The Will of God

At church and at the NBC (neighborhood bible class) that I attended today, the topic was the "Will of God."

Matthew 7: 21 - 23: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'  Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.  Away from Me, you evildoers!'

Only he who does the will of my Father will enter the kingdom of heaven - Jesus' own words.  For me, this is a scary verse, because if I'm not doing the will of God, I won't enter heaven.  It made me stop and think, "Am I doing the will of God?" and how do I know that I'm doing the will of God?

I believe that the Bible is my guide book.  There are commands in the Bible - love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind; love your neighbor as yourself.  More than that though, the Bible is a book of principles, and I believe that I can discern God's will for my life through study of His word and fervent prayer.

I have to admit that, sometimes I make decisions, and then pray for God's will to be in line with my will - that's backwards.  And, it's not just the big decisions that I need to pray about.  Maybe there really aren't any small decisions.  I need to talk to God on a daily basis, without ceasing (very hard for me) and in that way, I can know that I'm doing God's will.