Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ~James 4:13,14
James has been giving us a variety of ways to test the authenticity of our faith. So, is the faith we confess a real and saving kind of faith or it is in word only? This past Sunday Pastor preached from a passage which addresses those who live their lives as though God is not involved in their daily lives and even as if He doesn’t exist at all. We would call that atheism.
This text confronts those who would make plans and live their lives with no thought or respect to God or His will. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with making plans. In fact, the Bible calls us to make plans and seek counsel as we live our lives, but we are to do it within the boundaries of God’s revealed will for His people.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! ~Psalm 143:10
To seek God’s will and then build one’s life around that will is evidence of a saving faith! True Christians are characterized by “doing the will of God from the heart”…
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ~Ephesians 6:5,6
For those who do seek God’s will as they make plans, the question often is “What is God’s will for me in this matter?” God has revealed His will for us and gave it to us in the form of His Holy Word! Pastor shared five passages with us that describe what God’s will is for our lives. There are many others, but these five alone will answer the question “What is God’s will for me in this matter?” According to those passages God’s will is that I be:
- Saved (1 Timothy 2:4)
- Spirit Filled (Ephesians 5:17)
- Sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)
- Submissive (1 Peter 2:13-15)
- Suffering for good not evil (1 Peter 3:17)
The take away from this past Sunday’s message is that if we have a saving and living faith, we will not only make God a part of our lives, but make Him our life! Jesus is not someone we just use to fill in the empty parts of our schedules, but someone who our schedule is built around. In fact, our entire life belongs to Him! We had some great steps to take from the Gold Card this week and I want to share them again so you would consider them for your own meditation. They were:
- Step 1: Admit to God the need to “factor” Him into your life and ask Him for wisdom and strength to obey Him in an area where you have not obeyed.
- Step 2: Study Colossians 3:15-17 in light of a decision that you need to make and let it guide you (along with other pertinent scriptures).
Jesus said “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” (John 13:17) Now, go and be blessed.