Let’s face it, in this day and age, Christians, all sorts of them, are concerned with what the will of God is for their life.  I heard it said many times that the number one question people ask there pastor is “What is the will of God in my life.”  Many teachings, sermons and books have been written on this subject but yet sometimes people seem to miss it or are just confused.

When it comes to the will of God there is an expression in the Church today called “an open door”.  People say that the way God leads you is by opening a door.  He will open up a door to a relationship he wants you in.  He could open up a door to the right job he wants you to be in and so on.  I agree that God does open doors to lead you but what Christians do these days is forget there is an enemy out there who also “opens up doors”.  How blind and naive can we be thinking that there isn’t an enemy out there seeking to trip us up?  Just because we see something that is open does that really mean it’s from God?  Does it really mean that God is actually the one opening that door?  I doubt it!  We are called to test everything according to 1 John.  We shouldn’t be just grasping at everything in the air and claiming that it was God that opened that door.  To show my view on it lets take a look at Jonah, one of my favorite stories.

Jonah was told by God to preach to this nation called Nineveh because there wickedness had come up to Him (Jonah 1:1-3).  Jonah, instead of listening to God sought to not do what the Lord wanted and tried to flee from God by trying to relocate somewhere.   Don’t we sometimes try this?  Come on let’s be honest, we all have done that in one way or another, whether we care to admit it or not.  So here is Jonah, he has in his mind that he can escape God so he thinks to himself “Where can I go to escape God?”  Jonah chooses to go down to the docks and pay for a ride to Tarshish.  The reason he was going to Tarshish was because it was so far in the opposite direction of Nineveh.  He probably thought God couldn’t reach him over there.  This is where things get interesting if you extract the life principles out of the situation.  You ready?  Ok here we go.

Jonah was able to find a ship that was actually going somewhere he wanted to go.  Can’t we view this as an open door by God?  Or do we think that God is going to force us into something?  If God was in the business of forcing people to do something then couldn’t God have sent down lightning and burned up the ship before Jonah even got on it?  Also the text says that Jonah paid the fare for the ride on the ship.  I’ll improvise a little but what happens if Jonah went to the captain of the ship and said “How much is a ride?” and the captain said “20”.  Jonah then, could have reached in his pocket and pulled out the exact amount.  Jonah had the money.  So here is the stage I am trying to set and for you to picture.  Jonah finds a ship that will take him to a place opposite the place God wanted him to go and he actually had the money for it.  Wouldn’t a Christian today say that his means where met and God opened the door because he provided him a ship to go to Tarshish and provided the money for him?  But in essence this isn’t what God wanted him to do.

This is why we must test everything that comes our way.  We shouldn’t form conclusions in our minds and think that God is going to work your situation out the way you think it should go.  God’s ways are not our ways.  To jump and grab everything claiming it was God is wrong because it could not have been from God.  You may not see it now but later on you will, just like how Jonah saw.  God let him go his way for a little while there, but then God stopped Jonah dead in his tracks.  I pray we be wise and knowledgeable about God so that we don’t fall into something that will hurt us and think that it was God.  I also pray we don’t go down a path claiming it was God because you thought he opened up the door.  Test, test, test!

-WitnessScott

⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

-Ephesians 2: 4 – 5

We all hear that we need grace and mercy but do we ever actually know what that means?  What exactly is grace and what exactly is mercy?

Grace is God giving to us what we don’t deserve and mercy is God with holding from us what we do deserve.

We are all in need of God’s grace AND mercy.  Mercy, though, can be a little tricky and misused.  This doesn’t mean you can do anything you want and not feel the repercussions of it.  It doesn’t mean you can blindly sin and get away with the consequences in this life.  It doesn’t mean you can go out and steal something while at work and think “oh well, God will have mercy on me and not have my Boss fire me because he caught me stealing.”

Many Christians raise their fists to God and cry out in an outburst when something like that happens.  Believe me, it happens.  See, what many people don’t realize, or the people that particularly believe in the pseudo-western-world-Disney Land-Christianity, is that God has set some rules.  In the Bible it clearly states, you reap what you sow.  If you reap of the flesh, you’ll sow of the flesh.  If you reap of the spirit, you’ll sow of the spirit.  Christ’s mercy is Him not saving you out of the bad choices you made or by acts that are displeasing to Him but Christ’s mercy is Him saving you from eternal judgment and death – hell.  This is what Christ came to do on the cross: to save you from hell.  Mercy is God saying, “I paid for her/his sins and by doing so I give them eternal life.”

Please, let us not mix up or think we know what mercy or grace is.  These two gifts are the life bread of Christianity.  There your hall pass, your lunch ticket, the thing that saves you in the end.  All in favor of grace and mercy?

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rules, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12

Let’s face it, in this particular verse Paul isn’t saying that we enter into the spiritual battle, he states that we are in fact in a spiritual battle whether we like it or not.  If you do not know this because you never realized it or you just ignore the fact that you are, I can probably tell you that you aren’t winning the battle.

When we are in conflict with someone or some circumstance we aren’t warring with humans or flesh.  We shouldn’t be saying “Oh if this person would just act this way everything would be fine”.  It is not the person who is causing the strife, it is the spiritual forces behind them.  Now I am not saying there is a demon behind every bush but what I am saying is if we are in conflict in some way, the bible teaches us that we are warring with principalities.

We should realize this spiritual realm and recognize it as being real and very important.  We have an enemy out there that wants to trip us up and basically have our head.  There are angels and demons fighting constantly behind the scenes in our life and to prove this point take a look at this scripture in Daniel.

Daniel received a very disturbing vision from the Lord which left him terrified.  He was so shaken that he fasted and prayed for 3 weeks.  As he became so weary he fell to the ground and an angel touched him and comforted him.  The angel then stated in Daniel 10:12-14 ” Then he said to me “Do not be afraid Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.  BUT the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days, then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.”  It is clear that Satan and his demonic forces actually held back this prayer from Daniel.

As you can see we are involved in this battle and it is real.  We shouldn’t be so lofty and think “oh Satan, what’s the big deal?”  He is a big deal!  The Bible states that he is a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

The next time you get into an argument at work with your boss;  The next time you get into an argument with you mother-in -law;  The next time you’re in a fight with one of your siblings;  Remember who you are really fighting and battling – you aren’t fighting with them, but with the forces that are behind them and that are pulling the strings, looking to trip you up and get to you.  Also remember this: the only way to fight the spiritual is through prayer!  Not reasoning with them or making them try to see your point – that’s God’s Job.  We can only fight for people and circumstances through prayer.

“As a deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.”

Psalm 42:1

How is your life going?  Did you obtain all your dreams and still feel something is missing?  Did you search out all the pleasures of this world and still feel an emptiness?  This void in our hearts can be filled only by Christ.  You can chase after all the things of this world and in this world but there is nothing that can satisfy your soul than an intimate, sanctified relationship with God.

Have you ever been really thirsty at one point and know that the only thing that can quench it is a glass of cold water.  Milk won’t do it, soda or some type of juice won’t do it either.  Water is the only thing that hits the spot, and boy does it hit the spot.  We are designed and made for the presence of God to dwell in our souls, filling that emptiness we feel inside throughout our life.  You can have fun and try to fill it with other things like relationships, materialism, and just plain sin but there is nothing that can compare to the water that is of the Lord.

Jesus states in John 4:14 “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst, but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”  The filling that Jesus gives to us as we come to Him is beyond anything we can ever imagine.  We will no longer look for another thing to fill us up, He is all we need.  So make that step.  Maybe you never tasted the water or maybe you have and slipped away for a period of time.  This is your moment to come back to it, this is your time to taste it like you never had before.  Come to Him who calls us and draws us in.

Proverbs 19:2

Throughout the Bible there are many verses based on patience.  God is trying to get it across to us that patience is a requirement all Christians should have, it produces much fruit and Godly character.  Mostly the reason why God puts a big emphasis on patience throughout His word is because He knows we often find ourselves in His “waiting room”.

There are so many promises of patience in the Bible that if you adhere to them then we will see the providence of God.  In Proverbs it gives us a warning to not go ahead of God, if we do we err.  Err means to “miss the mark”.  We should never try to pry ourselves or force ourselves out of Gods waiting room, if we do we will slip up and maybe cause some unnecessary hurt or pain.  In Deuteronomy 1:42 – 45 is a pure example of trying to go ahead of the Lord.  The Lord spoke to Israel and said not to go up to the hill country to fight the Amorites because He was not with them.  Instead, Israel rebelled against the command of the LORD and went up anyway.  Once they met the Amorites in battle, they scattered Israel like bees and crushed them.

We should always wait on the Lord, we should never go ahead of Him.  I’ve seen too many Christians act and run ahead of the Lord.  When they do they usually claim something as from God but in the end it isn’t because God wasn’t with them.  Patience is a hard thing in a society where we are breed to have everything instantly.  This is a ploy by the enemy to try and ravage what God is trying to do in us but I will tell you this, if you are a true legitimate child of God then He will discipline you until you get it.  Trust and wait on God, it is too dangerous to run ahead of Him.

Psalm 26:2

How are you really doing with lusts of the flesh, with insecurity, with trusting in the Lord, with your thought life, with your anger, with your pride?  The key word in that sentence is “really”.  Sure we can all say “Yeah, I’m doing great on those things and everyone can see it.”  In reality, I bet there are some short comings, there isn’t all truth in your answer.  We are all human, we may look the part and want to play the lead role of a God fearing Christian but on the inside we can be living totally opposite of how we project our life to others.

In Psalm 17:3 it says “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests hearts.”  Peppered throughout all the Old Testament, God placed institutions and situations to test the hearts of His people, Israel.  This is a common, known, character of God.  He doesn’t care how your pastor sees you, he doesn’t care how your worldly friends see you or even how your Christians friends see you.  We should care about how God sees us because that is what he cares about, our hearts.

We can easily fool people, we can play the part, talk the talk and walk the walk.  We can be a holy pillar in our church, community and social life but in reality we can be a faithless, lustful, prideful person in our heart.  God sees the real you!  You can’t fool our Eternal Lord!  He knows what your thoughts are, he knows how your heart feels.  Ask the Lord in prayer to constantly guide your heart, to make his thoughts your thoughts, to be one with Him in a real relationship.  Most importantly, pray that He gives you a hunger and thirst for His Word.  This is how He speaks to us and changes us.  He wants to make you holy, he wants to change your sinful heart, he wants to bring you into a sanctifying relationship with Him.  He loves us with a perfecting love.  Pray for that and He will meet you because this is the will of God that you be sanctified.  (1 Th 4:3)

-Scott

Psalm 51:17

Ever wonder what pleases God, like what he looks for?  He doesn’t look for the outward worship of the masses, He looks for the heart that is broken and in need of Him.  We can do all the outward expressions of worship, like singing, raising our hands and even dancing but without a broken and contrite heart this worship is meaningless.  Just as the Psalmist states, God didn’t care about the outward rituals or expression to God which was a sacrifice or a burnt offering.  Instead God is looking for the heart that cries “Lord, I can’t do this life alone, I can’t live without you, I am desperate for your presence.  I am nothing without you.”  A clear and utter dependence upon God is what a sacrifice looks like in His eyes.

It’s what He searches for, so next time you attend church and your raising your hands with such an outward expression make sure your heart is in the proper spot.  Sure your expression of worship looks good to others, they may say “Wow, look at how he worships, he must really love God” or “Wow, look at how she worships, she looks like she’s got a deep, intimidate relationship with God” but this is not how God looks at you, He looks at the heart.  Who are we here to please in this life, man or God?  Trust me, we can all play the part of a worshiper or a person who sacrifices by giving money away to the poor or volunteering at a soup kitchen but without a heart that’s broken and in desperate need of God, it won’t please Him.  It may please man but again, who are you living for?

Bring your heart low, have your mind realize the need for God.  Flush out all the fleshy desires and needs you have, don’t let them cloud how much your really need the Lord.

-Scott

Romans 12: 15 -16

Let’s face it, we live in a very selfish world.  A world where people only care about themselves, their feelings, their desires and their personal wants.  I hate to say it but this not only happens in the “world”, it also happens in Christianity and the churches of today.

We ought to be looking to take care of others and no I am not talking about your typical Christian outreach which is feeding the homeless and so on.  I am talking about looking to care for others who are in depression, who are deceived by the enemy, who are oppressed, who are waiting for a marriage partner, who are waiting for God to show up in their life.  I can go on with some many more examples but just hear my point, we aren’t just supposed to feed the homeless and so on but we are to meet everyone’s needs wherever they’re at in their life.

We are to take up one’s burdens, we are to bend ourselves to the lowly.  Notice how it says, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.  We are to feel their pain or feel their joy, it’s an uncomfortable thing because you may be saying to yourself “My life is good right now, I don’t need to be involving myself with someone else’s issues.”  Not only is this false but opposite of God’s heart.  We should try, to the best of our abilities, to reach the hurting and put ourselves where they are at, it may hurt you but this is what the scripture tells us to do: we are to selfishly lavish our love onto someone just as Christ did to us. I challenge you this very day, maybe your reading this and you have someone in mind, reach out, respond to the spirit, associate with that person no matter what type of uncomfortable position it may put you in.  You have to use wisdom, knowledge and discernment when reaching out and helping others.  Pray to the Lord that you may speak what he wants you to speak, cleanse your mind of any preconceived notions of that person and come in with a fresh heart.  This is what we are called to do, carry each others’ burdens.

-Scott

Psalm 37: 7 – 10

There is nothing worse than going through a hard time and seeing other people around you prosper.  You are doing what you feel the Lord wants and you are  following His ways but when you look around, there are people who are not following God and yet they are doing just great and there life couldn’t be better.

We are warned in this verse not to look around us and to the people around us because we ought to know, as true Godly sons and daughters, that we will see the LORD in our circumstance.  On a quick side note, we should know and even realize that God may not show up the way we want Him to but don’t you trust in Him enough to say, “Whatever you want God”?  If we do look at others around us and see them prospering it will cause us to become angry.  We should reframe from this because the end result will cause evildoing, it may not be evildoing as in something in the physical realm but our hearts and mind can conquer up some pretty nasty things, so let’s do what the scripture says and stop ourselves from comparing our lives to others.

Ultimately lets be patient and wait for our God to move in our favor.  He will not forget you and not let you go through trials and tribulations for nothing.  He loves you with an everlasting love, he doesn’t love you with a pampering love but with a love that is for your own good.  He urges to make us holy like He is, He looks to change our hearts.  If you are resisting His discipline and you’re in a trial, wake up!  Learn the lesson, be open to what He wants to show you, do not resist Him.  In 1 Peter 1:6 it says “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials..”  The key word is “if necessary”.  Proverbs 3:11 ” My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord, or loathe His reproof.”  Take the time to ask the Lord what he wants to show you, be ready for the answer!

-Scott

Psalm 34:19 – “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.”

Going through some sort of trial?  Maybe you’ve lost a loved one, maybe you’re in a financial crisis.  Maybe there is some sort of illness you can’t seem to get over.  When we stumble across afflictions we should first ask ourselves, consequence of sin or a trial.  Galatians 6:7 states “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”  There are some instances that we may bring the pain upon ourselves due to our inability to make right choices or overcome sin and then there is pain we don’t cause.  Let’s try some examples to help establish what is a consequence or a trial.

1.  “I lost my job because I stole some supplies while my other workers weren’t looking”

2.  “I’m having strife at work with my boss because I said no when he asked me to cut some corners on tax form.”

3.  “My wife is giving me a hard time at home because I’am spending to much time at the office.”

4.  “I’ve fallen into drunkenness, I thought it was safe to just have one drink here and there but now I can’t go somewhere without having one.”

Can you spot the one that is a trial and the others that are consequences of wrong behavior and actions?  If not I’ll give you the answer , its #2.

When we are faced with a trial we should remember Psalm 34:19 – ” “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” If we are faced with a consequence and have come to full repentance then we should look at and memorize Romans 8:28 – “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.” What an amazing God we serve, when we mess up he turns it around for our good.  Be encouraged, God loves you, just turn from your sin and He will meet you.

-Scott