This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. Matthew 15:8
How do you know when you are giving the Lord "lip service" as opposed to "heart service"? Easy! When you are serving the Lord from the heart, it is YOUR desire to do the things you are doing. Your parents don't have to beg you to come to church, and even if they don't want to come themselves, your desire is to be there. When you're serving with your heart, no one has to remind you to read your Bible. Mama doesn't have to make a rule that Bibles must be read before anything else (although it's not wrong for mamas to set that standard!) because it is already something that you've chosen yourself. Daddy doesn't have to say, "Umm, isn't that dress too short, honey?" because you've already checked yourself in the mirror and asked the Holy Spirt if your dress is ok. When your pastor asks for volunteers, no one has to drag you by the arm screaming because it's your own desire to do what needs to be done for the Lord's house.
Girls, all of us need our hearts checked, don't we? There must be careful self-examination of our motivation because the Lord desires our service and our worship to be from our hearts, not just with our mouths.
If I say I serve God, then my actions should attest to that. And, if my actions attest to that, the attitude behind my actions ought to be of humble gratefulness. Instead of thinking we're doing God a favor by showing up for church, our thinking should be more along the lines of being excited for another opportunity to hear the Word of God.
Proverbs 30
Matthew 15
If we inwardly truly want to serve God our countenance on the outside should reflect that.
ReplyDelete