Giving God Glory

All the things we are supposed to do, decisions we make in order to pease God, don't have their origin in us. We are dependent on God for everything. We need to rely on Jesus to do everything we are called to do. As Jesus said "Apart fom Me we can do nothing." (John 15:5). We need to believe, cooperate, and rest in Him. We come to faith because God gives us the faith to believe and lovingly draws us to Himself. Jesus is the Author of our faith. We are able to continue in the faith only due to Him, our choices enabled by the Perfector of our faith. It is not ultimately about us and what we do, even though we must make deliberate, real choices. Our subsequent God-inspired actions of living, preaching and sharing the gospel and loving people are not about us but God's glory. All who are related to Jesus by faith do the will of God, empowered and enabled by God, so that He would get maximum glory.

What God wants Most

What does God want more than for "all to come to repentance" (1 Tim.2:4)? To glorify Himself. What glorified Him most? The salvation of some but not the salvation of all. We know this is true because of Romans chapters 1, 8 and 9. How is God exalted? The cross (Phil. 2:1-12), which highlights the depths of mankind's depravity and the superabundance of the God's grace.

Frustrated?

The amazing thing about life in Christ - do not miss this or you will live frustrated - is we are dependent on Jesus for all of it. John 15:5, Phil. 4:13. I know many people feel like they can't figure life out. I have felt that way many times. It's true we can't. But God can. I have found that when I walk close to Jesus things work out. We cannot claim anything as coming from ourselves. Our adequacy is God.

Praying for God's Will

In Matt. 6:9-10, Jesus instructs us to pray, "Our Father, in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." That is a prayer that people would obey God's will revealed in His Word, as it is in heaven, fully and completely. It will revolutionize your life, to realize as you pray "Your will be done", you are not asking God to reveal what He has yet to reveal, but for Him to help you do what you are supposed to do. You are praying for grace to obey what He has already shown to be His will for you. Do that, and it, daily.

What the Gospel is

The gospel of the grace of God in Christ is universe exploding stuff. The gospel is the good news of God invading time and space and setting up residence on earth. Incarnational is a word because of it. No other conclusion can be reached but that God did what man could not, would not, did not dare to undertake. Jesus died for sin, sacrificed Himself, substituted Himself, taking the place of hell bound rebels thumbing their noses and shaking their fists at Him.

The gospel is good and it is news. Qualitatively good in the sense that nothing can compare with the unfathomable riches of Christ. Newsworthy in that nothing of greater significance can ever be told. Paul, in Romans 1:16, said he was "not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation." That sums it up well. It is power (Greek word dunamis, meaning explosive power,where we get our word 'dynamite') without limit. God, the all-powerful One, has unleashed His power in a big way upon sin and death and evil, and uses it to transform people into Jesus-loving, Bible-believing, gospel preaching, Jesus-inspired people of The Way in such a way that it has culminated in more glory to God. The gospel is beyond amazing.

What does God want?

Every Christian I know is seeking the will of God in some way, in some fashion. They may be praying about whom they are to marry, or what job they are to have, or what school to attend, or how to deal with a difficult person, or dealing with a tough health situation. They want to know what God wants. It is obvious to ask Him to reveal His will in big things like marriage and career decisions. We are people who are dependent on God and it is seen in the fact that we seek to know what God wants. It is good, right and appropriate that we pray as Jesus taught us to pray, "Our Father, in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:9-10)

Doing the Will of God

What does it mean to do the will of God? Jesus instructed us to seek the will of God in the Lord's Prayer. In Matthew 12:46-50 He says we should do the will of God. What what does doing God's will mean? It means to do what you know God wants or desires, to act in accord with His revealed will.

Many people go around trying to figure out the will of God when He has already made the big things clear. People need to do those things first and the hidden things will then become more evident. Sometimes when we don't take care of first things first, the things beyond those that we seek just don't seem to jell. There is a reason. Life is linear in some respects. The Christian life begins by grace through faith in Christ. Miss that step and nothing will be right. It continues by faith to sanctification, God at work in the life of a believer to conform them to Christ's image (Rom. 8:29). That is where we must begin, doing the things Scripture makes clear God wants. Do those, like loving your brothers and sisters in Christ and seeing to the spiritual and overall welfare of your household, and forgiving, and the things that are not clear will come into focus in due time.

It is important to know that we do not make ourselves a part of Jesus' family by doing the will of the Father. Doing His will identifies us as a member of Christ's family by faith.