by Jim Hughes
Prov. 21:3 The LORD is more pleased when we do what is just and right than when we give him sacrifices.
Being is better than doing. The Lord wants us to be genuine in our souls when we act like children of God. It’s not too hard to put on a front. There are a lot of people who do not act like the world acts. They don’t participate in the world’s activities; they shy away from things that are self-destructive. A lot of people hang out with godly people who are not godly themselves. A lot of people are faithful church-goers and are involved in a lot of church activities who are not right with God. A lot of people consider themselves to be right with God because they play the part well.
The Lord looks on the heart before He does what the heart produces. What pleases the Lord is our relationship with Him and the fruit it naturally produces. The Lord wants us to be real. He wants us to know Him as Savior and Lord before we do what we do. He is pleased when our motives are right, when we do what is just and right because it is the desire of our hearts.
We must be careful about our souls. We can easily deceive ourselves about our standing before God. We can convince ourselves that because we live like children of God we are children of God. We can grow up in the church, hang out with Christians, believe what Christians believe, and still be lost. Our only assurance of our salvation is our being washed clean by the shed blood of Jesus at Calvary. We must know that we are sinners, confess our sins, ask the Lord to forgive us, and then claim His forgiveness. We must understand that there is no other way for us to be found acceptable and pleasing to God.
Do you know for a fact that God is pleased with you because of your relationship with Christ? Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior? Have you accepted Him as your Lord? Only a heart rooted in Christ’s righteousness pleases God.
About the Author:
Spending his formative years in Ft. Wayne, IN, Jim followed the love of his life to southeast Iowa where they married and have spent the majority of their lives. Jim has pastored several churches throughout his life and has worked many years in local factories to help support his family. The father of two married adult children and one son still at home, Jim is a first-time author.
C Through Marriage came into being through many years of pastoral and life experiences. The book first took on a life of its own over 20 years ago when I sought to address the much publicized moral failures of prominent leaders in the church. In the chapter on Chasity, I include the guideliness that I developed then to protect one’s self from such failures.
I am a firm believer in order to make sense out of life you have to use much common sense. We need to get back to the basics of what has worked for many, many generations. If is isn’t broke, why try to fix it? I strive to return to the basics of what really works in all my writings.
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