glory

If you didn't get any credit for what you do, would you still do it? No praise. No affirmation. A lot of times I wonder if I'm serving god or just serving so that people will say nice things about me. I hope I always serve god so that he will call me faithful and tell me he's proud of me.

Acts 8:25

Sometimes it seems like Christians live in two separate modes. We are either in ministry mode or in selfish mode. We have trouble translating our Christianity into our everyday lives. When we're on a mission trip or doing a service project, then we're all about talking to people about Jesus. But the second that we leave, we're back to our normal selves. We're rude, obnoxious and selfish. I wish there was an easy way to get this to become a normal part of my life as opposed to some mode I get into or am out of, but it seems really difficult to do. I just hope that I'm getting better at it and that someday I can truly be a disciple of Christ who evidences it at all times. JM

Acts 5:12-17

It's tough when there's a new kid in town. When I was in 3rd grade I was the smartest kid in class. Everybody knew it. I was the smart one. I would finish my work first. I did the best in our math games. I knew all the answers. Then April showed up (I can't remember her name, but April will do). April was smart, too. April became the smart girl. I could still take her in smartness, but I had to share my glory. My smartness wasn't quite as amazing because well, April was smart, too. Luckily at then end of the semester she moved to Oklahoma City. I was glad.
The problem with this is that the focus the whole time was on me. Granted, I was 8, but I wanted all of the attention. We never grow out of that. We like to be recognized. To have people appreciate us. That's all well and good, but we get addicted to it. We like that everyone laughs at our jokes. We like that people think we're an engaging speaker. We like that people tell us they like to hear us sing or play guitar. Then rather than doing something to glorify God, it turns into doing something that brings us glory. And God sighs at how pathetic we are. We're just like the kid who thinks he's so smart because he can multiply faster than 20 other kids. JM

Acts 1:15-22

So there were a bunch of people that walked around with Jesus and were with him for the entire duration of his ministry. They were more than just the 12, but these people didn't get the recognition that the others did. They didn't get the authority, the close contact with Jesus, or the respect that the disciples did. But that's not why they went with Jesus.
A lot of times we get sidetracked in what we are doing. We start out serving God because we love Him. Sometimes we get sidetracked by beginning to love how we're serving. Sometimes we get sidetracked by the attention we receive. Whatever the distraction, it takes us away from our true purpose, to love Jesus and serve Him. JM