Not Finished Yet - I Am a Work In Progress - Be Patient With Me
"What I Believe about God Is the Most Important Thing about Me" - A.W.Tozer
Not My Will - How hard is to say these three words together. We often try to manipulate people around us to have it our way. We would even argue and fight if neccessary to have it our way.Yet, Jesus set a whole different approach about wills.
Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. ~ Luke 22:42 (NIV)
I don’t know about you, but for me these three words are some of the hardest to say them together. The truth of the matter is I like it to be my way, my will. If we honestly take a look at ourselves we know that we kind of think that everything moves around us. I expect my kids to do things my way, I expect my husband to do things my way and if people around me don’t behave and do my will then I make a tantrum. I might not always express my thoughts out loud, but inside it’s a big tantrum. Why? Because we all like things our way, it is all about us. We love people who love us, we choose friends who are willing to do things our way, and it’s all about us. And then here is Jesus…
Jesus knew what’s ahead of him, he counted the cost and he asked his Father for a different way. Father IF, IF there is an other way, please take this cup from me, yet…and how often we never get to say this little word, yet…
but…we often give those around us a different option, it’s my way or the highway. If you don’t like my way to bad for you because you can move out, you can work at another place, you can …. and the list goes on.Jesus chooses to give up his will, for our sake. Father please, if there is a way, yet not my will but yours be done. It took God years to transform me from “all about me” mentality to be able to learn these three words: not my will. As more I get to know God and walk with him daily and grow in our relationship, the more I get to know him as my loving Father, the more I trust him and it’s easier to say, yet…not my will.
Some people tend to think that if people are saying God’s will be done, it’s just because they actually don’t have enough faith, but I learned to give up your will demonstrates real faith.
When me and my hubby got married 16 years ago, it was really hard for me to tell him “this is what I would like, but it doesn’t have to be my way”. Honestly I really didn’t think that he might have a better idea, that his ways could be better then my ways, I didn’t trust his character, his choice. After 16 years of marriage, I got to know him, that he really cares about me and the kids, that he want our best and yes, his ways could be just as good or even better sometimes then my ways. Over the years I got to know my husband’s character, over the years I learned to trust him. This trust lets me give up my will to work together and accomplish things together.
The same is true with our heavenly Father too. When we start a relationship with God and we become his child, we’ll have to go through things together to learn to trust God. The more time you spend with God, the more you listen to God, just as in any other relationship, you’ll get to know God’s character, love, heart, desires and you’ll learn that he is in control even when your circumstances seems different. That doesn’t mean that you will stop asking what you really want…it just means that if you don’t get it you will not start wondering if God loves you or not, if he is able or not, if he even listens or not, because you KNOW that he wants your best in a long term.
Jesus was really honest with the Father too. He said that if there is any other way, if is possible to take this cup, please take it, yet… not my will, but yours be done. You can only tell these words to someone you know well and trust totally. Jesus knew his Father, Jesus knows that God is in control and Jesus knew that this might not be his best, but our best. Jesus didn’t thought about himself, he thought about us, you and me.
We have to ask God to help us to learn from Jesus and follow in his footsteps. Jesus wasn’t selfish, he always thought about our best. He asked his Father’s forgiveness for those who mocked him and killed him. He prayed for Peter’s faith before Peter even denied him. Jesus gave up his will so that I could have a chance to choose life. Jesus gave up his will for my freedom, for my salvation, for my life.
To be able to learn to say: Not My Will…you have to make the first step giving your life to Jesus and he will change you. As you get to know him you’ll learn that you can trust him. When you learn to trust God and understand that he is in control, you’ll be able to give up your will for others too, because you know:
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ~ Roma 8:28
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- God’s Desire
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God desires a personal relationship with us. Understand that God wants to give you a life filed with joy and peace. God wants us to have a life not just to make it through but an abundant and eternal life because he loves you.
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." ~ John 10:10
"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" ~ Romans 5:1
But to giving you abundant life required the supreme sacrifice:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" ~ John 3:16
What a wonderful gift the Father has given. If God gave His own Son to provide an abundant and everlasting life, why more people don’t have what He has designed for us to receive?
- Our Problem
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We were created in God’s image for an abundant and joyful life with the ability and need to know God and have a personal relationship with Him. But our freedom of choice of disobedience caused a separation and gap between God and us.
"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" ~ Isaiah 59:2
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." ~ Romans 3:23
People always try to fill that empty void in their lives with "things." They even try good works, morality, and religion. Yet they remain empty, for only God, through His Son, can fill that emptiness.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” ~ Proverbs 14:12
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." ~ Romans 6:23
Our Problem is that sin separated us from God. But
God provided only ONE SOLUTION
- God’s Solution
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God has provided only one solution to sin and separation from Himself.
Jesus Christ, His Son, is the only way to God.
Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin and rebellion against God and bridged the gap between God and humanity by dying on the cross, shedding His blood, and rising from the dead to justify and reconcile you back to God the Father.
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." ~ 1Peter 3:18
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." ~ Romans 5:8
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." ~ Ephesians 2:8,9
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" ~ 1Timothy 2:5
Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. “~ John 14:6
God so loved us that he gave his only Son to bridge the gap between us and the Father. God has provided the only way, the only solution. You have to take a decision and choose how to respond to God’s provision.
- Our Response
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Your relationship with God can be restored and you can be brought back into his family by trusting in Christ alone who can save your life from destruction. Jesus is the bridge to the Father but you have to choose to trust him, you have to make a step forward him, you have to step out in faith and give your life to God. At the Cross you can exchange your worst for Jesus’ best.
This step happens by asking Jesus Christ to take away your sin and to come into your heart to be your Lord and Savior.
The Bible says...
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." ~ Romans 10:9"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." ~ John 1:12
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." ~ Revelation 3:20
Would you like to invite Jesus to be part of your life, to be your Lord and Savior now? You can start a new life with him. It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from, what you did in the past. When you give your life to Jesus you can start all over again. With Jesus you can have a new chance again.
- Receive Christ
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If you too need Jesus to give you a new start, if you realized that Jesus is all you need then here is how you can receive Christ:
Admit your need (I am a sinner).
Be willing to turn from your sins (repent).
Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave.
Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive Him as Lord and Savior.)At this moment you can pray the most important prayer of your life by simply saying:
Dear Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I believe you died for me on the cross and shed Your blood for my salvation. I believe you rose from the dead and ascended in Heaven. I believe You are coming back again to earth. Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. Forgive my sins. Cleanse me now with Your precious blood. I want to turn from sins. I invite you to come into my heart. I give you my life now. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. I receive You now as my Savior, my Lord, and my God. I am Yours forever, I belong to You only. I no longer belong to this world, nor to the enemy of my soul. Amen!
If you sincerely prayed this prayer, confessed your sins, and received Jesus Christ into your heart, God has given you the right to become His child.
The Bible gives you this assurance:
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ~ Romans 10:13"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." ~ Ephesians 2:8,9
This is just the beginning of a wonderful new life in Christ. If you have just received Jesus Christ into your life, we want to rejoice with you. Click here to send us your salvation praise report.
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Books I Read
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Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make A Difference By Max Lucado |
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The Purpose Driven Life, Softcover By Rick Warren |
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The Hole in Our Gospel - Limited Editon By Richard Stearns |
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The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as if He Doesn't Exist By Craig Groeschel |
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