Happy Mother’s Day
A huge shoutout to my mom, Kim (my kids’ mom) and to all the other mothers out there. In the words of Mr. T….”Treat Her Right!”
Archive for 'General'
How can I discover God’s will for my life?
“What should I do for a living? Should I marry her? Should I move to that town? Should I take that job? Which school should I go to? What is my destiny? God, what is your plan for my life? Just show me.” Ever prayed any of those? God’s will, God’s plan.
This has been on my radar over the last several weeks through conversations, blogs, tweets and such. I think these questions are normal. I’ve actually been digging through some of this over the last several months on my own. I think at the heart of it all, it boils down to these questions:
- Does God have a specific plan/will for my life?
- What is God’s plan/will for my life?
- Will God show me what his will/plan is for my life?
Here are my thoughts:
Does God have a specific plan and purpose for your life? I believe so. Does He mean for you to discover this ahead of time? No, I don’t believe so.
There is a teaching that has been around for a while. It’s this idea of discovering God’s will like it is this nebulous, entity floating around and it is our job to track it down, to find it and embrace it. It’s what I call “The Disney Blueprint”: we’re waiting on the fairytale. My experience is that just leads to doubt, inaction, confusion and pain. Or like one speaker I heard put it, “we treat it like a choose your own adventure” book: If you choose option A, “congrats you’re in God’s will”. Choose option B, and “Oh, so sorry, you missed the will of Gob by choosing b. You chose the nose dive off a cliff for your life. You’re toast and are done”.
So, the question remains: How do I live in the will of God? That’s a long answer, but in short, you do what you know is God’s will. God’s will is for you and I to grow in the likeness of Jesus and He promises to work all things for your good. Seek to live in obedience to Jesus and develop the heart and mind of Christ.(Matthew 6:33, Romans 8:28, 1 Thessalonians 4:3). As we do that, He promises to be with us. I’m not saying that I don’t believe in Providence. I’m saying that if we knew the whole story ahead of time, it would not be a life of faith, trust and holiness.
Some Must Reads/Listens
Couple of resources that I came across that are food for thought:
- Just Do Something – If I had a student or friend that came up to me and asked, “How do I discover God’s will for my life?”, I would immediately point them toward to a message entitled “Just Do Something” by Kevin DeYoung. One of the best messages that I’ve heard on God’s will/plan, bar none. Highly recommend it. A great listen. He also has a book entitled the same.
- Donald Miller’s post “Does God Have a Specific Plan For Your Life? Probably Not” While I don’t agree with premise that God doesn’t have a specific plan for our life, there are some really good thoughts in his post. I think for some we get so focused on God’s plan and purpose that we are scared or even forget to dream, take a chance and live. Particularly love this quote: “But if He is setting a box of crayons down in front of you (a box of crayons called life) then by all means draw.”
who do you trust?
This morning I was reading in John and came across these verses that really stuck out to me. It was early in Jesus’ ministry when these verses occurred:
23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.25 He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man. John 2: 23-25
Placing your trust in someone else is a scary proposition. It leaves you vulnerable when you do trust in someone.
It reminds me of a conversation that I had with one of my mentors early on in ministry. To this day I can’t remember what exactly we were discussing, but I do remember it had something to do with talking to other people about your life, struggles and what all is going on on the inside. I’m pretty easy to read as far as what’s going on in the inside so maybe that was it 
What he said to me took me back: “Alan, don’t cast your pearls before swine.” “What?! Are you calling my friends pigs?”, I thought. Now, of course he was quoting Matthew 7:6. I had just never heard it in that context before. The point he was making was a very good one and one that I’ve taken to heart to this day: Be careful who you trust the things that are deep inside and important to.
Personally, I really value when people are honest, real and authentic. And being transparent has its time and place, too. That said, it doesn’t mean that we should entrust ourselves to everyone. Being “real” doesn’t mean being careless with what’s going on in our lives. I think that’s what Jesus was saying here. He understood that the same crowd that was believing in Him now would one day be the same crowd chanting “Crucify, Crucify!” My take on it is if you have 2 or 3 people in your life that you can be transparent with, real and even accountable to about the good and the bad, you’re blessed.
a new office?
How cool would an office like this be. I’m thinking of relocating my Cedar Creek office to Clarks Hill. Could go fishing and swimming during my lunch break. Check out the rest of the photos here.
Quotable: C.S. Lewis
“Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies… those who torment us for own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” – C.S. Lewis
Snow in Aiken – 02.12.10
We rarely get any snow it has been so much fun watching the kids play in it and just seeing it out my window. Here’s a quick vid from around 4:30 today. I’ll be uploading a few more today and tomorrow.
Updated Video
Updated 02.13.10
A Psalm 22 Year
2009 ends today….and I’m glad to see it go. I’ve got to be honest. It’s been a Psalm 22 year. I was reading through the Psalm 20’s or so and came across the 22nd. For me personally and so many others that I know, it has been that type of year. Would definitely encourage you to check Psalm 22 on your own when you have time, but here are the first two verses that kind of give a glimpse into that chapter:
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. (NLT)
Now, please don’t misunderstand, there have been a number of positive and good times, this past year, and there are so many things that I look at in my life and know that I am a blessed man. And when considering the plight of others and what they have been through/going through, my junk seems trivial at times.
If you know me, then you know that I am horrible at hiding what’s going on in the inside. In fact, that’s probably part of why I’m writing this post…that and it is somewhat therapeutic for me. Had a friend last night even comment to me “it’s good to see you smile” which is code for “what’s your problem been?” Life is like that during seasons of our life…that’s true for everyone. When those times are prolonged for months and years, it weighs on you. From unrealized dreams to illness and disease, life is tough.
Last January, I wrote down some goals and some dreams….in fact I wrote down 10 specific thoughts under the heading of where I saw us/myself within a year (that would be now). How many of those dreams were realized? …. 1
So, on to a new year. I probably will write down some more dreams and goals for the new year. Some will be the same as last year, some will be new I’m sure. I don’t have any new answers, insights, resolutions to make or 10 steps to a new and improved me….or you. I do have some thoughts for any that have had a Psalm 22 year. Some of these I’ve been processing, some that I’m still trying to “get there”. These won’t be terribly deep, just real:
- You’re not alone…there are others that have been and are going through what you are. I think for me, that has been huge. Partly because I can look at where they are now and realize that they made it through. That gives me hope.
- My time vs God’s time. My timing is not His timing. His timing is not my timing. This is probably the hardest truth to live and work through. The Bible is full of stories where God would make a promise, a realization of a dream, and the fulfillment of that promise or dream would take years. His time is not our time. It doesn’t mean that God’s not at work, it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care, it just means….His timing is not my timing..rinse and repeat.
- In the meantime…. If you’re in the area between “the promise and the payoff” of your dream (to quote Furtick), find a place to serve and do that. Not a place that is your “job” or in your area of core competency necessarily…just a place where you can help meet a need.
- Mumble a lot of prayers. This is a goal, a hope and a need of mine that I’m experiencing and need more of through my day.
Anyway, I really do hope that you have a very happy new year, a great and memorable new year. Perhaps a Psalm 20 year:
May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers. (vv. 5-6, NLT)
Alan Jones is the media pastor at 
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