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

“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.

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”

Joshua 1:8

We live in a day and age where success is expected of all people.  The world tells us that money is the key to success.  It even screams at us that success is labeled as having a nice house on the water or a white fence and a family with a dog.  This isn’t success in the eyes of the Lord; He is looking for something deeper.

What God cares about first and foremost is our character.  Who we claim to be, how we handle our relationships and how we handle every situation that comes to us.  Wisdom, knowledge and discernment is needed to accomplish a Christian life that is pleasing to the Lord.  You may ask “Ok, that’s great but now how do I live the life, make God honoring  decisions, and please Him?”  The answer is the Word of God enables you to do so.  Now you’re thinking “Oh common! A book?!  Can it really do that?!”  I tell you – yes it can.

All I say is to take steps of faith to make this book, the bible, a number one priority in your life.  Well now I bet someone may say “What about worship? I need to worship, I need to sing and play an instrument for the Lord.”  Worship is an important part of Christian living but I tell you the Word takes higher place.  If you have an hour for the Lord do not spend that time worshiping, instead spend it reading the bible.

Right before this passage, God appoints Joshua to lead Israel into the promised land because His beloved servant, Moses, has died.  This is a huge task that Joshua needs to fill.  The Lord assures Joshua to remain strong and courageous numerous times, He also tells him that He will be with him wherever he goes.  Now note that this is not the only thing God said to Joshua to help him with this task.  God also tells Joshua to meditate day and night on scripture so that he will be prosperous and have success.

We have to make the steps to read and meditate.  God can give us strength and courage.  He can lavish His presence  on you but He can’t force us to read.  I can’t stress it enough how much the reading of scripture benefits the Believer, this passage should help you realize it.  I pray that if you don’t, that God then will reveal it to you through His Holy Spirit.  Make the effort to set time aside throughout the day to have the chance to sit and mediate on scripture.  This will birth a fruitful, Christian life.

“Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.” – Acts 21:4

Why did Paul go to Jerusalem?  Better yet, why did Paul go to Jerusalem when his ministry was for the gentiles (Romans 15:16)?  The desire and work of an apostle is the spreading of the Gospel through evangelism.  If we take a step back to examine Paul’s journey prior to going to Jerusalem, we will recognize that Paul was being led by the Holy Spirit to head toward Spain, and on his way, pass through Rome (Romans 15:28).  But first, Paul had made the decision to go to Jerusalem (Romans 15:25).

Romans 15:25-28 explains that Paul was going to Jerusalem to ensure that the “poor among the saints” in Jerusalem received the fruit (contribution) given by Macedonia and Achaia.  While in Jerusalem, Paul also decided that he would strive to “arouse my own people (Jews) to envy and save some of them” (Romans 11:14).  Paul taught that Israel is holy since its firstfruits is holy:

“If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.” – Romans 11:16

In Acts 20:22-23, we are told that Paul was compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem.  However, the Holy Spirit warned that prison and hardships were facing Paul in every city.  Therefore, Paul knew that his ministry on earth was coming to a close.  Regardless, he felt led to go to Jerusalem.  In Acts 21:4, Paul and his crew arrived at Tyre where he met the disciples.  Here, they were urging Paul through the Holy Spirit not to go to Jerusalem.  Moreover, at Paul’s conversion, Christ Jesus told Paul to flee from Jerusalem “because they will not accept your testimony about me” – Acts 22:18.  So why would Paul continue on route to Jerusalem?  Clearly he wasn’t disobeying God.  It is clear in Acts 23:11 that God willed for Paul to testify in Jerusalem prior to testifying in Rome.  Paul was confident with the decision to go to Jerusalem because he recognized that the Spirit’s work in Israel was fulfilled through Christ and after Christ was the age of the Gentile.  The Holy Spirit was not wrong in urging Paul not to go, rather the Holy Spirit was warning.  The Holy Spirit’s warning was further confirmed through the prophet Agabus and his prophecy concerning Paul’s imprisonment in Acts 21:11-12.

To summarize the Holy Spirit’s role in Acts 21:4: The Holy Spirit warned that Paul would face prison and hardships.  Moreover, the Holy Spirit’s work in Israel was complete through the death and resurrection of Christ until the full number of Gentiles is reached.  Therefore, God, through His sovereign wisdom, used Paul’s hope and affection “for his own people” (see Romans 11:14) to lead Paul to Jerusalem so that the developing enmity of the Jews climaxed to their final rejection of grace.  Paul’s love, hope, affection, and longing to suffer for Christ gave him all the confidence that he needed to continue regardless of the Spirit’s warning.  Paul spoke plainly to the Jews perhaps so that the difference between grace and the law (Jew and Gentile) could be distinguished by the Jews.  Although the exact reason for God sending Paul to Jerusalem isn’t clear, we can learn some truths about this story that are applicable to our walks as Christians.

1) The Holy Spirit warns us of danger and leads in the path of God and when persecution comes, he gives strength to endure it.

2) Suffering for the name of Christ should be the decision-making factor in seeking out God’s will.  The Holy Spirit warned that Paul faced hardships and prison in every city.  As Paul did, we too should consider our lives to be worth nothing and in this, we will fulfill God’s moral will for our life.  Perhaps this is a truth that we should live by when uncertainty exists: choose the path that denounces your life and glorifies God.  Paul did not look back at the consequences of his decision.  He knew that by putting his life in harms way meant a certain death and by dying, his life’s work was threatened by the “savage wolves” to come (Acts 20:29).  Yet, Paul continued in the path that kept his life of no worth.  In other words, by staying to protect his life’s work, he would have considered his life of some worth, rather than giving it up to God – the giver of all worth!  Is your decision making based upon claiming some worth or value to your life?

-Mark

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 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

The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost
to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,
the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.
It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.

Last time, I talked about how we have to act out in complete faith and trust in God whenever we commit to a decision. Neglecting the Holy Spirit and walking without faith will always lead us into a bad place. When we come before God and our heart does not condemn us, that is when we know we have true faith in what we are doing. (1 John 3:19-20) Have the Lord search you, convict you of what is not of Him, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, bearing fruits in everything you do. (Psalm 139:32,33, Colossians 1:10) A life that does not bring glory to God and bring forth fruit from under your feet is not a life that pleases God. Take a moment and ask God to show you what you have been seeds you have been planting in your walk. Do some fruits look ripe and ready, but inside they have been eaten away? Are you deceiving yourself and others by the outward appearance of your life? Do not defraud yourself and others with only the mere appearance of fruit, for God looks deeper than the outward appearances of lives. (1 Samuel 16:7, Revelations 3:1)

Everyone has made mistakes and gone down paths that God did not intend for His children. Be not deceived, for if you made a decision in your life that brought sin and dead fruit, do not believe that God wanted you to go through that. The true and righteous path of God continually glorifies and brings sanctification. I have heard too many people say that it was the will of God for them to do certain things in their lives that only ended in sin and hurt. Are you really going to say to people that it was God’s will for you to get in a certain position that only bred sin and immorality? God will not guide you into a situation where there is death and no fruit! By your testimony, it makes it seem that God wants you to sin! Even though you may have learned from it, that was not his original intent. God is sovereign, and will use your mistakes so that he is glorified and you learn from them, but that does not mean that you had to go through them. I think it is a very dangerous thing to believe that God would lead you into a place that did not glorify Him and bear fruit.

An example of something looking like righteous fruit, but in reality, being spoiled is King Saul. When Saul was told by God to destroy all of the Amalekites, God made it very clear that he didn’t any survivors because all of them were committing sinful acts. (1 Samuel 15:3) As the battle waged on, Saul was face to face with King Agag and decided to spar him and show mercy. Saul probably thought this was a godly thing to show mercy, but he ultimately went against the plans of God. He probably thought to himself that God would want me to be merciful and it would look great, even though God explicitly told him not to spare anyone. The fruit of mercy looked very appealing, but in fact it was spoiled on the inside because it was not what God wanted. Saul’s kingdom was taken away from him because of his actions. Our actions can be very deceptive by the way they look, they might even look godly to many, but before the Lord, they are rotten.

It’s impossible for us not to be convicted about spreading bad seed. This may feel as if you have wasted your time, and your efforts have gone to waste, but that is farther from the truth. When we come back to God and return to the righteous path, the fruit that was once spoiled becomes edible. Friends, do not be deceived, for God does not hold back any blessings from us, and He is gracious enough to give us the blessings we missed out on. In Joel, God told Israel that if they repented of their ways, he would restore them and bring back prosperity. The blessings that we missed out on can easily be given to us if we return from our ways. But do not delay, for although He is faithful, you are not to test Him and think you will be given your blessings even if you continue on a sinful path. If you are called by His name, rejoice for He works out all things for benefit! (Romans 8:28) Repent and be restored, so you may be able to taste the fruits of the labor you once gave up.

-Joseph

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

Romans 14:23
“But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.”

As I said in earlier entries, we are not to be concerned with the individual will for our lives; rather we should look towards the moral will of God. This doesn’t mean that we are to be without knowledge in terms of how to make wise choices. When it comes to the will of God, and doing what is right, it is important to make sure you know what you are doing. All too often, we have condemning heart when we make choices, and for this reason it becomes almost impossible go confidently before God to declare them. (1 John 3:19-20) We doubt, weaver and go back and forth on what we should do, and when we act out, we are often left wondering if we did the right thing. Jesus said let your yes be yes and no be no for a reason. (Matthew 5:37) We are to make sure that with each step we take, we see fruit budding to the sides of the road. (Colossians 1:10) When we act out in faith, we are always to please our Father, for it is our faith in Him that makes us stand on these choices. (Romans 12:4) If we doubt what we do, we no longer have faith that this is what God wants. It is by faith we walk with God, and when we walk without it, we no longer walk with Him. Isaiah makes it very clear that either we stand firm in our faith before God, or we don’t stand before Him at all. (Isaiah 7:9) We need to be sure that what we do is through faith so that it may be acceptable before Him.

How many times have we acted out on emotions and feelings, rather than faith; which is the abandonment of all emotions and rationale. (Hebrews 11:1) Did you not know that each time you acted out of confusion, you were sinning? We are to be certain in our ways, otherwise if someone calls us out on what we are doing, and we can’t give them an honest answer, you’ll be deceiving them and yourself. Paul urges the Romans to make sure that their choice on what to eat is not condemned by those around them. (Romans 14:16) Be certain that the choices that you make are not made in haste or confusion, but be able to go before the Father without grieving your spirit. Make sure that everything you do doesn’t have any form of evil; otherwise you will look guilty among your brothers. (1 Thessalonians 5:22) We have not been given a spirit of anxiety, so if you feel worried, pray for conviction or confirmation. If the Word of God, inspired by the Spirit, divides the soul and spirit and cuts through bone and marrow, will it not clearly lead you in the right direction? (Hebrews 4:12) To live with a spirit of undiscernment, is nothing of God’s fault, but of your own! Seek Him and let the Heavens fill with the aroma of your prayers. (Psalm 141:2)

Brothers and sisters, let our steps be taken with great faith. May we no longer put our hand on the plow and look back, for those who do are not fit for the Kingdom of God. (Luke 9:26)  Let us not be like Lot’s wife who while being lead by God looked back towards her what was behind her. (Genesis 19:26) If we do not move ahead with exceeding faith, we will no longer be walking besides God, but among the thorns. (Hosea 2:6)

In the next letter, I want to look at what happens when we do make the wrong decision and are taken away from the presence of the Lord. It will show the unconditional mercy and love that the Lord has for us when we repent.

-Joseph

“But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.  So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”  – Jonah 1:3

In yesterdays devotional we talked about the portion of scripture in Jonah where it says “(Jonah) found a ship which was going to Tarshish.”  We took out of that the dangers of being impulsive and the dangers of saying “God told me this”, “God told me that.”  Today I’d like to take a look at the next piece of this verse which is “Paid the fare”.  Again, the Bible isn’t random, things are put in there for a reason and in this case this one is a small, fragment of a sentence but we can learn a life lesson and a characteristic of God’s personality.

Lets take a second and put ourselves in Jonah’s shoes.  Here he was boarding a boat to escape the holy and mighty God, the God who controls anything and everything.  He boarded the ship and paid the fare, maybe he thought to himself “Hmm, I have to money to pay so maybe God is letting me go to Tarshish.”  How many times in our lives do we go with our circumstances and conjure up some story of how it was God.  Take a look and meditate on the fact that God allowed Jonah to have the money to pay and flee, he allowed the ship to be in on the port that day, he allowed the weather to be good so they can set sail.  I urge you, not to take a look at circumstances and follow them as if they were God.  Don’t forget we have an enemy out there that hides himself as an angel of light.  The Word of God, the Bible, is to be our source of guidance, not something that is put right in front of us, even if it’s good and seems promising.  We should watch ourselves because we can easily make up something in our minds and convince ourselves that God put this person here, this providence there, this opportunity there.  With a deceitful enemy and a heart that can lie to us, it is very easy to conjure up a plan and say it is of the Lord.  Jonah was able to pay the fare wasn’t he?  Watch out, God will let you go your own way, thinking it was Him but he will always bring you back around if you are one of His children.

-Scott