This is the part five of our series on knowing the will of God. Beginning with clear principles about purity, joy, prayer and thankfulness, we’ve come to understand that knowing and obeying God’s will is part of our identity as God’s children, and part of our worship as true believers. As our minds and lives are transformed by the work of God’s Word and Spirit, our understanding of God’s will is sharpened so that we can know and obey His will.

If you’re like me, you probably like to think about God, always in the “positives”. You know, God is love, God is merciful, God is kind, God is gracious, God is compassionate, God is comforting and the list goes on. It’s those virtues of God that often get us through the hard days and help us when we feel the fading our own strength.

I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
   before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
   and will praise your name
   for your love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
   your name and your word.
3 When I called, you answered me;
   you made me bold and stouthearted.

 4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD,
   when they hear the words of your mouth.
5 May they sing of the ways of the LORD,
   for the glory of the LORD is great.

 6 Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly,
   but the proud he knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
   you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
   with your right hand you save me.
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
   your love, O LORD, endures forever—
   do not abandon the works of your hands.

We live in a world where we have the coolest gadgets and technology at our fingertips, things that can make the hardest tasks so easy. My friend controls his lights, his TV, his music and his house temperature all from his smartphone. From phones to computers to iStuff — we have it all. I’m a total tech-geek too, so I get into to the gizmos that make life easy.

At least, that are supposed to make life easy.

“When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me” — Hosea 13:6

Check out this command from Galatians:  

Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other — Galatians 5:26

You know what Paul is talking about because we’ve all been on the receiving end of that — we’ve all been around people who are irritating; people who provoke us; people who stir up all sorts of feelings of anger, jealousy or even contempt. Sometimes it’s people we know, love and like, but in the wrong setting or in the perfect storm something snaps and we can’t stand them.

Of course, none of us like to think that we might be that person to others sometimes.

Check out this parable of Jesus:

Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, “Come along now and sit down to eat”? Would he not rather say, “prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink”? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty” — Luke 17:7-10

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves — Romans 15:1

Choose your own adventure!

Be careful.

Rightly so, we often spend time as a Christian community talking about ways to reach out to those who don’t know Christ.  We talk about commands in Scripture to share our faith and we talk about strategies for witnessing and go to seminars to help us overcome our doubts and fears.  All of this can be good for doing God’s kingdom work.

Today, however, I want to focus on how NOT to reach the lost — how you and I can totally screw up an opportunity God gives us by the way we act or the things we say.

Galtians, 48 of 66

Warning:  You’re about to see a picture of Joe from high school.  Your “Jealous-o-meter” may go through the roof.

You’ve been warned.

I feel like God has put the issue of Body life front and center in my devotional reading and my Tenth Dot writing lately.  It’s funny how He themes things in our lives when we need them most, and I’m confident that’s what He’s doing right now.  But this TD isn’t about what we should do to enhance Body life, it’s about what we shouldn’t do to preserve it.

Check this out.

Sometimes, less is more.  Today is one of those days.

Have you ever been put in an awkward position? Yesterday I was not only in an awkward position but I was about to be humbled as well. I went to meet with a consultant for a business venture. The plan was to meet at the Tokyo Table at 11:30. I was very excited about the meeting and left my house early to make sure that I wasn’t late. I went through L.A. traffic and arrived an hour early. I went to a local coffee shop. I was about to order a coffee when I realized I had forgotten my wallet! I had no money and no identification. I called a few people I knew in the area but nobody was able to help. For the next 52 minutes I followed the GPS to two phantom banks. One bank ended up being an apartment building and the other a hotel. As I am driving back to the restaurant my gas light comes on! Not only did I have to ask this gentleman to pay for our lunch but for gas money to get back home. God has a way of keeping us humble and focused on Him.

This week we are encouraging you to read through the book of Philippians. Today we move on to chapter 2. The goal is to spend time with God, not just read His Word like you are reading the US Tax Code. Ponder it. Listen to it. Meditate on it. Ask God to answer questions you are wrestling through. Apply it to your life. Be encouraged by it. Let it move you–transform your thinking. God’s Word is so rich and powerful, but we have to allow it to soak into our veins so that we live, breathe and move in His Word.