TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
05-25-2010
"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." - John 12:24
The goal of the Christian life is death, not success. A popular teaching says that if we follow God, we will prosper materially. God may, in fact, bless His people materially, but few can make this claim among third-world countries. Wealth must never be the goal of a person's life, only a by-product.
A missionary to a Middle-Eastern country has shared a motto among their ministry team: "God does not require success, but radical, immediate obedience." Jesus' obedience gained Him the cross. It did not gain Him popularity among the heathen, the religious or financial success, or a life of pleasure. His obedience resulted in His death on the cross. This is the same goal Christ has for each of us--death of our old nature so that He might live through us. That may not sell well among outcome-based Christian workplace believers, but it will result in an eternal reward that far exceeds any earthly reward. "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done" (Rev. 22:12).
The Christian life is a paradox--the first will be last, death in return for life, and we are encouraged to offer praise to God to overcome a spirit of heaviness. It requires faith in a God who operates from a different set of values that are sometimes difficult to measure from human standards. Let death work in you a life that only God can raise up.
Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders
Today's Scripture Reading
Jeremiah 16:20-21, 17:5-13
Can people make gods for themselves?
They will not really be gods?
The Lord says, "So, I will teach them about my power and strength. Then they will know my name is the Lord. [Jeremiah 16:20-21]
Trusting in Humans or God
This is what the Lord says: "A curse is place on those who trust other people, who depend on humans for strength, who have stopped trusting in the Lord. They are like a bush in the desert that grows in a land where no one lives, a hot and dry land with bad soil. They don't know about the good things God can give. But the person who trust in the Lord will be blessed
The Lord will show him that he can be trusted. He will be strong, like a tree planted near water that sends shoots by a stream. It is not afraid when the days are hot; its leave are always green. It does not worry in a year when no rain comes; it always produces fruit.
More than anything else, a person's mind is evil and cannot be healed. No one truly understands it. But I, the Lord, look into a persons heart and test their mind. So I can decide what each one deserves; I can give each one the right payment for what he does.
Like a bird hatching an egg it did not lay, so are the people who get rich by cheating. When their lives are half finished, they will lose their riches. At the end of their lives, it will be clear they were fools.
From the beginning, our Temple has been honored as a glorious throne for God. Lord, hope of Israel, those who leave you will be shamed. People who quit following the Lord will be like a name written in the dust, because they have left the Lord, the spring of living water. [ Jeremiah 17:5-13]
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