteousness

2 Corinthians 4:8-9?(New International Version)
(8)We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;?(9)persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed

I have always believed that if Satan is not coming after you, then you must not be a threat to him. Indeed there are lots of Christians who sadly enough, are not a threat to Satan and his band of losers. Often in life he may have trouble getting to you if your spirit is pumped up and you are in an “on fire for God” mode of life. I know that most of us go through valley’s of ups and downs in our degree of fire that we have.

I myself was just boasting last week about how my degree of fire was on the rise. And I knew well and good that once I had made such a statement that I would be a prime target for attack. Sure enough, through the horrible economic downturn our country is facing, I have began to feel the effects in ?my tiny little businesses. But one of the odd attributes of discouragement is the fact that it is for the most part a unwarranted mental state based on our own predictions of something that may possibly happen. And in my case it’s not the death of someone, no one has hurt me, I am certainly not lonely nor am I confused or lacking confidence.

Yet I have managed to let Satan whisper crap in my ear about some of my businesses sucking wind in these now financially tough times. And I guess to some degree I listened a little bit too much to the point i almost believe and see some of the bleak forecast he has told me. Which is really funny in a way, as it shows how much of a master of lies he really is. At times he will tell you stuff that looks good and bright that you know you shouldn’t do. Much like he did a long long time ago to Even and then passed to Adam. Then he can turn right around and tell you how low you are once you think you have reached a low place in life. So if there is no comfort in Satan and his lies, then why would we allow him to continue to hang out with us. Well, let me correct myself.. he is an unwanted guest that doesn’t know when to leave… that is until we call on the name of Jesus and demand he leave us alone.

Does it really work that easily? Of course it does… but it also requires that we have faith knowing our Father will lift us up and we don’t try to use him like ?a magic wand to heal us when we are hurt. I never want to find myself in relationship with God only when I need him in times of trouble. And for some of us it can be some simple scriptures like the one above from 2 Corinthians. and if thats not enough

Philippians 4:6-7?(New International Version)
(6)Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.(7)And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

But maybe you are like me and you read scriptures just like you take advice from your Christians brothers. That is… you read/hear it, say yes I know and then it drifts right out the other ear. For me and many others, I find that music hits the spot. I can put on certain songs and sing along with them and the words seem to sink in much better. But this is me and you may have your own ways to hear God’s encouragement that He speaks to us throughout scripture. While yet it is one thing for our friends to say “it will be ok”, it doesn’t even compare to the power of God comforting words that He will not leave us, forsake us, he will lift us up like on wings of eagles, and so forth.

So I must remember if these encouraging songs have reminded me of Gods promises, then I should listen to them more often. For in our times of discouragement, if we find ourselves singing the words God has told us that he would do for us, then how on earth can we still be discouraged?… Fact is… We Can’t

I so much find myself recalling Paul being in jail, yet praising our Father. It is very true that the best way to battle the bad times is to be in praise to God along with your prayers crying out for Him to save you. He has already saved you/me, lets praise Him for that.?Discouragement is a blatant attack upon the promises of God in Scripture. Whenever Satan moves in to discourage you, be assured the Bible has already met that discouragement, therefore, it is necessary to seek out the promise of God which Satan is attacking.

Get in the word in reading or song. Not for a minute but for hours, or better yet… permanently. I wish to sum things up and share with you some lyrics from the songs I have played tonight while doing this study.

“Cause I know my God saved the day, and I know His word never fails, And I know my God made a way for me.”

“Savior, He can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save.”

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Humans for the most part, both Christian and non Christian can be quite selfish at times. A topic I would like to expand on and voice my thoughts on the issue is the issue of “making your brother stumble”. The scripture 1 Corinthians 8:9 “But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.” For the most part speaks of eating food that may make others think wrong of you. Or at least thats how I interpret it. But it really goes beyond that into a much broader spectrum.

One of the best examples would be one similar to this:

You are having some Christian friends over for dinner and you plan to serve wine as an option with dinner. Now in your mind, scripture doesn’t really say you can’t drink so you don’t really see a problem with it. But you also know that many Christians think that any type of alcohol consumption is sin and should be avoided. So what do you do? Actually the answer to this is quite simple and you don’t even have to find some scripture to back up your decision. Think of if you were having a person to dinner who is a recovering alcoholic, and obviously you care about this person or you wouldn’t have them over for dinner. So then you ask yourself, “do I break out the wine or not”? In this particular situation, you would quite the idiot to serve wine to your guest or even to consume it for that matter. But that is a grey area about you having a glass. If you are friends well enough with them you will know if by you having a glass of wine will bother them. For many alcoholics, it may not be an issue. But as a precaution, as a blanket policy you should refrain from drinking in front of them until you know how they can deal with it.

So there is not really nay difference in if they were just fellow Christians and not alcoholics. If you don’t know how they feel about drinking, then you should not serve or offer wine at the dinner. What’s really funny and stupid, is the Christian that has the “I don’t care what they think” attitude. Basing it on the assumption that it’s up top them wether they choose to drink or not and they should not judge you because you have a drink. Now I tell you… just how much more selfish could you be.

As in the referenced scripture, it is noted that eating the wrong foods in the wrong place is not the issue. the issue lies in the fact that you cause a brother to think ill or wrong of you. In essence actually causing them to sin. By you causing them to sin, indeed you yourself have sinned as equally. Christianity is about lifting your brother up… right. Where in the Bible does it say that it’s none of their business what you do and if it does it’s their problem. ?For the most part, that type of selfishness is sin and very wrong and certainly not something Jesus or God the Father would appreciate.

One of the greatest over used test that someone ever came up with is “what would Jesus do“? Well we already know that He turned water into excellent wine at a wedding party. And if you were hanging out with Him and something came up and response was “I don’t care what they think” do you think Jesus is going to agree with you. If Jesus wouldn’t agree with you, are you not saying that you know better or more than God. If you think not, then you better go have a chat with Him right now.

There are lots of things that we do that we think nothing about when it comes to making a brother stumble. Sure we might not go out and rob someone, or maybe even gossip or talk wrong about our brothers in front of another brother. So then what about if you were with a brother in Christ and you used a lot of cursing and swearing in your vocabulary? And it makes that brother think less of you as a Christian, or maybe even that He doesn’t even want to hang out with you because of your language. So he is actually, under his breath or silently in his mind thinking you are not the Christian you claim to be. Well, I can tell you one thing… None of us are the Christian we claim to be. Since “Christain” is being a “little Christ”, does every one of our actions and thoughts imitate Christ? I very much doubt it…

Some scriptures are very clear to us and when we muddy them up, we are doing a disservice to God. For example, the scripture of being salt and light (Mt 5:13-16) pretty well can be a great way to view your own behavior and if God agrees with you. The idea is to be able to have those that don’t know the Lord and those that do, to look at you and see good and not bad. You hopefully set an example that they would like to set themselves. So if you are causing a brother to have not so good feelings about you or even not wanting to hang out with you… well then, what kind of light is that?

In almost every instance of our interactions with fellow Christians and those who are not, we can ask ourself if our actions are ones that exalt God. If they don’t, well then… are you still right in your thinking. Just in case you don’t know… If your actions, words, thoughts or behaviors do not exalt our God… then you are most definitely in the wrong and shouldn’t expect others to just deal with it. You are the one who needs to deal with it.

So as a simple summation to my original example… Drink your wine at home, but do not offer it or even drink it in front of your brothers if it makes them think less of you or causes them to sin. And remember, by the fact that you don’t care what they think and they just have to deal with it, is just as wrong as if you hit them in the face with your fist for no reason. Get rid of your selfish attitude, life is not about you.

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