Motives Matter

Recently I saw the question, would you live differently if you knew there was no resurrection. There are many different ways to answer that question, even to interpret it. My immediate reaction to it though was what is my motive for living right. Our motive for living for the Lord has to be more than hope for a reward or fear of punishment if we don't. I have preached my share of sermons on hell, and when the Lord leads, I will continue to do so. However, I fear that often-times our motives for right living are wrong. Yes, there is a reward for Christians and yes, there is a punishment for those that reject Christ; however, our motivation to live for the Lord should come from a sense of gratitude for what He has done for us. Sometimes we need to look back and remember were He brought us from. Paul said there but for the grace of God, go I. Another time, after listing a group of people that won't make it to heaven, he said, but such were some of you. So we need to decide to live for Him because of where He has brought us from. I will live for Him because He died for me.

Your Steps

I think that often times as Christians we lose sight of exactly how concerned the Lord is with our daily lives. We seem to forget that His word tells us even the hair on our head is numbered. It is easy to believe that our path or road is set up by God, but it is much harder for us to believe what His word really says. He told us, 'the steps of a good man are ordered.' God is not just concerned with the big picture; He is concerned with our journey to get there too. Most of us can quote this verse from the 37th Psalm, but we forget what it really means. It doesn't say our destination or even our journey is ordered, but each and every step that we take. Our Father is intimately concerned with everything that affects us. In the sermon on the mount Jesus tells us that a sparrow cannot fall to the earth and die with out the Lord taking note of it. If He is that concerned with a soul-less bird, how much more is our Father concerned with the things that happen to us? Be encouraged today, fellow Christians, the Lord Himself is directing your every step. The question is, will we follow Him?