Quote from Forum Archives on August 30, 2002, 9:59 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Today, I'd like to share with you the Thursday edition of Neil
Anderson's Daily Devotional because it concerns the very place
that God wants us to be - fixed upon Him, obedient, and yearning
to do His will, instead of doing what we may think is best. It
shouldn't be difficult at all for any true follower of Christ to
realize that each of us has a strong tendency to self
preservation and doing what satisfies us. In emotionally
disturbed individuals, that may take a strange twist, but
generally speaking, we tend to be self serving. I think this
message is right on the mark, and it is a familiar story to those
who have been church goers for years, yet I wonder how much we
think about the significance of the message.

My prayer for today and for this week is that each of us will
honestly turn to God for the answers to all of our issues, not
just when we're looking for yet another confirming, feel good
experience. Our hope doesn't come from the things in the world -
many of us have lost hope in such things anyway. Our hope comes
from Christ - we know what God is like when we know Christ
personally.

Dear Lord, I need this reminder to turn to You and consciously
turn away from my own thinking and my own ways of solving things.
Please help me to rely on You in everything, especially when I go
seeking to "feel good". May Your Holy Spirit guide me in all
things, that I may yield to Your purpose for my life, rejoicing
in what You have in store for me today.

I pray, beginning with my own relationship with You, yet I
realize that there are so many out there who are lost and
struggling without You. My other prayer is that You would so
change my life and my heart that I may become a useful light - an
illumination of the dark things around us - not to point to
myself, but to direct people to You, for You are our only hope.
Help me, in whatever I think, do, and say, to reflect the kind of
attitude that You have toward me and toward each of us, that I
may shine hope for others to see and embrace. Amen.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

N E I L A N D E R S O N D A I L Y D E V O T I O N A L
from Freedom in Christ Ministries

August 29

SELF-CENTERED VS. GOD-CENTERED

You are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's
(Matthew 16:23).

The apostle Peter is a glaring example of the struggle between
self- and Christ-centered living. Only moments after Peter
confessed the fundamental truth that Jesus Christ is the Messiah,
the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:13-16), he found himself in
league with the powers of darkness. Having just blessed Peter for
his noble confession, Jesus announced to him and the other
disciples the suffering and death which awaited Him at Jerusalem.
"And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God
forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You'" (verse 22).

Jesus responded: "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block
to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but
man's" (verse 23).

Jesus' memorable rebuke seems mercilessly severe. But the fact
that He identified Satan as the source of Peter's words describes
precisely and appropriately the character of the advice Peter
tried to give: "Save yourself at all costs. Sacrifice duty to
self-interest, the cause of Christ to personal convenience."
Peter's advice was satanic in principle, for Satan's primary aim
is to promote self-interest as the chief end of man. Satan is
called the "prince of this world" because self-interest rules the
secular world. He is called the "accuser of the brethren" because
he does not believe that even a child of God has a higher motive
than self-service. You can almost hear him hissing, "All men are
selfish at heart and have their price. Some may hold out longer
than others, but in the end every man will prefer his own things
to the things of God."

That's Satan's creed, and unfortunately the lives of all too many
Christians validate his claims. Satan has deceived them into
thinking they are serving themselves when in fact they are
serving the world, the flesh, and the devil. But the Christian
worldview has a different center. Jesus confronts our humanistic,
self-serving grids and offers the view from the cross. Only from
this center can you escape the bondage of the one whose sole
intent is "to steal, and kill, and destroy" (John 10:10).

Loving Father, help me forsake self-centered attitudes and
actions in order to take up my cross daily and serve You.

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This daily devotional is published and distributed by
Crosswalk.com. It is written by Neil Anderson at
< www.ficm.org >.

Additional devotionals are available from Crosswalk.com:
< devotionals.crosswalk.com >.
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=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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