God's Will For Your Life

Vocational ministers or professional clergy get to hear questions from people that are not normally asked in casual conversation. The questions change a little bit depending on the role; pastor, chaplain, evangelist, or missionary. The questions, however, are consistent in large part. One of the common questions is "What is God's will for my life?" I heard it often as a youth pastor and I thought it would diminish as I transitioned to ministering to adults predominantly. It hasn't. People's thoughts of their lives and God's plan and purpose for them seem to transcend generations. The part that is interesting to me and my subject today is not specifically God's will for your life, or you knowing that will, but your motivation in wanting to know it.

Seasons and Change

We are three quarters of the way through September and that means a number of things. County fairs and harvest festivals are taking place all over the country. The kids are settling back into school. The weather is starting to cool down. Being a New Englander by birth I think there is something inherent in Autumn that causes you to be a bit nostalgic. Autumn arriving also shows us the wonderful plan God put into motion during creation. It is part of the circle of seasons that is so representative of life. If you are like me, Disney's The Circle of Life from The Lion King is now playing in your head. Your welcome. At this seasonal change I return to my favorite Old Testament book, Ecclesiastes.

Love, Gongs and Knowledge

I love weddings. I find every aspect of a wedding fun, and at times entertaining. I enjoy the premarital counseling and planning. It's fun to watch the busyness of the bride's mom and friends as they fret over every minute detail. I find it funny that no one wants anything less than perfection from the flowers to the sound to the music, but they never notice the inevitable slip up or mistake. Then there are the games that the groomsmen play. The things they do that make the bride absolutely nervous. It's all so very enjoyable for me. There is an element to just about every christian wedding, and many secular weddings here in America, that is almost never left out. In a christian wedding it's read or quoted as scripture, and in a secular wedding it's read as a poem. You know the passage. It starts, "Love is patient, love is kind..." and is found in 1 Corinthians 13. Today I'm asking, "Is this passage only meant for weddings? What about the surrounding scripture?"

I Am Compelled

Summer is over and my children are uttering the all too familiar "I'm bored" less now that there is home work and school night bed times. When they do utter that amazing phrase I have to smile and ask, "Would you like me to find you something to do?" They almost never take me up on it. When they do they begrudgingly do what I've asked them only halfheartedly. It's obvious they don't want to. The same holds true for us followers  of Jesus Christ. We get so caught up in the emotion or experiencing of life that when the "good feeling" isn't there, we get bored. We get caught up in routine. It's as if we are saying to God, "I'm bored." There is a scriptural answer to this phenomenon.

Spreading the Word

One of the things Jesus instructed us to do was to go into all the world and spread the gospel. We are to be witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the world. God placed on my heart the desire to share bits of wisdom He has given me with others. Sometimes that is from a pulpit, sometimes one on one, and sometimes it is via the written word. We all should be sharing what God does in and through us with others so that the gospel is not only preached but witnessed. I encourage you to share this blog with anyone who might find something useful or encouraging. I use this blog as one of the methods to encourage people and be a witness for what the Lord has done in my life. In an effort to bring this blog to more people, I am starting to list it in blog directories and search services. One of them, Technorati, requires a code be posted so they can verify ownership of the blog. 75SGN5R8EBZ4

I encourage you to link to this blog, post links to articles on popular social networking sites, and forward the e-mails to friends who might profit from the material God has given me to share. many blessings!

Be Who God Made You To Be

A friend recommended a book by Max Lucado recently. It's titled The Cure For The Common Life. The friend who recommended it said it sounded a lot like what I share with people when they are struggling with who they are in God. It's a great book so far, and I have no doubt it will be fantastic all the way through. Then on one of my weekly trips across the state I was listening to a podcast from Brian Houston of Hillsong Church. His podcast was reiterating the same thoughts from a different point of view and using different scriptures to make the point. I've taught and counseled this often and I believe the Lord wants me to share it with you.