Power. One small word that packs quite a punch. Power conveys the idea of ability. In other words, if one has the power to do something, they have the means needed to carry out whatever the action might be. As men, we may find ourselves with the power to build a home, to sew a quilt, or to create beautiful artwork. We have all been blessed with various talents and abilities, yet none of us have the power to save ourselves – “all our righteousness are like filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6, NKJV). If we are looking to be saved, we must look to One who is greater and more capable than we. As we look at our fellow man, it is not uncommon to recognize those who are more capable than we are in various areas of life. None of us have the power to accomplish everything, yet there is One who has the power to accomplish anything within His will. As the great drama of Revelation nears its end, John by inspiration writes of the great praise he heard for God – “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns” (Rev. 19:6). God was praised for being “Omnipotent,” meaning that He is almighty and all-powerful. For God to be all-powerful, it is implied that He, therefore, possesses all the means and ability to carry out whatever His will desires. This means that God has the power to accomplish His will to save man (1 Tim. 2:4)! While God has the …

Love is a special thing. Knowing that you are cared for and wanted makes all the difference in building up one’s self-esteem and establishing purpose for one’s life. As we look at our earthly families, we can often see the sacrifices that our parents have made to provide for us. This love is merely an imitation of the highest love that has ever been shown. The Holy Spirit reveals through the pen of John that we know what love is “because [Christ Jesus] laid down His life for us” (1 Jn. 3:16, NKJV).  The love shown to us through the sacrifice of Jesus is the greatest love that this world has ever known. When speaking to His disciples, Jesus notes that “greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13). The amazing thing about God’s love as seen through Jesus, however, is that Jesus died for more than His friends. In Romans 5:6-8, we learn the truth concerning the relationship between Jesus and those for whom He died: For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The height of God’s love toward all men is furthered when one considers how Jesus’ death serves as …

How do you align your will with God’s will? One way we can do this is prayer. Prayer is our avenue to speak with God. When we ask God to guide us in our daily thoughts and actions, we are aligning our will with His. You can see this in the Model Prayer within the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. 6:9-13). Another way to align our will with God’s will is through love and mercy (Luke 6:27-36). To align our will to God’s will, we must be loving and kind to those who do not deserve it. Just consider how loving and kind God is to all mankind, sending His only Son to die a horrible death for all our sins. We did not deserve His kindness, but we all benefit when we obey the Gospel.  Now for the last question. Are you focused on God or the world around you? The world around us is full of false gods, sin, and hatred. We must keep our focus on God and Godly things. When we recognize and respect God’s presence in our daily affairs, we will become more secure in our daily decisions. We must trust in the Word of God to provide the solutions to earthly problems and spiritual matters (John 8:31-36). We must flee from sin and abide in the truth. Even though we live in this world, this does not mean we are to partake of the sin in this world.  We must look to the guidance God …

What does it mean to do the will of God? How do you align your will to God’s will? Are you focused on God or on the world around you? Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” This is a promise of success in our activities so long as our activities are consistent with the will of God. I will address the three questions I have mentioned but first, let us dive deeper into the verse itself. The first word of Proverbs 16:3 is commit. Commit can be used to mean “to give charge of or entrust”. We can see it being used this way in Job 5:8. It can also mean “to roll” which is being used this way in Psalms 37:5. Here the word commit is used as a command. Works is the next word we will define. When you commit your works to the Lord, you are giving God “things worked on the object of one’s energy and focus, labor”. The next part of this proverb is a promise. Your thoughts are defined as “the content of reasoning and thinking or the act of thinking or reflecting.” Your thoughts will be established. Established, as it is used here, means “to prove, secure, arranged, sustained, with a focus on the durability and lasting of the situation”. We are commanded to give God the things upon which we are spending energy and time. When we do this, we are promised our thinking …

We as humans have a desire to please. Most often, our desire as men is to please other men. As Christians, however, our desire should be to please God over our fellow man. Paul writes in Galatians 1:10, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ” (NASB). Thankfully, God does not leave us guessing about what is required to please Him. God’s desire for us is that we would obey Him. In the Old Testament, God’s desire is told to Israel – “And now Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes…” (Deut. 10:12, NKJV). Even in the days of Ezekiel, God’s desire had not changed; He has always wanted man to follow Him that man might “live” (Ezek. 18:23). Although we are now under the New Testament (Col. 2:14; Eph. 2:14-16), God’s desire for us as His creation is still that we obey Him. We are told in 1 Timothy 2:4 that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Peter informs us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit that God …