The Immensity of God’s Plans

Today’s writer is being featured for the first time here and came recommended. Cindy Dawson writes at Real Christian Women, with the subtitle, My Journey Unscripted. In this article she traces what I sometimes call “the chain of grace” that’s been at work in her church back 200 years. Click the title below to read this at source.

Does My Life Glorify God?

The Bible says, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:31) What does it really mean? My Pastor’s sermon last Sunday made me think.

He told us that two hundred years ago, a church of about 26 people in Rockfield, Ky were led by God to start a new church in Bowling Green. That church, started by four members of the Providence Knob Baptist Church, is the same church I worship in today.

To put this in perspective, 1818 is the year the famous American Patriot, Paul Revere, died. In fact, Warren County was named after General Joseph Warren of the Revolutionary War, who dispatched Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride.

The population of Warren County was less than 12,000 then, as compared to over 125,000 at the present time.

As I worshiped, I understood that the glory and praise being lifted up to God this very day in 2018 was God’s plan all along. A magnificent choir sings praises to our Lord. A team of singers and musicians lead the congregation in worship, little children sing of Jesus’s love.  An orchestra plays heavenly music in praise to the Lord. People are being saved. The Word of God is being proclaimed. God’s work is being done and God is being glorified.

I thought about those pioneers who, in 1818, prayed for God to build a church in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Their obedience and prayers resulted in God being glorified. When God answered their prayers, He did “immeasurably more” than all they could ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20 NIV)

Did they see the fruit of their labor? Not unless they’re over 200 years old! But God was, and is, and will be, glorified in this place.

It made me think about my own life. Do I want to bring glory to God only? Or do I want glory for myself? Do I want to allow God to do “immeasurably more” than all I can ask or imagine? Do I want Him to use me according to His will, even if I never see the fruit of my labor? These are heart-searching questions. May we have the courage to ask them.

God’s plans are bigger than our ability to imagine. I understand now, that God’s plan for me must not be limited by my lack of vision or by selfish desires.

“Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” Psalm 115:1 

Jesus prayed to His Father, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.” John 17:4

God has the plan. Will we surrender our will to Him? Our part is to be willing.  He will do the rest.

“…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13

“For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.” Habakuk 2:14

“I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.” Psalm 86:12

This is God’s plan –  To glorify His name.

With Love, Cindy

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Read more:

There were so many articles at Cindy’s site which would have been a great fit here. Here’s one more that may apply to some of you:

Promises That Will Encourage You To Keep Praying for Someone You Love

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Before we leave Cindy’s website, I couldn’t help but notice that she ends each article with an invitation to the reader. It’s easy for us to make assumptions about readers here, especially when this is Christianity 201 and not Christianity 101, but we never really know who is reading. So I want to end the way she ends each article she writes:

Do you know Jesus?

If you have never asked Jesus to be your Savior, you can do it now. He loves you more than you can comprehend, and it will change your life forever.

^{Romans 10 (NIV) 9} If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

The Essence of Our Lives: To God and To the World

Once again we’re paying a return visit to the daily devotional section of the online Bible resource Blue Letter Bible and also returning to the subsection, Pastor Bob Hoekstra’s Day by Day by Grace.  These are related devotionals which ran a day apart and so we’re including links for both parts.

A Fragrance of Christ to God

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge…For we are to God the fragrance of Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:14-15)

In addition to the characteristic of triumphant living, God also wants to develop in our lives the fragrance of Christ. “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge.”

Just as there are physical fragrances that can be noticed by our physical senses, there are also spiritual fragrances that can impact us spiritually. If a woman generously applies perfume to herself, others will certainly notice the fragrance of that perfume. If a person consistently presses on to know the Lord, others will definitely be impacted by the “fragrance of His knowledge.” This is described as the “fragrance of Christ.” This is that spiritual aroma that emanates from the lives of those who are getting to know the Lord. It is a validating reality that the Lord Jesus Christ is dwelling in their lives and is being evidenced through their lives.

As we are getting to know the Lord more and more, this spiritual aroma of Christ blesses even God Himself. “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ.” Yes, God is the first one who savors this Christlike fragrance.

Our ministry and testimony is always primarily unto the Lord. We who believe in Jesus Christ are to be “finding out what is acceptable to the Lord“ (Ephesians 5:10). We are not here on earth to please ourselves. “Do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). We are here to please our God. “Brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God“ (1 Thessalonians 4:1).

What ultimately pleases our heavenly Father is His beloved Son. When the Father looked down from heaven at the baptism of His Son, He exclaimed, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased“ (Matthew 3:17). When our Father looks down upon our lives today, He wants to enjoy the fragrance of His Son emanating forth from our lives. “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ.“

Heavenly Father, I long to bless You by the fragrance of Christ through my life. I am sorry that the stench of selfish flesh is what sometimes emanates from me. Lord, help me to get to know You more and more, so that the knowledge of You can produce the aroma of Christ in and through me, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Fragrance of Christ to Every Person

Now thanks be to God who…through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death to death, and to the other the aroma of life to life. (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

The fragrance of Christ is one of the great characteristics that God wants to build into our lives by His grace. “Now thanks be to God who… through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge.” This spiritual aroma, which results from getting to know the Lord, blesses the heart of God. “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ.” The Father loves to see the life of His Son being expressed in and through our humanity, even though this requires our dying to self. “For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh“ (2 Corinthians 4:11).

As we are getting to know the Lord more and more, our God is not the only one who is impacted. This spiritual aroma of Christ impacts every person we meet. “God…through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” This includes both the saved and the unsaved. “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”

This fragrance affects those who know the Lord: “the fragrance of Christ…among those who are being saved.” For those who are enjoying life in Christ, that heavenly scent in our lives is “the aroma of life to life.” Christ’s fragrance in us draws them to seek abundant measures of that life which they have already entered.

This spiritual scent also influences those who do not yet know our Lord: “the fragrance of Christ…among those who are perishing.” To them it is “the aroma of death to death.” They are dead in their sins, and this aroma makes them more aware of their deadness, more aware of their need for Christ.

When this fragrance is emanating from our lives, we are not the cause. God is the active agent, working in and through us to bring forth this heavenly scent. “Now thanks be to God who…through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge.” This work of God’s grace is available to us every day we live and every place we go: “the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”

Father God, I long to know You more and more. I want to have this fragrance of Christ emanating up to You and out to every one I meet. I praise You that this is a work You do by Your grace. So, I humbly bow, trusting You to work in me this way, through Christ, my Lord, Amen.

 

Considering Your Strength

by Russell Young

It is often considered prudent and is a common practice by most to consider the measure of their resources before undertaking a project or a ministry.  We live in a day where independence is applauded, abilities are fully considered, references are given and taken, and resources are counted.  Based on the consideration of our assets concerning the particular need a decision is made on whether to proceed or not.

From God’s perspective decision-making based the assessment of our human resources can be insulting.  The Lord does not want to be left out of consideration and when he is, failure is often the result of neglecting him and his resources to meet the particular need. Those “in Christ” are promised good results when trying to honour his purposes in their lives. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purposes.” (Rom 8:28 NIV) This promise is offered only to those who are attempting to honour his calling upon their lives, to those who have subjected themselves to the sovereignty of the Spirit and are attempting to live in obedience to him. To be clear, the promises of the Lord’s blessings are not offered to those who have made a confession of faith and of Christ’s lordship and who are living their own lives on their own terms. Unfortunately, many find themselves disappointed and weakened in faith when the “good” does not happen even when God is not being honoured in their hearts and through their practices. Also, the “good” may not always be that which was anticipated.

Near the end of his reign King David decided to consider the strength of his nation by having the number of fighting men counted.  “The king’s command was evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.” (1 Chr 21:6 NIV) We are told that Satan had incited David. (v 1) Had pride filled his heart?  Was he wanting to consider his accomplishments and the military strength of the nation apart from God? His attitude had ignored an important issue.  God had been responsible for his successes and would remain the strength of the nation. The mighty hand of God had been removed from David’s consideration.  In spite of his history and experience with the LORD, even to the point of asking whether or not he should go into battle, David’s command that a count be taken implied the intention of weighing Israel’s strength through the nation of Israel, its people, and apart from God. The prosperity and strength of Israel was being credited to its people and leadership, and not to God.

A lesson should be learned from David. God is not to be left out of consideration. He is the believer’s strength and wisdom.  It is he who is accomplishing his will in the life of the believer and to leave him out of consideration is simply and abandonment of God and he will not bless when those who identify themselves as his children are determined to take the credit that belongs to him.  He will not give his glory to another.  In David’s case, a plague descended on the nation and many died. The Lord’s significance in the life of the believer is not to be restricted to certain times and for certain situations, he is to be lord at all times and in every situation. Without full and constant submission, his overall will cannot be achieved.

It is easy, and perhaps even expected, for decisions to be made based on the measure of human resources available, but it is not God’s way. The godly will walk with God; not apart from him.  He will be sought for direction and honoured through obedience.  God cannot be measured and his provision cannot be counted.  He is the source of all things good for the believer and will bless those who are obedient.

“And God is able to make all things abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor 9:8 NIV)

The wrath of God had been laid upon Israel many times because of their neglect to recognize his sovereignty over, and his place in, their lives.  It has been, and remains, a common failure of humankind to trust in themselves.  Today people build their wealth and count the resources that they can muster in order to assure comfort, peace, and security.  Society elevates those who have gathered the most.  But even God said that it was almost impossible for the wealthy to find salvation. In the end, their “counting” will have fallen short and their own resources will have been inadequate.

The Lord does not want to be left out of the believer’s planning, nor should a person presume to know his will without humbly seeking it.  God should be pursued and loved “with all of the heart, soul, and mind.” (Mt 22:37) His people will not find comfort in taking inventory, but will place their strength in their God and his resources.  (Mt 19:23-24; Mk 10:25; Lk 18:25).

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Russell Young is a weekly contributor to Christianity 201 and the author of Eternal Salvation: “I’m Okay! You’re Okay!” Really? available in print and eBook through Westbow Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble; and in Canada through Chapters/Indigo.  9781512757514 $17.99 US

The Purpose of Blessing

 

Today another new author: Robin Patchen lives in Edmond, Oklahoma and is the author of three books and blogs at Quid Pro Quills. Following today’s post is a link to a second part. Or you can click the link below to read this at source, and then come back here to find the link to part two.

Why God Wants to Bless You

I was in church a few weeks ago when the Lord whispered to my soul words I never thought I’d hear from God. “I don’t want to bless you.”

I immediately tuned out the pastor. “What was that, Lord?” Surely I’d heard him wrong.

Another minute or two passed while I waited. Finally, probably when God had my full attention, he continued: “I don’t want to bless you . . . for your sake alone.”

Oh. Phew.

Wait, what?

Then he brought to my mind a passage of scripture I’d memorized many years before. Psalm 1:1-3:

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

I’d first memorized those words when I was a young Christian. One of the reasons I loved it was that last line—“In all that he does, he prospers.” I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I thought of that in financial terms. Oh, I knew the verse didn’t necessarily promise me riches, but I figured my chances were much better to get rich if I followed God, and with all our financial woes at the time, prosperity sounded pretty good.

Through the years, I came to understand that the tree flourished because of its deep roots—a strong connection to God. It flourished because the river flowed near it—like the living waters of Christ that fill us and bless us. So the prosperity spoken of in verse 3 has everything to do with the blessings of being connected to Christ.

That Sunday in church, the Lord spoke again to my heart. “What does the tree do?” he asked.

I closed my eyes and imagined a tree like the Psalmist might’ve been looking at, one standing in the arid Israeli soil, maybe even a tree in an oasis in the desert. I had to dig pretty deep to some old science lessons, but I came up with a list.

A tree:

*Provides shade
*Acts as a wind barrier
*Provides shelter in a storm
*Absorbs rain that would otherwise runoff or evaporate
*Converts carbon dioxide to oxygen
*Becomes a home for birds, animals, and insects
*Provides fruit, which becomes food, then seeds to reproduce itself

There was more, though. Picture that tree in the midst of a desert, standing high above the sand. It shows people where the water is. A tree would be a welcome sight to a weary, thirsty traveler.

So if I live my life the way I should (see verse 1) and delight myself in God’s word (verse 2) he will make me like this tree. And what does this flourishing tree do?

*It provides shade from the world—protection from penetrating rays of judgment.
*It acts as a barrier as the enemy hurls his accusations like a strong wind.
*It provides shelter from the many storms of life.
*It absorbs nourishment, so others can grow nearby.
*It illustrates how God can convert the ugly output of our lives into blessing.
*It offers a shelter to anyone who seeks it.
*It feeds the hungry and, through its work, reproduces itself.
*It acts as a beacon, drawing weary travelers to the life-giving water of Jesus Christ.

And think about this: which of those blessings benefit the tree? None of them. God makes that tree flourish to provide his living creatures with what they need. In the same way, God blesses us so that we can love the souls he puts in our lives. He makes us to stand tall, so more of his weary children will find their way home.

God doesn’t want to bless you for your sake alone. He wants to bless the world through you. Soak in God’s truth, my friends. There are travelers seeking the living water, and you may be the only tree in their desert.

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continue reading the follow-up article A Planting of the Lord

God Through Us

Keith Brenton posted this a few days ago, even as he is in the middle of a very challenging season of life. So I wanted to post this partly to encourage you to pray for Keith and his family as they deal with Angi, his wife, as she battles cancer.  To learn more go to his blog and scroll back to February 19th and then read forward.  To read today’s post at source, click here.  

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God works through us.

It’s not that He can’t work in other ways; obviously He can and does. But because He believes in us — that astounding fact of scripture which simply cannot be denied or dismissed — He wants to work through us.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ~ Philippians 1:3-6

Can you conclude anything from this that there is a partnership in the gospel? That “he who began a good work in you” can be anyone other than God? So is this partnership just between Paul and the folks at Philippi?

(for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), ~ Galatians 2:8

No! It’s God working through Peter to the circumcised and through Paul to the Gentiles! How does He do that?

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. ~ Ephesians 2:8-10

Is it just to Peter and Paul? Does He just makes work for us? No! It’s for all, and for every:

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. ~ 2 Corinthians 9:8

Does He just give us the grace to prepare ourselves for the work? Not by a long shot! There are gifts attached to those grace:

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. ~ Romans 12:3-8

So He gives us specific gifts to prepare us for the work He has prepared for us to do. But prepared us in what way?

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

He empowers us. The Spirit, the Lord, God. How much power are we talking about?

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. ~ Ephesians 3:20-22

That’s a lot of power! Does He do it long-distance?

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. ~ Colossians 1:24-29

No; from within! Christ in us. It’s His energy working powerfully within us. That makes us partners in the gospel with God, through Christ!

Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ~ 2 Corinthians 6:1

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:20

How does Christ dwell in us? Through His Holy Spirit:

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. ~ Romans 8:9-11

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

The Spirit of God! The Spirit of Christ! Without His Spirit within us, we have no hope of resurrection! We have no chance of escaping destruction! Without His Spirit, we have no way to partner with God in the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ!

We can know scripture forward and backward and think we know everything it means, and if we do not have the Spirit dwelling within us, we are pointless and powerless in our attempts to minister. By the Spirit, God speaks through us:

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:3

And the One who knows how best to prepare and empower each of us does so at His own discretion, not ours:

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

Therefore we work for the common good, Paul says, in partnership with God to build His building, sow and water and tend His field:

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:9

So how do we respond to this offer of powerful, dwell-within partnership?

Do we say, “Well thanks, God, but I’ve got my Bible and I understand it completely and perfectly; that’s all I need and I don’t really want your help”?

Or, “I’m just not sure about all that miraculous stuff or being a part of that; it’s not that I believe You can’t do it, but it scares me a little bit and I’d rather just believe that You don’t work that way anymore because it’s too likely to be perceived as fake and I don’t want to have my credibility damaged”?

Perhaps just: “Oh, You don’t need me, Lord. Use my brother; he talks better than I do”?

Maybe: “I’m catching the next outbound boat for the other direction.”

Do any of those sound familiar?

Too familiar?