God Working

Now the God of peace...make you perfect in every good
thing to do his will, working in you that which is well
pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ: to whom be
glory for ever and ever--Hebrews 13:20-21

In Hebrews, we have three passages on the will of God. 
The first, Heb 10:7-10, spoke of that will and Christ's 
doing of it, as the cause of our redemption--the deep 
root in which our life stands. The second, Heb 10:36, 
spoke of that will as done patiently by us, amid the 
trials of this earth. The third shows us the wondrous 
bond of union between the two former. The same God 
who worked out his will in Christ for our redemption 
is working out that will in us too. What God did in 
Christ is the pledge of what He will do in us. Christ's 
doing the will of God secures our doing that will too. 

"Working in you that which is well-pleasing in His
sight," through Jesus Christ. The connection between
our doing and God's working is wonderful. He prepares 
us in every good thing to do His will, so that the doing 
of it is really our work, and yet at the same time it is 
His own working in us. God fits us for the work, and 
then works through us. And so it is all of God!

Three lessons:
The first is: 
The one object of the great redemption is to make us 
ready to do God's will on earth. For that we were 
created; that was God's image and likeness in us. 
That was our fitness for fellowship with God, and the 
participation in HIs rule of the world to which we are 
destined. The failure in so many Christian lives is 
simply due to this--the Church has not clearly and 
persistently preached the great message that all God's 
wondrous grace has this one object: to restore us to 
the original glory of our creation, and make it our life 
to do His will.

The second lesson:
We can do God's will because God Himself prepares 
us for it, working in us that which is pleasing in His 
sight. The call to do God's will is negated by the un-
belief that says: It cannot be; I cannot do it. 
God has given you a renewed will, capable of know-
ing, desiring, and even delighting in His will. But
you are not capable of doing it in your own strength.
He Himself prepares us to do His will.

The third lesson:
Our great need and duty, is to bow before God in
continual humility and dependence. We must ask to
fully know our utter inability, and to seek to trust
confidently His power to work in us. And, His power 
cannot work freely and fully in us except He dwells 
in us, abides in us. Jesus said, I delight to do Thy will. 
Oh, let us turn with new consecration to do all God's 
will, and with a new faith in God, receive His grace 
to work that will in and through us. Andrew Murray

Reader, "all God's wondrous grace has this one object:
to restore us to the original glory of our creation, and
make it our life to do His will."
You hear that on a weekly basis, don't you?
Oh, how equipped we would be to serve God if we
knew the glory of His work in and through us. We
settle for so little because we have such a little God.

I Come to Do HIs Will

Then said I, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God...By 
the which will we are sanctified through the 
offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all. 
Hebrews 10:7-10

Lo, I come...I delight to do they will, O my God
Psalm 40:7-8

Sacrifice and offering were not what God sought or
what could please Him. David understood that God
wanted his will, freely given. David's words spoke
of Christ in whom the true fulfillment can be found.

The Lord's doing of God's will is first contrasted 
with the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament 
worship, and then it is specially connected with the 
offering of His own body once for all.
By one offering,He has forever perfected those who 
are sanctified. 
Let us try to learn the great lessons that are to be 
found here in connection with our study of the will 
of God.

The doing of God's will is the only worship that is 
pleasing to God. In the Old Testament it was not 
just doing the sacrifices but obedience to God. 
"The sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite 
heart."  Psalm 51:16,17

It is Christ's doing the will of God even unto death
that has affected our salvation. "By which we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of 
Jesus Christ once for all." The word sanctified is 
used here in its larger sense and includes 
justification, regeneration, and the whole of 
redemption. It refers to our being restored to the 
fellowship of God. The great sin of Adam was 
independence from God. The root of all sin and 
misery was self-will. Jesus Christ came to take 
away the sin of rebellion, which ends in death.

The doing of God's will by which Christ brought
about our salvation is now and forever the power 
of the salvation He imparts. Doing God's will is 
salvation itself. 

It is only by our being in Christ that we can in 
any way do the will of God on earth as it is done 
in heaven.
All power to do God's will is is in Him. Because
of this, we can truly say, 'I live in christ and I
can now find His strength to be perfected in my
weakness.'  Andrew Murray

Reader, Murray highlighted the words that are
underlined above. Our salvation is so much
bigger than most of us realize and Murray is so
very good at sharing this principle--over and
over again. My prayer is that all of us who read
this series of blogs would be changed as God
opens our hearts to new vistas of being 'in Christ.'

Patience

Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the
will of God, ye might receive the promise... 
Hebrews 10:36

It was in a time of very severe trial that this Epistle was 
addressed to the Hebrews. It had been a bitter disap-
pointment for them to see their nation rejected by God. 
To have the temple, with its Divine ordinances of 
circumcision and sacrifice, set aside, was a mystery to 
many and a cause of great sorrow. In reproach and the 
spoiling of their goods, they personally had to endure 
the pain of persecution. 

The Epistle was written to comfort them by revealing 
the spiritual glory of Christ's priesthood and the salva-
tion He bestowed. And, it pointed them to the Father to 
prove that suffering had always brought great reward. 
The one thing they needed was patience in bearing 
what God sent, and in waiting for what he had promised. 
And in that time of patient waiting, they needed just one 
thing--to do the will of their heavenly Father.

It was in the time of great suffering and trial that these 
believers were to do the will of God. The first concern 
of modern Christians in trouble is to be delivered. 
However, the secret strength of the believer is to know 
and do what God wants. 

Men have lost sight of the supernatural light which 
reveals the will of God in its beauty and attractive-
ness, and makes it a joy to do it. They are unaware 
of the supernatural power which brings a life in the 
will of God within our reach, because Christ's 
strength is made perfect in weakness. Ask God, by 
His Holy Spirit in the renewing of your mind--to show 
you how He would have you live wholly in His will. 
Learn how your abiding in Him and your oneness 
with Him means nothing less than your being called 
to do the will of God just as the Son did His Father's 
will.  
Andrew Murray

Reader, I have sometimes skipped over the "God's will"
part because I really liked my independence. I am so
amazed at how many times Jesus refers to His Father's
will and how many times we find these words in the
Epistles. I cannot remember the last time I heard a
sermon on this subject. Perhaps the will of God was
essentially ignored in the last century. It appears that
God takes it very seriously.

Giving Thanks

"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

The giving of thanks in everything means a life of
unceasing joy. For what he has given to me, and for
how he has proven himself to be my friend, my
happiness offers Him all that it has to give. He never
commands joy without giving abundant cause for it. 
He does not expect thanks where there is nothing to 
be thankful for. He wants us to remember that, even 
in the most trying of circumstances and the deepest 
sorrow, there is always more reason to be thankful 
than to be in mourning. Whatever we lose, God and 
His love are still with us. We have God's own Son to 
be our portion and our friend. Whatever we lose, we 
will always have a peace that cannot be taken away, 
a joy that is unspeakable, a richness of glory that will 
supply every need, and an abounding grace that per-
fects Christ's strength in our weakness. There are 
always the exceedingly great and precious promises, 
and the heavenly treasures that can never pass away. 
God is educating us, through loss and trial, into the 
full enjoyment of our heavenly heritage. He is per-
fectly preparing us for His own fellowship. 

The will of God is in Christ. All that God is and does 
to us, He is and does through our Lord Jesus. The 
Father does nothing in us but through the Son. The 
Son does nothing except as the Father does it through 
Him. Our experience of God's work in us depends on 
our abiding in Christ--our drawing and remaining 
near to God in and through Christ. To a soul seeking 
its life in Christ alone, the will of God ensures a life 
of unceasing praise and thanksgiving. Andrew Murry

Reader, I knew that this verse was going to come to
the forefront. Giving thanks in all things has been
hard for me. However, the thought that He is prepare-
ing a bride for His Son, has been a great comfort to
me. Jesus has gone to great lengths to purchase me.
How can we be one without both of us suffering? I
am reminded of a verse in Philippians 3:

That I may know Him, and the power of His
resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings,
being made conformable unto His death. 

Your Sanctification

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.
1 Thessalonians 4:3

The apostle closed the third chapter of this Epistle with 
the wondrous prayer for the Thessalonian believers that
the Lord might "establish their hearts unblameable in
holiness before God..." In chapter four he urges them to 
walk well-pleasing to God. He warns them against un-
cleanness and fraud and then a little further on he pleads 
with them to remember and to yield to the blessed truth
in the verse above. The great power of holiness is that
it is God's will for us. 

And what is holiness? God alone is the Holy One. No one 
is holy except the Lord. There is no holiness but His. Noth-
ing can be holy except as He makes it holy.
Be holy for I am holy.   1 Peter 1:16
I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.  Ex 31:13
Holiness can only be communicated by He Himself and 
His own life. We are in Christ, who is made of God to us 
sanctification. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Holiness. 
We are God's elect "...through sanctification of the Spirit; 
"chosen to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit."
(I Peter 1:2;  2Thes 2:13)

Our part in sanctification consists of recognizing how God 
makes us holy. We have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. 
The new nature we have in Him has been created in true 
holiness. Our justification and our sanctification are 
equally in Christ--by union with Him--and therefore 
equally of faith. It is as we believe God in working in us, 
through Christ and the Spirit, that the inflow of the holy 
life from above is renewed.

And what encouragement we find in the words--This is
the will of God, your sanctification? The first thought  is
that of Divine obligation of holiness. God wills it. In
eternity, God predestined us to be holy, we are "elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
through sanctification of the Spirit." God's whole pur-
pose as a holy God was to make us holy as He is holy.
All that God wills He works. But, He does not do so in
those who refuse to accept or submit to His will. They
have the power to resist it. 

God works in us both to will and to do. When He has
worked the willing, He delights--if He is waited on and 
yielded to,-- to work the doing. When by His grace, the 
believer has accepted God's will for sanctification as 
his own will, he can count upon God's working it.

The will of God is your sanctification--that is, all that
God wills has this one object, and will secure this one
result. Whether it is His will in the eternal counsel, in
mercy, in judgement, in precept, or in promise, all that
God wills concerning us is our sanctification. The com-
mands of God have unspeakable value and mark the 
path of safety and of life, and guide us to all that is love-
ly and of good report. But here is their highest glory:  
through them the Holy One seeks to make us partakers
of His own holiness. 

Let all who want to experience this remember one thing. 
It is because it is God's will and God's holiness that there
is power, life, and blessing in it. Everything depends on
our knowing God, waiting on Him, and coming under 
the operation of His holy presence and power. As we 
know Him as the Living God, and have fellowship with 
Him as the Holy, Loving, Almighty, ever-present, and 
ever-working One, His will and His holiness will become 
heavenly realities to the believer. then, we will know how 
blessedly, how certainly, His will is our sanctification.
Andrew Murray

Reader, I would encourage you to ponder the scriptures
above. I don't think I have ever heard sanctification
taught this way. However, it makes my heart sing for joy!
God does not call us to anything without providing the
means to accomplish it--not even sanctification. Actually,
He has already done it--at the cross.

Ask yourself, do these scriptures back up what Murray is
saying? How do I respond?

Complete

We do not cease to pray for you...that ye might be
filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding. Colossians 1:9

This prayer is the very root of spiritual growth and health. 
The result of being filled with the knowledge of God's 
will is that we can 'walk worthily of the Lord unto all 
pleasing; that we bear fruit in every good work; that 
we increase in the knowledge of God; that we are are 
strengthened with all power according to the might 
of His glory, unto all patience and long-suffering with 
joy, giving thanks unto the Father.'(Colossians 1:9-11)

The great truth suggested by the words in regard to the 
verse above is that it must be in 
'all wisdom and spiritual understanding.' 
The human mind can study and even grasp the doctrines 
of the Bible without having any true insight or knowledge 
of quickening life and power. Many wonder why so much 
Bible knowledge does not make them humble and lowly 
as they would like to be. It is because their knowledge of 
God's will is in the power of human wisdom and natural 
understanding.

'The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth.' 
The power of teaching truth and leading men into it was 
committed to the Holy Spirit alone. He was to teach all 
things, to guide into all truth. As the indwelling Spirit, 
possessing and re-newing the heart, He alone could im-
part the truth so that it would become part of our very 
nature--giving both the will and the power to obey it. 

The universal neglect of so much of God's will, and the
universal complaint of the lack of power to perform has 
but one cause: the heavenly life in the power of the Holy 
Spirit is so little known or sought. Andrew Murray 

Well, reader, are you still with me? The lesson today is
spot on. Here in America it is so easy to 'live the
Christian life' without the power of the Holy Spirit with-
in. There were ten virgins but only five went into the
wedding feast. Why? It was a matter of oil. The oil of
the Holy Spirit. Five of the virgins were living life in
their human strength without the daily filling that can
only come from Him. They had no oil.

'Be filled with the Holy Spirit; speaking to yourselves 
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing 
and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving 
thanks always for all things unto God and the Father 
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.'   
Ephesians 5:18,19

Be Wise

Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the 
Lord is.  Ephesians 5:17

To understand a thing means not only to know its outward 
form, but to know something of its true nature--its inner 
meaning and working. It is connection with God Himself, 
for the knowledge of that will opens up our hearts to the 
very heart of God. What divine wisdom has planned, 
Divine power will perform.

We were "Created in Christ Jesus unto good works, 
which God hath before ordained that we should walk 
in them."  Ephesians 2:10. We can count on the Holy 
Spirit to lead us into all of God's perfect will.
Andrew Murray

Reader, I find the will of God to be rather simple most days.
It is a text to a friend who is suffering; a trip to the hospital
to see a Mom who needs hope; it is a prayer for one who
has lost his way. It is an openness to a change of plans which
often come as an interference rather than an opportunity--
at least at first. 

God At Work In Us

Being predestined according to the purpose of him who 
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.   
Ephesians 1:11

What God has willed, He also works out. The counsel of 
His will is too high and holy; only He can work it out. 
The will is a working power, a determination to act. Even 
a man who really wills a thing seeks to overcome every 
obstacle so that it may be realized. The eternal purpose is 
what guides all His work. How?

It inspires the assurance that God's purpose will be per-
formed. We are apt to look at ourselves and our feebleness, 
to men and circumstances, and to measure what appears 
possible. We need to remember that God's sovereign will 
is a power that will--in great and small detail--secure the 
fulfillment of His plans. "He is the God which works all in 
all." (1 Cor 12:6) Divine operation always precedes human 
co-operation. 

This faith teaches us to live and work in entire dependence 
on God's working. It will awaken and strengthen us in 
humility, the root of true Christian virtue. God will con-
stantly impart the life and strength we need.

This faith will lead us to true diligence in God' service,
because, of our confidence that what He wills He works 
Himself. As we give ourselves away to the blessed truth 
of our works being the outflow of our faith, we will find 
abundant fruit. 

We must cease living entirely for ourselves, yield our-
selves unreservedly to God's working, and there learn 
what it means to say: "I also labor, striving according
to His working, which works in me mightily." (Col 1:29)
Andrew Murray

Reader, God's will is that we allow Him to fulfill His
purposes in and through us. The definitive word here
is 'allow.' By the way, He will get His way and all of
His purposes will be fulfilled.

Deliverance

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins,
that he might deliver us from this present evil world,
according to the will of God and our Father. Gal 1:4

Paul always carried with him a very deep sense of the
will of God as the source and rule of all things. In five
of the Epistles, he speaks of himself as an apostle, "by 
the will of God." In this verse Paul shows how earnestly 
the Father desires our deliverance from the present evil 
world, through the sacrifice of His Son. Jesus Christ not 
only came to take away our sins but to deliver us out of 
this present world by freeing us from its spirit, and 
making us partakers of the life and the powers of the 
heavenly world. 

We sometimes hear of worldly Christians, and of a be-
lieving world, but there appears to be little awareness 
of the extent to which a worldly spirit pervades and 
weakens the Christian life. It is so difficult to exactly 
define or recognize the power of this influence. As a 
consequence of this, the power of Jesus Christ, and of 
faith in Him, overcoming the world, and proving that 
we are just as little of the world as He was, is little 
sought or even known.

Our Lord gave Himself that He might deliver us from 
this present evil world according to the will of God. 
Without ever being aware of it, the spirit of this world 
is present in all that surrounds us, to keep us busy and 
occupied. May God help us to inseparably connect the 
three blessed truths set before us here: 

the will of God, as the source;
Jesus giving Himself for us, as the means;
Deliverance from this present evil world as the mark 
and fruit of the great salvation. 

May He teach us that we are as little of this world as 
Jesus was, because we are one with Him. 

May the presence and power of the Son of God from 
heaven in our hearts, with its complete deliverance 
from  the worldly spirit, be known as the will of God 
for us.   Andrew Murray 

Reader, did you have any idea of just how many scrip-
tures teach on the will of God? In my ignorance I have
only called on Him for His will in the big decisions,
however, scripture, understood correctly, deals very
comprehensively on this subject. I don't particularly like
the words, 'surrender' and 'obedience,' but that is because
I want to do things my way. I don't really believe this
subject is all that important. And, I don't have the faith
to believe that Jesus is able to do it all through me!

Two great books are:
The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee
Lifetime Guarantee--Making your Christian Life work
    and what to do if it doesn't    by Bill Gillham

A Renewed Mind

Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what
is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2

The three adjectives Paul uses, good, acceptable, and
perfect, indicates the three stages in our proving and
knowing the will of God. The first refers to our discern-
ing between good and evil, and our accepting what we 
know of God's will as indeed good. The second points
to our knowledge of God's will in special relation to
ourselves. The will of God is not the same for all His
children. The third word, perfect, tells us that we may
not rest content with what we already know and do of
God's will. This is only the beginning; we must press
on to stand perfect in all the will of God. We are to live 
only to do the will of God.

"Be not conformed to this world." And, "The friend-
ship of this world is enmity with God." The world may  " 
acknowledge God, but it cannot by its very nature, do
anything but its own will. We are still in the world and
in constant danger of being under its influence. The 
subtle atmosphere which surrounds us, with the flesh 
in alliance, hinders thousands of Christians from being 
able to live a life of true devotion to the will of God. 

'But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Salvation must be followed by the continual, daily,
renewing of the Holy Spirit. "Be renewed in the spirit
of your mind." (Eph 4:23) "He saved us by the wash-
ing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."
(Titus 3:5)

The calling and the privilege of every believer is to find
out what the good and acceptable will of God is. The one
great hindrance is a worldly spirit which conforms us to 
the habits of the world.  It is only the power of the Holy
Spirit that can overcome this danger. To be daily trans-
formed in the renewing of our mind gives the spiritual
capacity to know, to love, and to do all the will of God.

Take courage, dear ones! The eternal Spirit, through 
Christ said, "I delight to do Thy will" (Ps 40:8), and 
offered Himself a sacrifice unto God, dwells in you. Yield 
yourself as a sacrifice for Him to consume. Believe and 
receive His daily renewing. He is able to keep you from
falling. Andrew Murray 

Reader, His will is not burdensome! It is living in the will
of God moment by moment. Reading, meditating on Scrip-
ture is foundational to renewing our minds in the things of
God. It is in the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able
to choose God's will and stand against "the world, the flesh
and the Devil." Really, in these last days, we are in such a
battle. Courage! Heaven will be forever lived in freedom
and in joyfulness as we continually walk in His will.

Even Unto Death

Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but thine be done. 
Luke 22:42

What does the innermost sanctuary of Gethsemane tell 
us about redemption? It opens up the inner meaning 
and power of the visible suffering and sacrifice on the 
cross. And, of all the suffering of Gethsemane, "Not My 
will, but Thine be done" was the key. It shows us which 
sin it was that made the great sacrifice a necessity--our 
self-will. It reveals the humility which gave the sacrifice 
its value--surrender of the will to receive God's will. The
redemption it affected was the conquest and atonement 
of our self-will. And, the salvation it actually brings is 
the impartation of a will entirely given up to God. 

Believer, is this the very Christ you delight in, seek to be 
conformed to, and long to know more fully in His indwel-
ling power? In Gethsemane, He entered into the very 
deepest and nearest fellowship with you in surrendering 
His will to death. Enter into the deepest and nearest fel-
lowship with him in surrendering your will as He did. 
Pray for the Holy Spirit to show how self-will is the root 
of all sin and temptation and darkness. Pray for the 
knowledge of how the will of God can come in, cast self-
will out and live in you. Learn how faith in Christ, who 
died to conquer our self-will now waits to dwell in us, 
can make you a partaker of His death and victory. Learn 
the lesson that death to self-will just means a quiet bow-
ing before God in utter poverty and helplessness. It is 
simply trusting in the blessed Lamb of God--who passed 
through death as the only way to perfect surrender of His 
will to God's will--to breathe His own Spirit, and the very 
will of God, into us. Andrew Murray

Reader, I only touched the outside of this chapter. I have
not studied or taken into me, the great truth of this chapter:
"Not my will, but thine be done."

Obedience Leads to Faith

If any man will to do his will he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak
of myself. (John 7:17)

When man really knows the teaching is from God--has 
both the truth and power of God in it--it becomes easy
for him to believe it, and he receives its fulfillment. To 
all believers who really long to have these promises
shine with Divine light in their hearts, Christ's message
comes today: it all depends on whether or not you really 
want to do the will of God. 

The great reason why so many pray for an increase of
faith and never get it is that "the will to do His will,"
has never taken place. The will rules the life, and is the
index of the heart. The whole man is to be judged by 
the will. Unless there is fixed resolve--a seeking with
the whole heart to do the will of God--there can be no
growth of faith, and no knowledge of the Divine truth
to which it gives access. It is only as God's will is truly
and fully embraced in the doing, that God can reveal
Himself to me.

Here is the way to a strong and joyful life. Unite your-
self to the will of God. It will unite you to Him, and it
will draw Him to you. Union with Him is perfected by
doing the Father's will. The life of God is given in
Christ, revealed and perfected by the will of God, as 
it is willed and done by us.  
Andrew Murray; God's will: our dwelling place

Reader, this book sat on my desk for weeks. I did not
want to read it, nor did I want to take my blogs from it.
You see, I not only did not want to be challenged, but I
feared that those who are reading my blogs, would drop
off. The content is old fashioned as is the message. I
made a decision to do His will even if no one read the
message. As we go through this book together, I am
blessed and so are many of you!

Equipped

I can of myself do nothing...
John 5:30 (Jesus is doing the speaking here)

When our Lord became man, He told us the whole
secret of His life: the yielding of Himself to do the 
will of the Father. He counted on God to give Him 
wisdom and the strength He needed to work out the 
will of God within Him. If we truly desire to follow,
however distantly, in christ's footsteps, we must 
stand with Him in the same close relationship with
the Father. We need a sense of presence and near-
ness of the God whose will we are to do as much 
as our Lord needed it. If you separate the thing you 
have to do from Him whose will it is, then it be-
comes a burden and an impossibility.

Live in the faith He has given you. The will of the
Father is such a beautiful, wise, gentle, living thing. 
To know it as the breathing out of the heart of God 
makes it an infinite attraction and delight.
(Andrew Murray) 

Reader, as I read these words I find a longing within
to be attached to the Father heart of God. Don't give
up. It is only by failure that we learn that He must
do it all.

Real Food

I have meat that ye know not of...My meat is to do the 
will of him that sent me...  John 4:32,34

God has so created us that a sense of hunger impels us to 
seek food.

"Bless the Lord...who satisfies thy mouth with good 
things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles." 
Psalm 103:1,5
"He satisfies the longing soul" Psalm 107:9

Feeding on the will of God gives this Divine satisfaction. 
Doing that will leads us into a wonderful fellowship and 
partnership with Himself. But that means more than just 
doing what is right or keeping the law. It is only when 
we do it as "the will of the Father"--in the sense of His 
presence, in fellowship with Himself, and in the loving 
desire to please Him--that it will give nourishment, 
strength, and satisfaction to the soul. 

Murray goes on to say this:
The believer has the same eternal life that was in 
Jesus Christ..., but he needs the same daily food.

'Soul, 
Pray for a great hunger for the will of God--as naturally 
and continually as you pray for your daily bread. 
Beg God to show you His will for you, and enable you 
to do it for Him. Then you can say: "I have meat to eat 
that ye know not of"--the will of the Father made known 
and performed today.' Andrew Murray

Reader, the more I get into this book, the more I realize
that I may look overweight, but, in fact, I am starving!

Print out the prayer above and put it in a place where
you will see it to pray frequently. God is able to do His
will through you. It is not a striving thing...

For those who are interested in how prophetic things
are progressing, I am posting the Informed Christians
You Tube site below. Save it. The last couple of videos
are very helpful in understanding where we are.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGyT0PTmJofBlTTpgW1Pp1g

Pleasing God

Whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in 
heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and
mother.  Matthew 12:50

How many long for a more intimate fellowship with 
the Lord Jesus? Come, turn to the blessed Lord Him-
self, and let Him tell you His open secret. The way 
into the most intimate union with Christ is very simple. 
It is doing the will of His Father. Of the one who does 
this Jesus says, 
"The same is my brother, and sister and mother."

Jesus came as a man to prove the blessedness and the 
glory of doing the will of the Father. This was what 
lay at the root of His power to conquer sin, to satisfy 
God, to save us. Doing the will of God is the only way 
possible, on earth or in heaven, of pleasing Him.

The difference between the law of God and the will 
of the Father is this: The law is given by a ruler and 
has no power to secure obedience; the will of the 
Father is a personal, loving communication in which 
the Father's voice and presence are known. 

Be transfigured by one thought:
"Like Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus 
I live to do the Father's will, 
and as you fail or fear to fail, 
just whisper: 
"O, my Lord, my Elder Brother, 
You and I are one 
in doing the Father's will."
Andrew Murray

Reader, I am re-thinking just what it means to be
a disciple of Christ, to be intimately related to the
Father. I find the words of Andrew Murray to be
captivating. His prayer above is so simple.

God Wants All to be Saved

God our Savior, desires all people to be saved and to
come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)

We have been looking at God's will and it must
include that God does not want anyone to go to
hell. Hell was made for the rebellious angels not
for humans. God brought a story to me today
that shows the mercy of God and to what lengths
He will go to bring us to heaven.

An Atheist--Dead on morgue slab, goes to hell,
then to heaven and back to his body. What a
shock to the medical staff!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59mRZ1Vj8ZU 

His Will, Not Mine

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10

Reader, I have spoken these words through my
childhood and on into adulthood, but have never
pondered the meaning. In fact I have often let
my mind wander as I said The Lord's Prayer. I
have included a few thoughts of Andrew Murray's
on what we are saying when we pray this line.

In the will of God, we have the perfect expression
of His Divine perfection. He is the fullness of all 
beauty and blessedness. His divine wisdom and
goodness are made known to us, and through His 
will, men can know God. It is the only sure way 
to fellowship and union with the Father.

When the Christian learns to see God's will in
everything that happens to him--grievous or
pleasing; great or small--the prayer, "Thy will
be done," will become the a place of adoration
and praise. Happy is the Christian who receives
everything in his life as the will His Father.

"Thy will be done, as in heaven so on earth,"
becomes the expression of fellowship with God.
This prayer needs your whole heart. It needs the
teaching and indwelling of Jesus Christ in the
heart to be able to pray it correctly. It calls for a 
heart, a will, and a life entirely given up to the 
Father in heaven, by His Spirit in us to bring us
into understanding. 

May the glory of God shine in us and through us!

Reader, the doing of things is easy compared to
surrender as we walk through life. I am so aware
these days, of the need to fall forward and trust
His will for my life.

The Way to Heaven

Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter 
into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will 
of my Father which is in heaven.      Matt 7:21

There are two words which invariably produce negative
emotions: God's Will and Obedience. We want to think
that we can handle pretty much everything that comes
along. But wait, was that not the temptation from the
snake in  the garden to Eve? Independence was what
tripped her up. She wanted to be as God. I have to ad-
mit that I have struggled with both of these words,
which is the reason I want to dig into Murray's book on
the will of God.

Here are some quotes regarding heaven:

The inhabitants of heaven owe all their glory to God's 
working His will of love in them. The only way to be fit 
to enter heaven is to do the will of God here on earth. 

Men seek to put their trust in Christ, to confess Him, and
to do many things in His Name. They think that this is
Christianity, while they forget that the INNER spiritual 
reality of true Christianity is this--the knowing and loving 
and doing the Father's will as their one desire and delight. 
He must work this faith in us. 

All salvation on earth or in heaven is doing the will of
God. Let us give ourselves up to it--to study, to believe,
to practice, to rejoice in it. Let us choose the will of God--
His whole will and nothing but His will--to rule over us 
and dwell within us each day. The living Father whose 
love can make it our blessedness, loves to teach it to us 
and to work in us the ability to do His will.
Andrew Murray from the book, 
God's Will: our dwelling place

Dearest one, Our heavenly Father wants only the best
for us. This is not a punishment, but liberty-- to really
live a joyful life!

God's Will

What is God's will? (Have I lost you all ready?)
How many times have I heard that question?
How often through the years have I agonized over
that question. Recently I pulled from my library a
book written in the 19th century by a theologian
who died a long time ago.

God's Will
my dwelling place
by Andrew Murray

From the back cover:
Have you ever longed to nestle in the arms of God's
love, knowing that He had reserved a place for you
to be with Him always?

This is the heart cry of many Christians who deeply
yearn for a close fellowship with the Father, dwelling
with Him even as Jesus did while He lived on earth.

With great insight, Andrew Murray shares the secret
of establishing this same vibrant relationship that
Jesus had: it is by knowing and doing the will of the
Father!

If you want to find strength with rest, joy with fruit-
fulness, and peace with provision, there is only one
place for you to be: in the very center of God's will!

The Witness

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that
we are children of God.  Romans 8:16

The Spirit of God witnesses to the redemption of 
our Lord, and to nothing else. If we are trying to 
make Him witness to our reason, it is no wonder 
that we are in darkness and uncertainty. Throw it 
all overboard, trust in Him, and He will give you 
the witness of the Spirit. (OC)

Reader, how are you evaluating your salvation?
Is it by the Word of God--see Romans 10: 9, 10)
and the witness of the Spirit of God who dwells
within, or is it by feeling and "I hope so?" Now
is the time to place your salvation on a sure peg.