Question, do any of you have any plans for your life, for your family? You’re probably thinking, “uh, yeah!!! Actually, we are all over-run with “plans” of all kinds in our lives. It seems we just don’t have time for anything any more. We are so over-run with work, school activities, sports, community activities that we just don’t have time for anything anymore. With all this, we are also finding it hard to make time for the Lord and His church in our lives. Listen carefully to what James says in his letter in James 4:13-15 where he says, “13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit."14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, " If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that."
Now, James is not teaching here that it is wrong to make plans. We must make plans, must have some organization to our lives. But, what James is teaching us here is that all and any plans we make MUST be made according to the will of God. In other words, what does God, what would God have me to do here or there? Our God has plainly told us He must come first above all things in this world. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). In fact, this is where planning is essential. We know when the Lord’s church is meeting for Bible Class, for Worship, for special services such as gospel meetings, etc. If we are going to put God and His Son first, that takes planning, planning our worldly activities around the church, not the church around the world. We are also commanded not to forsake the assemblies of the church in Hebrews 10:24-25 where it says, “24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.” Notice, he did not say “not forsaking the “Sunday morning assembly” but “the” assembly, any and every assembly of the Lord’s church we are not to forsake. Brethren, this takes planning! With all the worldly activities we have in our world, in our families and in our lives, we must plan ahead, work at putting God first in every way.
So, again I ask, do you have any plans for your life? I pray that you do! I pray that you are planning to serve God, put Him first above everything in this world and save your soul eternally. If you do this, you will also have a tremendous impact on your family and your friends as well. By watching you and your example, they will be encouraged to follow your example and put God first in their lives also. And, in all of this, Almighty God and His Son will be honored in every way!
Until next week, I love you all,
Dan
Now, James is not teaching here that it is wrong to make plans. We must make plans, must have some organization to our lives. But, what James is teaching us here is that all and any plans we make MUST be made according to the will of God. In other words, what does God, what would God have me to do here or there? Our God has plainly told us He must come first above all things in this world. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). In fact, this is where planning is essential. We know when the Lord’s church is meeting for Bible Class, for Worship, for special services such as gospel meetings, etc. If we are going to put God and His Son first, that takes planning, planning our worldly activities around the church, not the church around the world. We are also commanded not to forsake the assemblies of the church in Hebrews 10:24-25 where it says, “24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.” Notice, he did not say “not forsaking the “Sunday morning assembly” but “the” assembly, any and every assembly of the Lord’s church we are not to forsake. Brethren, this takes planning! With all the worldly activities we have in our world, in our families and in our lives, we must plan ahead, work at putting God first in every way.
So, again I ask, do you have any plans for your life? I pray that you do! I pray that you are planning to serve God, put Him first above everything in this world and save your soul eternally. If you do this, you will also have a tremendous impact on your family and your friends as well. By watching you and your example, they will be encouraged to follow your example and put God first in their lives also. And, in all of this, Almighty God and His Son will be honored in every way!
Until next week, I love you all,
Dan
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