Scripture: John 5.
OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)
John 5:41-44 (NLT)
41 “Your approval means nothing to me, 42 because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. 43 For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. 44 No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.
APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)
The Jewish leaders was watching Jesus very closely to make sure that He followed their laws and their teaching, and that He did everything to please them or that fit within their mold of perfection. From Jesus’ response I believe that He would have followed their beliefs, IF they truly knew God and followed His instructions. In other words, Paul told his people that they should follow him as He follows the Father, however Jesus knew that this was not the case with these Jewish leaders, even though they had so many rules of their own that they felt they were the ultimate direction that all should follow. The unfortunate part about this is that for those of us that don’t stay in the Word of God and constantly follow it’s direction, we can be easily swayed by this evil world and its practices. Think about it, we look at sports figures with all their money that they receive and we think they are a role model for our kids. Do we really want our kids going to jail like many of these ‘role models’ are? We look at professional businessmen and especially to those who give back to their community, and appear rich, we often wish that our kids could be like them. Think about the corruption that we see in our business leaders and all the price gouging that we see and hear about. Do we really see them as a role model for us or for our kids? Then of course, we see those religious leaders who have successful churches and a large following, surely we can follow them, right? Being a church leader myself, I wish I could say to you today that you should follow us, but friends you will not find perfection in man. You will not find a man that has mastered all the teaching of Jesus. There is only one who has the whole thing under control, and that is Jesus himself. While we should do all within our power to obey our leaders (as taught by the Bible), when we look for answers on the right thing to do we must look to God’s Word. When we think about who we should please with our decisions, let us always think about the one who will make final judgment on us, and follow Him, His ways, His leadership. It’s only what is done for Jesus that will matter in the end. You may be wondering what if this leads us to a decision that may displease your employer, or your family or your friends or even your pastor? Does this really matter in the end when you will be judged, as in verse 21 of this same chapter, about where your future will be in eternity? Furthermore, how many bosses, family members, friends or pastors will push us away or fire us for doing good? My greatest advice to those that may read this today is: surrender your life to the lordship of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; Follow His commands/His Word each and every day and practice living in a way that pleases God, not man, and Heaven will be your final destination to enjoy eternity with Jesus! There is no better way friend!
PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)
Father, I know that we try way too hard to please those in authority over us and often slack on obeying You and Your Word. You have given us directions to follow. Please help me to be committed and steadfast in following Your commands and Your will for my life each and every day. I am determined to make heaven my eternal home with You. Please help me to follow Your Word to ensure that my actions, word and life is always in line with what You have taught me and expect from me.
àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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