Tag: plans of God

When We are Called to Carry Our Cross, it Will Cost Others

Luke 23:26
As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

Because Jesus was obedient to His Father’s calling on His life, it cost others around Him. It cost His disciples who suddenly were without the leading and teaching of their Master. It cost His mother who suddenly lost a Son. It cost His brothers and sisters who suddenly lost a sibling. In the case of today’s passage, it was Simon of Cyrene who bore a portion of the costs of Jesus’ obedience when he was suddenly called to carry the cross of Jesus.

Whenever we choose to be obedient to God’s calling on our lives, it is likely to cost other people. It certainly will be a dramatic shock and cost to those near us who are not Christians when we proclaim that we have received Jesus Christ as Our Lord and Savior. Our choice will completely shake up their world.

Then after receiving Jesus, suppose the Lord asks us to give up something we love doing because He wants more time with us. It is likely that we shared our beloved activity with others who will suffer from our withdrawal from the activity. Or it may be that our faithful service at church creates an internal challenge to those who are shunning a calling of their own. We must guard against the inclination to move away from our calling in order to avoid costing others. We simply must obey and leave the consequences with Our Lord. He completely understands the challenge of dealing with the cries of those who would try to discourage us from our calling.

Let us learn to accept the fullness of our calling, even when it bears some cost for those near us. Let us learn to lean on the strength and the guidance of the Holy Spirit when we are faced with the befuddlement of others. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of our detractors, so that they, too, may drawn to the Lord that we serve.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating us to fulfill unique plans and purposes in Your kingdom. We pray that you keep us steadfast in our obedience to Your calling on our lives. We ask, Lord, that You provide the strength we need to overcome the pressure that may come from others as they bear the costs of our obedience. Show us, Father, how to love and forgive those that persecute us for serving You. We pray these things in the name of the One who gave His life in obedience to the Father so that we may have eternal life, Jesus Christ.

Serving God in Accordance with His Plans

1 Peter 4:11
If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

God’s glory should be the reason for all that we do. Jesus is our model. In every doctrine that Jesus taught, in every miracle that He performed, in every suffering that He endured and certainly in His death, Jesus Christ lived unto the glory of His Father in heaven. He came to earth to do the work that the Father gave Him to do and He did it faithfully so that the Father would be glorified.

So too, we have all been called to serve Our Father in heaven here on earth. Everything that we do is ordained by God. Every portion of our lives, even our eating, drinking, walking and talking are all for His glory. But beyond our daily utilities, God has created each of us to serve Him in accordance to the plan that He has for our lives.

Most of us were not called to be theologians or full time ministers. Most of us were called to be secular laborers or laborers in our homes. For some of us, aside from our daily labor, the Lord has placed a calling on our lives for some type of spiritual service such as teaching a Bible study, singing in the choir, visiting prisons or assisted living facilities, etc. For most of the rest of us, our service beyond our daily labors may be quite simple service at the church we attend – child care, parking attendant, usher, etc. Again, all of these things are ordained by God for His glory and all are held in high esteem by Him.

Let us strive to find ways to join Jesus in doing the work of the Father. Let us find pleasure in all works, no matter how big or small they may be. Let all our works be done for the glory of Our Heavenly Father.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You allow the least of us in the least of ways to bring glory to Your name. We rejoice in knowing that You have created us for this purpose. We bless the name of Jesus who accepted His calling as Our Savior and fulfilled it completely to the end of His days on earth. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will guide us and inspire us in finding all the ways that You have planned for us to serve You. May our every act be consecrated by our holy motives to glorify You. We ask all these things in the name of Our Glorious Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Tests That Draw Us Close to God

Genesis 22:12
He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

We are going to experience trials in our lives. This is as certain in our lives as death and taxes. Some of the trials will be small and some will be so big that we will nearly faint. In each case, no matter the weightiness, the real test will be the test of our faith.

Who of us could have answered God’s request to sacrifice a child like Abraham did? It was his faith that allowed him to go. Notice what Abraham said to the men who were with him before he headed up the mountain to the place of sacrifice. “I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” Abraham was resting on God’s promise to make him the head of many nations. Abraham knew that this was only possible through his son. Abraham had the faith that in some manner God would provide a way through this test.

Trials and tests are God’s way of drawing us close to Him and teaching us His ways. It is through the trials and tests that our faith is built up so that we can become the person that God has intended for us to be. God may not have created us to be a leader of a nation like Abraham, but He does have a specific plan for our lives. We can only fulfill this plan by putting all of our faith in the One in whose hands we rest.

Let us put all of our faith in the hands of Our Creator. Let us fulfill everything that He has set aside for us through our faithful obedience. Let us rejoice as our bountiful faith releases God’s supernatural plan for our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for each trial that You allow in our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we are resting in Your hands as we go through each of these challenges to our faith. We ask, Lord, that we will have the faith of Abraham. We pray that we will not turn away from any test that you set before us. May our character and our faith be built up in accordance with Your perfect plans for our lives. We ask these things in the name of the One upon Whom our faith is built, the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

Having the Attitude of Christ

1 John 2:6
Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

No matter where we are in life, no matter what season we are in, no matter what circumstances surround us, we must choose to live our lives as Jesus did. We must have the attitude of Christ in all things. It is not enough to learn all we can about Jesus’ life. We must learn to live our lives as Jesus lived His.

Jesus was willing to leave His seat of glory in heaven in order to come to earth and fulfill the plan of the Father for His life. He humbled Himself by giving up His heavenly stature and taking on the form of a man. He willingly accepted all the scorn, all the mockery and all the suffering, even unto death. He always put the interest of others first. He told us Himself that, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

Let us ask ourselves with what attitude do we approach all things in life. Let us undertake serious self-examination. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to examine us and let us know whether we are truly living as Jesus did.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us Your Son as the perfect model for our lives. We exalt the name of Jesus who was the only man who ever led a life that was without sin. We lift our hands in praise and worship as we bow before Our Savior with a grateful heart. We pray, Father, that You will show us how to live the Kingdom life on earth like Jesus did. We ask that the Holy Spirit lead us to live our lives with the attitude of Christ. May we be humble, gentle and obedient in all things as He was. We ask all these things in the name of spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Differentiating Good Things from God Things

Luke 7:30
But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism.

God’s plan for our lives calls for total surrender to Him. The enemy has a different plan. The Pharisees suffered under the hand of Satan as they rejected God’s plans in order to follow their own plans which they were deceived into believing were built upon many good things.

The enemy uses all the facets of our lives on earth as areas of distraction in order to keep us from full surrender to Our Lord. Our work, recreation, hobbies and even family activities can all be big areas of distraction for us. Ironically, the work that we do as a ministry to support the Body of Christ may also become a distraction that keeps us from digging deep into our relationship with Jesus Christ. All of these activities can certainly be deemed good in their own right and are likely extremely productive. That is why Satan is so successful in distracting us from God. Satan entices us to replace God with good things.

Like the Pharisees, as we pursue all these good things in our lives, we may miss out on the special things that God has set aside for us. Oneness with Jesus Christ is the only way for us to successfully balance all that we deal with in life. Jesus is the fulcrum. He balances our load by providing the right foundation for all that we do. When we stay in balance by following the urgings of the Holy Spirit, we can reside in a place of rest and satisfaction unlike anything that we can derive from our own plans.

Let us strive to make Jesus the foundation for everything in our lives. Let us seek to make Jesus Christ the center of all we do. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us to differentiate the good opportunities in our lives from the God opportunities awaiting us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for using us to carry out Your plans for us and those around us. We pray, Lord, that You will draw us into full surrender to Your Son. May we make Him the center of everything in our lives. We ask that the Holy Spirit will help us to discover the unique plans that You have for our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the One from whom all good things come, Jesus Christ.

Living Under the Divine Care of Almighty God

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

It is very easy to become frustrated, concerned, depressed, or even angry, when things seem to be piling up against us. We must recognize and celebrate that God works in all things. He is not absent during the bad times. He is taking every element of our circumstances and using them to sculpt who we are. As we mature in our relationship with God, we learn to understand that the work that He does in us during the times of trial defines who we are in Jesus Christ. Even more so as we grow in Christ, we learn to find comfort, even joy, in every step that we take under the divine care of Almighty God.

This supernatural joyful comfort that we come to experience in the face of the pressures of the world defies the emotion that our flesh demands. Through our trials, our faith carries us and builds us up where carnal men lose hope and are broken down. We come to learn that God has allowed us to be where we are and even though we cannot see it at times, He is controlling all things in our lives. Ultimately, regardless of what external ministry to which He may call any of us, He calls each of us by His special grace from darkness to light and from bondage to liberty according to the eternal purpose that He has set aside for us.

Let us find peace in the Lord when the world offers none. Let us rejoice in the victory that is ours even though we don’t see it yet. Let us hold firm to our faith which carries us through all trials and ultimately builds us up.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your sovereign rule over our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we can find peace in You no matter what is going on around us. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will will strengthen us when the world tries to weaken us. We pray that the Holy Spirit will turn us back to the light of victory when the world is trying to turn us to the darkness of defeat. We pray that through it all our trust in You will be complete as we are delivered into Your will and plan for our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Mighty in Battle, Jesus Christ.

God Uses Trials as Preparation Points

Isaiah 35:7
The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.

The prophet Isaiah was given a vision of what Israel was to become. It was his job to try to inspire the people to attain the vision that God had given Him.

Visionaries are able to see the completed work and to devise a plan to reach the desired end before the work even begins. Almighty God is the essence of what any visionary would hope to be. He knows the beginning and the end of all things on this earth. He has every single element of the time line of earth and the people on it planned out to the smallest degree – in far greater detail than we could ever even imagine.

Our Heavenly Father has a vision for each of our lives. He sets His vision for our lives into place before we were even born. Being the perfect visionary that He is, He insures that each of us is prepared for our part in His vision. He is never in a rush to complete His work – only to perfect His work. We are His work. We are His vision. Our Heavenly Father refuses to see us in any other light except in the image of His Son. There is no other outcome that He would allow other than the perfect outcome that He has planned for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Let us consider the trials that we face as preparation points. Even though they may be nearly unbearable at times, God sees the end and provides all that we need to get through our challenges. Let us praise Him for what He has allowed. Let us rejoice in knowing that He will use everything we endure to shape us for His kingdom.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating us with perfect plans for our lives. We thank You for Your patience as You take us through life’s struggles in order to shape us according to Your perfect plans. We thank You that Your hand never leaves us as we stray away from Your plans for our lives. We pray, Father, that You will teach us to humbly accept the trials of our lives which are shaping us for our roles in Your kingdom. We beseech You for the grace that we will need to have the patience and persistence required to allow us to be molded by your plans. May we bring honor and glory to You, Father, by abandoning the folly of our own plans and choosing Your ways instead of our own. We ask all these things in the name of the Refiner and Purifier, Jesus Christ.

Inspired to Go Further

Genesis 11:31
Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.

In this passage we find Abraham traveling with his father and their extended family. Most writers seem to believe that Terah was moving his family based on the calling on Abraham’s life. In obedience to the calling of Almighty God, they have left Ur of the Chaldeans and are traveling to the land of Canaan. But for some unexplained reason, they do not complete the journey to Canaan. They end their journey half way to Canaan. They remain in Haran until Terah’s death.

There are two lessons that can be taken away from this passage. The first has to do with falling short of Canaan. How often do we miss out on what God has set aside for us because we quit before we reached His intended favor for us? We must be careful not to rely on our own thoughts and ways and settle for less than what God has planned for us because what we have achieved is pleasing to us and seems good in our own eyes.

The second lesson from this passage teaches us that we can get up and go again even if we have given up or quit on something that God has set aside for us. Just as Abraham continued on to Canaan after the death of His father, we can continue on to the calling that God has given us after we have settled for something less. Our Father in Heaven will provide a reward for us that will be much greater than what we may have settled for.

Let us set our sights on the calling that Our Father has set aside for us. Let us settle for nothing less. Let us call on His promise to perfect His strength in our weakness when we are faltering. Let us collect the full rewards of the victor.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating each of us to fulfill a special calling. We rejoice in knowing that You will stand by us even when we falter on our journey. We exalt Your name for providing Your Holy Spirit to lift us back up when we weaken, to redirect us when we go off course and to inspire us to go further when we settle for less than Your plan for us. We pray that we will settle for nothing less than our own Canaan. We ask all these things in the name of the One who provides our future and our hope, Jesus Christ.

Living Our New Lives in Christ

Colossians 2:6-7
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

We are called to walk in the fullness of Jesus Christ who dwells within us. We are to mirror in every way His love, patience, humility, meekness and faithfulness in carrying out His duties. But more than that, we are to lean on Him. We are to derive from Him the grace and strength that we need to live under His influence, by His direction and through His assistance.

In Jesus, we find beauty, glory, fullness and everything suitable for living our new lives in Christ. We should not consider our own plans ever again, unless they are derived by seeking the guidance of Our Savior first. We must learn not to lean on our own understanding, but to trust in the Lord to make our paths straight.

Once we acknowledge Our Lord and receive the benefit of the good and perfect plans that He sets aside for us, we must express our gratitude for all that He has provided. For God justly withdraws His provision from those that receive it without thanksgiving.

Let us move swiftly to the yoke of Jesus Christ. Let us receive the fullness of all of His promises as we pour out our burdens upon Him. Let us tell the world of the peace and comfort that He provides us. May it all be for the glory of Our Lord and Servant King.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to dwell within us. Make us mindful of His presence at all times. Teach us to gladly, joyfully and willingly seek the plans that have been set aside for us through Our Savior. Mold our hearts so that we will be ready to receive the fullness of Christ into our lives. We pray that You fill our hearts with continuous gratitude and thanksgiving for our ever present King. We ask all these things in the name of the One who transforms us through His indwelling presence, Jesus Christ.

The Privilege of Being in the Presence of God

Genesis 5:24
Enoch walked with God;

“Enoch walked with God.” Good for old Enoch, but what about us? Does it seem possible that at any given time that the ruler and creator of the universe would dial us up and invite us for a walk or we could dial Him and ask Him to join us for a walk? In the flesh, it certainly seems impossible, perhaps even unimaginable.

While it all may seem illogical to us, it is absolutely within the plans that Almighty God has for each of us. He is always ready to hear from us. He is eager to come along side of us. His line is always open. The only issue is that in order to connect to God’s line, we have to be on the same line. We must disconnect ourselves from all of the lines of distraction in our lives. This is hard work, but it is well worth the effort. Profound peace and joy awaits.

Let us begin the task of separating ourselves from the distractions of the world. Let us devote every task, no matter how mundane, to the Lord. Let us treat all of our labor as sacred. Let us learn to stay in the presence of Almighty God throughout the day.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for granting us the privilege to be in Your presence. We praise You for making Your throne accessible to us. We bless the name of Jesus for dying on the cross for us so that we are worthy to come before You. We pray, Lord, that You would teach us how to shed the distractions of the world and make You the center of all that we do. May we all learn to rejoice in complete comfort in Your sweet presence. We ask all these things in the name of Our Ever Present Lord, Jesus Christ.