Paul writes to the church in Corinth, urging them to be on guard. In 2 Corinthians 11:3, he expresses his concern: “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
The core issue here lies in the temptations that arise from the promise of self-gratification and a relationship with God. I take this perspective directly from the book A Call to Die by David Nasser, who states,
“We are incredibly self-centered people. We focus on our wants, our needs, our goals, our dreams, and our time—everything revolves around us. When we become Christians, this self-centeredness dies hard. Very hard. Unfortunately, some Christian churches and speakers reinforce this focus on self by promising that we can have God and whatever we want. It sounds like this:
- If you trust God, He’ll pave the way to your success.
- If you walk with Jesus, He’ll give you the circumstances you always wanted.
- If you only believe in God, He’ll bless you with financial wealth.
- If you trust Christ, you’ll have perfect rest.
Has God promised those things? Well, yes and no. He has promised that if we are completely devoted to Him, we will experience blessings beyond our wildest dreams. However, if we truly love Him with all our hearts, the greatest blessing will be knowing and loving Him. We won’t be as concerned about earthly blessings, will we?”
Unfortunately, our society and many churches have allowed the serpent to tempt us with the age oldnquestion, “Did God really say…?” This leads to an emphasis on earthly blessings, making our prayers more about obtaining material things rather than seeking out Jesus. What we focus on, our deepest desires, become what rules us. So, is Jesus your deepest desire?
Consider this verse:
Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
I’ve always been quick to help other people, but many years ago — without knowing – I was doing it for a personal thank you or to make ME feel good about what I did.
My walk is much different now.
I want to help others, because it makes God happy. GBDR gives me that opportunity. We get to travel to people during a crisis to bring the Christ.
Those that have helped at the wood ministry have also enjoyed the blessings from seeing our works glorify God.
I’m looking forward to this week in Kentucky. I’m praying for God to open my eyes and ears to those around me and praying for opportunities to love my neighbors.
In our American culture, it is very difficult to block out the voice of the enemy that constantly tells us that we should be seeking after worldly possessions. I find myself thinking of these things often. I want the nice house, the nice car, the financial security. It is so easy to fall into this worldly trap and lose focus on what our mission really is. Even though I try to immerse myself in the Bible and the things of God, the enemy still sneaks in on a daily basis. He is relentless and unwavering in his mission. Therefore, we must constantly be ready to fight. We must never take our eyes off of the cross.