Are You Connected?

We talked yesterday about what the Bible says concerning the Christian’s ability to know the will of God.  The various writers of the New Testament, including Jesus Himself, concurred that it was the Father’s desire for us to know it.  But, where most of us miss it, is in the finding and then in the doing! 

Once again, our base text that we looked at from Colossians 1:23 talks about “the solid foundation of the expectations that the Good News contains.” (Gods Word ©  I took the liberty of exchanging the original word “hope” for what I feel is the better translation of “expectations”) The main emphasis of this verse though, is that in order for us to live unshaken upon that solid foundation, we must “continue in the faith without being moved” from what the Word says. (Colossians 1:23 Gods Word ©) 

Here lies the crux of the matter.  In order to know God's will and then to have it active in our lives takes a life long commitment.  It takes all the things we have spoken about concerning the completion of the goals that we set forth for ourselves.  Dedication, consistency, and perseverance all come into play here, and God set it up so that we don’t have to do it all alone.  In fact, He prefers that we don’t pursue “all the promises of God…” (2 Corinthians 1:20 King James Version) without the help of others.  Ephesians 4:11 says that “He also gave apostles, prophets, missionaries, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts to his church,” and then in the next verses Paul explains why.  “Their purpose is to prepare God’s people to serve and to build up the body of his church… until we become mature… no longer be little children, tossed and carried about by all kinds of teachings that change like the wind.”  (Ephesians 4:11-14 Gods Word ©)  These people are ordained of God to help in guiding us to the truth that God’s Word contains.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews also states the importance of regular fellowship with other Believers saying: “We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing.  Instead, we must continue to encourage each other…”  (Hebrews 10:25 Gods Word ©)  So it is clear that in order to find out and then live successfully in the will of God, we must “Study to show thyself approved unto God…” (2 Timothy 2:15 King James Version)  This takes personal Bible study and application, regularly attending a good Bible based church, and fellowshipping with others of like faith.  In my years of ministry I have seen many good people, who were once strong in the things of God, slowly allow the distractions of life begin to pull them away from church and the consistent study of their Christian beliefs until they drifted totally away and settled for what I would consider a second rate life “tossed and carried away” by the circumstances around them.

So… stay connected, keep studying, and keep acting upon what you learn.  When you do this the Word in Hebrews 12:28 saying: “that we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Gods Word ©) will come to fruition in your lives.  Stay tuned and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”