During one scene, Eric’s sister, a dedicated believer, was upset that her brother was running competitively. She thought he was wasting a lot of time and should get into the ministry immediately. She reminded Eric that God made him for Himself.

But Eric replied, “Aye, Jenny, I know. But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

What a great statement. Just because he wasn’t in the ministry didn’t mean that he couldn’t glorify God.

As the story unfolds, he does glorify God at the Olympics because of the stand he made. He won a gold medal and a bronze medal in the 400- and 200-meter events, respectively. He then entered the ministry the following year, becoming a missionary to China.

Sometimes, we think the most dedicated Christians are pastors or missionaries. And they are dedicated. But like Eric Liddell, you can serve God and glorify Him wherever He has called you.

You can glorify Him as a construction worker. You can glorify Him working in the medical field. You can glorify Him as a professional athlete. You can glorify Him as a graphic designer.

Whatever field it may be, you can bring glory to Him.

You can take your work or vocation and do it for His glory. Whatever you do, you can do it for the glory of God. Your work can be an act of worship.

When we seek to fulfill the purpose for which God has created us—to glorify Him, to honor Him, and to bring Him pleasure—then we will find happiness. It doesn’t come from seeking it, but from seeking Him. Our life is found in proper balance.

As the Scripture says, “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!” (Psalm 144:15 NKJV). We must never lose sight of the simple truth that we were created primarily to glorify God—not simply to pursue our own aims, goals, and desires. Rather, we were created to glorify God.

Amen

Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim . . . -Judges 17:1 (NLT)

At this point Judges takes a different turn. From here on until the end of the book, there aren’t any more judges who preside over God’s people. Instead, we’re told two stories that highlight how low Israel had sunk spiritually.

The first story is about a man named Micah who had a collection of idols. He took his idol worship very seriously, so much so that he hired a wandering Levite, which was the priestly tribe in Israel, to be a holy man of sorts for his household.

As this was happening, the people from the Tribe of Dan were looking for a place to settle in. They sent some men to scout out an area that caused them to cross paths with Micah’s household, including the “priest.” They went on their mission and decided to take the land they had scouted. They made a return trip to Micah’s home, only this time with a group of armed men. They took Micah’s idols and convinced his “priest” to leave and serve as their spiritual advisor (Judges 18:30-31).

Micah’s idols and this crooked Levite formed the spiritual foundation for the Tribe of Dan. What’s interesting is that Dan doesn’t have a positive impact in Israel’s history from this time forward. In fact, Dan becomes the tribe that introduces idolatry into the rest of the nation before being conquered (1 Kings 12:25-33). It’s no wonder Dan’s destiny would involve idolatry, because that was Dan’s foundation.

Our foundations, the things that our lives are based on, will ultimately dictate our destiny. It’s a simple matter of reaping and sowing. If we’re founded on the things that aren’t of God, then we’re going to experience ungodly consequences. On the other hand, if we’re founded on Him, we’re going to experience a life and destiny that’s wonderful beyond our comprehension.

So that’s my hope for my family. That we would experience of life founded on Christ, not on things that are not of God. I want a life that is about God experiences for my family. I pray that you want the same. God wants us to prosper and have hope…in Him, not in the things of the world. A smart man reminded me once that T.D. Jakes once said, it’s OK to have things, just don’t things have you!

In Christ gratefully,

Keith
idols, or

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
— Colossians 3:16

“You must spend a lot of time handling counterfeit money to know what it looks like,” said Ruth Bell Graham to a man from Scotland Yard, who was in charge of identifying counterfeit money.

“No,” he replied. “We never touch the stuff. All day long, we just handle the real thing: genuine currency. And when a counterfeit bill comes our way—we can quickly detect it.”

As a Christian, you could go nuts trying to keep up with the latest heresies and counterfeit teachings people spread in this world. But if you familiarize yourself with the Word of God and become conversant with it, you will immediately recognize counterfeit teachings.

You will hear someone say something and think, This isn’t right. You will know what God’s Word truly says and what it doesn’t say, because God will give you spiritual discernment.

Spend time today studying the real thing. If ever there was a time we needed spiritual discernment, the time is now.

In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).

God, in His mercy, can also take the tragedies of life and use them. God can take the most evil deed and work in spite of it.

The apostle Paul made this point in Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Paul includes what we perceive as “good things,” as well as the bad things.

It’s hard for us to understand how a bad thing can ultimately work together for good. There is nothing good about what happened to the 150,000 people who died in Southeast Asia during the 2004 tsunami. It was tragic beyond belief.

But God, in His infinite wisdom and love, somehow takes all the events of our lives, both good and bad, and blends them together ultimately for good. The good He intends, that is.

After that tragedy, Christian organizations mobilized to send much needed help and resources to the hurting people of Southeast Asia. People received much needed physical and spiritual help. Back then and even now, God will work things together for good.

If anyone ever had bragging rights, it was Jesus. A life-long leper . . . bang . . . now you’re healed. A dead daughter . . . no problem . . . she’s alive. Thousands of hungry people . . . check it out . . . more than enough to go around. A demon-possessed boy, a man born blind, a paralytic . . .

We could go on and on, because Jesus did so many extraordinary things. And let’s be honest, if we had performed any one of these miracles, everyone within earshot would have heard about it . . . from us.

Which is what makes Jesus all the more amazing. He didn’t brag or boast about Himself at any point. Isn’t it amazing that Jesus didn’t even write the gospels? They were all written with the help of others who witnessed what He had done. People tracked Him down and wrote about the miraculous things that He had done (John 3:2).

Just as Isaiah prophesied several centuries before, Jesus was never into self-promotion.

He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. (Isaiah 42:2 NKJV)

We’re called to imitate Christ, even when it comes to the way we handle our accomplishments. If we brag about the good that we do, then we’re demonstrating how unwise and un-Christ-like we are. Remember, the One with the bragging rights didn’t, so don’t brag or boast about the good things that you do. Demonstrate your wisdom by keeping quiet. When you do, you’ll be following in Jesus’ footsteps. Your quiet and humble demeanor will also be sending a strong message in a world full of boasters.

“But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.” (Isaiah 66:2 NKJV)

Beware of the hoarder’s mentality. What’s that? It’s the mindset that ensnared and ultimately destroyed Hetty Green.

In 1834, Hetty was born into a family that owned a successful whaling company. Eventually, she inherited the family fortune and went on to become the personification of stinginess. She would never turn on the heat or use hot water, and she wore only one black dress for most of her life. When her son broke his leg she tried to have him treated at a charity ward. When they recognized her and refused treatment, she left, vowing to care for the leg herself. Sadly, gangrene set in and her son’s leg had to be amputated. In her old age, she suffered from a hernia, but she refused the operation because it cost $150. She died a very wealthy but miserable and broken woman.

That’s the hoarder’s mentality. It’s when a person’s possessions actually possess him. The person’s sense of security is so founded in money that the almighty dollar becomes god, and he will do anything to protect it.

God had a way of preventing His people from falling prey to this . . . the Year of Jubilee. Here’s how it would work; every fifty years all debts would be cancelled. Properties that had been sold would go back to their original owners. That way, a person’s real estate acquisitions were only temporary. The hoarder’s mentality didn’t have a chance to set in because they all understood that what they had was only temporarily theirs.

In the same way, all that we have is on loan from God. It’s not really ours to begin with. We’re stewards, not owners. If we see our possessions this way, then they won’t have the power to posses us.

I am certainly guilty of hoarding…but not usually of things, more often I hoard situations and positioning. That’s something I am working on….
Consider this today as you begin your week. Are you a hoarder or do you realize how God owns it all anyway and we are just temporal managers over these earthly things….be blessed…

Keith