In God's Hands

John 10:27-30 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Michael Low is a member of my Friday evening small group Bible Study, Sunday School teacher and Ministry Board member at our church. Michael attends a Men's Bible Study called "The Influences" and shares his notes via email, and has given me permission to share them on my Blog. So for the next week, you will be seeing Michael's thoughts, and I pray that you will be blessed and take a gold nugget of truth for your life. Brian 

God has a plan, God is sovereign, we're not.  There are no coincidences there are only God incidences.  My times are in thy hands...  O thou who has measured my days and the seasons of my times.

Man of God vow:  Do you want to spend the rest of your life learning to become just like Jesus?  Absolutely!  From time to time even though in my own power I can't keep my vow, my vow will keep me.  Thou in me and I in thee. 

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  We must decrease that he might increase.  Will the real you please stand up?  The real you is Christ in you the hope of glory.

My mind will say that I'm not being genuine, that I'm just playing a role, that I'm wearing a mask...  The devil is the deceiver.  But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of The Lord are changed from glory (of the flesh) to glory (of the spirit) even as by the spirit of The Lord.

For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the (spiritual) image of his son.  Isaiah 55  My ways are not thy ways sayeth The Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways.

Lovest thou me more than these?  All this stuff, all these things, all these people?  Thou shall love The Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  This is the first and great commandment. 

Be not conformed (squeezed into the mold) of this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind (allowing your mind to be renewed.)  Like David said, Bless The Lord O my soul, all that is within me bless his holy name.  David commanded his mind to bless God.  Blessing the Lord is a deliberate intentional act:  taking deliberate control of the reins of our minds.  In our actively blessing God, he will in return bless us.  In blessing God we allow our minds to be renewed.

Humility is the key to being like Jesus:  empty yourself of your "rights."  Human Rights are spiritual wrongs.  "What's in it for me" is contrary to the mind of Christ.  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God... but made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant...  he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

We must crucify the old man nature by putting on the new man which is renewed according to the spirit.  For the law of the spirit of life in Christ hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

It's not about me, it's about Him.  It's not my plan, it's His plan.  My times are in thy hands...

Your Brother in Christ, Michael