Do you have breathless anticipation of living with God everyday? Is it exciting for you to think where is God going to take me today? How is He going to mold me? What is He going to teach me? What is He going to tell me? What adventures does God have for me to today? If He really is the Creator of the heavens and earth, could anything be more exciting than a day by day intimate vibrant, breathing relationship with him? It is more exciting than Vegas, it is more exciting than traveling, it is more exciting than sports, it is more exciting than a wild safari; it is more exciting than a party; more exciting then a new car or house. Oh how we have been misled that God is boring! Oh how we have been deceived that God is mundane or that God is second-rate. We think we are so enlightened with all our knowledge and technology that God is a thing of the past. We do not think that God is interested in EVERY details of our lives (remember He has counted the hairs on your head). God breathed life into you at birth. God knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. God wants to be a part of every breath you take. Walking with him should be as effortless as breathing.

Most of us have no idea why we were born. We spend our lives in search of purpose. We are on the race track of life; the course of the world and all we do is spin our wheels going around in a circle having the same fears, doing the same routine things, having the same worries and living in a rut of existence. God wants us to enter each day with anticipation which can only be done when you begin to know the heart of God. Each day is a gift from God and contains a moment God has been planning to express his purpose for creating you; a moment that he has planned since before time began to express his grace and mercy through you. Entering your day with the same trusting anticipation as a child asking a parent, “Where are we going today and what are we going to do?” will let God be the Lord of your day and your work.

What is your mission statement for life? What is your purpose for life? What were born to do in God’s kingdom? God wants us to be perfect (telios) which does not mean without flaw or defect, but means to reach the goal of God’s intended purpose for your life and be all that God wants you to be; to be just like Him as I fulfill my mission in life given by my commander-in-chief, the Lord of Hosts. God wants me to become the destiny that He purposes for me to be. Philippians 1:6: being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. This is not done by doing nothing; living like everyone else, wasting your life away with trivialities that matter little in His kingdom. God wants me to be everything he designed me to be. Only with God is this possible. It cannot be done by human grit, human achievement, human effort and human knowledge because YOU WILL ALWAYS FALL SHORT. God is the designer, the architect, the master-builder, the sculptor, and the artist and without Him the true design for your life falls flat and fails miserably. Such a waste of God’s potential; such a waste of God’s impact in the world through your life. Grow up and become His destiny for you. Be completely what He wants you to be. To do so you must surrender to His will, His purposes, His design. You must serve Him above all else. “No man can serve two masters” Matthew 6:24. You must become a doulos, a slave of God, to fulfill your purpose in life.. A servant of God must see the opportunities in life to display God’s glory.

The first four words in the Book of the Romans, the foundational Magna Carta of all Christianity, is “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus”. To carry out your divine destiny you MUST be a servant of Christ Jesus. This word servant is the Greek word “doulos” which means bondslave in the Greek. The word “slave” has such a negative connotation in our history because of the horrible history of slavery in this country. But we must look at this word in light of its biblical culture and language and there is a real beauty to being a slave. It is not a mere employee or causal bystander and lukewarm follower. We are to be slaves to God because we are totally dependant on our master. In order to absolutely fulfill God’s calling on your life you must become a doulos.

Bondservant (1401) (doulos from deo = to bind) was an individual bound to another in servitude and conveys the idea of the slave’s close, binding ties with his master, belonging to him, obligated to and desiring to do his will and in a permanent relation of servitude. In sum, the will of the doulos is consumed in the will of the master.
A bondservant is one who surrendered wholly to another’s will and thus devoted to another to the disregard of his own interest. We are not our own but have been bought with the price of the blood of Christ. I Corinthians 6:20. We are now the property of God purchased by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and are His slaves exclusively. No man can serve two masters (Mt 6:24). We had been slaves of Sin by our birth into Adam’s likeness, but now we are slaves of Christ by our new, second birth. A doulos has no will of its own, no business of its own, no time of its own and is acting for the Master, Christ; dependent upon Him and obedient to Him.

Heart of the Doulos: Matthew 8:9: For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. We are under God’s authority when He says go, we go, when He says come, we come, when he says do this, we do it. This is the heart that we must carry to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives.

Doulos was used of a select group of Old Testament believers who were bondservants of Jehovah including Abraham (Ps 105:6, 42), Moses (2 Ki 21:8, Mal 4:4), Joshua [Josh 24:29], Caleb [Num 14:24], Job [Job 1:8], David (2 Sam 7:5) the prophets (Amos 3:7; Zec 1:6), and the Servant of servants, the Messiah (Isaiah 42:1,53:11).

In the Greek culture doulos usually referred to the involuntary, permanent service of a slave, but the use in the epistles of Paul and Peter elevates the meaning of doulos to the Hebrew sense which describes a servant who willingly commits himself to serve a master he loves and respects (cp Exodus 21:5, 6 Deuter. 15:12-16).

Doulos speaks of submission to one’s master. The doulos had no life of his own, no will of his own, no purpose of his own and no plan of his own. All was subject to his master. The bondservant’s every thought, breath, and effort was subject to the will of his master. In sum, the picture of a bondservant is one who is absolutely surrendered and totally devoted to his master.

By using doulos Paul is saying:

“I am a slave to the Lord Jesus Christ. I am absolutely sold out to His will. I am willing to do whatever He tells me to do. I am willing to say whatever He tells me to say. I am willing to go wherever He leads me. I am a man who has made a choice. I am going to serve Him for all eternity.”

Kenneth Wuest explains that a doulos as:

“the most abject, servile term used by the Greeks to denote a slave. The word designated one who was born as a slave, one who was bound to his master in chords so strong that only death could break them, one who served his master to the disregard of his own interests, one whose will was swallowed up in the will of his master. Paul was born a slave of sin at his physical birth, and a bondslave of his Lord through regeneration. The chords that bound him to his old master Satan, were rent asunder in his identification with Christ in the latter’s death (Ro 6). The chords that bind him to his new Master will never be broken since the new Master will never die again, and is Paul’s new life (Php 1:21;Col 3:3,4). He has changed masters because he has a new nature (2 Cor 5:17, 2Pe 1:3,4), the divine, and the evil nature which compelled him to serve the Devil has had its power over him broken (Col 1:13, Heb 2:14, 15). Paul’s will, at one time swallowed up in the will of Satan, now is swallowed up in the sweet will of God.

The function of a doulos is to serve His Master. The great violinist, Niccolo Paganini willed his marvelous violin to city of Genoa on condition that it must never be played. The wood of such an instrument, while used and handled, wears only slightly, but set aside, it begins to decay. Paganini’s lovely violin has today become worm-eaten and useless except as a relic. A Christian’s unwillingness to serve His Master may also destroy his capacity for usefulness. The purpose, destiny, design, calling and function of our lives will decay and rot away like this marvelous violin if fail to serve God with all our heart.

Paradoxically a bondservant of the Most High God is one of the most privileged, noblest professions in the world. The Master also has responsibilities for each doulos.

i) The Master is responsible for His slaves’ needs – feeding, housing, clothing, and all else is the slave owner’s concern. It is because we are GOD’S servants (slaves) that our Lord says “Therefore . . . take no thought . . .”, (Mt 6:24; Mt 6:25), for the ordinary needs of life. The apostle Paul will say later, “My GOD shall supply all your need.” (Philippians 4:19)

(ii) The Master is responsible for His slaves’ duties – they will not choose their own task, or their own sphere. Whether ours is to be the more menial, or the more genial, work is in His plan, not ours. It is the Christian’s wisdom to stand before Him as those in 2 Samuel 15:15, “Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my Lord the King shall appoint”, or as Gabriel in Luke 1:19, “I . . . stand. . . and am sent . . .”.or Isaiah 6:8 “Here am I send me”

(iii) The Master is responsible for His slaves’ supplies – “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges?” asks 1 Corinthians 9:7: the soldier has all his military equipment provided; and likewise, the slave is supplied with everything needful for the adequate discharge of all his duties. Whatever He tells us to do, we can do – “If . . . God command thee . . . thou shalt be able to . . .” Exodus 18:23 – because all supplies are at our disposal. And as Paul records, in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for thee”. And Ephesians 6:10-“Put on the whole armor of God.” And II Corinthians 10:4: “The weapons of our warfare are mighty.” And II Corinthians 3:5; “Our sufficiency is of God.”

The person who has any sense at all will say, “Lord, You have overwhelmed me. I am making a choice out of love for You to be Your slave. I know I am no longer Your slave, but I choose to be Your slave.” Do you want to be used by the Lord? Come to the place in your life that you are willing to say, “God, it doesn’t matter what You tell me to do, I am willing to be submissive to Your will.” When you come to that place, God will do things through you like He did through Paul. One picture of that is beautiful, and it is found in Deut 15:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17:

If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him free. And when you set him free, you shall not send him away empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you. And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. And it shall come about if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you; then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever. And also you shall do likewise to your maidservant. (Cp Ex 21:2, 3, 4, 5,6)

Slavery in that day and time was nothing like we know today. The slaves had to be treated as if they were your own children in your own family. You had to treat them with dignity and integrity. After they had served you for a period of time, you had to set them free. But the beautiful picture here is of a slave. He served a master for seven years. The master has loved him, provided for him, been kind to him, helped him, all the things that you would look for. Now the day comes that he has been set free. He is given of the flock, given of the threshing floor, given of the wine vat. This servant stands there, and he says, “You know, I have been so cared for during the seven years that I have worked with you, where would I go? I don’t know where I am going to go. Nobody would love me like you have loved me. Nobody would do for me what you have done for me. Why, I am going to choose to be your slave. I know you have set me free, but because of who you are and because of my love for you, I want to continue to be your slave. I want to do for you not because I have to but because I just want to.” What a gorgeous picture. They had a public ceremony and they would take that little instrument and put it up by their ear and drive it through the ear into the door, leaving a hole in the ear. What a gorgeous picture when you see this slave walking alongside his master, smiling. You would see that man and you knew he had been with him seven years, maybe it is three years down the road past that seven years and you say, “Isn’t that wonderful! That man was set free and now that man has chosen to serve out of love for his master.” Man looks on the outside. God looks at our heart.

Why are you serving the Lord Jesus? If you don’t love Him, if you haven’t understood that nobody else will ever treat you like Jesus, then no wonder you are not being used of the Lord in the task He has assigned to His church. A man that God can use is a person who is willing to bow, a person who is willing to say, “God, I just want what You want in my life.” God is waiting on us to love Him and to bow before Him and to make conscious choices. “God, you have given me everything. If I left you, where would I go? Lord, I want to serve you. No man can serve two masters. I want to serve You. I want to be usable in the kingdom of God.” That is the Apostle Paul. He was a man who was willing, sold out to the will of God.”

It seems like we want to be a slave of everything else but God. Why do we sell out to ourselves by trying to build our lives on our own without God? It only leads to enslavement. It only leads to the destruction of our calling. Why do so often want to argue with God about His purpose and design for our lives as we resist his guidance and paths. Isaiah talks about the foolishness of trying to play God.

Isaiah 45:9-12 : “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’or to a woman, ‘With what
are you in labor?'”
11Thus says the LORD,the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:) “Ask me of
things to come;will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?
12 I made the earthand created man on it;it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host.

God as the great sculptor and potter knew what He was doing when he formed you and called you to fulfill His purpose. Who has the right to command God concerning His children? Truly Father knows best. Did we have any part in creating the heavens and the earth? Is God’s design of us any less spectacular?

Skip Moen-Have you ever experienced the wonder that occurs when you allow God to give you His perspective about the task you face?

Matthew 6:11-Give us this day our daily bread.

Skip Moen in “Words to Lead by: A Practical Daily Devotional on Leading Like Jesus”, talks about this word “daily”:

“The Greek word is epiousion. This is one of the most unusual words in the entire Bible. The word appears in this verse for the first and only time…We can learn something about this word by looking at its parts. “Epi” usually means “upon.” “Ousia” is the Greek word for “being” (to exist). Perhaps the word is telling us that God gives us our being-our very existence-one day at a time. Without God’s grace, I would simply cease to be. Do you ever thank God that you just are? We are part of the fellowship of the redeemed. We know that our basic needs must come to us one day at a time. We are healed for this day. We are helped for this day. We are whole for this day. The basic necessities of our life cannot be stored up for tomorrow nor appropriated from yesterday. We can only live daily. Even life’s most basic needs are a gift from God.”

God is not a duplicator. Of the seven billion people on the planet earth not one has the same fingerprint. God is not a duplicator, a copy cat, and a counterfeiter, but God is a Creator; God is an originator: God is a visionary. God only has one you. No one can ever be you. God only designed one you. He only has one blueprint that he masterfully used to make a masterpiece called you. God has designed you wonderfully unique and awesomely made as a true original. God has the most spectacular design for your life that is absolutely breathtaking and specific down to the littlest detail. The gift of holy spirit, the Christ in you, that carries the flame of God in your soul is uniquely and specially designed for your body, your soul and your heart. No one has the same flame of God. No one exactly the same gift of holy spirit for God has tailored made this wonderful gift for your life and your purposes. Are you ready for a God original life? Are you ready to surrender to His purposes? Are you ready to give everything to Him? Are you ready to serve Him with all your heart and be totally dependent upon Him?

Your spiritual birth certificate says that God is your Father. He birthed you in Christ; He bought and paid for you with the blood of His only begotten son, you have the heavenly seal on your birth certificate, impressed in the blood of Jesus Christ, that gives it heavenly legal authentication. Did you know you have a spiritual birth certificate when you confess Jesus as your Lord believed that God raised him from the dead and get saved? It is legally binding and recognized in the court of heaven. It has been stamped as valid on the throne of God. Nothing you can do will ever change who your father is? Reflect on this, God is your father. You are his child. Nothing on your part can undo the heavenly bloodline you received at the time of your new birth (your heavenly conception). Wrapped up in that new birth is everything you will ever need to walk in your God-given destiny. I am who I am by the direct result of the generating act of my Father. This is a new beginning initiated by an act of God. We are here for a purpose. You were not born in this generation by coincidence or happenstance.

Skip Moen: In Hebrew something exists because it fulfills a function. It does not exist simply because it fulfills space and time. In Hebrew there is no existence without design or purpose. In Hebrew to name something is to specify its distinctiveness in design and purpose. From a Hebrew point of view we are what we are made to do. We exist within our designed function.

This understanding of the Hebrew culture opens up tremendous understanding in some Scriptures. Look how Ephesians takes on even deeper meaning.

Ephesians 1:3-5 (Amplified):
3May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!
4Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.
5For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]—
6[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

God has his wonderful design and function for you as he picked you out before the foundation of the world according to the purpose of His will and His kind intent. This is what we were made to do. He knew your name. He knew your purpose. He knew your destiny before the first rays of sunshine burst forth upon the earth. This purpose brings praise and glory to God.

Jeremiah 1:3,4 (Amplified):
4Then the word of the Lord came to me [Jeremiah], saying,
5Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

God knew the function and purpose of Jeremiah as a prophet and designed him in the womb for this purpose before He even formed him in the womb. How amazing is this!

This is absolutely life changing if you really get the truth of this. God Almighty before you were formed in the womb of your mother had designed a unique purpose and destiny for you. He knew your function. He knew your calling. He knew your purpose. Then why would you ever what to resist the beauty and wonder of His purpose for you. As we live breathe and move in God, we move in the sphere of our function bringing glory to God.

Psalm 139:13-18: For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well.
15My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery].
16Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.
17How precious and weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18If I could count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awoke, [could I count to the end] I would still be with You.

God embroidered everything about you like a beautiful tapestry when he formed you in the womb. He knit you together with magnificent detail and in all the vibrant colors of His glory. He formed your heart, your eyes, your abilities, your personality, your hands, your DNA and every minute detail about you. Your book, your story of all the days of your life, was written by God before you ever took shape. God’s thoughts about you are so immense, so numerous, so vast that they cannot even be numbered. They are more than all the grains of sand on every beach on earth. Oh how special you are to God!!! How wonderful must your purpose be!! How much you mean to God!! Oh how we have missed this truth.

What is the most tragic thing that could ever happen in the history of the world? What is the greatest catastrophe throughout the ages? The greatest tragedy in life is when we turn our backs on God’s design and purpose for our lives. This tragedy hurts the heart of God for He knows what could have been. The story that never came to pass; the beautiful masterpiece that was left in the box. The awesome calling that faded away. He has written a beautiful story for our life, but when we pick up the pen and try to write the book ourselves, everything falls apart and crumbles before our eyes. Pray to God. Talk to God. Ask God to show you day by day His design and function and purpose for you on this earth. Pray to God that you fulfill every jot and tittle of it. It is glorious. It is immense. It is adventurous. It is the best. This purpose always has at its fabric that you have a heart of service to God and others. It begins with salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ and the new birth. No one can accomplish their destiny without the Lord Jesus Christ. God is with you every step of the way and He will help you, strengthen you and guide you into fulfilling His purpose He has for you in your generation. Don’t ever waste your potential, your purpose and your design on things, paths, ways that God never intended for you. Be all that you can be for God. Every cell in your body was designed for you to fulfill your purpose that God knew about before time began. Let God make your life count and ring as a gem of God’s glory throughout the halls of eternity forever. Every moment counts; every day counts; every week counts; every year counts, but we live with God one day at a time.

The Devil’s main attack is always on your destiny with God, on God’s purpose for your life, and on God’s calling on your life. He wants to destroy it. He wants to crush and defeat it. He will lie, deceive and tempt you to turn your back on your calling. He will do everything and use all the resources of his kingdom to thwart God’s true design for your life.

Recently Daniel Kolenda shared about the temptations of Jesus Christ and put them in a new light for me as each one was aimed at getting Jesus Christ to doubt he was the son of God and to doubt his calling and his divine destiny. The devil tried to inject unbelief into the heart of Jesus on just who he was and what God called him to accomplish. Each temptation was an attempt to destroy the divine purpose and function that God has designed for Jesus Christ. Each temptation was in this category, but the last two are more difficult to see the essence of the temptation unless you go back into the Old Testament to see the context of these temptations.

The original text of the Bible had no chapters or verses and in order to get the context of the temptations you must go back to chapter 3.

Matthew 3:13-16: Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He[c] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

What was the word that proceeded from the mouth of God? What did God tell Jesus? God told Jesus Christ that he was the beloved Son of God with whom He was well pleased. This is important as we get into the temptations for the Devil always wants to get you to doubt what God has said. He wants you to doubt what is written about you. All the evil that is in the world; all the destroyed lives; all the ruined callings all start with these first four words of the Devil in the Bible in Genesis “Yea hath God said?” The same pattern is seen in the temptations of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 4:1-4: 1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

The temptation was not for Jesus to break his fast, but the deeper essence of the temptation was for Jesus to doubt that He was Son of God as the devil was saying “Just do something to show me you are really the Son of God. Show me a miracle. Make the stones bread. Surely that is not tough for someone who really is God’s Son.” Well what did God just say in Matthew 3? That Jesus was God’s beloved Son. When Jesus said man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God-what word had just proceeded from the mouth of God at his baptism? That He was God’s beloved son in whom God was well pleased. The Devil was tempting him on this point-“Did God really say you were the Son of God? Did God really say that is your calling? Wouldn’t God’s Son be doing some miracles and not subject to hunger?” But Jesus knew what God has said about Him and cleaved to it and believed it. He refused to allow the poison of unbelief to be injected into his heart. He knew who He was because He knew what was written about him. He knew God’s Holy Word; he knew what God has said and he refused to doubt it. His calling and election were designed and originated in God and nothing could shake him from his calling and his divine destiny.

Matthew 4:6,7 (KJV):And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

The second temptation was not simply for Jesus to tempt God by doing something foolish. It again was deeper than this and we must examine the context of where this is written to understand the temptation in greater detail.

Deuteronomy 6:16 (KJV): 16Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

What happened in Massah? We must look at Exodus 17 to find out.

Exodus 17:1-7 (KJV): And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
2Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
3And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
4And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
5And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
6Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding (they disputed, quarreled and were in strife about God’s calling and divine purpose for Israel and doubted that God would take care of them) of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

The children of Israel complained they had no water to drink and their heart said “Is the Lord among us or not?” God was among them, but the children of Israel allowed unbelief to harden their heart where they wanted to return to the bondage of unbelief in Egypt as they doubted God’s calling and His purpose for them. Remember “Yeah hath God said?” They did not believe the Lord’s calling anymore. They did not believe God’s promises anymore. They did not believe God could do what He said He would do. Jesus was tempted to say the same thing. The Devil was saying “If you God’s Son do something spectacular like jumping off the pinnacle of the Temple and see if God will be rescue you by being with you. Would God really rescue you? Is the Lord among you? He says His angels will assist and rescue you. Really? Will God rescue your destiny? Can God do for you what He has promised? Or will God fail you?” Jesus said I will not be like the children of Israel in Massah and try doubt or demand my God to prove something to me. I am sure in God’s calling and I know He is with me always. I trust and know my God and He is faithful to His Word.

Matthew 4:8-10 (KJV): Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

To ask Jesus to worship the Devil does not seem like much of a temptation. But again the temptation is deeper. Look at Psalms.

Psalm 2:7,8: I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.

The Devil knew what Psalm 2 said about Jesus and he was subtlety saying “I know God promised you the nations as your inheritance, but guess what? He gave them to me. Why don’t you just ask me and I will give them to you.” He tried to get Jesus to get anxious about his inheritance and his calling and instead of waiting for God’s timing, just take the inheritance now. “Why is God waiting to give you the nations? Are you sure you want to wait? Don’t you want them now? I have them. I can give them to you. Just worship me and they are yours.” See how much deeper this temptation is and again goes to getting Jesus Christ to doubt the timing and purpose of His destiny and failing to wait on God to bring it to pass. Haven’t we all tried to rush God, but God’s timing is exquisitely perfect to the second. He is never late.

We must believe what is written about us in the Bible to carry forth God’s wonderful calling on our lives.

IT IS WRITTEN: Beloved now are we the sons of God (I John 3:2); IT IS WRITTEN: If God be for us who can be against us? (Romans 8:32); IT IS WRITTEN: In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us; IT IS WRITTEN: My dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves to the work of the Lord, because you know your labor is not in vain in the Lord; IT IS WRITTEN: For it is God that works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13); IT IS WRITTEN: God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 2:6); IT IS WRITTEN: It is Christ in you the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27): IT IS WRITTEN: He has rescued us out from the domain of darkness and given us citizenship in the kingdom by the works of His dear son. (Colossians 1:13); IT IS WRITTEN: I will never, never leave you and never, never, never forsake you. (Hebrew 13:5): IT IS WRITTEN: Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee. (Psalm 55:22); IT IS WRITTEN: Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:5); IT IS WRITTEN: Behold I have given you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19).

These are just a few of the thousands of promises about you in the Bible that are the foundation and groundwork of fulfilling God’s purpose in your life. Yes God said them and I believe them. I refuse to allow one ounce of unbelief to poison my heart and destroy my divine calling.

So have the breathless anticipation of living with God everyday. Is it exciting for you to think where is God going to take me today? How is He going to mold me? What is he going to teach me? What is going to tell me? Where is God going to lead me? What adventures does God have for me to today? If He really is the Creator of the heavens and earth, could anything be more exciting than a day by day intimate vibrant, breathing relationship with him? What could be more exhilarating than knowing why you are breathing on the earth and fulfilling your divine destiny? This is what you were born for!