Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: (Ephesians 1:9 KJV)The Bible provides many instances of God displaying His will. For just a moment, think of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17.) Got ‘em? The first four deal with our relationship with God, the next six with our relationship with our fellow man. Are you sure you thought of them all?
Frankly, when I depend on my memory, I don’t get them in order and I do a lot better when I’m with another person remembering that list. These are simple rules, no reason to wonder what they mean. We know what they tell us to do to remain in His will.
We will have no other gods before the Lord our God.
We will not bow down to any graven images in place of Him.
We will not take His name in vain.
We will keep the Sabbath holy in remembrance of Him.
We will honor our parents.
We will not take the life of another.
We will not commit adultery.
We will not steal.
We will not lie.
We will not want what is not ours.
When questioned as to the order of their importance, Jesus boiled these down to two.
Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:36-40 KJV)
Why is it important for us to live by these?
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (1 John 5:2-3 KJV)
Christ, in His example given for our lives, lived for His Father’s will. It is part of the example prayer.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10 KJV)
Even if we don’t understand. Even when it hurts. Even when we think something better could be done, we are to follow His will.
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matthew 26:42 KJV)
Again, this is but a small portion of Mrs. Tina’s lesson. There are many more notes, many additional verses she gave as we searched through the Bible for what God told us about His will. We are to pray, we are to share, we are to teach, we are to exhort. We are to love one another, and here’s why:
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:34-35 KJV)
Thank you for this great word. How it spoke to my heart.
ReplyDeleteJust do His will - love Him with all I have, and love others with His love!
GOD BLESS!
Thank you for a meaningful post about an important topic. God's will is at the heart of authentic Christian living!
ReplyDeleteA lot of confusion exists regarding God's will because many fail to differentiate the different aspects of it. There are many terms but I think of it as consisting of three main parts:
(1) God's Sovereign Will
(2a) God's General Will for all mankind.
(2b) God's General Will for all His children.
(3) God's Specific Will (which varies by individual).
We find clear examples of all three throughout Scripture.
Anyway, I did not mean to start a dissertation.
May our God richly bless your ministry for Him.
Greetings -
ReplyDeleteIndeed this piece is a vital reminder that without love, we are nothing.
Thank you for sharing, Grammy!