Pastor’s Corner: “Inside Job”
1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV) – The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Looks can be deceiving”? That statement is so true. You know who “looked” really good, genuine, and godly? Judas Iscariot, the man who eventually betrayed Jesus Christ. He was the most trusted one of the twelve disciples. How do we know that? We know because the other eleven made him the treasurer. Judas was the poster child for hypocrisy. He was a thief and a fraud and a money-grubbing opportunist; but no one could see it. Even when Jesus told the disciples that Judas was the betrayer, they didn’t understand (John 13:25-30).Surely Judas would not betray Jesus. He looked SO GOOD on the outside. Judas fooled everyone, except Jesus.
GOD SEES AND KNOWS – There are lots of people who live like Judas. They look good on the outside, but they are rotten on the inside. They fool everyone into thinking they are godly and selfless, but their true motives are evil. They “serve God” for gain, recognition, and selfish interests. They fool everyone they meet, everyone except God. We all should ask ourselves these questions: Why do you do the things you do? Do you “serve God” for you or for Him? Is your heart pure? Are your motives right? Is it really all about Jesus and His glory, or is it about you and your glory? 1 Corinthians 4:5 tells us that when Jesus comes back, He “will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”
Do you know the difference between Christianity and religion? Religion is an outside job: you are trying to do external things to please God and somehow merit his favor. You are trying to clean the outside of the cup while the inside of the cup stays dirty. Religion is an exercise in futility as it can do nothing to deal with the heart of the problem, which is the problem of the heart. YOUR HEART.
Christianity, on the other hand, is an inside job. The Lord moves into your life and cleans the inside of the cup. He gives you a new heart and begins to change your life from the inside out. Christianity is NOT gritting your teeth to try to be like Jesus, it is trusting Him who lives in you to live through you. It really is Christ in you, the hope of glory. In a very real way, every Christian can be Jesus with skin to a lost and dying world. Colossians 1:27 (NIV) – 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Will you endeavor today and every day to be Jesus with skin to those who desperately need to see and feel Him? Will you start each morning by surrendering to Him as Lord of all in your life? Will you continue to cooperate with Holy Spirit’s work inside you, so others can see Christ in you? Will you ask Him to show you who in your area of influence needs that special touch—a waiter/waitress, a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend whom you haven’t seen in years? Ask the Lord to make you sensitive to opportunities and shine the light of His love through you!
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton