by David Brenneman
"but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God." 1 Corinthians 2:9-10.
"If you say, “See, we did not know this,” Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?" Proverbs 24:12.
"And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40.
"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality." Romans 12:9-13.
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:14-21.
What are we to be doing in the Lord? How are we to be with others in Christ and those who are not yet? How are we to be with ourselves when we are alone?
What is it that God has for us to be doing for Him?
Indeed my Dear Reader there IS something that God has in mind for you and I to be doing. I guarantee it. If the Spirit places you and I in the body of Christ as He sees fit...and all body parts have a specific function...then yes it stands to figure we have a Godly purpose.
The devotional that I am reading in the mornings has to do with God sized dreams. One thing that's pointed out is that it's ok if we don't know what specifically those are for us. Much of what you read in the Scriptures earlier have to do with both preparing our hearts and to give us a place to start in finding out what ours is.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10.
"You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." Psalms 16:11.
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21.
We have access to Jesus and through our obedience we will find what Jesus calls life.
As Mark Lowry said in one of his videos...first you need to understand what life is. Life's a series of ups and downs hills and valleys. When you came to Christ now it's higher highs and lower lows than you ever considered or thought possible. But with these comes the promises of God to get us through them.
Several examples are found in both the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. When the Lord spoke to some people we read about their first response, first reaction was: here am I, send me or some variation of this.
They just lived by faith alone trusting in God alone to guide them on their journey of life in Christ.
What scares many people, and I dare say that several decades ago this was me, is what might God tell me to do? What if I didn't like it? What if I have to give up the life that I know?
My Dear Reader, you entrusted Jesus to save you...don't you think He has something better in mind for you that you're going to like in serving Him? He knows your heart. He knows your every thought. He knows your fears. He knows.
We have something to do while here on this Earth for Jesus. All parts of His body have a function. All parts of YOUR body have a function. Any body part that doesn't do what it's supposed to be doing undergoes something called atrophy. It loses its strength and purpose.
"“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." John 15:1-11.
You also see we have a responsibility to seek out what it is that God's wanting for us to be doing. We aren't to just drift along in life doing our own thing until we die or He comes back.
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
We can't know what awaits us until we're taking the steps in faith to obey God.
My life today wouldn't be what it is or how it is without obeying what I've been told to do. This blog is a result of obedience. It was a scary thought at the beginning, now 7 years ago, to step into full time writing like this. 131 countries and almost 1.65 million views says that God's still distributing it as I obey in writing it.
I had a dream 40 plus years ago od being a published writer. Right now I am writing 3 books, at least one of which I believe will get published. How it's been organized, what it's about, all points to the Spirit directing me.
But outside of that and the blog, I don't have a physical ministry to be a part of. For this here this now, this writing is my calling. If there's more then I know that He will reveal it to me.
Part of our dreams for our lives must include taking every step possible to grow in Christ. If our dreams don't involve or include that...run from them. All those kinds of things will do is distract you from what's yours to be doing in Christ.
So what's your life shaping up to be in Christ? If you're still not sure, begin as the writer of the devotional said. Love God with your everything and love others. See where that takes you.
As someone once said "It's not about me. It's not about now. It's all about God. It's all about eternity"
We can't know what great things that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ through His Spirit has in mind for a wonderful life for us until we fully go all in with living for Jesus.
We can't begin to understand until we're in it.
As the great hymn says "Living for Jesus a life that is true. Striving to please Him in all that I do. Yielding allegiance glad-hearted and free. This is the pathway of blessing for me."
Any and every earthly goal apart from the Lord will never provide the true satisfaction that a life all in with living for Jesus will do.
You just need to turn to Jesus and submit to whatever it is He has for you to be doing and to do it as unto the Lord. These are the things that will go into that crown of righteousness that we will be giving back to Jesus one day.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment