Bob

Noebel

"Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, 'I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.'" (

Matthew 18:2-4 Close Matthew 18:2-4 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

NLT)

Greatness in the kingdom of God requires humility. Humility shows itself when pressed for a reaction to an action. It says I will not let what you do to me or say about me discourage me or change how I act and feel (as a Christian).

The world will draw you into sin but woe to the man through which they come. We are responsible for our reactions to sin. My reaction should be based on my values and principles, not on the normal or usual response to another action.

tells us the importance of each soul.

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.”

A normal reaction of the 99 would be, “Hey, what about us? That sheep left us. He’s on his own now.” The opposite of humility is pride. Pride says I made it alone and by myself. They can do the same. Are you ever jealous that a new believer coming from a life of sin is now getting all the attention? That is clearly pride. The prodigal son’s brother had that problem.  The story is found in

where a man had two sons. The younger wants his share of his father’s estate, goes off and squanders it all, then goes back home where he is greeted by his dad as if he was a king.

The older son is not happy with the attention given to his brother. Instead of being glad that his brother is back, he is jealous. Most people can relate to someone who we feel is not as worthy as we are and is getting more attention. That also is a pride and a heart issue. Pride causes our reaction to be less than Christ-like.

These are types of situations that require us to pause before giving our “natural” or “typical” replies. We have a new nature that needs to reflect a Christlikeness different from our old nature. I, for one, need to be one who like

(NLT) says:

“... lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

Copyright © Bob Noebel. Used by permission.

Motivational research is the study of what influences or causes people to choose or reject a course of action. In the business world, these procedures help companies sell products. In Genesis 3, we find that Satan already knew the three basics for selling his product to man: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life:

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it." (See

Genesis 3:6 Close Genesis 3:6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

)

The sale was made. The rest is history.

What about God? Since He created us, it is only logical that He would know how to motivate us for good works rather than evil. After all, the Word says that it is not His desire that any should perish, but that everyone would come to the knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ.

God must love a challenge. Why else would we be born with two strikes against us — free will and a sin nature? How in the world is He going to motivate us? Thank God that He is not the mighty "Casey at the bat" who strikes out. God hits a home run.

First of all, God did the hard part. He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. The weight of our sins would have been enough to crush us, but that has been dealt with, thanks to Jesus.

If that alone isn’t enough to motivate you, there’s more. When Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, He sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to enable us to live a godly life:

You however are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit ... (

Romans 8:9 Close Romans 8:9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

).

Our motivation to live a life worthy of His calling is because He first loved us. When we didn’t give God the time of day, He was still there waiting patiently for us. When we came to Him with all our problems and hang-ups, He received us with open arms. When we continue to mess up, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (See

)

God loves me so much that He saved me, cleansed me, and filled me with His Spirit. I don’t need any more motivation than that!

How about you? Are you ready to stand up to the plate and hit a home run for Him? You can do it. I know you can.

Copyright © Bob Noebel, used with permission.

CBN.com -- We are very busy people. Whether at work or at play, our minds are moving even faster than our bodies. Most of us like to stay busy, but there is so much to do and not enough time to do it. Time management can help us prioritize, but somehow we still go to sleep wishing we had the time or energy to do a few more things on our “to do” list.

"Out of sight, out of mind" nudges us to take care of those things that are right in front of us at the expense of leaving those things that are not as obvious to do at a later date. For a man, that usually means taking care of the outside of the house first, what other’s can see, and not worrying so much about the inside, which few people can see.

Spiritually we do the same thing. We go to church and help with various functions because that’s what others see. What about the inside? Are we spending time in the Word and praying to be closer to the One we go to church to worship? Are we trying to be more like Jesus -- who should be at the heart of every church function -- whether we evangelize or build up the body of Christ?

The Pharisees were more concerned about their outward appearance to man than they were about their personal relationship to God. Jesus denounced their attempts to make themselves look good in giving, prayer, and fasting. He told His disciples to pray, give, and fast in secret, and then the Father would reward them openly. Being seen and praised by others cannot hold a candle to what God has in store for those who serve and love Him with sincere hearts.

We are never out of God’s sight or off His mind.

says,

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love.

II Chronicles 16:9 says,

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

says,

He does not take His eyes off the righteous. He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.

Thank you, Lord, that even though I get temporarily distracted by the hectic pace of this life, You are never too busy for me. And He’s never too busy for you.

You can let me know if this encouraged you by e-mailing me at dvtd2hm1@aol.com.

More Devotions on Spiritual Life

 

 

CBN.com -- When I was growing up, I use to hear the phrase, “Tell it like it is.” I came to understand that it meant being honest, forthright, and straight forward. In my teenage years when I lacked tact and diplomacy, I was painfully honest. It wasn’t until I was older and wiser that I learned that “speak the truth in love” means that we are not supposed to be so painfully honest that we hurt others.

Tell it like it is without bias or prejudice sounds great in the natural world, but things get a bit more complicated in the spiritual realm. It is very easy to believe in what you see. What you see can be touched, understood, and rationalized. Faith on the other hand is being sure of what we hope (pray) for and being certain of what we don’t see.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (

Hebrews 11:1 Close Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

)

See what I mean? We may be poor, but we are rich in Christ. We may be sickly, but we are healed in the name of Jesus. We may not have everything right now in front of us, but we are assured that all the promises in God are yes and amen.

Everything that we presently see will one day pass away, but the man (woman) who does the will of God will live forever.

And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever. (I John 2:17)

I’m going to make an effort to not tell it like it is, and to start telling it like the Bible says. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I am a joint heir with Jesus and one day will be with Him in the mansion He has prepared for me. I have been blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Now that’s telling it like it is.

If you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you can join me in praising God for His wonderful gift to us. If not, you are only a decision away. He loves you.

You can let me know if this encouraged you by e-mailing me at dvtd2hm1@aol.com.

More Devotions on Spiritual Life

 

 

What thoughts go through your mind when you hear the phrase "temporary insanity?" If you are like me, you will think of an episode of Law and Order where a defendant pleads not guilty due to being temporarily "not of sound mind." Whatever they did, they were not responsible in their mind. They acted out of an uncontrollable impulse.

As Christians, we have tasted God's mercy and goodness, and have experienced joy, peace, healing, and protection by a loving Savior. How is it, then, that we can have temporary insanity? How can we possibly go back to something far less than we now have?

Jeremiah 2:11 Close Jeremiah 2:11 Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,  even though they are not gods at all?Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God*  for worthless idols! OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)

HCSB says, "... my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols."

How can sin, in the many forms it takes (lust, greed, pride, etc.), still have an occasional hold on the born-again, blood-bought life of a believer? After accepting Jesus as my Savior 25 years ago, you would think that I would know better.

I could use the apostle Paul as an excuse. In

NIV he wrote,

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."

Paul was referring to the sinful nature within us, which is constantly at war with our spirit. He later explains that the Holy Spirit can give us the power to live a godly life if we so desire. There goes that excuse.

James puts the matter to rest in

NIV,

"...but each one is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed."

Our own will is a determining factor in whether or not we will glorify our Father in heaven or ourselves.

As the father of two teenagers, I really do want to be a godly example in their lives. It will take sacrifice and commitment. It will mean staying in the Word, praying, being a part of a local body of believers who share the same desire, fulfilling the ministries He has given me, and using the gifts God has given me.

No one ever said that being a Christian would be easy, but God promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. He has always kept His Word and now it's time for me to keep mine.

Perhaps you will consider doing the same thing. God could use a mighty army of men and women moving out in the giftings and callings He has placed deep within us.

Copyright © 2011 Bob Noebel. Used by permission.