"So he will do to me whatever he has planned. He controls my destiny" (Job 23:14, NLT).
"My times [future] are in your hands..." (Psalm 31:15, NIV).
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you" (Psalm 32:8, NIV)
"So he will do to me whatever he has planned. He controls my destiny" (Job 23:14, NLT).
"My times [future] are in your hands..." (Psalm 31:15, NIV).
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you" (Psalm 32:8, NIV).
John Locke said that all children are born with a blank slate, a tabula rasa, that is amenable or conformable to become virtually anything the child desires or is taught to be. That is to say with virtually unlimited potential! CAVEAT: We are all potential depraved criminals too! It's not by accident that we aren't for Paul said, "I am what I am by the grace of God," (cf. 1 Cor. 15:10) and George Whitefield said, "There but for the grace of God go I." (He said this upon seeing a condemned man go to the gallows!) It's merely a matter of grace that we are who we are.
God enables us to be good and all our good works are a matter of God using us. All our own righteousness is as filthy rags. In fact, our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to Him (cf. Isaiah 45:24; Hosea 14:8; Romans 15:18). Have you discovered your spiritual potential in Christ? You must realize your gifting first but you start that by serving God wherever He calls you and willingness to do His will as a servant. If we have faith, God will fulfill His purpose for us; be sure to complete the calling or ministry you have received from the Lord (cf. 2 Tim. 4:5). "But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God's grace," (cf. Acts 20:24).
Salvation is a matter of realizing we can do nothing of ourselves; it's all a matter of grace from beginning to end. We can do no pre-salvation work to prepare ourselves but are at the mercy of God: He controls our destiny. Jesus made it clear we can do nothing in our own right: "Apart from Me you can do nothing..." (cf. John 15:5). That means we cannot believe nor repent of our sins on our own merit but depend upon the grace of God to do a work of grace in our hearts. That is, we sue God for spiritual bankruptcy in a sense, realizing our utter helplessness!
We must cease trying to save ourselves. This is akin to discovering our own inner chile whereby we realize that we are dependent and need God; salvation is of the LORD (cf Jonah 2:9). That means it is not of us alone as if we can work our way to please God, nor it is a joint venture or cooperative effort between us and God, but only by virtue of grace alone. Both faith and repentance are gifts. We do not conjure them up nor catch them by osmosis around other believers.
Salvation is not about doing God a favor or deserving it, if so, then salvation would be a matter of justice, not grace. God is under no obligation to save anyone and would still be holy if all were condemned. Grace is undeserved, unearned, and unrepayable. We must realize that we are at God's mercy: "God be merciful to me a sinner,' (cf. Luke 18:13). The closer we get to God and salvation, the more we realize our sinfulness as Paul called himself the "chief of sinners," and Peter said, 'Depart from me O Lord, for I am a sinful man"
The whole point of salvation is to realize we aren't qualified or good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need it. But the good news is that no one is too bad to be saved! That is why we must become as a child to enter the kingdom of God; displaying the positive elements of a child-like dependence, faith, humility, and wonder or awe. Just like children are in a state of dependency and need, we must realize this as our spiritual condition.
As long as we hold a high estimation of ourselves we cannot be saved; we must humble ourselves and come clean from all our sins. Children are willing to do what they're told as following orders and we are to be willing to do all of God's will for our lives, not leaning on our own understanding (cf Prov 3:5-6).
Remember how children have dreams of success and becoming someone great like an astronaut or a doctor or even president! We must expect great things from God and attempt great things for God in the words of William Carey, father of modern missions. But notice that one day children grow up! We are to put away that which is childish when we become mature in the faith: When I became a man, I put away childish things, as Paul says in his love chapter (1 Cor. 13). Remember that it is to children that the kingdom of God belongs and that we can become child-like ourselves as believers embracing all the good things of their personalities.
In sum, the genuine believer seeks and desires God's will and yoke (submission to whatever His plan for our lives is); we don't have to go by rules or regulations but everything in compliance with the rule and law of love: "All that counts is faith expressing itself through love, (cf Gal. 5:6). We may not be called to do something but God expects us to be willing, even to the laying down of our lives. The example of becoming a man after God's own heart is King David who did "all God's will," (cf. Acts 13:36). Soli Deo Gloria!