Inductive Bible Study February 29

IBS Monday February 29

John 12:26

If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

This verse is Jesus speaking about how to live. The verses leading up to it explain that one must die to live. A servant of Jesus must die to himself. To hate one’s own life in the world means to gain eternal life. By serving Jesus, one is following Him to where He is. God will honor anyone who serves Jesus.

Dying to self is such a hard concept to grasp when you are holding so tightly to your life. To be honest, I have had a hard grip on life. I had my ideas about life, and I was not giving God much control. I heard this illustration a few days ago that we are to loosen our grip on the item that is in our hand so that it is free to move. In the same way, I need to loosen my grip on my plans and possessions so that God can move them in my life in a way that He will be glorified. My dreams of becoming a business owner, traveling the world, and living the high life will only cripple my spiritual hands until I open them up so that God’s will can be done.

The fact that I am in Antigua, Guatemala, is a result of surrendering my plans to God and letting Him move my life in the direction He has for me. One year ago I was signing the documents to go to business school at George Fox University near Portland, Oregon. I had already applied and been accepted. I even had scholarships and was working towards raising more money for tuition. Little did I know that God had a completely different plan for me.

Three men came into my life that messed up all my plans, all for the better. Jesus wanted me to get out of the United States so I could get away from all the noise that was dictating my life so I could truly seek Him. Ralph, one of my mentors, told me about this program in Guatemala where I was able to accomplish this. Larry, another mentor, offered me a job for the time leading up to my departure as well as significant financial support. Everything in my life was screaming so loudly in my ear that I had almost missed this opportunity, but I wanted His will to be done in my life above my own will. I had faith that God had me in His hand and had something amazing in store for me.

This time hear in Guatemala has been breaking me to the core. I have so many issues under the surface and some of them were beginning to hurt other people in my life. I was becoming a product of my own selfishness, pride, and anger. God was burdening and convicting me so much that I just couldn’t ignore Him any longer before falling off the deep end. I was riding that fine line. I was getting so close to the edge, but God loved me too much to let me go too far. He didn’t want me to hurt myself or anyone else. He wanted to use me to be a blessing in other people’s lives. He wanted me to seek Him. In order to do that, though, He had to completely remove me from the world as I knew it. He needed to break me so that He could turn me into His new creation.

God, You are the Potter and I am the clay. Break me and mold me into the creation you see fit. I surrender my life to You so that You would use me as a servant to do Your will. I am incapable of serving You on my own strength. Take my life, my possessions, my plans, my heart, my mind, my soul, my strength; and do with me what is pleasing in Your eye.

Application: This morning I am going to surrender my plan for the day to do what is pleasing to the Lord instead. I am going to pray that God would break me today and use me as His vessel to accomplish His will in and through my life. I ask that in all that I do today, His Spirit would be at work: in my conversations with others, in my thoughts, in my mind as I continue learning about Him, and in every action that springs forth from my spirit. Lord, have reign in my life today. Amen.