Living out God's plan

Good morning!

I've been wanting to get back to these devotional thoughts in the morning, but summer was so hard to get up before the kids did! Now with school in full swing, my morning routine is back and I'm working to get back on here. I've had a few requests for it and I really like the idea of getting these thoughts out of my head. (I only process written information---is that bad?!)

We're starting a new book at our Ladies' Bible Study. So far, it's just 'okay.' I'm still a bit wrapped up in my 90-Day Study in the Person of Christ. (Day 67) I'm planning to finish that as we start this other study about personal revival and seeking God.

Today's reading took me to Luke 18:18-21. This is the first half of the story of the rich young ruler who asks Jesus what he can do to inherit eternal life. Jesus kindly responds that he needs to keep the commandments. The young man claims, "All these things I have kept from my youth." Now, my reading just dug into this first half of the conversation. And for me, it was a good reminder of how we so often claim to "be good" and expect that will be enough for eternity.

And isn't the concept of "being good" a very subjective one? I mean, if I do something that I think is good, but it may be a little self-serving and someone else views it as selfish, how does that fit in? "Being good" is a process that we design ourselves and give ourselves the "All Clear" sign when we deem we're finished. One commandment Jesus reminds this man of is, "Honor your father and your mother." Well, sure, we honor them to their face as young children. But what is in our hearts? At age 6, my daughter knows there is a line to be crossed with what she says to me. But she is quickly learning that how she says it and how she storms upstairs in a hissy fit is just as dishonoring as if she would have told me, "I don't care what you think, I'm doing it anyway!"

The section of my reading entitled, "Praying God's Word Today" was great. I'd love to share it with you as it not only utilizes my favorite verses in Scripture, but also puts them in a new way so that I was reminded that God is in charge of my days. I may follow His commandments, but my heart needs to be in the right place at all times. For that to happen, I need to be always looking to Him for strength and guidance through my day as He is the One who is orchestrating my day!

"Lord Jesus, I know that You created me for good works, which You prepared ahead of time so that I would walk in them. But I am more aware than ever each day that it is by Your grace I have been saved through faith -- not from works, so that I have no reason to boast (Eph. 2:8-10). May I never boast in anything except the cross of Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal. 6:14)." (Jesus: 90 Days with the One and Only, Beth Moore)