Gods Plan or Our Plan

Matthew 6:31-34

New International Version (NIV)

³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

   I need to apologize to God and the people who follow this site. I have been neglecting posting messages on here. The reason is because I have not put God first here lately. My girlfriend and I recently separated. I did not agree with the breakup and it has consumed me. God has shown me through this breakup that I put the relationship with my girlfriend before him. I believe God has allowed this to happen in order for this message to be written. 

   There are millions of men and women who have been through exactly what I have went through. This message is being written so we can all do an evaluation of our priorities. I want everyone to think about your relationship with your spouse or significant other. I know you love that person very dearly. Jesus tell us that if we are not willing to walk away from our brother, sister, father, mother, husband, wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend we cannot see the kingdom of heaven. Listen to the scripture. Matt 10-37-38 ³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

   If there is anything in your life that is hindering your walk with Christ you need to separate from it. Here is  test to see how serious you are about your love for God. Are you willing to ask God to destroy all the things in your life that he does not want there? Including relationships? My ex girlfriends faith and love for Jesus is that strong. She said God told her he did not want he in a relationship right now because it was hindering her walk with him. She loves me very much, but she loves God more. I admire her for obeying God. Through this breakup God has shown me my true values. I was focusing more on my relationship with her than my relationship with God. In order to wake me up to that fact he had to tear apart the relationship. He did not do it because he was angry. He did it because he loves me. 

   Our souls are more important  to God than our relationships with others. Jesus says we can't enter into heaven if we put anything on this earth above him. It may not be a relationship. It could be money. God may be laying it on your heart to tithe and you are rebelling against it. It could be a job that God does not want you in, but you are to afraid to walk away from it. Listen to me people! God will never demand anything from you unless he plans to give you something 100 times better in return! He told Abraham to get up and leave his whole family and go into another country. Listen to the scripture. Genesis 12:1-4. ¹ The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

 ² “I will make you into a great nation,
   and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
   and you will be a blessing.^[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
   and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
   will be blessed through you.”^[b]

 ⁴ So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.

We can learn so much from this scripture. Do you realize how hard it was for Abraham to leave his people? Apparently not very hard. verse 4 says, Abram went as the Lord told him. We know very well that God kept his promise and Blessed Abraham.

   This is the kind of faith God is looking for in us. If God blessed Abraham who did not have the promise, meaning Christ had not yet came. How much more will he Bless who have Christ as our advocate? More than we can imagine! 

   I will repeat myself one more time. God will never demand anything from you unless he plans to give you something 100 times better in return  If there is anything in this world that is keeping you from completely loving and following Jesus then give it up for Christ. I promise you his Word is true. He will Bless you just like he Blessed Abraham. God has an awesome plan for all of us. I will leave you with these 2 promises from God. 

Isaiah 55:8-9

New International Version (NIV)

 ⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the LORD.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways 

   and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Jeremiah 29:11

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God Bless all of you 

   

Scripture of the Day

Colossians 2:11-15

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh^[a] was put off when you were circumcised by^[b] Christ, ¹²having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you^[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.^[d]

Gods Love is Eternal

Romans 8:38-39 “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” 

What really is there that can separate me from God’s love? Is there anything? Theoretically, I’d automatically say no, but let’s make this more practical.

Can the repeated times I’ve repented only to fall back into the very same sin pattern the next day cause God to fall out of love with me?

Can my own deep insecurities and fears about me, others, and even God negate His love?

Can all the promises I’ve broken, even the broken promises to pray for others, or the general lack of discipline and passion drive God away?

Can anything in heaven or earth or in hell overcome the love of Christ?

The answer to all these is a resounding NO. There’s not even the possibility of a yes in any of these. Nothing else can even touch the power of God’s love or His ability to find and rescue you or the power of His love to hold on to you once you’re his. Nothing. His love overcame the cross, all our sin, the grave and death, and hell. Anything else is a piece of cake.

That's not to say that we can go and live our life anyway we want and expect to make it to heaven. God does love everyone. Sinner and saint. The question is do we love God? That is gonna be what God judges us on when we stand before him. His love will never fade away. It is always us who slips away from him. This "falling away" or repeated sinning hardens our hearts to God. But God never hardens his hearts to us. He will allow us to fall into our sins and lose things in our life. Understand, he is not doing this to destroy us, or because he doesn't love us. He is doing it to push us into righteousness. So, I do not care how bad your life may be right now. I do not care how much sin you have commited. God is still with you. he still loves you. Know that as long as you have a breath in you, you have a chance to repent and get into his will. 

If you are truly born of God then you will understand what it means to love God. You will also understand that God loves you beyond human imagination. The person who is born of God does not make a practice of sinning. Let the scriptures testify to this: 1 John 3: 7-9 "⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God."

So, we can see from this scripture that it is us who fall out of love with God through our sins. The great news is, Jesus came for the sinner. So repent and start practicing righteousness. Get it in your mind that God loves you regardless of what you have done.  

Rest in His love. Believe that His love can transform you. Let it enrapture and captivate your heart. And most of all, make yourself a vessel for His love to fill and flow through. Because those around you need His love, too.

Amen