What are your intentions?

Good intentions are nice things to have, but even better when we carry them out.

Most of us would rather be judged for our good intentions than our actual behavior. We tend to have a lot of good intentions, but our behavior often goes awry in the execution of what we originally intended.

We aren’t all that good at doing all those good things we intended to do.

God is a perfect model for those of us who want to be intentional people. Before God created anything, He already had clearly developed intentions. The Bible is the story of God executing His original intentions. Throughout human history, God steadily stayed the course to turn His intentions into reality. Take a look:

“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure,” Ephesians 1:4-5.

“Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior — yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!'” Luke 2:9-11.

“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn — not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God,” John 1:10-13.

“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them …” 2 Corinthians 5:19a.

God completed what He intended! Now He wants to know what you intend to do with what He has accomplished. What are your intentions?

Scotty