Friday Reading: Matthew 5:1-12
Key Verse: Matthew 5:6
6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness! For they shall be filled.
Devotion:
Is it enough to go to church and listen intently to what the preacher has to say? Is it enough to pray each day and ready your bible? Is it enough that we should help others and even put them before ourselves? I say to you that none of this is worthy unless it is done with a heart that is willing. If we are simply going through the motions of doing all of these things in God’s name then we are still doing it for ourselves and not for God; we are still glorifying ourselves rather than God. No matter how much or how little we do do as a Christian, if we are not doing it with a willing and Christ seeking heart then we are still doing it for ourselves...
God does not want a whole bunch of automatons going around doing His bidding for Him. He does not want a bunch of people dressing up in special clothes. He does not want a bunch of people meeting up to sing to Him. He does not want men to give Him all their money. What God is seeking in a willing heart from each of us; a heart that is willing to listen to Him and willing then to go out and do things for and with Him. It is not how much we can do for God but the way in which we do do things for Him. If we tell someone that we love them it could just be hollow words unless we are able to show them that we mean it from our hearts – therein lies a problem for us because we cannot see what is in the hearts of others.
God looks at us from the inside, from our soul and our spirit. The outward body is the part that we humans see. If we start with a heart seeking after God then our bodies will follow on in the right manner; we will find that we do do the right things and that we do glorify God. But it has to start from within us and not from what we can do with our bodies. Christ blesses us for what we are on the inside and not for what we do outwardly. What we do outwardly counts in human sight and that is why we do things after our hearts are changed. We do things outwardly so that others can see that we have changed – and yes you can see the difference between someone who is willing and someone who is just doing it...
Points to Ponder:
What sort of things do you do for God?
Are you doing it because you want to please Him?
