Does Being A Christian Give You A Sense Of Purpose? 2 Corinthians 5:20

It seems like there are different types of Christians; some are like everybody else but others have exceptional lives. What gives them their passion?

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ behalf be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20.

WE ARE
Paul had a sense of identity. He didn't think in terms of what he wanted to be or that he will be something someday.  "We are" is a statement of fact; it is saying that he already is this, that it is not an option.

AMBASSADORS
An ambassador is someone who represents the interest of another person, usually a head of state like a king.  Ambassadors have many responsibilities, one of which would be to accept the surrender in war.  Christians as ambassadors represent God to this world, and bring His terms of surrender to those who have rebelled, ending their spiritual warfare and bringing peace.

AS THOUGH GOD
An ambassador has to know the person they represent.  Paul was conscious of God and yielded himself to him as God's servant so Paul could speak as if he were speaking on Christ's behalf.  He could do this because of his intimacy with the King.

RECONCILED
A person needs to be reconciled when they are estranged from another person.  To be reconciled is to be brought back together and remove the cause of the division so it is as if no barrier ever existed.

We need to be reconciled to God because our sins have separated us from God.  Jesus became sin for us so we can be brought back to God and not only that we are given the righteousness of Christ himself.

If you have come to Jesus by faith you are his ambassador.  You may be in a neighborhood, a workplace, or a community- wherever you are you are an ambassador to those people.  The King of Kings has commissioned you to bring the terms of peace with God.


Follow the link to read all of 2 Corinthians 5.

To learn more about how you can come to Christ and have salvation see my other blog.

(c)Adron Dozat 4/24/14

Does God Have A Purpose For Me In My Troubles?

We all feel lost and defeated at times, and some bear burdens of disappointment and hurt for years or longer.

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies; with your right hand, you save me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever- do not abandon the works of your hands." Psalm 138:7-8.

PURPOSE

"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me." No matter how dark the day, maybe God has a purpose, not just a plan but actions based on a desire to do something good and wonderful. The Lord's designs in your life are great.

His purpose may include...
     * Allowing you to mature as a person.
     * Allowing you to grow in faith.
     * Allowing you to know God in a better way.
     * To prepare you for the opportunity to serve Him and others.
     * To prepare you for some blessing to come.
     * It may be some purpose that is uniquely personal to you.

LOVE

You may wonder why you must go through tough times but remember that God's love "endures forever." His plans are tempered by love so that He does not give you more than you can endure and only enough to do His goodwill in the long run. 

God's love is not mushy feelings, but it is commitment and action; it gives Himself completely to you and more. His love does not end, and our circumstances do not change His love for us.

FEELINGS

You may feel like God has forgotten and abandoned you, but that is not the fact. The author of these verses may have felt the same when he wrote: "do not abandon the works of your hands." God does not forget, nor does He turn away from you.

WORK OF HIS HANDS

You are the work of His hands, so He has ownership over you and your life; acknowledging ownership declares submission to His kingship. You are not only the work of His hands, but you are in His hands, so you may rest there by faith.

PRAYER

Like the psalmist, you can pray to God and voice your despair. Cling to God and say, "Do not abandon the works of Your hands." Ask Him to finish His work in you. Trust yourself to His love, rest in His hands, and wait for this time to pass. God has a purpose for the sorrows you face, it is a loving purpose, and He will not abandon you.

If you have not yet come to God for love and salvation, follow this link: click here.

(c)Adron Dozat 7/16/13

Has God Given Up On Me?

Sometimes we feel that God has given up on us, we feel our mistakes, choices or actions have caused God to abandon us.

"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever, Do not abandon the works of your hand." Psalm 138:8.

THE LORD
First, remember the Lord is the sovereign, author, and master of all; so He is able to be the one who is working to a good purpose.

WILL
This is possibly the strongest word in the verse. The "Lord will," The All-mighty can be counted on; he will do what he has planned because he is all-knowing.  He will succeed because he is all-powerful; He will not give up because he is all patient. He will fulfill his purpose, God never fails.

PURPOSE
We may not know his purpose but God has a plan. There is not a maybe or let's wait and see what happens. You can be confident when it comes to God and His purpose.

FOR ME
No matter who you are, what you have or haven't done, and no matter what are your gifts, or lack of gifts, God has a specific purpose for you.

LOVE
God's purpose is bound in his love, so because he loves us we can trust in his purpose. We may feel that God's love has left us but his love endures forever. His love is not weaker than our mistakes or our problems if his love endures forever it must be stronger than any problem we can throw at it.

THE PRAYER
"Do not abandon the works of your hand." is a prayer where the psalmist shows he is in one accord with the purpose of God. As a plea, it shows submission to God's will.

This prayer acknowledges that man is the work of the hand of the Creator.  It is an expression of intimacy with the one who made us. God made heaven and earth with his word of command but when he made mankind he formed man of the dust. This suggests that man was created with greater care and intimacy than the galaxies. We are the work of his hand in many ways.

We know God is good and all-powerful, we know he has a perfect plan for each of us; but when we doubt we can follow the example of this verse and pray that he will not abandon or give up on us.

To learn more about Our Father's purpose for you follow this link: Click Here.

(c) Adron 6/22/13

Does God Have a Purpose For Me?

Sometimes we feel like we are not getting anywhere in our lives, and we wonder if God has given up on us.

"Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are the work of your hands." Isaiah 64:8, NIV. 

LORD AND FATHER
The two names of God are comforting together. He is the Lord, the one who rules the universe and controls all circumstances. He is the mighty creator; with a word, he put galaxies in the correct place. He is awesome in authority and power.

God is a nurturing and caring Father, who protects and provides for his children. He corrects and trains his children; He considers our ways and best decides how to bring us to full spiritual adulthood. He is the father whose hand we may hold.

CLAY
This is a reminder that God formed man from the dust, (see Genesis 2:7). We are formed out of the common and ordinary. Dust is weak and the soil is a poor construction material.

We are the clay in God's hands. That which is common and little valued becomes a treasure when God puts his hand to it. He can form us and remake us to an object of beauty or service.

POTTER
The potter is a purposeful craftsman. He prepares the clay and equipment. He uses skill to accomplish his designs. The clay cannot resist the pressure of his hands. The clay will not look like anything when it is mined from the soil but when it yields to the potter it becomes beautiful. The potter knows the results and each step brings the clay toward completion.

WORK
God has a work plan for each of us. He is making us into a new image- the image of Christ, (see Galatians 4:19).  We might feel like we are spinning on a potter's wheel, covered with mud, being pushed and pulled this way and that but God is working. He has all power to complete his work, and he is the caring Father- he will not fail.

God made heaven and Earth by his command but when he works in our lives he touches us with his hands. So tender and gentle are His designs he will only accomplish it by his touch.

ACKNOWLEDGE
The verse above is a statement that acknowledges the truth. We must make it our truth and become soft clay in the Father's hand.

If you want to learn more about having a relationship with the father follow this link: Click Here.

(c)Adron Dozat

What Priorities Make a Good Life?

With the internet, instant communication and information overload we can easily be sucked into a fascination with things that are not the best and even injurious to us. What should we pay attention to, and how should we spend our time?

"Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tails, rather, train yourself to be godly." 1 Timothy 4:7, NIV.

HAVE
The word, have, in this context suggests a choice; another word like choose would not change the meaning of the verse, but the word 'have' is stronger. We must be on our guard for those things that become a preoccupation with our thinking and take us away from the best.

NOTHING
We must be firm in our choice to turn away from the lesser occupations and pursue the best. We should not have any involvement in things that draw us from The Lord and that which is good. "Nothing" is a clear word and means be void, not minimal, some, or a few but not any at all. We must make it a point to abstain from and refuse to engage in these things.

GODLESS
This is the acid test, godly or godless if we weighed every decision on this measure we will be delivered from many troubles. Moreover, we will have cultivated a healthier mindset and blessing in life.

MYTHS AND OLD WIVES TALES
These are insubstantial, they are like vapors that melt away when tested and are not worthy of the time of one who is dedicated to knowing and serving God. Our times are full of fascination with fantasy and media fiction; sadly we know more about TV shows than we do about the life and words of our Savior.

TRAIN
We need to be disciplined in our lives. This may be foreign to many modern people who are directed by markets and media on how to think and spend their time. To train in the sense of this word is to exercise toward a goal like an Olympics. This training is done with diligence, sacrifice and fervor; it brings all areas of the athlete's life to submit to the rigors of the training- to the athlete the goal is worth the cost of training.

We can train ourselves by a few disciplines.

     * Spend time in the Bible.
     * Meditate on God's Word.
     * Become devoted to prayer.
     * Worship in community with sincerity and truth.
     * Serve God and mankind.
     * Turn away from sin.

GODLY
It is worth all the effort to obtain godliness and to have the gracious approval of the Father in Heaven.

To learn more about finding God in your life follow this link: Click Here.

(c)Adron Dozat 5/1/13

Why Does God Take So Long?

Why does God take so long? We have situations and needs and we are desperate for solutions. We pray and look to God but in the back of our mind is the question, "What's taking so long?"

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption." Psalm 130:5-7, NIV.

IMPATIENT
We want results immediately; like the TV shows we want all the problems are solved in half an hour. We are impatient, but to wait on the Lord is a major principle of faith, the Bible is full of it and we hurry over it.

FAITH
The Psalmist mastered this discipline; he says, "I wait... my soul waits... I put my hope... my soul waits... more than watchmen wait for morning... hope in the lord..." If you do not have Jesus this kind of waiting is impossible, because it is an act of faith. "With the Lord is unfailing Love and with him is full redemption." The author could wait in faith since he had the facts of God. He knew there was a loving and redeeming purpose in the wait.

Remember the facts about God, like the verse says, "in his word I put my hope." My life is not my own, it is his and he has a purpose in my situation. We may not understand it but he does. He has a timetable, it is not ours; we want him to hurry up but it is not for us to dictate to God.

IT IS NOT ABOUT US
Verse 7 reminds us, to put our hope in the Lord. We want to take short cuts, and hurry things along; instead we must wait for God to do what needs to be done. We must not hope in ourselves and our ways of solving situations but just focus on the Lord and wait to see Him in it. This does not mean sit back and do nothing, we must do what is right but let God be sovereign in the results.

COMFORT
It is comforting that, "with the Lord is unfailing love, and with him is full redemption." The difficulties we face are designed by God with His love right in the middle. We will be better for it. We want Him to hurry- but we must resolve to patiently wait on the Lord.

To learn more about finding God follow this link: click here.

(c)Adron Dozat

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What are the Best Thoughts To Think? Psalm 111:1-3

It is easy to get caught up in our own lives, our dreams, and problems. We spend a lot of time worrying about things like houses, kids, family, job, future, and so on. We turn these worries over and over again in our mind until we see them from every which way: in short, we ponder these things and find no relief, but these verses from the Bible give us a gentle reminder of what to focus on.

"Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the counsel of the upright and the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever." Psalm 111:1-3, NIV.*

I WILL
The words of this psalm start with a commitment; he says, "I will." We need to resolve to set our thoughts on things above and consider God, not ourselves. To resolve is to make a firm action of change that is often public and declarative. It would include steps of action to make it happen.

GREAT
We might have great worries but, "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them." We need to ponder the things of Our Creator more and ponder ourselves less.

We can ponder His greatness by:

     * Setting aside times to meditate on Him.
     * Reading His Word, reflectively.
     * Memorizing a Scripture verse about Him.
     * Writing in a journal His activity in your life.
     * Talking to other believers about His greatness.

NOT HALF-WAY
"I will extol the Lord with all my heart." We need to follow that example and give our hearts to a deeper and more passionate attitude of praise and worship to the Lord. This pondering is a total thing for it needs a heart and the mind in it too.

FOCUS
The verses progress to a peon of praise, the author so absorbed he seems to burst out with the words, "Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever." You almost get the sense that he can't keep from shouting this. These are positive uplifting words that imply hope and promise.

We need to be like the psalmist and give our thoughts to Our Heavenly Father and reject the doom and gloom of our own minds.  What a cure it would be for so much bitterness, fretting, worry, frustration, and other mental stresses if we would not focus on ourselves and our problems but instead focus our hearts and minds on the greatness and majesty of God our Savior!

© Adron 1/1/13

How To Make Our Dreams Come True.

We all have dreams and desires. It would be wonderful if there was a way to ensure our dreams come true.

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19: 21. NIV*

This Bible verse really describes so us so well, for "many are the plans in a man's heart," we have a long list of "if onlys."

We say...
     * "If only I had money, I would do this thing."
     * Or "If only I had resources to do this or that it could help so many people."
     * Or "If only my business idea would work out so I could do this or that."

And we have lots of goals; we say things like...
     * This year I want to do this or that.
     * I will publish my novel.
     * I will get healthy.
     * I want to start an art gallery.
     * I hope to open a bread and breakfast inn.
     * I want to take some college courses.

BUT
Halfway through the verse, we have to put on the breaks because there is that all-powerful word, "But." It says, "Stop, put everything on hold, and look again; here is the real heart of the issue about your plans."

GOD
The Lord has a purpose for everything in our lives; it is a given, after all, that to say 'He is the Lord' is to say 'He is Sovereign, the ruler, and ultimately in charge.' We need many daily reminders of the powerful and freeing truth that He is the Lord. The Lord God is involved in our lives in a loving, compassionate, and wise way. He has a divine and holy purpose for my day, week, and life. I need to make sure my plans are in harmony with his purpose; otherwise, I am wasting my life and missing his blessings for me.

It is comforting that "the Lord's purpose prevails," for his plans for me are going to be better than anything I can dream up anyway.

We must make sure our plans are:
     * In keeping with His will.
     * Prayerfully developed.
     * Free from sinful motivations.
     * Honoring Him.
     * Going to bring us closer to God.

Our plans may go in all kinds of directions, but God's purpose is spoken in singular terms in this verse. He has a purpose for each of us and all humanity; it is that we may know him and the one (Jesus) who He sent. John 17:3

*To read this verse in other translations, follow this link: Online Parallel Bible.

 To learn more about fulfilling God's plan for your life, then follow this link: Click Here.

(c) Adron Dozat 12/27/12

What Are the Worst Sins? Jeremiah 2:13

Sin is a subject no one likes and opinions vary greatly.  We all have something different to say about sin but what God says may surprise us.

"My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me the spring of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water," Jeremiah 2:13, NIV

That God says "My people..." and then goes on to tell of their waywardness.  We are intended by our Creator for His pleasure, glory, and to be His treasured possession.  God longs to lavish His love and blessing on us and it is the crowning of blessing to be called "My people..."

TWO SINS, SIN NUMBER ONE:
We have forsaken God.  To forsake is to leave behind with deliberation.  We have left God out of our thoughts, lives, and plans.

Overflowing Well of Living Water

In the Bible, God refers to himself as the spring of living water, not just water that is necessary for life but, "The spring of living water."  This spring is in the singular tense, for there are not many springs of living water only one.  There is only one God and He is the source of life, salvation, and blessing.

Water is essential for life but this water is more than that- it is the "Living Water."  Not just sustaining life but being life itself.  This is a beautiful picture of God.

SIN NUMBER TWO:
We have dug our own cisterns.  A cistern is a well.  Instead of drinking from a natural spring, we have chosen to scrape through the dirt to find dubious water.  We have built our own philosophies and religions that reject the true God.  Some of our cisterns are romance, wealth, the American dream, a dreamy world of our own values, the good life, or the next high.

Everybody has experienced the thrill of getting a new toy, job, or relationship; only to find the excitement soon diminishes and we feel empty, looking for the next source of satisfaction.  Those are the broken cisterns.  They are the broken promises of a life that are from drinking out of the wrong well and not the spring of living water.

THE SUM OF THE TWO:
These two sins are two sides of the same coin they amount to rejecting God in favor of our own designs.

THE ONE WHO IS LIVING WATER:
Jesus said, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." (John 4:10).  Jesus is the water of life, to find him is to find life, to serve him is to serve life; everything else doesn't hold water.

To learn more about Jesus see my other blog just follow this link: click here.

(c)Adron Dozat

Who are we? Deuteronomy 7:6

Who are we? We are Christians but who are we supposed to be?

"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, The lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." Deuteronomy 7:6, NIV.

God gave these words and they apply to believers of all ages.

HOLY

Today no one talks about being holy, yet it was to be the hallmark of God's people. The emphasis in this verse is that we are holy, everything else explains it.  Holy things are set apart from the common; they are separated from the sinful. Believers are holy because God has made us holy in a judicial sense; before him, we are appraised as free from sin, because our sins have been born away by the scapegoat known as the Lamb of God when he died on the cross, therefore God attributes his holiness to us. God has set believers apart from the world. As Jesus said, "...they are in the world but not of the world," (John 17:16).

UNITED

God Has Chosen A People, Deut 7:6

We are people, singular, not many peoples. Believers are not presented as fractured into camps; even though Israel had tribes they are spoken of as one in this verse. Today we should be "a" people, one church. We are part of a community of faith.

CHOSEN

God is choosing people to come to Him from all peoples of the earth. He once chose people from among the nations and today he is choosing individuals out of the nations. To choose something is to suggest desiring, thought, weighing the decision even paying a price, and all these figured in his choosing who come to believe. We who believe are chosen.

TREASURE
Mankind tends to treasure things but God treasures people and has made us his treasured possession. When we treasure something we are careful of it and careful for it; we may put a treasured possession where it can be admired and shown to others, we may tell how it came to be a treasure, and we keep it safe, but all we do pails compare to what God has done and is doing for us his treasures.

GOD
The double emphasis of the title of "The Lord your God," is the qualification of his possession. He is the ruler of the universe, (Lord), and all-powerful Creator, (God). Between the words "Lord' and "God" is the word "your." He can be the Lord of the universe and God of all things and still not be your Lord or your God. When we come to God through faith in Jesus as our personal Savior, Lord, and God, then we will be his treasured possession.

Se my other blog if you want to learn more about salvation through believing follow this link: click 

(c) Adron Dozat 5/9/12

Who is God’s Worker? 1 Thessalonians 3:2, NIV

Does the Almighty God of the Universe just go about His wondrous divine work while all I do is earn a paycheck and watch TV? Does he need my help?

"We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith." 1 Thessalonians 3:2, NIV.

WHO WAS TIMOTHY
Timothy was the Apostle Paul's protege and an early church leader. He came to the faith through the teaching of Paul, which was built upon the foundation his grandmother taught. He had problems; in fact, he was encouraged to be less timid and care for his stomach and his many ailments. He was admonished to not allow others to look down on his youth. Timothy could sit in our church today, and you would not think him different than any other worshiper.

BUT HE WAS SOMETHING
Paul calls him "God's fellow worker." Timothy had responsibilities in the first-century church, but we have no less responsibility in our day. We are God's fellow workers too. The work of God on this earth is being done by our hands. God has a purpose, and He calls on us to fulfill that purpose; to continue the work that the Lord began in the first century of building up the church, and make Jesus known to the lost world.

God could have written the Gospel in the clouds, on the sides of mountains, or had angels proclaim it in thunder, but instead, He chose to put it in the hands of redeemed sinners.

FELLOW WORKER
A fellow worker labors beside another. We work side by side with the Almighty, laboring toward the same end. We share the same struggle and bear the same sufferings as those early saints, but we also share in the rewards and the blessings.

God did not ask us to toil alone or unaided but gave us community, gifts, powers, and authority to do the same work He is doing.

US
When we believe the Gospel and come to God through Jesus, we are God's fellow workers; it is not optional. We must not forget that we are not here to build up our own estate but to build up His kingdom.

He doesn't need us; he could do it without us, but He wants us, and that is even better.

If you have not come to God through Jesus and want to know more about salvation, follow this link to my other blog. 

(c) Adron Dozat 12/1/10