Conclusion

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Psalm 118:24

Enjoy your life. Enjoy your family. Enjoy your work. Celebrate the life that God has given you and make the most of it (Psalm 118:24). Being joyful is a choice that you must make, it doesn’t happen on its own. Choose to be joyful. Be joyful is a command, not a promise. Don’t have the word “Try” in your vocabulary – just do it. Set your mind to it and go for it.

Reject passivity and take the initiative whenever God leads you to do so. Be in the game and be a difference maker at all times. Trust God, remembering that your salvation is dependent on Him, that He called you, and that He will finish the work that He started in you (Philippians 1:6). Believe what His word says, and live it out in your daily life (Proverbs 3:5-6). Base your decisions on God’s word and you will be blessed. Believe God.

Avoid sin – it has the power to wreck your life completely – so avoid it at all costs. And when you sin, Confess it to God, and He is faithful and just and will forgive you your sins in Christ Jesus (1 John 1:9). Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness and run the race of life to win (1 Corinthians 9:23-27; 1 Timothy 4:7-8). When you fail, get up and go again, and keep going at it until you succeed. Never give up, never surrender. Stay the course until all is accomplished (2 Peter 1:5-9).

Remember that relationships are the most important thing – your relationship to God, your family, your friends and strangers. Cultivate relationships and care for them – keep them alive – they are the main thing. Reach out to the people around you with the love of Christ and try to help them get closer to God from wherever they are (1 Corinthians 9:19-232).  In many cases they may need their ears healed because of the insensitive witness of others who have gone before you (Luke 22:47-51). See them through God’s eyes and share His love for them. Remind them that God loves them just the way they are. Remember that your relationship to God is the single most important thing in your life (Matthew 22:35-40). Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). There is no better thing than to take delight in God and His word. It will provide you with a joy that transcends circumstance and reason.

Take everything to God in prayer, especially when life seems overwhelming (Philippians 4:6-7). Bring everything to Him and He will grant you His peace. Ask, knock and seek. Be persistent and listen to His still small voice. Be bold and courageous in all that you do, and make a difference for good every opportunity that you have (Joshua 1:1-9).

Remember that God is always with you and that He has a plan for your life, to prosper you and give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). His Spirit is at work in you all day long, every day, to accomplish God's purposes in your life, to make you into the man of God He has created you to be, called you to become.  Live your life wisely, and avoid fools and foolish behavior (Proverbs). In all instances be led by God’s Spirit. The leading of the Holy Spirit will make a significant difference in every aspect of your life (Romans 8). And be obedient to God’s Spirit – don’t end up in the belly of a fish like Jonah – give in to God and do what He says before it goes that far. You will be much better off.  It is much nicer to go to Nineveh by boat than by fish, and if God has called you to Nineveh, then you are going to go.  How you get there, by boat or by fish, is your choice.

Live your life for God’s eternal reward, not for the temporal rewards this life has to offer. By doing this, your life will have significance, meaning, purpose, and you will leave a lasting legacy when you go on to be with the Lord (John 6:27). Finally, do not fear death. Jesus promised that if you believe in Him you will live even if you die (John 11:25), that He has gone to prepare a place for you (John 14:2) and that He will come back to receive you at your death (John 14:3). Death for a believer is just moving on from this world to the next and from what little I know about it, the next world is going to be beyond-belief-amazing.

Remember that God is not so much concerned about what you do, He is not concerned about your abilities and accomplishments, but rather God's chief concern for you is what you are becoming.  I am not certain that God really even cares what we do, what career we chose, where we decide to live, etc.  I believe what He really cares about is how we do what we do, and why we do what we do.  What we do seems almost irrelevant, as long as we are not engaged in evil but doing good with our lives.  But how and why, those are the questions to answer.  Those are the aspects of life God seems to really care about.  How we live our life is out of love for God and love for others, with humility and with grace, led by the Holy Spirit.  Why we live our life is for God's glory, to further His kingdom in our lives and in the lives of others, and ultimately in the world.  This is what truly matters.  His desire is for you to become a man of God, to become more and more like Jesus every day, and it begins with having the right why and the right how in all that you do, in whatever you do.  Do all that you do to the Glory of God.

Finally, remember to love.  God is love, and those who are born of Him love God and love others, especially their brothers (1 John).  We must choose to be loving, it is not a natural thing for most of us.  We must choose to let the love of God manifest itself in our life.  Daily, moment by moment, we must choose to let God's love reign supreme in our life.  Love is a choice, it is not some magical thing that happens on its own.  When we let the love of God manifest itself in our life, it transforms us beyond anything we can imagine.  It changes how we see everything, every situation, every person we come into contact with, every thought, every action.  The love of God dwelling in us may be one of the most life transforming things we have available to us while we are here on this earth.  Let God's love manifest itself in your life.  Do all that you do out of love for God and love for others.

So enjoy the life God has given you.  May God bless you and grant you His peace. May He keep you from evil, and protect you all the days of your life. May His hand be upon you for good, to prosper you in all that you do. May He guide you and lead you with His Spirit all the days of your life, transforming your character into the likeness of His Son. May He fill you with His love, and may you feel His love for the people around you every day of your life.  May He use you mightily to accomplish His purposes while you are here on this earth. And may you walk with Him all the days of your life, rejoicing in the salvation of His Son.

I love you.  And more importantly, God loves you.

Dad

 

"Choose you this day whom you will serve.....but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Joshua 24:15