Daily Devotional for Friday May 5, 2017

Pleasing God and Making Your Life Matter

(Isaiah 58:7)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, help me to never forget how each life is from you and precious. In this culture that puts little value on a human life, let ME stand for you and the fact ALL LIFE IS FROM GOD! May I find courage and strength to never waiver or fail to speak up for this most precious of all gifts! In the name of Jesus I pray. AMEN!

"Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" Isaiah 58:7

Do you want to please God and make your life matter? We often get so caught up in living of our lives day to day that it is easy to forget why God has given us this wonderful gift of life. It is to serve and glorify Him. That is the bottom line of why we are here. Unfortunately, we can get far, far away from that purpose during the course of our years here on earth.

Obviously, one of the enemies goals is to keep us distracted so that we cannot fulfill that God-given purpose. Once a person comes to know Christ by faith, the enemy has lost the battle for that person's soul. However, the battle then centers around making us as ineffective as possible in serving God in our daily lives. The more he can keep us distracted with the burdens of life, the less effective we are in our service to God.

This passage of scripture in Isaiah helps us to focus on what this life is really all about. It is not about seeing how much wealth we can accumulate in this life, or how much power we can acquire, or how well-known we can become. All of the things the world judges us by are absolutely meaningless when this brief journey is over. It is the wood, hay, and stubble the Bible talks about that will burn up when tested by fire (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). The gold, silver, and precious stones are those things we do in this life that stand the test of eternity. It is our true service to our Lord.

If you want a starting point of how to please God, what kinds of things we can do in our life to follow our Lord and have an eternal legacy, get your Bible out and read verse 7 in the 58th chapter of Isaiah. This is what our life really is all about. Being there for those in need. Helping those who are lost in this life. Sharing the love and hope of Jesus Christ with those we meet along our journey.

I love you and care about you so much. One of the questions I get every day is how to be in the will of God. There are so many passages in the Word of God that help us know what we can do in our life to be in the will of God. This verse in Isaiah is a great place to start. I will be praying with you today that the Lord helps you to realize no matter what problems you are facing, no matter how many obstacles there might be this very moment, there are always others who are in worse shape, always others who are struggling even more than you are. We have a responsibility to be an ambassador for Christ in our daily lives. This is how we fulfill our purpose in life.

My challenge to you today is to be aware that there is an enemy out there who will try everything possible to distract you from fulfilling your God-given purpose. Be aware of this trap. Rise above it no matter what you may be dealing with and find ways each day to share the hope and love of Christ with someone. God did not place people in your life, in your path each day by accident. It is your opportunity to serve Him, and lay up treasures in heaven for eternity as opposed to focusing on the treasures of this life that will all one day pass away.

The goal of every child of God should be to please HIM, and let God use our lives to make a difference for HIS Kingdom!

In His love and service,

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller