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Scripture for the day: 1 John 2:3-6 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.
Thought for the day: And what is the will of God, that which we are told to seek? Is it not to walk as He walked? Wait, I know the argument already. “No one can walk as Christ walked; certainly not to the degree He walked. Though we may not rise to His level, we can certainly do our best to avoid evil, preach the truth and witness to the presence of Jesus in our lives.
Here’s the dilemma we face; God doesn’t write His will on the walls of our churches. If we’re going to know His will, we’re going to have to look for it, seek it. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Then He went on to say, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you will find; knock and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). He chastised the spiritual leaders of His day, not because they failed to search the scriptures, but because they searched with the wrong focus. He said, “In them you think you have eternal life, but they simply point to Me” (John 5:39). Instead of working to know more and more about the scriptures, we must work to know more and more the God the scriptures.
Paul told his number one disciple, Timothy, that he should “Study to show yourself approved, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of God” (2 Timothy 2:15). If we are to rightly discern the will of God, we will keep in mind, no matter the scripture reference, that God is seen in that bit of scripture. He’s there in the words, “In the beginning,” and He’s there in the words, “Amen, come Lord Jesus.” He’s there in every book, every chapter, every page. Seek first to find the God of the scriptures and the scriptures will come alive in your life. I promise.
If we’re going to discover His will for our lives, we’re going to spend time with Him. Can you imagine trying to get to know someone without spending time with them? This is the fallacy of web-sites like Facebook, Twitter, Spotify and so many others that claim to be “social media,” whatever that means. You may have 5,000 “friends” on Fb and be followed by 10,000 on Twitter, but unless you’ve actually spent some face to face time with them, in person, you can’t possibly know them; not really. Jesus, the very Son of God, spent time throughout His earthly life in the presence of the Father. He often spent entire nights on a lonely hillside communing with the Father. When the most earth-shattering event of His ministry was about to take place, what did He do? He made His was to a garden outside Jerusalem and fell on His face in prayer to the Father. And what was the reason for the prayer He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, no My will but Your will be done?” He needed to know two things before the soldiers came to carry Him away to the cross. He needed to be assured that He was still carrying out the will of the Father and that the Father was still with Him. He received both assurances.
If you and I are going to discover the will of God we are going to do so by searching the scriptures, study the Word of God, spend time in His presence through prayer; these are the ways in which we walk as Jesus walked. There’s no way around it. So, as Jesus would say, “Go and do likewise.”
Now go take on your world. - Bill