I am beyond thrilled to finally post the first lesson from the summer DESTINY Bible study! Our first meeting yesterday was such fun and I loved getting to meet everyone. For any of you who were not able to make it we missed you, but can't wait to see you next week :)
Since the summer Bible study is titled DESTINY I thought it would be nice to go deeper into what the whole idea of "destiny" means to me in my life and also what it means as chosen Children of God!
dest-ti-ny
n. The events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future.
*The hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future.
Destiny is essentially our ultimate Fate or Future in life and also as Christians. However, when one thinks of the idea of destiny they can see that what lies ahead in the future could be both good and bad. Our future is not something we can control, for ultimately we control absolutely NOTHING in our life. Nevertheless, we reap the rewards when we are faithful to God and his plan for our life, but when we choose to be selfish and go against God's plan we can bring a destiny of destruction upon ourselves
Since the summer Bible study is titled DESTINY I thought it would be nice to go deeper into what the whole idea of "destiny" means to me in my life and also what it means as chosen Children of God!
dest-ti-ny
n. The events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future.
*The hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future.
Destiny is essentially our ultimate Fate or Future in life and also as Christians. However, when one thinks of the idea of destiny they can see that what lies ahead in the future could be both good and bad. Our future is not something we can control, for ultimately we control absolutely NOTHING in our life. Nevertheless, we reap the rewards when we are faithful to God and his plan for our life, but when we choose to be selfish and go against God's plan we can bring a destiny of destruction upon ourselves
" Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ."
Philippians 3:17-20
For example, think of the Israelites who became so blinded and consumed by an idol that they could physically see and touch, that they turned against God and began to worship a golden calf.......completely forgetting all that God had done for them so far! Thus, it is sometimes the same way with us in life. We loose sight of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross and all that God continues to do in our life, and we turn to our own desires and willful plans, never stopping to realize that God already has a greater plan for us.
However, man has a free will to make choices. We have the ability to choose God's will and plan our our won. Therefore, though we might have a say in our life it is ultimately God's plan that succeeds, such as Proverbs 16:33 states "the lot is cast into the lap, but every decision is from the Lord." (look up the verses below)
I like to think of myself as a character in a story, book, or play, in which I have lines and a plot line that I am living out every second of the day. Thus, if you begin to look at life in being a story, in which you are a character you begin to see different aspects to the production, such as an author and creator who himself only knows the outcome. Furthermore, if life is a story, than just life every good story there is a beginning and and ending. Therefore, if we know there is an ending shouldn't we, like all good characters, seek to live our lives to the best of our abilities in order to achieve all that the author has written and planned for us? I love what N.D. Wilson says about life in his book Tilt-A-Whirl:
However, man has a free will to make choices. We have the ability to choose God's will and plan our our won. Therefore, though we might have a say in our life it is ultimately God's plan that succeeds, such as Proverbs 16:33 states "the lot is cast into the lap, but every decision is from the Lord." (look up the verses below)
- 1 Corinthians 2:7-9
- Jeremiah 1:4-5
- Psalm 139:16
I like to think of myself as a character in a story, book, or play, in which I have lines and a plot line that I am living out every second of the day. Thus, if you begin to look at life in being a story, in which you are a character you begin to see different aspects to the production, such as an author and creator who himself only knows the outcome. Furthermore, if life is a story, than just life every good story there is a beginning and and ending. Therefore, if we know there is an ending shouldn't we, like all good characters, seek to live our lives to the best of our abilities in order to achieve all that the author has written and planned for us? I love what N.D. Wilson says about life in his book Tilt-A-Whirl:
"This world is beautiful but badly broken....I love this round stage where we act out the tragedies and the comedies of history. I love it with all of its villains and petty liars and self-righteous pompers. I love the ans and the laughter of wide-eyed children encountering their first butterfly. I love it as it is, because it is a story, and it isn't stuck in one place. It is full of conflict and darkness like every good story. And life every good story, there will be an ending."
- "Tilt-A-Whirl" pg. 17
BEGINNING_______________________________________destiny___________________________________________END
It is essentially the time in between our beginning an end that we fulfill our destiny, though we might not know what it will be! However, though the ending us unknown we do know that we have a story and life to live out for God! Therefore, it is our job to willingly accept the task of Christians and be open to the story that unfolds in our lives.........even if you think God could never use you or you think that your story isn't anything special, always know that God does indeed have a story for you and a crazy plan at that!
It is essentially the time in between our beginning an end that we fulfill our destiny, though we might not know what it will be! However, though the ending us unknown we do know that we have a story and life to live out for God! Therefore, it is our job to willingly accept the task of Christians and be open to the story that unfolds in our lives.........even if you think God could never use you or you think that your story isn't anything special, always know that God does indeed have a story for you and a crazy plan at that!
"He wrote the story. He crafted your character. He gave you life and a plot of your own. Even simple character stories, the kind with no special effects, put together by one lonely producer and starring unbeautiful people, even those are not beneath Him........But why would any Christian claim that God has stopped talking? Did he speak the world into existence? Does matter exist apart from Him? Is it still here? Are you still here? Then He is still SPEAKING. Step outside your front door and look at today's stage. Speak. God will reply. He will speak to you. He will give you a scene, a setting for the day. He will give you conflict to overcome, opportunities for your character to grow or fail. But do not expect him to speak in English. And do not expect Him to stay on whatever topic you might choose."
- N.D. Wilson "Tilt-A-Whirl" pg. 30,31
If you stop to consider what Destiny means in relation to your life, you might think it is something that will happen in the future......happening a year or two from now. However, the future is so much closer than we often realize! The fact of the matter is that we are presently living in the future. Destiny is so much more than the infinite future…it is the future right now….it is living in the present knowing a second transpiring and ticking hand of the clock leaves behind a past of happenings and a future of infinite opportunities.
As characters in God's story, God's destiny in our lives is essentially about living as more than we are! It is about living out a greater purpose and growing in our Heavenly Father's love daily, knowing that we are not just simple characters that will fade into oblivion, but that we are characters in HIStory (God's story). There are greater things that lie in store of our lives and that is our "HIGHER CALLING"!
Living with the knowledge of a Higher Calling can at times seem daunting to us. Furthermore, as imperfect human beings we often cannot see how God could use our wholly imperfect and broken lives to carry out HIStory. However, though we are imperfect people, it is our imperfections that God truly uses for his glory! Just like in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, we have a treasure in jars of clay, and I like to think that the jars of clay are cracked, for it is only once they are cracked that the light is able to escape. If you think back to all of the many stories in the Bible not one person God used was ever perfect, and that is what makes their name stand forever in the pages of HIStory:
When we accepted Christ into our heart as Christians we took on a powerful "higher calling" to live out a destiny that God commands us to share.......the GREAT COMMISSION:
As characters in God's story, God's destiny in our lives is essentially about living as more than we are! It is about living out a greater purpose and growing in our Heavenly Father's love daily, knowing that we are not just simple characters that will fade into oblivion, but that we are characters in HIStory (God's story). There are greater things that lie in store of our lives and that is our "HIGHER CALLING"!
Living with the knowledge of a Higher Calling can at times seem daunting to us. Furthermore, as imperfect human beings we often cannot see how God could use our wholly imperfect and broken lives to carry out HIStory. However, though we are imperfect people, it is our imperfections that God truly uses for his glory! Just like in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, we have a treasure in jars of clay, and I like to think that the jars of clay are cracked, for it is only once they are cracked that the light is able to escape. If you think back to all of the many stories in the Bible not one person God used was ever perfect, and that is what makes their name stand forever in the pages of HIStory:
- Noah got drunk (Gen 9:20-27)
- Abraham was old (Gen 15)
- Rebekah manipulated God’s plan (Gen 26)
- Leah was ugly (Gen 29:7)
- Joseph was abused (Ge 37:12)
- Moses had a stuttering problem (Ex. 4:10)
- Gideon was afraid (Jud. 6:23)
- Samson had long hair and was a womanizer (Jud 16)
- Rahab was a prostitute (Josh 6:24-26)
- Jeremiah & Timothy were young teenagers (Jer 1-2)
- David had an affair and was a murderer (2 Sam 11)
- Jonah ran from God (Jonah 1:3)
- Naomi was a widow and bitter (Ruth 1)
- Ruth lost her husband and moved (Ruth 1)
- Job went bankrupt and lost everything (Job 16:12)
- Peter denied Christ 3 times (Luke 22:54-62)
- Martha worried (Luke 10:38-42)
- Samaritan woman was an adulterer (John 4:3-42)
- Zaccheus was small (Luke 19:3)
- Saul persecuted Christians
- Paul was to religious (Acts 26:24)
- Mary was a virgin (Luke 2)
- James and John were only fishermen
- Lazarus was DEAD!!! (John 11:1-44)
When we accepted Christ into our heart as Christians we took on a powerful "higher calling" to live out a destiny that God commands us to share.......the GREAT COMMISSION:
"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'”
- Matthew 28:18-20
Our Higher Calling as God's disciples and Children is to live above and apart from the world. We can see this act in Moses's life when he willingly climbs up the mountain to experience God fully in all of his glory! Moses, though lacking in faith at times in regards to God's plan and destiny for him, chose to hike up the mountain. He wasn't contented to stay at the bottom of the mountain and be caught up in the world, rather he chose to take the road less traveled in order to reach his Higher calling from God.
Furthermore, our life as Children of God with a powerful destiny and calling is more than just reading the Bible and meditating on His precepts, it is about making the words an active part of our lives. Just like Luke 11:28 which says "blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it", so in the same way God will bless us when we willingly choose to have faith in his plan for our lives and confidently share our destiny with those around us.
Read: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
When Jesus died on the cross for our sins he accomplished a great feat in defeating death and sin as well as creating the new covenant that allows us free access to his presence and a personal relationship with him! It is therefore through that relationship with Jesus that he gives us our destiny to a higher calling and prepares us with his power and glory in our lives.
Read: 2 Corinthians 3
We must be willing and ready in any and every circumstance to be used mightily by God for his glory! As humans with a free will we so desperately want to have control over our life, but it is through letting go and being willing to be used mightily by God that he will do GREAT things in our lives as we confidently live out HIStory in our everyday lives. We have to trust that God's plans our best because we know how powerful he is and what he is capable of. We must be careful not to let our own manipulations take control over our life, for if we start to manipulate God's plan we can miss our destiny and the blessings that come from it by not yielding to God.
Therefore, it is through our DESTINY that we point others towards Christ! I love the quote which says "be careful how you live for you might be the only Bible some people will ever read". Thus, our lives are simply another chapter in God's book just like all of the books of the Bible. Just like the book of John, Timothy, Peter, Matthew and so many more there is a book with your name on it.
Your DESINY is not only about drawing closer to God so that you can distinguish his plan for your life and learn to have faith and trust him even in the unknown and uncertain times, but it is also about living out a Higher Calling to climb the mountain and take the road less traveled so that you can make disciples for God and bring others to him.
Daughters. Endlessly. Seeking. Truth. In. Nearing. Yahweh.
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 2:32
-Madison
Furthermore, our life as Children of God with a powerful destiny and calling is more than just reading the Bible and meditating on His precepts, it is about making the words an active part of our lives. Just like Luke 11:28 which says "blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it", so in the same way God will bless us when we willingly choose to have faith in his plan for our lives and confidently share our destiny with those around us.
Read: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
When Jesus died on the cross for our sins he accomplished a great feat in defeating death and sin as well as creating the new covenant that allows us free access to his presence and a personal relationship with him! It is therefore through that relationship with Jesus that he gives us our destiny to a higher calling and prepares us with his power and glory in our lives.
Read: 2 Corinthians 3
We must be willing and ready in any and every circumstance to be used mightily by God for his glory! As humans with a free will we so desperately want to have control over our life, but it is through letting go and being willing to be used mightily by God that he will do GREAT things in our lives as we confidently live out HIStory in our everyday lives. We have to trust that God's plans our best because we know how powerful he is and what he is capable of. We must be careful not to let our own manipulations take control over our life, for if we start to manipulate God's plan we can miss our destiny and the blessings that come from it by not yielding to God.
- Our DESTINY is not even truly about us………it is about God’s story and God using us to write it!
- Just like all of the incredible people in the Bible who God used to write the pages of HIStory……we too are being used greatly just like each and every one of them!
Therefore, it is through our DESTINY that we point others towards Christ! I love the quote which says "be careful how you live for you might be the only Bible some people will ever read". Thus, our lives are simply another chapter in God's book just like all of the books of the Bible. Just like the book of John, Timothy, Peter, Matthew and so many more there is a book with your name on it.
Your DESINY is not only about drawing closer to God so that you can distinguish his plan for your life and learn to have faith and trust him even in the unknown and uncertain times, but it is also about living out a Higher Calling to climb the mountain and take the road less traveled so that you can make disciples for God and bring others to him.
Daughters. Endlessly. Seeking. Truth. In. Nearing. Yahweh.
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 2:32
-Madison