Goal

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Your Ultimate Goal

Daniel 9:3

"And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:"

Let me ask you a question, and before you read any further I want you to write your answer down on a piece of paper. What is your ultimate goal in life? When you look at the end of your life, what is it that you want to have accomplished?

The goals of people are as diverse as their personalities. It is no doubt that many have a goal of success. When you look at the amount of success books in today's society, you will understand that people want to succeed. What they want to succeed at is certainly different, but they want to succeed. There are pastors whose ultimate goal is to have a large church. Of course, there is nothing wrong with having a large church. There are many people whose goal it is to be wealthy. There are some whose goal is to move up the corporate ladder. There are others whose goal is to be famous in society. Then there are some whose goal is to have a happy family, or a successful marriage. Of course, these things I just mentioned are a few of the goals that many people have.

However, when you look at Daniel's life, he did not seek any of these things. The verse above says, "And I set my face unto the Lord God,..." Daniel's ultimate goal in life was to know God. He spent his life seeking the face of God. He did not seek money or position, he sought God. He did not seek fame or recognition, he sought God. He did not seek success or religious achievement, he sought God. The only thing that really mattered to Daniel was to get to know God. He was so determined to know God that he fasted and prayed just so he could know Him. Yet, you may wonder if this desire to seek God allowed him to "succeed" in life. Yes, it did! Though he did not seek position, he became the second in command in Babylon. He did not seek recognition, but certainly he was a household name around the world as Babylon was the world power in his day. He did not seek riches, yet I would imagine his position allowed him to be financially set for life. All of this happened because his ultimate goal in life was to know God.

I asked you at the beginning of this devotional to write down your ultimate goal in life. Now let me ask you this, was your goal to know God? If you have anything else written down on that piece of paper, then you have the wrong motive for your life. You must understand that knowing God will allow you to accomplish many of the things that people desire. However, seeking God should be your ultimate goal in life. When you get to know God, He will give you the wisdom to succeed in life. Though your purpose in knowing God should not be so that you can succeed in life, yet knowing God will make these things happen.

Christian, it is time to refocus your purpose and ultimate goal in life. Don't let the world's focus be your focus. Make your focus in life to know God. Set your face to seek God. Make your ultimate desire in life to know God as Daniel knew Him. You will find that when you get to know God, that He will give you wisdom to do what is right in every area of life. You cannot know God without Him influencing every area of your life. When God influences every area of your life, then you will find that His influence will cause every area to get better. Start your quest today to know God. Make that your ultimate goal.

Removing

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Removing the World's Ties

Daniel 3:23

"And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace."

We sing the song, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through..." The problem with passing through this world is that the world often is very unfriendly to the Christian. We find as we pass through this world that it will often place it's ropes upon us to bind us, keeping us from being free to do God's will for our lives.

The three Hebrew children found themselves in this situation. Nebuchadnezzar had set up an image for everyone to worship. His command was that everyone should bow to this image when the music began to play. However, the three Hebrew children would not bow to this image, for they knew they were not to bow down to any graven images. Their stand for right caused them to face the fiery furnace. What is interesting is that when they were thrown into the furnace, they were bound by the ropes of the world. Yet, when they came out of the furnace, the only thing on them that was burnt were the ropes. These men saw the ties of the world removed from their lives when they walked out of the fire. However, there were four steps they had to take to remove the world's ties.

First, they had to take an uncompromising stand. When others around them were bowing to the image, these young men stood strong for what they believed. You will never be loosed from the ties of the world when you bow to the world's offers. Christian, God never said that serving Him would be easy. If Jesus had to face the cross, then why do you think that you can go through this life without having to take a stand? The more you bow to the threats of the world, the more ties the world will place upon you. The first step in removing the world's ties is to stop worrying about the consequences and take an uncompromising stand.

Second, these men had to have faith in God's promises. They had faith that God would see them through the fire. Their faith did not waver in the face of persecution. You will never see the ties of the world removed from your life until you act upon the promises of God. Sure, it takes faith to act upon God's promises, but you will never please God until you step out upon His promises.

Third, these men had to endure the fire to see the world's ties removed. You will notice that the ties were not removed until they went into the fire. Likewise, you will never see the world's ties removed from your life until you endure the fire of life's trials. Everybody has trials that they must endure. Some endure the fiery trial of health, while others must endure financial struggles. Some endure the fiery trials of ridicule, while others must endure the loss of a loved one. Whatever the trial is that you face, you will never see the world's ties removed from your life while you run from it. You must endure your trial if you want the world's ties removed.

Last, these men had to walk with God. It was their walk with God while in the fire that removed the ties of the world. When you continue to walk with God in the fiery trials, you will find the world's ropes that bind you will fall off. You will find more freedom walking with God in the fire than you ever will outside the fire.

Christian, with what has the world bound you? Until you take these four steps, you will never see these ties removed. Yet, once they are removed, you will find a freedom that the world will never know. Don't run from these four steps, but embrace them as your steps to a life of freedom in Christ Jesus.

Stay inside the Lines

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Stay Inside the Lines

Ezekiel 47:13

"Thus saith the Lord God; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions."

Many people have lived by borders from an early age. When you watch children in a car, they will establish their imaginary borders that they don't want their siblings to cross. Teachers will teach their young students when they color a picture to stay within the lines. Drivers are expected to stay within the yellow lines when they are driving. Borders are a part of life.

When God established the inheritances of the tribes of Israel, He made sure that they had borders. These borders were there so that each tribe would clearly know what their inheritance was. God knew that one way to keep peace among His people was to have clearly established borders for them to live within.

Likewise, your life will never experience peace without having borders. Every part of your life should have borders. One of the reasons people live in turmoil is because they leave the boundaries of their borders, thus causing strife with others and within themselves. Peace is one of the most desired things in life. However, if you are going to have personal peace, then you will have to establish borders in your life.

If a workplace is going to have peace, then their needs to be clearly defined borders of everyone's duties. One of the causes of strife and discontentment in the workplace is because the boss did not define the boundaries of the duties of each employee. Without these duties being defined, you will have people crossing over into the duties of others. Moreover, a boss needs to be sure that each employee understands that they are expected to stay within the borders of their duties. A boss must not allow employees to cross over into another's realm of duties if they expect there to be peace in the workplace. When every employee stays within their defined borders of their duties, then all employees have a better chance of getting along.

You must also establish borders in the home if you want your home to be peaceful. The husband and wife need to know their areas of control. If one spouse is in charge of the inside, then the other spouse needs to stay out of that area so that conflict is not established. Likewise, your children need to know what is and is not theirs. If parents will clearly define borders in the home for duties and expectations, then you will have a better chance of having peace amongst your children.

Furthermore, be sure to establish borders with right and wrong. When you clearly define what is right and wrong, you give clear direction of what to do and what not to do. This creates a peace within a person that they know they are doing right. Don't blur the lines of right and wrong, but make the lines of right and wrong very clear.

Finally, establish borders with your time. What I mean by this is you need to live by schedule. A schedule is a border of time. Your schedule tells you the allotment of time that you give to each responsibility that needs to be done. It tells you when to do that responsibility. The establishment of borders with your time will help to remove undo stress.

God created us with a need of borders. Throughout creation you see the borders that God established for us. You will never experience peace to its fullest without having established borders in every area of your life.

Revenge

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Dealing with Revenge

Ezekiel 25:15

"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;"

They often say that revenge is sweet. However, revenge never gives the satisfaction that one thinks it would give. It is amazing how a person can dwell a long time on getting revenge, but when the revenge has been administered there is an empty feeling of dissatisfaction. The reason is because revenge is a selfish action that a person wants to administer to another because of what they did to them. There are many serving prison sentences who got revenge, but they will pay for it the rest of their lives with no satisfaction to show for it.

The verse above deals with the subject of revenge. God told the Philistines that He was going to judge them because they dealt revenge to Israel. God saw that the Philistines acted out of revenge, and not out of obedience to Him. Therefore, their vengeful actions would cause them to suffer the judgment of God.

Dealing with revenge is an important matter for every Christian. God forbids us from getting revenge. Proverbs 24:29 says, "Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work." Notice that God said that those who practice revenge will see His judgment on their lives. Furthermore, Leviticus 19:18 says, "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord." Revenge is not the attitude that a Christian is to have, but a Christian is to love people instead of trying to get even with them for what they did.

Revenge is one action that only God should administer. Romans 12:19 says, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." When we try to get revenge with people, we are taking God's place. The reason God cannot trust us with revenge is because He knows that we cannot get revenge with the right heart. That was one of the problems with the Philistines in the verse above. They administered revenge out of a heart of spite. Their purpose for revenge was not to help, but to hurt.

So, what is the purpose of revenge? Ezekiel 25:17 says that the purpose of revenge is to get people to see that God is the LORD. That's why God can't trust us with revenge, because we don't want revenge so that people will look up to God, but we want revenge to get even with someone. The whole reason that God is the only One Who can administer revenge is because He is the only One Who will do it with the right heart and purpose.

You may wonder how to handle your desire to get revenge. Romans 12:19 says that the way to handle revenge is to "...give place unto wrath:..." Whenever you want to get even with someone, learn to give that person space so that your wrath has a chance to cool down. Most people will not want to get revenge if they will give themselves time to cool down. During the time when you want revenge, pray and ask God to help change your attitude. As hard as it may be, pray and ask God to help you to love the person with whom you want revenge. God can help you to love them, and once His love is placed in your heart, then you will find that the desire for revenge will no longer exist. Don't let your desire for revenge win, but let the love of God win. You will find more satisfaction when God's love wins than you ever will through revenge.

No second generation

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Righteousness Has No Second Generation

Ezekiel 18:20

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."

We often hear about people who are what we call second-generation Christians. A second-generation Christian is one who was reared in a Christian home and who is now an adult. One of the sad things I see is it is very common to see the lack of spirituality among second-generation Christians. Many second-generation Christians attended church regularly while growing up, and often they went to a Christian school. Because of the spirituality of their parents, many times a second generation Christian will have the mentality that they inherited the righteousness and Christianity of their parents. However, righteousness and Christianity cannot be inherited, for these are conditions of the heart and actions that previous generations cannot give you.

The verse above makes it very clear that you cannot inherit righteousness. The only way you can be righteous is by living a righteous life. Your parents righteousness cannot be passed along to you. Likewise, just because your preacher is a very spiritual man does not mean that you are spiritual. I had the privilege of having Dr. Jack Hyles, a prominent Christian and pastor of his time, as my pastor for many years. However, just because I was under his ministry did not mean that I inherited his spirituality.

Likewise, just because you are a member of a large church does not mean that you are spiritual. Throughout my lifetime I have had the privilege of being a member of some very large churches. These churches have been known in fundamentalism as great churches. However, just because I have been a member of these churches does not mean that I am spiritual or righteous. My spirituality and righteousness is completely reliant upon how I live and what I do with Christ.

Furthermore, just because you were born in a "Christian" nation does not make you a Christian. Being born in a car wouldn't make you car. Likewise, being born in a Christian nation doesn't make you a Christian, and being a beneficiary of living with or under someone who is righteous doesn't make you a good or righteous person.

You must realize that your righteousness is dependent upon how you live. What others before you have done does not make you what they are. If others before you lived unrighteously, then you can decide to live righteously by not living like they did. Likewise, if others before you lived a righteous life, you must still decide to live a righteous life because it cannot inherited.

Finally, you are responsible for your own actions. You are your own fault. What I mean by this statement is you are what you are because you choose to be that way. Nobody makes you the way you are but you. Therefore, if you don't like something about yourself, then change the way you are by doing right. Furthermore, if you are going to continue to be known as a righteous person, then you must continue to live right. Be careful about taking on the mentality that your surroundings and background make you spiritual and righteous. Always stay focused on the fact that the way you live daily determines how righteous and spiritual you truly are. Righteousness is never inherited, it's always lived.