ALIGN YOURSELF The scriptures tell us that God chose the Children of Israel above all nations on the earth to be a special people unto himself. He would use them to demonstrate his power, his might, his holiness, his righteousness, his graciousness, his compassion, his mercy, his love, his fatherhood, and his faithfulness. He would bless them and establish his covenant with them giving them a guarantee of his fatherhood. All that the Lord their God required of them, was for them to fear the Lord their God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord their God with all their heart and with all their soul and to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). He wanted them to be a holy nation before him; the epitome of the Children of God. He had a purpose for them but there was one thing that they were having great difficulty with, and it would affect their lives forever. Obedience was their main problem, as they knew not how to obey. Because of their disobedience the LORD gave them laws to legislate their lives and punished them in various ways but they would not change. He had shown them what is good; and that he required them to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with him (Micah 6:8). They failed and soon the LORD gave them over for their enemies to rule over them. They align themselves with their world and not with God. When we look at the history of the Jewish people, each of us might be saying I would have done better, I would have obeyed God. After seeing all that God had done for them and to their enemies, how could I not be obedient and faithful?

The truth is we are no different. The Jews did not have the Scriptures as we have it today. They had to wait for someone to read the Statutes and Commandments to them and explain them. Many never heard these Statutes and Commandments and so lived in ignorance. This is not the same with us today. We have the whole bible, and as time goes on the medium through which we can hear or otherwise access the scriptures continues to grow. Most of us know or believe that God has a purpose for our lives, but are un-willing to fully surrender to the will of God so that he can fulfill his purpose in our lives. If we are members of a church; we seem to be pre-programmed to go for a position in the church, to be on one of the committees or in one of those other positions where we stand out. We are apt to seek recognition than to seek to fulfill our purpose. We are content to leave the spreading of the Gospel to the Preacher/Pastor. We will sing, dance, shout, speak in tongues and fall out on the floor, but will not open our mouth outside of the church to tell someone about God’s love. Many of us Christians are afraid to tell anyone about Jesus Christ, because it’s not politically correct and we do not want to be criticized. God would constantly place us in the presence of others that we may minister to them but we are always quiet, cold and impotent, like dried up branches bearing no fruit. We fail to share the Gift of Love with the people we meet every day; at work, in travelling, those we visit and those who visit us. Those at the bus stop or train station and whom we travel with. We fail to do good when we the opportunity presents itself. We speak when we should be quiet and are quiet when it’s time to speak. We do the things we should not and fail to do those things that we should. The people we work with don’t really know that we are saved and those with whom we live are still wondering who we are. Each time the LORD nudges us forward we provide ourselves with an excuse and an alternate plan. We soon become more focus on the things of the world than those eternal. Instead of the Gospel becoming a spring of living water in us it has become a pool of stagnant water that is slowly drying up. The fire that once burned has been reduced to some lukewarm coals and ashes. Our faith is getting weaker and weaker. We are just as the Jews were, chosen and blessed, but disobedient. We have missed our purpose and need to Align Ourselves with God’s plan, according to the scriptures and not according to our desires and the dictates of this world. Giving God TOTAL rule in our lives. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that we should show forth the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his marvellous light (1 Peter 2:8). We serve the LORD Christ who himself is the Vine to which we the Branches are attached. His purpose for us is that we bear much fruit; that his Father who is the husbandman does not cast us off to be destroyed. May we surrender our all today and with God’s help be freed for joyful obedience to the fulfilling of His Divine Purpose.

W. Bennett