April 09, 2010
Trouble always ensues if God's plan for conflict resolution is not followed. Trying to "take charge" of your own destiny and removing God from the equation guarantees disastrous results. There is no power of hell or scheme of man that can prevent God's plans.
But God! When you surrender and follow God's plan there is no desperation—only peace. There is no angst—only joy. There is no anger—only love. There is no fear—only a quiet rest. There is no better place to be than in the center of God's will no matter what the circumstances around us are. There truly is a peace that passes all understanding. I would rather live in the middle of a storm, knowing whose I am, then walk through a peaceful meadow in my own strength. The storms in our lives will end when they are supposed to end. While you wait, be grateful that the One who is in control has "surpassing" greatness.
Psalm 150
Addendum: 10/28/13 ~ In Deuteronomy 16:21 – 18:22 God gives a "how to" lesson on leadership. A leader needs to be humble in spirit and means; surrendered to God; must not have greedy aspirations; must understand the God to man relationship (God is God—I am not); and a leader must keep a copy of the Lord's teachings with him at all times and read it every day. I love how it says "He should write a copy of the teachings on a scroll for himself." It is a personal commitment. It's a hands on learning of God's teachings and it is why I have loved keeping a journal while reading through the Bible. It has to be personal. It is not something you can delegate to others.
Before you can lead you have to learn how to follow.
Addendum #2: 2/11/2014 ~ I was thinking about God's plan for solving conflict and about how not everyone is aware of what God's plan for conflict resolution is. We are each responsible for obeying TRUTH once we know what TRUTH is. What matters is what you do with TRUTH once you know it.
It is one thing to not know TRUTH and to discover you are doing wrong. When that realization is made, you can make one of two choices:
There are two Saul's in the Bible. The Saul in the Old Testament and the Saul in the New Testament. Saul of the Old Testament knew he was doing wrong but refused to change. His motives were entirely selfish. Because he refused to change he eventually lost sight of reality and convinced himself that what he was doing wasn't wrong after all—and he never changed. Saul of the New Testament was convinced he was doing the right thing. He thought he was standing up for God by attacking those who followed Christ. His motives were NOT selfish. He didn't know he was doing wrong and it took God stopping him in his tracks to get his attention. Only then, AFTER God stopped him, did Saul realize what he was doing was wrong; he recognized TRUTH; he chose to believe it; he became obedient; he changed his heart and life; and he impacted the world FOR Christ.
You have to look at why someone doesn't know what they're doing is wrong. Why don't they know TRUTH? Is it ignorance? Are they misguided? Is it pride? Is it ambition? Is it arrogance? Is it selfishness? Is it a refusal to "get it"? Is it disobedience? Do they just not know what TRUTH is? What is the reason? Understanding the why helps you understand what type of person you are dealing with.
Every step away from TRUTH is a step closer to being out of touch with reality which leads to the eventual ignorance of TRUTH that grows from the seeds of disobedience. The proverbial slippery slope.
Next Entry: Deuteronomy 19:1 – 20:20
Trouble always ensues if God's plan for conflict resolution is not followed. Trying to "take charge" of your own destiny and removing God from the equation guarantees disastrous results. There is no power of hell or scheme of man that can prevent God's plans.
But God! When you surrender and follow God's plan there is no desperation—only peace. There is no angst—only joy. There is no anger—only love. There is no fear—only a quiet rest. There is no better place to be than in the center of God's will no matter what the circumstances around us are. There truly is a peace that passes all understanding. I would rather live in the middle of a storm, knowing whose I am, then walk through a peaceful meadow in my own strength. The storms in our lives will end when they are supposed to end. While you wait, be grateful that the One who is in control has "surpassing" greatness.
Psalm 150
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.
Praise Him for His acts of power;
Praise Him for His surpassing greatness.
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpets;
Praise Him with the harp and lyre.
Praise Him with the tambourines and dancing;
Praise Him with the strings and flutes.
Praise Him with the clash of cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!
Amen.
Addendum: 10/28/13 ~ In Deuteronomy 16:21 – 18:22 God gives a "how to" lesson on leadership. A leader needs to be humble in spirit and means; surrendered to God; must not have greedy aspirations; must understand the God to man relationship (God is God—I am not); and a leader must keep a copy of the Lord's teachings with him at all times and read it every day. I love how it says "He should write a copy of the teachings on a scroll for himself." It is a personal commitment. It's a hands on learning of God's teachings and it is why I have loved keeping a journal while reading through the Bible. It has to be personal. It is not something you can delegate to others.
Before you can lead you have to learn how to follow.
Addendum #2: 2/11/2014 ~ I was thinking about God's plan for solving conflict and about how not everyone is aware of what God's plan for conflict resolution is. We are each responsible for obeying TRUTH once we know what TRUTH is. What matters is what you do with TRUTH once you know it.
It is one thing to not know TRUTH and to discover you are doing wrong. When that realization is made, you can make one of two choices:
- Turn from your evil ways, repent, seek God and follow his Path to Salvation; or
- Refuse to change and stubbornly keep going down the road that leads to destruction.
There are two Saul's in the Bible. The Saul in the Old Testament and the Saul in the New Testament. Saul of the Old Testament knew he was doing wrong but refused to change. His motives were entirely selfish. Because he refused to change he eventually lost sight of reality and convinced himself that what he was doing wasn't wrong after all—and he never changed. Saul of the New Testament was convinced he was doing the right thing. He thought he was standing up for God by attacking those who followed Christ. His motives were NOT selfish. He didn't know he was doing wrong and it took God stopping him in his tracks to get his attention. Only then, AFTER God stopped him, did Saul realize what he was doing was wrong; he recognized TRUTH; he chose to believe it; he became obedient; he changed his heart and life; and he impacted the world FOR Christ.
You have to look at why someone doesn't know what they're doing is wrong. Why don't they know TRUTH? Is it ignorance? Are they misguided? Is it pride? Is it ambition? Is it arrogance? Is it selfishness? Is it a refusal to "get it"? Is it disobedience? Do they just not know what TRUTH is? What is the reason? Understanding the why helps you understand what type of person you are dealing with.
Every step away from TRUTH is a step closer to being out of touch with reality which leads to the eventual ignorance of TRUTH that grows from the seeds of disobedience. The proverbial slippery slope.
Next Entry: Deuteronomy 19:1 – 20:20
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