Word for Today, Mon, 4 January 2009: What Does God Want?
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
As I read this Daily Bible Study, I came up with my own images - and scriptures, of what it is like having a relationship with God, and what God wants from me. First, I believe that God wants my attention. Second, I believe that God wants my obedience. Third, I believe that God wants me to talk about Him with others, and tell them about His Son and how He is God and how He saved my soul.
When it comes to scriptures, .the devotional mentioned Deuteronomy 10, which was certainly one of the original scriptures that described what God wants and expects from us. But as I read the sentence, "God, what do You want from me?" the first thing I thought of was a scripture passage that contains those very words: "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8, NIV).
So you can see the three major things that God requires, not necessarily in that order. I think that the last one is key, to walk humbly with our God. Without humility toward God, we can easily be puffed up, not even thinking we need God, when of course, it is God who even enables us to walk humbly in the first place, and it is also God who teaches us to love mercy and to act justly toward others.
Another scripture that really lays it all out well is the passage where Jesus and the teachers of the Law were having one of their "discussions", where they were trying to trap Jesus with His Words, but, knowing everything, they were WAY out of Jesus' league - He showed them the right way, and taught us at the same time - the famous passage in : "
Matthew 22:36-40 (New International Version)
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[a] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b] 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
- Matthew 22:37 Deut. 6:5
- Matthew 22:39 Lev. 19:18"
With that, let's compare notes with the author of the message I received today:
Daily Bible Study
Date: Jan 4, 2010
Topic: Christian Living/Situational
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"God, what do You want from me?" What kind of picture comes to your mind when you read that question? I see a man at the end of his rope screaming at the heavens. I see an elderly woman breathing a silent prayer before climbing out of bed in the morning. I see a teenager at summer camp having just met the Savior for the first time.
No matter the situation, God has answered the question. In Deuteronomy God tells us exactly what He wants from us. "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, to love him, to serve the LORD your God will all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statues of the LORD" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13, ESV).
What Does the Bible Say?
The first thing God requires is to: "fear the LORD your God." Fearing God doesn't mean living in terror of Him. Instead, it's keeping a balance between reverent respect for who He is--the God of the universe--and what He wants: a relationship with us. It's drawing near to Him as a father but respecting His authority as king. The next two things mentioned in Deuteronomy take this idea further.
"Walk in all his ways"--that means becoming the kind of person God is. It means learning to like the things God likes and hate the things He hates. We walk in God's ways by copying Him as the Holy Spirit works in us (Galatians 5:22-23). Reading the Gospels is a great help in this. By looking at the life of Jesus, we can see exactly how God would respond in various situations.
The next thing God wants us to do is to love Him. It would be enough for God to command our obedience, but He also desires our love. Again, looking at the life of Jesus, we see this love demonstrated; and we are encouraged to respond in kind.
Finally, God wants us to serve Him with all our hearts and souls and to keep His commandments. Serving God will take us out of our comfort zones more often than not. But it also displays trust. We "say" a lot about our God to those watching when we obey Him--even when it's not the popular decision.
My Thoughts
Throughout the rest of the day, think about the following questions: How can you learn God's ways? In what ways did Jesus demonstrate His love for you today? What opportunities do you have to serve?
My Part
There's an old hymn by Avis B. Christiansen that says:
Only one life to offer,
Jesus my Lord and King;
Only one tongue to praise Thee
And of Thy mercy sing (forever).
Only one heart's devotion--
Savior, O may it be
Consecrated alone to Thy matchless glory,
Yielded fully to Thee.
Take a few minutes and pray the words of that hymn. Pray that God would show you how you can use your one life to make an impact for Him.
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