It meant he would lose his job, his wealth, his seat “at the receipt of custom”. It meant taking the biggest risk of his life. But this was his only chance, his only hope, his only way out. Either he would follow Jesus or fester in the mess he had created for himself.
Lazy laymen do not bring glory to God through slothful study habits. Likewise, lazy leaders jeopardize the development of the Church when failing to provide instruction necessary to produce a healthy, well-fed flock who can stand strong in the whirlwind of false information swirling around them daily.
Brothers and sisters, thanksgiving is not an arbitrary concept. Thanksgiving is a consequence of our faithful response to God, Himself.
Though many of us acknowledge Jehovah as God, we still find it hard to submit our lives completely to Him. We still try to steer our own ship; we still want to chart our own course. We daily make decisions without ever consulting the One we claim is our God.
God wants to change that.
This call to intimacy, is crucial: God already knows us; this is our opportunity to get to know Him, to know Him deeply, to know Him intimately.
We must learn to serve God before we can offer Him true praise, true thanksgiving.
The first step to thanksgiving… is learning to take our eyes off our concerns, our feelings, our hang-ups and focusing on Him, exclusively. We must first forget our selves to truly praise our God.
Fellowship with God requires a total commitment to exclusivity in the Believer/Disciple/Worshipper. Fellowship with God requires, demands, absolute purity of heart and mind, absolute purity of one’s being. There is no possibility of fellowshipping with God if there is any trace of sin in my heart (my emotions), my mind (my thinking) or my attitude (my approach).
…there are many people around us in need of our unconditional and sacrificial love. Will we choose to be their neighbours?
…when deciding to sin we must take God out of the picture, we must assume even just for that moment that God is not “at hand”, that God is “afar off”. We make ourselves believe that somehow, while sinning we are hidden from Him, that He cannot see us.
