Prayer
– Lord, open my eyes and give me wisdom and understanding that I would know your
perfect will. I humbly stand before You and give You my body as a living
sacrifice.
I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable
service. Romans
12:1 NKJV
Meditate.
Consider God’s will.
 |
| Present your spiritual bodies-- as a living sacrifice-- holy and acceptable to God. Thank you, God, for new life-- and for the bounty You provide for us. |
(Words of Jesus) Not everyone says to Me,
'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven. Matthew 7:21 NKJV
For this is the will of God, your
sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of
you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not
in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should
take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is
the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did
not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does
not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit. 1
Thessalonians 4:3-8 NKJV
For this is the will of God, that
by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet
not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all
people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 1 Peter 2:15-17 NKJV
Rejoice always, pray without
ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things;
hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 NKJV
So, how important is it to do the will of God? It is of the ultimate importance for eternity. Jesus told the multitude listening to His Sermon on the Mount that only those who do His Father’s will are allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven. Ultimately, that is where we all want to go—to live eternally with God in the New Heaven and New Earth (2 Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 21:1).
Once we are saved
and sanctified, then doing good works for the Lord is something we desire to do—in
service and obedience to the Lord. But note that good works won’t result in salvation
for anyone. No one can “work” their way into heaven. We can't be "good" enough on our own, all mankind is sinful by nature and the result of sin is death. Salvation from that sin is a gift from
God—just repent and accept it.
For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works,
lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
God wants
us to live a holy life—one of purity and to pray, rejoicing with gratitude. He is
worthy of our praise. When was the last time you prayerfully gave thanks to God?
Maybe you thank Him for the food before each meal, but do you thank Him for
each answer to prayers whether it is how you expected Him to answer your prayer
or not? Those prayers could be for yourself, your family, friends, job, home
and opportunities to learn and to serve Him. There is an endless list of things
for which to be thankful—even for Jesus Himself and His sacrifice on the cross
for each of us. That is part of the will of God.
Verses
of Salvation ~ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New King James Version (NKJV) unless
otherwise noted.
New King James Version © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Harper Collins
Publisher. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
New Living Translation
(NLT) copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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