“I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”
John 14: 6
12 “Look, I AM coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation 22: 12-13
Pastors Noreen & Henry Kevern
Wisdom and Discernment in Waiting
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.
Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning and
even among fools she lets herself be known.
Proverbs 14:27,29,33
We have been traveling through the wilderness and have found ourselves trying to make sense of all that is going on. Our lives may seem so out of adjustment, we run from here to there, not quite knowing why we feel this aching this yearning for something that we don’t understand. We are busy with the hustle and bustle of making preparations for Christmas and we don’t understand why we seem so stressed, and not as happy as we think we should be. We find ourselves standing in lines, driving around as if only we are the ones on the road, demanding more and more while feeling that all is not right within our selves. We spend more and more on things that really don’t bring any encouragement into our lives and each year we seem to want more and more. How do we come to figure out what we are feeling and how do we go about changing this emptiness that we feel inside?
Preparing for the coming of the Lord is a time in which we must learn to discern the things that are within our hearts. Let us start with the basics. God loves you. Period. No matter what or if we love Him in return. He will not force you to accept His love. He will put things in your sight for you to desire to come to Him or for you to make choices that reflect Him in your life. He will always place the door or window to righteousness along side the temptation that you find yourself in. God desires that you follow His way, but will not force His way upon you. The circumstances that we find ourselves in are of our making, because of actions we have taken to allow ourselves into these circumstances. I’m not talking about if someone whom you do not know does something, I’m talking about our situations that we find ourselves in, the heartache, the sadness, the lack of peace in our lives, the inner thoughts that invade our consciousness and keep picking away at us until we come to terms with them. What are some of the things in your life right now that are not as fulfilling as you would like them to be? Are there areas in your life that seem so out of place or as you do things, they just don’t feel right? Are you finding yourself wondering if all this shopping is worth the trouble? Are you finding that things don’t bring you joy and wonder and peace?
When you are at peace in your life that is when you know that you are following the way of the Lord. When no matter what is happening in your life, you are full of peace and you trust that all things will work out according to the way that God has for your life. You look to God calling upon Him in all circumstances and knowing that His plan is best for you. Often you find yourself in God at moments you were not even expecting. For myself for example, there is so many trials going on in my life at this time, but I’m not worried. I know that God has placed these things in my life so that I may learn from Him what He wants and that each thing that He places before me will make me stronger and more capable for doing what He wants me to do. It’s not that things don’t get to me every once in a while, because at times things do bother me. It’s been a season in my life that has brought so many challenges, so many changes that have at times become so overwhelming because they never seem to stop, that I times I have become so weary and battle worn. But through all of the trials, I have never doubted that God will leave me. I know that He hears and knows and has brought into my life these trials to prepare me for His will. I know that God has plans for me and I am willing to let Him work them out through me.
It doesn’t matter what is going on in your life. You have it within you to call upon the Lord each day and ask Him for His strength to guide you with His wisdom and to give you His knowledge to bring you where He wants you to be. The key to our peace, the center of our life should be God. Nothing else will bring peace into our lives, no car, no video game, no house, no toy and no one will be able to do what God can. Yet to all who receive Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God-children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God (John 1:12-13). We have to believe before we can receive God’s peace. We will never be able to do so in human understanding. We have to surrender our lives and allow God to fill our lives with the goodness and love that is God. Only then will we have the peace and wisdom of God.
You may think that you are living a good life, that you are doing good things, and that you don’t need God in your life or God to teach you what good is. But that is a lie that the devil has put into your head. If you base your standards of good and evil upon the world’s standards then you are allowing yourself to be deceived by Satan. The standards of the world are a far cry from the standards of the Lord. He calls you to a much higher standard, one that can only be achieved by following the way of the Lord. And that takes time and effort to give yourself over to the Lord and to give up all of who and what you are and to surrender all to God. And sometimes in your surrender God is going to call you to something that you may not want to do because it will take you out of your comfort zone. But He does so because He has plans for your life. He has plans that are going to bring you into something much better. And when God calls you to something that you never thought you could do, trust in Him and follow. Don’t worry about what anyone else is going to think.
This season of Advent and Christmas are to teach us to prepare for the coming of the Lord. We celebrate Christ’s birthday as we celebrate our own, remembering it year to year. But we are called to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth, bringing the Good News to all whom we meet. And each Advent, each Christmas it here to guide us to be able to discern all that is going on in our lives, to reflect and to see if we are following the way of the Lord. Those nudges or feelings that all is not right are God tugging at your heart, trying to break through the barrier that you have put up. You may not even be aware of the barrier. You may only be aware of frustration, or anger, or bitterness to what life has brought to you. This season of preparing is a season of searching and of letting go. You will find God’s peace if only you will lay down your life and surrender all of yourself to God. Surrender is such sweetness and peace. Surrender will bring you into new heights of awareness, new understanding and discernment, new things that you never thought possible. But with God all things are possible. Jesus replied,”Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you .”(Matthew 17:20-21).
Don’t worry what others will think of you. Only worry about what God thinks. In finding out what we have to have in order to obtain eternal life with God, we have to look to Jesus and there we find the answer. Jesus said, “There is only One Who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” …”All these I have kept” the young man said, “What do I still lack?” And here is where Jesus tells us the thing that we don’t want to hear. Here is where we are called to surrender all unto Jesus. And here is where most don’t continue to walk with God. Jesus answered, ”If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow Me.” “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters, or father or mother or children or fields for My sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:16-30)
Surrender it all to Jesus. Let Him fill your life with the things that matter. Nothing, and I mean, nothing in this world can bring you peace and fill you the way God does. In all things, pray to God and trust Him for all things in your life. Don’t be afraid to step out in faith and follow the way of the Lord. He will never leave you. Live your life in God’s righteousness and way. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness
(Ephesians 4:22-24)
All that God will bring into your life if you will only trust in Him will amaze you. The only thing you need to fear is failing to follow the way of the Lord. Look to God’s commands and follow them with your whole life for By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19:11). Prepare for the coming of the Lord and be faithful to God and God alone. For our time here is short and we have wasted too much time in sinfulness. Let your life become pleasing to the Lord.