How To Hear God's Will For Your Life.....

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

How do you know what God wants you to do?

Where do you know where to step next?

What service does He require of you?

What decision will you make today that will impact the rest of your life?

How do you know God's will for your life?

These are all questions that transform and confound each of our lives on a regular basis. I believe every person wants to live within the confines of what is good and right and holy - even in light of the tragic events of the past few weeks, months, years and even decades. People innately want to "do good" - but often the other voices of this world can distract, dissuade and disrupt the steps you are taking to live in God's perfect will.

So, how do we live in God's will?

First, we choose to not fall prey to the upheavals, twists and tumults of a world that changes direction on the whim of a breeze. We ground ourselves in the head knowledge of God's Word. By choosing to be fully grounded in God's message to this world, we can begin to test all things against His Own Words.

Second, we identify our roles in this world by embracing the gifts God has given to us.

In Romans, Paul wrote:

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others

Romans 12:3-5

We each have a specific, planned and purposeful role in this world. It is each of our own responsibilities to align our gifts within our identified roles to confirm that we are utilizing our individual gifts from God to best serve Him - recognizing that no one gift is superior to another, just as no one single person is superior to another in the Body of Christ.

Third, we put it all together.

Knowing God's Word is one thing - living His Word is an entirely different a path. When we combine our head knowledge with our action - utilizing our gifts - we will find that we are walking in God's good, perfect, pleasing will. We cannot simply know the Word of God and be fully living as Christians. We must also be actively utilizing the Word in our daily lives as we exercise our individual roles within the Body of Christ.

When we are fully aligned with God's Word and using our gifts for His purpose, we will find that hearing His voice will be was obvious as it as for Elijah as He waited for God on the mountain:

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

1 Kings 19:12-13

God will not ask you to live outside of His Will for your life. Sometimes this plan will feel uncomfortable - but it will always feel right. 
God's will may not be easy - but with each step down His path His still, soft whisper will begin to transform into a tremendous roar and you will know that you are walking with THE Lord!

Scripture

Romans 12

Check Out This Week's Video's from Our GUMY Sessions which discussed being a part of The Body of Christ & Hearing God When He Speaks

https://www.facebook.com/pages/GUMY/191903797616864?ref=tn_tnmn

Life is...

 

Life is big.

At times it can feel like you are standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon with the expectation that you are intended to reach the opposite end in a single jump.

 

Life is scary.

There are days when the idea of leaving through the front door and stepping into the unknown can cause a puddle of fear to pool in your stomach.

 

Life is hard.

Each day a new choice, a new decision, a new avenue, a new hardship and a new responsibilty must be acquired.

 

Life is big and it is scary and it is hard - but - life is also wonderful, beautiful and an adventure.

 

Life is both the bad and the good.

Life is a series of expecations - exceeded and missed.

Life is a true gift from God - one that we are not always so thankful to receive.

 

The prophet Jeremiah was called the Weeping Prophet because most of the news he shared with Israel was depressing. But even in the midst of the bad news of war, destruction, death, hatred and abuse, Jeremiah was able to share the hope God had for His people.

 

The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

Jeremiah 33:14

 

Woven throughout the 33rd chapter of Jeremiah, the Lord shares with Israel the desolation and destruction they will endure at the hand of their enemies, but He also tells His beloved people that He will restore their home, health and happiness.

 

Yes, Israel had to endure severe hardships, but He promises them a restoration of their relationship with God and His blessing on their nation.

 

Through His message to the Israelites, the Lord makes each of us the same promise.

He tells how some days our lives will stink.

We will face hardships.

We will lose battles.

We will become ill.

We will suffer extinction of wealth.

We will be miserable.

but

We have hope.

We can be restored to His good favor.

We can know that His love endures.

Wcan be assured that our sufferings will pass.

We can know that He will never forsake us.

 

Life is both good and bad experiences.

But regardless of whether we are up or down we are promised that He is always with us.

And we are promised that His love will endure forever.

That is a promise in life that makes the bad days turn into good ones.

Scripture
Jeremiah 33

Quote

 "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck



Are You Choosing Happily Ever After?

 

 

 

“We always believe our first love is our last, and our last love is our first.”

Unknown

As a writer the palette of love provides innumerable shades of color with which to paint a story.

Despite the rainbow of choices there is a preset pattern that all romance novels follow:

Boy Meets Girl.

Boy Falls for Girl.

Boy and Girl are Torn Apart.

Boy Wins Girl Back.

But romance novels aren’t real life, right?

I disagree.

I think we are all characters in the greatest romance novel of all time - the story of God and His Beloved Creation.

God in all of His infinite wisdom fell in love with us on the day of our creation and since that day He has been wooing us into a relationship with Him.

In turn how have we treated His love?

We run away – come back – run away – come back and run away again in a strange dance of courtship that must hurt Him with each rejection letter we send.

And yet, like a truly besotted lover, He continues to woo us with His love – giving us gifts of infinite and immeasurable value.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

God gave us His greatest treasure in an act of sacrificial love so great we cannot fathom how truly devastating the loss of His son by His side – even for a brief twinkle of time – was for Him.

But, like so many heroes and heroines in the great love stories throughout history – we turn away from our Suitor choosing to chase after things of destruction and brokenness, rather than seeing the love waiting for us in our own True Beloved.

How can we change this behavior?

How do we find our ways out of the cycle of separation where we find ourselves?

We pull a Paul Harvey and read "the rest of the story".

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth.....I saw the Holy City...prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God...for the old order of things has passed away."

Revelation 21:1-4 (excerpt)

As all great romances end with:

Boy gets Girl.

Our love stories with God are no different.

He is wooing us with the knowledge that we will be completely and wholly together with Him –one day soon.

But how do we accept the love that is being offered to each of us in our own love story?

We choose to live in love rather than in loss.

We live like we read the last page of the novel.

We live with the knowledge that God is our great Beloved.

We live – learning each day – what love truly is from the Creator of love.

And we live in a life-long romance novel believing this truth...

And they lived happily ever after.

Now, that is a great way to end a story.

I guess God really is the Author of our lives.

 

 

 

Interested in trying a romance novel on for size?

 

Pick Up a Bible for You:

 

or

Pick Up: The Wooing of Jane Grey

Follow the Leader

 

 

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

John 12:26

When you were little, did you ever play, Follow the Leader?
When you play follow the leader, you have to mimic the movements and the steps of the one who is in the front of the line. Sometimes you might have to do some crazy things, but in order to stay in the game - you must follow.

Who is a leader in your life?
Is your leader a helper - a guide - a teacher?
A true leader leads by example and through influence - not through demands.
Each of us has the perfect example of a leader to emulate and to follow:
God - Our Father.
 

God wants to be our helper.

He is our true teacher.

He wants to be the guiding force in our lives.

He is our leader. 

And He will use a variety of measures to reach us.

 

With Adam, He created Eve - Man's Helpmate.

With King David He sent Nathan - a King's conscience.

With Mary - He sent an Angel to deliver the Good News of the coming Messiah.

With Isaiah - He brought the prophet to His throne room to deliver His message.

 

God wants us to listen to His voice.

He wants us to wait upon His direction.

He wants us to follow His plan.

He wants to lead - we are to follow.

 

He never intended for us to be lone rangers. He has given us a pattern to follow - true leadership that inspires. He has given us countless additional leaders to reach out to for support, guidance and accountability. And He wants each of us to offer the same kind of leadership in support, guidance and accountability to His other children.

 

He loves you.

He wants you to have a life that is abundant.

He wants you to share the love He has for you with others.

That sharing of love - living in commune with others - has always been a part of His plan.

 

We were intended to be partners with each other and followers of the one God, Our Father.

 

He is the best leader to follow.

He knows all the right moves.

 

Scriptures

Psalm 81:13-16

 

 Quote

“God created the law of free will, and God created the law of cause and effect. And he himself will not violate the law. We need to be thinking less in terms of what God did and more in terms of whether or not we are following those laws.”

Marianne Williamson