Serving God; March 4, 2018


Ezekiel 33:8-9 “When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will be saved yourself.”

This whole passage is very similar to what Ezekiel was told at the time the Lord commissioned him, as recorded in Ezekiel 3:16-21. I guess he needed a reminder! The responsibility of a messenger is to deliver the message accurately and faithfully. What happens after that is the responsibility of the recipient of the message. Just yesterday I was reading an article from Ministry Today magazine about “Three Things a Pastor Cannot Do.” Those three things were, convict of sin, convince of truth, and save. Those are exactly the things any pastor wants to do, but they are the work of the Holy Spirit, and we make a mess of things when we try to accomplish them in our own wisdom and strength (which are nonexistent). That is exactly in line with this passage. An extremely Calvinist pastor once said to me that “The Church has no responsibility to evangelize, because God is going to save who He wants to.” (He later reversed that position, thankfully.) This passage certainly speaks to that misconception! There is an unavoidable paradox: we can’t do the work, but we are to apply ourselves so that God can do the work through us. This is exactly what Paul was talking about when he said, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:28-29) Paul didn’t for a moment think (after encountering Christ on the Damascus road, at any rate) that he could save anyone on his own. However, he was absolutely convinced that God could do anything He wanted to through him, so he gave himself completely to the Lord. That’s an example every one of us needs to follow.

I have had my struggles on both sides of this issue. I have exhibited physical and spiritual laziness, and I have also demonstrated spiritual pride. Neither has done me any good! Japan is a good field to teach you you can’t do anything in your own strength! The difficulty here is maintaining faith that God can indeed accomplish His salvation through you. It’s been several years now since God told me to rest, relax, and rejoice. I’m still learning how to do that! I desire the salvation of those around me more than I can express, but I can’t do it myself, just as that article was saying yesterday. However, God does give me opportunities to be His instrument, and they are joy indeed. Two days ago I was with a group of people in a distinctly non-church setting, and the Lord opened the conversation up to enable me to say that the most dangerous thing of all was for someone to think they had nothing of which they needed to repent. Billy Graham’s death was the entry point to start talking about the Gospel, so in a sense I was just continuing his ministry! I do not know when or how the Lord will choose to use me, but I am to be instant and active in my obedience, for His glory.

Father, thank You for the privilege of serving You. Help me indeed yield everything to You, allowing You to use me completely, but not setting conditions or making demands. May I be the servant, the son, that You desire, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Knowing God; March 3, 2018


Ezekiel 20:44 “You will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, O house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Basically everything God does is to get people to know Him. He wants them to know both His holiness and His grace, His righteousness and His love. It seems like we deliberately misunderstand some of the lessons He gives us. When He is strict we think He is vindictive, and when He is gracious we think He is indulgent and lax. None of that is true. We need to receive and obey Him for who He says He is throughout the Bible, and as He shows Himself to be in our daily lives. God has indeed revealed Himself throughout His creation, as Paul points out to the Romans. (Romans 1:20) Just recently physicists have stated that the existence of the universe itself is a miracle, because there is no reason for it to exist as it does. Something as fundamental – and to us utterly unchangeable – as the ratio of matter to antimatter is both essential and inexplicable, apart from the will of a Creator. The biggest argument against the theory of evolution is the incredible complexity of things as they are, and the mathematical impossibility of their getting that way by chance. Entropy leads to devolution, not evolution. With all of these things and many more being as they are, mankind has no excuse for ignoring God, just as Paul said. As several thoughtful scientists have discovered, the only “holy book” that lines up with the universe as we are discovering it to be is the Bible. That being the case, the only logical course is to accept the Bible as the Word of God and seek to know more about Him through what it says.

I’ll never forget the time a doctor who had been attending my English Bible class for about a year came in and said he wanted to be baptized. I was of course delighted, but I asked him why. He said, “This book was not written simply by man, and if God caused it to be written, then I had better believe it.” So true! I pray that many more would have that revelation! The fact that I’m a missionary pastor doesn’t exempt me from having blind spots. I too need to keep seeking God, striving to recognize Him in all the ways He reveals Himself to me. That’s why regular morning devotions are something I will not give up. What greater privilege is there than taking in God’s Word and allowing Him to speak to my heart? When I get quiet before Him, He shows me His hand in many of the things going on in my life, and I have peace, joy, and increasing faith and hope. I know He wants to do that with all of His children, so that’s why I keep recommending and encouraging regular devotions to all who will listen.

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness toward me. Thank You for Your anointing yesterday as I recognized and used the opportunities You provided to share the message of Your grace and love with different people. I pray that Your words through me would indeed “seep into” the hearts of those who heard, to use the expression of one of the people I was speaking to. My I be increasingly effective as a witness of Christ, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Legalism; March 2, 2018


Ezekiel 20:25 “I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and laws they could not live by.”

This is an absolutely incredible verse to me. In verses 11, 13, and 21 God specifies that the person who obeys His laws will live by doing so, but here He specifies that after giving them such life-giving laws, He then gave them rules that were not like that. I can’t help but wonder if any of the latter type made it into the Bible, perhaps in Leviticus. Jesus Himself fulfilled God’s law perfectly, yet He was accused of being a lawbreaker by the Pharisees because He didn’t do things their way. Paul received considerable insight into this issue, and so is a good guide today. The whole point is not to get hung up on legalism, but rather stick to the First and Second Commandments as specified by Jesus. “Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”” (Matthew 22:37-40) If a rule doesn’t promote loving God in all His holiness and loving our neighbor as we would like to be loved, it probably isn’t in the first category God mentioned to Ezekiel. That said, tossing out laws because we don’t like them is risky business indeed. If we genuinely love God with all that we are (the First Commandment) then we will seek to be holy just as He is holy. (1 Peter 1:16) That wipes out all sorts of excuses for sin that are currently in vogue!

I don’t think I grew up in a legalistic home, though I certainly had friends who did. However, standards were clear, and I had pretty secure boundaries. I have tended to be rather anti-legalistic, but that hasn’t always worked perfectly. My physical children are well past the point of my “laying down the law” for them, but I am constantly dealing with my spiritual children. I need to be careful and faithful to give them the guidelines/boundaries they need, without being legalistic. I don’t have the wisdom to do that properly, so I’ve got to seek God’s guidance at every point. One of my biggest problems is assuming too much knowledge/background/maturity in people, since I grew up steeped in the Bible. I’ve never been fond of devotional pamphlets, yet they are exactly what some of my spiritual children need. I must not demand that people run when they can barely walk! I am not to lay down rules that fit the second category God mentioned to Ezekiel.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. Help me be the shepherd You want me to be, feeding Your sheep exactly what You know they need and nothing else, so that they may grow as You intend in every way, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Holiness; March 1, 2018


Ezekiel 20:12 “Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.”

This is a slightly different slant on the whole issue of a Sabbath than I am used to thinking about. In the 10 Commandments it says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (Exodus 20:8) However, here the Lord turns it around to say that Sabbaths are a reminder that it is God who makes people holy. I think part of the problem is that we don’t understand “make holy.” In Japanese it is written with characters that are literally, “set apart as holy,” just as many English translations render it. The concept isn’t any more familiar to Japanese than to Americans, though. If you type it into a computer phonetically, the only characters it will come up with say “biological gender,” since “holy” has the same sound as “gender.” I think the best analogy would be something like your best dishes, that you take out to use only when you have guests. Even that idea is disappearing from society, both because we are so affluent that “best” has less meaning now, and because people are so selfish they want the best for themselves anyway, rather than saving it for guests. God is saying that by setting one day a week apart as different from all the rest we are reminding ourselves that He sets us aside as different from all the rest. That idea doesn’t sound very “politically correct,” because we are quick to insist that “everyone is the same,” when simple observation tells us that isn’t true. On one level we are all totally equal before God, but on another level, how we respond to Him makes immediate and drastic differences, not only in our eternal destination but also in our daily lives here and now. Honoring one day a week as special helps us remember that it is possible to be in God’s “special group,” devoted to Him and useful for His purposes. We can’t make ourselves holy, but we can choose to receive and walk in the holiness God offers us. It is sad indeed that so few people make that choice.

This is certainly as much an issue for me as it is for anyone else. I too tend to go with the flow of society, feeling that if other people do it, it’s fine for me, not really considering what God might say about it. Growing up in a missionary home, life in general was far more “holy” than what I now understand most people experience. That said, Sundays were indeed different from other days, but were often even more busy than other days. As a pastor now I experience the same thing, and so try to set aside Mondays as days of rest. (That doesn’t always work!) The important thing for me to remember is that it is God who sets me apart as special, not because I am inherently more valuable than anyone else but because I have responded to Him in repentance and faith. I need to help the believers here accept that as God’s special people, they aren’t to be just like all their neighbors, or even like all their relatives. With the strong Japanese emphasis on the group, that can be quite a stretch for some of them. Another problem in teaching them that is that they already see me as different because of my genetic makeup, so my distinctives are seen as American rather than Christian. Maybe I should tell them to look at some of the other Americans in town! I certainly need God’s wisdom to be able to get this truth across, but nothing is impossible for Him, so I’ve got to be at peace with that.

Father, thank You for this Word this morning. It’s not something I have tried very much to teach on. I ask for clear guidance in when and how to share what You show me, so that the believers may be built up and not torn down, or even distracted from Your intended focus for them. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Heart of God; February 28, 2018


Ezekiel 18:30-32 “Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offences; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offences you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”

From the perspective of the world’s religions, this is an astonishing passage. That the Creator of the universe would care so intensely about His creation seems almost bizarre. He is literally pleading for people to repent! There are a few differences in the turn of phrase between the Japanese and the English that strike me. For starters, where the NIV starts off by saying God will judge each one “according to his ways,” the Japanese says, “according to his attitude.” Even if we aren’t active in what most people would call sin, if our attitude is that it doesn’t matter, then before God that’s no different than being active in those sins. Actions certainly matter, but they originate from attitudes. That’s why God offers us a new heart and a new spirit.. What we were born with has the wrong attitude! When God speaks of death here He isn’t just talking about the heart stopping, or even brain death, but rather the utter destruction of eternal separation from Him. Understanding that, it makes perfectly good sense that He would take no pleasure in anyone’s death, since He created us for fellowship with Him. That’s why He went so far as to send His only Son to take the penalty for our rebellion against Him, so that we might live eternally with Him. (John 3:16) We have such trouble really grasping that, but once we do, it makes all the difference in the world.

This of course is the Gospel I proclaim. I do so in a culture that has no foundation of belief in a singular God, the Creator, so the obstacles are countless, but God still loves each Japanese person as much as He loves anyone from a “Christian” nation. I have realized just within this past year how shaky even the majority of Israelites were on the monotheism that Americans tend to take for granted, so my thinking about the Japanese has shifted somewhat. Absolute monotheism is certainly desirable, but perhaps not necessary for salvation. What matters is a wholehearted commitment to Jesus as Lord, whether you believe any other gods exist or not. When that is in place, the Holy Spirit will take care of everything else. I am reminded of what a brother in the Lord told me just recently, of how his mother was a strong Christian, but she still was respectful to some of the roadside idols. Last night I was on the phone with someone who is struggling with faith. His mental capacity is limited, and the devil lies to him regularly (as he does to most of us). The Lord gave me words that seemed to cut through the fog, and this passage assures me that God wants that man to live eternally with Him, and by His grace he will.

Father, thank You for Your absolutely incredible love and grace. Help me respond to You more and more fully, expressing Your love and grace more and more effectively to those around me so that they too may fulfill the purpose for which You created them, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Heart Transplant; February 27, 2018


Ezekiel 11:19-20 “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”

What a magnificent promise! Religion in general is people trying to get close to God by their own efforts, and every one of those is doomed to failure. However, God’s solution isn’t reform, it’s rebirth, or as it’s expressed here, a heart transplant. When we try to clean ourselves up, we are focused on ourselves, which is why it never works. It’s not that our actions don’t matter, but rather that God is so much greater that our actions become insignificant in comparison. We are indeed to follow God’s rules, which were given for our benefit in the first place, but we can’t do it right in our own strength and wisdom, so we must depend on God to do it in and through us. Frankly, that tramples all over human pride, and that’s why so many people refuse the offer. Repentance is essential, but God provides the necessary strength and wisdom. To go to a physical heart transplant analogy, the surgical team does the actual work, but the patient has to first agree to submit to the surgery and then, after the surgery, they have to apply themselves to the necessary rehabilitation, not to mention switching to a healthier lifestyle than they had before. Going back to the spiritual, repentance and faith are recognizing that you need a new heart and trusting that God can and will give you one. After the “surgery,” you need to take in the necessary “nutrients,” (reading the Bible) and doing the rehab (living in active fellowship with other believers). Any of a number of physical diseases can necessitate a heart transplant, but sin, rooted in pride, is the cause of our needing a spiritual transplant. Just as a physical transplant requires a donor, Jesus died for us so that we could receive His heart. That He has done so is the essence (heart) of the Gospel.

I had never thought of how many parallels there are between salvation and a physical heart transplant before. Taking it a little further, I am certainly not the Surgeon, but I have the privilege of being on the surgical team. At least I can serve as a “patient counselor” to encourage people to go ahead with the surgery. Extending that a little further, I’m an example of a successful transplant, so I need to be open to telling people what it’s like so they won’t be afraid, and also to going through rehab with them so they won’t give up. Just as there are setbacks sometimes in physical rehab, all of us suffer spiritual setbacks at times. I’m to tell people, “You can do this. The Surgeon did a perfect job!” I also need to remind them of a Japanese proverb: “There’s strength in perseverance.” Too many Christians get “dunked and dropped.” I need to help them learn how to walk out what God has done in them.

Father, thank You for this very clear illustration of the Gospel. Guide me in getting it into sermon notes so that I may share it effectively. May Your Word through me indeed draw many people to accept the heart transplant You offer them, and may I then walk alongside them in the “rehab” they need to make them strong indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Speaking for God; February 26, 2018


Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.”

Here we have a reinforcement of Ezekiel’s commission from the Lord. God had already warned him that he couldn’t count on people listening to him, but here He drives the point home that the messenger isn’t responsible for how the message is received, but he is certainly responsible for whether or not he delivers the message. The Lord’s words to Ezekiel in this verse call to mind Paul’s words to the Corinthians. “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) God has been speaking to people through other people from the dawn of history, but that doesn’t make it any less of a miracle. Atheists strongly resist the idea that the Creator would speak to someone, much less through someone. Just recently more than one TV personality has gotten reaction for saying that claiming to hear from God is a sign of mental illness. If you don’t want to admit that we are created beings and thus accountable to our Creator, then it stands to reason you aren’t going to want to admit that Creator speaks to and through human individuals. The technical word for speaking for God is prophecy, but we tend to conflate that with prediction, when actually it is much broader than that. True prophecy is simply letting God use your mouth, whatever He wants to say. The prophet is in control of whether or not he speaks, but the content is from God. That content might be a word of warning, as Ezekiel is being told here, or it might be a word of comfort or encouragement or almost anything else. Paul certainly relayed what he heard from God, and his letters cover a broad gamut of topics. The point is, if God gives you a Word for someone you’d better deliver it, because you are accountable for it.

I am very aware that I have a rich treasure of God’s Word, not just in the printed matter in my hand but also stored up in my heart. Frankly, sharing that treasure is the joy of my life. I do wish it were received more consistently, but considering what the Lord told Ezekiel, I can’t complain! Sometimes what He says through me comes across as prophecy and sometimes not. I’ve never been one for “Thus sayeth the Lord!” I am convinced that God wants to speak through every one of His children, but for some that’s a bigger part of their job description than for others. I must not let this sort of thing become an area of personal pride, because if it’s real, it’s all God anyway. I am to rejoice at the privilege but give God all the glory. Billy Graham was a prime example here, speaking God’s Word to kings and presidents but remaining totally humble to the very end. I certainly don’t have his sphere of influence, but we serve the same God, and that’s what matters.

Father, thank You for the incredible privilege of knowing You, having fellowship with You, and speaking Your words after You. Keep me from pride, and keep me from despair when Your truth is not received. Help me be faithful, step by step and moment by moment, so that Your purposes may be accomplished in and through me for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Hearing Ears; February 25, 2018


Ezekiel 3:7 “But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate.”

It’s hardly very encouraging for God to tell Ezekiel this right at the beginning of his ministry! However, at the very least he didn’t have any false expectations. The thing is, every person who speaks God’s words runs into this same phenomenon. Jesus spoke of it to His disciples. (John 15:18-21) In interactions between nations we see this sort of thing all the time, with ambassadors and other representatives being received in accordance with how the countries themselves are getting along. If a person’s heart is open to God, they will receive His words through whoever speaks them. If their heart is closed, then those same words will be rejected regardless of who speaks them. Everyone should be careful to speak the truth in love, (Ephesians 4:15) and to do it with sensitivity to circumstances, but how it is received is the responsibility of the hearer. Presentation makes a difference, certainly, but the big point is heart attitude. That’s why Jesus spoke so many times about “ears to hear.” (Matthew 11:15 and many more) Those charged with delivering God’s Word, like Ezekiel, are to pray for their hearers but not be bound by them. Not being received doesn’t necessarily mean the messenger is at fault.

This is something I’ve had to remind myself of many times as I have ministered in Japan. A major problem here is that people in general have no cultural background to understand a singular, personal God who loves them. I’ve got to do a lot of “soil preparation” before the seed I plant has much hope of sprouting, much less being fully fruitful. Sometimes that soil can seem very hard indeed! However, as this church’s Verse for the Year reminds us, nothing is too difficult for our God. (Jeremiah 32:27) I am not to give up or rebel when my words seem to fall on deaf ears, but rather remember Ezekiel and allow my life to be a proclamation of God’s love for the Japanese people. He has given fruit, and He will give more. I am not to be anxious about anything, but simply faithful, resting, relaxing, and rejoicing in my Lord, just as He has told me to do.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all that is going on, both that I can see and that I cannot see. Help me fully trust You with it all, whatever it looks like to my natural eyes. May I be a consistent, effective conduit of Your grace and love, for the salvation of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Faithful Preaching; February 24, 2018


Ezekiel 2:7-8 “You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

It is very interesting to me that from the point of Ezekiel’s call, God made it very clear that his reception was going to be spotty at best, but he wasn’t to let his own obedience to God be governed by how his words were received. In a sense it is good to tailor your delivery to your audience, but a true man of God must not fail to speak what God has given him. Paul said that people would “gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3) Any preacher would like to be in demand, but if they are in a popularity contest, they are in the wrong line of work. The world’s standards of success are very different from God’s. We are called to listen to God above every other voice, and there are very many that clamor at us. And as James famously pointed out, we must not only listen, we must obey. (James 1:22) Every person alive wants to be accepted by others, but we must focus above all on how God sees us, living to please Him rather than meet any other standard.

I am a preacher. If you doubt it, just listen to me for a few minutes! I had never thought of any special kinship with Ezekiel before, but I have been called to minister in Japan, which is unique among the nations for the low rate of return for effort expended in evangelism. That makes God’s words to Ezekiel very applicable! I am to receive everything He gives me without complaining, and I am to proclaim it how and when He indicates. I am to be grateful for every person who responds, but I am not to evaluate myself on the basis of people’s response. My job is speak the truth in love faithfully, knowing that to the degree it is indeed God’s Word, He is responsible for whatever happens after that. I do continue to pray for a rich harvest in the Kingdom through my ministry, but that is God’s business and I’ve got to be content with that.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the completely unexpected email yesterday from someone who says they want to come to church here. I pray that they would follow through and do as You are leading them to do. You’ve given me a very stern Word for this next Sunday. Help me not tone it down for fear of scaring anyone off, but rather be faithful to You by the power of Your Spirit, so that Your Word may fulfill everything for which You send it, (Isaiah 55:11) for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Information; February 23, 2018


Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

God isn’t stingy with information, but He knows what we need to know and what we don’t, and one of the primary things we need to know is to depend on Him. That’s why He told Jeremiah to call out to Him. In current society we are inundated with information, but much of it is inconsequential to our lives. As a result, we can get dulled to taking in new information, even when it is very important to us. Sometimes God wants to tell us things that our human intellect can’t handle. The Japanese here says, “great things beyond understand­ing,” but the traditional English “unsearchable” seems to click today. That is, you can’t Google it! As He told Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) Paul was very aware of this himself when he spoke of God’s power on our behalf. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21) We need to maintain the awareness that God’s plans are greater than anything we could come up with, and then keep seeking Him to know as much of those plans as is necessary for us.

I have long been something of a “knowledge junkie,” absorbing all the information I could just for the fun of it, which also tended to make me an insufferable know-it-all. I have matured (somewhat!) to realize that there is far more that I don’t know than I do, and that is as it should be. However, I still like to know, and that has forced me to grow in faith. After all, not knowing means I have to trust God. I will never forget the time I was pleading with God to speak to me, praying non-stop, when He took advantage of my pause for breath and said, “Well then, shut up.” I am to obey His words to Jeremiah, but I am also to be at peace with not knowing, if that is what is best for God’s plans to be fulfilled. Sometimes if we know too much, we get in the way. I am to use what I know as fodder for prayer, entrusting each situation to God and submitting my will to His, so that His name may be acknowledged as holy and His kingdom come as His will is done, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that Your plans are indeed perfect. Help me trust You enough to flow with Your Spirit according to Your plan so that I may participate fully in all that You are doing, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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