We are called to, 'just do it!'

We need to put out the effort and do.

If If you want to be in God's will and consequently a cut above the crowd; then, the secret is to learn. Yes the determination to know about the Lord and to grow in His Word is an essential element in our Christian experience.

We need to put out the effort and do. Rom. 12:1-3 tells us "to present ourselves as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God…" just like a Marine finishing boot camp and placing himself for duty; so must we place ourselves in His service. We are to offer ourselves daily! Before our feet hit the ground when we get out of bed, our focus is to be in His will! Jesus is our supreme commander, so say "Yes sir, here I am, ready for service!"

A lot has been said about what the purpose or meaning of life is. Some say the purpose is up to each person to figure out, while others say it is what people do after they find out what their interests are. It is not enough just to live; we have to have something to live for, a hope and a direction that is imbedded in us as a prime purpose. But, Jesus gives us a clear picture of His purpose for us, which is to acknowledge Him as LORD and worship Him. He is our meaning; He is our purpose (Matt. 16:13-20; John 14-15). Having a purpose in life-a good one that is-gives us the key to make something of our lives beyond our own situation and dreams. Real Christian purpose is rooted in our faith by Christ's work on the cross. He is our purpose and the meaning of our life, both here on earth and for the life to come. When we have received His confession and have made it our own, then we can confess His wonder to others and God with gratitude will use His Spirit to empower that confession as a small part of His revelation. Our daily life at home, work, school, and as we are out and about will be more real and impacting, because we will have a life that is worthwhile and have something to do and say, then do it (Phil. 2:5-8).

True freedom is our strength!

You see, God is perfect and reliable. Proverbs 3:5-6 states, "He will make our paths straight." So, pray for guidance and direction, and our LORD will supply the grace and the path. Spend the time and invest yourselves fully to Christ. There is no other viable option out there! Perhaps you have been struggling with your job, or school, or your future in general. Asking, maybe even yelling, out loud, "What is God's will? What am I supposed to do? "Who shall I marry? What school should I attend? What musical instrument will I play? What club should I join…….?

Most Christians, I believe, are sincerely searching, yet are confused. Some even give up and spend their lives being miserable. As a matter of fact, as a Youth Pastor, I get asked this question more than any other. But, there are so many Christians who feel defeated; thinking their life is too small for God to care, powerless to make any serious changes that would benefit them, simply because they do not know how to find God's will.

To know the will of God, we must deny ourselves and align our life to obedience and focus on God's perspective, and not our frail ways!

John 12:23-25"…the man who loves his life will lose it…"

I am convinced there is a way to simply find God's will and that all it requires is our obedience! So, what this undertaking is all about is communicating years of research and experience, all boiled down to simple step by step scriptural principles. God's will is not a guessing game or some cosmic lottery, or close your eyes and point (my personal favorite, next to asking my cat), to expound a phrase; "God does have a plan for your life." Yet, with this slogan comes a very resounding objection: "If I give my life to Christ, I just become a puppet, and I give up my self direction".

The first answer is NO! We are not puppets. Although theologians will debate what free will is or is not, I believe we do have choices and different paths to decide. The question is, what is the best path to give God the greatest glory? God assures that He will guide us and lead and take care of us, but it requires our will to make it work! Our will needs to bend to His, yet God will not force us, it is up to us. So, the second answer is YES, we do give up ourselves, for this is the basic thrust of the Christian life. God will guide and provide for us; but, it is still up to us to respond.

We cannot take in God's blessings while we go through life doing whatever we please. We cannot rely on dumb chance when the creator of the universe has a better idea!

So, let's dive into God's Word and see His masterful plan enfold for our lives. His perfect plan assures us of His majesty and will bring us (Galatians 5), "Peace, joy, love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

Yes, there are harsh times, difficult trials; but I try my fullest to obey God's will daily. This is where my confidence comes from, because the results belong to the Lord. James 1:5-8 gives me the purpose and baseline to rely and relax because God is in charge, this is so reassuring. This lifts such a huge burden, which we don't need to deal with!

So, if you struggle with what the big plan is for your life, relax. By following these simple scriptures and using your noggin, you will do fine because God is in charge. All we do is FIRST trust and know the Lord with our desires. SECOND, is to focus our devotion and praise to the LORD. THIRD, avoid deceptions. FOURTH, use your mind. FIFTH, look at all the options. And finally, SIXTH, confirm your choice. All in less time than it takes to read your stereo instructions!

THOUGHTS ON JUST DOING IT

Christ in Matthew 16 calls us to take up the cross and deny ourselves; this is extreme discipleship, a call that is to cancel out our will so we can submit to His. When we confess Christ as our Savior, it means He is our Lord. We are to surrender to His direction, call, and purpose. When we claim to be His, we need to commit and follow, leaving behind all that hinders and causes us to go astray. This goes against our will and our culture that says, you are number one, and you deserve whatever you want. But, usually what we want is not what is best. Yes, we deserve better; and better is to be in Christ and to follow His ways. When we deny ourselves, we are liberating ourselves from misdirected ways to His way, from temporary, skewed fun to eternal wonder.

· Ask what areas are you weak in? Where do you struggle?

· Have you once flourished in an area and now have fallen away? You need to ask why, and do something about it!

· Do not bite off more than you can chew!

· It is a very dangerous thing to refuse to grow. It's not that God will smite you, no, God loves us too much. But we will not be of much use to Him, and unable to ride out life's problems affected by sin!

· Never confuse the effect with the cause! The call is to be a servant of obedience as the effect of what Christ has done!

· Do not debate with God!

· Do not spend too much time lamenting, "why me" or "why can't I.." But simply trust in Him.

· Are you living your life with the JOY of Christ?

· Do we pray only when things go wrong? If so, this will develop into a pattern, "our theme", and we will keep having things go wrong because God wants us to pray as a living, abiding, reality in Him, not just when things go wrong.

· We must live every moment in Him, as Christ lives in us.

· Our goal in "just doing" is not to make converts for a cause for that is the role of the Holy Spirit. Our task is to obey Him and be His disciple. Thus, we disciple others (Matthew 28).

· Our goal is not just to be useful for Him; it is to be in Him! People are blessed who allow God to work in them!

· God does not have us do easy tasks. They are hard, but we have His grace.

Deny himself is the stance of real commitment. Commitment is remaining obedient in our trust and faith regardless of our feelings, false opportunities, or oppression. Why, what is this have to do with God's will? God is much more concerned with our spiritual growth-maturity that develops our character, and relationships that glorify and make Him known-than anything else. Our focus tends to be comfort; we strive to seek personal betterment though careers and money, manipulation and greed. His focus is on how to sanctify and perfect us, not to please and pamper us!

This is not about bearing a burden or rallying to a cause, but identifying with Christ as our Lord. People then, as now, did not want suffering, even though the Bible warns us that suffering precedes the Kingdom-for Him, and, for us, to a much smaller degree. They wanted the triumph without the cost. We can take comfort in our setbacks and sufferings when we are obedient, as it brings Him glory and prepares us for the reality of the Kingdom (Matthew 16:21-28; 1 Peter 4:19; James 1:2-4).

Our Battle

The ultimate battle in life is not with arms, it is with wills. The passage in Matthew 16: 21-28 gives us a true depiction of commitment to do it! It is not about choosing suffering; it is about following God's will regardless of suffering. This means we surrender our will to His. This means we are focused upon building our lives on His precepts, not ours. The only way to be a real, authentic follower of our Lord Jesus Christ is to deny what we want and pursue what He wants (John 3:29-30; Gal. 5:24). This means that who we are and how we are, to God and others around us, is essential. We must never be the stumbling stone, trying to muddle with God's plans for ourselves or others. We must conduct ourselves with utmost integrity (Psalm 15) that points to His example. Jesus does not force us to submit and surrender; He models it for us to follow.

Warning! Warning! Do not act as a divine providence in other people -- that is the strict role of the Holy Spirit.

Richard Joseph Krejcir, is the Director of 'Into Thy Word Ministries, 'a discipleing ministry. He is also a pastor, teacher, speaker is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena California and has amounted nearly 20 years of pastoral ministry experience mostly in youth ministry, including serving as a church growth consultant.