Do All Things Occur As God Plans?

 Some Christians don't believe that God's will is always done.  They believe they can frustrate God and defy His will. It is true we can break God's laws and not obey Him, but this is known as the preceptive will of God or that will revealed to us. But there is another way to look at God's will: the secret, decreed, and ultimate will of God that we do not know till it happens. God is known for orchestrating history as He wills to glorify Himself per Eph. 1:11 where it says God works all things in conformity with His will. That means God is sovereign, and if He is not Lord of all, He cannot be Lord at all. There can be no  maverick molecule in the cosmos.  No  grain of sand outside His will. It was one grain of sand in Oliver Cromwell's kidney that stopped a war! God was working!  Job said we cannot frustrate or thwart God's will in Job  42:2. 

Some believers think that when bad things happen, they cannot be God's will or when men sin that God didn't decree to allow it to happen or  even direct it into being. The crucifixion is the most wicked event in history perpetrated by man and Acts 4:28 says that it went according to God's predestined plan and will. Now, when God says not to steal and I do anyway, I am breaking God's Law and preceptive will. But God may allow it to happen for He intends good out of evil. As Joseph said to his brothers, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." Gen. 50:20  John Wycliffe, first translator of the Bible into English, made the famed dictum: "All things come to pass of necessity." 

That means God has a  purpose for everything happening and God even has a purpose for allowing evil according to Prov. 16:4. God is the Potter and we are the clay; we cannot complain to the Maker why we are made so. Some people are vessels of honor and some of dishonor, but all serve God's higher purpose. God used Judas to do the dirty work of betraying Jesus, yet Judas did it completely of his own initiative without God  impelling or compelling him. Judas went as it was written of him.... 

We pray that God's will be done and this means on earth as it is in heaven, to be done willfully and cheerfully from the heat and not forced to do it. God is stronger than our wills as Jeremiah found out in Jer. 20:7 when he said that God had overpowered him and he felt defeated by God who prevailed.  We know "that a man's way is not his sown; no one who walks determines hi sown steps." Jer. 10:23 and "A mans steps are determined by the LORD so how can anyone understand hi sown way?" Prov. 20:24 and "A man's heart plans his way but the LORD determines his steps." Prov. 16:9 We are not fully in control of our lives; even the king's heart is controlled by God as He controls a river's course per Prov. 21:1 and in Prov. 16:33 it says God controls the toss of the dice.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Trusting In Gods Will...

"But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry given me by the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God's grace."  (Acts 20:24, HCSB).  
"But nothing, not even my life, is more important than my completing my mission..." (Acts 20:24, CEB). 
"For David, after serving his own generation in God's plan, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed"  (Acts 13:36, HCSB).

"There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand," (cf. Prov. 19:21). 

We all have had come to forks in the road and wondered which way to go.  In fact, if we don't care where we end up, it doesn't matter which road we take, we'll end up somewhere for sure!  But God's will doesn't work like that: either we are in or out of it and the safest place to be is right there in the middle of God's plan for our lives.  Jesus knew this too and from the time of His youth He sensed His divine calling to be about His Father's business and superimposed that will on His, as His motto of life became "Thy will be done!"  He taught us as disciples to pray likewise and to follow in His steps.  The temptation comes to do things our way, and that is the epitome of sin--doing our own thing, that we stop trusting God and try to save ourselves by our own efforts.  But we must trust and rely solely on Jesus for salvation and not on the energy of the flesh or our own willpower.

Jesus faced a dilemma in His life when He was faced with the temptation to do things His way or the Father's way--in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Finally, in total relinquishment, He prayed, "Nevertheless, not as I will but thy will be done."  He could've decided to avoid the draft of the Father to be our Savior and just saved Himself and He'd still be God, but we would be lost sinners.  It's good He chose to die on our behalf instead of avoiding the Via Dolorosa and its crucible.  But we are to follow in His steps and to take up our cross and die to self too.  We are to live for God's will not ourselves.

We should always be assured that God knows best and also that God didn't answer some of our prayers.  He knows how to run our lives better than anyone of us and we ought to give Him full ownership.  We can be assured that Jesus knew the trials of facing these kinds of dilemmas and that the only way we can avoid regrets is to trust God with all our hearts and not lean unto our own understanding (per Prov. 3:5-6).   We have no better idea than God and His plan for us is that which is perfect and good for us.  We are to fulfill God's purpose for us and realize His will in all our ways.

The life lived for self is filled with regret, insecurity, and worry because there's no place for trusting God. "He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee" (cf. Isaiah 26:3).  God wants our faith to be tested in the crucible of fire to make sure it's genuine, saving faith and faith isn't worth much if it's easy!  God cannot force faith either and have it worth anything because that isn't real faith, but coercion or determinism.

For this reason, God makes faith a gift of grace and elects us to believe by grace; it's not because of merit or wisdom we have it but we believe through grace (cf. Acts 18:27). Even if salvation were by wisdom or intelligence, God is the One who makes one wise or intelligent--you cannot escape grace. "Grace reigns through righteousness" (cf. Romans 5:21).    It has been granted unto us to believe; i.e., it's a privilege!  (cf. Phil. 1:29).  It's the work of God (cf. John 6:29). God works in us both to do and to will of His good pleasure (cf. Phil. 2:13).

But we can rest assured that Jesus went through every type of trial for us and we don't experience anything unique that He cannot relate to us with as a human (cf. Heb. 2:18).  "[B]ecause we don't have a high priest who can't sympathize with our weaknesses but instead one who was tempted in every way that we are, except without sin (Heb. 4:15, CEB).     Soli Deo Gloria!

For His Name's Sake

God's reputation and character are at stake in protecting us and providing our needs, as well as the testimony we give and the salvation we receive.  For instance, if one of His promises fail, like the assurance of our salvation, God would be a liar and not the great Promise Keeper He is. For example, if we lost our salvation, God would lose His honor in keeping us.   In fact, we are not only justified while we are sinners, but God gives us the gift of righteousness in time and we are stewards of it.  We don't honor God with our righteousness, which is as filthy rags, but praise God by using His righteousness and walking in it to His glory.  Remember, we are engaged in His will doing His work, He is not doing our thing or doing what we want for our pleasure.  Bear in mind, our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to Him.  

Everything we do, say and think ought to be for His Name's sake and to His glory.  We pray in Jesus' Name, not as a formula, but to ensure that our prayers are according to His will, not ours and bring Him glory and honor, not us.   This is the essence of trust:  seeing everything through God's eyes for His will and glory, not our self-interest.  We let go of the sovereignty of our lives before we can own Him as Lord!  We must remain on track with His will daily and constantly renew the commitment because we easily go astray or go rogue unto our own paths or ruts.  Actually, habits can become ruts to get into because they may interfere with God's will and can become hindrances in our walk.  But Scripture says we have all gone astray like sheep, each to his own way (cf. Isa. 53:6).  And we all tend to do what is right in our own eyes! (Cf. Judges 17:6; 21:25).  It is vital to know that the key to staying on course is to realize it's not about us!  The key to failure and depression is to live for self and not love anyone above yourself.


We must grow up and realize that God has our best interest in mind just like a shepherd cares for and tends his sheep--we are really too stupid to map out our own lives and to see the dangers ahead and how to find pasture or supplies for life.  No man is an island or a rock who needs no one!  We cannot survive without our shepherd for all our basic necessities in life--Jesus is that Shepherd!  We must constantly ask ourselves:  are we in the rut we make for ourselves by bad habits and lack of foresight, or are we in God's tracks that are sure to lead to fulfilling God's purpose for our lives?  We all can be on track with God if we renew ourselves daily and get into the Word, prayer, and stay connected through the ministries of the local church as it disciples us and trains us through all the spiritual gifts manifested corporately.

Job said that all of his days he shall wait for his "renewal" (cf. Job 14:14, ESV) and we must wait patiently on the Lord because we are assured He wants what's best for us (cf. Isa. 40:31).  If we had our own way, we would surely mess up our lives--we aren't merely as wise as we think we are as finite beings.  The safest place to be is in His will for our life and this ought to be Job One!  The only happy and fulfilling life is doing God's work and interpreting everything accordingly or seeing God at work in what we do.  We only learn the hard way of the school of hard knocks by resisting God's will and will soon find out that God knew best in the first place!          Soli Deo Gloria!

The Man On A Mission

"I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do" (John 17:4, NIV).
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me..." (Acts 20:24, NIV).  

One thing for sure, Jesus was par excellence the man on a mission from God.  From the very beginning, He sensed His higher calling that the Father had work for Him to do and He must lay down His life--He came to die!  His motto from the outset, when twelve years old, was, "I must be about My Father's business."  This was the theme of His life--to do God's will. You could say He had fulfilled the role of a lifetime:  "Thy will be done!"  And this is the yoke He has given us--to do His will, not to obey the law of Moses, which He fulfilled for us.  His yoke is easy and His burden is light!  One notable thing about Christ on His mission extraordinaire:  He never had "tunnel vision" and could always see the trees and the forest!  His secret was that He never forgot who He was or His mission: to be our Savior first, and then our King in that order.  He never forgot who He was and we ought to do likewise.

It is easy for us to get side-tracked and lose focus of what our mission is and to feel like failures--but keeping our eyes on Christ is a way to stay in touch with His will.  That is one unique thing about our faith:  it has a message for everyone, even failures and people who have messed up their lives, even sinners who have lost it all.  But if we haven't lost God, we haven't lost it all!  With Jesus as our Exemplar, we must not lose focus on the Great Commission and why we are here and that we must live our lives for Christ, not ourselves.

Jesus was on the Green Mile or His road to his (execution) cross and stopped to heal a blind man, never losing His compassion for people in need.  His mission was always front and center, but people mattered and they were never an interruption or inconvenience.  On His Via Dolorosa, Jesus stopped to tell a woman not to weep for Him: Christ was willingly going to the cross and knew what it entailed.  Even on the cross Jesus commended His mother to John and took care of her in her time of need, and the first thing He uttered was a prayer of intercession for those who knew not what they were doing and needed forgiveness--again thinking of others first!  Oh that we should never be too busy to welcome doing God a service or to lend a helping hand, for He has no hands but ours to help with.

As a guiding principle or rule of thumb, the more focused we are, the greater we can accomplish, and the more impact we have.  The problem with some people is that they are trying to do too much at a time, like walking and chewing gum as it were. We shouldn't try to multi-task so much and concentrate on doing God's will first and foremost.  David was known for doing all of God's will and was called a man after God's own heart for it.   It is not always good to have too many burners in the fire.  They are like spinning tops going around and around but getting nowhere!  If you're not going anywhere, it doesn't pay to be in a hurry.  It doesn't pay to be busy if you're going nowhere or have no purpose!

We need patience that our time is in God's hands and He controls the timing of everything.  To everything there is a season and purpose and a procedure, we must strive to do things God's way and in His timing.  In His time, He will make everything beautiful, so it is said in Ecclesiastes.  David prayed:   "My times are in your hands" (cf. Psalm 31:15, NIV).  In the final analysis, we must pray the prayer of relinquishment as Christ did at the Garden and commit everything to His will, not ours, lest He does let us have our way and mess things up--God does have our best in mind and we should know that!     Soli Deo Gloria!

God Has No Plan B

"'Have you not heard?  Long ago I ordained it.  In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass,.." (Isaiah 37:26, NIV; cf. 2 Kgs. 19:25).  
"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD" (Prov. 21:30, NIV).  
"The LORD has made everything for its purpose..." (Prov. 16:4, ESV).
"God doesn't play dice with the universe." --Einstein

Actually, God has no Plan A either!  We should ascribe to God the only Plan that is decreed, His Plan and since it will be fulfilled and God cannot fail, be thwarted, nor be frustrated, We don't call it Plan A, but simply God's Plan.  Job 42:2 says no plan of God can be thwarted!  THERE'S NO PLAN B OR BACKUP PLAN!   "The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand' (Isaiah 14:24, NIV).  He further says, "For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" (Isa. 14:27, NIV).  Providence is in play and John Wycliffe was right on in his famous tenet:  "All things come to pass of necessity."

As believers, we must realize that God is working all things for our good and turns curses into blessings and the evil one cannot touch us.  We must exercise an act of faith and realize that God does work in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform and that He is ultimately and always in control, both now and forever.  We should be in awe as God even causes "the wrath of man to praise Him!" (Cf. Psalm 76:10).  And our enemies may intend evil, but God works it out for the good and means to bless us in the long term.  The problem is that we don't see the big picture and are near-sighted spiritually.  Short-term evil can result in long-term good.  In fact, Wilhelm Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz saw this world as "the best of all possible worlds."  John Wycliffe would concur: "All things come to pas of necessity."

We must get on board with God to get the best will for our lives and for Him to bless us and that we don't have to settle or end up with second best.  God's will is done cheerfully and cooperatively in heaven and we are to pray for this on earth, according to the Lord's prayer.  In fact, His Plan will be accomplished with or without our cooperation!  God doesn't need us to do His Plan as if He needed anyone!  We have the privilege to participate in His blessings and provision, cooperating with Providence and proving God's good, pleasing, and perfect will (cf. Rom. 12:2). As believers, we ought to be committed to God's Plan and seeking to fulfill it at every opportunity and open door.  If we don't seek God's Plan or best for our life, God may say to us: "Okay, have it your way!" Then we will be in a state of disobedience.

In sum, God is not haphazard or arbitrary but has an intricate plan (life is no fluke!), of which we have the privilege to become partakers of in bringing Him glory as The Westminster Shorter Catechism states our purpose to be: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."      Soli Deo Gloria!

Finishing Our Work

"I hope to see my Pilot face to face when I have crossed the bar."  (Alfred, Lord Tennyson).  
Note to the reader: Not to be morbid, but preparing for one's passing involves more than taking care of one's final expenses!  
OUR DAYS ARE DETERMINED AND PLANNED BEFOREHAND!  (CF.  PSALM 119:16).  
"In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:  the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness" (Eccl. 7:15, NIV).  [The godly can perish before their time.]
"So He will do to me whatever He has planned.  He controls my destiny" (Job 23:14, NLT).

Paul thanked God and prayed he would complete his mission, which would be his greatest joy.  King David passed away, but having fulfilled God's purpose and having done all God's will (cf. Acts 20:24, 10:36).  It is true in a sense that we don't pass away till God is finished with us, which should be an incentive to do God's will and be ready.  We ought always to be ready to meet our Lord, for we know not when we will (cf. Amos 4:12).  Now Hezekiah was told directly from God to get his house in order because his time was short!  However, he objected and told the Lord that he was only in the prime of his life (it would be a shame!). Note that Matthew Henry said we ought to live every day as if it's our last.  Only God knows what we are here for and when our time is completed; we only see through a glass darkly--of which we will understand on the other side. (One mystery, or paradox that Scripture mentions, is that people who want to live often die, and those who would die, go on living. )

Now, the great question one must ask is whether the godly die before their time.  Yes, they can!  Isaiah 57:1, NLT, says so:  "Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time."  Some think that when no one needs them they will die, but God can always use a committed believer who is conformed to the pattern of His will.  We have no luxury of judging someone's life by its length.  It is good to live to be old, which is a luxury, but not all become wise.

We must acknowledge the wise wording of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:1ff that there is a time for every matter under heaven--including a time to die. Actually, the Bible declares the day of one's death better than the day of his birth!  "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants" (Psalm 116:15, NIV).  Christians have the hope of eternal life due to Christ's resurrection that gave us reason to believe and this should be all the more motive and inspiration to live a life pleasing to Him, and not for the day only, but one day at a time in light of the Word and of eternity.

Therefore, let's all be looking forward to "crossing" (not passing) our bar and meeting the Lord in glory.  In the meantime, we are to live as if it's "one step between [us] and death!"  CAVEAT: WE MUST BEWARE LEST WE SIN UNTO DEATH (CF. 1 JOHN 5:16) AND GOD DECREE TO TAKE US BEFORE OUR TIME AS DIVINE DISPLEASURE!    Soli Deo Gloria! 

No One Has To Be A Loser With God

God is on our side and we cannot lose with Him as our eternal Advocate "This I know:  God is for me" (cf. Psalm 56:9; 118:6).  God is with us through thick and thin (if He got us to it, He'll get us through it!); that means we are never alone! (cf. 2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:10).  God believes in us--our situation is never hopeless!  We may give up hope, but there are no hopeless situations, only those who've given up (cf. Isa. 49:6; Jer. 29:11).   The trouble is that we often want our own way and don't realize that God knows what is best for us!  The only obstacle to God's best for us and His perfect will and plan is us--our will!  Sometimes, if we don't insist on God's will and God's way, He will just say to us, "OK, have it your way (but you'll be sorry and realize I was right!)."

Job often wondered if anyone could intercede for him in his predicament and trial (cf. Job 9:32-33); but as Christians, we should always be cognizant of the fact that God will never give up on us and neither should we (cf. Lev. 26:44). That's like giving up on God Himself, for all his promises have been proved true, not one has failed (cf. Josh. 23:14). The problem with many believers is ignorance per se--they are unaware of His promises and don't avail themselves of them (willful ignorance is never bliss nor an excuse!).

Jesus changed the dynamic of the Jewish culture by associating with known sinners, adulterers, outcasts, untouchables, lepers, and anyone else whom the Pharisees despised.  He was pushing their buttons all right and upsetting their religious apple cart!  Jesus simply wasn't the Messiah of conventional wisdom to deliver them from Roman rule, but one to deliver from sin--they wouldn't admit this was their problem!  Jesus was also given the title "friend of sinners" meant as an insult!  Where would we be if God never loved us while we were sinners and even enemies of the cross and gospel?  Jesus is always our friend but we are never His friend unless we obey Him.  Jesus is never ashamed of us and proud to call us brethren--we should likewise boldly witness for Him and never be ashamed to name the name of Jesus!

It is important to note that the Twelve were just ordinary men, even a ragtime bunch of misfits, unlikely candidates, and ragamuffins. Conventional wisdom would question this dubious band of brothers to accomplish God's will. But Jesus knew who they really were by the grace of God and saw their potential to be used for God's glory.  If Jesus were to be asked what would transpire if they failed, He would most likely retort:  "I have no other plan!"

And so we learn from Mark's gospel narrative and theme of Jesus as the Servant the following important lessons:  God never rejects us and can use rejects of society--call no one useless for whom Christ died and redeemed; Christ always will give us a second chance and we should never feel we blew it so bad we can never get back with the program and get our act together to serve God, for His gifts and calling are without repentance (cf. Rom. 11:29), but we must never forget that we are servants and stewards of the mysteries of God and our spiritual gifts; finally, God can accomplish much with losers who may not even have any self-confidence and think they are qualified for anything (Gideon said he was the least in his family, Moses had three excuses for not serving God and didn't think he was even qualified for such a noble task, and David was the least and youngest in his family and only a shepherd when anointed to be king of Israel by Samuel, and the LORD told him that man looks on the outward appearance, but He looks upon the heart  in 1 Sam. 16:7 ).

But we must never forget that God can never be frustrated or thwarted (cf. Job 42:2). He can make the unwilling willing to do His will and bidding (cf. Phil. 2:13; Col. 1:29; Psalm 110:3; Jer. 20:9).  God has no Plan B and will accomplish it despite our lack of cooperation.  We must get with the program but not just be converted to the program, but converted to Christ and knowing Him as well as sharing Him and making Him known!      Soli Deo Gloria!

God's Plan For Our Lives

"A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash" (Prov. 15:14, NLT).
"The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger" (Prov. 24:5, NLT).  
"Knowledge is power."--Sir Francis Bacon
"...' My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose'" (Isa. 46:10, ESV).  
"[F]or I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jer. 29:11, ESV).

Many Bible teachers point to the famed Bible verse, Jer. 29:11, as indicated to God's eternal plan for believers.  To deny that God has a purpose for our lives and a plan is to deny the eternal decrees of God--Psalm 139:16 denotes God's intricate detailing of our lives.  Stoic philosophy went so far as to not only posit God having a plan but that it is our chief good and aim to accept it without reservation in a sort of grin and bear it philosophy.

Antithetical to adhering to God having a plan for us is the humanistic view that we are the master of our fate and the captain of our soul per Invictus by William Ernest Henley.  Our duty is not to believe in a dogma of a "stiff upper lip" nor to merely grin and bear in time, but to work out our salvation with fear and trembling per Philippians 2:13 and to make good on our destiny, noting that this is not blind fate or kismet (Islam version), but a personal dealing with God whereby we cooperate in His grace on our behalf.  It is never too late to accomplish God's best for us, if we are yielded to Him and willing to do His will wholeheartedly (cf. 2 Chron. 16:9).

According to 2 Cor. 1:20, all the promises are fulfilled and amen in Christ Jesus.  When God gave a promise specifically to Abraham, it has immediate consequences for him as well as long term, but there are also mediate applications for the believer who is the legitimate "son of Abraham," the father of the faithful.  Sometimes we have to realize a symbolic or indirect fulfillment of a promise, but it's still inherent in God's Word, which cannot come back void but will be fulfilled. 

In other words, all promises apply in some sense or degree.  This verse is aimed at Israel and its future as God's people, and so they seem to think that you cannot interpret it for personal application.  It is wrong to say, "This verse means this to me, regardless of what it means at face value." That is to become mystical and close to believing the Bible becomes the Word of God upon having an existential experience or encounter with it.  You must interpret Scripture with Scripture, and according to this principle, God does have a plan for us to have a more abundant life in Christ, according to John 10:10.

God even has a plan for the wicked and a purpose for them in the day of evil (cf. Prov. 16:4).  Job 23:14, NLT, says quite plainly, without any play on words, in the plain sense that God had a plan for Job and a destiny to fulfill ("For he will do to me whatever he has planned.  He controls my destiny").  The error arises when we think that God wants to always prosper us in the material sense, thinking that spirituality is the means to financial gain--an idea opposed by Paul in 1 Timothy 6.  We must learn to be content with what we have and enjoy the blessing God gives us--this is how we find God's calling to use the blessing bestowed and His provision granted by grace.  We are to be faithful to what God has given us in due measure, and not to have gift envy or to think God is being unfair.

Jer. 29:11 says God has no evil in mind for us, and our trials are meant to increase our faith and to give us character through adversity, not to harm us!  Indeed, Paul was right on when he mentioned in Rom. 8:28 that God works all things together for our good, but sometimes we don't' realize it till much later.  The original issue is whether we can apply texts to ourselves that are not directly addressed to us, especially promises.  

The point to note is that we ought to look for general principles of God's character that are immutable and that might apply to us in particular.  In one sense, Christians are God's people now and God has cast aside Israel till the Day of the Lord in the last days, and it is true that we are the seed of Abraham according to Gal. 3:29.  One of the privileges of being the seed of Abraham is to share in his blessings and to claim promises of God in Christ's name.

We are not capable of frustrating or thwarting God's plan; even the episode of temptation in the Garden of Eden was going according to plan and didn't take God by surprise--He's planned our redemption from eternity.  "...' As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand" (Isa. 14:24, ESV).  Again:  "For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?  His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?" (Isa. 14:27, ESV). 

Indeed, as Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716) wrote that this is "the best of all possible worlds," and just as Wycliffe's tenet similarly says, "Everything comes to pass of necessity" so there's no Plan B: God cannot fail and doesn't need a backup, because He's taken every contingency and exigency into consideration and cannot be thwarted!      Soli Deo Gloria!

Can We Know God's Will?

"All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement:  Love your neighbor as yourself" (Gal. 5:14, CEB).
"Because of this, don't be ignorant, but understand the Lord's will" (Eph. 5:17, CEB).
"[B]ut act like slaves of Christ carrying out God's will from the heart" (Eph. 6:6, CEB).
"[He will] equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight..." (Heb. 13:21, ESV).

God promises to make His will known in Scripture as the privilege of children of God; it's our responsibility to inquire and to search it out.  No one can claim a lack of revelation!  We have no excuses because we have both the resident Spirit and the complete will of God in the living Word (cf. Acts 20:27), as well as spiritual overseers who have a word of wisdom or knowledge to discern.  Wisdom is merely knowing the best means to the best ends, and God's will is always the wise choice.  We never sacrifice anything for God's will but are always in a win-win situation. Therefore, in exchange for the awesome privilege of knowing God's will as individual priests, comes the duty to carry it out.

We must no longer insist on being in charge of our lives, but must surrender once and for all time, (cf. Rom. 12:1-2) and be constantly or daily renewed to a willingness to do His will once known.  Jesus did say that anyone willing to do His will would know it (cf. John 7:17).  This surrender to God's will is what is meant by accepting His lordship as an unconditional surrender, and another way of saying it is to follow Jesus through thick and thin, come whatever may, and let the chips fall where they may.  Our motto ought to be to do God's will, as indeed was Jesus' own philosophy of life, as He always interposed the Father's will on His own.

The Lord directs our steps and delights in us doing His will.  We exchange our life for His and substitute His will for ours, as we don't so much as an imitation, as an inhabitation.  This is also known as relinquishment.  We are not called to be stoics though, and to grin and bear it, no matter what, and just accept our "fate."  Ours is not a philosophy of the "stiff upper lip."  We make voluntary choices and are responsible for them--life is about making choices.  The biggest problem we have is stubbornness and God is able to give us a change of heart and make us willing to do His will (cf. Ezek. 36:26; Phil. 2:13).  This is when we die to ourselves and put Jesus in charge of our life as our autopilot.

The problem with Christians, though, is not finding God's will, but doing it; we are blessed by doing it, not just knowing it.  As they say:  "Good intentions, poor follow-through."  There is a constant struggle to say "Yes" to Jesus' will, but we must first say "No" to ourselves.  The more surrendered we become, the freer we are the less enslaved to sin.  We must always subordinate our wills to God's and forget about Number One as being the chief care in our life.  We will find that it is hard to kick against the goads, as Paul found out, and this means fighting God's will.  Because the essence of doing God's will is a life of obedience, sacrifice, discipline, and commitment.

We don't try to fit God into our plans, but make no plans without His guidance.  Christians have a lighter yoke to bear than the Jews (cf. Matt. 11:29), who were under the Mosaic Law; the yoke of following God's will is light when Jesus is in control and guides us, never forsaking us.  Some Christians ignore God's will, and these believers are actually practical atheists because their lives show no difference from those of the world. We don't want God to consign us to our way and say to us:  "Okay, have it according to your will!"  As is the case with everyone, our problem is not in knowing God's will, but in doing it--we don't have guidance issues, but submission ones.  Christianity, according to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1979 and now canonized, is doing the will of God with a smile--[all else is commentary]. 

We must know God and His will if we want to know how to live, the infidel doesn't know these things.  We don't want God to say to us that we can have our own will, because God is wiser and His plan for us is best.  So get on board with God and get with the program!  David was a man after God's own heart because he fulfilled all God's will.  In the final analysis, we must ask ourselves if we are the master of our fate and the captain of our soul, or does the Lord own us?  "He will do unto me whatever he has planned, he controls my destiny" (Job 23:14, NLT).      Soli Deo Gloria!

Fighting God...

"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD" (Prov. 21:30, NIV).

On the road to Damascus Jesus confronted Saul that it was "hard for [him] to kick against the goads." (Cf. Acts 26:14, ESV).   The NLT says, "... It is useless for you to fight against my will."  God's will is stronger than ours--He's the Almighty! He gets His way!   His power "works mightily in us" (cf. Col. 1:29).  We have a will, but God decided our nature, and we act according to our nature, which God has the power to manipulate.  

If everything seems to be against us, perhaps we are going the wrong way ourselves!  For God is at work within us, "both to do and to will of His good pleasure" (cf. Phil. 2:13).  He will make us willing on the day of salvation (cf. Psalm 110:3).  God's will overcomes ours and it is vain and futile to oppose God:  "... For who can resist his will?" (Rom. 9:19, ESV).

When God decides to save us, He doesn't just help us to believe (we cannot believe apart from God, as it says in John 15:5 that "apart from [Him] we can do nothing"), but He makes believers out of us (quickening our spirit with faith), by virtue of irresistible grace, called the effectual call of God (cf. Rom. 8:30).  When we call someone they may or may not respond, but when God does it, the result is guaranteed and efficacious. Jeremiah proclaims "...[Y]ou are stronger than I and have prevailed..." (Jer. 20:7, ESV).  We must not find ourselves contrary to God!

We must not find ourselves contrary to God's revealed or preceptive will (which can be thwarted), because God will find a way to work out His plan regardless:  "If he snatches away, who can stop him?  Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'" (Job 9:12, NIV);  "... No one can hold back his hand or say to him:  What have you done?"  (Dan. 4:35, NIV).  God gets His way:  "... 'Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen'" (Isa. 14:24, NIV); "For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him [going against His decreed or secret will]?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" (Isa. 14:27, NIV); and finally, "'Have you not heard?  Long ago I ordained it.  In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass...'" (Isa. 37:26, NIV).  Even the Gamaliel recognized the futility:  "'... You might even be found opposing God!'..."  (Acts 5:39, ESV).

God accomplishes His will in us:  He will "equip you with every good thing that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight.."  (Heb. 13:21, ESV).  God will accomplish His will with or without our cooperation, and it is our privilege to be the clay in His hands, our Potter.  For this reason, we ought to stop fighting God or kicking against the goads and get with the program.  We are made to do His will and this is the only way to find fulfillment (in His will).  Our wills follow our minds and God can change our minds and give us a "knowledge of the truth" (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25, NLT).

Isaiah wondered:  "O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart so that we fear you not?..."  (Isa. 63:17, ESV).  God can "uphold [us] with a willing spirit" (Psalm 51:12, ESV).   It is for our own good that we pray the prayer of relinquishment and put ourselves in God's hands, praying that His will be done through us willfully, with our cooperation.  Wycliffe's tenet applies:  "All things come to pass of necessity," and we must realize God's sovereignty, that He is in complete control, working all things for our good (cf. Rom. 8:28) if we love Him. It is important to know that we are aligned with God's will, to know whose side we're on; it is vain to fight God the Almighty One, for He is stronger than us, His creatures, and there is not even "one maverick molecule in the universe," according to R. C. Sproul!

"...'The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will...'" (Acts 22:14, NIV).  Christians are exhorted to seek His will and have the unique privilege of knowing it.  We also pray in His will and all our prayers are answered if they comply to His will (cf. 1 John 5:14).   One petition of the Lord's prayer is for God's will to be done.  God's will is laid out to us in Scripture and revealed and illuminated through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.   Even Paul tells the Greeks:  "For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God" (Acts 20:27, NIV).  We are responsible for what God has opened our eyes to; to whom " much is given, much is required" is the principle (cf. Luke 12:48).

Jesus said that those who do the will of God are His brother, mother, and sister!  (Cf. Matt. 12:50, NIV).  And so it is paramount that we seek, know, and do God's will.  Why?  "... For whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17, NIV); "you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised"  (Heb. 10:36, NIV);  "... [That] you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured"  (Col. 4:12, NIV).  Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Focus Of Relinquishment

We all must face a crisis in our faith whereby we will have our "moment of truth" regarding our faith in God's will versus our own way--we are all like sheep gone astray, each one to his own way (cf. Isaiah 53:6).  If you've never grappled with the will of God, you probably haven't surrendered; once you have made the once-and-for-all relinquishment of control and ownership of your life, it only becomes a renewed effort on a continual, progressive, ongoing basis, even with day-by-day re-commitment.

We may one day be backed by God's will that clashes with the way we see things.  Once we have made this initial surrender that Romans 12:1 mentions as "our reasonable service," it becomes a pleasure to walk in the Spirit as we desire God's will (cf. Psalm 40:8:  "I delight to do thy will..."), and actually inquire as to what it is, whereby before we never even wondered about it.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, we learn that even Jesus had a will of His own, but He interposed it with the Father's will throughout His life, coming to a climax here; even at age 12 He said, "I must be about My Father's business [doing  His will]."

We are rebellious at heart and God has to work on us to mold us in His image, someday we end up backed into a wall and will make that decision to "follow Jesus."  This is the summation of our ethics: to follow on to know the Lord (cf. Hos. 6:3), doing His will to His glory.  Even Jesus had His time of testing and trial in the Garden of Gethsemane and surrendered to the Father's will, which He knew was something He didn't want in His humanity and was actually relating to our struggle with relinquishment.  Christ never asked us to do anything He didn't do Himself; in fact, our so-called crosses pale in comparison to His and He relates completely, even sending the Comforter to guide and lead us.  Jesus surrendered voluntarily and our surrender is the same, God wants us to want His will, not to feel that we have to submit to something we don't want.  In the end, all that counts is not how much of the Spirit you have, but how much of you the Spirit has; i.e., re your surrender!

Jesus doesn't ask us to die for Him, by and large, but to live for Him, to dedicate our lives to Him as living sacrifices, which is only a reasonable service of worship (cf. Rom. 12:1-2).  We are in the serious business of seeking God's will and obeying it; a genuine sign of a believer is that he wonders about God's will and submits to it gladly.  We are not Christians at all if we have never prayed our prayer of relinquishment, like Christ did Himself, and have given over the ownership of our lives to live them for His glory and not for ourselves.  It should be noted that often our surrender occurs after a good time or even a time of anxiety or stress (there's good stress).  And we are most vulnerable to testing after a victory or a "spiritual high," just like Jesus was tempted after His baptism by Satan.

Trusting Jesus is no less daring and brave than getting married and we must not run from God or avoid the corner we are backed into, but face the dilemma with the courage of God in our hearts.  Remember that He gives the Spirit without measure and some believers don't have more of the Spirit, they are just more surrendered and walk closer with the Lord.

Jesus had a divine as well as a human side; we have a flesh as well as a spirit and we must surrender our spirit to God's to overcome our flesh.  We may be facing some pet sin or a sin that easily besets us, but we can be reassured of victory only after our surrender. This initial surrender is often accompanied by a fear of the unknown, since the seeker may wonder if God is going to make them do something they don't want to do, like go to Africa, but if we realize the love of God and how He establishes us in the faith with all the provision to do His will, we can have faith in Christ despite our fears.  We must overcome our fears and get the courage to obey by having a heart fully surrendered, holding nothing back and having no reservations--then we will be able to walk with God and live in the Spirit day by day.  That is, we face our fears head on without running from them or dodging the bullet.

It may be as easy as just starting by making confessions of all fears and reservations, and having a person-to-person or one-on-one talk with God to resolve the areas of doubt and what your fears are.  God only reveals His will to the willing believer; it's only personal fears that keep a person from surrender and God will give you the courage to obey His will if you are surrendered--those who are rebellious will never know! We must trust God to only give us crosses we can bear and that He will give us the power to do His will, as well as the provision needed per Heb. 13:21 (NASB):  "[Equip] you in every good thing to do His will...."

According to Rom. 12:2 we have to surrender to know God's will, that is the divine order of events and link.  A true believer ultimately delights to do God's will, though he may falter or fail at times, deep inside he wills or yearns to please God and live for His glory (Psalm 40:8, KJV, with emphasis added, says plainly, "I delight to do thy will...").  Paul's prayer for the Colossians was to "be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding"  (Col. 1:9, NASB).  We must bear in mind that God is able to overcome our wills (cf. Rom. 9:19), and make us willing to do His will, by taking our heart of stone and giving us a heart of flesh (cf. Ezek. 36:26) and, according to Psalm 51:12, will give us or sustain us with a "willing spirit."  We are to imitate or emulate Christ's example and motto of His life:  Thy will be done!

You can always discern those who haven't ever made the prayer of relinquishment:  They don't know God's will or wonder about it; are apathetic about it; have reservations or something they're holding back on God with; or they aren't seeking God or walking with Him in a growing faith and relationship as they "learn to love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly, and know Him more clearly" (Richard of Chichester).  Usually, upon salvation, one is cognizant of God's will in the short term, but no one knows His will in the long- erm because it isn't rolled out for us in a life plan, but the "course of our life is in [His] hands" (Psalm 31:15, HCSB).  God makes us willing to do His will progressively per Phil. 2:13 (NASB):  "[F]or it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." In the final analysis, it's not how much of the Spirit that you have, but how much of you the Spirit has!   Soli Deo Gloria! 

I Delight To Do Thy Will

"'Now when  David had served God's purpose in his own generation, ..." (Acts 13:36, NIV).

David prayed this in Psalm 40:8 and this made him "a man after God's own heart"---being passionate for God's will despite his failures, mistakes, shortcomings, blunders, and sins.  (Luke 7:47 says, "He that is forgiven much, loveth much.")  You can do all God's will, as David did, and yet fall short because of sin--they are mutually exclusive.  In other words, if it is Will A to do God's will and you do A plus B, you have still done A or God's will, though you added a work of the flesh or a sin to it.   You can do God's will or what is right but not with a pure heart or wholeheartedly, as Amaziah did (cf. 2 Chron. 25:2). It nowhere in Scripture says David never did anything that wasn't God's will--just that he did all God's will for him.  And when he had "served the purpose of God" (cf. Acts 13:36), David expired, breathed his last, and went to be with his fathers.

David had a real heart to build a temple for the Lord, yet God wouldn't let him due to blood on his hands, but the heart was there!   We find out that the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart!  David found out that the "pleasure of sin" (cf. Heb. 11:25) was but "for a season," but there are lasting joy and fulfillment in serving God.  David was a man of prayer and a man of God, despite his male ego or drive, and the fact that he recovered--nothing kept him down--was proof of what his priorities were, and that he was able to put his instincts and hormones into perspective and see God's service in the greater light.

Even Jesus had to pray that God's will would be done, as he prayed His prayer of relinquishment in the Garden of Gethsemane:  "... [Nevertheless], not my will, but thine be done!" (Luke 22:42, KJV).   This was the motto of Jesus' life:  "Thy will be done!"  We can do no worse than to follow suit and to dedicate ourselves to God's will, otherwise God may say to our chagrin, "Okay, have it your way!"  A word to the wise:  saying "Thy will be done" at the end of a prayer is no cop-out, but a humble admission of submission that God's glory is your intention, not to satisfy your own lusts or will.

God's best for us is His will (cf. Jer. 29:11), and we must learn to put our faith in His plan for our lives--He has no Plan B, as it were.  And so we must get with the program.  There is no greater joy than being involved in the Lord's work, and we find our life fulfillment in doing His will.  King David knew the joy of the Lord in following His will and was accustomed to seeking God's presence everywhere he went and to wait on the Lord for His blessings.  David was indeed a man after God's own heart, which meant he was in love with the Lord, you could say, and the surprising thing is that he loved God despite all his sins and distractions from having seven wives and several concubines!  
Soli Deo Gloria!

Finding Our Calling

The following verses are pertinent to finding God's will for your life:

"One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much..."  (Luke 16:10, ESV).

"... Well done, thou good and faithful servant..."  (cf. Luke 19:17, KJV).

"Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is"  (Eph. 5:17, ESV). 

"For I know the plans I have for you, ' declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"  (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV). 

"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ, ... he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone"  (Ephesians 1:11, The Message).

"For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, ... everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him" (Colossians 1:16, The Message). 

"Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established" (Proverbs 16:3, ESV).

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death"  (Proverbs 16:18, ESV).

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand"  (Proverbs 19:21, ESV).  

"Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless."  (Bertrand Russell, mathematician, philosopher, atheist, author of the famed book, Why I Am Not A Christian).


God has uniquely gifted everyone for the ability to know His will, but it isn't an automatic given to know it, though Acts 22:14 says it has been granted Paul to know His will.  We must search for it and be willing to do it or we will never know it.  "If any man wills to do His will..." (cf. John 7:17).   Obedience and willingness are provisos to finding out God's plan.  If we are not obedient in what He has revealed, we will not be given more light.  Most people blindly go through life, the blind leading the blind, and never find their true calling--they exist, but don't live. We are meant to live for something bigger than ourselves and for something that will outlast our lives--every chord we play strikes some note that will vibrate throughout eternity, but some of us march to the beat of a different drum than the light of Scripture.  "When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD" (Proverbs 19:3).  Man ruins his life, then blames God, or he is a success and congratulates himself!

This life is but a dress rehearsal and a tryout for the real thing in heaven, or a stage set for eternity, and we are meant to find out what we are here for. People who don't know their purpose attempt too much! Attempt great things for God, and expect greater things from God!  The Bible is our Owner's Manual and has everything we need to know for fulfillment in life!   Many people live as if they will never die, and die as if they never lived, and don't find purpose until their later years!  What a pity that the common man sees nothing more to live for than the Epicurean philosophy of "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die" (cf. Isaiah 22:13) school of thought.  We are not to live just in the "here and now," but in "light of eternity," and "it ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day," according to commentator Matthew Henry.  We have the ability to see and expect the future, but with that comes the downside or drawback of being capable of worry.  We should never live in the past of regret, nor in the future of worry (paying dividends on bills we don't owe): These are the two thieves of our time and when we don't live life to the fullest it is usually this to blame.

Now, most people never even find out what they are good at, much less, their true calling in life: "God in heaven appoints each man's work" (John 3:27, NLT).  It is often said: "You missed your calling" with tongue-in-cheek.  The best we can hope for in life is to find out His will and plan for our lives, and it is never too late for God's best--He is in the business of changing lives and transforming them into the image of Christ. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17, ESV). Christ is still in the resurrection business and can change our lives from the inside out--we don't just turn over a new leaf, but start afresh with Jesus in charge--we are changed from the inside out.

There is no greater joy, than in doing the Lord's work, but there is a curse on anyone who is slack in doing it (cf. Jeremiah 48:10).  The happiest people, it has been put, are those who are too busy trying to meet other's needs and make them happy, that they don't have time to worry about their own.  The sure recipe of a wasted life is to live it for yourself--get your eyes off yourself and live for God's will, whatever the calling--there are many callings, but the same Spirit (and that's what counts!).

Many people experience a dramatic conversion and their whole life turns around or heads in a new direction after finding Christ:  Look at how prison radicalized the life of Chuck Colson (dirty-tricks and hatchet man for Pres. Nixon, turned philosophical apologist for the faith), for instance! God puts us through the fires of adversity to make us better people, and no one is exempt, not even Christ exempted Himself. Our crosses pale in comparison to His and we should be aware that adversity, trials, sufferings, discipline, and misfortune happen to all of us and are meant for our good, and Christ can turn even the most diabolical atrocity into something good:  "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (cf. Gen. 50:20). God orchestrates all events, even historically, and never loses control of His Plan. (Romans 8:28, ESV says:  "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good....")  We can do nothing to thwart His intentions and make God resort to a Plan B.

The most important link to finding God's will is seizing the day (going for it!), or carpe diem, or seeking God's will and recognizing it when you see it in the light of Scripture.  God will open doors, we just have to be ready to step into His will (cf. Isaiah 22:22).  When God opens a door, the impossible can become possible, because all things are possible with God (cf. Luke 1:37).  When I first became a believer, I didn't understand why my brothers in the Lord were so concerned about what God's will was:  "What would Jesus do?"  As we mature we have a greater desire to please God and live for Him and His glory: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever" (cf. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, ca. 1646).  "[E]veryone] who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made"  (Isaiah 43:7, ESV).  We must learn to live for Christ and not ourselves, to please others, not ourselves!

How do you know that you were not "born for such a time as this?" (Cf. Esther 4:14).  Living on purpose is the only way to live, says Rick Warren, and life makes no sense without purpose.  Life is an intricate plan of God and we are to fit into God's plans, not ask Him to fit into our plans! This is the origin of the Protestant work ethic.  When we are engaged and engrossed in God's work everything else is put into the right perspective:  "... I am doing great work, so I cannot come down..." (Nehemiah 6:3, KJV).  Motivation is primed by the right orientation:  "... [F]or the people had a mind to work" (Nehemiah 4:6, NKJV).  We want to be like Jesus at the end of our lives and be able to confess:  "... I have finished the work which You have given Me to do"  (John 17:4, NKJV).  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!   Soli Deo Gloria!

A Dead Heat

"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ"  (2 Cor. 10:5, ESV).
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace" (Acts 20:24, NIV).

Are you Christ's competition?  In God's economy: greatness is not how many serve you, but how many you serve; the way up is down; humility comes before honor; emptiness comes before fullness--we must confess with John the Baptist:  "He must increase; I must decrease" (cf. John 3:30).   You commence growth in spirituality once you become cognizant that it's not about you!  Christ defeated Satan at the cross and the battle has been won to the chagrin of Satan, who thought he was winning when Christ went to Calvary.

God used the worst atrocity in history to bring about the devil's defeat (cf. Acts 4:28)--he stands defeated and we fight from victory, not for a victory--the battle is the Lord's. We all have individual races to run that comprise God's will for our lives and to gain its prize; however, we must compete according to the rules.  The battle is won! Satan is a defeated foe.  Jesus is the victor and we are in a mop-up effort to proclaim it to the world, notwithstanding Satan's resistance.

When we have completed the will and purpose of God, our time on earth is up and we go to meet our Maker (cf. Acts 13:36, ESV):  "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption." Hebrews 12:1 (ESV) says, "And] let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."  We all have different races and are to find God's will and plan for us.  We are all to compete as an athlete who runs for a perishable crown or wreath, but ours is an imperishable one and it isn't a sprint, but a marathon. Jesus won and we are just members of the winning team.  Our enemy is the world, the flesh, and the devil--not each other! We are our own worst enemy.

We all finish in a dead heat--there is no elite Christian who is above the others, though God is not unjust to withhold due reward for those who win their personal race and find God's will for their lives to do it.  The rule of this world is "winner takes all."  It's not "each man for himself" in a life ruled by the law of the jungle, but each of us looking out for each other's interest.  "One for all and all for one!"  We pray:  "For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory..."  We are mere stewards of the riches of God and will be rewarded according to our faithfulness in these blessings.  We are all members one of another of the same body, some being an eye, and some an ear, for example.

In God's economy, all believers are winners and are members of His royal family that will rule with Him in the Millennial Kingdom, and even judge the world and angels.  You have a different race to run than I do, for instance; mine may be only a week long, while God expects you to endure a year to finish His will.  Note that the race is not a sprint, or how fast we go, but how we endure and how faithful we are--God isn't looking for our achievements or success, but our obedience!  As Mother Teresa of Calcutta (recipient of 1979 Nobel Peace Prize and now canonized) said, "God doesn't call us to success, but to faithfulness."

Christians are in an angelic conflict with the forces and authorities of darkness and the demonic realm, that we can only defeat by wearing the armor of God.  There is plenty of rewards to go around and share with the members of the kingdom of God, and it all belongs to God; we are just stewards of the blessings of God and are here to demonstrate our faithfulness and worthiness of eternal reward. Nothing in this life is permanent--we have spiritual green cards and are only passing through, as our real citizenship is in heaven (per Philippians 3:20).  We are stewards and God has leveled the playing field:  "The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof'  (cf. Psalm 24:1).

There is no caste system in the body of Christ, for we are all royalty and equally members one of another--having different gifts, but the same Spirit.  We are all on the same team as a family in Christ!  When one part is honored, the whole body is honored. We must be careful that we are not competing with God; He is on our side and when we join Him we cannot lose the battle--which we fight in the name of the Lord with the full armor of God described in Ephesians 6:12ff.   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Authentic "Imitation Of Christ"...

Thomas a Kempis, Thomas von Kempen in German, (1380-1471), wrote The Imitation of Christ in the 15th century as a German Roman Catholic whose devotional work was highly original, but extremely mystic and introspective; however, it is one of the most widely read Christian books of all time, but many believers have gotten the wrong impression of imitation (note that only the Bible has been translated into more languages than this book).

A theologian has said, "The Christian life is not hard--it's impossible!"  People mistakenly believe that the Sermon on the Mount is the essence of Christianity as ideals to live by and especially the Golden Rule as the summation of Christian ethics.   Some churched souls memorize the Dance of the Pious, learn Christian jargon, or try to behave like a Christian in the flesh, but they can never measure up--it's not about keeping up a reputation or appearances, but knowing Christ and making Him known by letting others see Him in you!  

We need to be real people, not ideal people for Christ to use us. We have to stop coming up with our "to-do lists" or taboos that make Christianity appear to be a catalog of rules or guidelines to be adhered to, and forget that the objective is to know Christ and enjoy a living, growing relationship or fellowship with Him--as He opens our eyes!  The Key: "For if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law" (Gal. 5:18, ESV). Jeremiah also said that, if we boast, let it be that we know the Lord (cf. Jer. 9:24).

Galatians 2:20 says that Paul was crucified with Christ, but "the life that he now lives in the flesh he lives by the faith of the Son of God."  This verse should be highlighted for three reasons:  We seek a relinquished life, a surrendered life, a substituted, an inhabited, and an exchanged life to grow as believers. ("Christ in you, the hope of glory," cf. Col. 1:27).   We want God to reveal His Son in us.  Surrender is the key, not to try to copy His nature in the flesh. We are to "present our bodies a living sacrifice" per Romans 12:1. Jesus wants us to die to self and live for Him, not give up things or obey someone's list for Him.  Note this it is not as much imitation of Christ, as inhabitation by Him.  

It is not as much as always asking the so-called question "What would Jesus do? [W.W.J.D? Sometimes we don't know!]" as much as being sensitive to the Spirit's guidance and LISTENING to His leading and still, small voice (we should be a natural at this and know this voice!) and just surrender to His will, which you can only do if you have the Spirit in the first place--relinquishment is just saying, "Thy will be done" to God as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane.

As we mature in Christ and learn to walk in the power of the Spirit we learn to be guided and led by Him.  "As many as are led by the Spirit these are the sons of God."  The command to be constantly filled with the Spirit in order to bear fruit as evidence is elementary (cf. Ephesians 5:18).  When you have the Spirit, God fills you with His love as the litmus test of discipleship, and you naturally grow in resemblance to Christ, called sanctification.  

We must come to the fork in the road where we let Christ live through us and stop trying to copy Him in our own strength.  As Jesus said in Matt. 5:48 that we are to be perfect (mature) as our Heavenly Father is perfect, but we must realize that perfection is the standard, but the direction is the test.  The answer:  "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16, ESV).

The danger of legalism is that one sees "sins" and not "sin."  One gets preoccupied with some sin or pet sin that especially seems offensive to them and fails to see that the real issue is the old sin nature that is causing the problem.  Jesus forgave us for what we did (sins) by justifying us, and cleanses us from what we are (sin) by the process of sanctification. There is no such thing as a doctrine of "perfectionism" or "entire sanctification" as some denominations term it--we never approach a point of being sinless or of being incapable of willful sin. 

The qualification for church membership is recognition that we don't qualify;  "no perfect people need to apply!"  The story of David in the Old Testament comes to mind:  He fell into egregious sin and repented in Psalm 51, and also prayed in Psalm 19 that he would never commit "presumptuous sin"--we are capable of this too!  Recollect how David said, "How the mighty have fallen" about King Saul, and realize that we are not immune from Satanic attack or of falling away from the Lord in backsliding if we give the devil an opportunity.

It was said of Puritan revivalist and theologian Jonathan Edwards that "his doctrine was all application, and his application was all doctrine." In other words, don't go beyond that which is written (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6).  Caveat:  This is a paradox because we are not to get so theoretical and academic in our preaching that there is no application--we must learn to relate to Scripture.  Christ's "yoke is easy and His burden is light" according to Matt. 11:30.  

We need to learn to apply ourselves to the Word of God, and apply the Word of God to ourselves!   Our application must stay within the Bible's guidelines, and we should give people the opportunity to apply it to themselves and not micromanage their lives--we give them suggestions, stimulate, or motivate their spirits instead.  As Paul said in Galatians 5:1 (ESV):  "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."  Soli Deo Gloria!

God's Plan "A"...

NB:  The title is a misnomer because God only has one plan and it will take place (cf. Isa. 14:24,27; 46:10; Job 42:2)--He needs no Plan B!


Doris Day's song "Que Sera, Sera" in which she sings, "...What will be, will be, The future's not ours to see, What will be, will be, Que sera, sera..." is a resignation that you have to have a philosophy of a "stiff upper lip" or "grin and bear it,"no matter what--let the chips fall where they may! You must become more adaptable and learn to roll with the punches, they say.  But we have a loving God who knows us personally and is involved on a personal level with us as individuals, and we don't have to be stoical, but can cheerful and rejoice in all circumstances, knowing that we can bring glory to God and "all things work together for good" as it says in Romans 8:28.  God will never overwhelm us and let us be tempted above our ability to resist: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you..." (Isaiah 43:2, ESV).  "...[H]e will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.." (1 Cor. 10:13, ESV).

We don't have to be discouraged that we have messed up our lives beyond repair because God is in control and took all our shortcomings and failures into account when He thought up our destiny out of the top of His head before we were created.  We don't have a fate that cannot be altered by our volition, but a destiny that we will willingly comply and cooperate with to complete.  If our destiny is to be a maestro, we must work at it with all our might.  David says in Psalm 31:15 (NASB):  "My times are in Your hand...."  Another rendering would be "My future is in [God's] hands."

Everything happens according to God's timetable and timeline, not ours; for this reason, we ought always to be patient, awaiting His time:  "There is an appointed time for everything  And there is a time for every event under heaven...He has made everything appropriate [or beautiful] in its time..." (Ecclesiastes 3:1,11, NASB).  We have a future and a hope according to Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB) because God has a specific plan tailored for each of us:  "For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."


It is beyond comprehension, but in God's profundity that we cannot ever fully apprehend (even in eternity), that God wrote out in his plans all the days of our lives just how they should transpire:  "...and in Your book were all written / The days that were ordained for me, / When as yet there was not one of them" (Psalm 139:16, NASB).  This may be termed the providence of God and the Puritans referred to it quite frequently, and even Lincoln did after his conversion, but it was not rhetorical but another way of referring to the sovereignty of God over all details, small and great in our lives.

John Wycliffe's tenet:  "All things come to pass of necessity" and Ephesians 1:11, says, "He accomplishes all things according to the counsel of His will," or "...works all things according to the counsel of His will" (NASB). Nothing happens that God does not direct or permit (He knows even what could be and took that into consideration), using either vessel of honor or dishonor--the good or the evil.  It seems like He uses evil more, but there is so much more of it to make use of!   God's will be done, with or without our cooperation, either willingly or unwillingly, because He is sovereign, and He wouldn't be God if He weren't in control of everything, and that means there are no maverick molecules in the cosmos beyond His sovereign watchful eye.

God has no Plan B (in fact we shouldn't even label His plans, for God needs no backup plan) and we didn't mess Him up. frustrate, or thwart Him by our sin or evil, but He works through and despite it.  In the kingdom of God in eternity His will be done on earth as it is in heaven (willingly and cheerfully).  It is never too late to do God's will or "get your act together" if you will pardon the expression, and get with the program!  The eleventh-hour prophet can accomplish as much as the one who has worked all his life if God is with him.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Strange Fire...

God speaks of His Way, he is deadly serious: My way or the highway!

God is really big on instructions, so it follows that He likes it when we follow them.  The book of Leviticus is a "how-to" book, you could say, (or God's instruction manual--Torah, for instance, means revealed instruction) just filled with them.  It is reasonable to assume that a godly person follows instructions and doesn't try to do things his way.  Like some are wont to say:  If all else fails read the instructions!  This is bad mentality and disastrous spiritually as Nadab and Abihu found out when God consumed them with fire for offering a sacrifice their own way and making a fire their way which God called "strange fire" and God judged immediately He was so angry.   They became examples of those who "do it their way."  Frank Sinatra became famous for singing "I Did It My Way" and I'm sure that now after he has died that his song led many astray and that he was dead wrong!  It is a serious thing to disobey God's instructions and we are responsible for what we have the opportunity to know as David found out when the transported the Ark of the Covenant and when it tipped the person bearing was struck dead because He didn't follow protocol.  What do you think Bible?  "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth." Disclaimer:  The Bible is more than an instruction manual, praise the Lord!

God is a God of order, design, and precision and instruction, not chaos or confusion.  We become more godly (God wants you to get organized and be orderly!) by following this pattern and God making us in this image of Christlikeness.  We cannot have everybody doing their own thing as it says in the last verse of Judges:  "In those days there was no king, everyone did as he saw fit [what was right in his own eyes]" (Judges 21:25).  Jesus said there was a "way" and He was it.  Knowing Jesus is knowing the way and the first believers were called followers of the Way. 

In the Army you learn that there is your way and the "Army way"  and you learn this lesson pretty fast--you become a quick-study!  "There is a way which seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are the way of death" (Prov. 16:25).  "For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray and have not known my ways."  Do you know the Way? In another passage it says:  "But my people do not know the rules of the LORD" (Jer. 8:7).  Jesus is the logos or logic behind the cosmos and God has a plan for everything under heaven according to Proverbs 16:4:  "The LORD works out everything for his own ends--even the wicked for a day of disaster."

People that don't know God are always offering "strange fire" before the Lord and trying to please Him their own way by good works, ritual or religion, morality, philosophy, ethics, etc.  and not by faith alone.  Nothing that the unbeliever does can please God, for it is all dirty and filthy rags in His sight according to Isaiah 64:6.  Do it God's way or don't do it at all because there is no reward for man's way or works.  God only rewards what He does through us as His vessels of honor.    Finally, the reason God gives instructions is to test our obedience and see if we are serious about being His followers:  Israel repeatedly refused and failed to follow instructions--isn't this something we learn in kindergarten?

Jesus condemned the Pharisees, though they followed the instructions, for the same reason God judged Amaziah, (he followed the law, but not with his whole heart).  The Pharisees were culpable for externalizing the law and going the motions, as it were, and not doing it from their heart.   Today, in our churches we see many who have "memorized the Dance of the Pious" also and have no inward reality--this is exactly what Malachi rebuked Israel for in being frauds at worship.  We are to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.  No one achieves this perfectly in time but in eternity we will be glorified to have the capacity.

What is sin, but doing something our way instead of God's way ("We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way..." (Isaiah 53:6).  It is vain and useless to fight God and do it your own way because God is never frustrated and knows what He is doing and can turn curses into blessings and make everything turn out for the good (cf. Rom. 8:28).   Job 42:2 says:  "I know that you can do all things, and no plan of yours can be thwarted."  As William Cowper said, "God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform."  Soli Deo Gloria!

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!

What Is A Significant Prayer?

The most perfect and ideal prayer we can make is to commend ourselves unto God's care, let His will be done in a prayer of relinquishment, and have the faith to mean it when we say, "Amen!"  We must dismiss the notion that we can change God, but let successful prayer change us.

Jesus rebuked the vain repetitions of the Pharisees and the meaningless long-winded prayers they were wont to do, then He formulated the Lord's Prayer because the disciples asked Him "Lord, teach us to pray," of all things to want to learn.   This prayer was never meant to be a recital or vain repetition, but the answer to the question, "How shall we pray?" (not "What shall we pray?).  It is never wrong to go through the petitions and pray them as long as one comprehends it and meditates on it while doing it.  Therefore, everything we need to know about prayer is in this paradigm or framework Jesus gave us if we understand and apply it rightly.  The vital link is, "How big is our God?" because this affects our prayer life and our faith in the answers--that is why it is said, "Be it done unto you according to your faith."

God's name or reputation is holy and worthy of praise; for He exalts above all things His name and His Word (Psalm 138:2).   Prayer, by definition, is communion or communication with the Almighty and that means it is two-way--not just us doing all the talking.  We have to learn to listen like Samuel who prayed, "Speak LORD, for your servant hears." The more we listen, the more we hear; we must practice this fervently because hearing God, as well as a prayer to Him are like muscles one must exercise to be fit--we don't want to become unfit or turn a deaf ear to God by negligence or because we are remiss or derelict doing our part.  

The book of Job says that God speaks to man, but he doesn't hear.  God always speaks to me when I read the Scriptures because I have trained myself in this discipline.   Sometimes God has much to say and we do all the talking.  One way God speaks to us is by verses we have committed to memory, something a believer told us in edification, or some circumstance.  Being cognizant of His control or providence shows our faith and how we will interpret the answers.

Psalm 100:4 says to "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, enter His courts with praise."  For the LORD "inhabits the praises of His people" according to Psalm 22:3.  The essence of prayer is communication and to change us, not change the unchangeable one!  The purpose of prayer is prayer--we should love to touch base with God and stay in fellowship with Him by keeping short accounts of our sins and confessing them ("If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the LORD would not have listened," says Psalm 66:18)  and we should "pray without ceasing," which means that we keep the conversation going (our attitude and fellowship) as Brother Lawrence, the humble cook in a monastery, did in the 16th century when he wrote The Practice of the Presence of God, which is a classic on the continuity of daily fellowship  in our labors.

When we do corporate or public prayer one goal is to be a witness to others and teach them how to pray and be an example; and, if possible, to convert any unbeliever by our witness.  All prayer should be in the power of the Spirit, as it says in Jude 21:  "Pray in the Spirit."  We should strive to put our hearts into our prayers, but sincerity is not everything if we ask amiss or are wrong.  Just because we can put a lot of emotion into it is no guarantee that God will answer affirmatively.  Prayer is, in summation, acknowledging God for who He is and what He has done; thanking Him for what He has done, and praising Him for who He is.  The better we know God, the better our prayers.

 When we pray we should think of putting on Christ and assuming our role and position as a son of God and having the authorization to use Christ's name and permission to call the Most High our Father--the angels don't have this authority and power to influence God--remember prayer is the ordained means that God uses to accomplish His will and we are acting as vessels of honor, being used for His glory.   This implies intimacy and the more we pray, the closer we get to God--if we don't pray much, it is because we probably don't believe God is listening or answering our prayers.

Finally, our prayers are in the power enabling the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who puts our feeble words and baby talk or lisping into groans too deep for words to the Father. "For we know not how to pray as we ought, but the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us."   We go to the top in our prayer, the Most High, who is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He has an open-door policy, which means we are always welcome and God is never inconvenienced.

We should think of the attributes of God when we pray:  His greatness or awesomeness (nothing is too great, nor too small for God--they are all small); His sovereignty (we can be assured that He is in control and we are on the winning side); God is omnipotent or almighty (nothing too big for God--"Is anything too hard for Me?" says the LORD in Jeremiah 32:17);  God is eternal and everlasting (He has all the time in the world to answer our prayer and time is no object, because He is not bound, defined, limited, nor in the time/space continuum that we are slaves to--this means God knows the future from the past and can forgive our sins past, present, and future as an example.   God is worthy of praise, worship is essentially "worth-ship" because only God is worthy to be worshiped--we can't praise God too much, in fact, there is power in praise!

Prayer is where the action is and is the acid test or the so-called litmus test of our spiritual relationship. Many people have weak prayer life because they take themselves too seriously; we should pray as we can and not as we can't.  It is a trick in prayer to learn to pray the Word and claim its promises.   It is not to be seen as a duty but as a glorious calling and honor. Learn to be sensitive to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit and the promptings He will give.  God does speak; it's just that man doesn't listen.  "Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it"  (Job 33:14).   In sum, the greatest prayer is one of relinquishment, uttering in the manner of Jesus, "Thy will be done!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Getting What You Want...

It has been said that when the gods are angry with us, they answer our prayers.  Some Greek philosophers taught to only pray for good things because we don't know what good things are!   Many a preacher has done an exposition on unanswered prayer or when God says "no."  Remember that He said  "no" to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, so He certainly can do so to us.  Jesus does sympathize with our plight or dilemma. Usually, they say that God is just telling us to wait, or that He has something better;  a negative reply is for our own good.

God also says "yes" to our prayers when He is really saying,  "Okay, have it your way." As they say, "Be careful what you pray for; you may get it!   He alone knows what is best for us and is always interested in our welfare and works on our behalf, whether we want it or not.  Some of the ancient Greeks would only pray for good things because they didn't know what good things were, and they left the option open to God.  Just like wondering why God says "no," we should also wonder why He says "yes," just the same.  Are we praying, "Thy will be done?"

Some people get all they want and still aren't happy.  God has His glory in mind front and center:  We should always respond, "Why me Lord?"  Living hell has been described as the place where everyone gets what they want--and have no capacity to enjoy it.  I've heard of millionaires who have everything to live on and nothing to live for.

Some brethren believe God gives us a carte blanche or a blank check to get from God what we want as long as we abide by the right formula.  God isn't a genie or a vending machine!   Prayer is not to get our way, but to tap into God's will and get done through us. "I venture not to speak of but what Christ has accomplished through me"  (Rom. 15:18).    Psalm 106:15 says, "He gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them."   Another translation renders it:  "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls."  Think of the parable of the prodigal son who got what he wanted only to finally come to an end of himself and return to God in repentance.   God is really teaching Israel a lesson to trust in Providence.

We should always pray for God's will to be done, not ours; believe me, we would mess up our lives if we always got our way--"Father knows best."  The best prayer we can pray is simply:  "Thy will be done!" Even Jesus had to struggle whether He'd submit to the Father's plan or not.   I am an example of a  person who usually got his own way and now realizes the wisdom of God despite myself.   We need to thank God, that in His wisdom, He denies  some of our requests and we cannot  boastfully say, "I did it my way."   Soli Deo Gloria!