Review Matthew 15: 8 - 9
Are we a Christian culture that honors God with our lips but our hearts are far from Him?
If you were to do a self-assessment, would God be pleased with your praise... your ministry's praise, your church's praise?
What standard would you use to make an accurate assessment?
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Comments
@Cheyenne. Hallelujah. Well said, especially from the perspective of a young person. We constantly have to check ourselves. Search me O Lord and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139: 23-24).
After a Deep self-assessment I have come to the conclusion that God would not be completely pleased with my everyday praise. As a flawed human being I sometimes may get caught up in the world and unconsciously forget that we are not to be of the world but a light in the world. Yes, God would honor my commitment to ministry but if I use the bible as my source of assessment there is much more that God has required of thee that I have yet to act on which is a disappointment to God. On a bigger scale I believe the Christian Culture as a whole sometimes uses religion as an instrument for its secular purposes in search of the human applause and not for what is was designed to do, Honor and praise God. As a Whole the Body of Christ must take a stand and become more intimate with God in order to assure that we honor God with not just our lips but our hearts as well.
Hey Vernette,
I certainly appreciate your honesty regarding your praise. I believe it shows strength to admit that there is still more room for growth. In fact, the leader is a life-long learner. Many believe that they have arrived and hence become unteachable. So let me ask you, by what standard did you make your assessment?
Well said Denise. It is said that an unexamined life is a life not worth living. Too often we examine the lives of others but our own yards are filled with weeds almost as tall as trees. True, we are not perfect, but I do believe that if we take scripture and not just memorize it so that we can show how intelligent we are, but rather, apply it to our lives, we will see where we are in our walk with God. When the rubber hits the road, we can sing all we want but the true test comes by living IN the world but not being OF the world. Can we truly say that our public and private lives are congruent? It is a sin and a travesty for us to compare ourselves to one another; we should strive to compare ourselves to the life that Jesus led.
Our standard for Christian living is the Word of God. We tend to quote it but when it comes to our bad behavior we tend to say "well this is the way I am" or make some other excuse.
I believe that if we do as Christ commanded, love God with all of our heart, our soul and our strength and love our neighbors as ourselves, then we can say that God is pleased with our praise. Obedience is better than sacrifice. This sacrificial living is pleasing to God. When we love with the God kind of love, our praise is affected. It would not be from self-ambition or as a result of the fruit of the flesh. Sometimes we as Christians do the right things with the wrong motive. Assessing ourselves is pertinent to our spiritual growth and development in that it allows us and God to check the hidden recesses of our hearts. Search me O Lord and prove me. If there is anything within me that is displeasing to you, point it out to me, remove it, and lead me in the way everlasting. This prayer shows humility, knowing that we are being molded into the mind of Christ, depending on Him to birth out the good within us.
Yes, I want God to be pleased with my praise and as such, I am constantly checking in with Him to make sure that I am in tune with His Spirit.
“Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of — infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.” (Ephesians 3:20 NKJV)
Faith is like a muscle: It can be strengthened. It can be weak or it can be strong, depending on how much you use it.
Would God be please with my praise everyday... probably not. I am a little guilty because I get caught up in everyday life like most people and find myself sometimes forgetting to say Thank you god for this or that...etc....etc.... But once I start feeling the pain I'll stop and make some very quick adjustments and put things back in perspective. My Ministry praise I am all in and usually go hard but I am sure I could use some adjustments with that also. So, basically I am not perfect and as much as I love my lord and savior I could use more growth with my praise.
This is a very good question. My first self-assessment would be to first and foremost make sure that I'm keeping God first above all else. Daily crucifying this flesh because ya'll know there is no good thing in it. Keeping a daily relationship with my heavenly Father and endeavoring to carry my fruit because the Word of the Lord said you will know them by their fruit. So I have to do a day-to-day fruit check on myself. ~ Galatians 5:22-23.
We know God looks at the heart. We don't want to just have lip service and not heart service. God call those types of persons - Hypocrites. You speak one thing with your lips and your actions don't line up. -Matthew 15:8 Pharisees and Sadducees.
Ultimately, my personal desire is Mark 12:30-31 & Matthew 6:33 I believe if we follow the first order of things, it will take care of the rest.
That's all for now.
Blessings