Thursday, February 20, 2014

How do You Get There?

I have to admit, I've wondered about and prayed for the will of  God for many years... I will continue to pray but the wondering is at least quelled a bit. I have many thoughts on the issue but there are a few I think should be considered by all and those are the ones I'll concentrate on today...

These days people are all about bettering ourselves and others, coming up in the world and pushing ourselves there by social media, self promotion and hard work. In and of itself none of these things are bad, no, not even a little self promotion if the motive is right... If you're promoting your singing career because the more who hear your songs, the more hear the message of Christ then go on, promote! Safety is in reminding yourself that it's not really about you as the messenger; only the delivery of the message itself.  The problem is we all have these huge dreams and ideals of what our lives should be and when we should reach those goals... Not that dreams or goals are wrong, they're not, but our timing is not God's timing and the journey is just as important as the destination.  We think of "God's will" being the destination but it's not, it's every step along the way... Jesus said, many times, he came to do the will of he who sent him... He said he was going about doing the will of his father in heaven... The crucifixion and resurrection was always the destination for Christ but the will of God was in each miracle, each conversation, each prayer, each touch and each relationship along the way.

So how do we know we are in the will of God? One of life's most urgent questions... But so simple because it's not secretive or mysterious at all... It's written in black and while... Actually, red. The secret to being in the will go God is obedience.  I know, we don't like that word, we haven't liked any words close to that since we hit teenage years and began thinking we were "grown up..." The funny thing is, once you've actually grown into an adult, you realize you still feel like a child in most ways... No more ready for life than you were at eight years of age, yes, you're older but do you have it all together? Do you know all you believe you should? Absolutely not... Maybe those insecurities are the true sign of adulthood..?  But still... Obey? We don't obey anyone, we are our own person, an individual and "we will..." Oh what's that Miley? Oh yes, "we will do whatever we want." The thing is, along with our prized independence and freedom we obey someone everyday! We obey culture, social expectations & norms (for the most part and I hope,) we obey our employers...  And you, dear entrepreneurs, feeling proud that you have no boss to obey, think again! I work for one of you "no boss but myself" people and we both know who you obey... Yes you do... You're slave to your clientele, you obey anything they want to the best of your ability... If you don't, you're most likely not going to lose the business.  So now that we realize while the word itself may get our back up, obedience is a daily routine for us all, we just need to apply it elsewhere...

Now that I'm ready to put all this into action I need to know what it is God is looking for from me, what He wants me to obey... Well, God is pretty involved actually, He cares a lot about all aspects of our lives and there is lots to find that He likes, a lot of things to make Him happy but we will concentrate on what He said were the most important. He was asked outright what were he most important commandments to obey and He answered "love God, love people." (Matthew 22:36-40)  Really? That's it!? Yes... But when you think about it, that encompasses everything we do.  I think we know how to love people, be kind, care.... While it is possible to love someone and not agree with them (come on, my parents rarely agreed with me on anything but they loved me, just the same) it is not possible to love someone and not respect them. Love is just as much in the little things like a note or a smile as it is the big things and overall, even if we aren't always obedient, I think that commandment is the one we know how to obey...  But loving God... How do you prove that, how do you show it? Well, Jesus answered that question too! Jesus said "people would know you love God when you obey his commands..." (John 14:15John 15:10 & Proverbs 4:4

Here we are back at obedience... And now "commands," what are His commands? Again they are involved but there are a couple of first steps that we must take care of initially and continue to uphold... Get into relationship with God, first and foremost - repent of your sins (that means get sorry for the wrong things you've done in God's sight, the disappointment and hurt you've brought to Him but not sorry only, change direction, be sorry enough to change the behavior.) repentance is kind of like getting rid of all your past relationships before getting serious with your soul mate! Completely breaking ties with the past, letting go of any remaining feelings because you want to move on. Next get baptized in the name of Jesus! That is putting you into covenant, not with a church but with God himself; kind of like a wedding ceremony... Getting baptized puts you in that kind of relationship with god, you marry yourself to Him. And once that happens you will receive His spirit in you, kind of like the honeymoon, you become one with Him! And one more command... Jesus' last commandment to us, "go and tell!" (Matthew 16:15 & Matthew 28:19-20) Don't keep all this love for yourself, share it with others, this is the one command that takes care of both loving God and loving people at the same time, with the same action! Just tell others about how awesome God is because He is! You're not responsible for their response, it's their choice to refuse Him or open their heart, you are only responsible for giving them an opportunity, sending the invitation You may not be standing in front of thousands in a stadium with each person in the crowd holding onto every single word that falls off you lips, but guess where you are... Smack dab in the middle of God's will.

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