Richard Craig, Author at GraceAndWorks - Page 41 of 59

We have all been told “Good Luck” many times. Going for an interview for a new job–“Good Luck”, looking for a new house–“Good Luck”, getting married–“Good Luck” and it goes on and on. But what does it REALLY mean to have “Good Luck?” It’s been said luck is what you make of it.

Luck by definition: A force that brings good fortune or adversity. Being lucky means: Fortuitous, Having good luck, Happening by chance. So–What is “Good Luck?”

Opportunity by definition: Suitable or convenient for a particular occurrence. A favorable juncture of circumstances; a good chance for advancement or progress. Now draw a horizontal line on a piece of paper.

Prepare by definition: To make ready; to procure as suitable or necessary; PROVIDE; To get ready, to arrange things in readiness. Preparation is the action or process of making something ready for use or service. Now draw a vertical line on the paper, intersecting the horizontal line.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. the conviction of things not seen. For this article I want to narrow this to faith in oneself. You have the horizontal and vertical lines intersecting, now draw a circle around the intersection, we’ll call that a dome and that dome is faith in yourself.

Where opportunity intersects with preparation, we’ll call that “Good Luck.” You see, if you are prepared, and an opportunity shows itself, “Good Luck” is created.  If you are not prepared, you can’t take advantage of an opportunity.

Now for “Luck is what you make of it”, let’s take that intersection of preparation and opportunity and put the dome over it, so now we have an all encompassing faith covering the opportunities we can take advantage of. The conclusion is, “Luck” had nothing to do with what happens to you, you have full control. Are you prepared and do you have the faith to take advantage of the opportunities of life?

I want to take a look at some examples God gives us to help make more sense of this. Jeremiah was summoned by God at an early age to give a speech later on in his life. He told God he was too young. God put the words, to be said, in Jeremiah’s mouth. God prepared him, so when the opportunity came to give the speech, Jeremiah had no problems. What really carried him was his overall faith in God. Preparation + Opportunity + Faith In Self = Success.

God went to Noah to build an ark. God gave Noah the exact plan of what He wanted Noah to do. Noah had an opportunity and God prepared him, then Noah’s faith covered the rest. Preparation + Opportunity + Faith In Self  = Success.

When Christ’s church was established on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the multitudes. God had prepared Peter on what to say and when the opportunity showed, Peter was able to succeed. The multitudes asked, “What shall we do?” Peter said, “Repent AND be Baptized’, and 3000 souls were saved that day. Preparation + Opportunity + Faith In Self = Success.

The whole point of this story is for you/me to always have Faith in ourselves and be prepared for what ever situation we find ourselves in and be able to take advantage of any opportunity. God will give us the Faith we need. God has given us His written Word to prepare us. Now we can take advantage of the opportunity, which is Heaven.

When someone says, “Good Luck” to you, you now know what it means!! Peter didn’t need it, Noah didn’t need it, Jeremiah didn’t need it and you certainly don’t need it.

This blog comes to you by my sister, Connie Willoughby. Connie is a 60 year Christian and attends the Waterview Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas. Enjoy the read.

Over the years on my walk with God I have studied the Ephesian letter many times. As I was preparing to lead my little neighborhood class in a study of Ephesians, a window of understanding opened to me that I want to share.

After Paul’s greeting, which is packed with important information, Paul praises God for the blessings received. He is referring to the spiritual blessings God has granted. These are blessings that effect the spirit or the soul of man. He defines three parts of this blessing: 1) We are chosen or called by God. 2) We are made acceptable to God through Christ. This is, of course, an act man cannot do on his own because he is a sinner. 3) The third part of the blessing is the removal of man’s sin. This is called redemption and is due to the sacrificial death of Christ and requires our acceptance.These three parts of the blessing given by God to man are the nuts and bolts of Christianity.

Ephesians 1:4-5 reads: For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will. These two verses are the open window of understanding I earlier referred to. They are among the most exciting verses I have studied.

We are all chosen or predestined as God’s adoptive children before God even created the world!!

I WAS CHOSEN (predestined) by God to be His adopted daughter before the world was formed—before the beginning of time!!

HOW EXCITING IS THAT??

In the past I have heard many Bible students stumble over the word, predestined, trying to figure out why one would be chosen over another.

In God’s reality, we are NOT chosen because one person is better than the other. It is NOT a matter of luck or reward. We are ALL chosen.

However, we learn in Romans 3:21 that mankind sins and Isaiah 59:2 tells us that man’s sinful nature separates him from God. If our fate ended here, we would all fall short. But, remember, before God created the world, He had a plan. That plan included offering man a way to be redeemed of his sin. God gave His Son as a sacrificial lamb that all might have the opportunity to live with Him as He had planned. Part of His plan was to give man free will. We have evidence of this part of His plan as early as God’s command to Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:16-17).

I rejoice that God has already chosen ME as His adopted daughter. All He requires of me is that I choose to believe, follow and obey His Son. When I’ve done that, I will receive the blessings promised me as His adopted daughter.

This is WIN-WIN!!!!!