Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Changing God's Plan

Date: Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Chapters: Proverbs 16-18
Message Title: Changing God's Plan

Hello My Friend,

I have always been a person who loves things in order, I like knowing the plan, preparing for it, and seeing it through. When people come along and do things their way or change up the plan, I get uneasy, back off, and let them figure it out while I watch them get frustrated because it's not going well. The thing about it, all they had to do was ask me and I would have showed them how to do it right. When you think about it, God is the same way with us, He has a plan for us, but we want to change things or do it our own way, so, He backs off, and watches us as we get frustrated because our plan is not going so well. You see, God knows our hearts, and what we are going through, He's going to let us do what we want, but He's always there to show us the right way if we come to Him. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” - Matthew 7:7,8.

There are natural born leaders and also natural born followers, but if there are too many leaders leading and no one following, how is anything productive going to get done? Those who follow Christ, may not always make the right decisions, most of all because they are not thinking clearly before they make them, but when they talk it over with God and listen to what He says it all come clear. “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.” - Proverbs 16:1-6.

Jesus, the Son of God, and God Himself in the flesh, having all the power to do as He pleased, humbled Himself and gave all the power to God, the Father. Jesus, subjected Himself to all the elements that we go though, hunger, pain, sorrow, temptations, anger, living under poverty. He being the most powerful leader of all, humbled Himself before His Father, and followed Him. There is a time to be a leader and a time to be a follower, we must always follow Christ if we want to know the plan and He will prepare us to be leaders for Him. “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” - John 12:25,26.

You can be sure that when you come to God to get things in order, there is going to be some opposition, most of it from the devil, but every once in a while from God. He's going to try our hearts and see if we really want Him in our lives. “The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue. Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth. He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends. A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.” - Proverbs 17:3-5,8-10.

There are just some people in this world that no matter how much you try to get them to do right, they will rebel. It's a waste of time and efforts to try and convince someone to follow Christ, all we can do is give that over to God, and perhaps He will be able to soften their heart to stop fighting. Really they fight is not with us, it's with God, they do not like the idea of answering to a higher power, especially one they cannot see and deep down know they will answer to Him one day. “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” - John 5:22-24,28,29.

The fool has said in their heart that there is no higher power, there is no God, and the Son of God is a big hoax. They can deny the existence of God, but cannot deny that Jesus existed, nor the events that took place while He was here. It is the fool, those who are proud, hard hearted, destitute of reason, and beyond any hope of seeing that they are accountable for their actions, that does things there own way or changes the plans and makes a mess of things. It is the fool that gets frustrated and never admits that they are wrong and need help. “A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” - Proverbs 18:2,6-10.

Those who believe in Christ, accept Him into their lives, and follow Him depend on Him for more than their salvation. He is their hope of anything beyond this world, their refuge when they are being tried, their safety when they are in the world. The majority of people who have walked away from Him do so when they really weren't following Him in the first place. Oh, they came to church, prayed, even acknowledged Him, but He was really in their heart because they followed something else. They changed the plan for something that was to please their flesh and got frustrated when it wasn't working. We cannot blame God for the things that happen when we get out of His safety net. We do have a way out of any situation, and by the way, God knows how far to let you go before He pulls you back, one way or another. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” - James 1:12-15,25.

Today's Prayer: God, You have a perfect plan for each and everyone of the people You create. Whether we are here to love You and accept Your Son, or as an example of wickedness because we have hardened our hearts toward You, it's Your plan, and only You have the power to change it. If we want things to change in our lives, we must follow Your plan, one that begins with accepting Your Son as lour Saviour, and walking with Him with all our heart daily. Lord, lead us and guide us, show us Your path, get us on it, and if we get off track, show us the way back. Let us be a godly example and not one that is wicked and corrupt, and let Your Son shine through us to give hope and safety to those who are lost in the midst of them. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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