11-Why God has a plan for you

(Proverbs 2:9-12)
"If you listen to me, you will know whaat is right, just, and fair.  You will know what you should do.  You will become wise, and your knowledge will give you pleasure.  Your insight and understanding will protect you and prevent you from doing the wrong things."

How's your search for wisdom coming along?  What is the source and benefits?

Human existence is oriented to the Glory of God. (Romans 8:19-23)

"Even someone who does not think that God exists could at least agree with the hypothesis that if God existed, a fundamental solution to the problem of human existence would be provided.  God would be seen as the ultimate reason for all that is, as reality's ultimate support, ultimate goal, and ultimate core.  Threats of death, meaninglessness, rejection and nothingness would be overcome.

"Even when all the goods of health, education,  security, and weather in our possession, we still hunger to know who we are.  And we infer from this hunger... (In discovering one's own identity, one discovers God" Catholicism- Richard P. McBrien).

Belief in God answers more questions about life and it's meanings and purpose than does unbelief.  Are you wise in your own eyes - arrogant in your own knowledge or do you seek the truth in childlike faith - humbly open to receive the truth of God's Word; realizing  that only God holds all the answers?

(Matthew 11: 25-26)
At that time Jesus said, "Father, Lord of heaven and earth!  I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned.  Yes, father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen."

How are you like the "wise and learned"?  Like the "little children?"

It is important to have an open mind, to god's guidance.  We win through a true knowledge of God when we recognize that the training program he has prepared for us is one of his own making.  We as his children find peace of mind and spirit in a humble acceptance of our proper place in the scheme of things; as a child being trained for his family in heaven.  Like a loving parent, God teaches and directs us.  We should listen to him because peace and righteousness come to us as we obey his Word.

(Isaiah 48:17)
"I am the Lord your God, the one who wants to teach you for your own good and direct you in the way you should go."

Think of self-control as a wall for defense and protection.  An out-of-control life is open to all sorts of enemy attack.

(Proverbs 25:28)
"A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls."

What will you do to regain self-control?

Each family on earth as well as each school has it own methods and rules.  Each religion and church has its own set of rules or methods.  These methods and rules provide guidance toward the ultimate goals of growth.

(Paul and Thecla 1:19-20)
"Blessed are they who pursue the wisdom (or doctrine) of Jesus Christ; for they shall be called the sons of the Most high.

"Blessed are they who observe the instructions of Jesus Christ; for they shall dwell in eternal light."

God gives us wisdom and victory but not for drifting through life or acting irresponsible with his gifts and resources.  If we keep our purpose in life clearly in mind, he will keep us from pride and greed.

(Proverbs 2:1-8)
"Son, learn what I teach you and never forget what I tell you to do.  Listen to what is wise and try to understand it.  Yes, beg for knowledge; as you would for silver or some hidden treasure.  If you do, you will know what it means to fear the Lord and you will succeed in learning about God.  It is the Lord who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding.  He provides help and protection for righteous, honest men.  He protects those who treat others fairly, and guards those who are devoted to him."

Is the path of your life taking you where you've always dreamed of going?

And in this world: "God shapes man like a potter" (Gen. 2:7).  he shapes man through his guidance and rules.  When we recognize who God is and who we are, we will fall at his feet in humble respect.  Only then will he show us how to choose his way.

(Psalms 25:8-12)
"Because the Lord is righteous and good he teaches sinners the path they should follow.  He leads the humble in the right way and teaches them his will.

"With faithfulness and love he leads all who keep his covenant and obey his commands.

"Keep your promises Lord, and forgive my sins; for they are many.  Those who obey the Lord will learn from him  the path they should follow."

(Deut. 5:1-4) Implication is made that the revelations of God are timeless and that his words, whenever they were spoken, are addressed to us here and now.

In Deut. we learn that his word is available to us, and in John we learn that through his Spirit and Word we will find some of our help.

What words describe your presence at the point of need?

(Psalms 27:11)
"Teach me, Lord, what you want me to do, and lead me along a safe path."

In earth's schools you have teachers, textbooks, school buildings, classes, pep rallies, etc.

(Psalms 26:1-3)
"Declare me innocent, O Lord, because I do what is right and trust you completely.  Examine me and test me, Lord; judge my desires and thoughts.  Your constant love is my guide; your faithfulness always leads me."

Given a "sincerity scale of 1 to 10, how would you score on the Lord's test?  Why?

We see in God's program, we have God's love, examining, tests and faithfulness.  In heaven's training we have ministers, the Bible and other religious books, services, evangilization rallies, etc.

"It must not be allowed to obscure the fact that Jesus was indeed a teacher.  This was a title, in fact, given him more frequently than any other.  He was regarded as a teacher (Matthew 10:24; Luke 20:21; John 3:2).  He gathered a group of disciples and acted as their rabbi, or teacher (Matthew 8:18-22; 31:1-11; 26:17-19; Mark 4:35-41; 11:1-11; e.g.).  He is asked the type of questions a teacher would be asked (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 13:54; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:15, 31; 6:6).  He taught "with power" and as one having authority (Matthew 7:29; Mark 1:22; 11:18).  His teaching is that of the one who sent him (john 7:16) and Jesus teaches whatever he himself was taught by the Father (John 8:28).

"Not surprisingly, the early Church continued the ministry of teaching in fidelity to its charge from the Lord.  Teachers appeared among the lists of officers in the Church (1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11) and teaching is regarded as part of the office of Apostles (1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 3:10) and of the bishop (2 Timothy 4:2).  With the death of the last of the Apostles the Church was particularly concerned that the apostolic traditions be preserved and that whatever was taught should be "sound doctrine" (1 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:3; Titus 1:9, 2:1).  Ultimately, the object of the Church's teaching; the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15)" (Catholicism-Richard P McBrien-II, XI, 376).

Have you ever had an experience where you become a trainer in the plan of God or the world?  What were the positive ways you guided or help students to achieve the goals desired.

Help for Life

We struggle with the problem of competing responsibilities that all demand our attention.  We are trapped in a rat race, not just of acquiring money but also of meeting family and business obligations.  We pant through an endless series of appointments and duties.  But we do not need to be left frustrated and exhausted from the demands of life.

The Christian approach to life can usher us into the Center of unhurried peace.  Pope John XXIII declared, "The older I grow the more clearly I perceive the dignity and winning beauty of simplicity in thought, conduct and speech in a desire to simplify all that is complicated and to treat everything with the greatest naturalness and clarity."

The Christian approach is both easy and difficult.  It is easy in the same way as all ways of life, having once worked their way into the ingrained habits of our lives they become easy.  "Virtue is easy" says the moral philosophers, and so it is once it is embedded in the personality.

But there are times of struggle and effort, times when we despair of ever having our life styles where we feel they should be, times when we wonder if our lives will ever be great.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer before he died at the hands of the Nazis, said "To be simple is to fix one's eye solely on the simple truth of God at a time when all concepts are being confused, distorted, and turned upside down."  Such focus makes one peaceful and able to cut through the difficulties of life.

Without the spirit of trust in God the Father we find it difficult (dare I say impossible?) to live effectively.

Paul counseled Christians to live free from anxiety that, of course, is more easily said thandone.  Everything in our training and in our culture combats a carefree spirit of unconcern.  How can we be free from anxiety and live life the best way possible.  "And the peace of God, which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7).

Enslavement to the opinions of others is the source of a great deal of grief in modern society.  How often we discover our action to be prompted, not by what is best, but by what others may say or think.  Sadly, we must confess that our experience is all too frequently characterized by endless attempts to justify what we do or fail to do.

"All plenty which is not my God is poverty to me" (St. Augustine).

If you needed to talk with someone about a personal problem all other things being equal would you rather talk to a Christian or a non-Christian?  Explain your answer?

Your interest in utilizing this course, says something about you.  The longing to know God's will is a gift.  His Spirit has been at work in you creating the desire to discover his will.

I suspect that your interest is in finding daily guidance.

The will of God is not a set of sealed secret orders we search for and receive if we happen to find them.  Rather, the will of God is a relationship with Him in which He discloses His purpose, power, and plan for our lives - and in that order.

There are many different forms and patterns of God's training program for his children.  The particular twists and turns of the path of God's training plan for one individual may be unique.  One person's story can never be the replica of another's... thank goodness!

One of the assumptions of this course is that there is a uniqueness of the plan followed by each individual.  The particular uniqueness of the grace provided by God for an individual is not to be viewed as a model in such a way as to try valiantly to replicate that pattern of the program in one's own life.  The richness of the fabric of the Christian community lies in the interweaving of the threads of our diverse Christian training programs.

Another assumption of this course is that one of the common elements of the separate training programs of individual Christians is that of suffering and/or challenges.  The difficulties of each individual, has its own uniqueness and is not duplicated in the life of another, and yet there is much in common for us to consider.  We are nourished deeply by the fact and imagery of our brother and coach "Christ" and the power of images and stories of fellow children of God.  It is the love of God our Father that makes the training of his sons and love of God our Father that makes the training of his sons and daughters a precious and unifying gift.  It is our perception of the control by God, our sense of the presence of God as a loving heavenly parent alongside his children, that breaks open to us the possibility of value in personal submission and trust.

How reassuring that in God's plan there can be assistance and renewal when the program seems most overwhelming.  The soul's longing, the spirit's questions, the heavenliness of God, the yoke of earth's busyness and influence, these can drive us to despair, send out questions doubts and need for guidance.

An underlying assumption of this course is that the miracle of grace is not always self-evident.  However, the promise of this miracle in the experience of even the most agonizing training program is always offered, providing assistance and renewal.  This course is about authentic guidance and assistance for the children of God in their Christian growth.  It does not attempt a simple detail defined training program.  What is offered is guidance on setting up a personal program.

What are some basic questions of life, death, spirituality, and meaning you would like to work out in this course?

Is it true that God is love to me as a Christian?If so, certain questions arise.

Why do I ever grumble and show discontent and resentment at the circumstances in which God has placed me?

Why am I ever distrustful, fearful, or depressed?

Why do I ever allow myself to grow cool, formal, and half-hearted in the service of the God who loves me so?

Why do I  ever allow loyalties to be divided, so that God has not all my heart?

Could an observer learn from the quality and degree of love that I show to others - my wife? my husband? my family? My neighbors? people at church? people at work? - anything at all about the greatness of god's love to me?

Could we be imagining God as a magnified image of ourself and assume that God shares our complacency about His love?

It is a fine thing for children to be proud of their father, and to want others to see how wonderful he is, and to take care that they behave in public in a way that is a credit to him.

The children must show the family likeness in their conduct.

Throughout our life in this world, and to all eternity beyond; He will constantly be showing us, in one way or another, more and more of His love, and thereby increasing our love to him continually.

He moves us to look to God as to a Father, showing towards Him the respectful boldness and unlimited trust that is natural to children secure in an adored father's love.

He impels us to act up to our position as royal children by manifesting the family likeness (i.e. conforming to Christ's guidance) furthering the family welfare (i.e. loving brothers and sisters), and maintaining the family honor (i.e. seeking the Father's and Family's glory).

As we seek God Himself looking to Him as our Father, prizing His fellowship, and finding in ourself an increasing concern to know and please our Father.

They know that they are working towards a day when they will graduate and join him in heaven.

Paternal discipline exercised through outward pressures and trials help the process along; the Christian up to his eyes in trouble can take comfort from the knowledge that in God's kindly plan it all has a positive purpose, to further his graduation.  in this world, royal children have to undergo extra training and discipline, which other children escape, in order to fit them for their high destiny.

If a friend was to help you with your relationship with God, with special emphasis on warmth and closeness, how would he or she do  this?

The clue to understanding all His dealing with them is to remember that throughout their lives He is training them for what awaits them and chiseling them into the image of Christ.  Sometimes the chiseling process is painful and the discipline difficult.

"I am a child of God.  God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer.  My savior is my brother; every Christian is my brother too... May this secret become fully yours, and fully mine" (Knowing God - J. L. Packer).

Do I daily remind myself of my privilege as a child of God? 

Do I daily dwell on the love of God to me?

Do I treat God as my Father in heaven, loving, honoring and obeying Him, seeking and welcoming His fellowship, and trying in everything to please Him as a human parent would want His child to do?

Do I think daily how close He is to me, how completely He understands me, and how much, He cares for me?

God humbles us; God instruct's us; God makes us His own true children.

Am I proud of my Father, and of His family?

As on earth, their is a selection of schooling approaches, types of schools and training.  There are various religions,  denominations, and churches.  Sometimes it's hard to select the right "training camp" or church and remain with it.  But we must remember that we are being taught by God.

"...the church is holy in that it is  a community of dissatisfied sinners.  They are not satisfied with themselves, or with the way things are in the world around them.  They are gathered together not to justify their present way of life or to advertise their piety, but to admit publicly that they need to be forgiven for what they are, and they want to change and need help.  The people of God, in other words, are holy not because of what they have or what they are, but because of what they are seeking to receive and to become.

"'These Christians and their God may be interested in my soul or in my body, but they are not interested in me.'  Like Christ himself, who healed bodies and broken relationships with God and other people, the church and we Christians are sent to minister to whole men, body and soul, and to be concerned for the wholeness of their lives, not just fragments of it.

"Jesus, who was himself the Word of God, both spoke of the saving love of God and demonstrated it by living as the man with and for other men" (Christian Doctrine-Shirley C. Guthrie, Jr.).

One of the ways we will enter into a Church is through a commitment to that Church and its program of assisting you to reach your Goals, in a public way called Baptism.

Christ stresses the importance of not merely wearing, but learning,  Are you open to God's teaching?

(John 6:43-45)
Jesus answered, "Stop grumbling among yourselves.  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him to me; and I will raise him to life on the last day.  The prophets wrote, 'Everyone will be taught by God.'  Anyone who hears the Father and learns from him comes to me."

As you commence in this course, you are invited to:

it is our hope that your life will be richer as you grow in your experiencing of the training program provided you,  By viewing this program in terms of a "gift" from God, means that it is laden with possibilities for learning, and may be part of God's gracious provision for his children.  In this way, you may be able to discover more readily the presence of the Spirit in your time of growing.

Take the time, now, to set down what you see as God's plan and training program for you.  The point is to summarize your concerns and feelings as completely as you can, not at this stage to analyze them or reflect on them at any length.  When you have written down your "understanding" them reflect further on your training program using the following questions:

1. The degree and actions which you need to make changes or improvements;
2. Who, What, and How you really need to establish a concrete written training program; and
3. Write a "letter" to yourself, letting that "Person" know "You" are not alone, and how this individual will be successful.

Reliving God's guidance

In times of spiritual growth it is helpful to follow the advice of our brother Christ to his confused disciples "Return to Galilee": return to those special days spent in the company of the Lord.  Return and find him in a new way.

Read through the following instructions, then take at least twenty minuets for this meditation;

1. Return in memory and imagination to a particular time when you experienced God's guidance and love for you, whatever the circumstance.
2. Stay with that scene and absorb God's love again.  Recapture a little of the joy or peace, the guidance or assurance of that time.  Relive the event in your imagination.  Don't merely recollect it.  Stay with the experience of the meditation as long as you can, until there is a sense of peacefulness and guidance.  Take as much time as you need.
3. Now come back to the present and speak with God... share your feelings with him, and be open to whatever he has to say to you now.
4. Close with a brief prayer of thanksgiving, trust, and commitment.

If this form of meditation is unfamiliar to you, it may be helpful to return several times to this example, over a few days or a week; some find it helpful to use such a meditation regularly, as a way of "recharging the batteries" of the spirit.

Sometimes, the anguish is too great to be able to engage in such a meditation on your own.  If so, after trying for a while relax and leave it.  Return to the exercise at a later time, and try again.  If you still can not master it, consult with your trainer.

Earth's Child/God's Child

We must be free to decide to give respect and glory or not.  Without this freedom, the glory or respect we would give our Creator/Father would not be as pleasing to him.  Respect that a human may receive from other humans can either be one based on fear or one based on admiration and love.  The same is true for God our Father.  He has made us in his likeness with the ability to choose to give him love, respect and glory.  When we do give him his due, he truly becomes our Father and we his sons and daughters.

(2 Esdras 7:59-61)
"All right," he replied, "so draw the logical conclusion" the person who has what is scarce has more reason to be pleased than the person who has what is plentiful.  It's the same with the judgment that I have promised" I will be pleased with the few who will be saved, because they are the ones who now praise and honor me and make my name known.  I will not be sad about the large number of people who will be lost, because even now they last no longer than a vapor; they disappear like fire and smoke; they catch fire, blaze up, and quickly go out."

How am I going to be the "salt?"

If we follow the narrow (difficult) path we will be welcomed by our Father in Heaven.  Perhaps it is because our God is Triune that God created us to be interdependent.  "He is not ashamed," the letter to the Hebrews (2:9-11) says, to call us brothers (and sisters).  God recognized all the connections: of nature with people, of people with people, of him with everything and everyone.  "God has joined all of us intimately with himself."  "Let no one separate what God has joined."

How is my church participation going to change?

"Whoever does not accept the Family of God like a little child shall not enter into it," Jesus says.  From children we can learn again to delight in nature, to accept each other, to reach out in joy and in our need.  From children we can learn again to approach our Father in heaven without fear and to accept our equality with Jesus.

Once we recapture our childlike nature, free from defenses, we can begin to be faithful in all of our relationships and to have a good "family" life.  Christ described standards of conduct for his followers that contrast with current values, and show what we can expect from the world?

(Luke 6:20-25)
Jesus looked at his disciples and said,
"Happy are you poor; the Kingdom of God is yours!
Happy are you who are hungry now; you will be filled!
Happy are you who weep now; you will laugh!
Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and say that you are evil, all because of the Son of Man!  Be glad when that happens and dance for joy, because a great reward is kept for you in heaven.  For their ancestor did the very same things to the prophets.
But how terrible for you who are full now; you will go hungry!
How terrible for you who laugh now; you will mourn and weep!

If you could add another "blessed" and another "woe" to counteract current values?

We have happiness to look forward to, but we must have humility in accepting it.  Self-righteoness is dangerous.  It leads to pride, causes, a person to despise others, and prevents him or her from learning anything from God.  Don't let pride in your achievements cut you off from God.

(Luke 18:4)
"For everyone who makes himself great will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be made great."

And we must not lose track of the major key to happiness, obedience.  To fear the Lord means to revere and honor him.

(Proverbs 28:14)"Always obey the Lord and you will be happy.  If you are stubborn, you will be ruined.

The Children of God are to take heart and go fourth with determination.  Their mission is to be the salt that gives common life its ssavior, they are to be like a light shining in a dark place.  Their job is to form a "spiritual guide" whose acts of mercy and charity radiate through the world (Matt. 5:1-16).  But be careful, you will be tempted to feel important, proud, and possessive.  Jesus welcomed little children because they have the kind of faith and trust needed to enter God's kingdom.

(Luke 18:17)
"Remember this!  Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."

What has helped you see the impossibility of 'earning" the Kingdom?  As a result, how have you experienced the gift of the kingdom?

The Child of Good will be sustained by the power of God, and in the act of submission ass a child, will find the only kind of life that is worth having.  Jesus' words show the way to eternal life, though unseen, is secure- as secure as your trust in Jesus.  The only issue is your willingness to believe.

(JOHN 14:1-4)
"Do not be worried and upset," Jesus told them.  "Believe in God and believe also in me.  There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you.  I would not tell you this if it were not so.  And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am.  You know the way that leads to the place where I am going."

If Jesus is the way, do you feel you are on a bumpy dead-end street, or on a four lane highway?  Why?

By being that Child of God, that Christ has guided us to, we will have him coming to bring us to heaven at our "graduation."  Another ingredient we have learned about, is our relationship to other Children of God.  We are all God's children, if we accept that Jesus is the Savior of the world, and if we love the Fther we must love his children also (for they are brothers and sisters in our Heavenly Family).  But loving God means living in obedience to his commandments which include loving our neighbor, and we are given power (grace) to help them by God himself, who promises that we shall be victorious over evil through Christ (1 John 5:1-5).  The hard work and self-discipline of serving Christ, the more love we will live in.

(1 Corinthians 13:2-7)
"I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains - but if I have no love, this does me no good.

"Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-manneredd or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth.  Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail."

What are the qualities of "love is..." at home, political views, work, etc.  Which ones do you need to work on?

To live as God's Child means living in true fellowship with one another, accepting forgiveness of our sins through Christ, and following in his footsteps.  This is the old Gospel which is ever new; through it we have passed from darkness to light, from hate to love, from sin to forgiveness.  We cannot claim to love God and live like pagans.

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