Cactus Christian Fellowship
  • About Us
    • Mission Statement
    • Staff
    • Elders
    • Weekly Newsletter >
      • Offering & Attendance
    • Church Directory
    • Bible Reading Plans
    • Contact Us
  • Ministries
    • Cactus Care
    • Pastoral Care
    • Prayer Ministry
    • Missions
    • Men's Ministry
    • Women's Ministry
    • Teens
    • Small Groups >
      • Tuesday
      • Wednesday
      • Thursday
    • Service Opportunities
  • 9am Bible Classes
    • Adults
    • Teens
    • K - 6th grade
    • Nursery
  • Sermons
  • Calendar

The Only Motive for a Life of Service

10/25/2017

0 Comments

 
If you ask a Christian “What do you think God wants most from us?”  You may hear “He wants us to be good,” or “He wants us to pray,” or “He wants us to help people.”  You should expect these answers.  But they are all wrong.  They are off by three degrees.  If you begin a journey and you are three degrees off your bearings you will soon be a mile off, and, in a few days, hundreds of miles off.  The correct answer is always this: God wants us to love Him.  That’s what matters most.  And in pursuit of loving God we need to toss overboard whatever may distract us to drift off course.
Christianity is complex.  Sin comes easily.  Those of us who have lived some years as followers of Christ are probably not going to stumble into a life of crime.  We are probably not going to wake up one day and choose to reject God and become angry atheists.  However, we do need to be afraid of drift and distraction.
Morality is not the point, either.  When it becomes the point you will become corrupt.  The Pharisees were moral, the most moral people around.  Yet Jesus reserved His most scathing words for them.  Morality will not save you from hell; it will not even make you a better person.  It may, however, make life miserable for those around you.  It is only a means to a much greater end.
I want my kids to behave well and I want your kids to behave well.  But if we teach them only  morality they will become cold legalists.  I propose that we as parents, teachers and children’s workers check our bearings and work to lead our kids to love God first—an informed, well-thought-out defensible love for God.  Considering the character of God, a response of love is the only reasonable one.
If you agree with me then you should be asking something along the lines of “Okay, so how do l do this?  How do I love God more?”  even, “How do I help my kids to love God more?”  These are exactly the questions to ask.  Work on some answers yourself. Ask wise people around you.  Read Scripture with just those questions in mind and you will be surprised at how much material you will find, because, after all, that is what God’s Word was written to help you understand.  Love is the prime motive for a life of ministry and service.                                          —Adapted from “Morality Is Not the Point,” by Dave Carl

 
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Bud Downs

    Senior Pastor of Cactus Christian Fellowship

    Picture

    Archives

    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012

2401 E. Cactus Road, Phoenix, AZ 85032  
  • About Us
    • Mission Statement
    • Staff
    • Elders
    • Weekly Newsletter >
      • Offering & Attendance
    • Church Directory
    • Bible Reading Plans
    • Contact Us
  • Ministries
    • Cactus Care
    • Pastoral Care
    • Prayer Ministry
    • Missions
    • Men's Ministry
    • Women's Ministry
    • Teens
    • Small Groups >
      • Tuesday
      • Wednesday
      • Thursday
    • Service Opportunities
  • 9am Bible Classes
    • Adults
    • Teens
    • K - 6th grade
    • Nursery
  • Sermons
  • Calendar