The Will of God

When I was in college I had a professor who used to point out any verse that told us what the will of God is.  He would tell us to mark down those “will of God verses.”  You know, the Will of God isn’t hard to find – He spells it out pretty clearly in His Word!  God has a general will for all of His children, and He has a specific will for each of us individually.  I think we would all agree that God’s will is for us to live holy lives, and for us not to live in sin.  That’s His general will.  Deciding where my family should live, what job to accept, or what ministry to serve in would be God’s specific will for my life.  He can reveal that through His Scripture too, just not spelled out as clearly in black and white letters.

Today I was reading Ephesians and I came across a “will of God” verse.  In Ephesians 5:15-21 it says,

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,  16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.  18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;  19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;  20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;  21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

There in verse 17 the Apostle Paul challenges us to be wise and understand what the Will of God is.  So what is it?  Right there in verse 18 – be filled with the Spirit.  God’s will is that every one of His children would walk in the Spirit.  And if you take the context, I think we could say that all of these things are God’s Will for us today:

• Walk circumspectly {careful to consider all circumstances; prudent}
• Be wise
• Redeem the time
• Be filled with {controlled by} the Spirit
• Singing spiritual songs
• Giving thanks for everything
• Submitting ourselves to each other

Walk in God’s Will Today!

“But God…”

Ephesians 2 illustrates the great difference between our position as dead in sins before salvation (vs.1-2), and the amazing position we share now, sitting together with Christ in heavenly places (vs.6).  How did this transformation take place?  All because of God.  “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us;” (vs.4).  His love and mercy made all the difference!

Before salvation:

• Dead in sins (vs.1)
• Walked according to the world (vs.2)
• Lived in Satan’s realm (vs.2)
• Disobedient (vs.2)
• Lusts of the flesh (vs.3)
• Fulfilling the desires of the flesh (vs.3)
• Children of wrath (vs.3)
• Gentiles in the flesh (vs.11)
• Aliens from God (vs.12)
• Strangers from the covenant of promise (vs.12)
• No hope (vs.12)
• Without God (vs.12)
• Far off (vs. 13)
• Separated from God (vs.14)
• Afar off (vs.17)
• Strangers and foreigners (vs.19)

“But God” gave us this new life and totally transformed us, so that we can walk in Him and not fulfill the lust of the flesh:

• Quickened – made alive (vs.1)
• Loved (vs.4)
• Saved by grace (vs.5)
• Raised (vs.6)
• Seated with Christ in heavenly places (vs.6)
• Rich through the grace of Christ (vs.7)
• Saved by grace through faith (vs.8)
• Given salvation as a free gift (vs.8)
• His workmanship (vs.10)
• Living unto good works (vs. 10)
• Made nigh (vs.13)
• We have peace through Christ (vs.14)
• Reconciled (vs.16)
• One body through the cross (vs.17)
• The punishment (enmity) against us is slain, abolished (vs.15-16)
• Access to the Father through the Spirit (vs.18)
• Fellowcitizens with the saints (vs.19)
• Household of God (vs.19)
• Build on the foundation and Corner Stone (vs.2010
• Growing (vs.21)
• The habitation of the Spirit (vs.22)

Now that’s a reason to smile and have a “happy heart” today!

Grieve Not the Spirit

Ephesians 4:30 says, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”  I have mentioned before that I am reading a book on the Spirit-filled life called Rivers of Living Water by Ruth Paxson.  In this book she describes grieving as a love word, because you cannot grieve someone who does not love you.  Ms. Paxson goes on to describe the ways we can grieve the Spirit who indwells us.  Each point has to do with a name for the Spirit in the Word of God.  These are direct quotes from the book:

• He is the Spirit of truth (John 14:17), so anything false, deceitful, hypocritical, grieves Him.
• He is the Spirit of faith (2 Cor. 4:13), so doubt, unbelief, distrust, worry, anxiety, grieve Him.
• He is the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29), so that which is hard, bitter, ungracious, unthankful, malicious, unforgiving, grieves Him.
• He is the Spirit of wisdom (Eph. 1:17), so ignorance, conceit, arrogance, and folly grieve Him.
• He is the Spirit of power, love and discipline (2 Tim. 1:7), so our weakness, fruitlessness, disorderliness, and lack of control grieve Him.
• He is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), so anything that savors of indifference, lukewarmness, dullness or deadness grieves Him.
• He is the Spirit of glory (1 Pet. 4:14), so that which is wordly, earthly, or fleshly grieves Him.

I thought that was a very good way of explaining it and looking at the things in our lives which grieve the Holy Spirit.  He cannot fill us and control us if we are grieving Him by allowing these characteristics in our lives.

Hard Lessons to Learn

I wanted to write this post for my Thankful Thursday post last week (on my personal blog), but I didn’t get it done.  I don’t think I was ready to be able to express everything I’ve been thinking about lately.  Now that I’ve had a few more days to think about them, maybe I can adequately share what I’ve been learning.

You probably know that I like cloth diapers.  And…I had a retail store called Doable Diapers.  But it hasn’t been making money, and we came to a point last month where we wondered if we should keep it open.  I had hoped it would grow and be profitable enough so that Ben would not have to work a full time job when we are church planting.  I put out my fleece prayer request, and God chose not to answer it.  I asked my family members and close friends to pray with me about wisdom for the right decision.  Last Tuesday, we decided to close Doable Diapers. 

I feel like things are being stripped away from me one by one.  I know God is working on me and teaching me, and that these are good lessons to learn.  Good to learn now, before we are in full-time ministry.  But they are hard lessons too.  They hurt my pride and self-sufficiency.  They make me weak, and that is when I can fully experience the strength and power of God.

I thought we were doing pretty good on this parenting thing.  Our kids seemed pretty well behaved.  Then Elaine burst into the “terrible twos” stage with a vengeance.  She challenges me on everything, and throws these horrible fits, mostly in public.  Any pride I had in my parenting ability is being stripped away.  Though I know it intellectually, I am learning that I can only raise these children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord if it is the Lord who is giving me wisdom and strength to do so.

I thought I was a pretty good Christian.  Doing the right things, saying the right things, living the right way.  Then I come face to face with reality that my prayer life is struggling, and my relationship with the Lord needs some repair.  It’s humbling to admit you haven’t been completely genuine.  But now I feel like my cup is overflowing every time I open my Bible, and I know this has been a good lesson to learn…again.

I thought I would help supplement the family income and provide a way for my husband to spend more time in ministry and less time at work.  Then my business failed.  And as I look back over the months of sporadic work and unemployment, I realize that it is God who provided our needs and upheld us…not Andrea.  And now with no Doable Diapers, it is God who will continue to be the provider for us now, and in church-planting ministry.

I thought I had a good relationship with everyone.  Then things blew up with my neighbor.  And I had to admit some areas where I had been just as wrong as inconsiderate as perhaps she had.  And that was humbling.  And I didn’t want to do it, but I realized that it is necessary.

One by one God is removing my props.  Everything that was Andrea.  Everything that I thought was good.  But He is replacing them with something so much better.  He is filling me with more of Himself, and that satisfies so much more than anything I could come up with. 

This has been a hard month.  Several really hard days.  Things seemed dark.  But He is giving me the treasures of darkness.

“And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,
that thou mayest know that I, the LORD,
which call thee by thy name,
am the God of Israel.”
Isaiah 45:3 

“None of self, and all of Thee”

I am reading a book called Rivers of Living Water by Ruth Paxson.  She was a missionary in China, and spoke at many conferences.  The book is a compilation of many messages she spoke on the Spirit-filled life.  The chapter I just finished deals with choosing Christ or choosing self – the two natures which dwell in the Christian.  Miss Paxson closes the chapter with this poem.  No author is specified, so I am assuming she wrote it.  It touched me as I seek to live the Spirit-filled life, and I wanted to share it here.

Oh! the bitter shame and sorrow,
That a time could ever be,
When I let the Saviour’s pity
Plead in vain, and proudly answered--
“All of self and none of Thee.”

Yet He found me: I beheld Him
Bleeding on the cursed tree;
Heard Him pray, “Forgive them, Father,”
And my wistful heart said faintly--
“Some of self and some of Thee.”

Day by day His tender mercy,
Healing, helping, full and free,
Sweet and strong, and oh! so patient,
Brought me lower while I whispered--
“Less of self and more of Thee.”

Higher than the highest heavens,
Deeper than the deepest sea;
Lord, thy love at last has conquered:
Grant me now my soul’s petition--
“None of self and all of Thee.”

Tired of the Carnality?

The Armour of Light

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”
Romans 13:12

It truly is a spiritual warfare we are living in.  If we are not actively fighting, then  we are passively giving the enemy the victory.  We cannot (and should not!) be neutral.  “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57).  He has already provided the victory and won the battle – we must just claim it!

2 Corinthians 10:3-5  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:  4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)  5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

He has also given us the spiritual armour (the armour of light) to fight the enemy.  It is found in Ephesians 6.

Ephesians 6:11-17   Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Today I want to cast of the dark works of my old man, and I want to walk in the light of fellowship with Christ.  “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”( 1 John 1:7).  I want to put on the armour of light and win the victory!