Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Andrew and I have done a lot of scrap and recycling over the years. Sometimes when we pick up junk on somebodys property, we come across some really old pieces of equipment. A lot of them we can identify quickly such as an old fashioned push mower, old screw jacks, or springs from an old horse drawn carriage. But whenever we come across something that we don’t know what its original purpose was, I tend to throw it in the back of the pickup. This way, when we go into town to get groceries, I’ll talk to a few of the older gentlemen around town and get a consensus of what they think it is. Some of them have no idea what it was used for, but eventually you will run into somebody who knows exactly what it is. Someone explained that one of the items that we had found was made back in the 1930s. They remembered it quite well, because their grandparents had one hanging up in their barn. This tool had one specific purpose. It was hooked up to some horses so they could twist a stump out of the ground.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Like a tool in the barn, God has a specific purpose for each one of us, but we need to allow ourselves to be used according to His will rather than our own. We must undergo a transformation from getting what we want out of life, to fulfill the desire that God has for us. God calls each of us to a certain role and function that at times will be quite different from the way that you used to live in the world. The only way we can walk according to His purpose is through complete submission and obedience to His calling. Whatever we must endure, good things are going to happen to all those who obey the will of God, and serve Him from the heart.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
God has certain things that He wants us to do with our lives. He wants us to follow His way rather than the way of the world. Instead of pleasing ourselves, we must learn to please Him. Many times people have their entire lives planned out, but when you become a believer in Christ, everything begins to change. God wants to take us in a completely different direction and to become the person that He wants us to be will require yielding to Him in every area of our lives. Good things are going to come to pass for those who love God, a love that is proven by our humble obedience to His will.
John 14:21, 23-24 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
John 14:15 – If ye love me, keep my commandments.
1 John 2:5 – But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1 John 5:3 – For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments:….
God’s path and direction is the better way to take. No matter what persecutions or sufferings we may have to endure, if we follow God’s will, good things will come to pass. Walking in the truth of God’s Word will not always be the easier path to take, but our obedience pleases Him completely. We can know that if we do things God’s way, we have done them the right way. This will require repentance and being converted to the truth. It will also require love for God above and beyond anyone or anything else in this world.
1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
It is the things of this world that pull us away from a close relationship with God. Like a child’s messy bedroom, worldly concerns clutter up our hearts, dividing our attention and our service to God. When you were a child, did your dad ever tell you to cut the lawn, but then you decided to go swimming with your friends instead? Maybe he told you to shovel the sidewalk but then you went ice skating on the lake. As simplistic as these examples may be, in these periods of time, the heart becomes redirected and refocused on things that you want to do, rather than things that he wanted you to do. I have always said that love is a very powerful emotion, and the greatest place to center it on is God. We must focus our hearts on perfect obedience to the will of Christ. God is capable of doing all that we ask or think, and what we need to do is to pay attention to what He requires of us, and submit to His instructions for our lives.
Matthew 21:28-32 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
Many people pray the Lord’s prayer but sometimes don’t even think about what they are asking. In that prayer we petition God, “thy will be done”, and one needs to consider what they are asking when they speak those words. To do God’s will is going to necessitate giving yourself over to the reason why He created you, and the function that He wants you to fulfill. It will require submitting and surrendering your will to His, and being used in a manner that honors His sacrifice. God’s Word shows us what He wants us to become, but what we need to do is yield to that purpose. When we obey Him perfectly, we can know that whatever we have to go through in this life, things are going to work out for good. We must be ready and waiting to be used for His purpose, waiting patiently until He reaches for us, takes us out of the barn, and starts…..
…. Pulling Stumps
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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