January 22

Proverbs for the day: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, & loving favour rather than silver & gold.”  Saturday, we buried my cousin Mathew. There were a lot of people at his funeral; old & young. They all held Matt in “loving favor.” That’s greater than Fort Knox! He also had a good name and that’s better than a million bucks! I leave Mat to the Lord & daily seek to transform my own reputation into something that will bring glory to my Savior.

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Motives

I Cor. 4:5: “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts and then shall every man have praise of God.”

This verse says one day the Lord will reveal my motives; the “counsels of my heart”, the why-I-do-things.

What motivates me to do right?

-FEAR?  What the consequence/results/outcomes might be if I don’t…  

-DUTY? My husband/family/friends/church expect it of me…

-HABIT? Its what I’ve always done…

Let me just tell you…..my personal motives for doing what’s right is definitely NOT because it is easy or because it is fun or because there’s nothing else I’d rather do!  That’s for sure!

No, I’m convinced my motivations should be…..love for the Lord!

John 14:23 & 24 says, “If a man love me, he will keep my words…He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings”. And vs. 15 says plainly, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

Knowing this causes David’s words in Ps. 119:143 to make more sense! It says, “Trouble & anguish have taken hold on me: yet they commandments are my delights.”  The more Jesus loves me, the more I love Him….and the more I love Him, the more I’ll want to (or the more I am motivated) to obey His words.

If my motive is fear, when judgment is prolonged, I might think I got away with something & sin again. If its duty, I might quit when I get tired or when someone disappoints me. And if its habit…..Well, we all know that doesn’t fly when the going gets tough! But if it is His love; well, that’s never-ending. He has a vast supply ready for me every morning.

So when my heart & soul is held by trouble & anguish (Just so you’ll know, that’s a regular thing for me these days!) this girl knows what to do! I try to do the right thing for the right reason! And that would be: obey the Lord out of a heart of LOVE.

Then I won’t have to tell everybody how my I love the Lord…..they’ll know it.  He’ll tell them Himself one of these days!