We Have Value

Many of the thoughts I had earlier this week in this post continue to be on my heart.

I started reading the book Loyalty, The Reach of the Noble Heart by Bob Sorge and it has given me a lot of food for thought a long with some of the devotionals this week from Oswald Chambers and Watchman Nee.

Thought 1:  Pride is such a battle in the Christian walk.  In all of us.  I can't remember where I read this but it was a warning sometimes we think we will never get off track in our Christian walk if we make through something big with God.  Like the sudden death of a loved one.  Bankruptcy.  Betrayal.  A church split.  A divorce.  What ever your big thing is.  Beware of the little things, the little thoughts.  Take every thought captive.  Check your (my) mental attitude.  We are not warring against flesh and blood.  We have a powerful enemy who is much more powerful when we take ourselves out from under the covering of Christ and walk our own way.  It's pride that keeps us away once we have stepped away.  We have all been there.  We make a decision and stick by it because we are too proud to admit we are wrong.  Whether it's not returning to church, not praying, not winning souls for Christ, talking about other people.  We all make little decisions to step away from the truth and then it's our pride that keeps us away.  He's always there waiting for us to turn back to Him.  Nothing can separate us from His love.  Not even ourselves.

Thought 2:  In this book Loyalty it speaks of the parable in John 3 where three personalities are represented:  Christ (the bridegroom), the Lord's servant (the friend of the bridegroom) and the people of God (the bride of Christ).  It goes into how the servant is loyal to serve the people of God but then sometimes the bride (the people of God) becomes enamored with the friend (the servant) and the servant likes this attention.  The servant enjoys getting the praise that belongs to God.  Haven't I been there on a daily basis?  We are such creatures with an insatiable need for love and affirmation that what we are doing can become about us and not about Him.  Or we can infringe on His praises.  That really put my motives in check and the need for them to be in check at all times.  And, of course, we all have feelings, but this is probably the reason why we are totally crushed when we don't get the praises from people when we "do something for God".  Great food for thought.  Shouldn't everything we do point to Him?

Thought 3:  What is this life all about?  If the Gospel is true and we are going to spend all eternity in heaven and one soul is more valuable than all the earth, what should my priority be?  Should I be about my Father's business, getting to know Him more and more even in the mundane things of life?  Or should my life be about my comfort and my protection?  These are questions that would make no sense to someone who doesn't know God personally but continue to be burned into my heart more and more each day.  Is anything really a sacrifice when it comes to giving something up or over to the Creator of the Universe and our soul?  Hmm.  So simple to answer but such a battle to live in this world.

Good Friday to you. 

Thank You, Jesus, for taking the sins of the world and not making sin the issue but whether we would accept the free gift of grace to have eternal life with You.  Thank You for Good Friday.

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