"What God wants"

I have been processing through this thought the last couple days... "Does God prefer or want"? Now you might think it is strage that I end the sentence there. But I pose the question. I am sure you have encountered a Christian who is in the midst of making a decision and has said something along the lines of "Well, I need to know if that is where God wants me", or "I feel like like this is God's will for me". I have made statements like that before.

So I have two questions about those type of statements.

1. Do we have any biblical grounds to make statements like that?

2. Do we understand the theology in them?


This is one of those times when I believe theology is of the utmost importance, because it collides with how we live. (Theology should do that).

Now when someone says "God want's me here", I first wonder how they came to that conclusion. Was it based on a feeling they had? Did they have a sense of peace, (which is a feeling), after making a decision? Did they assume that because they had peace, it was God giving the go ahead? Is that biblical or just what we have been taught to do in America? And what about the counter end of that statement. If God wants you in this specific place, does He not want you somewhere else? Is there a place you can go that is displeasing to God? Now I am not talking about sin. I know God does not want his children (in almost all cases except for Hosea) living in sin. (Romans 8:12-17)

So, if there is a decision that has to be made, for example, should a young college grad apply to Seminary/ Grad School, go overseas with his degree, get a job in the states, or attempt to start his own business? All these are equally good things to do. There is nothing wrong in and of themselves. Now lets say the college student fervently prays all of his Senior year about the decision he will have to make. He graduates and still does not have a direction from God. But he knows what he wants. He thinks Seminary would be beneficial since he has a desire to be a pastor one day, yet he the job in the states is good as well because it is something he likes and he can start building up a resume, but going overseas would give him a vast new array of experiences and he would be serving the Lord under a mission agency, or he could just go for it and try to start his own business because he has wanted to do that since he was a kid.

What should he do?

Does God only want him to do one thing and travel one specific path?

Does God speak through our feelings?

Is God opposed to three of the paths?

How much longer should he wait on God?

Is there a wrong decision to make?

Is there a right decision to make?



The way Americans tend to approach these situations would tend to give me some answers to the questions I have. When we say things like "I am waiting on God to see if He wants me there or not", it leave me with the impression that God could want me doing something or living somewhere where I am currently not. It also leaves a connotation that we do not make a decision in the matter, for all we do is follow God's leading. It also makes me wonder how long this person will wait and what is the clear indication of God's revelation they are expecting regarding their situation? What are they expecting God do to by praying "God I want to be where you want me, not myself?"


I guess the question this all boils down to, is, what is the will of God? Does his will extend into the mundane of our lives as well as the crossroads?


I am not saying any of this is wrong. I just want to know if it is biblical. Biblically, God usually lays out the plan and tells people where he wants them to go and what he wants them to do. (Noah, Moses, Joshua, Jonah, Jeremiah, Elijah, Paul, Peter). Those were the days when God would speak directly to people and he clearly gave direction.

Today, that usually does not happen. He hasn't revealed himself in audible voices or pillars of smoke. But He has given us His word.



So biblically, how do we approach these types of crossroads in our lives? What should we be expecting from the Lord? How should we act? How do we work out our salvation with fear and trembling as God works in us?


no answers today, just many questions.


comments are highly encouraged!



JN

What the Church of the West needs to hear

One of the things I have been processing through lately is world views. When I say world view, i mean very simply, "the way in which one thinks about the world". I would say that almost all, if not all Americans are taught to view the world through an American Lens. As followers of Jesus, we are called to view the world as God sees it. I will call this view, a Biblical lens or World View. These two lens's are diametrically opposed to each other. Yet I find in my life and in the lives of many I know, there seems to have been a compromise between them. That compromise has been accepted as the normal way to be a Christian in America. Frankly, I am going to argue that this compromise is sin and detestable to God. I will now unlayer the two lenses, starting with the one we all share, the American World View.

American World View:

This view starts with the presupposition that we, as Americans are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as stated in our Declaration of Independence. Everything we do, say, and believe flows from this core value. We believe that we are entitled to the best the world has to offer. We believe that if we work hard enough, we deserve what we get. We desire power, prestige, and popularity. This is essentially the American Dream. It is what inspired millions of men and women to flood into our country in the early 20th century, known as "the era of immigration." America is now not the only nation to view life this way, as much of the West has adopted this mentality, but we were the first. In conclusion, this world view starts and ends with us. As an individual, it starts and ends with me. The leading question an American will ask is, "How can I make my life better?" I admit, this view is very, very captivating.

The Biblical World View:

If you are a follower of Jesus, you must first and foremost acknowledge that you were dead in your transgressions and sins, separated from God and destined to an eternal punishment of God's wrath in hell. (Eph 2:1-7) All you deserve is death (Romans 3:23). But God, in His mercy and grace, has made you alive in Christ Jesus through his death and resurrection by tearing down the wall of sin that separates us from Him through the shed blood of God's perfect, holy, and righteous Son, Jesus Christ. (John 3:16, Eph 2:14-16, Romans 8:1, 1 Cor 15) Therefore, everything in our life is an undeserved gift from God. From our salvation, to our family, to our house, to our heartbeat, EVERYTHING is a gift (Eph 1:3). We do not deserve any material or immaterial possession. Because God has called us from death to life, we have been given a new identity and purpose. We, the Church of God, are not citizens of this earth, for our true home is in heaven. We are aliens, foreigners, and sojourners. We are here temporarily as we eagerly await the coming of our Savior and King to establish his Throne on our new home, the new heaven and new earth (Eph 2:19, 2 Cor 5:1, Phil 3:20, Isaiah 65, 2 Peter 3:13, Rev 21:2-3). We are to be in the world, but not of it (1 John 2:15, Romans 12:1-3, John 17:14, 1 Cor 10:13. Eph 4:17). We are therefore God's Sons and Daughters, ambassadors for Christ, and our purpose in this life is to be ministers of God's reconciliation by making disciples of all nations by proclaiming the Gospel to every race, tribe, tongue on this planet. (Matthew 28:17-20, 2 Cor 5:18-20, 1 Cor 15:58, 2 Tim 4:1-5). This is who we are, and what God calls us to live for.

So What?

These world views are unequivocally in direct conflict with each other. We, the church of the west, have let man's ideologies infiltrate the gospel. More so than that, we have been living a lie as we have compromised our identity and purpose in this life. If we are followers of Christ, His Bride, we must view ourselves as God views us. We must live with a Biblical World view. The American Dream has no place in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. The American Dream exalts man, and when combined with Christianity, makes God look like means to our end. He is not here for us, we are here for Him. It is not about us at all. It is about God delighting in His own glory, which is radiated in his Bride delighting in Him.

If you are a follower of Jesus and view your life with the American World View, you are sinning. This is why. God has called his Church to be His Bride. We are to delight in Him and Him alone. When we seek anything else above Him, we have just made an idol before the living God and worshiped it. It does not matter what it is, money, power, popularity, comfort, security, 401 K, retirement, leisure, vacation, family, friends, or relationships. As Paul says, we must consider all these things as nothing or more biblically, manure, compared to knowing Christ (Phil 3:7-9). When we lust after anything other than God we are also committing adultery. Our hearts are divided, and Jesus wants nothing to do with those who whore after other things. He says he will spit the lukewarm out of His mouth (Rev 3:15-16). A life of spiritual prostitution is detestable to God.

If you are reading this and have been swayed by American ideology you are not alone. So have I. It has permeated the gospel so much. We have so much to unlearn. But thanks be to God's grace. He is greater than all of this. There is still time to change. We must ask Him to change our hearts, illuminate His truth in our minds and open our eyes to see what He sees. WE NEED THE MIND OF CHRIST.

Would we walk in His footsteps and live a wholehearted life of devotion to Jesus as we worship Him holistically, with our hearts, minds souls, and strength.


JN

pride and humility

Recently I have been living inwardly in such a dichotomy. Life has been awesome up here in Alaska. I feel like God is brining me to a place where nothing satisfies but Him. I have enjoyed fellowshipping with believers, reading and studying the Word, the glory of his creation, and my prayer times in isolation. But in the midst of all of this, there has been a battle going on in my heart. Pride has been competing with loving God. The last few months, the Lord really has been revealing to me my role in His Kingdom. Actually, to say that more accurately, I have begun to believe the role he has declared for me in His Kingdom. Satan hates this. When God's sons and daughters walk in their identity in Christ, there will always be opposition. This is the battle. The enemy wants us to boast in things other than Christ... good things! If he can get us to boast in our God given gifts and talents then we have just turned from bringing glory to God to trying to bring glory to ourselves.
The battle lies within. And it lies without. I believe that true humility comes when our eyes are fixed on Jesus and our boast is in Christ and Christ alone.



As the author of Hebrews says, "Fix your eyes on Jesus" and as Paul says

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14




thats all for now.


JN