What Is Your Will In Christ?

"... The problem is we might forget that in the grand scheme of things (namely eternity),  we have about five seconds on earth to make our lives count ..." - Louie Giglio, Pastor of Passion City Church, Founder of Passion Conferences. I think some of us have a vision problem... ... Depending on the individual severity, the number of symptoms and their effects   due to Persistently Recurring Human Myopia  can vary greatly, but some of us definitely have a vision problem. Some are fooled into embracing this life as though it's the life that God intends for us, but it's not. And some may forego the life eternal in favor of it and its perishing passions instead of recognizing the true power, passion and plan of The God who created  heaven and earth and everything in them. His plan for us is invested in a life beyond this one, but the choice to hear Him and submit to that plan is ours. "  ‘Now see that I, even I, am He, a nd there is no God besides Me;  I kill a...

"For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.  Isaiah  45:18-19 (NKJ) To have hope - not the hope that this world offers in all of its festering, decomposing,  glory -  but the true hope found in Christ Jesus, is to possess the greatest everlasting hope to be found in all of this universe and beyond, along with all of the wealth of heaven. "And again, Isaiah says:  “There shall be a root of Jesse;  and He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, i n Him the Gentiles shall hope.”  Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in ...

"All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after."  Ecclesiastes 1:8-11 (NKJ) There of course was something new that came long after Solomon's days, but it was only new because it was the fruition of a longstanding plan that God set it into motion Himself. He made restitution to justice Himself through Christ Jesus - paying the bloody price for the sins of mankind so that man would have the opportunity to be  reconciled to Himself. And man thereby having the opportunity to once again walk in close relationship with God as Adam and Eve did befo...

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. "  Hebrews 4:12-13 (NKJ) I'm not one who appreciates the stoking of fear for the sake of it or unnecessarily. There are enough things in this life to keep people concerned and even constantly fearful if they subscribe to them. I would like though, to take a moment to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ and any others who will take a little time to read this and give it some serious consideration because the subject has real   potential  consequences and there's still time to address any issues that we find upon reflection... If you were made aware that   sometime in the next hour  your life on earth was ...

One of my daughters arranged a writing project for me that I have been working on for months now. It consists of a series of questions that I'm intended to give an answer to. The latest is what follows and I felt compelled to also share it here... If this was the last thing you wrote, what words of wisdom would you share? My response begins with “Behold the Man!” "Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”   John 19:5 (NKJ) Pontius Pilate had no idea how profound those words were at the time that he spoke them or how they would impact to change the lives, hearts and minds of the men and women, boys and girls who would regard to follow them in earnest as they continue to echo throughout the history of mankind since. “Behold the Man!” As Pilate spoke those words to the crowd, it was in the hope that they would look on the man Jesus, with his flesh torn by the barb tipped whips that they used to beat Him, blood...

"ECONOMY | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary  Cambridge  https://dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › economy  — the system of making money and producing and distributing goods and services within a country or region" Mankind has been concerned with the available prosperity to be found in the economy that he inhabits in the world around him from the earliest recognition of his own want and need. The world's economic interests have, over time, spawned every imaginable financial mechanism from organized employment, to banks, to wall street and a plethora of financial oligarchy's. The primary medium, conveyance, or currency for exchange in the majority of today's world economies is of course money. Apparently most consumed by one degree or another of greed for money and material gain have forgotten that there is a higher economy and that its currency is of far greater value. That economy is an institution that far preceded and still overrules man'...

 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Revelation 4:11 (KJ) There's something about this verse in the King James version that grabs me every time that I read it. From the inspiration of this one verse, my heart and mind begin sounding out a litany of truths every time. For example... We did not create ourselves, we were created by God (So any physical trait that we might brag on (even inwardly) only reveals our utter foolishness) We had no hand in our own creation. Such things and even our talents and personal gifts didn't originate with us, but are from the same hands that formed us. And further, we were created not by or for our own pleasure, but HIS. So it seems obvious that our purpose above all other things would be to serve HIS pleasure rather than our own. Indeed, all things are intended to serve His pleasure, but among His greatest pleasures, given the...

“For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’" Malachi 3:6-7 (NKJ) God's patience with mankind has been long suffering from the time of Adam in the Garden Of Eden, but it doesn't last forever. Not only will the age of mankind on this earth finally come to judgment as God has said, but every human being is subject to God's timing and plan for their individual life and may find their time cut well short of their own plans at any time. " The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.  But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terri...

As Easter approaches, I begin once again considering how our God sees our observance of an occasion as I always do and also what He might truly desire of us in observance above any of our trivial, man inspired traditions . What I come away with in firm conviction is the understanding that the most trivial of my sins, the least of my crimes against God, had the power to forever damn me in His judgment of me and send me into unending torment. And that knowing this one thing in truth and as reality, is key to my correct posture before God in honor of His purpose in the event. That key being the horror of knowing that the price of my very least sin was the shedding of my Christ Jesus' blood and His horrible suffering, because the reality of this brings the deep rending of my heart in awe and gratitude and it makes possible my true joy at the relief of my sentence because of what He has done. I believe this is a part of what God would desire from us in observance of Christ's death a...

"I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.” John 12:46-50 (NLT) A lot is said these days about "judging", but in the midst of that popular societal buzz and the assertive comments that come with that conversation, I have a question: If God has called something sin and we simply agree with what He's said,... are we judging or just repeating and declaring the truth? When He walked the earth, Jesus spoke about judging and He pointed out the danger of our judging...  “Do not judge other...

"Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me"...   Job 38:1-3 (NKJ) What follows here is my own opinion on some things that I consider vital to our lives and thinking as  true" Christians" after repeatedly reading the whole of both the Old and New Testaments and my own experience with The Lord over a number of years... There's a lack of understanding that is causing a defective viewpoint in some of what it means to be Christian and of what the scriptures are saying. And in my opinion it's due in part to a lack of diligence and also to a process formed on an incomplete understanding due to that same lack of diligence. For example, how about the idea of just repeating a few words and all-of-a-sudden magically becoming a Christ Follower - a Christian. I know that some may well be prepared to argue, but conside...