“If thou follow thy star, thou canst not fail of glorious heaven” (Dante Alighieri).

EACH OF US HAS A “DESTINY” IN THIS WORLD — MAYBE YOU’D LIKE TO CALL IT A “DESTINATION” — THAT IS UNIQUE TO US. Although as human beings we have a good many things in common, we also have some things that set us apart, and among the most important of these are our dreams and goals: the things we want to accomplish while we live. Leaving aside for the moment the question of our eternal destiny, let’s consider the value of seeing that we have (or at least that we can have) a destiny to move toward in this world.

To begin with, destiny doesn’t mean determinism. It doesn’t mean that what’s going to happen in our lives is inevitable or that any specific path is the only one we’re meant or allowed to take. No, in any realistic view of destiny, we see that both our destination and our path are matters of choice. Almost always, the abilities and opportunities that have been granted to a particular person can be used honorably in more than one way, and out of all the possible scenarios that would be right from a moral and ethical standpoint, we’re free to choose. Unfortunately, many people don’t choose. They just drift.

Let me put it this way: your destiny is the thing that will result if you use your life in the way that is best suited to the unique person that you are. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what our goals should be in that regard, and I agree with Jean de La Fontaine, who said, “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” But when a person finally does lock in on whatever is the best possible thing they can do to contribute to the world, the motivation that results from that is so powerful it feels like the force of an irresistible fate.

Our destiny, therefore, is determined by the ways in which we choose to think, day by day. Orison Swett Marden said it pointedly: “Our destiny changes with our thought; we shall become what we wish to become, do what we wish to do, when our habitual thought corresponds with our desire.” We can’t think one way and then somehow arrive at a completely different destination. So you need to be careful about your thinking, don’t you? If you keep on thinking as you have today, what kind of destiny is that going to lead you to?

“Destiny is simply the relentless logic of each day” (Jean Giraudoux).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, but took leave of them, saying, ‘I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.’ And he sailed from Ephesus” (Acts 18:20,21).

PAUL HAD WISHES AND MADE PLANS, AS WE ALL DO, BUT HIS PLANS WERE ALWAYS TENTATIVE. What he wanted to happen was always contingent on what God’s will turned out to be. “I will return again to you,” he said to the people in Ephesus, “God willing.” Paul had turned everything about his life and work over to God, and having done that, he really believed that whatever happened to him was God’s will. So he had ideas now and then, but he would wait to see how God would write the actual story.

In these latter days, God does not speak personally and directly to us; He speaks to us through His written word. So we would not expect audible messages directly from God explaining to us what His will is for our personal lives. Yet we do not need to receive such messages. If we have committed ourselves to Him, we can trust that whatever comes our way is coming from Him.

And bear in mind that this includes the obstacles as well as the opportunities. When we turn everything over to God and ask Him to set the agenda for us completely, some of the agenda that He sets will involve pain and suffering. He knows we need some difficulty, and He loves us too much to protect us from what we need. So we may face some situations and ask, “How could this have come from God?” But more good than we realize may come from the “useless” and “unpromising” situations that He puts us into.

In all cases, we must trust that the story of our lives is being written by God — and we should be content with the story as He writes it. There will be unexpected turns in the plot. There will be unwelcome events, at least from our perspective. The true story may turn out to be very different from the scenario of our dreams.

But my friends, let us resist the temptation to take the pen out of God’s hand and write the story ourselves. Let us rather wait and see how it all comes out. “It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:26).

“God engineers our circumstances as he did those of his Son; all we have to do is to follow where he places us. The majority of us are busy trying to place ourselves. God alters things while we wait for him” (Oswald Chambers).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who [is] the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person . . .” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

IN SURROUNDING US WITH HIS GLORY, GOD’S PURPOSE IS TO REVEAL HIMSELF TO US IN ORDER THAT WE MIGHT OBEY THE GOSPEL AND HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM. The fact that God’s purpose is to reveal Himself is a marvelous truth to think about. Contemplating this truth ought to have a powerful practical effect on our lives.

Having rebelled against God, Adam and Eve were banished from God’s presence (Genesis 3:22-24). The consequence of sin is that we are cut off from the God whom we were made to desire. But no sooner had sin taken place than God began to reach out to us and to work toward a restoration of what had been lost. The God who made us is not a God who hides from us. He has moved toward us, making it possible for us to know Him again.

If God’s purpose is to reveal Himself to us, this must mean that He is mindful of us. It must mean that we — yes, even we — are of concern to Him. And this in itself is marvelous. “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:3,4). Our Creator desires that we be encouraged and refreshed by this knowledge. At our moments of greatest weakness or rebellion, even then God is thinking of us and wanting to reveal Himself to us. Not any of us is a lost cause, as far as He is concerned. Our ignorance of Him is a matter of active, personal concern to God.

On our part, we must more deeply desire to know Him. We must determine to stay more awake and more alert, eager to receive every bit of truth that is available about God as He really is. As He restores to us the knowledge of His character and His will, it is God’s intention to lead us back to His immediate presence. “No one ever graduates from Bible study until he meets the author face to face” (E. T. Harris). The Bible is a book, but it is a book at the end of which God Himself is waiting for us.

“[God’s] very work from the beginning is revelation — a casting aside of veil after veil, a showing to men of truth after truth. On and on from fact divine he advances, until at length in his Son, Jesus, he unveils his very face” (George MacDonald).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“. . . the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).

THIS MEANINGFUL PASSAGE POINTS TO THE IDENTITY OF THOSE WHO ARE CHRISTIANS. Let’s look at it phrase by phrase:

Household of God. It is not the church building but the members of the family who make up God’s “house,” as made clear by the translation “household” in the ESV. This marvelous household is referred to elsewhere as “the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

Church of the living God. The church is God’s. It belongs to Him and can rightly be called “the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). The “church of God” is not a denominational name; it is simply a description of ownership.

Pillar and buttress of the truth. In a building, both a pillar and a buttress (“ground” in the KJV, or “support” in the NASB) serve a foundational purpose. But how does this relate to the church? It does not mean that the church is the source of the truth, for the authority of God’s truth is derived not from God’s people but from God Himself (John 17:17; James 4:12). The idea in 1 Timothy 3:15 is that the people of God exhibit the truth in a tangible way, demonstrating its power observably. The truth is not produced by the church, but the church is produced by the truth, in order “that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known” (Ephesians 3:10). As the product of God’s truth, the church shows just how true — and powerful — God’s wisdom is.

Doing this is the privilege of the church, the people who, like Israel, have been redeemed from slavery (not to Pharaoh but to sin). Paul urged his brethren to live consistently with the gospel in the midst of those who are still rejecting God, “among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). And not just by their example, it is by their words that members of the “household of God” are to be “a pillar and buttress of the truth.” Paul said to the Thessalonians that “the word of the Lord sounded forth from you” (1 Thessalonians 1:8). This, then, is how God’s family “supports” the truth — by living it truly and speaking it clearly.

“No other organization on the face of the earth is charged with the high calling to which the church is summoned: to confront men with Jesus Christ” (J. W. Hyde).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Therefore they said to Him, ‘What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?'” (John 6:30).

SOMETIMES WE ADOPT AN ALMOST DEMANDING ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD, INSISTING THAT HE DECLARE HIMSELF TO US MORE OPENLY. The problem, however, is not that God has not shown enough of Himself to us, but that we’ve not opened our eyes to the wonders He has shown. We need to learn to be more open and attentive to God’s marvelous work in at least three areas.

Creation. Promising deliverance to the people of Judah, God spoke of His creative power: “I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, the myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine and the box tree together, that they may see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it” (Isaiah 41:18-20). We too need to “see and know” what God’s hand has done.

Redemption. What we see of our Creator’s work ought to make us eager to see His greater work as our Savior. “Remember me, O Lord, with the favor You have toward Your people; Oh, visit me with Your salvation, that I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance” (Psalm 106:4,5).

Revelation. Nowhere, except in the very person of His Son, has God shown His glory any more than in His word. But we study the Scriptures drowsily and much of the wonder of God’s word is lost on us. We need to wake up and pay attention. “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law” (Psalm 119:18).

Our fervent prayer ought to be for help in taking in what God has delivered to us. Our shrunken vessels are too small to hold a worthy portion of His glory. “Grant us, we pray thee, a heart wide open to all this joy and beauty, and save our souls from being so steeped in care, or so darkened by passion, that we pass heedless and unseeing when even the thornbush by the wayside is aflame with the glory of God” (Walter Rauschenbusch).

“Only that day dawns to which we are awake” (Henry David Thoreau).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE OBEYED THE GOSPEL, THE THRONE OF GOD SHOULD ALWAYS BE THOUGHT OF AS “THE THRONE OF GRACE.” Needing help in so many ways and wanting our obedience to Christ to be steadfast, we can’t do without the confidence of which the Hebrew writer speaks. In order to keep from faltering in our faith, we’ll need to stay close to the throne of God’s grace.

It is a marvelous thing that we may have this confidence, but in Christ, that is the good news. As a gracious God, He wanted to save us from our sins, and to do so, He made a sacrifice of unimaginable love. Having done that, there is nothing else He wouldn’t do to help us, in whatever way we need Him. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

The character of God, then, is the key to the assurance of our salvation. God being who He is, we do not doubt that He desires for us to overcome every discouragement thrown at us by the enemy (1 Peter 5:8). God will give us the help we need — abundantly.

The prayer at the end of Jude’s letter to his embattled brethren is appropriate to our point: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24,25).

“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” is one of the greatest hymns ever written. In it Martin Luther powerfully captured the essence of the Christian’s faith: “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth His Name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle.” It is, after all, a battle. But we do not doubt that we will “receive mercy and find grace to help.”

Beneath the shadow of Thy throne,
Thy people are by faith secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone
To make the soul’s defenses sure.
(Isaac Watts)

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Men, generally, going with the stream, seldom judge for themselves, and purity of taste is almost as rare as talent” (François Voltaire).

MENTION THE WORD “TASTE,” AND YOU’RE LIKELY TO GET AN ARGUMENT GOING. Some folks believe that “there’s no accounting for taste,” and that one person’s tastes are as valid as anyone else’s. Others go to the opposite extreme and assume their own tastes are the infallible standard by which everybody else’s ought to be judged. Extremes and confused notions aside, however, there is something to be said for the idea of “good taste.” There really is such a thing, and most of us would do well to learn a bit more about it.

“Taste” is the ability to discern what is excellent or appropriate and what is not. The fact that judgment has to be exercised doesn’t mean the process is meaningless, nor is the process nullified simply because people sometimes use poor judgment. Some things are important to attempt even though our attempts may be imperfect, and acquiring the habit of tastefulness is one of them. Distinguishing between the excellent and the inferior is a virtuous thing to try to do.

We owe it to ourselves to sharpen our taste and live life as tastefully as possible. Not many days go by that we don’t face some choices between the tasteful and the not-so-tasteful. Having a good conscience requires, in part, that we pursue what good taste would say is best.

But we also owe it to those around us to act tastefully. One part of taste is knowing what is seemly or least likely to give offense in social situations. Isn’t that a good thing to know? And if we avoided acting in bad taste around others, wouldn’t that be a good gift to give them?

While there is obviously a subjective element in the enjoyment of many things, concepts like “beauty” and “joy” aren’t totally subjective. We miss the best part of life when we fail to acquire a taste for that which is enduringly beautiful and everlastingly joyful. It’s one of life’s great challenges to learn to approve the things that are excellent, but when we rise to meet that challenge, we find that life has a depth and a richness we never knew before. And not only that, but when we live tastefully, our friends will enjoy being around us more too.

“Beautiful things, when taste is formed, are obviously and unaccountably beautiful” (George Santayana).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise . . .” (Hebrews 10:35,36).

WHAT THE HEBREW WRITER SAID IS CERTAINLY TRUE OF ALL OF US: WE HAVE NEED OF ENDURANCE. We may enjoy some of our days in this world, but others we must simply endure. And even the enjoyable days must be “endured” while we wait for the best day of all: the day of our Lord’s final appearing (Hebrews 9:28).

Patience is a wonderful quality in general, but I think we sometimes need to be more patient with ourselves. In regard to our spiritual growth, we expect too much too soon, and we find ourselves developing a crabby, ill-tempered disposition. “After all the effort I’ve put into it, why aren’t things getting any better?” But we should understand that as long as our earthly pilgrimage lasts, we will never be anything more than “on the way” to our destination. Or to change the illustration, we will never be anything more than “works in progress.” We see the need for patience with other people — why can’t we be more patient with ourselves?

It helps to be reminded that growth, whether physical or spiritual, is an “incremental” process. An increment is a small change in something, so small as to be barely perceptible. And that’s how growth usually occurs: by small changes. So what we must do is patiently make regular investments in our growth, trusting that the result will be seen later, even if we can’t see it right now.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4). Isn’t it interesting that James says we must let patience have its perfect work? We can go through all the growth-producing events in the world and not be profited by them if we give up before the process is complete.

But we must make sure patience with the process of growth does not turn into complacency. We must accept the fact that growth doesn’t take place very quickly right now, but we must never tolerate the fact of no growth — for not to be growing is to be dying.

“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still” (Chinese Proverb).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15,16).

THE MOMENT A PERSON PASSES FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH TO LIFE IS A GREAT MOMENT. No small part of the new Christian’s rejoicing is a sense of relief. He has escaped, by God’s grace, the greatest of enemies, and it is right to celebrate, just as it was right for Israel to celebrate when God brought them through the Red Sea and destroyed the armies of Pharaoh (Exodus 15:1-21). But after the singing died down, Israel’s question would have been, “What happens now?” It was great to be alive, but there was work to be done and a wilderness to be crossed before Canaan could be their possession. And so it is with the new Christian. The joy of deliverance is appropriately followed by the question, “What do I do now?”

The new Christian needs to understand that he has embarked on a process of spiritual growth. Yes, baptism marks the end of a person’s old life, but it is the beginning of the work God intends to do to remake that person’s character and restore it to the perfect image of His Son. Many texts speak of this, but none more clearly than Ephesians 4:15,16 where Paul says that “we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”

But Paul also emphasizes the importance of the church in the Christian’s life and growth. The body of Christ needs — and is needed by — every Christian. It is “joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

So to the new Christian, I say this: your relationship to God is your primary concern, and your relationship to the church is secondary. But don’t underestimate either of these parts of God’s plan. (1) Your contribution to the church won’t be what it ought to be if your individual, private walk with God isn’t rich and vibrant, but (2) your relationship to God won’t be what it ought to be if you don’t participate in the mutual strengthening that takes place in the church. There is no way around it: congregations are given for our good. They are part of God’s means of producing mature, heaven-ready individuals.

“Churches: Soulariums” (P. K. Thomajan).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Each day provides its own gifts” (Martial).

LIVING WITH A SENSE OF “IMMEDIACY” MEANS THAT WE DEAL RIGHTLY WITH WHAT IS DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF US. If something is “immediate,” that means there is nothing between us and it. The present moment is immediate: there are no intervening moments that we have to live through to get to it. It is “right here, right now.” Consider the wisdom of gaining a measure of immediacy in our lives.

The value of immediacy. Doing right now the thing that is best suited to our immediate situation is the only way to taste the goodness of life in its fullness. As Martial reminds us, “Each day provides its own gifts.” Whatever tomorrow’s gifts may be, there is a span of time between us and those gifts. Today’s gifts have already arrived, however. They are immediate, and their goodness shouldn’t be despised.

The importance of immediacy. If we don’t use a particular moment to its best advantage, then we lose that moment, and it can never be gotten back. The present is a precious commodity; it’s all we have. And so to default, procrastinate, or otherwise throw away the immediate point in time is to throw away the only thing that truly belongs to us in life. “Remember,” wrote Marcus Aurelius, “that the sole life which a man can lose is that which he is living at the moment.”

The power of immediacy. Learning to live in the immediate moment is a powerful thing to do. If you’ve never tried it, you’d probably be amazed at the good momentum it can set in motion in your life. But not only that, it also increases our influence on others. The folks who have a positive impact on other people aren’t usually guilty of procrastination; they know that the time to act is now.

There are few resolutions we can make that will make any greater difference for good than resolving to live with a sense of immediacy. Enjoying each moment as it passes, doing each moment’s duty as it confronts us, and gaining the influence that comes from living immediately — these are things that we’d be foolish not to do. It’s worth the effort to deal promptly and thankfully with what is immediate, even when it’s difficult — and especially when it’s difficult.

“The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer” (United States Army).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com