Day 49: 50 Days of Impact

Ever put together something with instructions in hand. Do you read them or do you let your pride take over and try to go at it without? Or maybe you skim over and only take our what you feel is necessary to get the job done. Doing things out of sequence will never result in a properly assembled piece of furniture.

Many have done the same in their approach to faith in Jesus, and Christianity. The think they know what to do yet they are missing a vital step. Some believe that if they do enough good things then Jesus will accept them. Others, all I need to do is call out to Jesus, give him my life, then go on living however I want.

 

“Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”

James 2:26 NLT

 

Faith must come first. Good deeds come as a result of faith. Because of the gift of God, life, we want to share that with others. Like a plant who grows and gives off seeds can only do so if it is first alive. A dead plant can’t give off seed.

 

There are faith groups that believe if you do enough good you will cancel out the bad, which may or may not depending on the gods mood on the issue get you to the afterlife. There is no hope that doing good will actually get you where you need to go, but it couldn’t hurt were doing good right?

 

As believers in Jesus we don’t need to do good works to get to heaven. The reason we do good works is because we are going to heaven, it is an outpouring of gratitude for what we have been given. We desire to share the hope and joy that we have been given to all mankind.

 

What are we doing to express our faith to the world? I might also add good works without prayer is like trying to drive your car without any gasoline. You don’t get far, not very effective. Might look nice on the outside but no oomph to keep going the distance.

 

So, have you accepted Jesus as your saviour? Have faith in his everlasting promise of life? Then are you doing good works? If not then you need to find a church that will use you. Ask them how God can use you in the church. You are important and play a special role in reaching lost people. Be an effective Christian. Being a Christian isn’t only about accepting Christ, it is about changing your life and moving toward in a relationship with him. Repentance is about doing a 180 degree turn and leaving the areas that will bring you back into sin. And one sure fire way to keep on track is getting involved in kingdom work.

 

Jesus, if any readers aren’t active in kingdom work I pray today that you will put a burning passion on their heart to get involved. Show them an area where they can be used, however it may be. Bring them in to not only strengthen their faith but to provide them with the joy of doing good works. We know there is no retired or reserve Christians. We are all to be active in reaching the lost. Holy Spirit encourage us daily to be working towards this goal. Amen

 

Day 18: 50 Days of Impact

What does it mean to be a good or pure person? I am sure that most people you ask will tell you that they are good people, they compare themselves to other “good” people or even “bad” people and if they hit the mark or consider themselves better then they are good. We have incorporated this into how we daily communicate with one another, “how’s your day?” “good”, “how you doing?” “good”, or “how’s the family?” “good”. We have ingrained into our hearts that if we don’t lie, cheat, steal or murder and we follow the laws of the land we must be good people. I mean I don’t do what they do.

So, with this though pattern as the basis of their lives, when we bring them the good news of Jesus and the salvation he provides, they often are confused as why they need him. The are already ‘good’ people. The may say why wouldn’t a good God let me into heaven I am a good person. They truly don’t understand the big picture of being good or pure.

 

“People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives.”

Proverbs 16:2 NLT

 

What’s your motive for what you do today? Are you living your life to pleasure yourself? Or are you focused on the great commission of reaching and saving the lost?

 

We get so caught up in out lives that our focus is so far off track. Honestly, I have been there. I know where I need to be but for so long I have been focused on me that I need to stop and focus on Jesus. Sure, it is easy to say but super hard to do. We are bombarded daily by things that continually tell us the focus needs to be on us. Things we can do to make us pure, things that give us pleasure, things to take the pain away.

 

But if we can turn our eyes to Jesus, set our motives back to doing his will and focusing our attention on our task of fulfilling the great commission, how much more will our lives be satisfied. There will always be a cliff hanger at the end of a tv show, there is always a sequel to your movie, the next drink in only a bottle way, but Jesus can satisfy you in ways material things can’t.

 

So, I challenge you today to refocus your motives back to sharing your faith with other, tell them about Jesus. Let your relationship with him be a sweet aroma, something they desire. It will satisfy more then anything else.

 

Dear Jesus, I no longer want to be just seeing myself pure in my own eyes. My motives have been for me. I no longer want that, I want my focus to be on you and telling people about you. Holy Spirit help me to get over my barriers that I have put in place and reach others with the love of Christ. Let my life be a reflection of your goodness so others can see you in me, show them that their “good” isn’t good enough that they need you. Amen

 

 

 

Day 11: 50 Days of Change

“Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers.”‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Most of us if now all of us have grown up receiving advice from our parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents teachers and close friends. These tidbits of advice they have given us are either things that will help us through life avoiding choices they have made, or stones to help us build a solid foundation.  It is true that some of the advice they have given is not worth listening but how do you decipher the good advice from the bad advice? 

One sure fire way to ensure that the advice you are receiving is good, is to have more then one advisor. If mom and dad are giving the same advice you can trust them. I think back to the Lord of the Rings, the deceiver Wormtongue who had the ear  king Theoden and ended up poisoning his mind with his advice to the point that the king was doing everything he said. The knights of the round table were many whose advice the king would have trusted because he had many advisors. 

As child we don’t normally get to choose who their advisors are, we accept those in authority and trust they have our best intentions at heart. As adults it is difficult to disserern who has your best intentions at heart. We can pull advice from many different sources then the writer of the proverbs had. Tv, books, internet, social media and even blogs. How do we know that the word that are pointed at us are there to assist in our daily walk for the better?

For one we can see if it aligns with scripture. Checking it out with the good book will strengthen your ability to receive advice in the future. Know what to says gives you a great starting point. Second if it feels like wonky advice, pray about it, don’t jump into the advice ask the Holy Spirit to discern if it is good advice or not. Thirdly find a group of Christian friends you can confide in, having just one close friend is great but many will give you a clearer picture on good advice.

So where are you getting your advice from today? Is it leading you to or from Jesus? I pray that you have many advisors who can help you in your daily walk with God.

Jesus, today I pray that if we are receiving bad advice that you help us change our pattern of accepting advice. If we don’t have a group of advisors we can trust, I pray that you will help us establish a group of friends who can help us with receiving God advice. Show us in your word what constitutes good advice and what is wrong. Let us be able to advise others on making good godly choices. Let us see the world they way you do, that you love them. We want to reach the lost for your glory, so that none will perish because of  bad advice. Amen