December 2, 2014 KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Romans 2:7-8: “to those who by perseverance in doing good, seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.” If anything is abundantly clear in scripture, it is that God is good. From Genesis to Revelation we see the goodness of God on display. In one aspect, God showers His goodness on all of the creation and all people. The scripture says that God sends rain on the “just and the unjust”. With that being said, it is also true that God withholds good from those who are enemies of God and those who oppose Him. It is so important for believers to understand that when they are born again, they get a new nature-a new DNA-a new mind. If the believer does not come to understand that he or she is a new person with a new heart and mind by which they resemble their heavenly Father, then they are limited to living out of the old man, trying their best to please God. The simple-amazing-awesome truth is that because God is good and He does good, we too should be about doing good deeds. How we define or understand the nature of the goodness of God is important. God’s acts of goodness come out of His great love. God is simply good-no angles or catches-just pure good. Man was totally lost, without hope, but “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” whereby man could be saved. We read in scripture where Jesus went about doing good and His life on earth demonstrated the goodness of God. The greatest of all good deeds was when Jesus laid His life down for us! It is true that a lost person can do a good deed but his reward is that he simply may “feel” better by doing the good deed. When the believer does a good deed as a representative of the God who is love, the impact is far reaching both in this life and the one to come. As the believer is about doing good works just as his Father does, he not only receives blessings now, but will be blessed in eternity as well. As usual, it all boils down to the heart. Is it in our heart to do good works, to bless others with no strings attached? The enemy of good works is selfish ambition according to the verse above. Selfish ambition is the identity of the old man-who we use to be. The truth is that self cannot be satisfied apart from knowing the love of God that enables us to give of ourselves. No matter the circumstance, every person has the capacity to give. Giving may include the giving of time or resources, writing a letter or making phone call, leaving a generous tip for a waitress, serving in mission work, teaching a class, praying for the sick, giving a drink of cold water, etc., - all in the name of Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 9:7 we read: “Let each do just as he purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.” If you want to be loved by God-be a cheerful giver! The key is that we give out of a cheerful heart-whatever we give. I am reminded of the verse that says that if we are to find life, then we must lose our life. By giving ourselves away, we find life. God has designed it in such a way that our true identity is found only in Him. We can either spend our lives trying to find whatever it is we think will make us happy, or we can take God at His word and dare become a cheerful giver and discover real life. Think about it-in what way can we be cheerful givers today-this week-this year? Galatians 6:9: “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.” Luke 6:38: “Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
Blessings, Buddy
Romans 2:7-8: “to those who by perseverance in doing good, seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.” If anything is abundantly clear in scripture, it is that God is good. From Genesis to Revelation we see the goodness of God on display. In one aspect, God showers His goodness on all of the creation and all people. The scripture says that God sends rain on the “just and the unjust”. With that being said, it is also true that God withholds good from those who are enemies of God and those who oppose Him. It is so important for believers to understand that when they are born again, they get a new nature-a new DNA-a new mind. If the believer does not come to understand that he or she is a new person with a new heart and mind by which they resemble their heavenly Father, then they are limited to living out of the old man, trying their best to please God. The simple-amazing-awesome truth is that because God is good and He does good, we too should be about doing good deeds. How we define or understand the nature of the goodness of God is important. God’s acts of goodness come out of His great love. God is simply good-no angles or catches-just pure good. Man was totally lost, without hope, but “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” whereby man could be saved. We read in scripture where Jesus went about doing good and His life on earth demonstrated the goodness of God. The greatest of all good deeds was when Jesus laid His life down for us! It is true that a lost person can do a good deed but his reward is that he simply may “feel” better by doing the good deed. When the believer does a good deed as a representative of the God who is love, the impact is far reaching both in this life and the one to come. As the believer is about doing good works just as his Father does, he not only receives blessings now, but will be blessed in eternity as well. As usual, it all boils down to the heart. Is it in our heart to do good works, to bless others with no strings attached? The enemy of good works is selfish ambition according to the verse above. Selfish ambition is the identity of the old man-who we use to be. The truth is that self cannot be satisfied apart from knowing the love of God that enables us to give of ourselves. No matter the circumstance, every person has the capacity to give. Giving may include the giving of time or resources, writing a letter or making phone call, leaving a generous tip for a waitress, serving in mission work, teaching a class, praying for the sick, giving a drink of cold water, etc., - all in the name of Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 9:7 we read: “Let each do just as he purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.” If you want to be loved by God-be a cheerful giver! The key is that we give out of a cheerful heart-whatever we give. I am reminded of the verse that says that if we are to find life, then we must lose our life. By giving ourselves away, we find life. God has designed it in such a way that our true identity is found only in Him. We can either spend our lives trying to find whatever it is we think will make us happy, or we can take God at His word and dare become a cheerful giver and discover real life. Think about it-in what way can we be cheerful givers today-this week-this year? Galatians 6:9: “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.” Luke 6:38: “Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
Blessings, Buddy
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