تظاهر به دینداری

عیسی مسیح در انجیل لوقا باب 20 آیه 46 فرمود:

از این علمای متظاهر دوری کنید که دوست دارند با قباهای بلند خودنمایی کنند و به هنگام عبور از کوچه و بازار مردم به ایشان تعظیم کنند و چقدر دوست دارند که در عبادتگاهها و جشنهای مذهبی بالای مجلس بنشینند. اما وقتی دعاهای طولانی میکنند و تظاهر به دینداری مینمایند تمام هوش و حواسشان به اینست که چگونه اموال بیوه زنان را تصاحب نمایند. از اینرو مجازات آنان بسیار شدید خواهد بود.

Whom Do You Serve

Here's the secret to serving with  the light attitude: take your eyes off the physical people you are serving, and place your eyes solely on the One whom you must ultimately serve

It's workday at your church, and you're assigned the lowliest, most unpleasant job on the list,  deep  clean the bathrooms. Not very glamorous

The chemical small is only a little worse than, well, the typical bathroom smells. Dirt is ground in. You can't imagine how any place could get so dirty. In the middle of wiping around the third toilet, you realize that this is just going to get dirty again (quickly) and no one is going to notice or recognize your hand work

And then, by the fourth toilet, Jesus has let you know that it's not about you, it's not about toilets, and it's not about the rest of the church members. It's about serving. And it's about him. God is pleased when we consider our service for others as a service to him. Even when it includes cleaning bathrooms

In the end, serving him is what matters most

Ephesians 6:7

Keep On Asking

O Beloved, what is yours because you are His? Pursue it persistently. Ask, see, knock. Jesus is the One who tells you to do this. It is both a command and a loving invitation. 

Sometimes we get to a place where our prayers seem pointless. Maybe we've prayed for the same person, the same request, the same need for five years, a decade, or even longer. And the question abound: If God hasn't answered yet, will he ever? Does God's silence mean the answer is no? Does it mean our request isn't in his will? Should we just give up?

Jesus' answer to all our questions is clear - keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. In other words - we must not give up! We must pursue persistently.

As it was mentioned, persistence in prayer in both a command and loving invitation. Jesus loves to see you come. he loves to hear your voice. He delights in your dependence on him, in just the right way. Luke 11:9

Wistful Words

I leave you peace; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don’t let your hearts be troubled or afraid. John 14:27

If only you knew that I came to help and not condemn. If only you knew that tomorrow will be better than today. If only you knew the gift I have brought: eternal life. If only you knew I want you safely home.

If only you knew.

What wistful words to come from the lips of God. How kind that he would let us hear them. How crucial that we pause to hear them. If only we knew to trust. Trust that God is in our corner. Trust that God wants what is best.

If only we could learn to trust him.