God certainly has plans for our church. But, He also
has a specific plan and a calling for you and for me.

In Jeremiah 1:5, God tells the prophet, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

This verse reminds us that even before we were born, God set us apart and has created us with purpose.

In Jeremiah 29:11, we are reassured of God's good plans for us. It says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We can trust in God's plans for us, knowing that they are for our ultimate good, and for His glory.

Now to align ourselves with God's plan, we have to continually seek His guidance in all aspects of our lives. Proverbs 3:6 tells us, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."

When you and I acknowledge Him, in EVERYTHING we do, He leads us in the path we are to go. To acknowledge Him is more than being aware of His presence. It’s to surrender our thoughts, our choices, our desires, and trust His leading. When we follow His leading, then we’ll be aligned with His plans for us.

You know, it's a slight misalignment that can lead us far from God's plan. Just as a one-degree misalignment in a compass can lead you to being off course over time, a small deviation from God's leading can have significant consequences. That is why we need to acknowledge Him in ALL our ways. Yes, even the little things, matter.

Thankfully, God has not left us to navigate life on our own. He has provided us with His Word -to know His will, and with the Holy Spirit to guide us. Isaiah 30:21 tells us, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, (or when you are slightly misaligned) your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'"

There are times when we find ourselves misaligned with God’s direction and His plan. But, if we look to Him, the Holy Spirit will gently redirect us and lead us back on the path that God has set for us.

1 Cor 2:9 tell us “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

“1For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it”. Hebrews 2:1 NASB

Drift: To move about from place to place without a plan, an endless pursuit of things we hope will make us happy, standards of behavior in an unintended direction.

Have you ever found yourself drifting? One day you look up and ask yourself, “How did I get here?”  In a moment of realizing the distance that exists from the direction you wanted to go, you ask yourself, ”What happened?”  You have probably drifted.  It’s easy to do in a world of so many distractions, especially when it comes to our faith and following Jesus.  Instead of committing and surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus, we subconsciously choose to follow our own desires.  It is a subtle tool of the enemy as he hopes that we will drift so far away that we will lose hope that we can ever go back.

Well, that is not true.  Time and time again we read in scripture of the faithfulness of God. No matter how far we have drifted, He is always there with us to help us commit again to return to His Lordship over our lives.

Let’s commit again to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

“6Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude”. Colossians 2:6-7 NASB

To engage in something means to participate with attention, focus, and passion. Every day, countless things battle for our engagement: family, work, hobbies, entertainment, etc. Yet we choose our level of engagement in relationships and activities.

As we enter the Fall, we encourage you to Engage Again in seeking the Lord and all He has for you. Commit to engaging more than ever before to see His work in your life like never before.

Here are a few areas to ask God how you can Engage Again in a fresh and new way:

Engage with Christ Again

Isaiah 43:19 – “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”

Dig deep and engage with Christ in a new and fresh way. Whether you are new to faith or have followed Christ for years, His desire is not to redo something from the past, or recreate something He has done for someone else, but rather He wants to do something unique in you as you commit to engaging with Him. 

Engage with the Word Again

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”

God’s Word is alive and will speak to you personally as you engage with it. Commit to spending focused time in Scripture and prayer, allowing the Holy Spirit to draw you close to God’s heart.

Engage with the Church Again

Proverbs 27:17 – “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another”

Being connected to the family of Christ brings life that can’t be found elsewhere. Whether through a small group or serving on a Dream Team, let’s commit to engaging fully for the rest of this year.

 Today, let us commit ourselves to Engaging Again and seeking the Lord with renewed focus, attention, and passion.

Revelation 2:4-5 NIV “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”

2 Timothy 1:6-8 NIV “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.”

How are we going to IGNITE AGAIN our passion and fervor in serving the Lord?

Sometimes when we say “passion,” we think of a feeling. Passion says things like “I’m so excited!” But look at how that Revelation scripture ends: To return to the love we had at first, it says “repent and do the things you did at first.”

Passion is a decision before it is a sensation. It isn’t just something we feel, but something we do. We cannot just muster up passion; we must practice the things passion requires.

When we first came to the revelation of Christ’s love, how did we act? How excited were we to go to church and worship? How curious were we about the Bible? How uncritical were we about church and its people? How easily did we love one another?

In that 2 Timothy scripture, Paul tells Timothy that he is to “fan into flame the gift of God” on his life. It’s interesting to me that at the end of that Scripture, Paul encouraged Timothy to “join with [him] in suffering.” You and I are what researchers call “anti-fragile.” This means that not only are you not fragile, but you require challenge to become. Like a muscle is antifragile and requires strain to be its best, so too do you and I require strain to become our best.

I wonder if our passion could be on the other side of continuing forward in the practices of God, disciplining our lives in following Him and especially doing so through the hard places of life.

As we close Pursuit week, let us also fan into flame the gifts of God on our lives and our passion for serving Him. Let us consider how we may continue in our prayer, worship, study and fellowship as we have this week.