June 4 Greased Lightening

June 4

Greased Lightening

Our commanding officer was not happy. He picked up the phone and dialed division headquarters. Before him stood five soldiers. On his desk were orders that the five men be sent to division headquarters to play football! There were several US army divisions scattered around Europe and each had a football team. The generals in charge of each division took great pride in their football team and the bragging rights that went with it. Usually these teams were coached by a sergeant with a background in football. 

“Hello, are you the coach of the Heidelberg Division football team?” the anger in our Lieutenants voice was obvious

“Yes I am” the coach responded. 

“You requested I send you 5 of my best men. That is not going to happen! I need those men so you will just have to find five football players somewhere else”

The coach responded by asking, “Do you know who I am?”

“I really don’t care who you are. You are not getting these men.”

The angry red look on the Lieutenant’s face quickly faded to pale white as he listened to the coaches response and then he replied.

“Yes Sir, General Adams. About 30 minutes if I send them by helicopter.

The Lieutenant was motivated to do everything possible to comply with the Generals will for these men. Our devotional for today is to consider how we respond to what God wants done.

Most of us have memorized the Lord’s prayer. We recite it at funerals and other religious gatherings but with little thought to what it says. Our meditation for today is to consider one phrase.

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

 First let us consider how God’s will is done in heaven. What words would you use to describe “..as it is in heaven.”

How about immediately, (faster than greased lightning) completely, joyously, etc. Spend a moment adding your own words that describe how God’s will is done in heaven.

Next consider a question about  “…Thy will be done in earth”

Who is going to do God’s will in earth?  How about your pastor, or the leaders in your church, or maybe the United Nations, or the Pope? Deep spiritual knowledge is not needed to figure out the one who should be doing God’s will on earth is you and me!

Isa 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying,

Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?

Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Finally we come to the toughest question. What is the will of God for us? That should not be such a hard question to answer.

David penned the 40^th Psalm and in it gives us a good method for knowing God’s will. He memorized scripture.

Ps 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God:

yea, thy law is within my heart.

Sometimes we do not want to know God’s will because we fear He will ask for what we don’t want to give, send us where we don’t want to go, and tell us what we don’t want to hear.  But not so David. He found no greater happiness than doing God’s will.

Knowing and doing God’s will is not a natural instinct for us. We must learn how to do His will. David understood that as well.

Ps 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God:…

Our prayer should seek more than just His will for us. The knowledge of what the will of God is accomplishes little until we do it. David was not asking for God to reveal His will. He wanted instruction in doing it. How many Christians know the will of God but don’t do it?

Even Christ was subject to the will of the Father.

Joh 5:30 …I seek not mine own will,

but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

Why do so many Christians think Moses gave us the “Ten Suggestions” and the will of God can be answered like a multiple choice question.

What part of the Will of God do you agree to do?

A. All of it

B. All except that one thing

C. All I can fit in my schedule

C. I can't right now...maybe later. 

Teenagers in our youth group used to ask me how they could know the will of God. My answer was that God will tell them, but he won’t come to the back alley to reveal His will. The world culture too often crowds out God’s voice. We are told that over and over in verses we know in our head but not in our heart.

Ro 12:2 And be not conformed to this world:

 …that ye may prove what is that…. will of God.

There are wonderfully funny cartoons that show men trying to assemble something without reading the instructions. Knowing the will of God requires study of the instruction book.

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

Here Christ was telling the Jews to study the scriptures to show that he was the Messiah that God had promised. Today there are lots of religious babblers in the world. We must study the scriptures and learn doctrine or we will be blown into confusion.

Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children,

tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning

craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

This applies to more than the cults that would rob us of the will of God. I have found men in pulpits and leadership in “Bible believing churches” that use craftiness to deceive or hide what is the will of God for their church. You and I have an obligation to study the scriptures for ourselves. But not as a tourist who visits only the pretty places but as a workman, who labors in the Word.

 2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself …. a workman …

 rightly dividing the word of truth

For our meditation let’s think about how Gods Will is done in heaven. Then meditate on how we can know and do God’s will in our own lives. David delighted in doing God’s will. May we be blessed in doing his will as well.

Ps 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God:

yea, thy law is within my heart.