- Mood: Trying to Live According to His Plan for Me
Monday. Only a few days left of 2008. Sunny, brisk, cold. Great weather for being outside if you can get there.
Doing God's Will
I think we humans often get too caught up in doing our own will. When we live like that we defy God in a way that doesn't help us to receive His blessings in this world full of sin and suffering. After all, that is what God wants us to do! Remember, the Bible is His word written through humans He selected. And look at what He had one of them write in Hebrews:
"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Hebrews 13:20-21
Take two or three good looks at that passage. In particular read the part that says "for doing his will." And how about the part that says "what is pleasing to him." It doesn't say "your will." It doesn't say "what is pleasing to you."
So why do people often live like that? Because they are not following the commands of Jesus. The commands of God! People have turned away from God as they have for thousands of years since Creation beginning with Adam's original sin. How do you get back to God? By accepting Jesus as your Savior and repenting to God for your sinful ways. At least that's the simplified way of putting it.
Is this confusing? If you either don't know God or have never studied up on this stuff, it probably is confusing. That's okay! I encourage you to do some Bible study and work on understanding it. Use my site and my archived posts to help you. I've tried to simplify it here for you as much as possible. There are tons of other study guides out there. Get your hands on some and use them. I certainly do!
This passage is not just about sin as much as it is about doing God's will. Sinning is one way you fail to do God's will. Let's use sin as an example. Don't get lost in the "sin" part of this passage and miss the main message: God wants you to live according to His will. Let me explain a little more about how I believe sin removes you from God and prevents you from doing His will.
God wants to bless you. But the Bible states that if you are sinning you are separated from God. If you do not accept Jesus as your Savior then you are not saved with eternal life. Read the Book, specifically John 14:6. It's all there.
I believe that once you're saved you can't "lose" it by sinning. But...if you live a life of sin without ever thinking about God or Jesus or feeling convicted, maybe you weren't saved to begin with. That's really between you and God. But for me personally I know that I am saved and that when I fall into sin it makes me feel absolutely horrible because the Holy Spirit within me is convicting me. I am not condemned as Satan wants me to believe but I am convicted. I immediately ask God for His forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
I do this not only because I love God but because if I sin and do not repent I am separated from God. God wants to pardon us and bestow blessings upon us but He will not do this if we are living in sin, not repenting or asking to be forgiven for our sins (this is all throughout the NT). So I ask God to forgive me and He will (this nugget is in 1 John 1:9).
Now, it's not just some quick, "Hey God, I sinned, will you please forgive me?" kind of thing. When I sin I not only tell God that I am unworthy of His grace, mercy, and love, but that I am a worthless human sinner in His eyes and that I know it. I tell Him that I know if it wasn't for Jesus dying on the cross I would be spiritually dead because of my sin, and that only because of God's mercy can I have eternal life. I tell Him exactly what my sin was, being as specific as possible and I acknowledge it is a sin against Him. After acknowledging that I ask for His forgiveness through Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. God wants us to be accountable to Him. When He hears you ask Him for His forgiveness He will give it to you. That's my belief based on His Word in the Bible.
So what does this have to do with doing God's will? Well for one thing, when you're living life according to "your" will, you're sinning. But if you accept Jesus as your savior and repent and ask for forgiveness from your sins you are back with God and you should live your life according to His will.
He bought you with a huge price: Christ Jesus dying on the cross.
Your body belongs to Him and the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. Who are you to use that vehicle for your own joyriding?
You have been loaned your Daddy's car: do with it what He wants.
How do you know what God's will for you is? Prayer! Lots and lots of meaningful prayer all day every day is my opinion. That's what keeps me in line with God. Am I perfect? No! Only Jesus was perfect. But by praying constantly I live life according to what I hear God telling me through prayer. He answers; you just have to know what you're listening for. You figure that out through a mature and nurtured faith in God and a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's one of those things you just have to experience. I just prayed for anyone who reads this to experience it as soon as possible if you haven't already.
So live according to God's will and receive His blessings. Of course that means you have to believe in God and accept Christ as your Savior. It means you have to do as God commanded and as Jesus taught. It means you have to forgive others and God will forgive you when you pray for it. It means you have to love and serve others and God will bless you. It means you have to be honest and forthright with others in your dealings.
Trust God. Have faith. Hold fast.
Until tomorrow.
Come Believe...
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