Jill Briscoe, noted author and international speaker, was once asked what she saw as her life’s greatest mission. She answered that her life’s greatest mission is “to figure out what to do every day in my life – as ordained by God – and then to do it.” Jill knows there are many things to do in life that are not ordained of God, which is why we must be single-minded.
To be single-minded as I embrace God’s purpose for my life means that there are times I have to just say no . . .
to an invitation to join my friends for coffee,
to an offer for a lucrative job,
to a long weekend . . .
To be single-minded as I embrace God’s purpose for my life means there are times I have to just say yes . . .
to less sleep and more prayer,
to less TV and more study,
to less work and more worship.
Do you struggle with knowing the will of God for your life? For your marriage? For your family? For your home? Knowing God’s will is not difficult – unless you are not abiding in Him. Jesus indicated that knowing His Father’s will is the fruit of abiding as well as asking: “You did not choose me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” John 15:16, NIV.
God has chosen you and me for the purpose of bearing much eternal fruit – fruit in our character such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control exhibited toward those within our own home – fruit that is simply the character of God’s Son coming out in us. We are to bear much eternal fruit in our service as we lead other people to faith in Jesus Christ and help them to grow into maturity so that they in turn will produce much eternal fruit in their lives.
From the time we make the choice to open our eyes and get out of bed in the morning until we make the choice to go back to bed and close our eyes in the evening, our days are filled with a series of choices. We choose
where we go,
what we do,
what we believe,
and how we behave.
Our own lives, reputations, relationships, careers, health, future, and values are shaped by the choices we make. The choice
to lie or to tell the truth,
to seek vengeance or to forgive,
to ignore God or to acknowledge God,
determines the type of person we are. Without question, the most important choice you will ever make involves your attitude toward God and your relationship with Him.
“Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female” (Gen. 7:2-3, NIV ). Just how big was Noah’s assignment? We know that there are more than eighteen thousand different species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians today. If the number is doubled to include two of every kind, with several thousand extras added to make up the five additional pairs of each “clean” species, then double all of that to include any that have become extinct, the total figure is about seventy-five thousand animals!
According to the dimensions given, when Noah had all the animals assembled on the ark, only 60 percent of the available space would have been occupied. The remaining 40 percent would be available for food storage and living quarters for Noah’s family. It all worked, as impossible as it had seemed!
God knows what He is doing! His plans are perfect! You can obey His instructions with confidence!
