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Saturday, March 8, 2008

To Do or To Be

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}
  • S: Galatians 5:16-26
  • O: Those who live by the sinful ways of the world and refuse to accept Christ will not enter the kingdom of God,
  • A: It's a pretty basic premise, really: what we do is nothing compared to what we are. There have been many people of great accomplishments in the world. Do you remember who invented the microwave? Or the person who developed the first cell phone? Or who came up with the first electronic calculator? These are all things that most of us couldn't make it through the day without, yet most of us couldn't name the inventors if our life depended on it. But if I asked you to tell me about the lives of Billy Graham, Bill Gates, George Washington, or Martin Luther King, Jr., you could probably tell me some very wonderful things about their personalities, not just their accomplishments. Because in addition to doing great things, they were all great people. They were all men who realized that what matters in life is not just what you do with it, but what you become with it. Those same questions will be asked of us at the time of Judgement. It won't matter if we had a great job, made lots of money, and achieved great fame. All that will matter is what we became. And we can only become what it takes to get into Heaven because of what Christ is: the Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. What will you answer when the Judgement Day comes? Did you do great things? Or were you a great person in the eyes of God (aka, a Christian). If you don't know the answer, then it's the wrong answer.
  • P: Lord, Thank You for teaching me to become the most important thing I can be, a part of the family of God. I know that you still have plans for me and things you want me to do here in this life. Help me to make myself open to your bidding, and to not allow myself to get so caught up in what I'm doing to jeopardize what I'm being.
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