Leviticus 9, Psalms 10, Proverbs 24, 1 Thessa 3

^“11 Rescue those being led away to death;  hold back those staggering toward slaughter.” Proverbs 24

This verse jumped at me the second time I read over Proverbs 24. Sometimes when I read absentmindedly, I let my eyes and brain fill in what I think should be in the passage. Upon closer review, this did not appear to be a typical proverb.

This does not even sound like advice. It sounds like a direct command. A command I am not obeying in my life.

In high school I used to space out sometimes during class and glance around the room. I would think: “How many of these people are headed towards heaven– and how many are not?” And then I would ask a bigger question: “Do I care?”

I believe that God wants to place in our hearts His breaking heart for those we bump shoulders with every day. He wants to give them life in abundance–life like a year at the beach, like an eternal road trip into an ever-setting sun, like a picnic with the family when laughter never ceases–for the temporal and the eternal. For the here and the now that continues into the There and forever.

I want to rescue people from death. I want be used to lead people into an ultimately satisfying, never-ending romance with a beautiful, risen Savior.

Eternal Father,

Certain things only You do. Awakening an awareness of the urgent fate of those around me is one of those things. Thanks for growing in me an aching heart for the lost. I want to pursue them with the ferocity with which You pursued my dying soul and lead them to the Rescuer. I would be blessed to be a part of this.

-Christian

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Leviticus 8; Psalm 9; Proverbs 23; 1 Thessalonians 2

“On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.” 1 Thessalonians 2:4, NIV

My friend whose husband is a pastor told me about a conflict in their church. Her husband had made a decision that he knew obeyed and honored God, but several church members were angry with him. Publicly. And then they left his church. Even though he was discouraged, the pastor  summed up the situation with these words: “I’m called to be the pastor God wants…which isn’t always the pastor they want.”

I admire his humble and faithful obedience, even in the face of rejection and scorn. In the same way, Paul wrote the believers in Thessalonica that he wasn’t about trying to please men, but God. Paul cared little for man’s approval–but he lived to bring glory to God alone.

Lord, bring me to a place where I want Your favor more than the praise of man. Too often I jump to please or impress people. But God, test my heart. Be my vision and my motivation. Let Your name and renown be the desire of my heart! (Isaiah 26:8) Amen.

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