FOLLOWERS OF THE WAY!

                 The first Bible I read was one Lois loaned to me, called, ‘The Way.’ It was written in contemporary English, which was nice because it was easy to read and understand.  It was the Bible that she had as a young girl and was also very popular among the hippies during the Jesus Movement.

                 Later I found it interesting that ‘The Way’ is what Christians were called before the term Christian was used.  They were known as followers of ‘The Way’ and used this descriptive phrase to describe themselves after the passage in John 14:5-6 in which Thomas asked Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

                In Acts 9:2 we find that Paul, “went to the high priest and asking him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”

                Later in Acts 22:4 we find Paul saying, “I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,”

WHICH WAY DO WE GO!

                We lost our way when Adam and Eve sinned and were banished from the Garden and from the daily intimacy they had with our Father, In Genesis 3:23, after our Father banished them, he place a flaming sword which flashed back and forth to guard or keep us from  the way back to the Garden which contained the Tree of Life.  V.24

                Adam and Eve’s children have been trying to find their way back home since the day they were banished from the garden.  The garden was our home and the last place we experienced any peace, tranquility and rest for our spirits.  Deep within our heart is the desire to return to that place our Father created for us, that place of perfect rest, our home.

                Mankind asks, “Where do we come from?” followed by “Why are we here?” and “What happens to us when we die?”  These questions have plagued our hearts since Adam and Eve sinned and were banished from the garden .  There is something in our hearts that knows that if we could just find our way back home, if we just knew where to go, everything would be all right.  We have truly lost our way back to the Father.  Right after Jesus told Thomas that he was the way to the Father, Phillip continued the conversation, in verse 8, and asked Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”  The disciples knew that Jesus was the way back to the Father but weren’t sure yet how they were to get there.

WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

                The truth of the matter is this, “How did we lose our way?”  We lost our way because Adam and Eve didn’t believe or trust in what our Father told them.  Father told them in Gen. 2:16, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden’ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of

good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”  Pretty straight forward wouldn’t you say?  Don’t eat of it because if you do you will die.  But the sad part is they didn’t believe him and did what he asked them specifically not to do and lost their way, crossing over from life to death.

                 Seems astonishing doesn’t it, that we would lose our way by not believing?   But not believing goes hand in hand with not trusting our Father.  We willfully disobeyed him because we did not trust him anymore.   But what is it to ‘believe if trusting is not a part of it’?  It says in James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”  Even the demons believe, but the difference is whether or not we trust our Father enough to turn our wills completely over to His perfect will.  Even Jesus required his will to be subject to his Father’s will, “Not my will but yours be done.”  The sin nature is considering equality with God something to be grasped but in Phil. 2:6 it says, “Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.”  Our wills in line with His will is the only way to trust and obey.

                If the way out was by not trusting and believing that our Father had our best interest at heart  then it stands to reason that we can find our way back by believing and trusting in our Father once again.  Jesus said in John 5:24  “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”  And again in John 12:44 Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.”

               Mankind has been offered the opportunity to accept the truth, providing us a way back home and out of this sin filled life.  We are slaves to the sin nature because we were born into bondage, into a prison that we cannot taste, smell or touch.  A prison of our mind, will and emotions.  We can tell you what the truth is but you can only enter in and fully experience it when you believe and trust in Jesus by faith.

It says that Jesus stands at the door and knocks, what door is he knocking on?  Could it be the door that leads us back to the Father that same door that Adam and Eve exited when they were banished from the garden.  Mankind asks the question, ‘What work does our Father require of us so that we can return home?  Jesus answered them in John 6:29, “The work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent.”

Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, Rev. 3:20–21.  When we answer he asks us, “Do you believe that I was sent from the Father and will you trust me to get you back home again?

LIVING THE LIFE!

                The way back is by believing and trusting in Jesus.  Once we accept not only are we guaranteed to spend eternity with our Father again in our new home, but we are also guaranteed a better life while we remain here on Earth.  Jesus said in  John 10:10  “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full; till it overflows).”  Not our will but yours be done, Jesus said.  The translation is simple, ‘Not my way but yours Father.’  Only then will we find the abundant life promised by Jesus.  Whether our life goes through seasons of good or bad, rich or poor, health or sickness it doesn’t matter because we have entered into a supernatural life of abundance with Him.

                Being, ‘Followers of the Way’ has a good sound to it doesn’t it.  We pray that your will is aligned with His perfect Will for your life and that each one of us will experience the Abundant Life!

 

Would Jesus compromise his Vote?

I am as amazed as you are that already the campaigning for the 2012 political season is in full swing.  I know this is not much of a surprise to anyone but is it just me or didn’t we just finish two years of  political campaigning?  My ears are tired of being indurated with political pundits from both sides of the political spectrum whose only thing they have in common is the ability to all speak at the same time everyone else is speaking.  It would be a miracle if you could ever find two people actually discussing a topic.

Which reminded me of a conversation I was listening the to other day on a Christian news organization.  They were explaining that if all the Christians in the United States would vote we could outvote all the sinners and finally be able to get men and women with Christian values into our public offices.

That would seem to be a good idea except for a few small details and we all know the ‘devil is in the details’.  For instance we have known politicians who proclaim they are Christians but then they vote for the rights of pro-abortionist and same sex marriage.   They may claim to know Jesus but it certainly is not the same Jesus that I have come to know.  Call Jesus ‘old fashion’ if you will but I can’t imagine Jesus voting for abortion on demand.  That means the level of discernment the Christian community would need to rightly discern the legitimacy of a candidates commitment to the Lordship of Jesus is staggering.  For some it seems that if those running for office just hinted they were Christians it would be enough to get their vote. 

Then there are those who believe strongly in the separation of Church and State.  Yes, Christians who leave their God in the church and vote not for what is right for their country based on Biblical principles but believe more in the old saying, “It’s the economy stupid!”  The problem is simple, we cannot separate ourselves from Jesus because Christianity is not a religion.   Being religious doesn’t care if you are changed on the inside but is satisfied with only the outward appearance.  Christianity changes you on the inside changing the way you see, feel and think about things that come your way so that you have the mind of Christ in all of your decisions.  We just can’t leave Jesus behind, not out of our jobs, nor in our homes, certainly not at the polling booth and especially if we are a politician.

Give me that ‘Old Time Gospel’

Many believe that if our governmental officials were Christian then they could change the laws that govern the people by legislating into our society morally righteous laws.  I know we can find scriptures that supports the idea that the kingdoms of this world are to be given to the believers.  But there are also texts that declare that when the kingdoms of this world are given into the hands of Christ, he is to break them into pieces.  Psalms 2:9, Rev. 12:5, Rev. 19:15 and Dan. 2:44.

In fact it would be hard to find any text supporting the idea that nations are to become Christian or that the world is to be converted by passing moral laws.  The only method that is supported by the scriptures is the old-time method of salvation by faith through the preaching of the cross of Christ.   

The commission to the disciples as given through Jesus says nothing about reforming governments and saving kingdoms rather it is about the salvation of individual hearers and believers only.  Salvation by faith is the only method of salvation known to Christianity and faith is always an individual matter.  Nowhere does it say that the saints of God will be able to outvote the sinners but it does say we are the salt of the earth and as such it is the means in which the earth is preserved. Matt.5:13

Let’s look at Sodom.  If they could have found ten righteous men, in the whole city, it could have been saved.  Gen. 18:32.  Could it be that the earth is being preserved from God’s fury because there are

righteous Christians in it even though they are in disproportion to the overwhelming numbers of the wicked.  The salvation of the earth does not depend upon the votes of the righteous and the reason this is true is even in a country like ours that proclaims to be a Christian nation there just are not enough righteous Christians to make the difference.  However it does depend on the integrity of the righteous for if the salt loses its quality it can preserve nothing; and if the church loses her ability to be the light of the world then it to loses its ability to shield the earth against the wrath of God.

It would seem that more importantly the Christian church should not lose her Christianity and become more like the world.  Perhaps this is why God has always shown more concern over the condition of the church than over the condition of the world.  Jesus did drive the money changers out of his Father’s house but did nothing to form groups, take polls and appear on talk shows to deal with the corruption found in the government.

If we look at the outpouring on the day of Pentecost to the reformations of Luther, Wesley and Seymour we will find that not only was the church transformed but society as well.  Each of these outpourings changed the way the world viewed how they treated their fellow man.  Our world is in desperate need of another powerful reformation where the transforming power of a loving God changes the hearts and minds of a sick and perverse world.

It is through the church that the message of salvation is to be spread throughout the world.  In the book of Acts we see this happening first through Peter on the day of Pentecost then through the Apostles as they went throughout the world clothed in power from on high.  In fact it says that the Christian church was able to spread the gospel message throughout the whole known world, and in the face of the most powerful and ruthless empire the world had ever known.

There was a time when the world’s mightiest power, Rome became a Christian nation and made laws compelling you to become a Christian.  Just three hundred years after Jesus ascended into heaven things changed when the Emperor of Rome made Christianity the religion of the nation.  When that happened corruption flooded into the church and for the next 1200 years the world entered into what historians have called the, ‘dark ages’.  When the light of the church grows dim the world becomes a very dark place.

The important question therefore is not:

What is the condition of the world?  But what is the condition of the church? 

The danger is not that the world would become more wicked but that the church may lose her Christianity.  Remember 2 Tim. 3:1-5, where it says that it is entirely possible for the church to maintain a form of godliness while knowing nothing of the power of godliness.

Each day we see crimes that shock our sensibilities; but there are also popular and respectable sins that exist within the church almost without protest that separate the church from Christ.  Consider the sins brought about by compromising our Christian values.  The values given to us in the word of God are not to be compromised for when they are we all lose.  You cannot compromise what is truth and still believe it will remain true.   A individual cannot compromise their way into salvation, it is either all or nothing.

We must remember it was not, the politicians nor the sinners that crucified Jesus but the Pharisees and the chief priests; or in other words, by the outwardly good, respectable elements within the church.  Pilate wanted to save Jesus but the church demanded his death.

This doesn’t mean that righteous men and women should not seek public office if they are called by God to do so or that we should not vote for those who seek office.  We need righteous Christian men and women in public office to do the right thing even when the world is against them.  However the church is not to sit back believing that those in governmental positions are solely responsible to change the world for Christ when that will always be the calling of each one of us.

With all our love,

Awaken Our Souls To The Delights of Your Creation by Lois Burgher

Weekend after weekend we would pack up the car and head out with fishing poles, lunches, and jackets, with the great anticipation of spending the day in the beautiful Black Hills. We did not have a lot of money to go out to eat or spend whatever we wanted at a department store and certainly we would not be viewed as wealthy in the material sense, however my family was very rich in learning to appreciate and enjoy nature and my soul came alive and responded to God at a very early age sometimes I think because of continually being surrounded by the wonders of His creation.

           A quote I read by Eleonora Duse has made me reflect on this truth for sometime now. I am so in agreement with it as I have seen it to be so true in my own life.

 

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, 

if the simple things of naturehave a message that you understand, rejoice for your soul is alive.”

           I have come to love every season of the year and the unique beauty they bring, but spring is my favorite time of the year and always awakens within me the gift of new life and the immense power and truth of His resurrection!  Spring for me is the season that illuminates the meaning of the word hope. Spring also brings the memories of special times spent with my family. The times of stopping the car to run out and pick the wild crocuses peaking up through the newly thawed earth.  The times of smelling the earthworms as they come out of the ground after the rain, and running out to take pictures of the double rainbows aglow over the Rocky Mountains. The times of watching for the bluebirds return to the feeder and smelling the lilacs as they fill the bushes with their beauty and fragrance. The times of putting my hands in the warmed soil to plant the seed that will bring a bounty of fresh vegetables and flowers. Spring always brings and enhances the awakening of my soul and stirs within me the wonderful gift of life itself and the great love my creator has for me.

           All of my family have been apart of my learning the joy of the simple things of nature but I have  special tributes to give to two members of my family for this gift of the memories he has given to me and to the continual appreciation they have contributed to in the awakening of my soul to His creation. Those tributes are to my mother soon to be 89 years of age, and to my brother Steve.

           I have wonderful memories of walking with my own mother around lakes, and through the trees and meadows as she would point out the wonders of God’s creation to me and exclaim at the goodness of God! I remember and appreciate her love for growing flowers and exclaiming at the incredible peonies and snapdragons and the simplicity of the beauty of the meadow flowers on our walks. I remember the first time we all went up on the Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier Park in Montana when I was a small girl.  I watched my mother weep and worship God at the incredible beauty and majesty that was before our eyes. What a privilege it is to be taught to see and know God in all of creation and to find such joy in His majesty! I love you so much, my mother, my forever mentor and closest of friend.

           Steve is three and a half years older than I and has lived in northwest Montana for the past 36 years. Steve is a true outdoorsman in every sense of the word and has helped me be alive and alert to the things of nature since we were small children.  I believe Steve was born with and was also taught by our father and mother to sensitize himself to see and appreciate all of the animals and wonders of creation in a unique and wonderful way that only few people experience.  There is not a time that I can remember of being with Steve that he has not pointed out the red tail hawk in the sky, picked a handful of wild flowers and given them to me, or commented on the number of deer he saw that day or the fish that he caught. Steve gets so much joy from the simple things of creation and for that I will always love him and be especially grateful. Steve is and has been a special gift to my life.  I love you Steve and thank you so much for who you are and for being the best brother!

          I was recently reading about the life of the well-known hymn writer Fanny Crosby. It is said that more of her hymns than any other writer of the nineteenth century have found an abiding place in the hearts of the world over.  So evident is this that there is a fragrance about her very name that no other has.  In her time Fanny Crosby was considered of equal stature with colleagues D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey. She was renowned as a preacher and lecturer and people would line up for blocks to hear her speak. She did not even begin writing until she was in her 40’s nevertheless she wrote approximately 9,000 hymns. The passion of her love for God drew the lost into the kingdom of God. Fanny also composed more than 1,000 poems and played the harp and organ in concert.  So many accomplishments seem incredible for any one person, but all the more when you realize that these talents were beautifully expressed through a woman who was blind from infancy. 

           I learned about her background and how the Lord used her grandmother Eunice as a wonderful mentor. Eunice taught her to believe in the goodness and the faithfulness of God. She had a rare gift to see God in all of creation. Creation was a mirror to her that reflected spiritual truth.  In all their walks together in the woods and through the fields, Eunice brought understanding and illumination to Fanny that they were not alone but God was walking with them!  She taught Fanny that every bird, tree and flower was designed by God to serve His plans and purposes. Eunice taught Fanny about the loving nature of a wonderful God!  “Believing and trusting in God is the antidote to bitterness, resentment, and fear.” she would tell her.   Fanny literally was led by the hand and walked through pastures, woods and valleys as she was taught of God’s faithfulness in creation.  Grandmother Eunice taught young Fanny to look for and find God in every place and in every situation. He is there, but we have to be taught to expect to find Him.

           I am now having the immense joy of helping my own grandsons recognize Him in the wonders of His workmanship! There is nothing like seeing God’s creation through the eyes of a child.  Watching them awakens my own senses even more to Him.  I am again seeing and experiencing  like a child even as I delight in watching my grandsons as we touch and smell and learn the names of trees and birds, observe the blueness of the sky, and exclaim at the color and fragrance of the plants and flowers. Simeon is already looking for and expressing joy at seeing the birds and trees at age 2.  I had the privilege of experiencing our oldest grandson Jonah at 2 1/2 have sheer delight in seeing the African animals and run outside to play in the rain without his shoes on.  I am reminded in the deepness of my soul of how much delight our Father has in seeing our joy of what He has created for us His children. This is what He intended in the beginning and what we have available to us again in the New Covenant! It is restored as we commune with Him in the manifest joy within His creation.  The Holy Spirit within us leaps out to show us and confirm His faithfulness and great love to us His precious children. And there is purpose and meaning to the very essence of who we are-walking right alongside of Him in His garden, bathed in His love, joy and peace no matter what is happening in this world around us.

I am also reminded of a part of my training as a nurse.  I remember learning about the steps every person goes through in the process of grief. One thing I specifically remember is the importance of the effects of the things He has created to bring healing to our spirits in the grieving process. To allow ourselves to come alive to the beauty of life itself and to find healing in spending time in the secret place He has created for us to enjoy.  I have found this to be true in my own life to bring healing and His perspective to the burdens and problems that life sometimes brings.  I have learned to put on my coat, take a walk, and ask Him to awaken my soul to the things He has created for me to delight in. I ask Him to awaken me to know that He is always faithful, that He is everlasting to everlasting, that He knows the beginning to the end and that I am His chosen one, dearly loved, and the apple of His eye. That is the secret place, the place that no amount of money can buy, the place that no one can take from me.

           So today as you are reading this I pray that you too will find your soul being awakened to the delights of His creation, that he will show you new and precious things that He has made for you to enjoy and that you will have His peace as He takes you to the secret place of His presence and the assurance of His faithfulness.            

With all our love,

Heaven is my home but I’m not homesick!

 Volume 8--Issue 104                                                                                                     March, 2011

Dear Friends,


    Life is short but no one, myself included, wants to dwell upon this fact.  I don’t know how it started but I found myself for a while every Sunday, reading the Obituary page within Sunday’s paper.  I did notice a bit of a depression would settle upon me after I read it but yet each Sunday I found myself strangely drawn to the list of those who passed away.  I was especially interested in those who were closest to my age and found myself very interested in finding out why they had departed so soon.

    When I was younger I can’t say that the thought of my own demise was very much on  my mind.  It was always for someone else, certainly not me.  Occasionally a person died in a car accident or an older relative would pass away but it seemed distant, over the horizon from my thoughts.  But the older I become the more it seems that the horizon is getting closer and closer.   Its not like you become fixated on your own mortality, you just know that you are getting closer to the finish line faster than you would like and all of your attempts to slow down the process is doing nothing more than speeding up the inevitable.  Heaven is my home but I’m not homesick.

    Charles Spurgeon the great Baptist preacher, once wrote along these lines:  “There may be some of you who stand today like a man upon the shore when the tide is swelling towards his feet. There came one wave, and it took away the grandmother; another came, and a mother was swept away; another came, and the wife was taken; and now it dashes at your feet.  How long shall it be ere it breaks over you—and you, too, are carried away by the yawning wave into the bosom of the deep of Death….Children, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, prepare to meet your God.”

Three things we must learn

    The first is that ‘all must die’.  There is just no way around it, we may glance at the obituaries or read in the paper of the riots in Tunisia, Egypt and now Libya.  Our radios tell us of the deaths of the four Americans on their yacht off the coast of Somalia by pirates.  Even the television has coverage of the earthquake in New Zealand where 75 people lost their lives and scores more are injured or unaccounted for.

    The devil may say, “Don’t worry about such things, eat, drink and be merry and enjoy the good things of life.”  But the devil has been a liar since the beginning and life is not that long, in fact life is short.  The time is fast approaching when you and I will be standing before our God and have to give an account of ourselves.  What will happen to us if we are not prepared to die?  What will become of us?

    The second is that the ‘wages of sin is death’.  We know that sin is the reason for death to reign in the lives of men.  That is why death is such an unnatural occurrence.  Humanity tries to make it sound so natural as if death is a necessary part of the cycle of life.  Life begins, develops, matures, and then fades away.  It is the way of man or the natural order of things.  But if it is so natural why then do people fear dying so much?  I can understand that pain and the failing of the body during old age can get one to wish the time would quicken but still why do people fear death itself if it is such a natural occurrence?

    If it is so natural there would be no fear involved but the truth is it is very unnatural.  It is the grim reminder that the wages of sin is death and then the coming judgment.  I wonder if the reason we fear death is because we then will have no excuses, no delays, nothing to hinder us from our standing face-to-face before God?  Even those who would deny any concern about coming face-to-face with God know in their inner most being that, “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”  Hebrews 9:27

The third point is ‘death can be transformed into eternal life’.   We can do nothing on our own to stop the inevitable.  But there is one who can change the order of things.  That one is Jesus Christ who conquered death by dying and who by that death and the resurrection that followed forever transformed death for all who call upon his name and follow him.  “Sin brought death for Adam, and by his sin death passed upon the race.” Romans 5:12  “The first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam, (Jesus) a life-giving spirit.”  I Corinthians 15:45
   
    Scotland's, Horatius Bonar wrote years ago;  “The first Adam dies and we all die in him; the second Adam dies and we live in him!  The first Adam’s grave proclaims only death; the second Adam’s grave announces life.  We look into the grave of the one, and we see only darkness, corruption, and death; we look into the grave of the other, and we find there only light, incorruption, and life.  In the one grave we find him still there, in the other grave he is not there.  He is risen and has in his hands the keys of death and Hades.  That whomsoever believes in him shall live.”

The story of two men

    Let me tell you the story of two men who died during the same year.  In 1899 two very famous men passed away from the bounds of earth to meet their maker, one a Christian and the other was not.  The unbeliever was Colonel Ingersoll who made a career of attacking the Bible and whose lectures on ‘immortality’ at Harvard University were well known.  The other was a believer named Dwight L. Moody.
   
Ingersoll died quite un-expectantly and his death was a shock to everyone.  The body was kept at the family home for several days because the family could not bear to part with it, but it was finally removed.  He was cremated but the display at the crematorium was so pitiful that the newspapers picked it up and communicated it to the nation.  Ingersoll’s had used his great intellect to deny Christianity.  But when he died his closest of family and friends viewed it as a hopeless tragedy.
   
    Dwight Moody had been in declining health for some time, and his family had taken turns being with him.  On the morning of his death his son, who was standing by the bedside, heard him exclaim, “Earth is receding; heaven is opening; God is calling.”  “You are dreaming, Father,” the son said.
   
    Moody answered, “No, Will, this is no dream.  I have been within the gates.  I have seen the children’s faces.”  For a while it seemed as if Moody were reviving, but he began to slip away again.  He said,  “Is this death?  This is not bad; there is no  valley.  This is bliss.  This is glorious.”  By this time his daughter was present, and she began to pray for his recovery.  He said, “No, no Emma, don’t pray for that.  God is calling.  This is my coronation day.  I have been looking forward to it.”  Shortly after this Moody was received into heaven.  At the funeral the family and friends joined in a joyful service.  They spoke.   They sang hymns.  They heard the words proclaimed, “Where , O death is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (I Cor. 15:55-57)

    It is true that in Romans 5:14 it says that from Adam onward “death reigned.”  It reigned over Adam and has reigned over all his descendants.  But death has been conquered and the power of death has been broken by the Lord Jesus Christ so that today all who believe in him may live in hope.  There is life after our earthly sojourn is over and we can be assured of living for all eternity with our Father who is in heaven.  To be found in His presence for eternity is beyond anything we could dream or imagine.  Thank you Father for your amazing gift of eternal life.

How do we know we are in God’s will or not?

    I was talking with an individual the other day about last months newsletter, in which I wrote about the need for man’s will to be in complete submission to God’s will.  It was an interesting discussion to say the least.  He felt that when things are going wrong in your life it is because you are not in the will of God.  But, when things are going right it is a witness to your being in God’s perfect will.  Then he said that on four or perhaps six occasions during a given year he would have to take something to the Lord to make sure it was not his will but the Lord’s that he was following.

    I only had an hour with him and since this statement was at the close of our time together I left there with out being able to have him explain further the meaning behind the statements he had made.   I really don’t think this person is alone in his reasoning concerning man’s will versus God’s will.  That if things are going right you are in the will of God and if they are going wrong you are out of the will of God.   Personally I feel that our being in or out of the will of God does not always determine whether the circumstances of life are either good or bad.   It’s not so much what we are going through but who we are going to.

 Being in the will of God is the inward place of rest and contentment that comes 

when one listens not to the accolades of fame nor the curses of men but resides 

in that place of perfect reliance on the grace of God in reacting to those 

circumstances that brings us into His glory and purpose. 

Are we out of His will if bad things are happening to us?

    But lets take a look at what the person was saying.  What if things are not going well in your life?  What if predicaments of all sorts surround you on all sides, and the intent, or foolishness or ignorance of men or yourself seems to come together to do you harm?  Didn’t God say to us in Heb. 13:6, “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”  If the Lord states that I shouldn’t fear what men shall do to me then He must mean that there are times in our lives when men shall do unkind things to us!  And when they do then we should already have a lifestyle in which we find ourselves resting in the provision that He is our helper.  

    But if the Lord really wants to help us then why doesn’t he stop those who desire to harm us in the first place?  So if he doesn’t stop them, then he must be allowing it to happen.  If he allows it to happen then the help the Lord is concerned in giving us is so that we are not overwhelmed by the situation, but we overwhelm the situation with our Christ-like-ness that only can come when our will comes into alignment with His will.  After all we all know that bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people all the time!

Are we in His will when good things are happening to us?

    So what if you are a good person and good things are happening in your life?  What if blessings not curses surround you on every side and the intent of men and the work of your hands seem to come together to do you well?  Does that prove that you are in God’s will?

    If our Father in heaven, because of the legal hold sin has oven the world,  permits the good, the bad and the ugly things of life to come upon us then our life is not to be determined by ‘our self’s’ reaction to the external circumstance of life but in our submitting our will into the hands of a loving, all knowing Father.  Believing that Father knows best and whatever the outcome may be to learn to rest in the knowledge that He is always good and will always be there for us in every situation.

    If that is true then we should accept it without being prideful because of how good our life is, or grumbling about how bad things are, or cursing because it is so ugly.  Some things are difficult, because it deals with life and death, and I do not in any way say that we should like or enjoy the suffering it brings.  However, there are precious gems to be mined in the high and low encounters of life that can be found in no other place.  Each hold something precious for us to receive if we just do not get swept away by the accolades of praise or by the curses that come from the unfairness that life can often bring.  Perhaps He has placed us there because we are the only one that can bring forth His purpose out of the situation.  Perhaps it is a part of our destiny.

    Like the individual,  many think that God’s will on earth is always full of peace and prosperity for those whom the Lord loves.  But as long as we live on this earth it would be better to learn from Paul when he said in Phil. 4:12, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

    He who finds himself giving every thought, every action or word spoken over to God’s will finds themselves winners in every encounter.  Whether it be in the face of joy or sorrow, failure or success, death or life, we may, under all circumstances find the victory that our Father wants so much for us.

God has chosen carefully, the circumstances that make up our lives because they offer the shortest route,if we use them, to reach the destiny He has desired for us.

How do we know when we are in His will?

    Someone once said for us to fully grasp what it would be like when our wills are totally given over to His will we would have to understand that it is by grace.  And what is grace?  To say it is God’s unmerited favor is right but still it says so little about it.  We all remember Eph. 2:8. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”  To grow in grace you must live in love.  To be saturated by His love is the only way we can live in total communion with the Father, enabling our every thought, words and actions to fall into alignment with His. 

    I remember when Pastor John Arnott said that the Father’s Blessing was “a return to our first love.”  It was a profound simplification of what was happening to us during this outpouring.  But how can we fully understand the love of the Father, his overflowing and infinite love?  Think my friends of the most tender love you have ever experienced, the deepest love you have ever felt, the strongest love that has ever been poured out upon you and put upon it all the love that humanity has ever felt, and it would pale in comparison to God’s infinite love.  This is the land of God’s grace, and to be able to walk and to live in His land of grace, is to live in the heart of His love, the home of His will. 

Perhaps we need to give up and give in!

    This is where the will of God is to be found.  It is not found in our self-dependence or in our self-effort.  Could it be that to grow in grace is to let God do the work, as we grow without a care and without any anxiety.  Then we will grow because it is our nature to grow and to be beautiful.  Not one flower that grows worries about its care but Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If we find ourselves being tired of being tired perhaps we are straining too much in self-growth. 

    Matt. 6:28,  “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil or spin.” Certainly this speaks of a growth process that we know little of.  It speaks of a growth out of rest and without effort and yet it speaks of a life crowned with glorious results.  Could it be that if we gave our will over to His will we too shall live a life like this?  Saint Augustine wrote, “God having completed  his work of creation, rest as if to say, ‘This is the destiny of those who are my people; to rest as I rest, to rest in me.’”

    If we were to ask a lily how it grows I would not be surprised if it would tell us that they are not concerned nor conscious of their growth.  If we, like the lilies, would turn our attention toward the giver of life instead of toward our own selves then we too would find ourselves lost in His love, living in grace and fulfilling His destiny for our lives.
   
All our love,