By the Will of God -- 2 Timothy 1:1

2 Timothy 1:1


"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus" (NRSV)

There are two reasons that we serve God, two reasons which are intertwined, which cannot be separated. We serve first because it is His will that we do so. For some, that seems unreasonable; it makes God a "user." They think that He simply uses people for His own purposes and that such an act is disrespectful.

But what if He does? God is more than just God. He is the Creator of all things, all things, including time, including matter, including life itself. And as Creator, He has the full authority and right to do what He wants with what He created.

"Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, and their works are in the dark; they say, "Who sees us?" and, "Who knows us?" Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; for shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?" (Isaiah 29:15-16)

"But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Does not the potter have power over the clay?" (Romans 9:20-21a NKJV).

We have, as Americans, become so accustomed to the idea that we are self-determining, as Christians we often forget that we don’t own ourselves; we are owned—and always have been—by the Creator of the universe. It is only His amazing mercy that allows us to run around with the foolish notion that we somehow are independent of Him or that we can exist in autonomy.

But the fact is God doesn’t "use" us at all! Rather He has created a plan in which the Church partners with Him in the most amazing act of all, the ongoing rule of creation. Billheimer, in Destined for the Throne, writes:

"The primary purpose of the universe from all eternity is the production and preparation of an Eternal Companion for the Son, called the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife. Since she is to share the throne of the universe with her Divine Lover and Lord, privileged to judge the world with Him, she must be trained, educated, and prepared for her role."

So we serve God because it’s His will that we do so. He has a divine purpose in this will and that purpose has always been to prepare us for what lies ahead in eternity.

Paul found himself an apostle by the will of God. It wasn’t in Paul’s plan to find himself there, but once he was redirected by God, Paul realized that this was his life’s purpose, not only by godly design, but also by his own desire. Serving as an apostle was Paul’s great joy in life:

"For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:9-10a NKJV).

When we serve God, He doesn’t want our service to be grudging or limited, but rather He desires that we freely serve Him, trusting Him that His will is best for us, that His grace will make us who we were always intended to be. "By the grace of God, I am what I am," Paul writes. Paul saw who he was prior to becoming saved and now sees himself as someone who is at the center of God’s will, not because of what he did, because of God’s grace. That’s exactly what we need to do; surrender ourselves to God’s will, knowing that His will is the very best place for us to be.

We also serve God because of those around us, those who desperately need the good news of Jesus Christ, those who need to know that they are loved, that they have value, that there is a better way than their self-destructive lives. You see, it doesn’t matter what we do or where we are headed. If we are doing those things, heading that way, outside of God’s will, we are heading for destruction. Plain and simple. There are no gray areas in life, no time-outs, no neutral choices. We are either moving toward God or moving away from Him. We are either surrendering to His will or living in rebellion. And the only place to find peace, to find purpose is in His will. Why? Because that’s how He created us! He created us to become an eternal companion for His Son, to become the Bride of the Christ! Every single person who ever lived or who will ever lived was created for this purpose. And then, because this is truly a love story, God gave us the free will to reject Him so that when we do embrace Him, it is with a heart freely given.

As Christians, we have the highest calling: to do the will of God which is for the sake of the promise of life in Jesus Christ. The purpose of His will is to give life and to give it more abundantly that we could ever imagine (John 10:10). Living out the will of God in our lives isn’t some kind of prison sentence, but rather a complete freeing of who we were created to be. When we give up "our" hopes and dreams and allow God to direct our paths, life will become far greater, far more exciting than we had ever imagined.

Isn’t it time we let the Creator have a say in what His creations should do? Isn’t it time we truly trusted God with our lives?

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

The One True Enemy -- Ephesians 6:10-13

Ephesians 6:10-13


"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (NKJV)

"And Jesus, answering them, began to say: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.’" (Mark 13:5-9 NKJV).

We live in distressing times. Not only are there many instances of wars and fighting going on, particularly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, but with the advent of technology, we can hear and see examples everyday. We can also share opinions and ideas and "facts" of all these conflicts.

It saddens me that I see Christians taking sides in such conflicts against other Christians, not only those Christians involved in the direct fighting, but even more so, Christians on the sidelines, demanding that their opinions are right and trying, in many ways, to coerce other Christians to agree with them against those they believe are in the wrong.

We are the ones who know the Truth, not only the written Truth (the Word of God), but the Truth embodied in our Lord Jesus Christ! We know that the battles being fought are first, and most importantly, spiritual battles. The people who are involved are simply pawns being used by our one adversary, the devil, and all his minions. "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood!" In any conflict, whether it is a nation-against-nation war or a person-to-person fight, as believers we have the obligation to remember this! "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood!" The Lord Jesus died for everyone, Russian and Ukrainian, Iraqi and Kurd, Jew and Palestinian. He loves us all! It is God’s will that "none will perish, but all will come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

As Christians, our weapons are spiritual, not carnal. Our primary weapon, first and foremost, is prayer . . . and then prayer with fasting. The Lord never said that our weapons were public opinion or voting or demonstrating. And while the Lord may ask you to peaceably do any one of those things, it will always be through the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If we begin to war against other Christians in order to promote our opinion about the rightness of something, we are warring against the Body of Christ.

I would plead with my brothers and sisters, in this desperate time, to begin to fall to their knees, to give up their recreations and other pleasures, and seek the face of God. Living as a Christian is never about being right, but always about being righteous, worshiping at the Throne of Him who loves us. We worship the God of the universe who is in control. We fight against one adversary, the devil. All those who are unsaved aren’t our enemies, but rather our harvest field. We are commanded to pray for even the most evil of them for it’s our Father’s will that none should perish. Pray that God will soften our hearts that we can love as our Lord Jesus loved. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 NKJV). While they are still sinners, let us at least be willing to pray for them.

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. 

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com