God Has a Plan for You

“Be the Person God made you to be! –R. Nelson

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8

ENCOURAGING WORD:

We all seem to go through life trying to be the best that we can be. What most people do not understand is this, God created all of us with a purpose in mind. I believe every one of us has a decision to make as we navigate through life. We have two destinies laid out before us, the destiny that God created for us or the destiny that we choose for ourselves. We read in Mark 1:38 where even Jesus Himself acknowledged that even He was born for a specific purpose, “But He (Jesus) said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I (Jesus) may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” Just as Jesus Christ had a specific purpose for being born, so do we. The biggest difference in the life of Jesus Christ versus our lives in that Jesus dedicated His whole life to serving and fulfilling the plan that the Father sent Him to accomplish. When Satan told Jesus in Luke 4:5-7; “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give you, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be yours,” Jesus could have chosen that route, instead He continued on with the plan of salvation that was laid out before Him by God the Father. Thank God for our sake that He did. Jesus Christ chose to go to the cross and die for the sins of the world, instead of taking the easy road that was offered to Him by Satan. We hear Jesus say in John 12:27; “now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose, I came to this hour.” Even knowing the terrible persecution that He (Jesus) was about to endure, He still chose the Fathers plan, but know this, He did not do this for Himself, He did it for us which makes it even more priceless in terms of how we receive it and understand it.    

God has a specific plan laid out for every human being born of woman, but somewhere throughout our lives, Satan will offer us all an alternate plan. The plan that Satan offers looks much more appealing than the one God laid out for you right up front, but when you surrender your life to serving Jesus Christ, the end result will have much greater rewards than you could ever imagine. Here is a simple example but yet minor in scope of what we are really dealing with. Let’s say that someone comes up to you and offers you a thirty-year program that goes like this. For thirty years you can have everything that you want without exception, but after your thirty years are up you lose everything that you have and you are left to live on the streets begging and doing whatever you have to, to survive. The other option is this, for thirty years you live a life of total poverty begging and doing anything possible to survive, but when the thirty years are over, you will have an inheritance that will be more than you could ever imagine from that day on and forever. Ask yourself this simple question, what would you chose? Well, like I said, this is minor in scope of what really lies ahead for us. I’m not insinuating that you will live a life of torment while you serve Jesus Christ, but there will be trails and tribulation along the way that may not be very pleasant. Here is what the Apostle Paul had to say about living for the gospel, 2 Corinthians 11:25-27; “Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;  in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen,  in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren,  in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” Read the rest of the chapter to hear the rest of his story. The story of Paul’s walk with God is an extreme example of the perils that could be associated with preaching the gospel, but Paul chose to serve Jesus Christ knowing what lied ahead for him in eternity. All that he had to endure didn’t move him one bit as we read in the following verse, Acts 20:24; “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” He knew what awaited him in heaven.

We read in John 10:10; where Jesus says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jesus came to give life to those that would follow Him, but what He is declaring here is that there is an enemy (Satan) that is also here to steal away from you the plan that God has laid out for you. We read in John 10:28; “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” This is Gods promise to those that chose the path that He laid out for us. There comes a time in our life when we have the opportunity to make that choice. Will we stay with Gods’ plan or will we fall prey to the evil of the world? Unfortunately, I see where the world is headed and the choice that so many have made. They have chosen to serve the world and the god of this world, (Satan). We have all been born to be in fellowship with God, but ever since the Garden of Eden when man (Adam) chose disobedience to Gods’ command to stay away from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we fell from grace and direct fellowship with God. Genesis attributes the downfall of humanity to something identified only as The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This mysterious tree is the one thing in all of creation forbidden to humans, and yet it was growing at the center of the Garden of Eden—and in some ways, at the center of the biblical story. One act of disobedience and man suffered ever since. But this is not the end of the story, because of one Man’s (Jesus) obedience to God the Father, we have all been given an opportunity to be reconciled back to God by believing and accepting the “grace” that was extended to us through the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is really quite simple, you choose to believe, or you choose to reject, but know this, your decision will have eternal consequences.

I want to share a story with you that I heard from a very well-respected Bible teacher. When we ask someone whether or not they believe in God, most people will say they do. But it doesn’t end there. We read in James 2:19;“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.” Even the demons believe in God, Jesus Christ, the death, and resurrection of Jesus and even His ascension into heaven where He now sits at the right hand of the Father. The demons will not deny His power and strength and Godhead. They even know that Jesus is the Holy One of Israel sent by the Father to make reconciliation for our sins. The demons know all of this and yet they are not saved, because they have chosen not to follow and serve Jesus Christ. They chose to side with Satan instead. See, God created Lucifer to be the highest anointed Angel in the heavens, but Lucifer decided to choose His own path where he will eventually end up in the “Lake of Burning Fire” that was created for him and his fallen angels. Now ask yourself this question, do you want to follow Jesus and His plan for your life or will you choose your own path and suffer the same fate that lies ahead for Satan and his fallen angels? And by the way, Satan is not going to be the ruler in Hell, he is going to be brought down to the lowest depths of Sheol where he will have no more power than anyone else that will suffer the same fate. We read this in Isaiah 14:16; “Those who see you (the condemned) will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man (Satan) who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,” Satan will have no more power after he is condemned to his eternal destination. 

ACTION POINT:

We all need to understand that we are all eternal, where we spend our eternity is completely up to us. Eternity does not start when you die, it starts when you are conceived. From the point of conception, eternity begins. From that point, assuming you are born and not aborted, you will be brought into the world to decide where you want to spend eternity once you leave this time domain of what we call life. Regardless of what some religions teach, we all go on to one of two places. Heaven, where we will be with Jesus Christ forever or the “Lake of Burning Fire” where you will be in torment for all eternity. Remember, God did not create the “Lake of Burning Fire” for us, He created it for Satan and His fallen angels, but if you chose to follow Satan instead of Jesus Christ, you will end up with whoever you chose to follow. You see, it is your choice to make, you have but one life to live and one chance to make the right choice, after that, your choice will have been made and eternity is set. Please make the right choice! Chose God’s plan for your life or chose your own plan. What will you choose, make that decision today, you never know what tomorrow will bring. “Written To the glory of God, Inspired by the Holy Spirit!” Amen!

From our Chaplin-R. Fritz

Be the person God made you to be

We were all given spiritual gifts from God. You were given these gifts at birth. This is what God has given us to become the person we are supposed to be. It is up to us to find out or to ask the Holy Spirit what they are. Once I chose Jesus, I discovered through studying the Bible about the spiritual gifts and had shown them through the Holy Spirit. Over the years, I asked the Holy Spirit to hone or sharpen my gifts. 1Corinthians 12:1,4,7-11 says NOW concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. This is why I have been talking about having the Holy Spirit and then getting that Holy Spirit indwelled in you. The Holy Spirit can continuously teach you how to operate in your gift. You might have more than 1 gift. I have at least 2. This certainly takes a want to serve God at his will. It takes somebody that is committed and prays every day. I am telling everybody; you can be everything you always wanted to be if you are willing to step out in faith. There is a price to pay that not everyone is willing to do. Mathew 22:14 says and this is Jesus talking “For many are called, but few are chosen.” This is talking about the parable about the “wedding feast.” The calling was the invitation to follow and serve Jesus and not ourselves. Being chosen means you took the invitation and are a faithful disciple giving up the worldly life. Matthew 7:14 says and this is Jesus talking “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Our next step is finding that strait gate that is narrow and walking down that path that most people will not walk because they think it is not easy. We all know that path is Jesus Christ. What most people do not understand is the wide gate is not easy also. Satin wants you to take the wide gate and will let you believe this is the right gate. He will let you take the easy way also for a time until he has you hooked, and you keep following that wide gate where most people are going down. I am talking to those who are “Born again” and have a relationship with the Holy Spirit. I have seen the results how the Lord takes care of his people. John 14:12-15 says and this is Jesus talking “Verily verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and  greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If he asks anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments.” How is it that Jesus is saying that he that believes will be able to do greater works than him? The Comforter came in his name to live inside you to teach you all things. If you let the Holy Ghost dwell in you, you could be like Jesus. That might be hard to believe. We need to let the Holy Ghost get rid of the parts of us that it wants to make us more like Jesus. We have to trust the Lord! We also have to remember if we are more like Jesus, he will give us what we ask for because we will ask for things we really need. Things like praying for people, for our family, neighbors, and friends. Jesus is not talking about wish items. It gets down to you and what “You” want out of life.

I am talking to the people who want to make a difference in this life. The Lord has given you tools to help his people help others and be a disciple for Jesus Christ. Satin does not want me to tell you who you can be, It is time for all of us to take on our enemy Satin who is messing with our lives and show who we are. If we become who we can be, we are a force to be reckoned with. John 3:30 says “He must increase, but I must decrease” Remember more of Jesus less of us. To be that force, let the Holy Ghost help you get through what issues you need to work through. We need all hands-on deck fighting Satin! I pray all of God’s people step up and be who God meant for you to be!