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A key to understanding God's will for
your life is found in the word
'according.' It's a musical term that
means, 'in harmony with.' Your job is to
recognize God's purpose for your life
and choose only those things that
harmonize with it. How you process
information and arrive at conclusions
must be subjected to God's will. And
that's revealed to you in His Word! Paul
writes, '...put off your old self...put
on the new self...' (Ephesians 4:22-24
NIV). Now, when you first start thinking
God's way it'll feel strange to you. You
might even think, 'This is just a put
on.' No! Just as new shoes don't feel
comfortable at first, so your new way of
approaching life won't feel comfortable
either. But as you continue to '...put
on the new self...' you become more and
more at home with it. It works like
this. You have to: a) practice being
nice until you automatically become nice
b) practice going to church on Sunday
until going anywhere else seems strange
and you feel out of place c) practice
giving your tithes and offerings to
God's work until it becomes as natural
as buying a new outfit at the store d)
practice telling the truth until the
smallest lie troubles your conscience
and turns sour in your mouth e) practice
speaking kindness until every cynical,
negative word is purged from your
vocabulary. 'Isn't that being
hypocritical?' No, it's just re-training
yourself to walk God's way; and
restraining yourself from walking any
other way. You are literally declaring:
'Lord, it's no longer a matter of
anything goes. From now on, it's what
You say and direct me to do.' |