Be What You Were Meant to Be

There are times when all of us feel have felt left out.  Each of us have faced times when everyone else seemed to have it together as we fumbled through life.  Do others see us in this same manner?  What does God think?

Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. (Isaiah 43:7)

Believe it or not, God has a completely different view. He created you for his glory.  All of your abilities and especially the ones that you lack are all part of the make up that is you and God has a plan that utilizes you to fulfill this plan and for his glory.  Nobody can take your place.  Your life is like a key that opens doors for God's power to work and fulfill his will.

Don't waste your life trying to live up to what others are.  Instead allow God to live through you and be the person that he created for his plan and purpose.

What Does it Take?

We have been told to be this and we have read it in the scriptures: be strong and of good courage. But what is it?  What does it look like?  What usually comes to mind is a person that will not step away in the face of dangerous circumstances and with strength and fortitude will keep from being moved.  Have you tried to do this?  Were you successful?

Many believers have tried this and were successful, but sadly to say, so many have tried and were unsuccessful.  What is the difference between the two?  Was one group more determined than the other?  Did the successful love the Lord more than those who failed?

What we must understand is that Joshua was admonished to be strong and courageous, but his success was not going to be based on his amount of strength or determination.  Joshua's strength and courage was based on the promises of God.

Joshua 1:5 ...I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

In this passage we see two aspects of God's promise: he will not fail and he will not forsake.  The words "to fail" are translated from the word which can also mean to slacken. Have you ever met someone who slacking off in their responsibilities? The person who slacks off fails to achieve all that is expected of them because they cease or are slothful with their duties. God promised Joshua that he would not act in that manner towards him. The term "forsake" means to loosen or leave. I like to think of it as giving up on something or someone. Maybe there was a time when you tried to help someone. You invested in them with great patience, but after some time you realized that nothing had changed. Things weren't getting any better and whatever you did wasn't making  any difference.  So you decided that you were done helping. What did you do? You cut yourself loose from them and left off helping.

God promised Joshua that there would never be a time that he would cut him loose. Joshua could count on God always remaining with him and never to depart. Why was Joshua so strong and so courageous? It was because he knew that God would not fail or forsake him. With that promise, he could stand against Jericho and with that promise he could be strong when he was required to pick up the pieces after the grave defeat at Ai.

The great news is that these promises are not just for Joshua. God promised you the same. You too can be strong and courageous by simply having faith in God's promises.

Hebrews 13:5 ...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Romans 8:36-39 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Holiness (Hebrews 12:10)

Being holy isn't something we are required to do: it is something that we get to partake in or experience.

For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. (Hebrews 12:10)

We do not strive to get it, we are holy and God wants us to abide in that holiness.  We are not chastened because we commit an act of sin, we are chastened when we depart from experiencing holiness and resist returning.  Sin is a divergence that leads us away from the holiness that God wants us to experience.  It robs both the believer and God from the goodness that he wants us to experience with him.  When we see this truth, we drop the burden of holiness and embrace the experience that awaits us.

Live What You Believe (Galatians 2:11-13)

When a person comes to Chist, they begin a journey of learning and living by faith.  It may sound like an easy task, but it is anything but that.

Remember, the scriptures are your sole source of truth. God may use people that he gives to the church and their gifts to guide and influence you, but in reality, it is still just you and God.  God brings to you truth and he expects you to trust him and live by faith in that truth.

There may be times when you struggle with this.  Your struggle may come from a mis-understanding of truth or from fear that may keep you from believing and living by faith.  It can happen to the best of Christians.  The scriptures record the Apostle Peter as being one of those who struggled.

When certain disciples came to Antioch from James, Peter, who had previously eaten with the Gentile believers, withdrew and separated himself from them.  It was a terrible decision that brought upon him rebuke from the Apostle Paul.  Furthermore because of his vacillating, he probably confused and offended the Gentile believers, negatively affected his testimony, and hindered his ability to lead and influence others.  The worst was that he grieved the Holy Spirit and disappointed his father in Heaven.  All of this happened because he feared what others would think.

I wonder how many times in my life, I have failed to live as I believed, but instead altered my actions to satisfy others.  Believers need to know what they believe and then live according to that belief without being confused or ashamed. To keep from falling into that trap, I suggest that you consider the following.

1. Expose yourself to the scriptures daily.
2. Learn truth from the scriptures.
3. Believe what the scriptures say and not what others tell you what they say.
4. Ask God for grace to live the truth that you learned and believed: especially when you may be afraid.
5. Praise God each step of the way.

In Christ (Romans 8:39)

For the believer, one of the most important phrases in scripture is the phrase "in Christ". All the blessings that we have as believers come from our position in Christ. We are joint heirs in Christ. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings by that same position. In fact, every benefit that we have as a believer comes from our position in Christ.

Years ago when I worked in the steel mill, I was required to fulfill a 90 day probationary period. During that time I was obligated to fulfill every aspect of my employment and could not display any type of violation. If I did, the result would have been discharged from employment. But then, the 91st day came. It was at that point that I became a member of the union and with it entitled to all of its benefits. I inherited health benefits, vacation time, strict guidelines for types of work put upon me and protection from wrongful treatment. I was in!

Likewise when I trusted Christ, I was in! All that Christ has, I became a joint heir. His righteousness – mine! His Sonship – mine! His power – mine! The list can go on, but what I believe the be the greatest inheritance that I get from being in Christ is God's love.

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39)


The love that I get from God is not based on me – and am I ever glad of that – but is based on his love for his son and what he has done for us. The reason that nothing can separate me from the love of God is because there is nothing in Christ Jesus that God does not love and there will never be anything in him that could be unlovable. God, who is love, cannot stop loving and Jesus, who is the perfect object of love, can never be less than that. Because I am in Christ, I will never be less than completely and perfectly lovable.  Yes! I am in!

Grace and Peace (Galatians 1:3)

Grace and peace: these are familiar words and this phrase is found several times in scripture.  But why does the Apostle use these words?  Is it merely a kind of formal greeting or are these words intentional?

Grace is God doing a divine work in the heart that manifests itself in the life of a person.  This happens at salvation, but it also takes place in other areas.  The fruit of the Spirit is a work of his grace and these are manifested in every area of the believer's life.  In short, grace is when God does through us what we are unable to do ourselves or God enables us to be something beyond the scope of our ability.  So in actuality, "grace to you" means: May God grant you the ability to do and be what you are unable.

The word peace comes from the word which means "to set at one".  This is much like when a bone is broken and a doctor sets it at one so that healing can take place.  When countries are at odds, a negotiator may meet with the heads of state and bring these countries back into a harmony of agreement.  What he actually does is to set them at one again.

Peace in the believer's life is when God brings either his presence or truth to the believer resulting in faith that the situation is under his control and will some how bring about or work together for good.  No longer is the believer anxious or distressed.  His heart is set at one again.  Peace from God comes by recognizing that God is in control of all the circumstances that are out of your control.

Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.  (Galatians 1:3)

From God, you get two fantastic benefits: he will help you do what you cannot do and be what you cannot be and also control all of the circumstances in your life.  He is doing a work on the inside and also on the outside as well.

Therefore, rejoice in him.  Walk today knowing that his strength is promised to be with you and his sovereignty will control all that is around you.

What a Loser (Psalm 146:7-9)

We all know them and have worked with at least one person that the world would label as a loser.  The world labels them this way for many reasons.  Some get this label because of their looks.  Others because of their lack of intellect get called loser.  Others who don't seem to fit in with the norm are cast out as losers.  If we are honest with ourselves, we may have viewed some people that way.  The bad news is, we may be viewed that way by some select group of people.  With all that said, a very important question needs to be asked.  What does God think?

Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. (Psalms 146:7-9)

God is for the oppressed, the hungry, the blind, the depressed, strangers, the fatherless and widows.  In fact, you could label God as "The God of the Losers".  Stop and think about it.  Isn't that what you were when Christ found you?  When you cried out to Jesus for salvation, you were poor in spirit recognizing that you had nothing to offer God, your life was a mess and unless he would reach down from heaven and do a miracle, your life would be totally lost.  It was at that point that God came into your life and changed it forever.  What made it happen was a very simple formula: loser + God = fantastic salvation and a wonderful life.

Our society--many Christians included--has cast off the "losers" of this world.  They are so stuck on themselves and their agenda and could care less about the "loser" people who are hurting.  We need to make a difference and reach out to the cast aways.  We must demonstrate God's love so that they can believe in God's love.  Only then can they recognize that the Savior Jesus wants and accepts all that will come to him: especially those the world sees as losers.

So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. (Luke 14:21)