In the natural it does
not pay to be a friend to or follower of Jesus Christ. Stephen was stoned, Peter
was hung upside down on a cross, and Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Even
today those who believe are being beheaded in countries overseas and shot down
right here in the streets of America.
Jesus said in John 15:18
“If the world hates you, you
know that it hated Me before it hated you.”
If you love Jesus you
will want to live by His word. If you live by His word, you can expect at the
least to be looked at like you are weird, at the most you will be martyred in
His name.
This world is focused on
material things, tangible things that can be touched and owned. For this
reason, those who are of this world can’t see into the next one. Their vision
is limited to the here and now.
Jesus says true
believers are a light in this present darkness. We are called to show the
future to those who are focused on the now.
Psalm 37:4 says:
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires
of your heart.”
John
16:23, 24 says:
“23 ... Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father
in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask,
and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
What are the desires of a true believer’s heart? Well, I would
submit that it is whatever it takes to further the Kingdom of God. God may give
us money, and with that money we can be made comfortable. But that money is
also given to us to facilitate those who are on the front lines so to speak. To
finance missions, provide care for those who can’t afford it, feed those who
are hungry, etc. Money in and of itself is not evil. It is the love of money that lures us away from
God and therefore becomes our god.
When we begin to see our identity in the material things we gather,
we lose our identity in Christ. When we pray for not just a decent, dependable
vehicle but, for instance, a Cadillac Escalade with all the bells and whistles
we are putting our desire above our calling. Now, that is not to say that God
will not bless us with something like that, but when He does, I believe it is
because He knows our hearts and knows we will thank Him for it, enjoy it while
we have it, and give it away if He tells us to.
When we truly give our hearts to Jesus, the desires of our hearts
change. This is why God will give us those desires because they line up with
His word. When we pray for things of a carnal* nature, we most likely will not
receive them. If somehow we do, it will not be a gift from God, even though our
words might give Him the glory for it.
God would never give us anything that
would draw us from His word and His calling on our lives. He also would not give
us things that might be a distraction to others not grounded in His word. If we
pray for prosperity in this life for our own selfish reasons, we may get what
we pray for but it will be our reward.
Matthew 6:1-4 says:
“1 Take heed that you do not do your charitable
deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your
Father in heaven.2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not
sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the
streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have
their reward.3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let
your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
True believers do not give with the motive of receiving. They know
that what they give away will be replaced. The principal of reciprocation is a
true principal but it should not be our motive. We do not give $100 to a
ministry because we want to reap $1,000. We give to that ministry because God
has laid it on our hearts.
The motives of your heart are what determine whether or not you
are a real believer, a friend to Jesus. Only God and you know your heart. Search yourself and
judge your motives. Do they line up with God’s word? If you truly love Him they
will. If you think they might not, simply ask God to reveal your motives to you
and to change you where you need to be changed. He will do it because He wants
to spend eternity with you.
Riding the whirlwind of God’s grace, mercy, and love
L
car·nal [kahr-nl] adjective
1. pertaining to or characterized by the flesh or the
body, its passions and appetites; sensual: carnalpleasures.
2. not spiritual; merely human; temporal; worldly: aman of secular, rather carnal, leanings.
John
15:18-24
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.19 If you
were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the
world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his
master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My
word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because
they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now
they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would
have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the
word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a
cause.
Psalm 37
1 Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of
iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither
as the green herb.
3 Trust in
the Lord, and do
good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit
your way to the Lord,
trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and
your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in
the Lord, and
wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his
way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For
evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight
themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with
his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow, to
cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of upright conduct.
15 Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows
shall be broken.
16 A little
that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many
wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the upright,
and their inheritance shall be forever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days
of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they
shall vanish away.
21 The
wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and
gives.
22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
23 The steps
of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
25 I have
been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his
descendants begging bread.
26 He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants are blessed.
27 Depart
from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore.
28 For the Lord loves justice, and does
not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, but the descendants of the
wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it
forever.
30 The mouth
of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32 The
wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him.
33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand,
nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 Wait on
the Lord, and
keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are
cut off, you shall see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading
himself like a native green tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the
blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace.
38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the
future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 But the
salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He
is their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, because they trust in
Him.
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