Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Today is all the Christian has.

     Plans, plans, and more plans.  The foolishness of mankind thinking that they have tomorrow much less the next hour or more.  But, we plan on this or that like we have all the time in the world.  Because we are busy making plans for every hour, day, week, month and year; we leave little or no room for God to move His plan to the world through us.  Yes, some put their "time" in at church on Sunday and Wednesday nights. But that's something the Bible doesn't ordain or support.  Like our lives, our time should belong to God.  That would mean that we have surrendered living our own lives when we asked Jesus to revive our dead bodies and bring to the forefront His life in us and through us.  The making of plans limits or even eliminates the chance that the prompting of the Holy Spirit can speak with us much less work through us.  I wrote in my journal this morning about the items on my list.  I asked God to work his agenda through me recognizing that my list is and always should be secondary to His list and agenda.  Don't get me wrong, I don't always surrender as I should.  I can only imagine that it's the same with a lot of Christians.
     When we live in the future there is little or limited or even no ability to be available in the present.  What does God want me to do this moment?  Partnered with our plans are the many "I can't..." statements we make each and every day.  We don't have to actually say "I can't.." for the thought or action to be real.  Because I planned to do this, I couldn't possibly do that.  Really?  Where do we get off telling the God of the universe who died and rose from the dead for me that I am to busy for Him and what he wants to do through me?  It's called willful sinning.  James 4:17 says, "If you know what is right to do and don't do it, you sin."  That's Jesus half brother talking.  If you have come to the place where you know you have sinned, have fallen short of the glory of God and are in need of the Savior, you know what is right and what is wrong.  It's not rocket science to determine that saying no to God is not right.  Saying no to God is sin.  I've done it, you've done it and yet the grace of God is there to allow us to return to God's plan.  All it requires is for us to have plans based on what God wants rather than what we want.
     I have a lot of missed moments in my life.  You know, those moments when God has clearly spoken to you to say this or that to someone, asked you to help someone, begged you to stop along the freeway and help that elderly person change a flat tire and then not done it.  It's not like God can't bring along someone else.  It's more that he wants you to be his blessing to others. Being altruistic isn't something that the Christian could consider as obeying what God wants.  It may be Christian but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's God's timing.  The world is full of stories of those who were prayed into the kingdom.  There are many who were loved into the kingdom.  There are many who fought tooth and nail until they finally gave up and accepted the love of God in Jesus.  God is perfectly capable of doing all these things himself.  However, he chooses to use you and I to intercept the lives of the lost and help them see the need of a Savior.  He may just ask you to plant a seed.  He may ask you to just water the seed.  The harvest is gathered in by the Holy Spirit.  However, if you have plans, they may just mean you aren't going to do what God asks.  Being so involved in your life that His life can't possibly live through you.  It's always your choice.

No comments:

Post a Comment