"The Lord had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing... So Abram went, as the Lord had told him." ~ Genesis 12:1-4
Often times, following God's calling requires us to leave that which is familiar or comfortable to us.
In Genesis 12, God told Abram to leave the land, people, and household with which Abram was most familiar and to go to a new, foreign, unfamiliar land.
While that command may have been a tough pill for Abram to swallow, after the command was a promise. God promised that if Abram obeyed, He would bless Abram and make his name great (in fact, he would change Abram's name entirely).
But in order to receive the promise of God, Abraham had to obey the command of God - that is, the command to leave the familiar and enter the unfamiliar.
So, the question is, how uncomfortable are you willing to be? And if the answer is not very, then are you really ready to follow God's calling on your life? You can't complain about how slow things might be moving if you're not ready, willing, and able to step out on faith when He tells you to.
God bless,
J.W.
"But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you." ~ Proverbs 1:24-26
Proverbs 1:24-26 details the consequences of not heeding God's call on your life.
Oftentimes, we let fear of stepping out on faith stand in our way.
But... truth be told, the fear of not doing what God says should scare us even more.
God bless,
J.W.
"As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. 'Follow me,' he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him." ~ Matthew 9:9
Recently, I relocated, along with my family, across the country, to the west coast.
In the process, I'm sure there were some who might have wondered, why? Why move all the way across the country? Why uproot your entire life to move to a new foreign place?
Well, it's simple.
Like Matthew, when God calls, there should be no hesitation. When He tells you to do something, you should respond.
It's just that simple.
More to come.
God bless,
J.W.
"God is not a man, that he should lie; not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" ~ Numbers 23:19
God is reliable, plain and simple. He is trustworthy, honest, and true.
We, on the other hand, are not. We lie - often to ourselves. We change our minds - often for no reason at all, other than the fact that we woke up feeling different that day.We often say one thing and do another. We make promises but often don't follow through.
We simply cannot trust ourselves to make right decisions.
But the great thing is that we have someone we can call on to help us. But we've got to surrender to Him and not rely on our own understanding.
God is not like us. He's much more trustworthy.
God bless,
J.W.
"But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one." ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:3
Now that we've established the importance of allowing God to lead our lives (and not the other way around), the question becomes why.
Why should we choose to follow God and not our own plans, thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc.?
Simply because of 2 Thessalonians 3:3.
The Lord is faithful. He can be trusted and depended on.
Simply put - He is reliable.
More to come.
God bless,
J.W.
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." ~ Matthew 16:24-25
Following God's direction has a prerequisite, and it's located in Matthew 16:24.
Very simply, if we are to follow God, we are to take up our cross.
What does "take up your cross" mean?
Simply it means that we must die to our flesh, i.e. to our carnal nature, our foolish thinking, and our selfish desires. It means that life is no longer about you, but instead about Him.
Following the Leader is NOT easy. It's hard, because it requires certain things to die within us.
But the good news is that God promises that if we are willing to die in certain areas, He will give us life in other areas.
Will you take up your cross and follow Him today?
God bless,
J.W.
