DEA

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”  Matthew 26:39  NASB Not as I will – DEA.  No, not the Drug Enforcement Agency.  For this community, DEA is Delayed Emotional Awareness. …

The Paradox of Purpose

He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him. Ephesians 1:9 NASB Will – We’ve made a mistake! A huge mistake that affects every person on the planet. It wasn’t deliberate: it was simply the accidental result of our natural tendencies. But the implications…

Raison d’être

Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will. Psalm 103:21 NASB Will – What does it mean to do God’s will? We often think it must mean fulfilling His commandments and ordinances or listening to the guidance of the Spirit or acting in righteous ways. But I’m not so…

Utter Contradictions

So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. John 7:16-17 NASB He will know – How do you know that the things…

Commentary on “Born Again”

And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.  1 John 2:17  NASB Will – By now we all realize that John did not use the words “born again” in his report of the conversation between Yeshua and Nicodemus (John 3).  He used…

Active Obedience

“For I have come down out of heaven, not that I should do my will, but the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38  NASB Will – There are two words in Greek that are translated “will.”  Knowing the difference between these words is crucial.  The first is thelo. It means intending to do…

The Difference

  “How often I desired to gather your children in the way a bird gathers her chicks from under her wings.And you did not desire it.”Matthew 23:37 Did Not Desire – My wife and I had a 3AM conversation.Obviously, it was serious.She pointed out, rightly so, that I struggle with the willingness to remove those…

The Other Point Of View

on earth, as it is in heaven  Matthew 6:10  Earth/ Heaven – Startling!  Uncomfortable!  Of course, it isn’t for us because we are not saturated in the Hebrew Scriptures.  But the disciples were.  They would have expected “heaven and earth” not “earth and heaven.”  Glance through the Old Testament and you will find the phrase…

Desiring God

Thy will be done  Matthew 6:10 Will – “But how do I know what God’s will is?”  Have you struggled with that question?  I have – more often than not.  I long to do His will, but knowing what He wants in any of the various gray areas of my life is not so easy…