| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Living by faith” Our Bible verse for today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Get your heart right, then get moving” Last week a friend at church gave me a picture to hang on the wall of my office. It included Proverbs 3:5-6, which happens to be one of my personal life-verses. A life-verse is a Bible verse or passage which is especially meaningful and helpful to you, and which you therefore rely on frequently for guidance, assurance, and peace. Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of those passages for me. First of all, it reminds me to focus on God first and most. I am to put my trust in Him and to the best of my ability surrender my heart to Him. Then, I must remember that my own thinking often lacks clarity; it is sometimes uninformed or misinformed; and my personal desires frequently get in the way. That being the case, I must genuinely want to know God’s will, seek God’s will, and obey God’s will. However, what do I do when I have done all of that but I still don’t have clear guidance about what to do? Let’s say I’m in a situation where a decision must be made, action must be taken, and there is no longer room for delay, but I don’t have a clear word from God about what to do or which direction to take? That’s where the true beauty of this Biblical principle shows itself. The fact is that God wants my obedience even more that I want it. He wants me to be in the center of His will even more than I want to be in the center of His will. Therefore, He has a vested interest in helping me to achieve that. However, He also doesn’t want to have to direct my every step. He gave me a mind, He has developed spiritual maturity in me, and He wants me to be able to make good decisions for myself. So, in such cases, I make sure my heart is right and that I truly am seeking His will. I spend the time to seek Him in prayer and Bible study. I get counsel from trusted Christian advisors. I carefully consider the circumstances and look for the hand of God in them. I wait patiently for the Lord to speak to me or to show Himself in some way in the middle of all this. And then, when I get to the point that delay is no longer an option, I make the best decision I can and just get moving, confident that God will guide me and keep me from going astray because after all, He wants me to be in the center of His will even more than I want to be there. When it comes to living by faith, do your very best to seek God’s will in every way you can and then be obedient to it. And when you have to take action and you can delay no longer, but you still don’t have a clear word from Him, make sure your heart is right, make the best decision you can, and simply get moving. God bless, Pastor Jim |
| Copyright © 2022 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. |
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Oak Hill Baptist Church 