Skip to main content

June 24 Blue Prints

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. ~Proverbs 15:22

All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for His own end—even the wicked for a day of disaster. ~Proverbs 16:2-4

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. ~Proverbs 16:9

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. ~Proverbs 19:21

Make plans by seeking advice. If you wage war, obtain guidance. ~Proverbs 20:18

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward one according to conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” ~Jeremiah 17:9-10

Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay His head.” Another disciple said to Him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my dead.” Jesus told him, “Follow Me and let the dead bury their own dead.” ~Matthew 8:19-22

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple. ~Luke 14:28-33

Well, this is a good follow up to yesterday. Before anything came into existence, God had a plan. It was a Master plan, or blueprint for His creation. He laid a firm foundation with straight paths. He created beauty and variety. Then, evil came to try to destroy what God had planned. The satan railed against God’s good earth. He tempted created beings living within to try to pollute it. The evil one did everything it could to damage and thwart what God intended for good.

As part of the plan, God placed His own son as the center of His plan to protect it and heal the damage that was caused. It took extreme effort, everything the Son and the Father God had. But the plan was found to be sound and left intact. The gates of hell could not prevail against it.

Within God’s Master Plan, we make our plans. Are they sound and do they conform to the Master’s blueprint? He knows and acts accordingly. His Master Plan is what will prevail no matter what plans we make within it. I often think of the game of chess, where a toddler is playing against a grand master. The toddler might be enjoying the game, but he can’t possibly “win.” He doesn’t even know the rules. Or an older player may know the rules and form some strategy. But the master will always win! Sometimes, we may think we have good plans, but He knows the heart, and the plan. Sometimes we think we can and so we try. But He knows the truth of whether we can, or should, or not. He is the Master Planner.

We are free to move about in those plans for His glory, but when we choose to work with evil to attempt to thwart those plans, there will be consequences because that too is part of the plan. It will go best with us when we are in line with His plans. To stay in line, constant communication is needed, and obedience is required. It is a wonderful plan, created in love, to demonstrate His love for all He has created.

He invites us, even strongly encourages us to be a part of His plan. Our greatest joy will be found in working alongside Him to bring His plan to completion. Then we will know the extreme joy of hearing Him say to us, “Well done,” and feel the extreme peace of entering into His rest after a long day of honest, hard work. That is His desired plan for all He has created.

Prayer: Dear Father, I love Your plan! I do not want to oppose You. I want to work with You. So, help me to understand and obey as I study Your Word that lays out the blueprint for existence. May I build on that firm foundation with good and precious materials. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Song: “Cornerstone” 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

October 27 Save the Glaze for the Bunny

Like a coating of glaze over earthenware are fervent lips of an evil heart. A malicious man disguises himself with his lips. But in his heart, he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it. If a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him. ~Proverbs 26:23-28 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. T...
Post a Comment
Read more

July 16 Thick Skinned Love

Whoever covers over an offence promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. ~Proverbs 17:9 If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ~Matthew 18:15  The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ~1 Peter 4:7-8  Being offended seems to be the battle cry of the day. Instead of freedom of speech, everyone has the right not to be offended. If one is offended, then one has the right to exact vengeance on the offender because, of course, the offender KNEW that he or she was being offensive and just didn’t care. Is that how you see much of society behaving today?  There seems to be all of this offending and finger pointing that just keeps growing and growing. Nothing is being resolved, just more blame that grows louder a...
Post a Comment
Read more

January 24 You’ll See, He Remembers

The wise inherit honor, but fools He holds up to shame. ~Proverbs 3:35 “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.” ~Isaiah 3:10 “God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” ~Hebrews 6:10-12 “The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them. The sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.” ~1 Timothy 5:24-25 “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” ~Matthew 12:36-3...
Post a Comment
Read more