I am so glad we are still on our way to becoming the people of God that He has called us to be, created for His glory. We are all a work in progress (Being confident of this very thing , that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ - Phil 2:6). Sometimes, however, along the way we lose perspective, making choices, allowing things and personal pursuits to hinder our efforts to live out our divine purpose. We have to be reminded: we didn't choose the Lord, He chose us. We were chosen by Him for divine and eternal purposes, not for our own agenda ( Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain - St. John 15:16) and (According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love - Eph 1:4). God has not only chosen us but He has set us apart, and continues to set us apart from the mundane, the ordinary and temporary things that have been consuming us in order to produce through us things that have eternal value. Because He has ordained us to bear fruit, we should not be surprised when frustration with the material life sets in, or when the voids and vacuums in our lives can't seemed to be filled by the very things we have pursued. He is in the process of chiseling us, crafting us into vessels fit for His use (But now O Lord, thou art our Father, we are the clay, and thou our Potter, and we are the work of thy hand - Is 64:8). When the chiseling gets uncomfortable, and it will get uncomfortable as God uses difficulty to build character into our lives, just know that we are in the hands of The Divine Artist who is in the process of creating masterpieces to portray His glory (For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them - Eph 2:10) and ( He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold - Job 23:10). We have been chosen for this journey. We will be chiseled through our circumstances. We are being crafting into masterpieces - portraits of His glory. On our way together, Diane p.s. this week spend some time meditating on St. John 15:16 and consider the implications this verse has on your life. Being chiseled? Be encouraged, the Divine Artist is creating a masterpiece, and you shall come forth as gold! Enjoying the journey? Invite a friend to join you. Just joining us, read previous post to catch up. Subscribing helps you keep pace. Distraction, discouragement and doubt meets us all at some point along the way. Although we have not turned back, we certainly have been tempted at times to give up. Remember we are on this journey not just to make it in, but rather to live out the purpose for which we were created (just for His glory) and to experience the abundant life that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). The enemy's job ( and we do have a spiritual enemy - named Satan) is to discourage our faith, rob us of our joy and to destroy our testimony. That's why we must keep our focus (...and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith - Heb 12:1b-2a). We are encouraged to remain determined to keep going even when we feel like giving up. Yes this faith journey, and specifically the track we have chosen is demanding, and may seem impossible, that's why we must keep looking to Jesus. Our eyes must be fixed on Him (I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth - Ps 121:1-2). The moment we take our eyes off of Him and begin to focus on our feelings we are destined for trouble. If we are truly going to live for His glory, our faith in who He is and what He is able to do in us, for us and through us must supersede our feelings. This kind of faith is radical yet practical. It's the kind of faith that requires us to fix our eyes on Jesus and challenges us to stop operating based upon how we feel or what we think; instead, we are challenged to respond to life's situations based upon His promises and His principles (Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thine ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths - Pro 3:5-6). In other words, we no longer say or do things just because we feel some kind of way, but we look to Jesus the Author and the Finisher of our faith for His wisdom, His perspective, His way and His words. Did I mention that this journey gets difficult and would challenge us to change? Will you stay the course? I pray you will. How can we keep our eyes fixed on Him even in the midst of difficulty? We have to learn to call on His name. Truly there is power in the name of Jesus so say the name! Get comfortable calling on His name. When you are confronted with drama, anxious about anything, frustrated with everything, or irritated about something, fix your eyes on Him and say the name. Traveling with you, Diane P.S. practice calling on His name this week when you are faced with difficulty, frustration, or irritation before you react. #Say the Name Welcome back. Just joining the journey? Check the June 2014 post to catch up. Committed to the journey, but have not subscribed yet? Subscribe to keep pace. My desire and intent is to post weekly. So why the journey? This Living just for His Glory journey has to do with one thing-Purpose. Purpose is a word we hear all the time, often in connection with the word destiny. Statements like: "I was born for this purpose, this is my destiny "...or "I don't know my purpose...", are familiar, if not personal to us all. Purpose is simply the reason for something or someone's existence. Destiny is the predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of actions. We are on this journey because we were created by the Lord Jesus Christ, for His glory (Even every one that is called by name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea I have made him. - Is 43:7) and (Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God - I Cor 10:31). The real purpose for our lives is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. I am still in the process of learning how to live this purpose out in my daily life, that's why the journey. Learning to live just for His glory is a lifelong process. We are inclined to attach our purpose to what we do rather than who we are. The Lord is first and foremost concerned with who we are (our character). (For whom He did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren - Rom 8:29). Our destiny is be like Jesus, and God the Father is committed to do whatever is necessary to make us look like Him! What we do ( our works) should be motivated by and an outcome of who we are. Living just for His glory is learning what it really means for it " to not be about us but to be about Him ". Even as we take the tenth selfie of the day, Living just for His glory is the process of learning how to make Him the subject of the portrait, and us and all our stuff the background. Radical, I know, right? Still committed? I hope so. Privileged to be on the journey with you, Diane P.S. The next time you go to Church, and do I hope that means Sunday, but that's another post on another day, try this: Put all your attention on lifting up Jesus (worship), don't focus what you like or don't about your hair, wear, don't even focus on your cares. From the time you step into the House make it about Him. Try to even to resist the temptation to read the text that comes while you have the Bible App open. It's been about us all week, let's make Worship about Him! |
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