God’s Plan For Us | Daily Inspiration

No Selfish Ambition or Vain Conceit

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Posted on July 28, 2022 by Lisa Blair

As Christians we* should always be alert. Selfish ambition and vain conceit are traps. ~ Lisa Blair

When we focus on others and not ourselves, we are the servants Christ encourages us to be.

The world promotes ‘it’s about you’ in every arena. Everywhere you look the focus is on the individual. The Internet is replete with Instagrams, TikTok, Facebook and many more. We have been indoctrinated by the evil ones ploy to separate us from God pushing the ‘me first’ philosophy.

God is all knowing and alerts us of the ploy of self righteousness and vain conceit through the inspired writings of Apostle Paul, the author of Philippians 2:3-4. I am inserting various versions to clarify, evil is always lurking and we must stay alert and dedicate our lives to making the world a better place by living like Christ.

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:3-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/php.2.3-4.NLT

“Let nothing be done out of strife or conceit, but in humility let each esteem the other better than himself. Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:3-4‬ ‭MEV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/1171/php.2.3-4.MEV

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:3-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/114/php.2.3-4.NKJV

Each version is clear – like Christ, we should esteem ourselves as servants. Servitude in this instance is not waiting for instruction by the world, it is knowing that we were created to build our personal and public lives with humility. We don’t have to daily announce our greatness or victories. We possess greatness and victories as part of our DNA.

Our DNA proves we are part of the bloodline of Christ, part of the Trinity. Our DNA began before the beginning of time, before God created the earth and everything on it, including us.

Jeremiah 1:5 and Ephesians 1:3-6 informs us that God made us and therefore knew us before we were born.

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart…”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/jer.1.5.NLT

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love; He predestined us to adoption as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:3-6‬ ‭MEV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/1171/eph.1.3-6.MEV

* When I use the plural, we, I always include me. My posts are not written excluding me from the discussion. I am also struggling to live life exuding Christlike behaviors, by applying His attitude as Christians. It is not always an easy path, we are in the battle of good and evil and often find ourselves lured by the bright lights of this world. The scriptures in the Bible is the only thing that can point us to Christ, especially in our weaker moments. The Holy Spirit is the only person that can redirect us, though our Christian friends, as the scripture informs, can pull us aside and talk truth without offense-in short help set us back on the path.

Remember, we are not our own.

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.6.19.NLT

In closing, please know that every time I think about you (my readers), I thank God for you. God knew us before we were born and knows the challenges that lie before us. I pray that He keeps you covered and places a hedge of protection around you.

The Function of Prayer

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Posted on June 24, 2022 by Lisa Blair

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

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.

Guest Post. Jesus: He Gets Us…by Stuart Tutt

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Posted on June 20, 2022 by Lisa Blair

I am reposting a post that is being reposted, I imagine, by many. Press the link and it will open.

Have a wonderful day.🌞

https://stubaby777.wordpress.com/2022/06/19/jesus-he-gets-us-he-is-for-us/

RePost: Overcoming Insecurities, Next Steps, 2017

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Posted on June 17, 2022 by Lisa Blair

This post is as relevant today as it was in 2017 or eons earlier. Most of us find ourselves questioning our worth, purpose, and abilities off and on throughout life.

At times it can be overwhelming when you are pursuing God’s plan for your life. When God reveals His plan to you, it is usually beyond your current skill set or ability. It can also be beyond your level of education and outside of your financial budget. It will stretch you and challenge you to come out of your comfort zone and start becoming the person God desires for you to be.

Cloud of Fear and Insecurity. Pixabay.com

Sometimes this can leave us in a state of insecurity, as we have a tendency to feel small compared to the BIG plan that God has shown us. Yes, it can seem overwhelming at times, but you must understand and know that it’s not impossible and is in God’s Will for your life.

The key to overcoming your insecurities is to start trusting in God’s ability and not your feelings. When God called Gideon to raise up an army to defeat the enemy, Gideon was overwhelmed with feelings of insecurity. He thought for sure how could he be the one to do such a great thing. He came up with every excuse possible that stemmed from his own insecurity. I’m too poor. I’m too weak.

God didn’t leave Gideon in a state of insecurity and he won’t leave you there either. As you learn to trust in His Word and apply it to your life, you will begin to gain a level of confidence and courage that overrides any feelings of insecurity.

Remember that nothing great or extraordinary happens in your comfort zone. This means that you will have to break out of any insecurity mind-sets that you may have and start seeing yourself as God sees you. God sees you and a victor. He sees you as an overcomer. He sees you as a mighty person who is going to accomplish great things in life.

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Bible Verses to help overcome insecurity: Philippians 4: 6-7, Romans 5:1–2, 1 John 4:18, Matthew 6:25, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Romans 8:1–2, John 14:27, Ephesians 6: 10–14, Romans 12:2, 1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Timothy 6:17, Matthew 6:31-34, 1Peter 5:8, 1 John 2:15, Hebrews 4:12, Galatians 5:22–25, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Hebrews 11:1–40, Hebrews 12:1–29, 2 Timothy 2:1–26, 2 Peter 2:1–3:18

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Overcome insecurity-Christian Women Faith. By Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com, 10/31/17

7 Bible Verses to Help Overcome Insecurity. http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com. 10/31/17

Bible Verses About Insecurity. Bible study tools.com. 2/23/2021

Overcoming insecurity. Open Bible.info. 8/18/2022

The Bible solution for insecurity by Barbara Raveling. Barbraveling.com. Posted 9/23,2012

YcW. Log

Our Subliminal Conflict

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Posted on May 23, 2022 by Lisa Blair

As human beings, and as Christians, we will always find ourselves in the middle of a battle of good and evil. Where do you stand when evil desires enter into an internal conflict?

“Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭MEV‬‬. bible.com

How many times has our egotistical thinking led us down the wrong path?

Internally we regularly experience a tug-of-war going on which we can easily acknowledge. Think about past experiences where you had at make a decision, one were you stood fast and the other where you caved in. How love did true satisfaction weigh in when you caved in? It’s never satisfying for long. In most cases, guilt arose shortly after caving in, the devil, evil one, or Satan (your choice) is a slick deceiver. Guilt only dug the hole deeper and like David, you begin to find ways to cover it up. Slippery slope, sliding down. Quicksand consuming your very breath of life.

It’s incumbent upon us to remember that if we submit ourselves to God, meaning follow his direction, the devil will flee.

He only nudges at when we desire what he is offering., dangling before us. We are all weak and without resolve from time to time, that’s our plight, our human nature. When this happens that’s the moment to step back and follow God‘s direction, even if it means that our desires are not being met at that moment in time, or if ever.

This situation is usually pretty clear. If we question our decision, that means we know the desire does not align with God’s plans for our lives, and we should deny the devil’s nudge. When we stand fast in God’s plan, and acknowledge the difference between right and wrong, he (the devil/evil one) will flee. I wish I could say he will never return, but we know better. The evil one will never cease and we will always have to remain alert to his attacks. Our lives are one of challenges. The battle will rage on until Christ returns. Vigilance is the key, for we all fall short of the glory of God.

Image: Google Free images

Resource: Bible.com