Making Plans God's Way

"Then the king ... rejected the advice of the elders'  (2 Chron. 10:13).
"Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap"  (Gal. 6:7).
"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!  For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision"  (Joel 3:14).
"Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?"  (Job 38:2).

Too many Christians erroneously make plans without counsel or wisdom from above.  If we rely only on human wisdom and insight we only get human results.  To achieve the impossible, to move mountains, we need God in the equation!  Equate the God factor--everything else are variables and He's a constant.  It is not an option to forget or ignore God and live as if there is no God; whether we believe there is a God or not, this is called "practical atheism."  There is safety in the multitude of counselors according to Solomon, and without counsel, plans fail.

Today we have everything from clergy, deacons, elders,  life coaches, school counselors, social workers, and mental health professionals to assist us in making wise decisions--we are not exempt from being wise, even as believers. God will reveal His will to us day by day and not necessarily in a rolled out itinerary.  For example, in Proverbs 24:27 it says to first make your career and then build your house.  Map things out before getting married, don't just hope to get it all together afterward (don't wait to get your act together!)--this is God's way!  God's way is to always put Him first (set priorities!) and let Him take care of the details and results.  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you"  (Matt. 6:33).

Being wise enough to be a success means seeing the Big Picture and not getting too detail-oriented, and thinking small-time. God does have a plan for us and He will get His way regardless of whether we cooperate. In mapping out our life course it is necessary to have "vision," without which we perish according to Proverbs 29:18.  We want God to get all the glory and credit for our success and realize it came from Him and we owe Him and have no place to boast (cf. Deut. 8:17-18) they say, an Englishman is a self-made man who worships his Creator!   Ponder this verse:  "All that we have done [God] has accomplished through us"  (Isaiah 26:12).

God is in control and micromanages our life as well as history itself and no one can say to God: "What hast thou done?"  (cf. Dan. 4:35).  God's will will be done and He has no Plan B case we mess up and ruin our lives; we cannot blame God for our failure because we are still culpable for our errors and sin. "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps" (Prov. 16:9).  And also in the same vein:  "A man's steps are directed by the LORD.  How then can anyone understand his own way?"  (Prov. 20:24). "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails" (Prov. 19:21).

We may be determined, for example, not to ever marry; however, God may have other plans and we might still end up hitched.  "I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD..." (Jeremiah 29:11) implies that as His children He has good intentions toward us and not evil ones to destroy a good thing.  After all He is the Potter and we are the clay (cf. Isaiah 64:8).   All of our life was laid out before we were born according to Psalm 139:16 and this demonstrates His sovereignty--which is not limited by our so-called free will, which means we cannot frustrate God! (cf. Rom. 9:19 quoted:  "...for who can resist His will?"). Therefore, Job 42:2 says:  "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted."

In making plans we must turn over the lordship and ownership of our lives to Christ and surrender to God's will in all matters, holding nothing back--without reservation--this is a lordship issue and all believers struggle here because it's ongoing--Satan never relents.  "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed" (Proverbs 16:3).  God gives us the power to get wealth and to be a success (Mother Teresa said that God calls us to faithfulness and not to success!). Be careful what you plan for because you may get it (this goes also for praying).  In planning it never hurts to think big and to aim high, because then even if you don't reach your ultimate goal you may still be successful in God's eyes.  The revelation of God's plan or will for our life is conditioned upon our piety:  "Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD?  He will instruct him in the way chosen for him"  (Psalm 25:12).

Don't be wise in your own eyes or think you have a monopoly on wisdom--it takes the body of Christ to function and we all have something to contribute.  Finally, success means that whatever God has called us to do we will bear fruit and glorify God, it doesn't mean achieving the "American dream" or making a lot of money, having power or fame.  A word of wisdom from Deuteronomy 32:29 says: "If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be!"  In summation, the goal is achieving God's will for your life (a life of relinquishment), and walking with the Lord day-by-day, hour-by-hour, moment-by-moment, in faithfulness and leave the results to Him--just trust and obey!  Soli Deo Gloria!

How Do You Read Scripture?

ATTITUDE CHECK!

"I am profitably engaged in reading the Scriptures"  (Abraham Lincoln).
Challenge:  Do you read with a purpose in mind?
Ezekiel's challenge:  take it and eat the scroll (cf. Ezek. 3:1-3; make it your own!).
Mark Twain wisely quipped:  "It's not the parts of Scripture that I don't understand that bother me, it's the parts I do understand."
"Take it and read it; take it and read it!" (words were spoken to St. Augustine by a child concerning the Bible--this lead to his conversion experience).  EMPHASIS MINE!

"For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days..." (Deut. 32:47, NKJV).

We are responsible for the light we have and to whom much is given much is required--the light that we had access to and cannot claim willful ignorance. When you pass on insight, God grants more! Don't try to understand every passage, but concentrate on what you know and let further light reveal the meaning as God's Holy Spirit illuminates through pastors and teachers.  We are not to ignore the tradition and scholarship of the ages and especially the church fathers of orthodoxy.

It is commanded to read in Isaiah 34:16 saying, "Look in the scroll of the LORD and read...."
There is a blessing in reading it in Rev. 1:3. ("Blessed is he that readeth")
Paul urged Timothy to "pay attention to the public reading of Scripture" in 1 Timothy 4:13.
It is vital to know that we read because we want to and not because we have to and should look forward to our time in the Word as hearing from the Almighty Himself.

According to John MacArthur, the prerequisite to learning something is a teachable spirit, a receptive mind, and an obedient heart.
"As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby"  (1 Peter 2:2)
"On this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word" Isaiah 66:2).
"For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10).  We are drawn to the Word because Jesus is in our hearts, i.e., the Author himself!

By way of intro; a word to the wise is sufficient:  Never put someone down for reading the Bible for whatever reason and especially that they may read too much--thirsting for God in essence--("curiosity killed the cat" doesn't apply to the Holy Writ); they will eventually grow up and learn what God is teaching them.  You can't read the Bible enough! It quenches your thirst, then makes you thirsty for more--how blessed that the Word of God abides forever (Isa, 40:8)!  Sola Scriptura!  (Scripture alone is our authority, in other words--from the Latin--a key battle cry during the Reformation period.)

First of all, we follow the rules of reading for any book:  interpreting the obscure in light of the clear, putting things in context, distinguishing genres and interpreting accordingly (poetry, didactive or teaching, prophetic, wisdom or parable, and narrative) and adjust our reading speed and habits as needed.  We need all the skills of reading itself, and learning to read is a skill that does come in handy, though God can speak to the most simple-minded individual if his heart is needy, his spirit is willing, and his mind is open.

We don't want to take any preconceived notions into the Word or to read into it, but to read what God meant it to say--not our own fabrication--for no Scripture is of any "private interpretation" (2 Pet. 1:20).  We have no right to invent truths that God doesn't reveal to other believers.  What does the passage mean and what did God intend for us to know, is more important than what we "feel" is right. We don't want to get mystical or to claim that secret knowledge will save us (this is what Gnosticism was all about). If God speaks to you, share it and don't think that it is some kind of secret!  We have a right to our own opinions, but not our own facts or fabrications.

We don't read the Bible (you have to be alert to genre analysis and distinguish narrative form didactic, poetry from prose, and teaching portions--read them differently!) like it is an ordinary book like it is some interesting tale with a plot to keep us enraptured or engrossed.  We read it like we should read a divine book, to have God speak to us. We read with the purpose in mind and expectation that He will open our eyes to wonderful things that only the Word can do.

We must pray for the Holy Spirit's illumination and guidance to read what He wills for our needs to be met.  It isn't how much we read, but how we read and what we read.  Some may say that they proudly read for two hours a day--well maybe they aren't getting "fed" by the Word but are only reading for "information" to get "informed" and not to be enlightened. We don't need an education or to improve our knowledge, but to change our lives.  God doesn't handicap believers due to a lack of education; it's in their hearts where the issue is.

Some may comment that we must read the Bible a lot to remember so much  (quality, not quantity is the measure of a good reading session), but it is the Spirit that brings Scripture to mind and puts meditations on our hearts.  What is meditation but to digest and rethink a Scripture until we arrive at the meaning God wants us to get? It does no good to read a lot of Scripture if we come away and don't know what God has convicted us about or spoken to us in.  If I don't get an "Aha!" moment I feel I have read in vain. I don't want to be just informed and read for academic reasons to get educated, but to feel that God has met my daily needs and spoken to me personally.

Sometimes it is necessary to read more than usual, because we may have "Bible fatigue" (boredom when it has lost its zing and seems too familiar to excite our spirits, like when we read the same translation too much), but if we faint not God will open our spiritual eyes (conditioned upon our being in fellowship with Him and it is not our fault by harboring some sin we have not known or confessed).  According to Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16 two of the purposes of the Word is reproof and instruction in righteousness--they can show us where we went wrong and how to get back on track!

I challenge you to stick with it till you do have an existential encounter of sorts, and not just read academically (for no practical, but only theoretical reasons) for the info, but to have your soul enlightened.  We must be patient and not give up reading until we feel that God has spoken to us and we have some "meat" of the Word that we can chew on for the day.  It is the condition of our soul not the Bible's problem if we are not fed.  The biggest temptation to read is the desire to know as much as a fellow believer (just because of the motive of wanting to know everything) who has accumulated knowledge by virtue of many years reading and lose track of the goal, to hear from God. It is good practice to pray that God opens the door to knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in the Word prior to reading--keep the faith and don't quit until you feel God has met your needs and spoken to you for the day (i.e., something to chew on or meditate upon). You may read and find some verse that is just what you needed to hear for the day.

Now the whole goal of reading to put into practice God's Word that convicted.  Jesus said that if we know these things happy are we if we do them!   The real joy comes in doing the Word and not just accumulating knowledge, which is a byproduct of our experience in the Word and should never be a goal--so as to think we are a cut above others if we just "know" more.  The more we know, the more responsible we are, but this doesn't mean that ignorance is bliss.  We are commanded to grow in the knowledge of Jesus (cf. 2 Pet. 3:18).

Faith comes by hearing the Word and this doesn't just refer to hearing sermons but to the public reading of Scripture and to any time we hear the Word either from friends or by media.  We are to speak to one another in psalms and hymns, etc. ("Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly" says Col. 3:16), and how can this be if we are not "full of the Word" by virtue of much-devoted reading. Now, the wonderful effect of maturity is to love the Word and to read it because we love it.  "Oh, how I love thy law, it is my meditation all the day long"  (Psa. 119:97). "Great peace have those who love thy law, nothing shall cause them to stumble"  (Psalm 119:165).

We have reached a point of maturity when we actually love the Bible and look forward to a time in the Word to hear from the Lord for the day's needs.  One verse that really speaks to you can have more impact than a whole lot of reading that is just "interesting."  God doesn't want His Word to be just interesting or inspiring (we can go to Shakespeare for that), but life-changing, convicting, and uncomfortable---even knocking us out of our comfort zones.  When God speaks to your spirit you know it and you feel fed and can have the courage and strength to face another day.

The Word has many ways of speaking to us:  Warnings to take, prayers to echo and utter, principles to follow, promises to claim, commands to heed, examples to emulate, and if we read with a purpose and don't quit till we have achieved it we will gain good habits in the regular reading of the Word, that will develop into a lifetime habit and relationship to God that we can confidently go to Him to have Him "speak" to us for our daily needs.

Neglect of the Word estranges or alienates us from God and we are no longer in sync with Him, and cannot walk in the Spirit and in daily fellowship. The characteristic of the Word is that it feeds you, then makes you hungry!  You can never read it enough--you don't just read it and put it aside like a novel or textbook to study and master, but never grow weary of it and get new insight every time you read it. You can never say, "I read it and know what's in it" as if its an ordinary book and put it back on the shelf--for we can never say we know enough or have mastered it as if we are scholars.  If you have never had an existential experience in the Word, you are missing the boat and haven't yet known what it feels like to have God speak to your heart and encourage you in the Word.  It is our lifeline and link to God's will--of which we should desire to know and do. Time in the Word is never wasted and we must remember that we are all at different levels--God's Word is at work in us who believe and has the power to change our lives into Christ's image.

To sum up, we cannot really read it unless we know the author and have a relationship with Him! We speak to God in prayer, but He promises to reply to the Word.  One key to understanding Scripture is to see the big picture and learn to see Christ in it. The Word should not just be important but take precedence:  Billy Graham tells of a man who just made millions of dollars, but when he met Billy he insisted on telling him what the Lord had shown him that morning in the Word! Just have priorities and put first things first!  If we ignore the Word we cannot know God's will for lives, (doing the will of God is the easier yoke that Israel needed from the heavy yoke of the Law) case closed.    Soli Deo Gloria!

Knowing When To Change

VERSES TO PONDER:
"When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies"  (Psalm 119:59).
"Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD'  (Lam. 3:40).
"There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death"  (Proverbs 14:12).
"... Consider your ways" (cf. Haggai 1:5,7).

This is just as much a confession as it is a doctrinal post.  It seemed like Providence was smiling at me and I took my cue on schedule.  God allowed me to make a fresh start or to have a clean slate once more.  As you will see we have to be willing to step out of our comfort zone (in faith as Abraham did to be the father of the faithful).  As a word to orient you:  I had the biggest to-do list of my lifetime--trying to fit a week's job of organizing and moving into one day (it took over 12 hours!). But the reward was worth it in the end.

A radical change of lifestyle is a sign of a true conversion, for that is what conversion means (change).  "Behold, all things are become new"  (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). When we heed God's call on our life in His timing it is aided by the grace of God, so it is not in the energy of the flesh.  I'm not against reform or making new resolutions, but they are usually done in the energy of the flesh, and not of God. While we are in the mood, you could say, why don't we take the opportunity to change all our bad habits one by one!  Like Amos talked about in Amos 6:13 saying:  [paraphrased by me] "You boast about accomplishing 'nothing' by your own power!"  Paul said he "ventured not to boast, but of what the Spirit did through [him]," (cf. Rom. 15:18).  

It is clear in Hosea 14:8 that our "fruit" comes from Him.  Our disposition, demeanor, temperament, and personality type are God's gift to us--not our gift to God (He is the Potter, we are the clay).  He doesn't owe us anything and all is of grace!  Isaiah says in chapter 26 verse 12 that all that we have accomplished He has done through us.  God rewards us for working through us as His vessels of honor.  "... [You] have done for us all our works" (Isaiah  26:12b).  Jesus said that "apart from [Him] we can do nothing"  (John 15:5).

There is a "window of opportunity" that we must recognize when God is blessing us to do His will and we are to "seize the day" (carpe diem), as it were.  It gets harder and harder to stop a bad habit or vice the more we "try" to stop and it only gets more ingrained in us as if we were getting "programmed."  I'm not claiming that it is smooth sailing, but Isaiah says, "When you pass through the waters I will be with you" (cf. Isaiah 43:2).  Some people literally don't know when to quit or have gone too far.

My moving experience was sort of an Abrahamic "episode" you might say, because of the parallels. I was "called" to leave my room because I was on the list.  I didn't want to go at first because I was content (or stuck in a rut) to be where I was (maybe complacency too) and had everything the way I wanted after ten-plus years of being there.  I didn't even want to check out the new room but was talked into it.  When I saw it that this was a "promotion" I jumped the chance to better my fortunes because they believed I had paid my dues, however, I wasn't worthy of myself (they say I deserve it because I've been here so long--but what did I ever do?).  Now that I am all settled in, and it was the hardest work I have ever done to move all my stuff and prioritize my belongings, I realized what a blessing it was and was overcome with gratitude to God realizing that the goodness of God leads us to repentance (cf. Rom. 2:4).  

Now, this new attitude of gratitude has spilled out into other domains of my life and it shows.  Moving is usually the time people get rid of excess baggage and personal effects, and reevaluate their lives, putting them into perspective--their values, that it.  We tend to "accumulate" in more than one dimension of being.  Sometimes we don't realize how much we have till we move. Was I willing to part with some of these things or not?  I was forced into an assessment or an inventory, as it were.  Abraham had to shed all idols, and only take what was necessary and what was God's will--no idols--a tall order in those days of idolatry.

Now, why do you hear about so many people testifying that it was easy for them to "quit?"  Because they did it when God convicted them and when He was giving them the grace to do it in His power of the Spirit.  Repentance comes naturally when prompted by the Spirit and is not forced--we want to change and don't feel we are forced to.  Once true repentance or genuine repentance--versus spurious repentance or regret--(always accompanying the flip side of saving faith) only then can conversion transpire, and as Jesus gets the "passkey" to our inner sanctum or sanctuary of our soul and we allow Him to clean house, as it were, the more He is allowed, the easier it gets to yield more to Him.  If there is something that we are withholding and unwilling to surrender, that will paralyze our walk and God will have to deal with these "lordship issues."

When I got moved to a bigger and better room where I reside, I felt it was time to take inventory and take stock of what paraphernalia I actually needed.  It was a shock at how much "stuff" I had been holding on to just because I didn't like to throw things out!   It would have been postmortem embarrassment to realize someone actually going through my personal belongings and being able to judge what kind of person I was.   

Matthew Henry said to live each day as if it were your last.   I want to be ready and have a "clean house" when my time comes.  Corrie ten Boom always said to "hold things loosely." A. W. Tozer writes of the  "Blessedness of Possessing Nothing," meaning that nothing possesses you--and you realize that you are only the steward of God (do you control and manipulate it or does it control you?), and you are not a materialist guilty of idolatry.   

Obadiah says that Israel shall "possess their possessions [we don't possess people!]." We manipulate things and love people, we don't manipulate people and love things! There is a point of fanaticism (being a "fan" to the max) or when we idolize someone, putting them on a pedestal, and we are too devoted to people too--our sole celebrity or object of worship should be Jesus!  There is a certain freedom and inner catharsis or release when we give back to God of what He has given out of His bounty as our provision.  "It is more blessed to give than to receive," as Jesus said (cf. Acts 20:35).


Another godly trait I determined to undertake as I moved was to get organized:  "For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace" (1 Cor. 14:33).  It made me even feel more godly:   My friend and fellow veteran and resident says he worked in a warehouse twenty years and learned that for everything there is a place and a place!  I took his advice seriously as I moved and found out as I did it as a man "on a mission" it was actually a joy to work so hard and work up a sweat like I never had before--labor can be rewarding if we know the why and have a purpose.  I wanted to make my room presentable as if Jesus Himself were to be my visitor!   I changed the decor and took this into consideration.  Case in point:  I even got rid of some possibly offensive CDs!

Doing things God's way and not your way is the only way:  Jesus said, "I am the way...."   It is not one of several ways, nor the best way, but the only way!  The key to staying in fellowship with our Heavenly Father throughout the day, as Brother Lawrence wrote about in his book,   The Practice of the  Presence of God, is to keep short accounts of when we get convicted and to do things God's way and according to the light we have, of which we are responsible for.  We are not people-pleasers" in the least, but when we are approved of God, there is inevitable approval by God's people and the world will not understand our motives, which are not as selfish as theirs are.

Another thing that contributed to my attitude was gratitude to God for this new room and that I was finally getting some respect it felt like a whole new "born-again" (it is like a new beginning and new world to get to know) experience with my move because I used it as an opportunity to rededicate myself to being a better man and develop healthier coping skills and mechanisms and to have good habits, not bad--would you believe that the power is there to do this because the timing is right. I try to write when I feel the juices flowing  (when the Spirit moves), as it were, and when in the mood and the Spirit are calling me--and not to be disobedient to the heavenly "vision" of exercising my spiritual gift.

In summation:  If you don't change when God is convicting you---then you may be like a drinker or smoker who claims he can't lick his vicious habit, in actuality, vice.  You cannot do it in your power, so you might as well do it with God!  Clean up your act and make your lifestyle presentable to God for ready inspection.  It is like God told Hezekiah to "get his house in order."  In other words "Be ready!" Death is a promotion and a door to a superior way of living!  We never know when our master will come or our time is finally up and we shall meet our Maker.  "...[Prepare] to meet your God, O Israel" (Amos 4:12c ).  Soli Deo Gloria!