What is great to you? Think about who you consider is "great." Why do you think this person great? Is he/she really good at something? Has this person won awards or achieved fame?
Does this person have a lot of money or material possessions? Is he/she kind and compassionate? I wonder if what we consider great would be the same thing that God considers great.
Tony the Tiger says: "They're great!"
Media bombards us with what the world says is great, cool and "in." Do you follow what the world considers is great or do you follow what God says is great?
Psalm 145:3 (New International Version)
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
Lamentations 3:22-24 (New International Version)
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
Matthew 18
The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked,
"Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
Matthew 20:26-28 (New International Version)
26... whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Philippians 3:8
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
What do you think about this comment above?
Do you find your self image in what others think of you or in who you are in Christ? Deep, huh? Think about it, 'cause it could change your whole way of thinking...which then can change your whole way of living!
Have you ever done something for good, but with the wrong motivation? Have you ever told God that you wanted to serve Him but only with restrictions -- doing it your way or no way? God has truly blessed us with the opportunity to be apart of His work -- but He always wants us to do it His way.
What do you actions tell you about your motivation and focus in serving our Lord? Our devotion today says that God is looking at the motivation and intent of our actions in our service to our Lord. We need to follow the example that Jesus set for us by spending time daily in the Word and building a relationship with God through prayer.
YESTERDAY'S SONIC WINNER IS:
RAVEN RILEY
Congratulations Raven. It was good to have you on the blog. Thanks to all who have been sharing their comments on the blog. Keep it up!
TODAY'S SONIC QUESTION OF THE DAY:
In what area of your life is God growing you right now?
Following Him,
Ken
Right now, God is showing me how to FULLY lean on him and trust in HIS timing on things. His ways are ALWAYS perfect!
I am growing in my faith. I am being shown how strong and firm I really believe in Him. I am being tried and tested and God truly has his hand over and on me!!!
Hey dad,
God is teaching me right now to hold my tongue and be Ms. Positive. Which is kind of hard for me. Its easy for me to get in a rut of being negative. I feel like God has shown me that I need to think of others and be conscience of the impact that I have on them with what I say.
Hannah
God is showing me to not just have on OKAY attitude, but have a "Christ-like attitude" and on top of that He is teaching me to be "QUICK to listen, SLOW to speak, and SLOW to become angered" it is not just enough to be that OKAY person but to be in Christ's image all the time...and the "QUICK to listen, SLOW to speak, and SLOW to become angered" is hard but God can change anything He wants to, if I'm willing to allow Him to do so!
-Cara Cox :)
Wow! I love this blog! It is so awesome that all of you are going to Scotland to share Christ's love to many others in Scotland! I want all of you to know, I love each of you! You have such a huge heart for the Lord! That is just so amazing! Russell and I are praying for you every day and will be as you go to Scotland!
Meredith Price
I want to have the right motivation - focused on the Lord's will and intent for my life and my path. Sometimes we "make" things happen rather than just letting God work through us. Yes, we need to prepare, but our preparation needs to be asking forgiveness for our sins and getting our hears, minds and spirits right with God so He can work through us in mighty ways! This is where the Lord is growing me right now!