Doing What God Wants
Philippians 4:9 (NIV) states “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Most people like to live in peace. We lead such stressful lives that peace is welcome when we can find it.
Sometimes we lead lives that are not only stressful but also knowingly against God's will. We neglect everything we have learned and may even consider ourselves to still be Christians as we 'go off the deep end' living a lifestyle that we know is wrong.
Sometimes we lead lives that are not only stressful but also knowingly against God's will. We neglect everything we have learned and may even consider ourselves to still be Christians as we 'go off the deep end' living a lifestyle that we know is wrong.
We may begin by hanging around with non-Christians that seem to be having a lot of fun. We join in and for awhile things are going pretty well. We ignore that still small voice telling us we are traveling down the wrong path.
Eventually, we will either completely leave God behind or we will wake up and listen to the Holy Spirit and come back to who God wants us to be again.
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 2 Peter 2:20-21
For those that leave completely, their lives will be forever miserable because they know the truth and have turned away. Those who come back to the Lord and confess their sins will be forgiven but we often have difficulty looking back on what we have done and who we became.
We may find ourselves asking God to forgive us over and over again, knowing that we really only have to ask once. The pain of what we did can be overwhelming and many don't hear God telling them to forgive themselves for their departure from the truth. But that is what must be done. We must forgive ourselves as God forgives us. We must move on and live our lives doing what God wants us to do.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 1 Timothy 4:1
Eventually, we will either completely leave God behind or we will wake up and listen to the Holy Spirit and come back to who God wants us to be again.
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 2 Peter 2:20-21
For those that leave completely, their lives will be forever miserable because they know the truth and have turned away. Those who come back to the Lord and confess their sins will be forgiven but we often have difficulty looking back on what we have done and who we became.
We may find ourselves asking God to forgive us over and over again, knowing that we really only have to ask once. The pain of what we did can be overwhelming and many don't hear God telling them to forgive themselves for their departure from the truth. But that is what must be done. We must forgive ourselves as God forgives us. We must move on and live our lives doing what God wants us to do.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 1 Timothy 4:1
It happens. Coming back is the key. Moving forward in the will of God is the rest of the story.
What does God require of us? It is so simple we may wonder why the whole world has not turned to God. What a self-centered and proud people we are. We believe that we can do whatever we want and still be happy. It is a lie. Look around at the world. Everywhere people are trying to find happiness and the world is more miserable than ever before.
Once we have confessed our sins and asked Christ to come into our hearts, our direction is clear.
He has told you, O man, what is good;and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,[a]and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
It seems so simple and with the Holy Spirit as our teacher and guide, it can be. We make these instructions more difficult than they should be. Being humble is not in our human nature. We must put to death the old man daily in order to live the way God wants us to.
Being kind is very difficult when others are so unkind to us and doing the right thing; we can struggle with that too.
Fortunately for us, God loves us and is merciful to sinners who want to walk in His ways. We are sinners. All of us must ask for forgiveness daily and we must continue to strive to be the people God wants us to be. We must follow Christ's example. We must keep our thoughts on the things of the Lord and our eyes OFF the things of the world if we truly want to live in peace and do what God wants us to do.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Phil.4:8
Once we have confessed our sins and asked Christ to come into our hearts, our direction is clear.
He has told you, O man, what is good;and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,[a]and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
It seems so simple and with the Holy Spirit as our teacher and guide, it can be. We make these instructions more difficult than they should be. Being humble is not in our human nature. We must put to death the old man daily in order to live the way God wants us to.
Being kind is very difficult when others are so unkind to us and doing the right thing; we can struggle with that too.
Fortunately for us, God loves us and is merciful to sinners who want to walk in His ways. We are sinners. All of us must ask for forgiveness daily and we must continue to strive to be the people God wants us to be. We must follow Christ's example. We must keep our thoughts on the things of the Lord and our eyes OFF the things of the world if we truly want to live in peace and do what God wants us to do.
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