Dedication

[TheKeyboardist]

i dont know if i should post this here. I apologize for any inconvenience. Can someone truly explain what it means to dedicate your life to God?

 

[Macca]

i dont know if i should post this here. I apologize for any inconvenience. Can someone truly explain what it means to dedicate your life to God?

Simply, to decide (and carry out) following the commands of Jesus because you love Him and want to serve Him because of His love and death for you.

 

[Witness.]

i dont know if i should post this here. I apologize for any inconvenience. Can someone truly explain what it means to dedicate your life to God?

Hi Thekeyboardist,

I believe that it means that we should seek God's will in everything in our lives. That we should dilligently pray for this and have faith that God will answer our prayers and guide us accordingly. It means that we have to set aside those things that we want if they contradict what God wants. It also means that we need to trust in Him to change us, teach us, and show us His way.

More importantly, it means that we need to trust and believe in the sacrifice of Jesus for the redemption of our sins. We also need to believe that God has raised Him from the dead to eternal life, and that He will raise us up in the same manner.

We spend our lives in control, deciding what we will do, and what we will not do. We need to trust in Him to work in our hearts, to make our wills in accord with His will. He promises to write His laws on our heart, and to teach and guide us through His Holy Spirit.

So to sum it up, it is a trust relationship with God. A walk in faith that God's promises to His children are true, and a heart felt agape (love) that desires to follow God in all that is done.

John

 

[TheKeyboardist]

i know i may seem stupid for asking this question but what exactly is God's will?

 

[Witness.]

i know i may seem stupid for asking this question but what exactly is God's will?

No, this is not a stupid question. It is the root of all that I said, and is not easy to discern, sometimes.

I can tell you what I believe that God's will is for me, but even then, I am not absolutely certain, and I definately can not say that it is the same for you.

Well, to some extent, I can tell you some portions of God's will for your life. I believe that God wants everyone to come to faith in Jesus Christ's sacrifice. That after accepting that, that you seek out His will for your life continually.

Not a lot of help. I know.

But I do not think we are supposed to know fully God's will for our life. Or, perhaps a better way to say it, is that we are given His will for our life in parts, and not fully. I do not fully know what God will want me to do, say in 3 years. I am not even ready to know that. It is enough to understand what His will is for my life now. Sometimes that is not all too clear to me.

But, He does let us know, if we truly seek it out. He knows our heart, and He knows what its intentions are. As we come to Him in prayer, He hears our requests, and provides for us the answers to that question, "what is your will for my life?" It takes patience on our behalf, and also a willingness to do that which He tells us. We also have to believe that He really will answer us.

Sometimes, when His will for my life is confusing to me, I will fast and pray for a while, to seek out His will. He has never failed to honor such a thing, and this last time, answered me right away (sometimes it is weeks afterwards). I may be extreme in this, but it really does matter that much to me, and I would do anything to make sure that I am walking as He would have me walk.

Also, the scriptures can be a way that He shows us His will for our lives. When I first was born again (12 years ago), I read the New Testament straight through. I would pray in the morning before work, and when I would come home and read, He would answer my prayers in what I read. It happened so much, that I knew that this was not a coincidence. I was a baby who needed milk, and He provided amply what I needed. Also, He encouraged my reading of the Bible through this. It really is the word of God, and with the Holy Spirit in you, He will speak to you through it.

These days, it is not as frequent, but it still happens. I just read through the Bible, and trust Him to point out the things that I need to grow in Him. It is amazing that after reading it so much, that I still come across new things in it frequently.

Also, God can use other believers to help you grow in Him. I guess I am a little more cautious about saying this, these days, for I have encountered bad fellowship that has hurt my walk. But that does not shadow the good fellowship and the growth that I have gained, as the Holy Spirit guides a fellow brother or sister to help me discern God's will for my life. We need to be wary, but innocent in these matters.

I really believe that we are given God's will for our lives in parts, because He wants to be a part of our lives each and every day. It is not like I can learn His will, and then not need Him anymore, because I have my task set before me. Instead, it is like the daily gathering of manna that the sons of Israel were commanded to perform. We need Him every day of our lives, for guidance, for protection, for all of the things that He does. I am astounded at God's love in this, because He wants to be a part of my life. I have not met another person on this world who wants to be so intimate and close to me.

Ask Him, and He will give, seek Him and you will find. Trust that His promises are true, and you will not be disappointed. If the answer does not come right away, then do not lose hope, but hold on to faith that He will not let you down. He really will not, because He is truly trustworthy beyond anything that exists in this world.

John

 

[TheKeyboardist]

so basically, i will come to know His will for me in time. So through prayer and time, i will learn. But until then, what am i supposed to set my sights upon? What can i do besides prayer and worship? how can i serve God to the fullest extent?

 

[Witness.]

so basically, i will come to know His will for me in time. So through prayer and time, i will learn. But until then, what am i supposed to set my sights upon? What can i do besides prayer and worship? how can i serve God to the fullest extent?

Hi thekeyboardist,

There was a time when I felt that the Lord had some really important task for me to do in the future. I wanted to get started right away, because after I came to the truth of His love for me, I wanted to do anything for Him that I could. I had that new Christian fire in me, that wanted to climb on the rooftops and shout the gospel message to the world, that it could come to the same salvation that was given to me as a free gift.

I kept asking God what He wanted me to do. I expected big things, to do wonderful deeds for Him and His kingdom. I was not mature in Him, though, and still had much to learn. One day, I realized that the things that He wants us to do are not always big things. If He wanted me to help an old lady across the street, then that was His will for me at the time. Or, if He wanted me to clean toilets at the church that I was attending.

I needed that refinement. I needed to have Him teach me agape love (which He is still teaching me) and He needed to humble me. There is no way that you can do big things for God and not have a humble heart or know love, true love. Think of Moses after the Red Sea had been parted. He gave all of the glory and none of it for himself. No, "Yeah, look what I just did!". The Bible calls Moses the most humble of men, and I have no doubts about that. We all would be tempted to claim the glory for ourselves (well, most of us, anyway). Just like any job, you need to learn how to do it properly, before you can do it.

Pray and patience are important. Also read the Bible, especially the New Testament. Don't stop reading it, even when you have finished it completely. Also, if you do not attend a regular worship on Sunday, find a local congregation that can encourage you to grow.

Believe me, that is a lot as it is, and not easy to do. Also, as you do things, do them as if they are for the Lord. No matter what kind of task is given to you by man (parents, boss, friend), treat it like you are working for God. You may find that He can use you just by doing the most menial of tasks. If you can help others, then do so willingly, knowing that Jesus died for them, just as He died for you.

But most important of all, be open to the Holy Spirit's leading. Sometimes He just makes you feel bad when you are doing something wrong. Other times, He grabs you like nothing you have ever experienced, and guides you to do things that you never would have considered. The more open you are to His leading, the more you will do God's will for your life.

Now understand, He will put in your heart what is right to do. The things that I wrote in the paragraph that begins with "Believe me" is only advice. God will put a desire to do these things, if it is His will. Before God honors the actions that you take, you have to have a willing heart. Doing things begrudgingly because you have to do them, does not honor Him.

I wish I could tell you more, but I think that I have told you enough.

I hope that I have been of some help.

John

 

[TheKeyboardist]

Thanks for your help! Ill try hard to live according to His intent for my life. And to find it of course.

 

[billwald]

God's will is that you love God and be a good neighbor. Everything else is flexible.

 

[TheKeyboardist]

so to dedicate your life in accordance to what youre saying is to basically seek to love God and be a good neighbor in all that you do? That doesnt sound all that difficult.