"To Purpose"

 "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done for you." (John 15:7 KJV) 

  "Teach me your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. Make me to walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you. Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good. I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness." (PSALM 119:33-40 NLT)

 Here is the thing I think we have got to get right with this verse: If our will is not in line with God's will, then this promise does not apply, "and it shall be done for you". If the word of God abides in us, then those things which we ask for will be in line with God's word. There is something there, as simple as it might seem, it involves what God wants for us, not what we desire, but for what pleases Him! 

 To sum up yesterday's message from Pastor Rick, regarding Isaiah and his vision of the LORD: "It is not about us, but God!" We are just a small part in this exceptional picture; a snapshot of one of His many children, all of which He dearly loves and cares for; non more valuable than another! It is His will that we must seek after, not our own; in His will we find mercy and grace, in our will we find things that break and fall apart! 

 As I have said before, the law of God is like the law of gravity; it pays to obey it and to not try to test it or ignore it! If you do not obey it, you will find that it does not lie, nor can it be ignored; you fall, that is for sure, because you cannot float through life without it! When we do pay attention, it pays! And in the process, we can actually see the effect to others around us who might not be paying attention and need some friendly advice. 

 The Psalm shown above is a pretty good example of what this means, as the requests are all about things which draw us closer to God and His will for our lives. In doing so, we find real happiness and peace; the kind of peace that the world cannot give, nor can it understand! 

 The title of today's post was taken from the Strong's translation of "will", as in, "ye shall ask what you will". The point is really pretty apparent, if we are looking at it in the right direction! Which reminds me of the direction we must stay focused on, which I tend to need to keep correcting myself on, over and over again: Keep your focus on Jesus! 

 Doing that, and the things of earth grow strangely dim...

"Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." (Colossians 3:16-17 NLT)