“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been
called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one
another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace. There is one body and one Spirit-just as you called to the one hope that
belongs to your call-one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of
all, who is over all and through all and in all. But Grace was given to each
one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” Ephesians 4:1-7
In
the book I just finished, Beyond Belief by Josh Hamilton (OF for the
Texas Rangers), Josh talks about his struggle with drugs and alcohol that tore
apart his life for 4 years and his battle to overcome the power of sin to fight
back with Jesus at his side to gain control of the life he was given. He speaks
on the constant battle to follow Gods plan for his life and the time when he
failed over and over falling back into sin, feeling unworthy of the life God
had for Him. Later in the book he finds strength one night in his Grandmothers
house after 4 years of drug abuse, holding a bible open to James 4:7 “Summit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
In
the verse above in Ephesians, Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus urging
them to live out the life that God himself laid the foundation for. He goes on
to say that we are to do this in the same likeness as Christ lived out His plan
and to remember that we are unworthy of His plan, but by the Mercy of God and
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we have been given the gift of Grace to be deemed
worthy of a life with Christ and to following the path God has for each of us.
Many times I feel inadequate to fulfill God’s plan for my life, or sometimes I sit, wondering, questioning God’s plan for my life, sometimes not
understanding what is next or wondering why things happen at the particular
time, maybe wanting them sooner or later. As I live my life though I am
constantly reminded later that God's timing is perfect. Sometimes I don’t see it
then, but later in life, like as if He flicks me in the head, I realize again
and again His timing is perfect. Like His plan for Africa and wanting to come
over here so badly for the longest time having to wait 5 years to do so. 5
years ago I would have not known the kids I do now, have the relationships with
people I have and at the time my heart was full of selfishness and not servant
hood. Like always though, His plan is perfect and my timing to come here was
perfect and I constantly thank Him for this opportunity every time I come over
here and serve in His name. As I sit here though, I always question and know
that I am not worthy to come. I am a sinner, destined for an eternity of Hell,
but with the forgiveness of God and the sacrifice on the cross by Jesus Christ
I am able to live an eternity with Christ walking with Him as I live life and
forevermore!
This
summer when I was working at Pine Cove (Go Base Camps!) I was asked what my
favorite song was and why. For someone who loves music more than anyone I know
it took me a long time to answer, but after a minute or 2 I said, “Embracing
Accusation” by Shane and Shane. As
to why, I began to explain how much truth the song has within it. Its starts
off with:
The father of lies
Coming to steal
Kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough
I hear him saying cursed are the ones
Who can't abide
He's right
Alleluia he's right!
The devil is preaching
The song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray
I cannot gain salvation
Embracing accusation
The father of lie, Satan has come to destroy the
hopes that I have of being good. “Be sober minded; be watchful. Your adversary
the devil prowls around like a lion, seeking someone to devour” 1 Peter 5:8 He
is out there to destroy our hopes and dreams and to speak hatred and
unworthiness into us. But:
Could the father of lies
Be telling the truth
Of God to me tonight?
If the penalty of sin is death
Then death is mine
I hear him saying cursed are the ones
Who can't abide
He's right
Alleluia he's right!
Could the father of lies, be telling us the truth.
Has the one, cast out of the heavens be constantly telling us exactly the
truth, that we are unworthy and should be given the penalty of sin, that is
death. He is right, I am a sinner and deemed unworthy. I am selfish and boastful,
and living a world dedicated to things other than God. I do forget to read the
word, I do sin and yes I should spend an eternity with him in Hell, but Satan
refrains from one thing, which is probably the verse that makes this my
favorite song.
Oh the devil's singing over me
An age-old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently
He's forgotten the refrain
Jesus saves!!
He redeemed us from the curse of the law.
In the torments
and evil things spoken to me (us) by Satan. Out of everything he says that
could be true, he has forgotten one thing. Jesus has saved me; Jesus has saved
us as a body of Christ from the death that should be given to us! God has given
us a plan to live by and a path to follow and it is up to us to follow it. If
you doubt that then turn to my girlfriend Anja's favorite bible verse, Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plan I have for you,
declares the Lord, plans for welfare, and not for evil, to give you a FUTURE
and a HOPE.”
The Lords plan
for our lives is to not live in torment, fear or confusion. He has given us a
life worth living, worth telling others about and a life that with God, will be
the perfect plan for you. If we live in Him and abide in His plan and teaching,
He will sustain us, give us a HOPE, give us a FUTURE and our plan will be lived
out, although not always easy, by not my timing, not by your timing but his timing. My heart burns with
passion for the hope and life God has given to me. He has given me a life to
live, but it is not my life. He is the creator and redeemer and through Him I
live. He is the reason I live, the reason I sing, the reason I live to want so desperately for others to know Him. My heart is to see a world break out of selfish desires and see people radically transformed to follow the plan God has for
you.
Josh Hamilton
was given a plan for his life. For 4 years he went on and off drugs, trying
every worldly kind of treatment he could and it wasn’t until he put his faith
in Christ and found hope in Him that he was able to follow the plan that God
had for him. It is not until we put our faith in Christ as well that we can see
the plan that He has for us and live it out like the way we were meant too.
My prayer for
everyone reading this and even for the ones that won’t. If you every feel inadequate,
unworthy or confused in your life, look to Christ. He is the reason we live and
through Him we live. God has a plan for you and I, and I promise, that with
Christ, nothing can stand in our way of accomplishing the plan God has for us.
We are one body in Christ, one world created by God, with many different plans. I pray that we as a body for Christ follow that plan and live out a life that has Him right by our side and allows no one, including our self, to stand in our way.
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