This is the will of God!!

Hey, God has told me what His will is for your life!

No, I'm not arrogant.

I hear so frequently something along the lines of "I just wish God would tell me what His will is for my life!" or, "I'm waiting on God to tell me what to do next because I don't want to make a big mistake".
Both of these are valid concerns, but when we use them as an excuse to forego what God has already spelled out for us we are in serious trouble.

He has told us what His will is for our lives.

The Word of God comes to us in two forms, Logos, or written word; and Rhema, the revealed, or spoken word.

Jesus is established in John 1:1 as the Logos, or written and established Word of God that was given to man at the beginning. He is also described as the bread from heaven, which we may eat of and never die:
Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to Him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I Am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I say to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the WILL OF HIM who sent me. And this is THE WILL OF HIM who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day. FOr this is the WILL OF MY FATHER, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:32-40

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Everything that Jesus taught is from God and we can "safely" follow it knowing that we are walking as He wants us to. And we are to follow His example.
Following are just a few of the scriptures that TELL US what the WILL OF GOD is for our lives:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of god, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is THE WILL OF GOD, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Rom 12:1-2

For this is THE WILL OF GOD, your sanctification; that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but for holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. I Thes 4:3-8

Likewise the Spirit helps us in out weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, beccause the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to THE WILL OF GOD. Rom 8:26-27

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is THE WILL OF GOD in christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it. I Thes 5:14-24

And God spoke all these words, saying, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of egypt, out of the house of slavery.
You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them to serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the seam and al that is in them. and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's  Exodus 20:1-17

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 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 first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. Matt 22:36-40

Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether if be the emperor as supreme, or the governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is THE WILL OF GOD, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. I Pet 2:13-17

Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself four out sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the WILL OF OUR GOD AND FATHER, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Gal 1:3-5

At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children, yes, Father, for such was YOUR GRACIOUS WILL. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gently and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is east, and my burden is light." Matt 11:25-30

And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for you reward is great in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matt 6:2-12
(Meek: enduring injury with patience and without resentment; Mourn: feel express grief/sorrow)

I taught on this in Sunday School a few weeks ago and was struck with something from our pastor's sermon that morning. When Jesus was praying in the garden prior to His arrest He told His disciples to pray that they would not enter temptation. This was following Jesus telling Peter that He had prayed for him.

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." … And He came out and went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father if You are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation." Lk 22:31-32, 39-46

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. I Cor 10:13

I find that I often forget to pray for myself and my brothers and sisters when things are going well! Jesus knew what kind of struggles and temptations His disciples were going to be facing and had been praying for them.
He set for us the perfect example.
There are several places in the New Testament where Paul says to pray for our leaders (I Tim 2:1-8; II Thes 3:1), for our fellow believers (1 Thes 5:25; Phil 1:9-11). And he says in I Cor 11:1, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."

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I admonish everyone of us, especially myself, to heed the instructions that God has laid down for us in Scripture. It is all ACCORDING TO HIS WILL.


The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all.

Sexual Immorality

I don't think many people, even Christians, really understand the importance of sexual purity. 

There is SO much more to sex than the act of sexual intercourse and the things that lead to it. 

We are beings. 

Not animals. 

Created in the image of God. 

We are Body, Mind, and Spirit, and when we engage in sex, all of who and what we are is involved. This is why it is so important to God that we follow his plan for sex. 

According to the Scriptures, the only place for sex is between a man and a women, once they are married. (Gen 2:24; Lev 18, 20:10-21; Prov 5, 6, 7; Rom 1; there's a lot more)

We live in a culture that has debased sex to be primarily a physical act of pleasure between two people, regardless of their marital status or gender.

We're bombarded by it everywhere we go and it's easy to become desensitized. 

That's why I'm posting this. We need to get back to Square One on what God has to say about it.

When I started working on this it was my intent to expound on each passage, and I may do that in the future, but, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) So I’m going to shut my mouth now. 

You shall not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14

           

            Adultery: sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than

 their lawful spouse.

            Sexual Immorality: immoral quality, character, or conduct; wickedness; evilness.

 – Webster’s dictionary.

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. I Corinthians 6:18-20

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for theses are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you as I did before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:16-21

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of theses things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 5:3-7

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil, desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3:5-10

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. I Thessalonians 4:3-8

You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  Matthew 5:27-28

Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Hebrews 13:4

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The Bible has a lot more to say about sex and please, read it! 

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I encourage everyone to read the following series of articles that Focus on the Family put together. I think it's one of the best explanations for God's design for sex and how we can practically live by it.

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/sex_and_intimacy/gods_design_for_sex.aspx 

In Jesus and for His glory, 

Claire

I will uphold you, with My Righteous Right Hand

Do you live your life like you believe this?

Do you believe it?

I've always said that I did, but moving to a new city has made me realize just how much, and, how little, that was true.

God's promises are never changing. But we are human and, as history repeats itself, are so quick to forget this!

"Fear not for  I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

I think the question should not be "do you believe this?", but, "Do you believe God?"

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for HE who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

Being in a new place, even though surrounded by people that I love and who love me, there is temptation to feel a bit like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. Stuck, but not lost. The great difference is that in focusing on the promises of God, I see His hand at work in my life.

"Fear not!" God uses that phrase a lot. Trust is a scary thing, especially when we let ourselves get in the way of what He is doing in our lives. And when we follow after Him, we have to trust Him. God's perfect love casts out our fears though. (1 John 4:18)
He promises His presence as the reason that we are not to fear.

"Do not be dismayed" - don't lose your courage, be disheartened, discouraged, perturbed, by whatever you are facing.
I AM your God!

"I will strengthen you" - Ephesians 3:16. He does this through the Holy Spirit.

"I will help you" - John 14:16 & 26

"I will uphold you"- to bolster, hold-up, sustain, defend, etc.

The right hand is given as the sign of ultimate power. So, when God says that He's going to use His right hand to not just keep us going, but to make us strong and courageous (see Joshua 1:9).

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts and I am helped; my heart exults and with my song I give thanks to Him." Psalm 28:7

Guard Your Heart

Maybe this is your first time hearing this phrase, maybe, like me, you've heard it hundreds of times and frankly have no idea how!
This has been the cry of my heart lately, that God would show me not just HOW to guard my heart, but WHY to do it. 


I'm going to approach this from seemingly two angles, but I believe they fully connected. First, that we are born into sin and therefore with a wicked heart, but that Christ redeems us through his sacrifice. Second, that our hearts are the seat of our emotions and as such Satan has them under constant attack.


*All verses are taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.
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This is the first verse that He brought to mind: Proverbs 4:23 "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."


I've been confused about this verse for a long time and I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized that it was because we are so often told that our hearts are evil. 


And they are.


That is, until Jesus gives us a new one.


Jeremiah 17:9-10 says: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."


I believe that this is the state that we are in until we are redeemed. We all have a wicked heart, but the promise is given in Ezekiel 36:26-27  which says "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."


Yes, we will be judged according to our deeds. The Bible is clear on that and I will do another piece with an overview on the subject.


The good news is that Jesus has given us a new heart. One that yearns for Him and desires to please Him. When we surrender our lives to Him, He takes the "heart of stone" and gives us a "heart of flesh" and His Spirit of Truth, the Helper (Jn. 14:15-31). 


But this incredibly good news comes with a warning. GUARD YOUR HEART!!


Ok. WHY? 


"It is the wellspring of life" 
When Jesus was talking to the Pharisees in Matthew 15:1-20, they were condemning people for not washing their hands, calling them "unclean". Jesus turned it right around and pointed out the root issue of "Cleanness". Our hearts. For He said "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of hte heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone." (vs. 18-20)
Jesus says earlier in the chapter that: 
"This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." (vs. 8-9)
They didn't see that He was the Messiah and their hearts were hardened to Him, so they were not able to hear and understand what He said. 


But "He who have ears to hear, let him hear." (Matt 11:15)


The Father gave us who have believed ears to hear and a new heart of flesh to follow Him.


So, now that we have a new heart, what do we do with it?


We guard it, with all vigilance.


Ok. HOW!!??!!


This seems harder than it is. 
Jesus has given us everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3)
I'm going to share some of the things that I've found helpful. Most of them I've had the privilege of learning from seasoned veterans of the Faith. 


We MAKE Jesus the center of our lives. There will always be something important to do, someone who needs help. These are good, and we need to do them, but if they take the place that Jesus has to have in our hearts than we're going to stumble and fall. We can get back up. But we'll still fall. 


Focus your mind on Him. Think about Him. Read his Word and meditate on it. 


"Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45


Yes, this is true. So what do we do when we say things and dwell on things in our minds that we know are displeasing to the Lord? 
Call on His name!! Every knee has to bow at His name, that includes especially us, His children. Satan can't stand to be in His presence and loves to speak lies to our hearts. Jesus by contrast is Truth. 
When I find myself in a place mentally that I don't want to be, I speak the name of Jesus. Out loud. 
No matter who is around. 
No, I don't shout it (unless I am alone), but speak His name. 
Then I speak truth. 
Sometimes out loud depending on the situation, but always in my head. 
The more time I spend in the Word of God the better equipped I am for this, and the more often I do it, the better Satan is at getting the heck out of there!!


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So what about you? 
What do you do when you find that the things coming from you are not what you know they should be?