What Is Your Will In Christ?

There's an aura around the greatness of God that I cannot touch with words to adequately relate. If you've truly spent any time in His presence, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. But if you haven't, then you're missing out on the most precious thing this life has to offer - and exactly what we were created to enjoy... If you consider that everything in the nature of the world around us, this planet, all of the others and the wonders of the heavens beyond were all created by God, then you begin to touch on His massive ability to create. But then focusing on the complexities of just one of the tiniest fragments of near creation around us, say a leaf, or a bug, contained within nature, explodes manifold any sense of the scope of one's imagination to contain the full measure of God's own imagination and creative ability. One human being can't possibly contain a full accounting of the knowledge of what He has done that we could learn of. The h...

"7 Sing out your thanks to the LORD; sing praises to our God with a harp. 8 He covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures.9 He gives food to the wild animals and feeds the young ravens when they cry. 10 He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. 11 No, the LORD’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love."  Psalm 147:7-11 (NLT)  Thanksgiving Day is rapidly approaching and it's made me think of some memories I gained as a child. I realize that there may be a number of different ways and reasons that people in the world might approach the holiday that we refer to as Thanksgiving and some who don't at all. But for me, it's a sacred day, one set aside personally with reverent and humbled gratitude... Growing up, the Thanksgiving holiday was always my mother's favorite which puzzled me as a kid. Why not Christmas with all that it rep...

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Jesus' words in Luke 22:42 (NLT) Far too often we have a tendency to approach the Lord with an agenda - a list of things, or maybe just a thing that we desire from Him, when all that is required to find the perfect answers to our needs... is obedient worship.  Jesus Himself, pointed this out in Matthew 6 (NLT) 31“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." (emphasis mine) Take Joshua for example, - the leader that the Lord appointed to lead the children of Israel after Moses' time was finished. He faced a huge responsibility in leading the Israelites. The mantle of leadin...

If we follow Christ, we're not called to be victims of delusion wandering aimlessly through a meaningless span of time, but rather clear minded and victorious soldiers of Christ's own calling - following a path that He charted and illuminated for us. If we follow Him, we fall not... because He stands in victory, we faint not... because He raised to life... and we live in eternal promise... because He lives forever. He's made both the truth and the path available to us and we're now made accountable for our response. In truth, only laziness or foolishness could be our answer for failing to follow Him when He calls us to account for it.  But what is the truth and what path do we follow? How does one navigate a sure and certain course to the destination that God intended for us from the beginning when He created us?  We were created for one purpose and our accounting of how we served that purpose will be reconciled against that of our Creator in the end. Our only hope...

Let's face it,... we're not perfect.  As followers of Christ, we may be criticized for our faults by others who make the false assumption that we're suddenly supposed to be perfect because of our profession of faith in Christ. But don't let the false expectations of others who would mock you derail your growth or breed guilt and condemnation in your heart... We all have a past and we all occasionally wrestle with finding ourselves falling short of who we ideally wish we could emulate perfectly - Jesus. But in truth, the renewing of our minds is a transformation, an ongoing process that will continue until our time here expires. Our repentance for those occasional missteps and Christ's provision of grace leave us free of the guilt and condemnation we would otherwise be subject to. So take heart. Look up and smile with a heart full of gratitude for what the Lord's doing in you! The path of transformation - becoming more like Christ, is an individual journe...