GOD’S PLAN AND OUR PLEASURE
by Erwin Bourne—March 7, 2002
Can we trust our desires? They are not incidental,
but are critical messages.
“As the wind turns the weather vane, so God uses your
passions to turn your life. ”For a moment let’s
examine several favorite verses in Psalm 37 (NLT).
hTrust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and
enjoy safe pasture
(vs,3).
hDelight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you
the desires of your
heart (vs. 4).
hCommit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will
do this:
1) He will make your righteousness shine like
the dawn
2) the justice of your cause like the noonday sun (vs
5 & 6).
hBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men
succeed in their ways, when they carry out their
wicked schemes (vs. 7).
OUR ASSIGNMENT IS FOUND AT THE INTERSECTION
OF GOD’S PLAN AND OUR PLEASURES
The sweet singer of Israel wrote: The boundary lines
have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have
a delightful inheritance (Psalm 16:6 NLT). Jesus,
Himself, said, I take joy in doing your will, my God,
for your law is written on my heart. What do you make
of this statement? :God is too gracious to ask you to
do something you hate.” I’m in full agreement because
I have a surrendered heart life. Come what may and
cost what it does, my passions are a safe guide. If
you are with a person for an hour and cannot tell his
obsessions, perhaps he doesn’t have any. What do you
think?
Hermano Manases del Aguila, president of AMA in Peru,
has been staying at the Casa Grande for several days.
We’ve been doing serious business. The highlight of
our visit was the morning we studied a large detailed
map of Peru. We traced rivers and located cities. And
as the hours slipped by, my entire passionate being
became spellbound, almost hypnotized. We located
far-scattered places where we’ve been, but the
rainforest is immense—rivulets emptied into rivers—we
were looking at the territory of tens of thousands of
primitive denizens of the “selva” who soon will
inhabit eternity.
Yours for OUTREACH AMAZON
—Erwin and Jean Bourne