Readings:
II Chronicles 11
Acts 20:19-38
Focus:
Acts 20:24: "For myself, I set no store by life; all I want is to finish the race, and complete the task which the Lord Jesus assigned to me, that of bearing my testimony to the gospel of God's grace."
As Paul is saying goodbye to the Christians at Ephesus, he tells them that he has a strong sense from the Holy Spirit that he is heading toward imprisonment and hardship. Yet, knowing this, he still goes, for this is the direction that he feels God is telling him to go.
Paul is able to do this confidently because he has his priorities right. He does not put his own wishes and desires ahead of God's; he puts God's first. But perhaps a better way to put this would be to say that Paul loves God so much, that God's will has become what Paul wants more than anything else. God's will is not something that Paul has to struggle against; he does not have to valiantly subdue his own will in order to do God's will. Paul truly wants to do what God wants for him, more than Paul wants to do anything else.
Those of us who love God are all at different stages in our journey toward becoming like Paul. Some of us are still struggling to want what God wants. It is good for us to have Paul as a model. I want to be like that; I want to want what God wants.
Showing posts with label God's will. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's will. Show all posts
Friday, February 19, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Yes
Readings:
II Chronicles 1
Acts 15:36-16:5
Focus:
II Chronicles 1:11-12: "God said to Solomon, 'Because this is what you desire, because you have not asked for wealth or possessions or honor, or the lives of those hostile to you, or even long life for yourself, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; I shall also give you wealth and possessions and glory, such as no king before you has had, and none after you shall have."
When God asked Solomon what he would like, Solomon's prayer was an unselfish one: he wanted wisdom so that he could properly do the job that God had given him to do. In response, God gave him what he had asked for, plus the things that another person might selfishly have asked for.
When we ask for unselfish things, especially things in line with God's will, it is often likely that God will answer those prayers with a yes. And when we are doing God's will, he further gives us other things, things that we had not asked for, things that make us happy. They may not always be material things such as possessions or money, or even safety and health. But when we are doing God's will, he will always make us happy.
II Chronicles 1
Acts 15:36-16:5
Focus:
II Chronicles 1:11-12: "God said to Solomon, 'Because this is what you desire, because you have not asked for wealth or possessions or honor, or the lives of those hostile to you, or even long life for yourself, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; I shall also give you wealth and possessions and glory, such as no king before you has had, and none after you shall have."
When God asked Solomon what he would like, Solomon's prayer was an unselfish one: he wanted wisdom so that he could properly do the job that God had given him to do. In response, God gave him what he had asked for, plus the things that another person might selfishly have asked for.
When we ask for unselfish things, especially things in line with God's will, it is often likely that God will answer those prayers with a yes. And when we are doing God's will, he further gives us other things, things that we had not asked for, things that make us happy. They may not always be material things such as possessions or money, or even safety and health. But when we are doing God's will, he will always make us happy.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
How Can We Stand in God's Way?
Readings:
I Chronicles 19
Acts 11
Focus:
Acts 11:17b:"How could I stand in God's way?"
Peter told the other disciples that he had clearly seen that God wanted to have a saving relationship with the Gentiles (the non-Jews) just as much as he wanted to have a saving relationship with the Jews. This was outside of Peter's initial comfort zone. It wasn't what he had learned about how God was to be worshipped. But God showed him that the old ritual law was no longer operative; after Jesus, only the moral law remained constant. Even if Peter and the other disciples weren't comfortable with that at first, how could they stand in God's way?
This can happen to us, too. Maybe in order to reach out to people we have to endure different types of activities or music while spending time with them than we would really prefer. Or we may end up moving somewhere we hadn't at first thought we would like, in order to take a job that we feel God wants for us. These things may not be what we thought we had in mind, but in each case, we may see that it is clearly God's will for us to do those things. How can we stand in God's way?
Like Peter and the other disciples, we will find that once we let God have his way, we will benefit from it too. It will turn out that there will be surprises of blessings that we never could have foreseen.
I Chronicles 19
Acts 11
Focus:
Acts 11:17b:"How could I stand in God's way?"
Peter told the other disciples that he had clearly seen that God wanted to have a saving relationship with the Gentiles (the non-Jews) just as much as he wanted to have a saving relationship with the Jews. This was outside of Peter's initial comfort zone. It wasn't what he had learned about how God was to be worshipped. But God showed him that the old ritual law was no longer operative; after Jesus, only the moral law remained constant. Even if Peter and the other disciples weren't comfortable with that at first, how could they stand in God's way?
This can happen to us, too. Maybe in order to reach out to people we have to endure different types of activities or music while spending time with them than we would really prefer. Or we may end up moving somewhere we hadn't at first thought we would like, in order to take a job that we feel God wants for us. These things may not be what we thought we had in mind, but in each case, we may see that it is clearly God's will for us to do those things. How can we stand in God's way?
Like Peter and the other disciples, we will find that once we let God have his way, we will benefit from it too. It will turn out that there will be surprises of blessings that we never could have foreseen.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Popular Will or God's Will?
Readings:
I Kings 22:1-28
John 13:1-17
Focus:
I Kings 22:25:"Micaiah retorted, 'That you will find out on the day when you run into an inner room to hide.'"
John 13::"Peter said, 'I will never let you wash my feet.' 'If I do not wash you,' Jesus replied, 'you have no part with me.'"
King Ahab of Israel wanted to attack the King of Aram and win the city of Ramoth-Gilead back from him. He had a large number of prophets prophesy before him, and all said what he wanted to hear. But the prophet Micaiah, even though he was warned ahead of time to agree with the prevailing opinion, insisted on saying what God had told him to say, which was that a lying spirit had entered the mouths of those prophets in order to entice Ahab to do the wrong thing. One of the prophets is enraged and strikes Micaiah, asking how God's spirit could have left him and gone into Micaiah instead, and Micaiah tells him he will find out when God confronts him. Despite Micaiah's words, he is ignored; the popular will to attack the King of Aram is stronger.
When Jesus sits down to the Passover dinner with his disciples, he gets up and washes their feet. This is a task normally performed by menials, not by the rabbi. The disciples are aghast, and Peter refuses to let Jesus do it. But Jesus tells him that Peter must let Jesus wash Peter's feet if Peter wants to be part of Jesus's new kingdom. Peter is not like Ahab. He doesn't go with popular opinion or customs over what God wants. Instead, he jumps in wholeheartedly, and tells Jesus that in that case, he wants Jesus to wash every bit of him, not just his feet.
Peter is the model for us.
I Kings 22:1-28
John 13:1-17
Focus:
I Kings 22:25:"Micaiah retorted, 'That you will find out on the day when you run into an inner room to hide.'"
John 13::"Peter said, 'I will never let you wash my feet.' 'If I do not wash you,' Jesus replied, 'you have no part with me.'"
King Ahab of Israel wanted to attack the King of Aram and win the city of Ramoth-Gilead back from him. He had a large number of prophets prophesy before him, and all said what he wanted to hear. But the prophet Micaiah, even though he was warned ahead of time to agree with the prevailing opinion, insisted on saying what God had told him to say, which was that a lying spirit had entered the mouths of those prophets in order to entice Ahab to do the wrong thing. One of the prophets is enraged and strikes Micaiah, asking how God's spirit could have left him and gone into Micaiah instead, and Micaiah tells him he will find out when God confronts him. Despite Micaiah's words, he is ignored; the popular will to attack the King of Aram is stronger.
When Jesus sits down to the Passover dinner with his disciples, he gets up and washes their feet. This is a task normally performed by menials, not by the rabbi. The disciples are aghast, and Peter refuses to let Jesus do it. But Jesus tells him that Peter must let Jesus wash Peter's feet if Peter wants to be part of Jesus's new kingdom. Peter is not like Ahab. He doesn't go with popular opinion or customs over what God wants. Instead, he jumps in wholeheartedly, and tells Jesus that in that case, he wants Jesus to wash every bit of him, not just his feet.
Peter is the model for us.
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