Vision From God

Chuckle: A cop to a speeder: "Yeah, we have a quota... Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven!"

Quote: "Where there is no vision (revelation from God), the people perish (cast off restraint)" (Proverbs 29:18 KJV).

"My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings....Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:10, 12).

A vision from God includes a special awareness of God, His plan for one’s life and His readiness to reveal that plan. For any Christian or church to be effective for our Lord, it must begin with a vision from God. Such a vision will motivate you and determine how you live your life. Vision will effect everything you do. The apostle Paul's vision was to become like Christ. He wanted to know Christ intimately and completely and make it possible for others to know Him as well. Do you have a vision from God? If so, how will that vision affect what you do for your Lord today and the days to come?

Paul's vision from God for his life was so clear and powerful that he gave up everything -- family, friends, and even his own freedom in order to know Christ and His resurrection power. Paul understood he had no power of his own sufficient to accomplish God's mission for him, a mission which had come from his vision from God. He knew that God's power that raised Jesus from the dead was available to him -- the strength to carry out his assignment from Jesus to preach the Good News to the gentiles of the world.

As we become one with Christ by trusting in Him, the power that Paul is talking about immediately becomes available to every Christian with a vision from God. This power is resident within you in the form of the Holy Spirit who will help you to live a morally upright life because you have been regenerated by His power. But, before we can walk with our Lord, we must die to sin.

Since Christ's resurrection gives us His power to live for him, but we never will experience the fullness of that power until we personally apply the crucifixion to our Lives. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20 NIV). We must die to self and let the Holy Spirit's resurrection power strengthen and guide us toward the fulfillment of the vision for our lives that God has given us.

Please pray that you will be able to understand and take hold of God's vision and purpose for your life and that He will give you the strength to pursue them faithfully and consistently each day.

Love, Jerry & Dotse