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Tuesday,
September 23, 2008
From The Heart
Colossians 3:23-25 And whatsoever ye do,
do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; (24) Knowing that of the
Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord
Christ. (25) But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he
hath done: and there is no respect of persons. (KJV)
Today, right now, ask yourself honestly ‘why
am I doing the things I do today, is it because I heard the Lord and my
desire is to please Him, or am I doing it for any other reason’. When you
do something for one of God’s people, is it to get something in return, or
are you content with the fact that it pleased the Lord and someday He will
reward you for it? Sometimes people keep scorecards, and they go way back
into the past thinking you owe them something, when the fact is that if
their motive was anything other than pleasing the Lord then it was a waste
of time. Remember God says all sin and fall short, so let’s be grateful
that He forgives and forgets our past mistakes and doesn’t keep score,
because no matter how highly we think in our minds it will not measure up
to His grace. That job you are getting ready for today, are you doing it
just for the money, or are you being an example of the believers despite
how much you are getting paid? When you do a job or any task for someone
else, would it be something our Lord would be pleased with, or is it some
half hearted job just to get by and move on?
Matthew 6:1-2 Take heed that ye do not
your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of
your Father which is in heaven. (2) Therefore when thou doest thine alms,
do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you,
They have their reward. (KJV)
Speaking of job, did you apply yourself
just when the boss was watching; did you show up at church on Sunday just
so the pastor would know you were there? Do you desire the Lord’s reward? Then
you need to hear from Him first hand what He is asking of you, and then
doing it to please Him and not man.
Matthew 6:3-6 But when thou doest alms,
let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: (4) That thine alms
may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward
thee openly. (5) And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites
are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of
the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. (6) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and
thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (KJV)
Don’t these verses sound oh so familiar
when watching some of these organizations that act like God takes orders
from them? What good is it going to do you if man is pleased and God isn’t,
when all is said and done you ran the course in vain and were disqualified?
So again, why do you do the things you do? Is it according to the Word and
what you are hearing from the Lord, or are you some puppet just imitating
what others are doing? God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,
and I have found the reward of love, joy, peace, as well as a confidence
and boldness in my life to be priceless and above and beyond what man or
his approval could ever provide.
Zechariah 7:5-6 Speak unto all the people
of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the
fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto
me, even to me? (6) And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye
eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? (KJV)
You know, the Lord has been dealing with
these types of people for a long time, it’s not like it is something new.
People that do things to please themselves or other people and not the Lord
just don’t cut with God; and though they may have had a zeal for God it
wasn’t according to His knowledge.
Zechariah 7:7-10 Should ye not hear the
words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was
inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when
men inhabited the south and the plain? (8) And the word of the LORD came
unto Zechariah, saying, (9) Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying,
Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his
brother: (10) And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger,
nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your
heart. (KJV)
The whole idea for fasting and praying in
the first place was so that they could hear the Lord on how to handle
situations concerning His congregation and execute true judgments that
would be pleasing to God. Anytime our motive is anything other than
pleasing God, or doing something to be seen of men, then we have fallen
from grace and back into our own righteousness, which is not where the Lord
would have us operate.
Isaiah 64:6-7 But we are all as an
unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all
do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (7)
And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to
take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed
us, because of our iniquities. (KJV)
These holier than thou attitudes, all
these self righteous so called Christians who act like God takes orders
from them and without them His kingdom would end, in the end they will find
out the hard way where their own righteousness got them, and that it is God
that has the final say so into His kingdom and not man.
Ephesians 6:5-8 Servants, be obedient to
them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling,
in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; (6) Not with eyeservice, as
menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the
heart; (7) With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: (8)
Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive
of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. (KJV)
Let’s just call today a reminder, an
attitude check, a motivational reminder to remind us why we serve the Lord
and how we can do it more effectively or pleasing unto Him. You can think
of servants and masters as being employee’s and employer’s, and even if you
don’t like who you are working for all the time in the outward realm,
remember it is the One in the unseen realm that we need to focus our
efforts and attention on, doing it to please Him and not man. Keep in mind
also that your reward is in heaven and that our God has not forgotten what
you did from the heart unto Him.
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