Category Archives: God’s Will

God’s Character Never Changes

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Humans are not steadfast. Our character ebbs and flows. Our sin nature does not allow us to be steadfast, we always falter, some more than others, until Jesus returns we are locked into the the fate of sin. The only constant in our life is that God’s character and standards never change.

This means the God who spoke in the Old Testament is speaking to us today. He spoke to His people through the disciples, prophets, and most importantly Jesus. The story always remains the same. Adam and Eve sinned and were thrown out of Eden. We entered eternal sin as the result of their disobedience. The Messiah will come and save us from eternal sin. Jesus will be crucified and return to heaven. He will return again to redeem His people, and we will live as one people in peace through eternity.

We all need stability. God’s character is our stabilizing force. Why? No matter what happens on earth, His plan is consistent, it does not waiver or deviate. The world today is not much different that the world of old. There are still false prophets and leaders who fail to surrender to the Will of God. Leaders still take bribes, or are rewarded by lobbyists. Many priests and religious leaders are bought by large contributions to their church, and fall pray to idols (money, fame, and fortune). Families still struggle to maintain the nucleus to hold the unit together. Economies and social justice are still at odds. And, the Word of God is still lost to many who only hear the noise of chaos.

This seems like desperate times, and in some respect it is. However, this world will operate in phases until the end. Our loving Father will love us, warn us of our wrong doing, judge us and restore us, each time hoping that we will turn back to Him.

The only thing we can rely on is His unfailing love and character that is ever-present, even when it seems He is not with us.

Our Lord never forsakes us or leaves us. He does not turn a blind eye to this world. He sees all, and remembers everything. He is always with us, holding us up when we cannot walk or take another breath. He provides for us when we cannot provide for ourselves.

He is here with us in the light and darkest moments. HE IS FAITHFUL throughout time. Rest assured, the sun will rise and set everyday as part of His creation and plan for our salvation. He is our loving Father who cannot fail. He is all truth and His character is unwavering.

Indecision Is a Form of Spiritual Paralysis

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When we are instructed to wait on the Lord in Isaiah 40:31, God is not instructing us to sit and twiddle our thumbs or coil, writhing in pain over what we should or should not do. The phrase ‘wait on the Lord’ means to wait in expectation, trust in Him, and put your hope in Him, not the circumstances you may be experiencing. If the farmers experience low crop yields, do they say, I will not plant seeds this year and I know God will supply a prosperous crop. No, they plant their seeds, care for the crop and pray that it will be bountiful. If we need a job, should we sit paralyzed or should we search for work and pray that God will direct us to the perfect position and give us favor in the employers eyes.

I am certain many may have experienced God’s work when seeking employment and the opportunities seem to be in conflict with your skills and education, yet that particular type of work seems to be calling. Quite often, God is sending you to a place where He needs you to be His messenger, or it may be a place that requires you to turn to Him and place all confidence in Him (a lesson, not a punishment). Is it easier to follow His direction in this instance, or to remain spirituality paralyzed? I submit, God controls everything, to assume He cannot direct your path is offensive. He created all in the world and universe, His architecture for our lives was completed long ago. He knew and knows all that we will go through in life, the good and the bad, as well as times of comfort and extreme discomfort, therefore He knows His expectations of how we are to approach Him; it is an act of defiance when we fail to reach out to Him. He expects us to firstly ask Him for direction(pray), then listen for His answer (seek), and thirdly act (respond).

God is our only prospect for deliverance. Consider your options and listen to the directions God shares with you. It may be as you hoped, and then again it may be something completely out of your purview. For many, attempting to make a decision creates paralysis and indecision; taking the path less traveled may also cause (temporary) paralysis. But, consider this, if we operate outside of God’s Will or chose our own path, we are not honoring God. God gives us strength when we seek Him. He directs us when we abide in His Word. His hope energizes us when we seek Him. When we wait upon Him, trusting He will answer and direction, we begin to exhibit strength, a peace of mind, and deliverance from the storm that rages and attempts to sink us, and consequently seeks to weaken and destroy our relationship with the Lord. Psalms 25:5 advises us to ask God to lead us in His truth and teaches us learn to wait on His reply. Only God is our salvation. Psalms 27:14 implores us to wait on the Lord; to be strong and let your heart take courage as you yield to His direction. We are, according to Webster’s Dictionary, (commentary on Wait on the Lord, word search ‘wait’) stay or rest in expectation until the arrival of His answer is clear. We can rest in the knowledge that His provision will be better than anything we force. 

Waiting on the Lord is active, not passive. It is preparing us to act when it becomes clear that He is directing our path. It urges us not to be indecisive and writhing in paralysis. Psalms 37:7 (ESV) shares “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.” Rest in God’s love, be active and wait on the Lord. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.” Roman’s 12:2 (NIV) Continue to plant your crop, in the case of farming, send out your resume, share with others your need for employment, seek out communities of those also searching for employment and ask God to show you direction, ask for a sign that you are on the correct path even when His path may mean lower income that you are accustomed to, he is plotting your path. He will reward you for relying on and obeying Him.

Waiting on the Lord is an active and decisive practice. Indecision is passive and inactive. It is a form of spiritual passivity that creates spiritual paralysis and weakens your relationship with the Lord, our Father.

Images in order: 1) LAB Photos; 2) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.com; 3) m.lovethispic.com

Scriptures: Bible.com

Resources: Barnes Notes On The Bible, biblehub.com

The Function of Prayer

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The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.
~Soren Kierkegaard (goodreads.com)

Praying hands. Freeimages.com

Prayer is the conduit of relationship. It connects us to our Lord and Savior and to other believers. It changes us and gives us fertile ground to graze on. It feeds us, nourishes us, empowers us, and sustains us. When we pray we become one with the Lord. Throughout the years I have experienced how prayer has changed me from the inside out. When we are new believers, our prayers connect us, then as time moves forward, one day we pray and find ourselves at a new, deeper level of relationship with the Lord. As we mature and our relationship deepens, He is able to convey His wishes for us on a much deeper level.

As our nature changes internally, so too does our outer nature. We no longer view the world as we had previously. Since we see the world differently, we respond to situations, circumstances, trials and tribulations differently. We also look at the joyous moments in our lives differently. We begin to see the world through God’s eyes expressed through His Word.

I also believe our prayers become less myopic, and no longer singularly focused on self. We begin to focus on more than our needs and look at God’s world and it’s needs.

Young Woman praying. Freeimages.com

God directs our path through the Holy Spirit who resides in us, as well as through His Word. The Holy Spirit teaches us to focus on our prayers. It nudges our perspective and removes old bias, stereotypes and, hatred towards others.

Prayer provides spiritual empowerment. There is an article in Bible.org entitled, 7. Prayer #2: A Prayer for Spiritual Empowerment (Ephesians 3:14-21), in which the author shared that the “theme of this prayer is: “When you pray, pray boldly.”” As you do so, you are asking God to give you deeper understanding. As we mature, and our prayers become more selfless, they also become more bold. Bold prayers are a form of radical faith, a faith that does not falter or doubt.

This radical faith empowers us to be the soldiers and ambassadors He called us to be. When we pray, as Soren Kierkegaard expressed, our nature changes.

We cannot influence God, but we can, through prayer, influence the world around us through our actions, thoughts and deeds. We are empowered through the Holy Spirit to conform to the image of Jesus Christ, to be like Christ in all that we do. To reflect His Will in our actions, thoughts and deeds. Ultimately we change our nature through prayer and that change flows out into the world affecting others.

Comfort In Uncertainty

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When we are lost, we seek inward. When we are confused we seek God. Isn’t it amazing that we rely on Him and Him alone when things get tough.

~ Lisa Blair

Do you ever feel alone? Have you found yourself unable to figure things out? I have. We are in a time of uncertainty. We may have a job, roof our our head, and food on the table today, but uncertain about tomorrow, or you may have already been displaced as the result of the pandemic, loss of jobs, or storms, fires, or earthquakes. UNCERTAINTY IS THE TERM OF THE MOMENT. Absolutely nothing is as we understand it, but the WORD OF GOD. There is only one thing we can rely on and that’s His Word. It is our refuge, our safe haven, our tower against the storms of life.

The pandemic has ravaged the world as we know it. It has forced us to stop looking outward and begin looking inward at our relationship with God. I have met so many people who have been displaced from their pre-pandemic lives and have found freedom amongst the muck that has ravaged their lives.

Many are joining bible study Zooms, many are seeking introspection and their relationship with the Lord. Still others have decided to invest in themselves and not things, and are moving to less expensive cities and states. Many have regained connections with family members. And, many have found God and received Him as their Lord and Savior, hoping to come out of this in a strong relationship with our Father and a design for their futures that provide relationships outlined in the Bible as their basis for new life.

There is always a silver lining in every cloud. The timing for its appearance is governed by God. He knows the plans He has for us to prosper us and give us strength. He will provide for our basic needs as we travel through tough times, blessings will appear in many forms. Awareness of his blessings small and large were often overlooked and assumed to be something we made happen in the past. I think, for many, we are just beginning to recognize that our blessings come from God to meet all of our needs.

As we move forward, our lives may look different, we are shedding the past, those things that became idols and stole our time from the Lord. The new day will clearly focus on God and our relationship with Him. Our lives will experience His inner peace. We will find calm in the middle of storms, and we will be surrounded by His Grace and Mercies.

Images – Google Images

Committed To Night Fishing?

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“As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He noticed two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.”
‭‭MATTHEW‬ ‭4:18‬ ‭AMP‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

How tentative are we to follow Christs’ instructions to do something different than our normal routine prescribes? Most of us find comfort in routine. Routines are safe, they may not produce the best results, but we find comfort in the process.

Simon was a fisherman, and knew the patterns of fishing, so when Christ told him to take his boat out into the water in the night skies and drop his nets, he was skeptical. Fishing at night was not his norm. His prior experiences caused him to pause when Christ instructed him against fishing as he normally did. Most of us feel discomfort when instructed to row out into the reverse known ebb and flow practices. There are times when we feel we are fishing in the darkness of night, not certain which direction to take. Are we any different than Simon, skeptical of altering how we function? The answer is yes and no.Yes, if it a planned, or a recommended detour, no if we are told to walk with Christ into the dark of night and drop our nets. Simon probably took a moment before he decided to trust Christ. We are no different and have to trust in the Lord, (kind of blind faith), knowing that He is teaching us to walk the same path as Him.

“entrust yourself to Him; Do not fret (whine, agonize).”
‭‭PSALM‬ ‭37:7‬ ‭AMP‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I used the term blind faith, as a metaphor. When we are in the darkness of night, our sight is limited. We can no longer see into the distance, all that we see is what lies directly before us. We become myopic and can not see the big picture. It is during the night that our gait is reduced and we look down more than up to make certain we do not trip or fall. We are skeptical of what is around us, and our current pattern is disrupted. The disruption causes us to pause and question new instructions, asking ourselves why, how is this going to affect me, what will I get out of this change?

Change is inevitable once you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. Part of having faith is being dependent upon our Father, accepting that His ways are not our ways. We should at minimal have the same faith in Christ that He like our parents will protect us, guide us, and lead us in the right direction. Our faith in Christ allows us to row out into the darkness of life and throw out our net.

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, this is the way; walk in it.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭30:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We must learn to follow Simon’s leads and listen to God’s voice and obey when He instructs us to walk in the way He commands.

“Let your eyes look directly ahead, and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.”
Proverbs 4:25

If we listen to Jesus’ instructions, instead of questioning them, it will not matter if it is night or day. It will not matter if the directions seem convoluted and misdirected according to our understanding. God is our Master and Teacher and His path and trajectory is not the same as ours. He is looking at (our) eternity, we look at what is before us and no further.

And He said, “ Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men.”
‭‭MATTHEW‬ ‭4:19‬ ‭AMP‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

We are all ministers and thus fishers of men. Wherever we go, whatever we do or say, there are onlookers observing how we act and how we respond in all situations. We cast our net into the water every day, we are just not aware of it. The prerequisites are: giving our life to Christ, not fearing His instructions and standing fast on the Word of God. Do you want to become a night fisherman like Simon?