A GOOD PLACE TO START

 

September 11, 2023

Matthew 6:33-34 NLT

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today

 

Matthew 22:34-40 NLT

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

 

Romans 12:2 NLT

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

 

James 1:5 NLT

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

 

 

God’s plan for your life is more about who you are than what you do.

What should I do? You have probably asked that question a lot, especially if you have a major life decision to face.

A religious leader asked Jesus in the Bible: “Which is the greatest commandment of the Law?” (Matthew 22:36) In other words: what should I do?

In the next verse, we see Jesus’ reply: “’You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39)

You see, I believe from experience, my own and that of others, when we try to figure out what God’s plan is for our lives, Jesus actually gave us the starting place. Jesus said we can start understanding life and purpose by doing two things:

1.) Love God.

2.) Love other people.

We may not always know God’s will, fully and clearly, but we can always continue to walk in God’s ways. What does that mean? It means that even if we don’t know what’s next for our lives, we can continue to obey what God has called us to right now. That means following Jesus’ way, living a life of truthfulness and honor, and loving every person God puts in our lives.

And here’s the best part: When we follow Christ, He gives us wisdom through His Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:12-13) He renews our thoughts (Romans 12:2) and helps us focus on the right things. When we surround ourselves with wise people (Proverbs 13:20), they’ll help us make the right decisions, too. And one of the best ways we can find wisdom is through prayer. In fact, James 1:5 says that if we ask God for wisdom, He will give it to us!

Let us follow Jesus' teaching and start with Loving God and Others and watch where God's spirit leads us.