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Life from Death

Originally uploaded by LKLaRose

This is a picture of hope, yes, hope. Not the hope of this world, as something that may possibly happen; but … Read the rest of this article »

Knowing the Will of God - Does God Really Have a Roadmap For Your Life?
By Paula Marolewski

How to know God’s will is probably one of the most-studied topics for Christians of all ages. It takes the form of the question: “How do I know God’s will?” Whether we’re talking about the broad scope of “God’s will for my life,” or the smaller scale of “God’s will for me in this situation,” the question is asked constantly. And, like all questions, it has innumerable wrong answers, misunderstandings, and skewed viewpoints attached to it.

One of the biggest myths about how to know God’s will is the belief that the will of God is a roadmap. Here’s how this looks in someone’s thoughts: “In this situation, God’s will is either A or B. If his will is A, and I choose A, then everything is fine. If I choose B, then I’m outside of his will.”

We run into problems with this point of view, not on the little scale, but on the big scale. For example, let’s say someone holds this point of view. The logical argument looks like this:

• God’s will is a roadmap.
• Since God’s will is a roadmap, I am supposed to get from point A to point B. The destination is the most important point.
• At every decision point in life, I have to make the right choice in order to stay on the road.
• If I make a mistake, I get off the road.

The problem with this myth is found right here: if some mistakes are uncorrectable and irreversible (i.e., they leave lasting consequences and permanently alter the choices you will have in the future), then you could make a mistake that could cause you to miss out on ever arriving at “point B” on God’s roadmap for your life. Therefore, if you assume that God’s will is a roadmap, you’d better make sure you never make a mistake.

However, God knows that - whether through outright disobedience or honest ignorance - we are going to blow it. We will make mistakes, we will sin, and we will royally screw things up. Therefore, we can make a deduction: since God knows we will blow it, yet he does call us to know and do his will, his will has to be big enough and full of enough grace to cope with the fact that we are going to make some whopping sins and mistakes.

Where can we go with this? We see that the roadmap point of view is insufficient. If it were true, we could never hope to “do God’s will.” We’d step out of line, not once, but many times, and lose the possibility forever.

But we know that we can do God’s will. We can live in his will:

• Ephesians 5:17 says, “So then, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
• Romans 12:2 reminds us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
• Jesus himself summed it up when he said in Matthew 5:48, “You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

These verses give us a hint as to what God’s will is really about - how we can transform the roadmap myth into something true and right and good.

If we paraphrase the above verses, they would say, “To know and do God’s will be wise … sanctify your mind … seek good, acceptable, and perfect things … be yourself sanctified and holy … live your life in imitation of Christ.”

Do you notice a word that’s missing? The word “choice.” It’s not there. Instead, all the words are about who we are inside. And that tells us something very key: God’s will is not so much about choice as it is about character. What God wants most is not that you “arrive” at point B (whether that is a certain career, accomplishment, destination, etc.), but that you become who he has called you to be.

So let’s destroy the myth that God’s will is a roadmap. God’s will is not primarily about getting us from point A to point B. It’s about becoming Christ-like. And that, at its core, is a process. It’s daily life - step by step, and day by day. We can therefore transform the myth into the truth: the will of God is a journey.

As a journey, the will of God can cope with all the twists and turns of life - good and bad, holy and sinful, wise and foolish. Why? Because God has promised that he can use everything in our lives for our good (Romans 8:28). Everything - nothing is excluded. The person who loves God can be assured that he can know and live God’s will - no matter what his past is, no matter what sins he has to overcome, no matter how long the process takes - because the will of God at its most basic level is about becoming more like Christ every day.

© 2008 Paula Marolewski

You have my permission to reprint and distribute this article as long as it is distributed in its entirety, including all links and copyright information.

Paula J. Marolewski provides challenging and interactive adult Bible studies for individuals, Bible studies, small groups, and adult Sunday School classes at Sink Your Roots (http://www.SinkYourRoots.com). The above article is an excerpt from Knowing God’s Will.

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Last Friday night, I took my son Joshua (almost 9) to see Rick Cua in concert at MBC (Muskoka Bible Centre), on beautiful Mary Lake in Muskoka, Ontario. It was interesting to hear the Christian musician play some of his retro hits as well as some of his new songs. I have only one of his songs, “I can, I will”, on a cassette of mixed artists, so I had an idea of what we were going to hear. The genre of music he plays is Christian rock/contemporary/praise & worship. Rick says on his website, “A lot of the songs I write have a worship slant; its what I’ve done for years. Its a natural thing. They will be congregational, but will also be energetic and pretty vibey”.

The base guitarist, in his pre-Christian days, played in a band called the Outlaws. After his conversion to Christ, he left The Outlaws and went out on his own. For the last 27 years, Rick has been singing for Christ.  His goal and mission is to share the love of God and to minister through music and he has 12 albums released to date, spanning the years 1982 to 2007.

In his 59th year, it was great to see this agile musician perform on stage. The guitar solos of him and his co-appearing artist, Tony Hooper, from Mississippi, were amazing. Playing songs like “Victory in Jesus”, “Won’t Fade Away”, “Somewhere Tonight”, “What if”, and “I can, I will”, and Tony’s song “Bad Things, Good People” left the audience searching their hearts and purpose here as believers, and looking to God.

A funny thing he said at the end of the concert was, “there are cassettes available at the back”.  After he realized what he said, he added “right next to the 8 tracks”. This might not be understood by the younger generation and I had to explain it to Joshua like this: “first the 8-track, then the cassette, then the cd”. I didn’t mention the vinyl or there would have been more explaining to do.

Reporting for the BlogZone at WaterBrooks.net, this is Lauren LaRose

Read about Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42.
It’s better to love Him than to serve him.

How can we grow our love for him?
By getting to know him in
1. worship ( Ps 95:6, 96:7-9; John 4:23-24) - Mary sat at Jesus’ feet
2. prayer (Phil. 4:6-7)
3. meditation in his word (”Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Ps 119:105, see also Ps 19:7-11, Ps 104:34) - Mary listened to Jesus words.
4. waiting on him (They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wing as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Is 40:31) - Mary sat.

To do is to know. You can’t do something without knowing how to do it (hence knowledge). To serve him, we need to know him. When you truly love him, you can better serve him.

God’s will is my sanctifaction. (1Thes.4:3)

To be used for God. We are his, we are bought with a price, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary
of Biblical Theology

Sanctification

The generic meaning of sanctification is “the state of proper functioning.” To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. A pen is “sanctified” when used to write. Eyeglasses are “sanctified” when used to improve sight. In the theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God’s design and purpose.

The Greek word translated “sanctification” (hagiasmos) means “holiness.” To sanctify, therefore, means “to make holy.” In one sense only God is holy (Isa 6:3). God is separate, distinct, other. No human being or thing shares the holiness of God’s essential nature. There is one God. Yet Scripture speaks about holy things. Moreover, God calls human beings to be holy—as holy as he is holy (Lev 11:44; Matt 5:48; 1 Peter 1:15-16). Another word for a holy person is “saint” (hagios), meaning a sanctified one.

Hospital Gates

Originally uploaded by Brass Tacks UK

New and improved.

I helped build the original gates in this location in January 1995. Of course, they weren’t this fancy and there was no brickwork before either.

A wonderful job! Congrats Brass Tacks!

Lauren

This is a satellite image of Musenga Mission Station near Chingola, Zambia. This is where the containers of donated items get unloaded for distribution.
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Zambian Landscape

Originally uploaded by LKLaRose

A casual walk, an inspiring view. This photo was taken of the Sakeji River valley in Northwest Province in Zambia during the dry season. We were also hunting for shindwas at the time. A shindwa is a small red fruit that grows in the ground so you can see the red shell poking through the surface, the plant stem grows about 3 feet (1 meter) tall and has broad leaves at the top of the stem . The fruit has a white bitter/tangy pulp with black seeds; a tasty treat if you could find one. I believe it is the young fruit of an African ginger plant, if anyone could verify that.

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HERE

ENJOY!

This essay was entered for a chance to win a getaway weekend for my wife. Sorry to say it didn’t win, however, she is still deserving.

Susie is a home maker and a loving super-mom of four children aged 3, 5, 7, and 8. She is always on the go and puts her husband (me) to shame. Susie is active in her church, teaching pre-schoolers Sunday school class and every Monday she hosts a women’s group. She is always on the look out for items to send for missionaries and relief in Africa. Family is most important to her and she makes time to make the children happy and have fun by picking them up from school some days so they don’t have to take the bus home and taking them for ice cream or just to come home and have more time with them. Even though her husband works until after 6 pm, she would rather wait for him and have dinner as a family, than to eat earlier. After a long day and often an achy back, Susie likes to enjoy a long walk in the evening to clear her head and meditate on the days happenings. She is my best friend and she needs this getaway weekend with whom she would like to take her mother, her sister and her sister-in-law.

One day at a time.