KEYS

Last Sunday Morning our family was amused during church by the cutest little Pakistani girl. She is probably 2 years old and just full of curiosity and wonder. She wandered out of her seat and went a couple rows and found a seat where someone had laid their ring full of keys on the seat. She picked them up and was looking at them, pushing buttons (I was waiting for the car alarm to go off), she chewed on a little plastic flower attached to the ring, rattled them and just generally had a great time with the keys. The thought struck me, she has the keys, but she had no idea how to use them or the power they represent. This little two year old could not even open the door let alone climb into the SUV, start it up and drive home. To her the keys were a play thing.

How many of us are just playing around with the keys to spiritual success in our lives. We ALL have heard enough Word and enough Teaching that if we applied the knowledge we already have, our lives would begin to change instantly. But we want to hold the keys up and look at how shiny they are and how they rattle and maybe chew on them a little. It is time we start using the keys that God gave us. We don’t need to look for more teaching and another self-help book. We need to start exercising our Faith, Start Speaking the Word of God into our lives and the lives of the People around us. We need to start using the Keys of Prayer and Fasting and Praying in the Spirit. We must put the Key of Submission to God into the ignition and turn it. We are not going to go where we want to go until we stop playing with the Keys and start using the Keys as they were designed to be used.

Charity doesn't like Bubblegum

My youngest daughter, Charity, is now a spunky 13. She has always despised the smell of bubblegum. If she is riding in the car and someone puts a piece of Bubblegum in their mouth, you would think someone farted (of course that would never happen in our family). Charity immediately has her nose out the window getting some fresh air. I know, that doesn’t seem normal for kids these days, but she is definitely her own person.

As I was thinking about this the other day, a parallel came to mind. Too often we treat God as the bubblegum machine and our praise as the nickel to GET something from Him.

Think about the two Mary’s “At dawn on the first day, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary went to look at the tomb…” Matthew 28:1. They climbed the hill without expectations from Jesus because he was already dead. They did it because they were true disciples and loved Jesus. They wanted to honor Him and treat His body properly. They were going to the tomb to give PERIOD.

When was the last time you lavished your praise on the Lord without a thought about your needs or any expectations about receiving something from Jesus? Just because you LOVED Him PERIOD. You see, Charity, mine or the love kind, is not motivated by bubblegum. Love does not look at God as its Sugar Daddy who give it whatever it wants. Oh we are all blessed by God, but not because we have Praised and Worshipped Him, but because He loves us so much and takes great pleasure in lavishing His love on us! I John 3:1 NIV.

I want to lavish my praise and worship on the Lord out of a pure motivation. Because I am His disciple, because I Love Him and because I am devoted to Him. Not because I like bubblegum so much. God has greater things planned for us than we have ever imagined! Our bubblegum mentality is so short sighted and small.

Something wonderful does happen when our praise and worship is properly motivated. We Change! Our perspective is lifted and we see life differently. We start walking in authority and favor and chains are broken and we begin to live in the Liberty of the Spirit!

Thought for Today

 

You’ll never be what you ought to be, unless you’re doing what you ought to do.