The Open Word (Audio)

If you’re a believer in the Lord, then He has given you spiritual wings. His desire is that we would live our lives with abandon, reaching out to others and jumping wholeheartedly into following His plans for us. The Lord is always working out His plans for His glory and we are all a part of that. His intention is not for us to sit on the sidelines, cheering on others as they do the work of the Lord. Experience the fullness of God’s powerful leading in your life. Get out there!

In this vast grand universe we are small, insignificant beings, yet God has chosen us, He has predestined you to reside in eternity with Him, if you choose to follow and accept Jesus as your Savior. Trust in Him and the Lord will keep all His promises to you, He has sealed your inheritance. Since He has given you a new life and paid your debts at such a steep price, what can you give back? Not works or rituals but only that you live a life of obedience, acknowledging that you are His possession.

In times of serious illness or loss you’ve probably not thought of your situation as glorified, but it could be. Martha and Mary believed that Jesus could heal Lazarus and they wondered why He hadn’t come. Well, the Lord has a plan for us and He can use any situation to bring us to the place that He wants us to be even if we can’t see it ourselves. Whether it’s a broken relationship or a financial hardship, His purpose is to draw us nearer to Him, refining us in ways that are beyond our limited comprehension.

Believer, imagine a rich relative gives you a $1,000, you are grateful, but that relative has billions of dollars! If you were given a gift according to that huge amount you would have received much more. What the Lord has done for us believers, redeeming us from eternal death is according to His riches, and His riches are limitless. What we’re afforded through His grace and mercy is boundless. Even though we don’t deserve it he continuously pours out His love to those who love Him.

We are often confronted with choices, but one choice overshadows them all. The choice to leave our flesh behind and commit to a life following Jesus. What we don’t often spend much time contemplating is the choice of our God. He chose to predestine us through adoption to be His people. His love and compassion has made a way for us to leave our old selves behind, to be re-born in Him. So live your life in such a way that represents a chosen child of God, a light of His love for all to see.

It may seem that predestination and free will couldn’t possibly coexist, but they are both scriptural concepts. How then can we reconcile both of these ideas? They both have different purposes and can be found in a multitude of verses. God’s plans from the past along with our choices in the present, the outcomes for the future all have a balance concerning predestination and a choice. Although difficult, we will be stronger as believers when we can come to understand these principles.

Often the things the world considers blessings are often counterproductive to having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Chasing after personal achievements, money, fame, relationships, it’s all vanity. To really know Him believers must rid themselves of all the idols and clutter that can accumulate in our hearts. Don’t leave any room for the junk of this world, it’s all temporary. When it eventually falls away, what will be left? Fill your heart with the Lord and you will see eternity.

The Word calls us to bless the Name of the Lord daily, even on those days when everything seems to be going wrong, when we may be feeling anything but blest. But it’s not about our feelings, it’s about the Majesty of our God. If we only praise Him during the good times, we miss out on who He really is. That kind of self-focus clouds our ability to draw nearer to Him, and denies the Greatness of our Creator. He is worthy of our praise, so proclaim the truth of His Majesty and sing of His Righteousness.

When someone asks you to participate in a volunteer effort or for a favor, do you jump right in regardless of the job or how it might interfere with your plans? Sometimes before we jump our flesh responds with the eternal fleshly question – What’s in it for me? Many look to the Word while asking, can God help me achieve financial success, or how can following Christ make me happy? Those are the wrong questions, how can we serve Him How can the Word help you to know Him more? These are what we should be asking.

Have you ever had a time in your life when you were just flying high, things were going your way, you felt contented and happy? Did it last? That kind of contentment can be so fleeting because it’s rooted in the world, which will always let us down. In those high moments we can feel so confident about our own ability to create happiness for ourselves, but it’s a deception. Once you’ve experienced grace and chosen to live in obedience to God, peace will take root in you, and a true contentment.