Jesus, Take The Wheel

Avoiding Detours
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
10-20-2010

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

I turned off the interstate to get gas for my car. I was returning from a speaking engagement and it was very late. As I turned onto the road, I looked for the entrance ramp to get back on the interstate. It was dark and I could not see any signs. I made a turn to the right that appeared to be the turn I needed to make. I could see the interstate was next to the road. As I continued down this road, the interstate was on my left. It soon became obvious it was not the entrance road but rather a frontage road. I assumed it would take me to the next interchange.

However, the road soon turned away from the interstate. It grew darker and darker. The road became a dirt road. I realized I was not going to get to the interstate on this road. Being a bit frustrated that I had made the wrong turn, I turned around and went back, losing valuable time.

It is easy to make assumptions about the path we are on. If God's Spirit has not enlightened our reasoning, we are inclined to make the wrong choices. Our choices seem right at the time, but later we discover these choices have led us away from God because they were based on our own reasoning.

Acknowledge God in all your ways today. Lean completely on Him to reveal His direction for your life. If you do so, He will direct you to the desired destination He has for you.


Today's Prayer

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:3-5). Dear Lord, please work through me and guide me so that I will have the mind of Christ in all I do. Help me, that I will not do anything in the flesh and out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but that I will remain humble and never consider myself better than others. Provide the means and the desire to look after the interests of others as well as my own interests. I pray that I will have a godly attitude in all my actions and decisions, and that your love will flow through me. May I be a blessing to you and to everyone around me. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders






The Promises of God
Dr. Charles Stanley

Hebrews 10:22-23

Our heavenly Father has made many promises in the Bible. But there is confusion among Christians about which verses we can claim as a definite commitment from God. Three questions are useful in evaluating whether divine promises apply to our own situation:

1. Is this promise limited to a specific person or circumstance, or does it apply to all believers? For example, the pledge made to Abraham and Sarah about giving birth to a child (Gen. 18:10) is restricted to them, whereas Hebrews 13:5 contains a guarantee to all Christians that Jesus will be with them forever.

2. Are we asking the Lord to meet a need or a desire? A need is something that we must have in order for God to complete His work in our lives. A desire is something we want for satisfaction or enjoyment. If we lose our job, then an essential—an incoming wage—is missing. But if we want a new position for personal reasons, it's a desire.

3. Before fulfilling a promise, does the Lord require some action on our part? Proverbs 3:5-6 is a conditional promise, which pledges God's direction on the basis of our trust in Him. On the other hand, Jesus' assurance of His presence with believers (Heb. 13:5) is unconditional; it does not depend on anything we do.

By evaluating Scripture on the basis of these questions, we will know which promises apply to our situation. What confidence we'll have in asking our Lord to fulfill them in our lives. For, as 1 Corinthians 1:20 (niv) says, "No matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ."

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit http://www.intouch.org/.


Jesus, Take The Wheel - Carrie Underwood