Coming to Jesus on His Terms: Having The Right Perspective

Raji’s email and his last words from our meeting inspired me to put this together!
Raji ended with saying Jesus would always explain his parables to his seekers. He still does if “we just come to him on his terms!”! That led me to put this together:

Coming to Jesus on his terms: Having The Right perspective

His ways are far above our ways.

NIV Is 55:7-9
7Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This verse is very clear, the wicked, the unrighteous must forsake their thoughts and their ways.. (Remember, all flesh is wicked!)  Gods ways/thoughts are so much higher than ours.

Prov 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Coming as a little Child 
NIV Mat 18: 2He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes meme

Appreciating that God gets what he wants. His will is now being done on earth!!

Psa 135:6  Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places

Isa 46:10  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Psa 115:3  But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Lean not on you own understanding

NIV Prov 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight

Thankful in all things

NIV 1 Thess 5:16Rejoice always, 17pray continually, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

19Do not quench the Spirit. 20Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22reject every kind of evil.

23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

My conclusion from this goes back to the story of David praying for God to spare Bathsheba’s baby, but understanding that when God spoke, when the baby died, it was time to stop praying, stop questioning, just accept! Let’s look at that passage:

2 Sam 12: 22He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

If we have real faith, truly trusting God, we wont question him when he speaks!!  Our primary job in this is to understand when God has spoken.

Dear Lord, 

Help us to stop questioning your ways, to simply accept your decrees, to yield in supplication to your will.  In Jesus name!

Amen

Glenn