What would you say?

What would you say? 

by David Brenneman 

When we give an account of our lives before Jesus...what will you say in regards and in response to your acts of selfishness?  We have all done many of those. I surely have.  

Sometimes we have the opportunity to ask for forgiveness, sometimes we don't.

But do we really think we decide our path in life?  That we must 'fight' for what we want?  Isn't the life of a Believer about surrendering our wants, our desires, our everything at the cross of Jesus Christ?

Our ways are not God's ways nor our thoughts His thoughts.  

We are not to follow the world in fighting for what we want in life.  We are to surrender our lives to Christ and are to be open to be used of God as the Spirit sees fit.  

We come to Christ, the Bible says, and the Spirit places us in the body of Christ as He sees fit.  He has a specific job for us in the body of Christ.  We don't present a resume and apply for what we feel is right for us or for what appeals to us.  For sure, we don't dig our heels in and tell Him what we will or won't do.  

In Christ we are part of the plan of God to reach the lost of this generation.  Those are the deeds done in our bodies that matter.  

It's not about what possessions we were granted.  Nobody who was truly living a Godly life is going to be thanking Jesus for houses, cars, money, clothing, etc. on that day they give an account of their life to Jesus.  Nobody is going to be thanking Jesus for their glorious career and how much it brought them.

Nobody will be honored for what they selfishly did that broke the covenant of God in marriage.  Nobody will be honored for climbing the corporate ladder to gain prominence for themselves. 

Nobody will be honored for any of these things:

lovers of self

lovers of money

boastful

arrogant

revilers

disobedient to parents

ungratefu

unholy

unloving

irreconcilable

malicious gossips

without self-control

brutal

haters of good

treacherous

reckless

conceited

being lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God 

(from 2 Timothy 3 NASB95 Lockman Foundation)

Many many people will try to say they did all sorts of things in His Name.  When Jesus says many, He means MANY. 

Some, likely, will indeed be Believers who will see the works of their hands burn up on that altar...having little or nothing left to give back to Jesus. 

What drives you?  

What ambitions are behind what you are doing in your life?

Some people really believe that what they are doing is indeed God honoring...yet it cannot be if they are breaking His Word in even the littlest of things written in the Bible. 

Jesus Christ said that not one letter, not one of the tiniest of parts of His Word will pass away.  

We aren't at a buffet in Christ.  We must always examine our motives.  If it's self preservation it must be 100 percent by the Spirit's direction...which means it will not break any part or portion of the Word of God.  There won't be a hint of selfishness in it.

We surrender our lives to Christ in order to not only receive salvation, but to begin sanctification.  If any element of our lives is not an example of Jesus Christ it must go.  There's supposed to be such a difference in our lives that people are supposed to see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.  

Marriage is the most attacked of the things that God established even before the rest of the things of the Bible.  Outside of the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and Adam and Eve, His marriage Covenant was the first.  Second is probably the sanctity of life, and perhaps third is gender.  All of these are attacked throughout the Bible.  Satan hates what God has joined together. Satan hates any Covenant of God.  Satan hates anything that God has deemed as truth.  Satan hates everything that keeps him from the Throne of God.  If Jesus cares for and loves humanity, Satan will pervert and do his best to destroy and commandeer humanity and humanities identity. 

What will you say? What will you do?

Will you aimlessly, and insanely, try to defend your life that's revealed on that day before Jesus?  

Will you start, today, to just live a life surrendered to the will of God for you?

It may not be what you want. 

In fact it's pretty much a given that it probably won't be what you want. 

Until we are obedient in everything we are the one with the problem.  

What we want means nothing in the grander scheme of things.  What does Jesus say? What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?  What will he give in exchange for his soul?

We aren't promised prosperity and happiness as the world gives or offers it.

We are promised quite something different. Peace as God gives it. 

We are promised that the world isn't going to like our message of salvation that is fir all people. That they're going to persecute.

We are to be obedient to Christ Jesus in everything.  Again there is a set date that we will give an account of our lives before Jesus, for everything we have done in our bodies FOR HIM.  Not for ourselves. 

Will you be ashamed standing before Jesus because your life was actually laced with selfishness?  That you intentionally lived for self because you refused the path He set before you? 

What will you say?