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Date Posted: Thu, May 06 04
Author: Kenny B
Subject: Motivations and Character

"How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs--beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. You try to look like upright people outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness." Matthew 23: 27-28

You attend church week in and week out, even though you are not always in a 'spiritual' mood. You get up, sing through the songs, clap your hands a little bit and even bow your head during prayer. Sit through the message and walk out the door the same way you came in. Not you, eh? Maybe you fall into this category. You're involved in anything and everything. You attend and are involved in, FCA, CSF, CRU, BSU, Young-Life, mid-week bible study, sunday school, 'big' church. Maybe you go all out and even volunteer at an orphanage, soup-kitchen, children's ministry, lead your own bible study or whatever.* Whenever there is a chance to do something 'spiritual', you are there. For most of us, we fall somewhere in between these two extremes. Yet, parallels can be drawn from these situations. Specifically, motivations and character.

Now let me take the time to say that I am not judging anyone's motives or character. Frankly, I'm in no position to do such a thing. However, God can and will.

"'Do they think I cannot see what they are doing? Can anyone hide from me? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?' asks the Lord."
Jeremiah 23:23b-24.

"People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives."
Proverbs 16:2

"The day will surely come when God, by Jesus Christ, will judge everyone's secret life."
Romans 2:16

Continuing on...My dictionary defines character as moral or ethical strength. After speaking with people and drawing from my own experiences, I believe we get caught up in thinking the more 'good' things we do (or the fewer bad things we do), the more moral/ethical we become. Let's be candid here, when I say moral/ethical, I mean religious. We get into the horrible cycle of trying to do good as to gain favor with men and God. We accredit church attendance and good deeds with knowing God. However, when we let Christ lead our lives, not the attempt to display good behavior, we begin to see the life of Christ living through us. (Galatians 5:22-23) And Christ in us is our only hope of glory and direct connection with the Father. Not our frivolous feigned attempts to live a Christian life. Which I should note, is impossible without Christ.

"For this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory." Colossians 1:27

"and by him (Christ) God reconciled everything to himself." Colossians 2:20

"...I, the Lord, am holy, and I make you holy." Leviticus 21:8

"And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." 2 Corinthians 3:18

So it is, as the apostle Paul revealed to us: Christ in You. It's not about the actions, as the Pharisees thought. On the contrary, it's about a personal relationship with Jesus and what He has done in and through our lives. We may try to give credit to ourselves, but all credit is due to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:18) Boast about your weakness so that Christ's power can be seen through you. (2 Corinthians 11:30)

I'll leave it here, take care and have a good week as you finish up finals and travel home. Don't be a stranger.

Your Brother in Christ,

Kenny B

"I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die." Galatians 2:20

*This is merely an example, no one is being 'singled out'.
*( ) indicate you ought to refer to these verses, because they are not written out as I often times do

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