"Work Or Relationship"

"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:22,23

 

So many Christians think that just because they are doing the work of the Lord that this is all there is. They think that working for Him is enough. They think this is their "reasonable service". And that is all they do-- work for the Lord. But they are neglecting the "weightier matter". The "weightier matter" is our love, worship and intimacy with Him.

 

We put the emphasis on our work for the Lord. He puts the emphasis on our relationship with Him. Working for the Lord and knowing the Lord are not the same thing. Anyone can do religious deeds. Anyone can do good works. And at the end of the day many feel good about the task/work that they have accomplished for Him. But what have we really accomplished if all we have done is work-- no matter how great the work is- and neglected Him? 

 

Our works are for others- they are meant to draw attention to the Lord so that others will desire to "taste and see that He is good". Our intimacy with Him is for us- it draws our attention to Him so that we can "taste and see how good He is". 

 

Don't stop working for the Lord. We need to let our lights shine (His light in us) so that the world will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. But don't neglect the greater "work" that He desires from us-- relationship.

 

Have a great day. Working for the Lord is not the same thing as having a relationship with the Lord.

 

For further reading:

Matthew 23:23

Psalm 34:8

Romans 12:1

 

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"Serving False gods"

"And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word." 1 Kings 18:21

 

During the days of Elijah the prophet, and Ahab and Jezebel's reign in Israel, the children of Israel had turned away from following the Lord God Jehovah and started following Baal, Ashtaroth and Molech. Baal was the principal god- the god of materialism and prosperity. Ashtaroth was the goddess of sexual immorality. Molech was the god that the Israelites were sacrificing their children to. 

 

This sounds like it could be talking about our own nation today. Once a nation that honored and revered God; once a nation that had made a covenant with God; we have turned away from Him and are serving these three gods also. We are serving/following materialism, sexual immorality and abortion (the sacrifice of babies in the womb.)

 

What is worse is not only has our nation turned and gone in this direction, but so has a majority of the church. Instead of worshipping God and living a life of self-denial, we are pursuing materialism and prosperity. We are not content to live within our means, we want bigger, better and more of it. We equate holiness with wealth and material possessions. In reality, we are serving Baal.

 

We have also given Ashtaroth worship in our churches. Many churches are embracing homosexuality and ordaining homosexual pastors. People sit in the pews, serve on deacon boards and teach Sunday School classes who are living in fornication, adultery, addicted to pornography and other sexual immoralities.

 

Surely, we aren't serving Molech. Are we? We are sacrificing our children to gods of fun, games and entertainment. Learning Bible verses, how to worship the Lord, training in the fear of the Lord, holiness, self-denial, how to be servants and givers have been replaced, or in most cases done away with. 

 

We have seen the worship of these gods and a removal of the True and Living God in our nation and in our churches. When Elijah asked the people how long they would go back and forth between their devotion to the Lord God and their service to these false gods, he was asking the nation, but he was also asking each person individually. (The gospel is always personal.) So the question is-- which God/god are you serving? Are you serving the Lord God with complete devotion? Or are you serving these false gods? 

 

Have a great day. You can only serve one God--- which God/god are you serving?

 

For further reading:

1 Kings 18

Matthew 6:24

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"Salt"

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." Matthew 5:13

 

When Jesus said that we were the salt of the earth, there was also gave a warning attached to it. The warning was not to lose your savor/saltiness.

How do we lose our saltiness? There were four ways, that I discovered, according to the Bible that we can lose our savor. The first way deals with the way we treat the word of God and His commandments. Immediately after Jesus referred to His followers as light and salt He went on to say, in context, If we neglect the word of God, if we don’t build our lives upon its teachings, if we compromise it and water it down, if we live in disobedience to it, then we stand the risk of losing our savor.

The next way we lose it is by forsaking the covenant that we are in with God. If we start serving other “gods”- mammon, entertainment, pleasure, selfish desires, fame and popularity, or anything else above God- then we are in danger of losing our saltiness.

The third way is by putting our trust in man and having our confidence in the “arm of flesh”- human strength and ability- instead of in God. 

 

The last way is by doing the same thing that Lot’s wife did. God graciously and mercifully delivered Lot’s family out of Sodom before the judgment fell upon the city. God told them to leave the city and don’t look back. Lot’s wife disobeyed and looked back. When she did, she was turned into a pillar of salt. Instead of receiving and being a blessing, she became an unsavory lump of salt good for nothing but to be trampled under foot. When she looked back, she wasn’t just “glancing” to get a “peek” at what was happening. She was in disobedience to God’s command not to look back. Disobedience is a slow road to losing your savor. One disobedient act leads to another one and pretty soon you are in rebellion- and unsavory. But with Lot’s wife the reason she was turned to a pillar of salt goes deeper than even her disobedience. Jesus used her as a warning to us. “Remember Lot’s wife”. (Luke 17:32) Read the verse with me in context. “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” (vvs. 30-33) The words “looked back” mean to have regard for. Lot’s wife looked back with longing and desire. She was longing for her house, her possessions, all the things she had and had to leave. Her heart was still in her material possessions and she looked back desiring to have them and with remorse for having to leave them. 

 

Looking back with desire to the things that God delivered us from and trying to hold on to material things will cause us to lose our saltiness. That was Jesus’ warning. If you try to hold on to your life you will lose it instead. Let the “things” go. Don’t hold on to them in your heart. Don’t long for what you once had and turn from what the Lord has for you now. He is trying to take you to a place of “safety” so that you can live- just like He tried to do for Lot’s wife. But if you “look back” it will only turn you into a lump of useless, worthless salt instead of the wonderful aroma and flavor of Christ that you are called to be in the earth. 

 

Have a great day. Is your life salty? Or have you lost your saltiness? 

 

For further reading:

Matthew 5:17,18

Deuteronomy 29:23-26

Jeremiah 17:5-7

Genesis 19:26

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"Concentrate On Following Him - part 3"

"Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness." 2 Peter 3:17

 

For the past couple of days I have told you that while I was taking my dad to have his surgery I took the wrong exit. My sister and brother were both following me in their own vehicles and when I took the wrong exit so did they. I also told you that once we reached our destination they both told me that they knew I had made a wrong turn but they followed anyway because we all needed to stay together and they thought I might know another way to get there.

 

They knew I was going the wrong way yet they followed me anyway. So many people know what is right but they are following someone who is wrong. Are you one of them? You cannot follow just anybody. Not everybody is going in the right direction. You have to be careful who you are following. My sister and brother love me and trust me, that is why they followed me. But they put what they knew was right over their trust in me. 

 

You can't put your love, trust or admiration for someone else above your love and obedience to God's Word. You can't let them take you down the wrong path. You can't let them take you in a direction that is contrary to God's Word or will. If you know it is wrong, then stop following them and follow the truth. Following the truth will make you and keep you free. Jesus put it this way, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37) If you are allowing someone else to take you in the wrong direction, and you know it is wrong, you are putting them above the Lord. How many young people have ruined their lives because they were following their friends. How many people have made huge mistakes because they were following the crowd. There is only One who we can safely follow-- Jesus. 

 

Are you following someone and you know that person is leading you in the wrong direction? No matter what your reason or how good your intentions may be for following, if it is taking you in the wrong direction, you will wind up lost, confused, in trouble and trying to find your way back to the right path. You need to break away and stop following them and go the right way-- God's way. 

 

Have a great day. If you know the person you are following is going in the wrong direction, stop following them. You can't follow everyone, but you can follow Jesus and know that He will always lead you in the right direction.

 

For further reading:

John 8:32

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"Concentrate On Following Him - part 2"

"And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him." Matthew 8:23
 

Yesterday we talked about how you cannot follow yourself and the Lord at the same time. We also said that when you follow someone else it meant that you had to watch them, pay attention to and concentrate on what they are doing so that you can do the same. I gave the example of when my dad had to have surgery and I took him and my mother to the appointment. My sister followed in her vehicle and my brother followed behind in his. I also said that I took the wrong exit, had to make a U-turn, then had to make the loop to get back on the Interstate to get to the right exit. And if you read it, you know that my sister and brother did the exact same thing. Even though I went the wrong way, they still followed.

 

The point I want to make this morning is that when we are following Jesus, He never leads us in the wrong direction. He doesn't miss His exit. He doesn't get lost. He doesn't have to detour. He knows exactly where He is going. I thought I knew which exit to take to get to the hospital, but I got off one exit too early. He never does, He knows which route to take. 

 

After we got to the hospital, my sister and brother both told me that they knew I had taken the wrong exit but they kept following so that we could all stay together. When we are following Jesus, it might seem that He has taken the wrong turn, we might think He missed it. We might try to stop Him and point Him in the "right" direction, but He hasn't, He knows where He is going. 

 

When Jesus got word that Lazarus was ill, He waited four days to go to him. When He did go to Lazarus, His disciples thought He was making a mistake. "His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?" (John 11:8) They thought He was going the wrong way. Jesus knew exactly what He was doing and where He was going. Even though they thought He was heading the wrong direction, they went with Him anyway. As a result they witness one of Jesus' greatest miracles.

 

Sometimes we wonder where is Jesus leading us? Sometimes we think He is taking us in the wrong direction. But He never is. He knows what, where and why He is taking you that way. So just trust Him and follow Him anyway because He is not going in the wrong direction.

 

Have a great day. You may think you know better than Jesus which direction to go, but He knows where He is leading you, and it is no mistake. So just trust Him and follow.

 

For further reading:

John 11:1-44

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.