Along Life's Way: Living God's Will for Your Life in discovering, valuing, and being who you are in Christ!

By Blyn Brown

Today""not yesterday or tomorrow""is always your best day when you're on God's pathway for your life! And there's not a better time than right now to evaluate where you are in that plan and to prepare yourself for the journey ahead. In beginning each day, remember it's not just another day. Rather it's fresh and new, containing the next predesigned segment of God's will for your life, in walking with Him in a side by side relationship through the leading and empowering of the Holy Spirit. One of the most amazing revelations is that God will take you where you are right now and move you forward with His favor upon your calling and nothing short of that. That is, if you make the decision to say yes to His call of salvation and service. In doing so, it's promised that, "God will make all grace abound to you so that in all things and at all times you will have what you need to abound in every good work." You're one of a kind and of highest value to your Savior in the uniqueness you'll bring to His plan for creation. It is God's utmost desire that you fulfill His will, call, purpose, and plan that He has reserved for your life. And this isn't difficult to do, for God's will is simply receiving and putting into action His biblical promises of hope. The promises of God reward and empower you to carry out His purpose on Earth. I'm confident that through the leading and gifting of the Holy Spirit, "Along Life's Way" will help equip, direct, and encourage you to move forward with the daily satisfaction and joy in knowing that you're fulfilling God's divine plan for who you are in Christ Jesus""as you travel with Him through life's journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9781642582260

Book preview

I

About this Writing

Putting God’s design for your life into action

In all of your getting get understanding about God’s plan and calling for your life. For therein are the keys for you to live and enjoy life the way God intended it to be. My desire and calling in this writing is inspired to help you do just that. Along Life’s Way is about discovering God’s design for your life and how to put it into action—to the fullest measure through His daily benefits in:

Accepting God as your Savior through the redemptive work of Christ Jesus, witnessed by the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Having continual fellowship with God (your Heavenly Father), Jesus Christ (your Savior), and the Holy Spirit (your Guide).

Believing the Bible as the authoritative, infallible, and breath-inspired Word of God.

Developing and making full use of your God-given calling, abilities, and talents.

Fully valuing the impact of your life’s walk in view of the Master’s eternal plan.

Enjoying your Creator’s goodness and generosity through His Covenant and Promises as recorded for you in His written word.

Knowing and then being who you are in Christ—living a faith-filled, service-giving, overcoming life through Him!

I’m confident, that through the leading of the Holy Spirit, Along Life’s Way will help equip, direct, and encourage you to move forward with the daily satisfaction and joy in knowing you’re fulfilling God’s divine purpose for who you are in Christ Jesus—as you travel with Him through life’s journey.

II

Starting Your Day

Getting recalibrated and redirected

Recalibrating

Today is the best day of your life—not yesterday or tomorrow—it’s the twenty-four hours at hand. And there’s not a better time than right now to evaluate where you are in God’s plan and to prepare yourself for that segment of the journey ahead. And no matter what you think or anyone’s said, it’s never too late to get started in redeeming the time of the past and fulfilling your prearranged walk through life, as you move forward with Him.

You might be thinking, There’s too many years that’s been wasted and won’t come my way again—I see myself unworthy when I look back over my life with all the mistakes I’ve made. I just don’t see how it’s possible to discover and follow through on God’s plan for my life with the expectation of me actually being contented and at peace on a daily basis.

At this very point, you must alter the pathway your mind is taking you—it’s just not pointing true north; that is, toward God and His plan for your life. In getting your thinking recalibrated, you’ll get on the way that connects to Him and receiving the promises He has specifically reserved for you! It’s not about how good you are, what you’ve done or not, or how many times you’ve set out with the purpose of discovering God’s plan for your life, made a wrong turn, and hit a dead end. Instead, it’s all about Him and what He can do for you, just where you are—right now!

God’s outlook for you has not and will never change, His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.¹ His unchanging desire and greatest pleasure is for you to be in His family; that was the ultimate purpose of creation. Being in God’s family is the first step that makes available all the daily benefits and promises needed to enjoy life the way it’s intended to be.

I don’t know of a person that has excellent company benefits being offered to them, without cost, that wouldn’t elect to use them. Because we are God’s children, He offers us the ultimate in life’s daily rewards. Every morning, my wife Linda and I make the prophecies stated in Psalms 103:2–5 (NKJV) the central theme in our daily prayers (which personifies or exemplifies the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4); not only for us, but also our families and those God has placed upon our hearts:

"Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

Salvation is God’s primary promise that makes all His benefits (helps or aids) available to the Believer. Salvation is the umbrella or basis of God’s goodness to the Believer. Because under it is covered all of His covenant blessings, "And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.²

When Linda and I first asked for forgiveness of our sins and accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we received the promise of eternal life and became children of God. Now as a daughter and son of God, it’s our privilege to start each day with the prayer of expectation and hope, In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning, I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.³

The Psalmist indicates that In the morning was a time he routinely prayed and presented his requests to the Lord. And in doing so, he waited expectantly in witness of his prayers and requests being delivered with God’s favor. Expectantly, in Psalm 5:3, is applied in the sense of a watchman looking eagerly for the return of a messenger with his favored request. When you pray, be assured that God hears your requests and will supply your every need!

In the same way, when you first start your day—whether it’s in the morning, afternoon, or night—begin with the faith-filled prayer of expectation. Place your thanksgiving and requests before the Lord. The messenger you send your prayers with is the Holy Spirit. You can always depend on Him going to and returning from the presence of God with the comfort, assurance, hope, insight, and help you need.⁴

As Believers, Linda and I always ask for God’s daily benefits to be applied to us, our family, and loved ones for that day regarding:

Forgiveness. Always ask God for forgiveness of sins—ones you’re aware of and not; in doing so, you are then guar- anteed to be cleansed from all unrighteousness that puts you into direct relationship and fellowship with God and Christ. And if you’re not a Believer, you can ask for forgive- ness of your sins through Jesus, right now, which instantly makes God your Father and the following benefits avail- able to you.

Healing. To be protected or healed from any potential or current health issues; that’s physical and emotional. It’s stated in the Old and New Testament that God’s desire is that that none of the diseases and challenges of health sent by Satan would touch or come near us and that we be in good health and prosper!

Security. This is deliverance from destruction of your life or that which causes you setbacks or derailments in your walk with and service to God. In confessing and receiving this daily benefit, Satan cannot take your life at his will. Your predetermined lifespan is set by God alone. Additionally, He wants you always to be victorious and steadily moving forward in your walk with Him.

Compassion. Instead of judgment due to your weaknesses, God grants you His favor with love, mercy, and grace that you may be strengthened to become an overcomer and then offer this same compassion to those you come in contact with. Compassion is the attribute of God that moved Him to extend His love and grace in sending His Son Jesus to ransom you from your doomed slavery of sin to the liberating gift of freedom and eternal life, accompanied by the enjoyment of His daily benefits.

Fullness. God’s creative and gifted word of faith put into action will fill your mouth with good things in giving you the desires of your heart; that is, God’s goodness and life’s blessings are imparted to you as you fulfill your daily walk of faith with Him. The same Word that brought about creation and empowered the patriarchs to accomplish the great feats we read about in the Bible is available to you right now, by believing, confessing, and then walking in confidence and agreement as to the request you’ve presented to God Almighty.

Renewed. In accepting these benefits, you are guaranteed to be infused with vigor, strength, and creativity and knowledge, understanding, and wisdom; you are motivated and energized spirit, soul, and body. Allegorically speaking, your youth is renewed as the eagle, as that of the adult eagle in annually replacing their old feathers with new ones to remain fresh and strong in soaring the predetermined domain of the sky above. As a Believer, your destiny is to always be above-on top and never below-under, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kind- ness toward us in Christ Jesus."⁵

Wow! What a passage of scripture to make central in your daily prayers. You are blessed to be a blessing first and above all to your Creator and then your neighbor (family, loved ones, and those you come in contact with each day); in doing so, you are guaranteed to experience a life of contentment and fulfillment.

The only qualification to begin being awarded these benefits is to accept Jesus Christ into your life. God made it that easy. So no matter what you’ve done with the time in your past life, how big of a mess you’re in right now, or if you feel like you’re just going through the motions of life and coming up short of God’s designed pathway for you—Christ is the answer in changing the course of your life from despair to joy and doubt to certainty of purpose.

Getting on your way

At this moment, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is offering you the opportunity to get on and move forward in the journey God has planned for you. Somewhat like the two disciples of Jesus who were leaving Jerusalem, just after His crucifixion. They were walking to Emmaus instead of Galilee, where He had told them to go before His death. Galilee was north of Jerusalem and a considerable distance further than the seven mile full-day journey they were taking by foot westward to get to their apparent hometown area of Emmaus.

Although Jesus had told His disciples a number of times to meet Him in Galilee after His resurrection, they didn’t hear Him, for whatever reason. However, Jesus didn’t throw up His hands in disgust, responding in a typical human manner such as, After all I went through for you, I now find you not doing the first thing I asked you to do after my resurrection—merely go to Galilee! Now was that too difficult?

No, this isn’t our Savior—in any measure! Rather, He knew and identified with them in the difficult time they were going through. He got on the road they were traveling, made connection with them, filled them with hope, reunited them with their fellow Believers at Jerusalem,⁶ and finally redirected them all to Galilee.

Getting His disciples to Galilee was for their benefit.⁷ For it is here where Jesus renewed His fellowship with them through: the giving of The Great Commission, a miraculous catch of fish similar to when He first called them to service three and one-half years before, forgiving Peter in denying Him, and then directing them to Jerusalem as His unified Church to witness His ascension into heaven and then receive the Holy Spirit of promise.

It’s definitely worth getting on the pathway and making the trip He’s lined out for you—please, don’t stop short. If you’ll do that, God promises that He will give you the desires of your heart and that you’ll fulfill all your purpose.⁸

I’m not making light of disobedience—not in any measure, for there’re always negative consequences linked to it. But I am saying that just as Christ was determined in restoring hope and fellowship with His disciples, His intentions are always the same for you, For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the east is from the west. The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he understands how weak we are; he knows we are only dust.⁹

God loves you and desires that you walk in fellowship with Him every day—accomplishing and enjoying all that He’s reserved and destined for you! In accepting His invitation, Along Life’s Way will help reveal, through the Holy Spirit, biblical truths relative for every- day applications to direct your life and calling. You’ll also see how people from different periods of times and walks of life were called by God in such a personalized way that it enabled them to connect with Him and accept His invitation. This calling and journey changed their life, circumstances facing them, and the lives they touched. God’s intentions are the same for you—let’s begin the journey.

III

Beginning the Journey

God’s time for you is now

Today—not tomorrow

Accepting the call of salvation is the first and most important step of your life in getting on the pathway God has for you. He’s urging you right now to unite with Him, For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.¹

As you meditate upon 2 Corinthians 6:2—I’d like to emphasize the word now. Don’t let anything prevent you from moving for- ward in God’s plan for your life; make that decision at the present, don’t delay. At this very moment is the time to accept salvation or get reunited with Him again. Whether it’s the first time you’ve accepted Jesus as Savior or getting back on track with Him. Right now is the time to begin enjoying the pleasures of God, that’s been waiting and reserved for you.

All that comes packaged in the gift of salvation, through the Bible, is 100 percent guaranteed to personally guide you from where you are to experiencing all God has reserved for you. The gift of salvation is a never-ending source of gifting and empowerment. It keeps on giving all that you’ll need daily to develop you into the person that He has destined.

It’s been prearranged by God for every person to be given the opportunity to believe in Him through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. If you haven’t answered that call or have walked away from it in the past, right now is your time to get on your course and move ahead in life—please, don’t delay any longer.

There’s only one way that will lead you from where you are to eternal life, as Jesus said in John 14:6 (NKJV), I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Getting on the way through salvation makes it possible to receive truth that will guide you daily in the fullness of life. But on the way to eternity, through everyday life, you have an individual course or race to run, as arranged by your Maker as referenced below:

And as John the Baptist was ending his course, he said, What or who do you secretly think that I am? I am not He [the Christ. No], but note that after me One is coming, the sandals of Whose feet I am not worthy to untie! (Acts 13:25, AMP)

I [the Apostle Paul] have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7–8, NKJV)

You’re no different than the Apostle Paul or John the Baptist in that you have a course or race to run, a special mission inspired by God, on your way to receiving the crown of eternal life. Once you accept God’s call of salvation, you become a chosen and special pos- session to Him, Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…²

God’s outreach to His creation

Before time came into being—it was predetermined by God to save and call you, in particular, according to the purpose He planned for your life.

My journey began when I was about five years old. I remember lying down on my back in the front yard of our home in the country on a clear summer night. It was as though I could see all the stars of heaven. The more I looked into the vastness of God’s starry creation, the more finite I felt. A somber realization that I wouldn’t live forever came over me and an awareness there was a Supreme Being. That was an experience I’ll always hold foremost in life and the picture of that night remains perfectly clear today.

What I experienced that evening was the prompting of the Holy Spirit to reveal the all-present and eternal God and my need for Him. God has designed every person to recognize this prompting of the Holy Spirit—there are no exceptions. It was from this encounter my dad explained to me how to be saved and begin my journey with God.

I didn’t have anything on my mind that evening, but to lie down in the front yard. I was simply looking up and saw the stars in a different way than ever before. The more I looked, the more I was drawn toward them to reach out for my Creator.

God created the stars of heaven in a unique way for you and me; they are the undeniable hand prints of our Creator and His personal invitation of eternity. This was so we’d always be aware of our need for Him and our very limited span of existence without Him, But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: Their sound has gone out to all the Earth, And their words to the ends of the world.³

Romans 10:18 is taken from Psalm 19:1–4 (Amplified Bible) and is actually referring to the stars as seen by all (not only referring to natural sight, but also witnessed or perceived in the heart and soul of the incoherent, incapacitated, or incompetent in any measure— mentally or physically) who live on Earth, THE HEAVENS declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork [Romans 1:20, 21]. Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night shows forth knowledge. There is no speech nor spoken word [from the stars]; their voice is not heard. Yet their voice [in evidence] goes out through all the earth, their sayings to the end of the world. Of the heavens has God made a tent for the sun [Romans 10:18].

As we see, Paul in Romans 10:18 relates the literal stars of Psalm 19:1–4 to Christians who share the gospel to the entire world. Man and woman will not leave this life without being aware of God’s existence and their need for salvation through means of the Holy Spirit—whether it’s by reading the Bible, a Believer, or the ever present and non-escapable creation and universe of God.

When you accept Jesus as your Savior, you receive complete salvation for the whole person—spirit, soul, and body. The Gospel’s salvation is perfect. It has everything you’ll need to live a complete, satisfied, and purpose-filled life!

The flawless plan of salvation

No matter how dismal the outlook may appear outwardly, God is always in control—keeping His eternal plan of redemption headed forward to fulfillment. In so doing, He has designed your walk of faith with Him to be a part in helping bring this about.

With this in mind, 1,500 years had passed from the time Adam was created until the Earth was covered with intolerable violence and wickedness. At which time there was only one person that found grace or favor in the eyes of the Lord—Noah.⁴

So God called Noah to build an ark that would save him, his family, hopefully those who would take heed to his message of repentance, and the animals chosen for repopulating and sanctifying the Earth after the flood. Creation would be starting anew with their Maker.

Noah’s mission and course in life was undeniably unique—no different than yours, in accepting the path God is asking you to walk with Him. Noah was called by God to be a witness and preacher (a representative of God that declares His Word) of righteousness in proclaiming God’s truth to those about him. His message was straight- forward and easy to understand: (1) a flood was coming to destroy the world that had completely rejected God and (2) the sinner was to repent, turn from his or her sinful way, and enter into the ark of safety.

Noah pleased God in simply being obedient to Him. God asked him to build an ark of safety and during this time declare His message of deliverance and destruction to a lost world. He was faithful in doing just that. The world was destroyed by the flood, but Noah’s seven family members and he were saved. That’s a tremendous testimony!

The world was full of corruption and violence, but Noah’s family heard and believed his message from God. That’s absolutely awesome. Whatever we’re doing or happens in life, our family should always remain the center focus of our love and outreach. In doing so, God will look upon us as he did with Noah, And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood (2 Peter 2:5, NLT)"

Following the resting of Noah’s ark on the mountains of Ararat (Turkey)—the known Earth had again become overrun with rebellion and violence against their Creator. Once more, God started afresh. This time He called a man named Abram/Abraham to leave the center of the known world. You could say Abraham’s journey was similar to that of Christopher Columbus in leaving Europe and discovering America. Abraham was traveling by faith to a land that was completely foreign and unknown to him and his family. He was the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Noah and lived in the same area as did his forefathers after the flood.

In Genesis 12:1–5, God told Abraham (he being seventy-five years old and his wife Sarah sixty-five) that his offspring would become a great nation and all the nations of the Earth would be blessed by him, which was a part of God’s master plan before time began. At the point of conception, God placed within Abraham the potential he needed to fulfill the course He had lined out for his life. Your value to God is of equal significance to that of Abraham, so you being here on planet Earth isn’t by happenstance. The plans for your life are flawless in the eyes of the Almighty. Everything about you is filled with purpose, in bringing pleasure to your Creator and being a part in helping bring about His plan for the day you live in.

The place where Abraham was living, at the time God first called him, was a tremendously wicked area, full of sin and idolatry. With all of that negativity and anti-God lifestyle surrounding about him, God saw the necessity for Abraham to leave the land of his nativity and journey to the land He had reserved for him and his off- spring. The land of Canaan would be a place where Abraham’s family and descendants wouldn’t be inundated with evil and wrongly influenced by family, friends, or society. Their new beginning would give them the opportunity and advantage to seize the hope and future God had placed before them. Abraham leaving his past environment is an illustration and a word of warning for you, the Believer, to do likewise; that’s to abandon the sinful surroundings and environment that once influenced and directed your lifestyle.

The land of Israel would forever be the most central and valued property on planet Earth to God. For within its predefined boundaries, the nation of Israel would come forth from the lineage of Abraham. Here, also through Abraham’s lineage, the Messiah would be born, crucified, resurrected, and eventually return to direct the Earth in the way God had originally intended.

Working out the kinks

To start with, Abraham had a number of kinks that needed to be worked out. This was essential in order for him to believe and receive God’s promised son for him and his wife Sarah. This son would be the beginning of God’s promised lineage to Abraham. His makeup wasn’t a surprise to God, for He perfectly knew him. God knew his potential He created him with to get His job done. Even though Abraham had a number of hang-ups, he was a person that the Almighty could work with in getting His plan accomplished. It just wouldn’t happen overnight.

The nation of Israel, which God had promised to Abraham, would be initiated and come through his firstborn son Isaac and grandson Jacob. The Bible frequently mentions Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob together when referring to them as Israel’s founding fathers and to whom God promised the land of Canaan as the nation’s homeland.⁵

The Old and New Testament refers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob together a total of 105 times in separate verses. There’s not another earthly father/son/grandson threesome that’s mentioned this often together