Purpose in ALL Things

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. - Romans 8:28

God wants good things for our lives. When bad things happen, we sometimes ask ourselves “how God could let this happen”? All things means all things. “All things” include our infirmities and trials; all things also includes personal tragedy that we will encounter during our life.

Life is full of difficult situations; financial tragedy, broken hearts, loss of a job, separation from a loved one, sickness, etc. As these events occur, we must trust Him believing that in these things He is working for our benefit towards an expected, good end. At the time it may not seem so, and at the time we may not understand it, but be assured that God is working for our benefit.

Too many times we are quick to decide what is a good or bad thing for our lives. Many times, as situations develop God has a way of redefining what we initially perceive. Many times, we will run around telling anyone who will listen how bad something is in our life, when God is intending it for our wellbeing. We must guard ourselves not to say “this is the worst ever” or “everything is bad in my life” because “all things” work for our good according to the mouth of Almighty God.

God tells us that all things will work together for good and that is precisely what He means. All circumstances, be they good or bad, will cooperate and submit to His divine will. It is His grace that has called us according to His purpose and in that grace all things work for our benefit even during pain and affliction for the promotion of happiness in our hearts.

We should receive our trials with thanksgiving, knowing that they will accomplish the purpose for which they are sent, in turn glorify God operating in our lives...His grace being sufficient for all our needs.

Your life in Christ is not without design; you are the handiwork of God in Yeshua, the Messiah. What He does in your life, He has always meant to do, even from the beginning of the foundations of the Earth.

He has a purpose and a plan. We are that purpose and that plan. He had such a purpose in regard to our redemption that He provided mercy in divine grace by Yeshua, the Messiah. He is ever watchful and purposeful attending to our needs, assuring that all things work together for the good in our lives according to His will.

Got Life?

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. -1 John 5:12

Is today’s scripture speaking only of the promise of life in heaven with God once you leave life on this earth? That's a great promise for sure, but does this scripture have any other meaning?

God has given us the gift of eternal life, and this life is in His Son, Yeshua. If you have the Son, you have eternal life. If you do not have the Son of God, you are not acquainted with that kind of life. I am writing all of this to you who have entrusted your lives to the Son of God…so you will realize eternal life is already yours.

Paul told Timothy, “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” (1 Timothy 6:12). I don’t think Paul was encouraging a fellow believer to kill himself. In other words, start living the life God has given you now. He was telling him to live in a way that focused on matters of eternal importance, not only being concerned with short-term material needs of today: working, making money, eating, etc. Those things won’t be our focus then, so they shouldn’t be our focus now.

So, how do we start eternal life now? John is clear in his gospel: Knowing God is eternal life (John 17:3). Knowing has to do with being transformed into the image of Christ, having the Holy Spirit at work in us, absorbing the truth of God’s word, ordering our life around the things of God, seeking to see God at work in every situation…It’s an active, all-encompassing, total life surrender and make over.

Eternal life starts with living in God's righteous path centered in God's will, making it our highest priority to further God’s interests and Kingdom in every way by having eyes that see what Yeshua sees, hearts that respond like the heart of Yeshua, and hands that do what Yeshua would do. Then, what starts now finds its perfection in life eternal in the world to come.

This scripture is both a reminder of God's glorious Grace and also of our need to share that Grace with others. Life is such a precious gift; it would be a shame for anyone we know and love to miss out. God gave up the Life of His Son so that in finding Him, we too could share in His Life.

When you accepted Yeshua as Savior, the Holy Spirit came to live in your heart, giving your life greater meaning by a deep connection to God. His presence makes your life richer. Your relationship with Him gives you purpose and direction. Sure, your life before Yeshua may have been good because you enjoyed good friendships and a loving family. Even those relationships can now be deeper and richer with the shared experience of God's love in your lives here and now.

Life in the Son is better because of the focus and direction and love He gives you now. It will be better in the future because you will have life forever, with Him. Life with God is a double blessing!

The Gift of Grace

"For by Grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the Gift of God" - Ephesians 2:8

Grace is God’s free and unmerited (undeserved) Favor toward sinful humanity. Grace cannot be earned; it is something that is freely given. We cannot work for Grace. There is no number of works that we can do to earn God’s Grace.

We are saved, have been reconciled back to God because of God’s Love for us. Just like Grace there are no number of works that we can do to earn salvation. Yeshua already fully paid the price with His Life by dying on the cross and forgiving our sins. How can we know we are saved? We must have faith; we must believe. Faith is simply believing what God says and what He has done for us.

The Grace of God is a Gift to us. Have you ever worked for a gift? No, a gift is freely given. When you receive a gift do you ask, how much do I owe you? When you receive a gift, you express gratitude. You cherish the gift and you appreciate the person who gave you the gift. This is how it is with God’s Grace. One way we can show our gratitude for this Gift is by our love and obedience to God.

Though we have received this Gift from God, we are not to take this Gift for granted. I do not frustrate the Grace of God: "for if righteousness come by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain" (Galatians 2:21). The reason we should not frustrate God’s Grace or take the Gift we have been given for granted is because God gave up; God sacrificed His Son for us. We did not give our lives but Yeshua did. Christ had no sin, but God made Him become sin, so that in Christ we could be made right with God, (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV). Think about it, would you give up your son? If you gave up your son to die for the sins of man, how would you feel if people act like it was not a big deal? This will hurt deeply.

In the same way, we are not to frustrate the Grace of God. We are not to treat this Gift as if it has no worth or value. We should cherish the Gift we have received and always seek to please the Lord, by walking in obedience to Him. Remember, though freely given, this Gift was costly to God. Receive God’s free Gift of Grace today.