God’s direction
A study by F. Martin
To all my brethren, who share in this study and look to stand in the presence of Christ, through the word of God. We hope to share a moment in His presence which equals 100 years in the world. We hope to stand in agreement while opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit, who will lead and guide us to the place God has for each of us. The diversity and the seamless divinity of the Holy word of God, provides all spiritual needs to all who yearn in spirit and truth. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to edify one another. A chance to come closer to filling our spirit with more of you and less of us.
I have come to a point in my life where I have chosen, to place Christ first and foremost in my life. It has been an arduous journey filled with diversion and pitfalls. From the starting point I have known the desire of God for His family/children. He has made this known to me through His word which stands the test of time.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says,
Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
This takes us to Matthew 22:37,
Jesus said unto him,” Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
I thank my Lord for providing me an outlet to find and explore within, while coming closer to Him. He has taught me that a closer relationship with Him is the number one desire. It most certainly is not the normal number one desire, but it is God’s will. So it stands to reason, if you are close enough to the Lord, His teachings and directions will be revealed to you. It will be revealed to you so much sooner than being in the world and listening to the direction the world has for children of the living God.
The prophet Isaiah spoke well on this very subject, in Isa 58:11 he says,
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
When Jesus prepared His disciples for his ascension and eased their hearts by speaking of the spirit that would guide them. In John 16:13 He says,
Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.
The truth of the matter is that there is no actual place you can go to find your own personal direction. Having a close relationship with your Father in heaven, and allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to you while in this world. In all this giving thanks and honor to Christ who will strengthen you in each and every endeavor.
Proverbs 3:6 says,
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.
He will find and comfort you in any situation or place, but your faith is the catalyst. In each instance that you read about a miracle being performed, there was a measure of faith that began the process. Not that God needed that measure, but since free will was given it must be exercised. Moses had to stretch out his staff; Noah had to actually build the ark. The disciples had to pass out the loaves and fishes even though they saw none in the baskets. It is when we ask for things without a measure of faith that results are not as expedient as desired.
1Sam 2:9 says,
for by strength shall no man prevail.
Which makes Matthew 17:20 so valuable, Jesus says,
If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.
Faith is the seed planted in the earth that is the word of God. The rays of God’s son Jesus create the growth of that faith, and Paul stated Jesus was the author and finisher of our faith. God awaits our growth and Jesus calls Him the Husbandman, for he prunes and perfects our faith. All so that we may bear more and greater fruit to His glory. His guidance lies directly in our faith and is perfected in our weakness. Isa 32:17 says,
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
It is best seen in my own children. When instructions and directions are clear and steady, they can relax and be comforted by the steadiness of our home. There are no surprises except joyous ones. The surprises are usually good ones and they are given because of their reluctance to depart from the guidance provided. It is the same behavior taught by our heavenly Father. He provides us endless examples as to the way to guide our children, and it is reflective on our own guidance.
Proverbs 22:6 says,
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
It is that departure that causes the distress in not knowing what to do. It is a two fold dilemma. As children we listen to our parents first off because of their authority. Unfortunately society has steadily fed the notion of the break away. To grow up quickly to obtain your independence, and it is there where society leaves you stranded. The saving grace is if your parents had trained you up in the ways of the Lord. It gives you a strong immune system to societal ills. The world will have you rush to gain your independence and then not teach you how to manage it. If the Lord had everyone on the same page and teaching children from the word of God, it would eliminate child abuse because children are sacred treasures in the bible. Wives would not have to worry for their safety from their own husbands, because women are praised and cared for in the bible. Men would have no need for infidelity nor would it be condoned by other men. The simple notions God set forth for us that are outlined in the bible was to avoid the pitfalls that the flesh has for us. In the 2nd epistle of Timothy 3:16 it says,
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
That pretty much does it for me. The word in this one passage alleviates any reason to look elsewhere for direction through life. Application is what is sorely needed.
In Joshua 24:15 he writes,
But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Praise God. If we could get one neighborhood at a time to have this on each house it would be a good start to the direction of the entire country.
As for individual direction it is a gradual effect. God appears to grant a gift in life to all. With free will, man has the enviable task of cultivating the gift given to benefit his service to God. If God gives a singing voice, it is to sing praises to Him. Always singing openly and honestly, and in spirit and truth. When others hear it that have not been touched by God, they may experience the glory of God. It is that glory that personifies the creation. It goes without saying, when anyone creates something like a clock, or chair or even a boat. There is that desire to have that creation perform to its best capability to bring honor to its creator. Others will marvel at its craftsmanship, operation and overall beauty. It is then they will turn and congratulate, bestow praise or gratitude to the creator. This principle is what God has set before us continually in the word. Jeremiah 10:23 says,
O Lord, I know that the way is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
That fits perfectly with the notion that after years of being blessed, some depart from God in an attempt to accomplish things they desire on their own. It is then that they realize that all they thought they were came to nothing. Pleasing God and having a personal relationship with Him must be the goal for all. Once that is accomplished the wellspring shall be unleashed. There is no better relationship, and no father who can offer the gifts that God can offer. Both material and spiritual, and once attained there is a lesser need for the former.
Proverbs 16:8 says,
Better a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
It goes without saying that a poor family may go through 10 generations with joy and peace amongst them. Raising their children up in the ways of the Lord, and those children doing the same with their own. Yet a family that has been rich for the same amount of generations will have suicides, runaways, divorces, murders, rapes, incest. This is in general mostly and there are probably a few cases that could argue differently. On the whole you may notice that if you have 10 million dollars, you may be more concerned with the nurturing, protection, growth, and doling out of the money instead of family. When you have 10 dollars, your family is a main focus because there is no monetary distraction. The joy of making 10 dollars worth of food stretch at a holiday gathering forces you to incorporate more love within the meal. As opposed to having 7 servants prepare the food and dispense with the heartfelt emotions derived from doing it yourself. Proverbs 15:17 says,
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
God has provided us a rich history to truly find Him with our heart. He gave us the Holy Spirit to allow the book to come to life and give us opportunity to sit with the author. Finally He gave us Christ Jesus to provide an example of His love. He also let us know, through Christ Jesus, that all that came before Him is forgiven and the true definition of a clean slate is laid out to all who choose Christ. A father whose love abounds, and grows the more you call Him. The more you sit with Him the higher you stand up. The more your fleshly desires lie down, the higher your spirit soars. The more you request to be last, the more first you become. The more you seek to serve, the more you are sought to be serviced. In Matthew 19:30 Jesus says,
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
It seems that maybe the only direction needed is to have a closer relationship with God. It seems simple and almost elementary. The problem lies when Godly outlines are given without concern to how to come close to achieving them. So let’s take our faith and ask God to guide us in achieving the one and only Father/Son, Father/Daughter relationship.
Once that is achieved, the world seems to open up and things that were once confusing are simple notions. God has a way of teaching His children the true texture and fabric of His creations. Not only will you love your children, you will understand what love means to them. God will answer earnest prayer when He is asked what it is you can do to reach your children. The obvious thing is that you must first show a Godly example to them. Getting yourself right, then asking what it is you can do for them, not to them. Children are such a sacred cause and a joy to the Lord. As we are children to Him and ask for His peace, love, joy and care. We must surely pass that on to the children in our care. We must give the same things we ask for ourselves. We must expect the same things God expects of us without judgment. Our Christian walk must be with self honesty and conducted in spirit and truth. 2Corinthians 5:9 says,
Whether we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
This simply says that our body will not receive as many answers as our spirit. Even though it is through the actions of the body that a man will be judged, it is the fervent and earnest prayer of the spirit that he will be delivered. James 5:16 says,
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
That goes perfectly with Paul’s epistle to the Galatians in 4:16 it says,
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
We are in this thing together. No matter for origin, sex, race, or creed. Unless there is somewhere besides earth to live, earthlings were created by God. Our direction lies within the relationship to the Father. The word of God outlines an oft proven truth. When many stand together for something, the resolution is imminent. The faith within the multitudes is strong. Especially if belief is centered on a faith filled concept. A good example is a stadium filled with loyal followers of a sports team. 35-40 thousand people hollering and screaming for 12 guys they never met. In a game that in exactly 4 hours won’t mean much except for conversation. Truth be told, sports watching can be summed up to be a large percentage of just having bragging rights. If that same 40 thousand people decided to every Sunday praise God in the same fervent spirit, in 40 cities, in 40 countries. In the midst of the praise taking time to provide meals for the hungry, medicine and care for the sick, love for the unloved, truth for the deceived, where would the direction of the world be? Truth is I only spoke of a small percentage of the 6.5 billion residents of earth. God wanted a family, and with that family He offered the seed of choice. Angels don’t possess it, and so suffice to say it is a sacred gift. A gift used to provide a special kind of love to God when operating correctly. It is that love He must have seen in Adam in the garden. A beautiful garden He created to enjoy with His family. He also gave Adam direction. The close relationship provided an easy transitional direction. A direction that was born out of love, and not dictatorship. No matter what path you are on, if you get close to God you will find a cleaner, neater, more joyous path. As any Father would enjoy doing, He would lead you to a frame of service to Him that will not only benefit you, but others while simultaneously giving Him the Glory. All is predicated on your own ability to submit to Him fully. With the belief that Father knows best. 1Peter 5:10 says,
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
Like any father He would like the best for you. It holds true that rain for a farmer is a gift from the heavens, but if you live in the city the enjoyment of that weather is probably not received as well. Count it all joy when faced with trials, it often times suggest you are getting close to God. He chastens those He loves, His children. Surprisingly though, those outside of the faith of God go through trials also. Only in your heart, with your individual spirit, can you truly know if you are a child of God. No one can tell you or agree with you. Your personal relationship with the Father of the universe will be quite noticeable. It appears to be a cop out when told that when you get there you will know, without the burden of proof written in plain English. I believe God in His infinite wisdom, that I cannot hope to fathom, (though I take a small stab here) has prepared this planet to create individual experiences. There are deserts, forests, tropical islands, frozen wastelands, wet swamplands and a myriad of landscape changes. There are untold numbers of different plants and animals. These things seem placed to provide an individual beauty, recognized and received by individuals. Suffice to say the glory of God will be received in kind. I close by saying that direction lies solely with relation. The relationship in spirit that you have with the Father will rely solely on you knowing the Father through His word. Knowing His people through love. Once you have established this spiritual connection/relationship, you will be able to possess the God-given wisdom to move forward in His service. This more than likely will provide the directional blessings most seek. The bank vault is open and the manager says to come in and get as much as you want. How much you take is up to you. There is nothing but spiritual love in there, and Jesus the manager died to unlock it. God, the owner of the bank, hopes dearly that you empty that vault out. He has plenty more banks. Empty it and then show another the way to the vault.
Lord I thank you for the desire and love of the word of God. More than that, I thank you for leaving us such a treasure. I thank you for the Holy Spirit who explains the full value of that treasure. I thank you for the opportunity to share with my brethren my heart and my spirit. In the hope that I may edify them through your word, for you. All the glory to our Father, who loves and comforts us through His love letters. I delight in the chance to open the word in the hearts of others like a flower. Though the bloom is breathtaking, most importantly that flower needs no encouragement from us. It only needs the sun (Christ), and a seed of faith. Amen.
