Why We Do What We Do

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

We do somethings for personal gain. We go to work to get money. We buy car insurance so if we have an accident we do not suffer a financial lost. Most of what we do is for our own benefit.

But the Apostle Paul points out that while we are doing these things we need to consider that we are children of God, and act like it. This means we operate with honesty, we treat people fairly and in some cases better than we think they deserve. We are generous and merciful. We treat others as we want to be treated.

And, we do not hesitate to share why we do this. We do this because Jesus is our Lord, Master and Savior, and we invite others to know Jesus, too.

Our purpose is not to gain great wealth, but to serve God

Gudge Not

Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times saying, ”I repent,” forgive Him.

Luke 17:3-4

When Jesus said this, He was addressing our bent toward holding a grudges.

Grudges do nothing to resolve problems and everything to stop us from doing the things we should be doing because while we are stewing, we are not productive for God. Consider this, if we are wronged and apologized to by someone and we refuse to let go of our hurt and anger and disappointment, then how are we to minister to that person or to anyone else for that matter because anger is all consuming?

And, that is why God totally forgives us and forgets our sins, because He is more interested in fellowship with us than settling an old score and the two are totally incompatible.

Therefore, Jesus does not tell us to do anything that God is not already doing one hundred times a day for us. So, let us get over it and get on with serving the Lord.

You Are Welcome

 

For the scripture says: Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:11-13

We are fortunate to worship God who is not counting our errors or requiring us to do penitence for our sins or dismissing us because of what we look like or where we come from or how we talk. God embraces us all as His sons and daughters; we say “We believe” and He says, “Welcome.”

Take a Victory Lap

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:15-17

There is nothing that compares to happy children. They chatter and laugh and dance around with total joy. They live in the moment.

Perhaps we should spend more time living in the moment. We can allow our existence to be blackened by worry or circumstances, to the point that we fail to rejoice in the good things that happen. We may not have great victories to celebrate, but we do have things in which we can take joy.

That is why the Apostle Paul reminds us to worship with joy and thankfulness. We are uplifted when we sing praises to God for His goodness and love. So, stand up, clap your hands and sing and bask in the joy of the love of God.

Be The Bridge

So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or stumbling block in a brother’s way.

Romans 14:12-13

"Be the hammer, not the nail." is often heard as advice today.  What's wrong with this is that it helps no one. 

God did not call us to tear people apart, He called us to bring people together. We can do this by being the bridge, and treating others with kindness and respect.

Sleep On It

 

I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;

Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.

I have set the Lord continually before me;

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;

My flesh will dwell securely.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol;

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 16:7-11

When people are trying to resolve a difficult problem, they sometimes say, "Let me sleep on it." 

To which I say, "Wow." Right here is the reason why it works, "my mind instructs me in the night."  

I think the meaning of this is that God is intimately aware of how we as humans fret and stew over things when we are not sure what to do, and that He has equipped us with brains capable of sorting things out for the best.  

How cool is that?  The next time you are not sure what to do, sleep on it, and see what is new to you.

The Pit of Pity

 

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:12

Sometimes old sins and their consequences come back to haunt us.  We "what if" ourselves and fall into to the pit of pity because of our past sins.

God says He has removed our sins.  They are gone and we are new and we need to accept this and not dwell on our past mistakes.  

We cannot undo what God has done for us, so let us accept God's forgiveness and get on with the business of living Godly lives.  

Spread Your Wings

 

Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.

They will mount up with wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow tired.

They will walk and not become weary.

Isaiah 40:31

The Gospel Of Compassion

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into this harvest.”

Matthew 9:35-38

There is the Gospel of prosperity that some preach, however, that is not the Gospel of Jesus. He did not seek the rich, the well off, and the powerful. Jesus looked for the poor, the sick, and the sad, and ministered to them.

We can do the same, by supporting ministries that work with the poor and by saying kind words to those who are broken.  

It is the Gospel of Compassion.

 

 

Pursue Wisdom

 

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

James 3:17

 

Do What You Do

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon!” The Son of man has come eating and drinking and you say, “Behold a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”

Luke 7:33-34.

Jesus was controversial, and sometimes, as in this case, the controversy was created by those seeking a reason to discredit Him. This also proves that no matter what we do, there are those who will find a reason to question whether our actions line up with being a “good Christian” in their opinion.

Jesus pointed out that such scrutiny is ridiculous. Let your critics talk, and do what you do.

Need Help? Ask

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Psalm 34:17

If you are in trouble or are troubled, don't be afraid to ask for help.  There is no shame in getting help.  God delivers us out of our troubles, and sometimes it is the hands of people who do the work.  

If you need help, ask.

 

Say Something Kind

Pleasant words are a honeycomb,

Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Proverbs 16:24

Shake Things Up

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus does not speak passive words to us; He speaks words that call us to action.

Jesus challenges us to live in a way which demonstrates our Christian beliefs by doing what is good and right. It is easy to sit by and complain about the state of the world, it is more difficult to get up and do something. When we help people we demonstrate God’s love. We may think we are only saying encouraging words or feeding a few poor people and debate what difference our actions make. But the truth is when we step out in faith and do something, we unleash the love of God upon the world.

Do something to shake things up.

God The Almighty One

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” Says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelations 1:8

God is always with us. We are never left alone. He has said it, and it is true: He is the Almighty. And, He is on our side.

Act In Love

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1

This scripture is a favorite wedding devotional. We start out nice and loving, but we know it does not take long before our human nature takes over. Nothing obliterates a good action like a bad attitude. We have seen it and we have done it. We need to do something for our family, and we complain about it. We need to make dinner because we love our family. We need to give the kids a bath because we love the kids. We need to act in love, so our actions can be received in love and not be overshadowed by our noisy complaining.

The Lord Is Our Keeper

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

Psalm 34:17-20

No Matter What

The Lord is good,

A stronghold in the day of trouble,

And He knows those who take refuge in Him.

Nahum 1:7

When the boss is yelling and the bills pile up and the kids act up, God is still on your side.

God wants us to turn to Him when things are not going well. In fact for some of us, we do a lot more turning in our days of trouble than we do in our days of blessings.

Remember in good times and in bad times God is good and He loves us no matter what.

Good and Acceptable

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2

When children want to do something their parents tell them "No." they say, “Everybody is doing it.”

The implication is it is more important to fit in with the crowd than to do what is right. However, we know that it is more important to do what God would have us to do than to gain the approval of man.

So, when we are faced with a choice to do something which does not honor God, we need to not do it.

And, like wise, when we have the opportunity to do something good, and right and honorable, we should do it, even if it is not the popular thing to do.

We have been transformed by God, and with our transformation comes the realization that we can be different and being different can make the world a better place.

God Knows You, Get To Know God

 

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

You understand my thought from afar.

You scrutinize my path and my lying down,

And are intimately acquainted with my ways.

Even before there is a word on my tongue,

Behold, O Lord, You know it all.

You have enclosed me behind and before,

And laid Your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

Psalm 139:1-6

A Work In Progress

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance that Jesus Christ came to into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.

Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:15-16

The Apostle Paul is speaking honestly when he declares that he was “foremost of all” sinners. Paul was a religious man, whose religious beliefs led him to do horrible things. Yet, when God called Paul, he was transformed into one of the greatest leaders of the Christian Church. Jesus did what religion could not do; Jesus changed Paul’s heart. And, even at that, Paul still struggled with sin.

We slip. We fall. We stumble. We bumble along trying to do the right thing and sometimes we fail. We may condemn ourselves and others may condemn us, but God is patient, always forgiving and caring for us.

Take courage, we are forgiven and we are all a works in progress.

Help By Not Helping

Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

Psalm 41:9

There is a hurt so deep that it can’t be spoken, and that is the betrayal of a friend or family member for whom you have done a lot.  We feel foolish that we were tricked again and again by their endless talk and questioning and begging. 

God has not called us to be doormats.  Sometimes the best way to help is by not helping.

Say, "Hello."

Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

Romans 12:16

Paul warns us against displaying a haughty or stuck up spirit because it does not reflect the love of God which is in us. We are urged to associate with the lowly, or those who appear to have less than us economically, socially or spiritually. Note that the scripture says to “associate with the lowly” not necessarily to become like them. We don’t need to rob a bank to minister to a thief.

Being courteous cost us nothing and does much to further the Gospel.

Do The Right Thing

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4:17

It is never the wrong time to do the right thing.

Pray and take action.

Skip The Tough Love, Just Love

But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

1 John 3:17

In his writings John is affectionate toward us and he is also a tough task master. He lets us know that if we say we are Christians, we need to behave in a Christ like manner and do what Jesus commanded us to do – love one another.

One day, my mother sent me to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread. A head of me in line was Mike. It was summer and he was wearing a dirty undershirt, torn pants and no shoes, and he was paying for a loaf of bread with deposit money from pop bottles he salvaged from an overgrown lot next to the store. Mike was short six cents and the cashier sent him back outside to find three more bottles. Bread was twenty-eight cents a loaf then. Don’t you think someone standing in line could have paid the six cents? Nobody did.

Mike was shown tough love. It could be argued that it did not hurt Mike to dig through the weeds for pop bottles, but if someone would have said, “Let me get that for you,” and paid that last six cents, Mike might have seen God’s love.

Don’t miss an opportunity to show God’s love.

How Do You Want To Be Treated?

In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you….

Matthew 7:12

When I was in elementary school this Bible verse, The Golden Rule, was prominently displayed in every classroom. It was not there because it was a religious edict to be rammed down our throats; it was there because it was good human relations.

The Golden Rule is powerful not because it demands something difficult of us, but because it demands that we do what is easy, act in kindness toward one another.

A Little More Tolerant

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good and to his edification.

For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on me.”

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

Romans 15:1-7

We all have our ideas of what right behavior is for a Christian and we base some of this on what the Bible says and some on what we think. We all know people who are Christians who do and say things with which we do not agree. So, what do we do in these cases?

I think what Paul is saying is that we should accept these believers as fellow believers and offer encouragement to them. We need not lecture them regarding their shortcomings because they are most likely aware of where they fall short.

So, rather than criticize each other we are to try to build one another up with the Word of God and by our own witness. When we accept one another we open the door to change in all our lives so that we can be better servants of God.

So, let us all be a little more tolerant of one another in the interest of furthering the work of the Gospel.

God Is With You

If the Lord had not been my help,

My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

If I should say, “My foot has slipped,”

Your loving kindness, O Lord will hold me up.

When my anxious thoughts multiply within,

Your consolations delight my soul.

Psalm 94:17-19

Spread Some Love

This commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

1 John 4:21

Being a Christian is all about loving mankind. We are to love those who are the least lovable and extend a hand of fellowship to them.

How else will they come to know Jesus if we do not show them the way by first loving them and second, sharing the Gospel?