When it comes to being Christian, it isn’t something we should take lightly, for it is a way of living. We no longer live in willful sin or for this world but in doing God’s will alone. This might seem foreign if you are new to Christianity and are just now following Jesus. It may also be that you already know God and His ways but do not currently do so because of your way of life. However, in both instances it is very important that we get ourselves aligned with Christ, or else heaven is not for us. This is why knowing how to live in God’s will is important. This way you will know what it means to follow Jesus and know what a believer should be doing on a day-to-day basis. Well, in 2 Corinthians, chapter 8, God’s Word helps us understand our duties to God. Those being two things. 1Love the Lord thy God and your neighbor as yourself. Which is what Jesus taught and what is exactly what the early Christians did also. They 2“first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.” You see the connection? By giving our hearts to the Lord, this same love and devotion translates into loving and serving others the best of our God given ability. It is a gift of God to receive this love from God and then to fellowship with the Saints of God. This is church when we get together and strengthen each other in the faith and not just focus on our own self while worshipping God.
As Christians, we focus our minds on God and desire His will for our lives always. This way we can be led by the Holy Spirit and do things the way He desires, and not our things. The things we accomplish may seem great but without God, it is meaningless and doesn’t help us at all. Instead, we give our time and attention to the Lord, that our lives are shaped in His perfect love. Therefore, we do as Paul said, and 2“abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.” So everything we believe in, speak and know is done by diligently seeking God through His Word and prayer. By doing this, we continue in God’s love for us and not fall into sin. We do these things because we love God and what He commands. It is not a struggle but a passion to learn more and more each day. We then follow the Spirit in order to bless people’s lives. Lastly, Paul said, 2“I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.” God knows our hearts and whether we are sincere in our daily walk. He knows when we are doing things grudgingly for His kingdom, for our own self, or for Him. Our humility towards God and our desire to lift Him up and not ourselves shows that. So I pray that you continue to diligently seek God and love others the way He would.
Let us pray:
Lord God, I pray that people’s hearts and minds would be more open to You this day. May they truly desire to know You and to honor You. In the world we live in, there are many people that would call themselves Christians but inwardly they are far from You. They may have been taught how to know and follow You but willingly decided to serve their own fleshly desires instead. And others may have been fed a lie, telling them that we can continue to willfully sin and still be a Christian and be saved. These things truly are disturbing and wicked indeed. I do not wish to see people go to hell, but instead I am forced to see this day in and day out. Lord, less and less people are willing to live out their faith and to follow You and my heart is burdened by this. They’d rather do their own things of this world than to live in Your perfect will. And the saddest thing is, they think that saying they believe in You alone, while living in sin, will get them to heaven. Oh, do they have something coming to them. A wake up call indeed in judgement. These thoughts are of the devil and need to be cast out of every person that thinks like this. So Lord, convict these people of their sins, that they may repent before it is too late. I know that You have the power to cleanse them and to heal them this day. So I invite You to come inside every person that is living a lie and do a mighty work in them. Lead them away from sin and into Your glorious light. May they experience Your great love and also understand their need to love You and their neighbor as themselves. Then, will You be able to lead them in Your perfect will. I trust in You God. Your ways are righteous and holy. I love You. Amen.
Let us read the Bible:
Note: Any Numbered References, found above, are listed below.
1Mark 12:28-31 (KJV)
28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
22 Corinthians 8:1-9 (KJV)
1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
6 Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.
7 Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
8 I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
