Filed under: Conviction Hurts, Daily Living, Faith, God is good, Jesus, Leadership, church | Tags: Colossians 3, disappointment, giving, God, Jesus Christ, Matthew 25, pastoring, serving
Life is full of disappointment. I am just going to get the bad news out of the way. There is good news and I realized it yesterday.
There are times when you know something in your heart but have never quite put it into action. You know you have heard something, been taught something or even told someone else but it’s just not wired in you quite yet. I had a revelation yesterday that I have some wiring issues. There are times that I do things for an audience of one…me. Many times that leads to my disappointment.
I love to give. I give when I can and I am trying more and more to give extravagantly as opposed to living extravagantly. I do this because I know God wants me to do this. I do this to bless others. I do this because it just makes me feel good deep down. But when I give, do I give as unto the Lord? Or do I give unto a person that snatches the gift out of my hand and stomps it on the ground? If I were giving as unto the Lord the last time I would see my gift would be when it left my hand. I would know I just blessed God and would have no second thought as to the heart of the person receiving my gift.
‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ – Matthew 25: 40
What about my dreams and aspirations? I want to graduate college. I want to become an ordained minister. I want to serve God in the church to utmost ability. But am I doing these things for God or me? If I am doing all this for God I would not be in a big, stressful rush to become “Super Pastor”. If I am doing all this for God I would realize that God can use me here and now, just like I am. If I am doing this for God I can give my utmost to Him now. But if I am doing this for me, I will need to reach these goals to be satisfied. If I am doing this for myself I will need respect granted me by a title.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. – Colossians 3: 23-24
My flesh wants to boast about how good I am, how much I give, how much I sacrifice for Him. My God wants me to boast in Him and the work He has done for me. I need to train my flesh to serve God and God alone. He doesn’t disappoint.
