I pray you’ll join us and learn new and exciting things too from His Word.
This Week We're Looking at Zeal
I’d never been busier or more excited about serving God.
Between church activities, a group Bible study, and helping with a Christian ministry, I barely had time for anything else, including prayer and personal Bible study. Before long, something seemed off. First, I felt myself getting edgy and stressed. Then, I started grumbling about nearly everything. Something was wrong, and I knew it. But what could be wrong when my life was going so right?
After all, wasn’t I supposed to be “zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14)? And I certainly was. I was oozing with zeal.
The problem was, I had “zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2-3). In other words, I had a zeal for the things of God. But not for God Himself.
The Bible makes it clear that we can be religious and wrong. The apostle Paul serves as our example of someone who was devoted, but to the wrong thing. “As to zeal, [he was] a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:6).
Paul was persecuting Christians―even to the point of death―because he was zealous to do what he thought was the right thing. That’s what happens when we’re busy as bees, zealous about doing things "in the name of Jesus" (2 Kings 10:16)―but not zealous about knowing Him.
We’re saved by the gift of grace, and that means there’s a relationship between us and Christ. So, if we spend all our time looking around for something to do for Jesus, we may find Him saying simply, “Look at Me.”
Our wholehearted devotion to Christ can be dampened by many good things. That’s why He told the rich young ruler, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me” (Mark 10:21).
Following Jesus is everything. That’s why He calls us to Himself over and over again. “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19, Isaiah 26:11).
In other words, we should get rid of everything that competes with our devotion to Jesus Himself because nothing else matters more. No matter how sincerely we mistake loving the things of God for loving Him, they’ll never satisfy us. Only He will.
My grumpy attitude was a red flag. It didn’t take me long to realize all the good things I was doing hadn’t left me enough time for the best thing.
That’s when I finally stepped away from my busy calendar, got alone with the Lord, and repented of my half-hearted devotion to Him. With a renewed heart and a changed attitude, I committed to love Him first. Then I got busy with His simple instruction: “Follow Me.”
Cindy really learned to rely on Jesus as her source of strength and experienced the sufficiency of Christ in a way that changed her forever during the early years of marriage. During those years, her husband worked abroad for long stretches of time. With three daughters to raise, at times she felt exhausted, lonely, and full of self-doubt.
Cindy writes, "Next to my Bible, the things I can’t live without are lipstick, hairspray, and popcorn (in that order!). I’m pretty passionate about ice cream, too."
The ABCs of God's Love Letter Scripture Memory Cards
The ABCs of God's Love Letter Bible Study is accompanied by a collection of 25 5 X 5 Scripture Memory Cards. We'll utilize this great tool to help us memorize a Scripture verse once a week that goes with the topic we're studying that week. Hiding God's Word in our heart is so important!
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What does Zeal mean to you?
8 Comments
1/26/2021 09:09:03 am
It's so easy to shift our focus to what looks right but isn't. Oh for grace to always keep our gaze on Him.
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1/27/2021 07:52:12 am
I LOVE that, Barbara! —> "Oh for grace to always keep our gaze on Him." I find it so easy to let the good get in the way of the great!
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1/26/2021 09:28:33 am
One area of focus for me is single minded determination to obey the voice of the Spirit. There are so many distractions!
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1/27/2021 07:57:39 am
SO many, Michele! Especially within the confines of our own churches and ministry! Single-mindedness <— focused on Him. That's what we need!
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1/26/2021 11:04:42 am
Oh it is so true. We can get so busy doing for God, that we forget to spend time with Him. It is also true of people. We can get do busy doing and serving our mate or children, but forget to spend time with them. We need time together for the relationship to grow.
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1/27/2021 07:59:54 am
Absolutely, Theresa! Time alone with God is the only thing that will develop that sweet relationship that we all so crave.
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1/28/2021 01:52:19 pm
The good things in exchange for the best things. We have all be guilty of holding onto the former.
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1/11/2024 06:40:17 am
Absolutely, Lauren, the choice between the good and the best is a universal struggle. It's so easy to cling to what is good or comfortable, even when God is offering us something far better. The journey of surrendering the good for the best is a continuous process, one that requires trust and faith in God's wisdom and plan. May you find the strength and wisdom to continually choose the best in alignment with God's perfect will.
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