“Can I ever really know God’s will for my life?”

Oh, if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that question!

There’s SO much bad teaching about God’s will out there
. . . and by “bad” I mean it’s just plain unbiblical.

So, if thinking about God’s will for your life makes you feel anxious, angry, or even a little desperate, let me tell you . . . you’ve been taught all the wrong things!

There’s absolutely nothing more liberating and exciting than a biblical view of God’s will.

When I was growing up, I was taught, by very sincere Christians, that God’s will was like a dot — a very tiny, specific dot — and my job was to stay on the dot. The teaching sounds something like this:

“God has an individual will for your life. He has planned out a career, a spouse, and a family for you. You need to figure out His will and follow it.”

Sound familiar?

While that reasoning may sound very serious and theological and respectful of God’s sovereignty — there’s just one problem: it’s NOT TRUE!

Focus on what God’s Word says about His will for you and you can walk the “way of wisdom” every day.

Know that I’m praying this prayer for you from Colossians 1:9–10, “asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (ESV).

P.S. So many people are waiting to be set free from bad theology. Find out what the Bible has to say about God’s will for your life. When you give now, request your copy of my book Way of Wisdom. If you share a gift of $50 or more, we’ll send you both the Way of Wisdom book and its companion 4-CD set to help you get on God’s plan!

We’re excited to share that Walk in the Word was honored as the 2012 recipient the NRB Billy Graham Award for Excellence in Communication. This award was presented during the National Radio Broadcast’s annual convention in Nashville to a Christian organization that effectively and creatively uses multiple electronic media technologies in fulfillment of its mission, while maintaining fidelity to the message of love, redemption, and hope found in the Holy Scriptures.

“With a panoply of resources available through multiple websites, James MacDonald and Walk in the Word proclaim truth on almost every available media platform,” said NRB President, Dr. Frank Wright. “With Dr. MacDonald’s contagious passion for Scripture, consumers of Walk in the Word’s media outreaches receive personal and practical teaching that leads them to the transforming power of God.”

The month of February has a way of taking the shine off our New Year resolutions, doesn’t it?

We’re all fired up in January.  And then the darkness of winter settles in.  The persistent demands of life are relentless.  And the flame of January begins to dwindle.

Paul said to the young pastor, Timothy, “My child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1).  How can we be strong?

Scripture teaches four things we can do to restore our strength— it’s all in 2 Timothy 2:

Eliminate the drain.  One of the keys to unlocking and unleashing God’s strength is to eliminate the drain by investing in others.  Jesus said, “He who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).

Exalt the Lord!  Paul said, “Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel” (2 Timothy 2:8).  Remember Jesus.  We’re following somebody who conquered death! He’s an Eternal Victor, Almighty God, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

Endure the hardship.  Paul said, “Therefore, I endure all things for the sake of the elect” (2 Timothy 2:10).  If you want to have strength, push through.  Stop complaining.  Pick up your cross and carry it.

Expect accountability.  Paul said, “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us . . .” (2 Timothy 2:11-12).  If you’re just going through the motions, you’re going to struggle.  But if we endure, we will reign with Him.

Do these four things . . . and God’s strength is coming your way.  Here are some resources to help you do that:  Go To Preach the Gospel to Yourself

On Walk in the Word, we’ve been talking about what it means to cultivate an authentic walk with God — because most of us truly want to become the real deal. Anything else is a bad option. And while developing a genuine walk with God in 2012 is a noble goal . . . it’s going to require something on our part. To cultivate a sincere and genuine faith, we need to spend time in God’s Word. So here is what I want you to do:  go to our website and join me and others in the commitment to be in God’s Word every day in 2012. We have some helpful tools for you there — our daily devotional, Our Journey, can be emailed to you daily or the print edition mailed to you monthly. It includes a daily Bible reading to guide you through the discipline of being in God’s Word every day. The benefits are endless. God’s Word will absolutely transform you. It will give you wisdom and joy. It will even dispel the darkness and add stability to your life. Here’s what the Bible says about itself:

God’s Word is fire Jeremiah 5:14
God’s Word is a sword Hebrews 4:12
God’s Word is a hammer Jeremiah 23:29
God’s Word is a seed I Peter 1:23
God’s Word is milk I Peter 2:2
God’s Word is meat Hebrews 5:13-14a
God’s Word is light Psalm 119:105
God’s Word is a mirror James 1:23-24

All eight elements are at your disposal! If you’ll only pick up His Book and read it! As we step into a brand new year, let’s do so fully equipped. Why not take on the challenges of 2012 fully armed? Let’s take the Word of God with us. For resources that can help you do just that, go to:
Live Authentically

Committed to His Word,

James MacDonald

Read It
Matthew 1:18-21
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Listen to It

Live it
Joseph felt betrayed. I’m telling you, the pains and wounds of betrayal were deep into his heart and life.  You may know what it means to be betrayed by someone whom you love. If so, you know all too well the hurt and pain that Joseph experienced when Mary told him the news that she was pregnant.

Well what did Joseph do? He was such a principle and picture of truth. I think there are two things he did. Here’s the first thing. Love does not protect and cover the sin. Let me say this again. Love does not protect and cover sin. Listen, Joseph knew out of his love for God and for Mary that he could not ignore and pretend this unfaithfulness, or the apparent unfaithfulness did not happen, it must be acknowledged, it must be addressed it doesn’t mean covering the sin, but here’s the second thing. Love is committed to protecting the sinner. Do you see that? Do you feel Joseph did that? Love is committed to protecting the sinner. 

Proverbs 10:12 says, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions”.

Discuss It
1. How do you respond to betrayal?

2. Following the example of Joseph, how does God want you to respond when you feel betrayed?

3. What steps can you take today to deal with the unresolved betrayal in your life, if it exists?

Pray it
Father I submit my heart and life to you today. I am ready to do Your will and trust in Your love and in Your Word. I choose to feast on You and on Your truth. Pour Your love into my life no matter what my circumstances so that I might reflect Your love and see the fruit that will bring to my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Join my wife Kathy and our kids as they prepare a favorite dessert that our family loves to have at Christmas!

Grandma MacDonald’s Christmas Trifle Recipe

• 2 loaves of pound cake, cubed
• Vanilla pudding
• Cool Whip
• Almond slivers
• Raspberries or other fruit

View our family Christmas Card by clicking the image below.

Consider It

Luke 2:13-14
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Listen to It

Live It
I feel peace when I feel conversion, that’s peace with God-covenant peace from God. I feel peace when I experience confidence. That’s the peace of God. Confidence, confidence, confidence. You can have the peace of God. Philippians 4 says, “Let the peace of God guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The Peace of God-It’s an awesome thing to think about.

And it’s not with God, It’s not from God, this is the peace of God. It’s the calm assurance that what God is doing is best. It doesn’t matter what comes in the mail today, it doesn’t matter what comes from the doctor, it doesn’t matter who rings my phone, it doesn’t matter what comes my way today. I have something guarding my heart. Like sentinels on the wall around the city, the peace of God guards your heart, you see it there? “And the peace of God which surpasses understanding, “you just can’t even imagine this peace. It didn’t matter what news came, it didn’t matter what happened. There’s a peace that comes from God that is such an awesome protection.

You can get off the emotional rollercoaster and let this peace guard your heart and nothing can penetrate that except that you open the door yourself. And that’s the peace of God.

Discuss it
1. What kinds of things am I trying to control in my own strength?

2. How is that impacting the peace I should have by simply resting in the promises of God?

3. What choices can I make today to feel genuine peace with God and From God?

Pray It
I pray, Lord, for your peace to guard my heart. I see how quickly the details of life can penetrate my experience and cause me to live apart from what I know to be true. I reach out to you by faith that you would grant to me your peace which passes all understanding.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Read It

Luke 1:30-33

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Listen to it

Live it
Notice in verse 30: “And the angel said to her, do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Notice by the way the text doesn’t say Mary found favor with her parents. The text doesn’t say Mary found favor with her fiancé. It doesn’t say Mary found favor with her neighbors.

Who did she find favor with? She found favor with God.

I want to tell you something. Make the favor of God your focus and everything else will fall into place. Isn’t that right? Make the favor of God your total focus. Everything else will fall into place. Please God with your life. That’s the key.

The angel said to her, “do not be afraid, Mary.” Hey, Mary, you’ve found favor with God. When you get God’s favor, does that mean everything is going to go perfectly in my life now? Does it mean everything will go perfectly? Oh, it doesn’t mean that. But Mary found favor with God.

Discuss it

1. What are my fears?

2. Am I more fearful of what man thinks of me or what God thinks of me?

3. The future is seen perfectly by God, but not by me. Will I let hope in Him meet me where I am?

Pray it

Lord, I am going to hope in you alone, and I’m going to keep waiting for You in all areas of my life. I will no longer worry about he future. I am going to be faithful today. I trust You give me all that I need to take care of each day as it comes.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Read It
Luke 1:11-15
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

Listen to It

Live It
Do you have unanswered prayer? With everything else, I’ve got this one thing. And sometimes if we’re not careful we think, “Look at me over here God, I’m trying to please You and I’m trying to live a life that’s honoring to You. And time is marching on, God, and sometimes, I feel like…” what? Forgotten.

Instead of forgotten, I want to feel joy. I want to fill up on joy.  It starts here with God’s presence. In fact, I like when it says in Psalm 16:11, “In Your presence is fullness of joy. At Your right hand is pleasure forevermore.” Where does joy come from? “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” It’s from God. Joy is a supernatural life in the Person of God, the purposes of God. I don’t just love Him. I love His ways. I love what He’s doing. When I see it and when I don’t, I trust Him. He’s awesome. It’s a supernatural delight in the Person of God, in the purposes of God, and then in the people of God.

Discuss It
1.     How did Zachariah respond to his circumstances?

2.     Can you think of a time in your life when you felt forgotten by God? How did you respond?

3.     How does God want you to respond when you feel forgotten?

Pray it
Lord, You have been good to me. Forgive me for looking at things that I wish were true and failing to rejoice in what already is. I don’t have what others have. I don’t have what I’m going to have someday. But I have what you’ve provided for me. I ask You to fill me with joy when I want to be troubled and fearful. Help me to live in Your presence.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen