Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what
profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked
mournfully before the Lord of Hosts?
Malachi, Chapter 3, verse 14.
Boy! Are we ever an “I-Me” population, looking out
for ourselves as a “What’s In It for Me Christian?” My impression is that God wants unconditional
love. He doesn’t want Christians who are
only doing it to look good to other members of society. He doesn’t want Christians who are doing it
to reap the many rewards God gives His followers. He wants Christians who genuinely love and
follow Him and His Word, regardless of the consequences, both positive and
negative.
Are we looking at our belief, saying, “Hey, what’s
it for me to get up each week and go to church?…to be kind to others? to take risks to be examples of our faith in
the workplace?” Something to think
about!
(Well, this is my last editing before I send this
back to the publishers, and I just had to share this with you. I’ve been telling you throughout this book
that I haven’t been taking the risks to share my love for Jesus with
others. I’ve always been afraid they
would think that I’m a religious fanatic and back away. Writing this book has been an extremely eye-opening
experience for me, making me much more aware of my weaknesses as a
“Self-absorbed Christian.”
Well, about five minutes ago, I was thumbing through
the church newsletter while I was munching on something and saw a request. It was asking for a volunteer to do a Bible
Study at a local nursing home. I
surprised myself and decided to act on it right away before I got cold
feet. Unfortunately, the person wasn’t
there but I left a message saying that I would be willing to lead the Bible
Study and asked that they call me back.
The more I got to thinking about it, I thought this
book would probably be ideal to use for the Bible Study. Nope, I’m not trying to sell more books,
although additional sales will help whichever charity I choose to donate the
proceeds to. What I was thinking is that
I have this book on my computer. I could
copy several pages each week and enlarge the print to make it easier for the
people in the nursing home to read. We
could talk about how they relate to the passages. Although I haven’t listed every passage in
the Bible that relates to a given topic, I occasionally have other passages
that support a great many of them. This
may take us off into different directions.
You realize that I’m talking this all out with you,
processing it as I write. I think I like
this idea, because I know that the passages I have listed in this book come
from the King James Bible. Then I don’t
have to be concerned about which study guide to pick, worrying if another
author’s point of view matches my belief in Jesus as my Savior.
I’m starting to get excited about this whole new
adventure. I almost feel a little teary
eyed. When I started this book, I said
that I would see where God leads me and within minutes of being finished with
the final editing, I read the request in the newsletter. Not two weeks earlier where I would have
thought that I still had too much to do or two months later, when I might have
slipped away from my resolve to take more risks. God had me read it minutes before finishing. God works that way in my life and can work
that way in your life too, if you let Him.
I know you’re a captive audience, but thanks for being here with me as I
grow in my relationship with God. He has
positively influenced my life through reading the Bible on a daily basis and He
can do this for you too. Thanks
again. D.S.)
Since
this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk
with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.
