What is Your Motivation?

            “In religion, we try to obey the divine standards out of fear. We believe that if we don’t obey we are going to lose God’s blessing in this world and the next. In the gospel, the motivation is one of gratitude for the blessing we have already received because of Christ. While the moralist is forced into obedience, motivated by fear of rejection, a Christian rushes into obedience, motivated by a desire to please and resemble the one who gave his life for us.” ^[1]

                  Do you serve God because you feel you have to, or do you serve Him because you want to? “Religion” is going to church because you feel you must. Following the prescribed liturgy, singing the songs, paying your obligatory offering, then leaving to enjoy the rest of the day. The Gospel, whose base line is a personal, intimate relationship with Almighty God, causes your desire to become altered from “have to” to “want to”. We go to a building to worship our Lord, praise His name, become charged with a bible based message, stay around after to fellowship with the brethren. Do not mistake this fact: YOU are the church. The edifice is nothing more than a building. YOU make it alive. It’s not because we MUST do these things, but just as Christ willingly went to the cross for us, we WILLINGLY go to show our God that we are extremely grateful for all that has been done for us.  What is your motivation? Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] Taken from The Reason for God by Timothy Keller

Not For Sale

          You cannot buy your way into God’s heaven, nor can you work your way in. No matter how good of a salesman you may happen to be, there is nothing you can say that will cause God to let you into His heaven. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO GAIN ENTRANCE INTO HEAVEN but receive Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior. Too many people seem to think that if they are just a good enough person they just might be able to get into heaven, but it doesn’t work that way. You can’t GET into heaven; you have to be invited in and your ticket for entrance rests in your full acceptance of Christ’s death on a criminal’s cross. You see it’s all about the blood. His blood. He shed His own blood willingly for that blood was required as payment for all of mankind’s sins & indiscretions.

            Perhaps you are what could be classified as a “Christian in name only”. That would be a person who refers to themselves as Christian, yet doesn’t live a life that exhibits any of the recognizable behavioral traits that the Bible lays out. In other words, they don’t practice what the title implies. That being said, this post is for you as well. Just because you call yourself a Christian doesn’t necessarily mean you are one. It’s not about you. It has never been about you. It’s about Almighty God and His plan of salvation. We are invited to begin an intimate, personal relationship with the creator of the world and everything in it. Perhaps you didn’t realize that, but how else would you truly know God without spending time with Him. What type of relationship would you have with your spouse if you lived separately, thousands miles apart? I dare say not a very good one. Why wouldn’t the same criteria apply to a relationship with God? 

            God loves you more than you will ever know. There is no love on this earth that would be comparable to His. Sell out to Almighty God. The benefits vastly outweigh the negatives; especially since the negatives are an illusion concocted by Satan and are not real. This relationship with God isn’t something receive by osmosis and you aren’t born with it. It takes your consent and a “want to” regarding the effort you pour into it. 

            “Matthew 7:23 contains Jesus’ solemn warning: ‘Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!'" “Jesus is not rejecting genuine believers, but exposing hypocrisy. Many will claim to know Him—prophesying, casting out demons, performing miracles—but their actions reveal a heart not truly aligned with God.  The phrase "I never knew you" means Jesus never recognized them as His true followers...  because they never truly knew Him through faith and obedience.” ^[1]

            Shed your façade and get real with yourself. Jesus is the only way. Surrender to the will of Almighty God and be free of the bondage of sin. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] www.biblestudytools.com

Quote Contemplations 6

“While it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who hasn’t surrendered his authority.” – A.W. Tozer

            Whenever things are not going well and then take a turn for the worse, what should a believer in Christ do? Pray! AND never forget that God is STILL ON HIS THRONE!! He will never not be on His throne. He is the “yea & amen”.He is the Alpha & Omega; the beginning & the end. He shall never lose His ultimate authority, nor shall He ever surrender it to another. THAT is what should come to mind whenever the road gets rocky & the hill becomes too steep. 

            The Lord has a plan in place for each one of His children. He distributes gifts with the idea that the recipient will discover them and use them with the help of the indwelt Holy Spirit. I’ll use myself as an example. The gifts I believe the Lord has blessed me with are writing, public speaking, serving others, and encouragement. I think that’s it. I try my best to represent Christ using those gifts as I attempt to “make a difference one person at a time”.  I believe God gave me that tag line for my ministry and I think it’s absolutely fitting because THAT is the way I feel about my faith and my ministry. Trying to make a difference in a sin sick world. The second tag line is “feeding the need for Spiritual growth”. So with those gifts and the armor of God I move forward, ever so slowly so as not to make a wrong move. 

            So when things seem out of control, have your mind shift away from the obstacles in front of you to the gifts you’ve been given, and even more importantly, make that shift focus squarely on Almighty God, maker of the heavens and the earth. Nothing will ever happen to you that God hasn’t either caused or allowed for you greatest benefit and His greatest glory.

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Ministries

Quote Contemplations 5

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." - Christian author and theologian Lewis B Smedes

                  What Brother Smedes is saying here is that we become the prisoners of our own disposition when we decide NOT to forgive someone. Forgiveness is something Almighty God gives out freely when asked. We, on the other hand, use it as a power ‘thing’ ... a weapon of sorts, to hold others at bay. That type of attitude has more of a negative effect on you than the one the angst is aimed at. The other person may not even know you have an issue with them. In that case that individual just may be living rent free in your head. They aren’t fazed, but you end up thinking about it a lot. Like most negative events, thoughts, and/or words, it doesn’t have to end up that way. It was YOUR decision to withhold forgiveness. Granted, it can be difficult to broach the subject with the one you have the issue with, but in that case, let it go. It’s not worth chew it on it over and over and over again. That can effect an untold amount of time that ends up being wasted. Don’t be a time waster.

            Think about how Christ willingly and without hesitation went to a criminals cross for all of mankind to pay our sin debt. His actions initiated the period of grace where, by virtue of that death, forgiveness became readily available to whom so ever will seek it out. So if God’s Son can freely forgive those who ravaged and tortured Him because of trumped up charges that weren’t even close to being true, then who are we not to forgive someone who has wronged us. Think long and hard about that. Set yourself free from the self-inflicted chains you’ve allowed to bind you. Do it today. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Quote Contemplations 4

“As a rule, men worry more about what they can’t see than about what they can.” – Julius Caesar

            It’s the unknown factor. If you can’t see something you give way to wondering. You wonder if it’s benevolent or dangerous. You wonder if you will be in danger or not. You burn a lot of energy wondering. The unknown can rob you of peace, contentment, and joy, among other things. Julius Caesar obviously had much to worry about, especially since Marcus Junius Brutus, who was a Roman senator and a close associate of Julius Caesar, allowed their relationship to devolve from one of friendship and trust to one of betrayal and conflict. You see, Brutus involved himself in a plot to assassinate his friend. His actions prompted Caesar’s famous words, “Et tu, Brute?” (You too, Brutus?)

            When you are a follower of Christ, you truly have nothing to worry about in this life. That doesn’t keep us from worrying, sadly because we are painfully human and prone to fretting about far too many things we have no control over. Scripture tells us, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ^{[Matthew 6:34]} Yet still we worry. 

            We are taught thru God’s Word to trust in His provisions for us. The Jewish people refer to God as Jehovah Jireh, “the God who provides”. It’s a lesson that most of us need to learn by experience. Once God provides for us we begin to see that our concern was ill founded, yet even after the Lord takes care of us we still have the tendency to worry. Feed your spirit man regularly and you will grow spiritually. It’s an incremental thing. The more we delve into the things of the spirit, the quicker we will become the reflection of Christ that we strive for.

            Find your peace and confidence in the Lord. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Quote Contemplations 3

“The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others.” – Erik Erikson, founder of Psychosocial Development Theory.

 

            To me this has a lot to do with our inability to avoid judging others by their externals. In most cases we don’t know them, so we judge them by their physical appearance, the way they act, the way they carry themselves, the way they interact with others, the way they speak, (as in the language they use) and that tends to be the tip of the iceberg so to speak. We also have a tendency to compare them to ourselves. How incredibly insensitive and conceited we all can be at times. Don’t we know we should never compare ourselves to any other person in creation? 

            We need to work at being much more introspective. We need to look at ourselves, especially our inner selves and compare it to the one true and perfect role model and that is Almighty God and Jesus Christ. THAT is what we should be emulating. We need to be a reflection of their virtue and behavior. What would Jesus do is NOT simply a catch phrase, but a question that we need to ask ourselves frequently whenever confronted with any situation.

            The greater we KNOW ourselves, the more we will appreciate others and while not knowing most folks back story, give them the grace to exist without being critiqued. We need to cut people the slack we would like to have from them. God loves us, but He loves others as well just the same way He loves us. Let’s point the finger at ourselves and make the necessary alterations so as to become the best version of ourselves in Jesus name. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Quote Contemplations 2

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.” – Epicurus, Greek philosopher.

            Too many folks are desirous of material things. While nothing is intrinsically wrong with wanting material things, it has become an addiction for some. Many people lament over what they don’t have rather than being grateful for all that they do have. It truly doesn’t matter if you have a multitude of amenities, as long as you have a roof over your head, food to eat, and enough money to pay your bills. But many folks don’t see things that way.

            By virtue of the vast number of lottery tickets sold each day, we know that people in general believe that a vast amount of cash will answer all their problems and fulfill all their wishes. Not true. The more you have the bigger your bills & the more you spend.. I have no doubt that it would amaze the average person how fast one can spend a million dollars. Spending money can be addictive. Next thing you know you’re broke. If you doubt what I’m saying, go to YouTube and look up lottery winners nightmares. Money is nice and necessary, but even the Bible alerts mortal man that “the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves [through and through] with many sorrows.” ^{[1 Timothy 6:10 Amp Bible]} Sadly, some must learn that lesson the hard way, by experiencing it for themselves.

            Enjoy what you have without pining for that which you don’t have, for that will make a wonderful life into a hateful thing. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries