Ever
been frustrated about knowing what to do or which way to turn? Come on, be
honest. God is interested in every detail of our lives and will guide and
direct us if we let Him.
In
Psalm 119:105 (KJV) it says: “thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto
my path”. In Proverbs 3:5-6 it is written: “Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge
him, and he shall direct thy paths”.
God
will speak to us as we prayerfully study His Word; He will make scripture jump
of the page for us. He speaks to us in many other ways but mostly by that still
small voice in our spirit that Elijah heard (1Kings 19:12).
James
3:17 says that Gods wisdom (guidance) is first of all pure and then peaceable,
it has to be in line with His Word and leaves us with a sense of peace and
assurance that God has spoken to us. James 1:5 directs us to ask of God if we
need His wisdom (guidance). He will answer, it may not be in our prayer time,
it could be in the shower, when our mind is not as busy.
His
word of direction will come with that assurance, that sense of peace; it may
not make sense to our mind but it will line up with His Word. Write it down; if
it’s God, He will confirm it for you, mainly by the methods above or through a
word of prophesy or Godly counsellors. God loves you and has good plans for
you; He longs to hear from you and speak to you, we just need to still
ourselves and listen.
Give
God time today and listen.
Please
watch the promotional video for our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian
Training”, which you can find at our web site: www.onthewayinlove.com
I am always amazed by the comments of John the
Baptist after Jesus started his ministry (John 3:27; 30). John said: “a man can
receive nothing unless it has been given to him from above” (v27, KJV). John
knew that without God he was nothing and could do nothing. He also said of
Jesus: “He must increase but I must decrease” (v30).
John
knew he was the forerunner to Jesus and in humility and obedience, accepted his
role. Verse 30 of the third chapter of John’s gospel can be applied to us as
Christians. We need more of God and less of us. When we were born again we died
to our old sinful life and became alive in Christ (Rom 6:11).
However,
putting off the old ways and putting on the new is a process (Eph 4:22-24). We
cannot do this on our own, we need God, we need the direction and power of the
Holy Spirit (Gal 3:3).
In
the Bible we are told that the only work we have to do is to believe (John
6:29); believe what? We need to believe in Jesus, believe in the word (our
Bible). As we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us and as we develop faith in His
word, this releases the power of the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.
Paul
said he wanted to know nothing but Christ (1 Cor 2:2). He acknowledged that he
needed to reach the end of himself, of his abilities and to allow Christ to
bring him through. In complete surrender to Jesus, Paul was mighty in Christ.
God wants to change us from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18), so we become vessels
fit for the master’s service (2 Tim 2:21).
“Till
we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God,
to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph
4:13). Wow, imagine that kind of life in him; the impact we would have
individually and corporately!
Please
watch the promotional video for our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”,
which you can find at our web site: www.onthewayinlove.com
“One
thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in
the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in His temple” (Ps 27:4; KJV).
King David’s primary desire was an intimate
relationship with God; this he sought. In Psalms 42 verse 1 David says his soul
panted and thirsted for God (Ps 42:1). It’s no wonder God could call David a
man after his own heart (Acts 13:22). Do we have the same priority as David? Do
we have the same relationship with God?
I
love the verse in the New Testament where Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, mesmerized
by and focused on the Lord and his every word (Luke 10:39). Think what
relationship we can have with God now, David had the Spirit on him (1 Sam
16:13). We are children of God (1 John 3:2) and we have his Spirit on the
inside of us (Acts 2:4).
Do
we have the same heart cry for relationship with God that David showed in the
Psalms (Ps 84:2)? Do we sit at Jesus feet as Mary did? Paul said that he
counted everything of the world as rubbish (that word can be translated dung)
the he might gain Christ (Phil 3:8).
For
me, the Apostle John captured the relationship God yearns for with us when he (John)
quoted Jesus' prayer for us as believers: "that they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the
world may believe that you sent me" (John 17:21; KJV).
How
heartbroken Jesus was when he prayed over Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37; the
people rejected His desire for intimacy.
My
desire is captured in Psalm 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of
the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty"; what about
you?
God
made us in His own image to enjoy and have dominion over the earth (Gen 1:26).
His desire was to have beings like Him that He could fellowship with (Gen
3:8-9) and through which His nature and character could be conveyed to His
creation.
I
love the picture created by Genesis 3:8, where God came to the garden in the
cool of the day to fellowship with Adam and Eve. This is a picture of peace,
love and fellowship; where everything is well and in harmony. God’s desire is
still to fellowship with men and women (1John 1:3).
Sin
broke this fellowship and separated us from God (Isa 59:1-9). Only in our
repenting of sin, receiving forgiveness and asking Jesus into our lives as Lord
and Saviour (Acts 3:19; Rom 10:9-10; AMP) can that fellowship be restored.
As
Christians, God dwells in us (Gal 2:20), He wants to transform us to be more
like Him (Ro 12:2), to bless us (John10:10) and to shine though us to a dead
and decaying world (Matt 5:14-16).
All
we have to do is to surrender our lives to Him and allow Him to mold us and
change us (2 Cor 3:18). As we rest in Him (Matt 11:28-30) and spend time with
Him in His word, fellowship and prayer, His power will transform us (Rom 8:11).
We can become more like Him each day if we will only just take the time!
Enjoy
God's Fellowship Today
Visit
our website today and see the link to the promotional video for our book: “On
the Way: Basic Christian Training”: www.onthewayinlove.com
“But as it is written, Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Cor 2:9; KJV).
God has an abundant life for us (John 10:10). That word “life” is the life that
God lives. He wants to bless us, guide us, protect us and use us to take his
light to our world (Matt 28:19).
Christianity is a wonderful
journey, we grow daily but we have our part to play. “If ye abide in me, and my
words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein
is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples”
(John 15:7-8).
God’s word changes us. God
tells us to discipline our thoughts (Rom 12:2), discipline our bodies (1 Cor
9:27; Ps141:3) and discipline our words so we can live and shine God’s life to
those around us.
How do we do all of this? We
need to study His word; our instruction manual for life. If we use our faith that
allows the power of God’s word, the power of the Holy Ghost, to change us. You
build your faith by getting in your bible; reading, meditating and speaking the
word (Rom 10:17; Josh 1:8). The bible tells us we need to be disciplined and to
work at building our faith (John 6:29). Let’s do it; the results are awesome.
Let’s be salt and light in
our world; live the God kind of life and bring that life and love to those
around us.
Here is the link to the
promotional video for our book: “On the way: Basic Christian training” https://youtu.be/ZsxYJaLSX4c
Please pass it on.