Why Do This?

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

Why would anyone do Kingdom work? It’s a difficult endeavor, the pay is horrible and there is opposition in the physical and spiritual realms. Why would you sign up for that?

Paul encourages the church significantly! Being remembered is treasure to the hearts of people. To hear that you are being prayed for is very encouraging! Paul then frames the motivation of their hearts for ministry – Faith, Love and Hope. Faith produces the work they’ve accomplished already. Love is the motivator and Hope gives them courage to continue, in spite of the opposition.

I certainly resonate and am encouraged by Paul’s words to the church. There is continual opposition in Kingdom work and you can question ‘why do this?’ all the time. Oh yeah, the Gospel of Jesus. I believe it is true! And if it is true it has the greatest ramifications for humanity. This Gospel has changed my life and God’s love has been poured into my heart (Romans 5:5). Love compels me to share this News (2 Corinthians 5:13-15). And when times are hard, it’s the hope of heaven that encourages me to continue (Romans 8:18).

Help From Heaven

May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.

May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.

May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the LORD grant all your requests.

Psalm 20:1-5

I can imagine David writing this Psalm, this blessing, for one of his commanders or mighty men – like Joab. As Joab was leading others, extending the kingdom and engaging in battle against the king’s enemies, there would be times of distress. There would be moments of extreme stress when decisions would need to be made. David sings this prayer: ‘May the Lord answer you when you are in distress. May the God of Jacob protect you…’

The assumption is that those in the battle are praying. ‘May God hear those prayer and send help from the sanctuary.’ From the place of worship… from the location of God’s Presence help in on the way.

Is it possible that worship is the Command Center for the battle? It must be! Especially if the battle you are engaged in is God’s battle. If it’s conflict that He calls you to enter into for the sake of His Kingdom and His purposes, then from hearts of worship come the ability to strategically advance against God’s enemies. Yielding to Him is required! Thankfully He hears the prayers of His people and comes to lead and protect them. God is involved in the plans of men when He is worshipped and honored as God Most High.

David sings, ‘May god give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. May the Lord grant all your requests… And we will shout for joy when you are victorious!’ What a great image of community - loving and rooting for each other!

I desire to see the Kingdom of Heaven advance more powerfully through me and my church family. I want there to be scores of people in heaven for all eternity because we were here in this place and time representing Jesus well. ‘Father, give me the desire of my heart and make all of our plans succeed!’

This is primarily a spiritual endeavor and we are wrestling with powers that cannot be seen. I have known distress, to be sure, and I need the God of Jacob to protect me. It has and will continue to be from this place of worship that God will bring strength and help to my heart. Daily worship, as well as corporate worship, are not luxurious options for me or any who want to successfully engage the battle

Worship is the Command Center where I hear the directives of the King. In His Presence help comes to me as my heart is encouraged and strengthened. It is here at His feet that I am reminded of God’s great love for me and that the battle is not mine but His! I am not ultimately responsible for victory – Jesus is! And guess what? He is already risen victoriously! I am simply His servant encouraging hearts and claiming the spoils of His victory over hell and the grave. It is in worship that I am reminded of this. It is in His Presence where I am given the help I need for this day. It is here that the desires of my heart or molded to what He desires.

Lord, give me the desires of my heart and make all of my plans succeed! Thank You for answering me when I am in distress and for protecting me from things I’ll never know. I trust in Your Name – Your awe-inspiring Name – this day.

Victory For The Upright

For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Proverbs 2:6-8

Wisdom comes from the Lord. Solomon says to pursue it! Seek wisdom like a treasure – it will pay! Knowledge, understanding, discretion, wisdom… it will all protect and save you. It will guard your life and spare you years of mistakes and the inevitable regret that comes with those mistakes. What’s more, wisdom will replace loss with victory!

There is a way that seems right to me but it leads to death. As I seek God and receive wisdom and insight from Him, there is victory. Knowledge and understanding from Him protects me from what seems right. I can know and do what is right because of the wisdom I receive from God.

Pretty cool!

Father, I seek You this morning. Teach me more of Your way. Give me the wisdom I need for this day and lead me victoriously! Thank You for the truth of Your Word. It is a blessing to be able to read Your thoughts everyday. I yield my mind and thinking to Your thoughts. May my thoughts reflect Your thoughts today, Father. Be glorified in my thinking and I know You’ll be glorified in my actions. You are awesome; the Almighty God. There is none like You. I worship You today.

Loving Children

And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

Matthew 18:5

Jesus had brought a little child into the middle of the disciples and told them that the greatest in His Kingdom would be like this child. In fact, unless they changed, humbled themselves and became like children, they would never enter the Kingdom of Heaven (amazing statement!). Jesus then adds verse 5! Welcome this child in my name (with my love, in my spirit, with the heart of God) and you are welcoming me.

Do I want to love Jesus in meaningful ways? Love children in His Name!

Thank You, Lord, for loving children. Thank You for loving me! Fill me with Your love today and allow me to love those little ones in my life, knowing that You are being loved through that. You are the King of the Universe, yet You love the little ones! How awesome and amazing You are!

Humble & Courageous

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me... test me... know my heart and my anxious thoughts. Observe any offensive way in me and lead me out of it. Lead me in Your way... the way everlasting.

What a prayer of humility and complete trust in God! For David to pray "search me" he was both humble and courageous. David was also honest to God enough to say "know my anxious thoughts." They are there. I have them! And then more humility to ask God to lead him out of any offensive way and into God's everlasting way.

This is also a prayer filled with hope. There is hope that God would do it and that David would be better because of it.

Heart

But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'…

Matthew 15:18-20

Jesus redefines for the religious leaders and His disciples what constitutes ‘unclean.’ The religious observance saw eating with unwashed hands as a source of defilement. Jesus turns the observance towards spiritual things. It is from the heart that ‘unclean’ things come. And these unclean things come out of the mouth, not into it. Ritually the Pharisees were perfect, but their hearts were full of things opposed to God. Religious observance does not guarantee godliness.

To really follow Jesus I need to continually dive deeper into the spiritual things of the heart. I can certainly be pharisaical! I can have the externals all lined up perfectly for myself and others to see, but my inner world… my heart… can be full of unclean things. Since my audience is a certain One, the externals are not important for viewing. If my heart is yielding to the Lord and is pleasing to Him, the externals will be fine even as they are of less importance.

For me daily devotions are a great application of this truth. There is an external, done in the body, discipline involved. Devotions transform my heart from unclean to clean, which is important and vital to my walk with Jesus. It would be too easy to have the external discipline become the measurement of spiritual growth. This is such a thin line! It is not the time logged in but the heart that is yielded and in submission to Jesus that matters!

Lord Jesus, have Your way with my heart today. Chip away everything that is not of You and allow me to reflect Your heart. Your life living through me today is my prayer.

You Know My Way

I cry aloud to the Lord; I life up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before Him; before Him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way.

Psalm 142:1-3

Our tendency is to ‘pour out our complaint’ to other people, but what good does that do? Our frustration may be relieved through the venting, but other people do not know and cannot help – only God can. David said that he would tell God his trouble. “When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way.” God not only knows who you are and where you’ve been, He knows where you are going and who you are becoming. He knows your way.

God has provided me with trusted friends and counselors but they need to be second to Him in m life. I will seek the Lord and pour out my trouble and difficulties to Him. He knows me best. He knows where I’ve been and where He is taking me. He knows the person He is creating me to be. And He has the ability to actually do something with my difficulty! He can move mountains.

Father, I turn to You first. Thank You for loving me and for knowing all of the details of my life. Thank You for Jesus and what He has done! Through Christ I am adopted into Your family… and so because Jesus said I could, I do call out to You as my Heavenly Father and my god. Lead me in the way You would have me go, and may my life bring glory and honor and pleasure to You this day.

New Needs New

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

Matthew 9:16-17

An old garment needs an old patch. New wine needs new wineskins. So whether old or new, the content and the container needs to match.

As God does new things in my life, I will need new containers or new systems to match. I am tempted to put the new things into my old ways of living, but that has been disastrous! More pain, more damage, more spillage has happened because of this! I generally like my old way because it is comfortable. And usually the new can go into the old for awhile, but it never reaches maturity because of the mix-match. New leadings need new systems if I am going to follow God’s lead and see the fruit of what He wants to accomplish in and through me.

Another difficulty is when other people want to keep using the old… and for all the same reasons. It’s familiar. It’s comfortable. We don’t have to re-learn or re-tool for life and ministry. But it just won’t work. New wine needs new wineskins.

Lord Jesus, show me the new wineskins I should use to hold the new wine that you are providing. I want how You are leading these days to mature into a beautiful thing that brings glory and honor to You.

Rebuking The Storm

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"

He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Matthew 8:23-27

My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;

Psalm 57:7

Without warning a furious storm came into the disciples’ lives. They were afraid, fearing for their lives. The worst storms are like that – they come without warning. Maybe the disciples would be fearing less if they had had time to prepare for the storm. They didn’t and now fear consumed them. Contrast them with Jesus… He was sleeping. No concern. No fear. Not even awareness of the storm, apparently. The disciples wake Him and He chides them, “You of little faith…” Then Jesus rebukes the storm and all is calm. Awe and worship come from the disciples. “Who is this that even the wind and waves obey Him?”

I get weary of the storms. The toughest ones… the most furious ones seem to come without any warning. I strain, I stress, I fear – Jesus is at peace. Heaven is never surprised by these storms. God doesn’t worry about them. What’s more, He allows them into my life for some reason. It’s probably so I will trust Him and not fear… that my faith in Him will increase. What’s reassuring in the text is that it is Jesus who rebukes the storm.

Lord, I exchange the fear of unexpected furious storms for the peace of Your Lordship. Will you rebuke the wind and waves for me today? I will rest in You and bring You glory this day. You are awesome! There is no one like You.

Inquired

(David) inquired of the Lord saying, ‘Shall I go and attack these Philistines?’ The Lord answered, ‘Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.’

Once again David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him…

And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. ‘Don’t be afraid’ he said. ‘My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.

1 Samuel 23:2, 4, 16-17

Strength and confidence comes when you know how things are going to turn out! We don’t know the future, but we know the One who holds time in His hands. David inquired of the Lord and received the same answer twice!

Jonathan helped David be strengthened in God by telling him what God had already said. Even David’s chief adversary knew the truth of what was going to happen. This gave strength to David, increasing his confidence in God and His plan for David’s life – even in the face of adversity.

God has given me the Scriptures and has told me what will be. I also have the privilege of being His adopted son and can ask for specific direction! When I inquire of the Lord He will lead me through the counsel of my brothers and the power and Presence of the Holy Spirit. And when I haven’t heard Him quite right, the Spirit is more than capable of correcting my course as I listen for His leading.

Thank You Lord for the confidence You bring to my life. You have told me what will be through Your Word. You lead me everyday as I keep an ear toward Heaven. Regardless of the adversity in my life, You are a strong tower of protection for me. I worship You this day!

God Sees

O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent.
Do not be far from me, O Lord.

Awake, and rise to my defense!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.

Psalm 35:22-23

Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:4, 6, 18

God sees all things. This is either reassuring or unnerving to people! God sees the good that is done in secret. He sees the evil that is done in the shadows. He sees.

David knew that God had seen the harm leveled against him and asked God to contend with those who were contending with him and to fight those who where fighting him. God had seen so David asked.

Jesus taught His followers not to do spiritual things to be seen by men but to do those things in secret. Why? Because God sees in the secret place. The trap was to do those spiritual things to be seen by men – so that men would praise you and think how wonderfully spiritual you are. When your heart wants that acclaim, that’s the acclaim you’ll receive. Jesus teaches that the applause of Heaven, the acclaim of the Audience of One is what we are to desire. Jesus reassures His disciples – you can do these things in secret because your Father can see there! What’s more, He’ll reward you for doing so.

Whether good things or bad, God can see in the secret place.

I need to live a large chunk of my life in this secret place. A place where only God sees. The irony is having a ministry position that is so very public. That’s OK… even necessary, but when the praise of people motivates me and not the smile of God, it all becomes phony very quickly. God sees in the secret and He rewards those who serve Him there.

Thank You, Father, for being my omnipotent, omniscient God! There is nothing You cannot do… there is nowhere that you cannot see. I am reassured today that my life lived with You has great value and worth. Please use me publically however you see fit – but draw me privately to Yourself. This day is a gift from You. Be glorified through me today.

Pastor Wayne's Devo From Today

Pastor Wayne shared his SOAP from this morning with us. I'll share it with you! It's been a great morning here... I'll share more gems later.

The Expression of Knowing is Being Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:19).

OBSERVATION: To be wise is not to know everything. Rather, being wise is to know the difference between right and wrong, and doing right. Knowing is the ability to discern the subtle differences between right and wrong, but wisdom is proven and justified by making the decisions which express that you truly knew the difference! “…wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” –Matthew 11:19

We are enamored by those who seem like they know everything. But they may not be wise. Here Jesus says: “…whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

I think He means in that order.

If we do not practice something, that means we don’t quite have it down, yet. We might have the idea of it, and we might even understand it! But to practice it will require not only our understanding but our choice, our volition, and our will. Without that, it will remain as “knowledge” but it will never be converted to “wisdom.”

To know something deeply without applying it is like memorizing a restaurant’s menu, but are still hungry. Worse yet, when you find a person that is starving, you give them the menu rather than food. We can do that as Christians. We have all the right words, right answers, and right beliefs, but our families, marriages, and business practices are not much different from others who do not know Christ.

APPLICATION: The danger of this malady is that it produces Christians who know everything there is to know about love but cannot love. They know everything about humility but they are prideful. They know all there is to know of forgiveness, but they cannot forgive. They even know how to organize something but cannot follow through. They know about leadership, but they don’t lead. It’s ten pounds of teaching and one ounce of practice. That equals a restaurant menu and starving customers.

Those whom God calls great in the Kingdom will be those who know His way so much that they are expressed in their lifestyle and practice. That is the litmus test.

One man said, “We practice what we believe. All the rest is religious froth.”

There is a distinction between a belief and a conviction. A belief is a strong opinion. A conviction is what you base you life on. It colors everything you do. You live and die, not by your beliefs, but by your convictions.

Convictions are only developed out of those things I believe enough to practice, and when they come forth, they come from one who practiced enough to teach. You see, people don’t rebel against authority as much as they will inconsistent authority. The world is not waiting for a new definition of faith. They are waiting for a new demonstration of faith.

PRAYER: Dear Father: Thank you for showing me the subtle distinctions that make such a huge difference in our lives! Help me to practice and then to teach, not the other way around. Please continue to mentor me in the things of the Spirit day by day, and as You do, I will live on this earth but I will never be of this earth.

Wayne Cordeiro

This Is Our God

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 9:9-10

A Father to the orphan, a Healer for the broken – this is our God. He brings peace to our madness and comfort in our sadness – this is our God. A Lover for the lonely, a Fountain for the thirsty, a refuge for those oppressed – this is our God!

So call upon His Name, He is mighty to save! This is our God! He has never forsaken those who seek Him. He inhabits the worship of His people. He is all-powerful and One to be trusted.

I set aside all doing and striving for You and choose to sit at Your feet and simply be Your child. Your son. Your disciple.

10% Short

Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I am grieved that I have made Saul King, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”

1 Samuel 15:10-11

The Lord God had instructed Saul to totally wipe out the Amalekites. Not a single one was to be spared. Even their livestock was to be totally destroyed. Saul and his army killed all the Amalekites but one – Agag the king. They killed all the livestock except the best. Because Saul did not follow the Lord’s clear instructions, God was grieved that He made Saul King over His people Israel.

What God has established he can de-establish.

Samuel grieves over Saul with this news. He goes to Saul but can’t find him. The King has moved on to Carmel to set up a monument in his own honor. Then he went down to Gilgal.

When Samuel reaches Saul, the King states that he has carried out God’s instructions. There is some denial from Saul that he has done anything less. He is confident that he obeyed the Lord. He also deflects responsibility. “The soldiers wanted to keep the good animals in order to offer sacrifices to the Lord.” At best Saul is a poor leader, allowing those under his authority to set the course against the instructions of God. More likely Saul is lying, hoping to deflect the judgment against him. Samuel tells Saul to quit the blame game! God knows and God sees… and you ‘pounced’ on the plunder, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Saul continues… and you wonder if he by this point really believes his own deception! “But I did obey the Lord!” Much like my 5-year-old would clamor. Saul’s defense sounds so noble, so good. We did this thing so we could honor God; so we could worship Him! Then comes the classic words that all of us need to hear:

To obey is better than sacrifice.

Obedience is worship! To have a heart that longs to follow and listen to the voice of the Lord is what brings honor to Him.

90% obedience is 10% short. God wants total obedience from me… and He’s the One who knows! Everyone else in my life will be impressed by the 90%. God knows the truth (in spite of my efforts at deflection) and He encourages me continually toward total obedience. All the other ‘acts of worship’ (and there are many!) are secondary to following God’s instructions completely. It’s through obedience that God is honored as my King.

Father, You delight in a heart that obeys You. I long to bring joy to Your heart! Thank You for encouraging me towards 100% obedience. Your Spirit guides and corrects me along the way. Your grace covers me and all the ways that I fall short. Your love compels me to follow. Be honored this day through my obedience.

For When I Am Weak

The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."

"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

1 Samuel 12:19-25

Samuel encourages the Israelites that even though they have sinned they should not turn away from the Lord, but rather serve Him with all their heart. In the realization of sin the natural inclination is to turn away from the Holy One. We do this because:

• We are embarrassed
• We feel without value
• We are enticed to sin – we like it and don’t want to repent of it just yet
• We are sure that God has rejected us

Samuel says to the people, don’t turn away to useless idols. Don’t go there – run to God! He has decided to make you His own people, and He was pleased to do it! God was happy to make of sinners a people for Himself. It brought joy to His heart! So don’t turn away from this God. In the midst of your rebellion, turn toward Him. Run to Him for the greatness of who He is and what He has decided to do.

This is not a free pass to sin. Samuel said, “be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.” It is our hearts God wants… it is our worship/service that we are to give. In the midst of selfishness when we’ve disregarded God, this is the difficult thing to do! The place to start is considering all the great things He has done for us! This will bring us back from selfishness to worship. Consider how much the Father loves us! Think about His decision to make us His people.

Paul said that He will boast “all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9,10). There is something divinely powerful happening here when people can see the power of God on display through their weaknesses.

Father, there is no one like You! You have done great things! Thank You for delighting over making me Your son through Jesus. You have added the greatest of value to my life! I find my purpose in You.

The Standard Of Christ

…toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

2 Corinthians 10:2-3

Paul was struggling with people. Imagine that! Their criticism of was that Paul was worldly. That he lived according to the world’s standards. That he was motivated by the same things as those who do not know Christ. It’s possible that they heard the high standard that Paul was calling them to live by, but said that he didn’t live that way. “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Paul, of course, writes that he is following Christ. That although he lives in the world, he does not wage war as the world does. It is interesting that Paul equates living in this world to warfare. It’s a battle! Living by the standard of Christ is, by default, opposed to the standards of this world. The world is waging war… and so is the Christ-follower! There is no happy co-existence. Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) and until every knee bows and every tongue confesses that He is Lord (Philippians 2), there will be conflict. Everything that sets itself up against the Lordship of Jesus is torn down, taken captive, demolished.

The Lord gives authority to His people to do this warfare. Paul had authority from Jesus and said it was “for building you up rather than pulling you down.” So the battle is waged through demolishing arguments that are against Jesus and encouraging people higher – to live by the standard of Christ.

Lord, help me to wield the sword of authority well.. honoring you as the Source while building up other people. Thank You for this life that is entirely different than the systems of this world.

Being Generous With Someone Else's Money

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

On the outskirts of the city of Corinth there were farming communities. Even though the main activity was in the city, there was still the understanding of agriculture which most everyone would be familiar with (unlike 21st Century America!). Paul used these images to teach about generosity. “Sow sparingly and you’ll reap sparingly…”

The promise of Scripture is that God will supply all that we need and more! Our material needs will be taken care of by our Heavenly Father AND He will give us the resources to be generous… and God loves a generous, cheerful giver! Doesn’t it seem amazing that God will provide the means for us to please Him? It brings joy to His heart when His children give away generously what He has generously supplied to them. This kind of living reflects His character. It continues His blessings to others and it brings praise to God from the lips of those who are the recipients of such generosity.

And God supplies the means! All of it.

You would think that God would be receiving glory every day, all the time! But He doesn’t. Why? I think it’s because humans are sinful, selfish and have little faith. Huh. Yes, we can be loving and generous too, but that’s not our default. And usually when we are loving and generous we make a big deal out of it instead of deflecting all the glory to the Supplier who has enriched our lives in every way.

Father, may my heart be generous this day and may the resources You’ve provided me bring honor to You.

Psalm 77

11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

12 I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.

13 Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?

14 You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.

Psalm 77

Your power is on display, Father! There is no god like You.

Hallelujah!

Pursuing Holiness

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

2 Corinthians 7:1

Purity in mind, body and spirit begins and ends with God. “Since we have these promises,” Paul writes, we ought to pursue holiness. What are the promises? Looking earlier into chapter 6…

As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

“Therefore come out from them and be separate, ; says the Lord. ; Touch no unclean thing, ; and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, ; says the Lord Almighty.”

2 Corinthians 6:16b-18

God as my Father? I as His son? These are amazing promises! That God Almighty would live with me… amazing! These promises motivate me to get rid of everything that contaminates body and spirit.

Then it is reverence for God that compels me to do it. I perfect holiness because of who He is in my life. He is God Almighty – there is none like Him! He has made these amazing promises to me and He is able to deliver on them! So because of who He is, I actually take steps to get rid of everything that contaminates body and soul.

Holy Father, You are holy! You are completely other… there is none like You! You are perfect and holy and You call me to the same. Through Christ You make me perfect, giving me His righteousness. Now because of Your amazing promises to me and because of who You are, I pursue holiness in my everyday life. In this I will reflect Jesus and bring You glory. Only You can accomplish these things! Only You! Be glorified in and through me this day.

A Pleasing Goal

So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10

Paul teaches about this great day when we transition from the bodies we live in now to the new ‘dwelling’ we’ll have with the Lord. This tent to a new permanent dwelling… this moral life to an immortal one… While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We prefer, Paul writes, to be at home with the Lord.

Then Paul writes, “we make it our goal to please Him…” Because of the reality of Jesus and the eternity that is waiting for us, we set an objective to orient life around: Pleasing Jesus! It becomes our strategic plan – bringing joy to the heart of God. Since the majority of life will be spent on that side of eternity, then this is the right perspective to have. What’s more, Jesus is the Judge! We will all stand before Him. We will receive from Him what we deserve and it is based on what we have done in this tent, our body. Our actions and deeds are important! What we do here will have consequences and rewards there. So, Paul writes, we make it our goal to please Him. What we do matters!

As His servant I want to please my Master. Wanting to bring joy to His heart is the higher motivation, but understanding judgment day is motivating too! What I do in this life will be judged, whether good or bad. This inspires new goal setting! I want to please the Lord. I want Him to be proud of me! While I will be leaning heavily into His grace and the salvation He has provided for me, I also want the Lord to say with a smile, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of eternity!”

Lord Jesus, thank You for gracing me with salvation and Your Spirit. You have taken care of my past, are walking with me today and are pointing me to a fabulous future! I will spend eternity serving You for what You have done! Your grace and love are amazing. I really do want to please You! I want You to find in me a servant who takes delight in Your instructions and who brings delight to You through my obedience. Lead me, correct me and direct me in what You want accomplished through me. Whatever it is… I will do it. My trust is in You and my answer is ‘Yes!’