Go to now, ye that say, Today or
tomorrow we will go into such a
city, and continue there a year, and
buy and sell, and get gain: whereas
ye know not what shall be on the
morrow. For what is your life? It is
eve a vapour, that appeareth for a
little time, and then vanisheth away.
For that ye ought to say, If the Lord
will, we shall live, and do this or that.
But now ye rejoice in your boastings:
all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore
to him that knoweth to do good, and
doeth it not, to him it is sin.
James 4:13-17
Yesterday I had pressing business that took me away from home and the computer but reminds me that we do not always have knowledge of what is to come and what we will do. There is one thing, and those of age will acknowledge, life is short. You are here for a moment then you are gone and in time you will not even be remembered unless you have done something so spectacular that it makes history. How do I know? Ask yourself: what is the name of your great great grandfather, you might know if you have done a genealogical research, but probably you cannot name him or know anything about him, or her. We all live from B to D (birth to death). It is how we live now, in our time, that matters and for an Authentic Christian we live, not in this time, but in eternity for eternity has begun for everyone only for an Authentic Christian eternity is life, for others it is eternal death.
The world culture is all about a person living for themselves as though it really matters in time. Self-realization the call to people to have is centered on self and self is inherently bad and will do that which is wrong if not guided by the moral law of God. How do I know and can say that people are inherently bad? Just look at a baby and see that without training or instruction they will do bad things: i.e., take away a toy from another, or cry, not in pain, but to get something for themselves. Babies hit each other in anger, etc., but all this is fact that cannot be denied so that we have facts that man is inherently bad.
So, man/woman/child, wants to be autonomous and make decisions based on their perceptions and presuppositions. These are not all bad for often those perceptions and presuppositions have a basis in the moral law of God whether a person knows this or not. Man makes plans, and should if those plans are bases upon the will of God. Life is fickle as it has all sorts of surprises (I know this to be a fact as I have had surgery for melonomia cancer, and with those surgeries other problems have come upon me that is leading to a possibility for more surgery) all a surprise, you might know what I am talking about. We make plans and life makes changes necessary to those plans.
So, should we just sit by and do nothing? NO! We make plans knowing the fickleness of life, that there are things that might stumble us, might cause us to lose in our endeavors, but we make plans. Those plans are diligently thought out, researched, and brought before the Lord, in prayer and in study of His word that give advice to us when we are making plans to do anything. It is by the will of God that anything is allowed to occur, and in the case of making plans we look to find the will of God for our plans, not just by our own thinking and desire. We live for God, we are th witness for God, we allow our actions, our exercise of our faith in God to be seen in all we do, our plans must if they are to be blessed by God to be based on Him.
To rejoice over our plans outside of God is evil: PERIOD! We are his child and if this is true of you and you say that you are an Authentic Christian then your rejoicing is not over what you have done alone but what God has done through you. God did leave us here after accepting Him to live for ourselves: NO! We are to be His arms, legs, mouthpieces to spread the Gospel so that the word of God goes forth so people can hear it and by God's word they receive the free gift of faith to believe upon Jesus Christ as Savior. They come to know that they are inherently bad and that only by Jesus Christ can they overcome this deficiency.
We are not here on earth to become rich, or famous, or anything other than to be a witness for Jesus Christ. If by our vocations we do exceptional things that make us money, that make us famous, they must have come by way of us living in the will of God. If this does not occur then this is sin, you are living in sin.
Praise God! He is merciful and if we repent then God is willing and able to forgive you. Now with God's forgiveness turn your life and will over to Him and see what God will do with your life. You may see it happen or you will not, but it will happen and when you come before God, at His throne, you will Him say: "Well done, My faithful servant."
Except the LORD build the house,
they labor in vain that build it:
except the LORD keep the city, the
watchman waketh but in vain.
Psalm 127: 1
Make your plans with God the director
Richard L. Crumb
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