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via emailWhy do we do what we do? (phil.2:1-13)
September 8th, 2009Have you ever wondered why we make the decision in life that we do? what is it inside of us that inclines our will to move the way it does. let’s talk negative for a second. judas! Here is guy who was given the most amazing education in the world. for 3+ years he lived right next to jesus. he listened to Him teach, watched Him interact with people, saw Him do miracles. he even went out with the other disciples preaching the kingdom of God, and most likely did miracles himself. so after all this, what in the world was happening in his heart that when the right moment came, he sold Jesus down the river for a few pieces of silver. the issue for me isn’t so much what he did, but why he did it.
maybe the reason this means so much to me is I always wonder why some people live these really godly christian lives and others don’t– even though they may both say they believe. why the difference??? how come some days i find a lot of power in my life to walk with the Lord and other days not so much. this sunday we’re going to spend a little time looking at the issue of motivation (in Philippians 2:3-11). it will be a time to ponder not “what” we do, but “why” we do it.
so if you’ve had days where you felt particularly strong in the Lord, do you have any ideas as to where that strength came from? what was going on between you and God that allowed His Spirit’s power to truly flow through you??
just wonderin’
ts
Chris said:
I know one thing for me is margin. Having enough breathing room in my life to give my attention to God, not only in the morning, but throughout the day. Just keeping my radar up for Him. I have a hard time doing that when I’m in a constant hurry.
Tom said:
Chris, you make an excellent point with margin… that is indeed important. And to speak to your point about giving your attention throughout the day to Him, I think another important point is surrounding/atmosphere. We don’t want to become to cut off from the world, because we have an all-important mission to bear witness. But I think that it is important that we do our best to have constant reminders throughout the day to cut through the routines of the normal hectic life we can all so easily get wrapped up in. Maybe it’s reading Terry’s blog (plug!), maybe it’s turning on Air 1, maybe it’s stopping during our lunch to pray or read a quick bit of the Word. I know doing little things like this help me; it’s amazing how much better it can make a bad day.
But even doing that, there’s definitely days I still feel further away, so to speak. Maybe it’s part of our fallible human condition?
Shelley said:
I’m going to second Tom’s reply. The past few years have shown me what a difference these breaks during each day can have on life. Prior to my move to NH, I raced through a crazy life having so much that I thought ‘had’ to be done. I am still amazed at what a difference more time spent with God throughout the day can have on overall perspective and quality of life.
(I’ll come right out and say I’m giving a ‘plug’ to reading DEC’s blogs…
I have found that God answers alot of my prayers through misc. articles and books I read. I realize this might be commonly known but, I’m still new so it has been a big ‘light-bulb’ in my mind!!
Pete said:
A couple of cool stories not totally related to your blog. Yesterday as I was heading back from pig roast on the bus, three non-DEC’rs around me were absolutely raving about everything DEC and saying they wanted to come on Sunday. They were proving the “Christ-centered church that cares for people” goal. It was the kind of thing you’d want on tape if ever the leadership started to ask “Why do we do the pig roast?”
Recently we’ve had Ivan Boyle working on our floor. The job went longer because of lack of materials. So he said he would come yesterday, as long as it wasn’t going to pour rain. I assured him it wouldn’t. Umm… so I was totally wrong. We went out for a couple of hours and came back to find that he had just bought a tarp and was frustrated with loss of time, cost etc. I immediately thought God was telling me to pay for the tarp. But I delayed and thought about how this would put us over $400 more than we had originally wanted for the whole job. Then I was online and read your study guide for Sept. 20. When I read the part about helping others when it costs, I wrote out the check and gave it to Ivan. He was blown away and said I had just made his day. I told him that God used you to help me along.
When we came back from the pig roast- which we ended up attending only because we had invited people- we realized that we had forgotten to get the mail. In the mail was a birthday card for Louise. Considering it was 17 days after her birthday we weren’t expecting it. In the card was a check. I just started laughing. This sort of thing has happened so many times in our marriage. God reminds us that all the money is mere numbers.
A few steps of obedience and what joy resulted. If we had stayed home or not paid Ivan extra then this message wouldn’t exist and all of the gratitude, encouragement, humility and God’s greatness would not have been revealed.
What a great God and what a great life.
Rebecca said:
One of the things that makes the difference in my day is my attitude. There are days, I am just so busy serving Him. When I stop, God reminds me that to serve Him without time to be with Him is empty to Him. That business comes from my over inflated ego that I am doing something for God. As if I have anything to offer. So I need to remind myself to be a Mary and sit at His feet. My offering of activity can only be true when it comes out of a love for Him and as a thank you to Him for the relationship He gives me. Now if I could just get it and remember it. …
terrysharbaugh said:
Hilarious timing Pete. We were just taking about the roast and asked “how do we know if it is still doing what we want it to do?” Stories like yours are what makes it all good.
Noelle said:
Thank you, Terry for Sunday’s Message (9/13). Through several conversations, situations and your message I think God finally got a message of his own through. I compare times in my life when I was single, spent literally hours in the word and prayer every day, and how my walk was tentative. I think it was an Indiana Jones movie, where there was an invisible bridge he had to cross. He had to take the risk of stepping out in faith that that bridge was there. As soon as his foot reached out and stepped in the air, it was there. Yeah, that could be a great metaphor for me back then. And now. The other thing is that I longed to know that I was favored by God, that I was wanted and loved. Accepted, when I was not so unacceptable to a lot of people. And it was through being obedient to His word that over time, I got ‘that peace that passes understanding.’ And I knew I was in God’s will. Sometimes being obedient didn’t mean I was very trusting. I’m still struggling with that. And I feel like I’m coming full circle again. And I want to know not just feel. Thanks for letting me blather.
Racquel said:
Whether Judas would like it or not, he was destined to trigger for the prophecy to be fulfilled. His role was to perform the beginning salvo, so that our Lord Jesus Christ’s dying on the cross will come to pass. Had Judas not betrayed our Lord, I wonder what will happen to the prophecy.
With regard to the question “I always wonder why some people live these really godly christian lives and others don’t– even though they may both say they believe. why the difference???”, I think this boils down to what the Lord said, “If you want to follow Me, take up your cross.” Although some people believe in the Lord, but if they don’t want to take up their cross, they surely differ to those who live really godly Christian lives.
“…not what we do, by why we do it?”, the answer is…we do it because we wanted to follow the Lord, by carrying our own cross.
We feel the Lord’s spirit is strong, during the times when we carry our cross. Once we put that cross aside, that’s the time we don’t feel the Lord is close to us.
May God be close.
Racquel