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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Dear Faithful One,
Today is the last day of 2008. As we reflect on the last few hours of what has been an amazing year of God's favor we can't help but give God all the glory, honor, and praise for His Divine provision, protection, and presence in our lives this year. We have much to be thankful for, and even more to look forward to, as we anticipate the New Year that He has prepared for us.
The last few months have brought extraordinary challenges for many people, believers included, and some are beginning to to re-evaluate their purpose in life and question God regarding His provision. Life has become a struggle, and a lot of things are uncertain. As we look at the will of God in today's devotion we must understand that the Lord desires for His children to be content in all circumstances, to take what we have been given and use it for His glory. We are being charged with living life with eternity as our focus, no longer living for momentary pleasures.
The world has little perspective on what life is truly all about. Only in Christ do we have a clear understanding of the gift we have been given. Our entire motivation for living should be for the glory of God. The Book of Ephesians (1:3-10) provides a wonderful reading that we will offer up as a prayer to the Lord in preparation for walking in His will in the New Year:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will - to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will ahve reached their fulfillment - to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" In Jesus' Glorious Name. Amen.
"Therefore, my dear friends,
as you have always obeyed -
not only in my presence,
but now much more in my absence -
continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God who works in you to will and to act
according to His good purpose."
(Philippians 2:12-13)
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all! (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Feasting on His Word and Remaing at His Feet,
Traci Alexander
Trumpet and Torch Ministries
John 1:14
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Day Six: Revealing the WILL of God
"Be joyful always; pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
(1 Thessalonians 5:16)
Breakfast: Six Geese-a-laying - Focus on Genesis 1:1, 26, 28-31; 12:2-3
"I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please."
(Isaiah 46:10)
From the beginning of creation to the end of all time God's will has, and will, been done. There is no other master Creator, architect, or designer for the world; everything has come from His hands to fulfill His will of bringing all people into relationship with Him. "...You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being" (Revelation 4:11b).
"On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...six geese-a-laying" The six days of creation are a labor of love. In that time frame, the Lord created everything that we would need to live. All that He had purposed was created in that time frame to fulfill His will. His greatest creation was mankind, created in His image, to enter into a glorious union with Him in order to live out and accomplish His purposes on the earth. "And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth...God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:25-27).
God's purposes will be done, with or without the cooperation of man; but out of His love and desire to have us take an active role in His magnificent plan He invites us to join in His work and receive the blessings for our obedience, and the joy found in His pleasure. We have a wonderous opportunity to take part in God's plan and accomplish His will - this comes first by believing in Him and accepting His gift of salvation, and, then, living a life of obedience and dependence upon Him.
"Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD - with the first of them and with the last -
I am He."
(Isaiah 41:4)
Lunch: Finding Meaning...in the Will of God - Focus on Ecclesiastes 6:1-12
"Be very careful, then, how you live -
not as unwise but as wise,
making the most of every opportunity,
because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be foolish,
but understand what the Lord's will is."
(Ephesians 5:15-17)
Our Teacher in the Book of Ecclesiastes explains how life is nothing more than a pointless journey apart from the Lord. There is little satisfaction found in a life that has no point or purpose. It is in the Lord that we find our purpose for living. "For in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28a).
At the very heart of God's plan is Jesus Christ, our Savior. Only in relationship with Jesus Christ do we find meaning and purpose for our life and future. In Christ we have been given a high calling and purpose. "Live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1b-3).
Of all the things that are uncertain in this life, we know for certain that we will one day die. While we are here on this earth we have been created not merely to exist - but to live. "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" ( John 10:10b). We are given opportunity to live a life of love, and a life of obedience, to the will of God - it is here that we find our life's of purpose and our joy and satisfaction. "The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever" (1 John 2:17).
Let us offer a prayer of gratitude for the gift of life, that God has given us, and be willing to make the most of every opportunity we have been given, each day, to live our lives as a constant expression of God's love, mercy and grace, being devoted to doing the will of God, "...His good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2b).
"In Him we were also chosen,
having been predestined according to the plan of Him
Who works out everything in conformity
with the purpose of His will,
in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ,
might be for the praise of His glory."
(Ephesians 1:11-12)
Dinner: The Sovereignty of God - a Matter of God's Will - Focus on Daniel 6:10-27
"I desire to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart."
(Psalm 40:8)
Daniel was a servant of God who lived a life fully dependent upon God and His will. The Lord had established him as a man of influence and authority in a land he had been taken captive in. Daniel did not waste the opportunity he had to submit to God's will, even under the most difficult circumstances. As if being dragged off to a foreign land against his will was bad enough, he would soon find himself thrown to the lions for obeying God's will.
Daniel exemplified a life of obedience to God. He daily sought the Lord in prayer - three times day (Daniel 6:10). Because he looked to the Lord for guidance and help, he knew, without a doubt, that the outcome of every opportunity, and difficulty, rested in God's hands; as a result he had no reason to fear man, or anything they threw at him (or threw him into!). "We must obey God rather than men!" (Acts 5:29b).
His faithfulness to submit to God's will alone resulted in the Lord saving him, and, ultimately, brought the Lord the glory due His name (v.26-27). The Lord's will may not always be to save His servants from great suffering and defeat, but He will use the situation to bring about His greatest glory and victory to the people He is trying to reach. In Daniel's case, the Lord was not quite finished with the plans He had for His servant.
May we be willing to enter each new day by faith, like Daniel, by keeping our eyes upon the Lord in this new year that is before us. May we submit this year to seeking the Lord morning, noon, and night, that we might have the strength necessary to stand whatever may come in the weeks and months that lie ahead. And may we, like Paul, consider our life worthless apart from finishing the race and completing the task the Lord has giving us - "the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace" (Acts 20:24).
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will of my Father
Who is in heaven."
(Matthew 7:21)
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A Word of Encouragement
"Sovereign Lord...You made the heaven and the earth
and the sea, and everything in them.
You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant,
our father David:
"Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together against the Lord
and against His Anointed One."
...They did what Your power and Your will had decided
beforehand should happen.
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable Your servants
to speak Your word with great boldness.
Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs
and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus."
(Acts 4:24-26, 28-30) ________________________________________________
Note: If you have just joined us and have not received the past days emails please visit the ARCHIVE at the Trumpet and Torch home page, www.trumpetandtorch.org, to view the devotionals you may have missed. Thank you for remaining faithful to the Word of God & prayer! |
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