Do you have vision for your life?

Proverbs 29:18 says that "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." (KJV). Other translations use the word "revelation" instead of "vision;" and they say that without it, "the people are unrestrained" (rather than the word "perish").

Here's what I get from this:

1. We need specific revelation from the Lord about direction for our lives.
2. When we receive that "vision," we gain focus, rather than being "unrestrained."
3. As a result we are more effective for the Kingdom of God.

Now, something I've learned over the years, purely through observation, is that God gives both individual vision and corporate vision. The corporate vision is for the Church at large, and is clearly revealed in Scripture. But "individual vision" is the specific marching orders that God has given you to help fulfill that corporate vision.

So I'll ask you again: Do you have vision for your life?

Back in 2002, I was in Toronto when the Lord put a picture in my mind. I saw a map of the United States (my home country) with little red dots popping up all over the place. Rather quickly, those dots began to grow until they all bled into each other and the entire map was red. At the time, I had no idea what it meant, but I worte it down anyhow--knowing that it had something to do with my calling.

As time went on, the interpretation of this vision began to take shape. The things I was reading, writing, hearing in sermons, experiencing, and hearing from the Lord began to take on a common theme. I began to see that I was to somehow be involved in spreading Christianity accross my nation at wildfire speeds--not through the slow, expensive, and laborsome methods we're used to, but rather through simple, Book-of-Acts-style fellowship, discipleship, and evangelism. Then, through various other scriptures, prayer times, and confirmations from others, I also came to see that my calling would specifically involve my current generation.

I'll go into more detail in a later blog post. For now, though, the thing to keep in mind is that we need to be seeking the Lord for vision, and it may not come all in one lump. My vision developed over about four years, and only now (six years later) am I beginning to walk in it.

The key is that you must believe that God has a vision for your life. You can have your own vision, but the real question is whether or not you've caught His vision.

You were created with a purpose, a plan, and a destiny. That trumps anything you've ever done; it's who you are! So when you come before God in prayer to seek His vision for your life, don't let the enemy steal it away by pointing out your weaknesses, unworthiness, or failures. God's vision for you is far more powerful and true than any argument that you or the devil could hurl back at it. When God speaks His vision for you, believe Him! Without that revelation, you're unrestrained, un-focused, and you will perish!

Just recently, I found myself arguing against God's vision. I said, "Why me? That's too huge! There are so many people more qualified and better equipped for it! I've messed up too many times in my life to be used on that kind of a scale."

But God's loving response was to put me in my place: "Do you think I care about any of that? No! I created you with a purpose and a destiny that I intend to carry out!"

I wasn't off the hook, and yet it was the most liberating feeling I've ever had. I realized that when the Bible talks about being "predestined," it's not kidding!

God planned you before you were born and wrote His purpose into your DNA as you were being knit together in your mother's womb! You're not in any way a mistake. Real salvation is not just realizing that you're a sinner and asking for forgiveness--it also requires that you realize you've been reconciled back to God! You've been set free to pursue God's original purpose for your life! Now, in Christ, you're a SAINT! That means you're set apart for a purpose! Whose purpose? God's purpose!

As a child of God, there's more to life than being grateful for your redemption and looking forward to heaven. Your King has specific marching orders for you to carry out here and now! He has a vision for your life, and He wants you to seek Him for an understanding. As a result, He'll point your life in the right direction.

Proverbs 3:5,6--Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

If you want to receive God's vision for your life, you're not going to get it from some prophet or preacher--you're going to get it from Him. Other people may confirm the message, but you have to seek Him out yourself.

The key to receiving vision is that you first of all look to Jesus Christ--not the past Jesus, but the present Jesus. Vision doesn't come from asking "What would Jesus do?" It comes from asking Jesus, "What are You doing?"! Your place in the plan of God is intimately tied to your place in the Body of Christ. And in order to discover that, you need to start by looking to Jesus through prayer, fasting, and an active pursuit of Him (reading the Word, listening to Christian brothers and sisters, etc).

The Father's vision for you is wrapped up in His vision for Jesus Christ. God the Father sent His divine Son, Jesus, to earth for a purpose; and Jesus said, "As the Father sent me, so I send you!" God had a vision for Jesus; and since you're part of Christ's Body (the Church), you have a part in continuing to carry that vision out today! Jesus is the author and finisher of who we are, so we MUST look to Him! And remember, I'm talking about the presently living Jesus--not some outdated prophet.

As I close with the following two verses, notice the clear connection between spiritual vision and Christ's ascension to the right hand of the Father. He is alive!

Hebrews 12:2--Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Ephesians 1:17-23--I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

One last time: Do you have God's vision for your life?

This last Wednesday, my friend Tony (who leads our men's Bible Study) pointed out that the devil tends to attack those areas of our lives that God wants to use most. Then Sunday came along and I believe the Holy Spirit revealed something to me allong those lines during a time of prayer.

The thought occurred to me (I believe it was from God, but judge for yourself) that the enemy has been around for a while and understands how to read the human genetic code. He looks for things God meant for good, and he perverts them so that we never become who we were created to be.

For instance, suppose God created one person to be a fiery, passionate, bold Christian who is not afraid to speak the truth in the face of opposition. Then the enemy comes along, sees the God-given potential that has been written into that person's DNA, and attacks it. Later in life, the circumstances the enemy has brought against that person have wounded their soul and spirit to such an extent that instead of being a bold proclaimer of the Truth, they become a person with an anger and rage problem.

And here's the hard part--Does God hold that person accountable for their actions? You bet. Why? Because that's not who they were created to be. Yes, they have some DNA that makes it very easy for them to have anger and rage problems, but the fact remains that this was not God's reason for writing that DNA!

Yesterday I met someone (who will remain anonymous) who God is calling out of a homosexual relationship and into His Kingdom. This person's response was to respond to the Holy Spirit and leave the house where they were living. We got to pray together for salvation and new life, and this person stated that they genuinely felt different than before. Sure, there will be a process of spiritual and emotional transformation involved--I've experienced this first hand in my own battle with lust and sensuality. But I think one of the most important things that came up was this matter of DNA and how modern scientists claim to have found "the gay gene" (I apologize if that term is offensive to any of you).

You see, God created this person to have a tender, caring heart through which the Holy Spirit can reveal His power and love in awesome ways. The enemy came along and attacked that DNA early in their life through circumstances and lies spoken into their thoughts. And now, years later, this person has finally accepted that Jesus Christ has something better in store!

The supernatural love of God knows no limits! The Bible says, "God is love," and, "Love covers a multitude of sins!" God is not shocked when the devil attacks us in the areas God meant for good--He is grieved. Why? Because it hurts to watch someone you love getting dragged away from you. Not only that, but the things we often get "dragged away by" are the things God meant to be used for good--like the firey boldness of the one who was dragged into rage or the sensitivity, creativity, and personality of the one who was dragged into homosexuality.

We need to stop explaining away our sin by saying, "Well, that's just the way I was made; so God must want me to be like this." The truth is, he made you just the way He wanted to so He could reveal something about Himself through you that no one else could. He created you with a purpose and a destiny. He has a reason for every gene in your genetic code. But He did not create you to live a life of sin.

Christianity is not about "denying who we are"--it's about becoming who we are! God created us each with His plan and purpose in mind, and the Christian life is one of glorifying our Father in Heaven. That means we do His will. That means we become who He created us to be! And this can only be done by the power of the Holy Spirit!

In our own strength and will-power, we are helpless when it comes to getting out of the mess the enemy has dragged us into. We've been attacked right down to our DNA, and so it seems that this is just "who we are." Do not be fooled. When we allow the transformational power of the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with God's love and show us who we are meant to be, He begins to change us from the inside-out. Our DNA doesn't change, but the way we apply it does! We become who we were created to be! And God, our Father, gets all the glory for our freedom from sin!

My prayer for each and every reader today is that you would not be swayed by the enemy to believe that your sinful nature is "just the way you were made." I pray in the name of Jesus that you would instead realize the purity and purpose that were intended by God before you were even conceived in your mother's womb. I pray that you may come to grasp how long and high and deep and wide is the love of God and how great is His kindness toward us expressed in Christ Jesus. Today is the day for you to leave your old ways of life at the cross (considering the "old you" as being dead) so that the blood of Jesus Christ can purify you and the Holy Spirit can give you a brand new life of intimacy with our Father in Heaven.

I invite and welcome you to join our family!

Non-Deadly Sin

1 John 5:16-17 tells us that there is such a thing as a sin that does not result in death. The Bible doesn't really say any more on the matter, but I believe there are some clues in the story of the first sin that did result in death (If you don't know the story of Adam and Eve, read it in Genesis 3).

Ever notice how Adam and Eve didn’t have any children until after they were banned from the garden? God told them to "be fruitful and multiply" as soon as woman was created. In fact, the name “Eve” means "mother of all the living;" but Adam didn’t give her that prophetic name until after they had sinned. Until then he just called her “woman” because she had been taken "out of man." He wasn’t speaking destiny over his wife when he should have been.

They weren’t trying to be disobedient--they didn’t even really know what sin was. But I think we sometimes find ourselves in a similar condition--sinning in ignorance. The Apostle John said that there is a form of sin which does not lead to death and there is another form that does. Here, I believe, is proof. Adam and Eve’s first sin was not the blatant disobedience we often cite about them eating the forbidden fruit. It was other things that they did without realizing they were wrong. Things that didn’t lead to death. Things that God corrected in relationship with them. I know this steps on some theological toes, but hear me out. Yes, the world was technically perfect before Adam and Eve ate the fruit; but it was not without sin. Uh-oh...now I’m in deeper...

But think about it. Does it make sense to think that Adam and Eve had "free will" in reference to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but no "free will" in reference to anything else? Do you think they were robots that weren’t capable of making a wrong decision except when it came to eating? No way! Mistakes happen all the time; that’s part of having free will. But these were mistakes, or "sins," that did NOT lead to death. God was being a loving Father. He taught, corrected, and trained. He raised Adam and Eve as His children. Love covers a multitude of sins.

Most of us have probably heard that all sin is equal in God’s eyes. That’s not entirely true. It’s not in the Bible; it’s just our way of convincing people that whether you lied or murdered is irrelevant--both lead to death. The truth is that all willful sin is equal in its result. A person’s choice to separate himself from the life of God will undoubtedly lead to spiritual death. That’s why the sacrifice of Jesus is so crucial. Relying on Him means He takes the penalty of death in your place. But when it comes to the incidental sins that come with the territory of free will, John shows a very different solution:

If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is a sin that does not lead to death (1 John 5:16-17, NIV).

Sin equals separation. If I sin against you, I’ve separated myself from you. If I sin against God, I’ve separated myself from Him. Sin is separation, and separation is sin. Some separation leads to death--like willful disobedience. Other separation does not.

Perhaps the easiest way to think of such "non-deadly" sin is as "distraction." Distraction is a form of separation. Adam and Eve were possibly so caught up with the wonder of God’s creation that they never got around to fulfilling His purpose. He wanted them to multiply, but that never happened while they were in the garden. Sometimes we too get distracted from God’s vision--even by good things. This won’t send us on a one-way ticket to hell, but it will bring correction from the Lord. Sin number one is distraction from God’s vision.

Sin number two is distraction from God’s order. God established man as a spiritual covering for woman. When was Eve led astray by the serpent? When was she tempted? In broad daylight while Adam stood by silently (notice how it says she gave some fruit to the man who was with her). We often unwittingly throw God’s order out the window by simply getting distracted. It happens in marriages, but also in the Church. Christ is the Head of the Church, but often we put all our faith in people like pastors or other leaders. Sometimes God still moves in that environment as He tries to bring us back to proper order, but it is spiritually limiting at best.

Sin number three was distraction from God’s thoughts. All they had known up to that point was what God had already told them. It wasn’t the temptation itself that was the sin; it was the fact that they entertained the thought of it. They separated themselves from what they knew to be trustworthy and true in order to believe a lie. Often times we’re tempted to do something, and we immediately shift our focus back to God. We defeat that temptation. Other times, though, we think about it for a while. We ponder how we could get away with it. For instance, we might ruminate on a possible lie until we think it’s air-tight enough to tell. Even if we don’t go through with it, it’s separation from God’s thoughts; and it will more often than not lead to greater willful sin.

Do you have any areas of your life in which non-deadly sin has started creeping in? Are you focused on God's vision for your life? Are you submitted to God's divine order? Are you "putting on the mind of Christ?" Falling short in these areas won't ruin your salvation, but it will hold you back from fulfilling your God-given purpose. If you see any shortcomings, I encourage you to repent and get your life on track with the One who can keep you from falling!