 There is no one who loves you more than God - no one. No one has endured more sorrow and grief or suffered greater loss because of their desire for you. No one has labored more to make a way so that you could be with them and they to be with you…to "win" your love. No one.
 Please read Luke 3:2-6 "...the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordon, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins: As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
In my office at work I have a quote hanging on my bulletin board that says, "The will to succeed means nothing without the will to prepare." The quote is full of meaning for me. We all aspire to become or to accomplish things in life. But all too often, when the realities of the necessary preparation hit, we falter and give up. I see it happen over and over and at all stages of life. It is easy to have the initial will and aspiration to succeed...but it is quite another matter to have the will that continues to pay the "dues" of preparation. If, when one seeks to master a musical instrument, a certain sport or scholarship of a particular field of study, etc., and "short-cuts" are taken in the preparation process, the end result will reflect short-comings in character, ability, beauty, knowledge and understanding. In the end the "achievement" can be a hollow one or, at best, a shallow one...simply because we didn't really pay the "dues" of preparation. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." - Matthew 7:21
Of Course I'm Doing The Will of God The thinking of many believers today is, "If I do good things, then I am doing the will of God...because the will of God is for me to do good things - right?!" We trust that the good works that we do as Christians are and must be the will of God. We say, "I have faith that I am doing what God wants me to do." And if we're not doing "bad" things then we are also doing God's will. As Christians, we can think the "calling of God" is somehow inherent or naturally "built in" to whatever we do for Him or do "in His name." It is very hard to see how this type of thinking is carnal (or proceeds from being carnally minded.) Nevertheless, the truth remains that you and I need to know the will of God if we are to do the will of God. This will never happen when we are carnally minded. “Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil:
but to the counsellors of peace is joy.” Proverbs 12:20 The importance of the Word of God in our lives is unarguably vital in our walk with God and yet it can be such a struggle to read the Word of God on a daily basis. For an astonishing multitude the Bible is not relevant or held to in life.
I have been impressed how many times in the book of Revelation it states of the saints who suffered and overcame, did so because they held to the “Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:2; 1:9; 6:9; 12:11; 20:4;). We are to hold on to both – not just where we possess the realness of God in our lives (i.e., the testimony of Jesus Christ “in us” (Colossians 1:27)) but also we are to hold to the Word of God. It states in Ephesians how Christ who loves the church and gave himself for it, did so “that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26). The Word of God is like water. As we are “washed” by it, it cleans us up – our minds, our hearts and our wills. Jesus said in John 15:3, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” As Jesus began to wash his disciple’s feet (feet are a picture of our will), Peter protested; to which Jesus told him in John 13:8, “…If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” You see, as we walk in this life and in this world our feet/our wills get defiled like the disciples’…and Jesus knows this. Like Peter, we need to see our need to let Jesus do as he will and wash our feet…or else we have no part with him. I would like to make available a Bible reading schedule should you desire it for your own use. The schedule will take you through the Word of God in a year. You will read a little of the Old & New Testaments, and smaller portions of Psalms & Proverbs each day. May Jesus wash our feet together with the Water of His Word and also, in these last days as the saints in Revelation, for us to hold to the “Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ” which he has given us. Love in Christ! |
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In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
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