WHY Are You Doing, What You’re Doing, When You're Doing It???

“Jesus declared to His followers “‘Thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray... that they may be seen of men.’” Matt. 6:5

Last week Lee and I were playing a game with some friends that gave you the option to use some of your dominoes to help out the other players. Now it worked out that I could do this by using pieces that I had no other place to play. In truth, I felt funny having them thank me, since in reality I was helping myself as well and thereby eventually winning the game. That’s when Papa whispered to my heart. “Sandy, how often in real life, are your motives also mixed in the good things you do?”  Ouch! Anyone else ever been there???

Well, during the Sermon on the Mount, one of the first things Jesus warns His followers about was mixed motives. We learn that it wasn’t prayer that these religious leaders loved or spending time with God; they loved being seen and highly regarded as spiritual by others. In fact, their prayer time had very little to do with God at all. From the window of their hearts that Jesus pulled the curtain back on, we can surmise that God was on the back burner of their intercession, if He was there at all and their wrong motivations render the prayers themselves null and void.

Well what about you and me? Many of us have known the Lord for a while now and although we still fall short on a daily basis, hopefully, we’ve learned the results of outward sin and so we try to avoid it. However, Jesus said in Luke 12:48 “To whom much is given, much is required” and as mature believers; God expects more from us.

In fact, I’m not sure about you, but God has begun to deal with me not just about the outward wrong things I do---But also about the inner motives for the “good” things I do. He often whispers to my heart, “Sandy, Why are you doing, what you’re doing, when you are doing it?” And if I’m to be honest, I have to admit that sometimes my motives aren’t entirely pure; instead they may also be to be liked or appreciated instead of purely desiring to bless others or serve God.

Can anyone relate??? Well, mixed motives are not God’s desire for us. In fact, according to Ps. 51:6 David shares that God “desires truth in the inward parts” It’s His desire that we be clean on the inside, as well as where others can see.  God is interested in what we do on the outside to be sure, but His ultimate concern is with our inner motivations! Because who we are on the inside, will surely determine what we do on the outside!! So it’s a matter of our heart condition!

Of course, I can’t see the inner workings of your heart...but I can peek into mine and sadly I fall short here; because my motives can be all over the place. And if today, you aren’t sure what is in your heart, in Luke 6:45 Jesus revealed that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” so our words are an excellent indicator of what is happening on the inside. Thankfully though, God is filled with mercy and He brings our mixed motives to our attention so we can be forgiven and then He can restore them to purely God honoring ones!

One of the best ways to change the inner workings of our heart is to change the focus of what we allow it to concentrate on. Change the focal point of anything and eventually you will see a change of direction!  It’s like when you’re driving, if you keep looking off to the side of the road>>>you’ll eventually end up in a ditch...because change the focal point of anything and eventually you’ll see a change of direction! So God should be the focal point of our lives; because as we choose to center the inner focus of our lives on Jesus, then our mixed motivations are dealt with. Thankfully, this also mean that the direction (aka the outer workings) of our lives get shifted from following after what we want, to pursuing the godly works that we were originally created to do!

 So, let us not just rely on the good works that we actively perform; may we also present ourselves and our motives to the only One who can cleanse them and turn them as He will! Oh that we might sincerely pray with David “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 May the words that we speak and the thoughts that we entertain, spring up from pure motives that flow from cleansed hearts that wholly desire to glorify His holy name...for the Lord peers into and judges us by the inner workings of our hearts. (I Samuel 16:7, I Chronicles 28:9)

Let’s pray.

Papa, we know that You long for truth in the inward parts of who are and so we want that too. Please help us bring wrong motivations to You, so we can be forgiven and begin to walk out godly works that spring from the pure motives You desire. Help us Lord to have hearts that bring You honor and glory. In Jesus name, Amen.

TO YOU BELONGS SILENCE

“To You belongs silence...and praise is due and fitting to You, O God, in Zion...” Psalm 65:1 Amplified Version

I love it in the pre-dawn hours when Papa nudges me in the still darkness, waking me early and a hushed, reverent silence blankets the room where I am! Before the alarm goes off, before the dog starts barking or the blow dryer begins to whirr...there is a place of holy silence...God is there. And as the drowsiness that had just consumed me begins to lightly fade; He calls to me and bids me to come! My heart leaps with joy for the quiet privilege and the holy promise of sitting in silence at His feet. Before the sun begins its promise filled ascent, God is here...to Him belongs the silence!

Oh how desperately we need the times of holy silence; where we are swathed in the arms of the One who died for us, where in the soft quietness our hearts can hear the still small voice of God whispering words of love. Oh the murmured affirmation that settles upon us before the continual motion of our daily lives begin! It is a place of rest...a place of serenity...a place of respite from the continual demands that life in general and this day in particular will heap upon us.

Yes, silence is not only a necessity in this life, it is also truly a place of power...for in the early silence before the cares of this day have settled firmly on our shoulders, we find a place of recharging and restoration...a place where He is mine and I am His alone.

In a time when lives are filled with perpetual motion and where a pervasive and continual noise batters our inner being, we are desperate to fully experience the quiet presence of our precious Lord; for only there is the place of sanctuary...a safe haven that insulates us from whole depletion...a place of filling...a place of release; where the busyness that assaults our daily schedules is enveloped in a place of renewal.

Praise God that we can present ourselves into this holy place any time of the day or night...any moment when we turn our hearts fully on Him He is there with us, bringing peace, clarity and whole satisfaction. In those “silent” moments He speaks to us of a steadfast hope, an enduring rest and of a love confirmed.

Everything is possible when I am immersed in His glorious presence...there I am cleansed and I find that in that place of regeneration blame falls away, shame is eliminated and anticipation for the future springs up in its place...in His presence I am able to forgive all and there I can believe for all things...for He is with me-so my faith soars and my hope is renewed!

Oh that we would hear the declaration of our Father calling us to draw near! He cries out today “Child, I am the eternal God who is your continual refuge and underneath the foundation of all that you know, of everything you believe and the sum of your experiences; you are safe and renewed as My everlasting arms hold you!” Deuteronomy 33:27 Paraphrased

Does your heart long for a place of quiet rekindling today? It doesn’t have to be a pre-dawn moment...always His loving heart is ready to meet with you and ever He stands ready to bring a quiet place of rest wherever you find yourself at this very moment. Oh that today you would hear the melodious voice of your Savior who whispers to your weary hearts “Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:29

Let’s pray.

We come to You Lord Jesus and we present ourselves...we come with all the dust of this weary filled life clinging to us and we humbly ask that You would come and cleanse us from the perpetual motion of life, that in You our souls would find renewed purpose and replenishment...that in Your embrace we would experience a refuge that nothing of ourselves and nothing of this world could ever touch. Come Holy One and be for us that haven of safety that insulates us from depletion or despair. Be our shelter from the storms of this life that seem to batter us at will.

Open our eyes to see that it is not in the absence of difficulty or pressure that we can know rest...but it is wholly found in Your sweet and abiding presence! Call us even now to Your side and fill our hearts with a pervasive understanding of the holy rest You have knowingly and lovingly called us to...let us experience daily Your  place of sanctuary where we are repaired and renewed and let us know through personal experience that Your everlasting arms are underneath us girding us with strength! Let us hear Your gentle voice and divine invitation calling us Your children, to sit quietly at Your feet and be filled and restored.  In Jesus name, Amen.

 

LOVING BIBLICALLY

Once a month I do a church-wide devotional from that Sunday's message, so I thought I’d share it on my blog for all my non-Cornerstone readers. Of course this devotional is only loosely based on the sermon...check out www.cstoneag.org to listen to the actual message! This week my Pastor, Shawn Franco shared God’s design for biblical love, which stands in stark contrast to the world’s idea of love which is in a continual state of flux and contradiction. However, God never changes, neither does His definition or design for biblical love. Let’s take a closer look:

We Encounter the MODEL of love through the divine expression of God’s Word - Jesus! Our clearest picture of biblical love comes from the model of Jesus - think Hallmark’s tagline: “When you care enough to send the very best”! God cared enough to send His very best - Jesus, so we could know true love. (John 3:16) Think about it! We can encounter a divine love so great, that nothing less than the sacrifice of His Son could even begin to express it! And He demonstrated that love while before we even knew Him. (Romans 5:8) To catch even a small glimpse of the depth of God’s love will radically change us forever and each and every relationship we possess will undergo a life-giving metamorphosis! Every question we have about the conduct of love is fully answered in Christ and every relationship crisis finds its restoration through following Jesus’ model of love. So great a love always commands a passionate response on our part and as God’s children we are to be imitators of our Father by mirroring that love back to Him and through modeling (sowing) it in the lives of others.  (Ephesians 5:1, I John 4:20)

We Experience the MEASURE or weightiness of love as we obey His commands. God’s commands were provided to bring fullness and protection, not to keep us in line. They express the weightiness of His love - i.e we can measure the depth of His love by the lengths He went to in protecting us through His laws! May we in turn choose to express the weightiness of our love by obeying those commands that He gave, for God weighs out the measure of our love for Him by the degree that we follow His commands. (John 14:15, 21, 23) It’s not about what we say; it’s what we do that determines the depth of our love for Him! (Matthew 7:21) Talk is cheap, obedience is costly, but only the latter showcases the weightiness of biblical love. (I John 5:2)

We Exemplify the MISSION of love as we live out His truth before the world; giving others a glimpse of who God is. We choose to follow His footsteps springing from love-filled hearts through obedience - becoming living epistles read and written on the hearts of men. (II Corinthians 3:3) In response to such great love, we become imitators of Jesus, who came not be served, but to give His life as a sacrifice for many! (Matthew 20:28) We can’t possibly follow the footsteps of Jesus and not love sacrificially; every facet of His life was driven by love for others! God’s name lifted up and His truth lived out, is the hope of this world and our personal mission of love! (I John 1:6, Colossians 1:27, Matthew 12:21)

How can we do this? We A-C-T:

Allow God’s expression of love to saturate our lives.
Choose to obey His commands for Love’s sake.
Tell others of His great love by accepting it for ourselves and then mirroring it back through obedience. These allow us to ACT and take our place in this exciting year of harvest!

Let’s pray.

Papa God, please come and show us the depth and weightiness of Your great love and then help us to share it with others.  Open our spiritual eyes that we might see the fields ripe for harvest. Strengthen us O God and replace our tepid hearts with ones that burn with passion for You and for the lost. Fill us with an increased boldness and grant us divine favor and appointments to walk out Your truth and unconditional love in this dark and dying world. Be the eternal hope within us and then give us ample opportunities to showcase Your everlasting hope and great, great love! In Jesus name, Amen.

Sweet Blessings,

Sandy

 

 

Got Room?

So Christmas has come and gone; a brand new year is here. Do you know what I love to do this time of year? DONATE! That’s right, I love to go through my house and gather all the items that I have been meaning to donate in the past 12 months and take them down to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. This is fun for a few reasons. First: the aforementioned businesses take my stuff and use it to fund helping others. Second: our family gets a tax deduction. Third: I have more room in my house.  I have learned that no matter how big (or small) your house is, you only have so much room! Life is like that too – there are only so many hours in a day and only so much room in our lives…so what we choose to make room for matters.

Christmas 2012 is barely in our rear view mirrors and 2013 has come, and we will undoubtedly find that 2013, just like 2012, has only so many days, only so much room. What will we decide to fill it with? With the Christmas story fresh on our minds, we sometimes think about the innkeeper in Bethlehem over 2000 years past. Remember Joseph and Mary came to his door, in need of a place to rest their weary heads (and birth the Savior of the world!) and he turned them away because his inn was too full.  We shake our heads in unbelief at his foolishness. But let’s take a closer look at how he may have made his infamous decision to turn them away. Remember, these other people had gotten their first, maybe they had even sent word ahead of time (which was as close as there was to making a reservation back then). Second, these others were paying guests, so they were bringing in income (which was the reason he was in business). Third, the poor guy had no idea that the one true Savior was right before him on that cold and clear night. Fourth: He only had so much room!

We tell ourselves that we would have done better, made room, but is that really the case? What about our lives today – how much room is there for Jesus? Has He been given a place of honor or has He been relegated to a make-shift barn in the backyard of our lives. Do we place more importance on the people and things that are already in our lives, than our Savior? Are we too preoccupied with jobs that provide income, than about giving ourselves completely to the One who came to give us eternal life? Where does Jesus fit in the scheme of things in the “site plan” of our lives? Is there any room for Him?

Cleaning out our closets is a worthy way to help ourselves and others at the same time, but perhaps we need to take a hard look at where we need to make room for Jesus and the life-giving joy His presence brings. Perhaps some things need to be removed from their place of preeminence and moved to a lesser spot. Making room, that’s what this devotional is about, finding room, no matter what needs to be put on a “back-burner”, to carve out a spacious area for Him to move into our lives.

I knew Papa was speaking to my heart about making more room, but I wasn’t sure exactly what He meant, until a shopping trip a few weeks ago. It was the height of the Christmas shopping season, where people are beginning to feel a tad frustrated and even a little desperate to finish their holiday purchases, and I was out there with the rest of the harried shoppers when I found myself in a nearly impossible situation. The traffic was backed up to enormous proportions and only a few people were getting out on the main thoroughfare, and I was stuck on a side street with no hope of ever getting out. I saw the hopelessness of my situation, but was powerless to change it. Then it happened, someone decided to let me out, which meant that they would miss their turn at the light.

I was so blessed by this tiny sacrifice and it gave me thought about how my Papa saw the hopelessness of our situation and how we were powerless to change it. Because he loved us, He sent His only Son to die in our place. He gave His life as a sacrifice for me, for you, for all mankind. In other words, He made room for us! He was busy running the universe, dealing with all the multitudes of existing populations and yet He made room for us! We hadn’t gotten there first, hadn’t made a reservation and we certainly weren’t bringing Him anything of worth, but He stepped down from the glories of Heaven into a world that didn’t value Him and yet He came! The Creator was devalued and rejected by His creation and yet He made room for us in His life. The Giver of life was born in a stable and His birth went unnoticed by most of those around Him.

What about us? I know it takes effort to make room in our lives. It could mean cleaning out space by moving some prominent things in our lives and putting them in smaller places or just donating them to help others. It may mean not giving the best of who we are to the things in our lives that “got there first” or the jobs that bring us income so we can make room for the presence of Christ to bring the transformation we so desperately need.

I’m not sure what this process of making room will look like in your life (or mine for that matter), but Jesus does. He knows His place and rank in our lives right now and where He needs to be in a larger and more prominent place or role – we just need to let Him guide us in what needs to be moved or donated and purpose in our heart…to make room!

We are at the dawn of 2013, let us lay aside the things that are taking up unneeded room in our lives, giving Christ the room to move, speak and act freely! Blessings and new adventures lie waiting, unopened, not yet experienced and ALL pass through His loving hands! 2013 is now upon us…got room?

 Sweetest blessings,

Sandy