Keeping the End in Mind

We had our first meeting Sunday, and I have to say that I'm excited about our group and what God is going to do in and through us in the next several months.

On Sunday we talked about having a plan. Any successful plan starts with the end in mind. The planner must ask the question, "What is the goal of this? What do I hope to accomplish?" The end will determine the journey.

For instance, let's say that you wanted to take a vacation (who doesn't?). How will you know which direction to head? You have to know where you are going to know which direction to go. If you are going to Florida, you're going to head south. If you're going to Canada, you'll need to head north.

For The Jerusalem Project we talked about having two goals as a group:

1. That Christ would be glorified and shared in our community
2. That each of us would become better servants for life

That is the end goal. That is the destination. That is our Florida. So we know where we are going, but how will we get there? We need to make plans to get there. So, we need to plan to:

1. Learn language and techniques to introduce the love of Jesus to people, and...
2. Be determined to allow this experience to change our lives.

For those things to happen we need to throw our whole selves into what is going on. We need to be devoted to doing devotions. We need to plan to pray. We need to engage in our church community and VIBE.

So we plan to do those things and we work towards the end goal. But, we don't have total control over what happens:

Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word...Put God in charge of your work, then what you've planned will take place...We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it. (Proverbs 16:1, 3, 9)

In order for the plan to be successful, it needs to come from God. We need to be listening to His voice and following His promptings in our lives. This means that we have to devote time in prayer and the Word to make sure that we are in line with His will.

 Here's how to interact with this devotion:

1. Reread the Scripture above (Proverbs 16:1, 3, 9). Type in the comments a simple prayer that God would lead and guide us as we make plans for The Jerusalem Project.
2. Type in the comments what you hope God will do during The Jerusalem Project. It could be something that He does through you or the team, or something that He does in you (changed heart/attitude), or anything in between. How do you hope God shows up during this experience?

Look for another devotion tomorrow (Wednesday)