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January 5, 2009
I’ve been reading about being guided by God. I’ve been asking myself how I can better discern what God wants me to do. Today and in the next few blogs, I’m going to be examining ways. Maybe together, we can discern even better than just me, myself, and I.
Let’s begin this with the right attitude. After all, the Bible doesn’t necessarily have an answer to each of our specific questions or issures. Rather than demanding specific quidance, we need to search the Bible to know the kind of relationship God wants with us. The closer we are to God, the more we learn about His character and teachings. The more we learn these things, the better we learn about ourselves and the direction God wishes for us. Jesus stated it this way, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and will come to them and make a home with them.” (John 14:23) The closer we are in this relationship, the easier it is to know the path God wants us to take.
If we are looking for quidance concerning marriage, we discover a lot about God’s plans and purposes. For example: Ephesians 5:25. This passage and others give us insights into God’s values, which hopefully help us to evaluate our values in this area. Certainly, marraige is only one example. Remember, It begins with growing in the relatioship God has restored with us through His Son, Jesus.
This is a start. I’ll continue other guides in upcoming blogs.
Pastor Dave
Jan 05 2009
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January 2, 2009
My suggestion #1 New Year’s resolution was: find out the secret name God gave you. How do you find out what your secret name is?
1) First of all, you don’t find out your secret name by going inward, by navel-gazing and being focused and fixed on yourself.
Throw yourself into the needs of the world. Let loose your compassion.
Think of all the astounding events surrounding Jesus’ birth, all the prophets and wise men and seers like Simeon and Anna. Yet Joseph and Mary went home to their ordinary life in their very ordinary town. It was living and growing up in Nazareth, learning a trade at Joseph’s side, being part of a growing family that struggled to stay fed and clothed, that allowed Jesus to grow “strong” and to be “filled with wisdom” and to find the “favor of God” resting upon him.
2) As you throw yourself into the needs of the world, throw yourself into your passion.
For it is your passion connected to your compassion that will most likely reveal your “secret name.”
Malcolm Gladwell has a new book out. The author of The Tipping Point and Blink, his major discovery is this: If you want to be a success in your passion, whatever your passion is, you must be willing to invest 10,000 hours of practice to take your passion from pastime to success. On what do you spend the most time? Ever clock how much time you spend watching TV? What if we all started the New Year by beginning to stockpile 10,000 hours of compassion and passion on our soul search to discover God’s purpose for us? We begin this name gradually, as life unfolds.
Jan 02 2009