Week 8 Predestined People

August 17, 2009

Whew! We’ve had a busy weekend with the kids doing last minute family fun things and getting them ready for school. Thursday was wonderful as usual, we sat out on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful weather as we broke the bread of the word together.

We began with Deuteronomy 6 reading about how God expects us to love him and teach our children to love him. God encouraged the people to write the scriptures everywhere even to tie symbols of them on our foreheads and hands. God wanted the people to think about his word constantly from the time they got up to the time they went to bed and even as they lay in their beds.

God told the people that he would provide for every need but that the people needed to be obedient to his laws. Everything must be done God’s way, there is no gray area where he’s concerned and no compromise. I’m thinking about the way he provided for us during our time last year with Danni, we constantly went to him on everything. He was and still is the framework of our lives. Everything revolves around God and his purposes.

When my focus strays a bit to the right or the left he is there to say, “Just look at me.” It is almost like I’m walking a tightrope over a vast expanse and if I look down I lose my balance. This is the way we should live our lives, without him we perish and die. Deuteronomy 6:5 shows us what God should be everything to us.

James 5 talks about the dangers of hoarding wealth in the last days, we don’t realize the times we are living in and the importance of being able to hear the Spirit speaking to us. Wealth cannot be relied upon. Money is fleeting and a cruel task master if you let it be. This is a time to be following the Lord with patience as James 5:7 says, standing firm in what we believe.

It is a time to examine what it is we believe and know why we believe those things. It is a time to be praying and living by faith and not by what we see. Jesus is coming quickly, we must be prepared and alert!

Nothing is out of God’s control, everything happens for his plan and purpose and our good if we love him. Luke 2 was all about the predestination of the life of Jesus. Everything about Jesus’ life was predetermined by his Father for the purpose of the redemption of God’s people. Everything about the lives of Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna was also woven together for God’s purposes in his intricate plan.

Why do we think that our lives won’t be the same? If there are those of you that think that God doesn’t care about the little things of life, just look around. Look at the detail in nature and then say that God doesn’t care about the little things. Every detail is planned and right on schedule.

Ephesians 1& 2 pounds predestination, nothing is by accident! These scriptures are power packed and worth reading several times. I especially like chapter 2 verses 8 & 9, it makes it very clear that we had little to do with our salvation but that it was all about God and his choices not ours.

It throws a beacon of light into our very thoughts and heart motives; NOTHING WE DO GETS US SAVED. WE ARE SAVED BECAUSE GOD WANTS US TO BE! This is a process that comes from God through us not from us pushing works out of us. Even the works we are to do are predestined for us (see Eph.2:10)! For everything God calls us to do, he will provide everything we need. No worries!

The last part of Ephesians 2 shows us how we have become one with the Jewish people by the power of Christ’s blood being built together as one house for God to dwell in. Even Luke chapter 2 verse 32 echoes these words as Simeon prophesies over Jesus as an infant that he would be “…a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” God has a plan and a purpose; our job is to believe and trust in him and he will take care of all the details.

I recently had a picture in my mind of me climbing a ladder, one rung at a time and God was behind me encouraging me to keep going up and up. At one point I began to get tired and he said to me, “ Lean back into me,” and as I did he held onto the ladder around me giving me rest.

God has our back, he is in control but we must be sensitive to his Spirit and be obedient and fully committed to doing things his way. These are precarious times in which we are living and we know from the word that things will become progressively harder. He’s teaching me to lean on him, trust in him, and believe him when directs my heart. I believe this is something he wants to do in all of his children’s lives, so if he calls to you today, make time for him…your life will depend on it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Christy,
I enjoy reading your bible studies
on line very much. Keep up the good work, I'm sure you're receiving many blessings for all
you've helped. I've recently learned of a fairly new bible study website I've found to be quite in depth and informative. Would be interested in your opinion. Check it out at www.christianbibletruth.com
Thanks,
A Fellow Student of The Word

Christy said...

Hi Fellow Student-
I checked out the site and I agreed with most on the study of "God's Elect" but I wasn't sure were this person was coming from on some things such as 7000 in the remnant and "the first age" that was spoken of. This makes me wonder what denominational teachings are involved here as I've never seen anything especially in Romans 8 that would indicate that these "souls" were prejudged in a "first age". What does scripture say? That's what I would stick with...what does it actually say and not what it doesn't say. As far as the remnant...God has always left a remnant and he will continue to do so. These were just some thoughts that I had as I read this one study. Very interesting. Let the HOLY SPIRIT speak to you as you read...don't be afraid, he'll send up red flags if something is wrong and stick to the written word. Thanks for sharing.