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Singleness of Heart

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Jared Meredith

Acts 2 : 41-47

[41] Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
[42] And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
[43] And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
[44] And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
[45] And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
[46] And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
[47] Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Having a constant, daily walk with God will not only give singleness of heart, but peace in your mind. With God first in our lives, we can be an active participant in unity. Unity will bring one mind and one accord with all of us working together to be as servants in the body of Christ. If we possess the love of a family with good fellowship, we will definitely be a better fit to be able to reach out and help lead anyone that we can to make Jesus Christ the Lord of their life.

Ephesians 6 : 5-8

[5] Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
[6] Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
[7] With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
[8] Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

When we are obedient to those around us with the guidance and love of God in our lives, the light of love that shines within us will be brighter than anything else that we go through. Most importantly, without our vision to always have God as our number one focus, this light over time grows dim, leading us to try and live life on our own.

Colossians 3:22-24

[22] Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
[23] And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
[24] Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Always remember that God is always watching over us. We are never left alone; God is always looking at our every thought we make and decision we choose. So even in the times we do not feel like it, remember to do good things to those around you. When your good deeds are noticed, let the reason for your great accomplishments toward someone be your key to opening the door to their heart. If their heart is opened up to you by your kindness to them, you have the perfect opportunity to lead that person to God.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

[9] And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
[10] And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

When Jabez called out on God, he was saying to bless him, and help him to not do anything else that would grieve him. We can not only call out to God for help like this, but also call out that he also blesses “us”. Remembering to have compassion for your peers around you is so important for them to be able to see within you. When people see that love of God and that you are not selfishly thinking of just yourself, you will gain favor and respect with not only them, but God as well.

Responsibility With Grace

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Jared Meredith

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When you are a kid, you can’t stand it. When you are a teenager, you do it just because you are made to. When you are an adult, you do it and forget it when you leave at the end of the day. When you are an older adult, you retire to get away from it all.

What am I talking about? Work of course!

I know why we have to take care of our every day needs with work on your job and at home, but why must we do it with such grace? It seems easy to give no effort and to get by with the minimum. But as we all know, there is a lot of work involved in getting out there, being responsible, and taking care of business, with success in all of it as the goal.

In the midst of all the required responsibilities, I hope that I get you to see a couple thoughts from this. To try and bring my point out more, I will make this into two scenarios:

The first person does all the required work, but with an attitude and resent to everyone around them. They take on the essential “do what I have to” attitude, while having no concept of charity.

The second person realizes that while work is work, that work is not the boss of their life, and they can still enjoy life with love and laughter.

My question is, which person do you feel like you are drawn to? It could be both, or you might be somewhere in between, just disgusted with it all. I could talk more and more about natural responsibility, but that’s not what this ministry is all about. I’m talking about your responsibility to God and the church.

Responsibility is knowing and doing what both God and others are expecting from you:

Ephesians 6:5

“Servants, be obedient to them that are [your] masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ”

In hindsight, we need to remember that we are not here just for ourselves, despite popular opinion telling you alone to grab life by the horns, to live it up for yourself. That’s just not how it works. There are others that need you to be everything that you can be always. We do not have time to be anything otherwise!

Responsibility is realizing the importance of the task assigned to us:

Ephesians 6:6

“Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart”

In all of the things we do, remember who you are serving. I’m not working to serve money; it just happens to be a benefit of my responsibility. I don’t do what I do to earn the popular opinion; I’ll never win the hearts of everyone, being since I cannot make everyone like me all at the same time. I do what I do in my life in service to my God and the people that surround me. I want those around me to succeed, but I want God to be pleased with all that I do. Let God run the rule in your life, and he’ll make those things you need to work around you be successful!

Responsibility is having a clear conscience before God and man:

1 Corinthians 4:5

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”

Each day we live, we are writing another page to our life book. That which we leave behind is all that will be remembered, if at all. If anything, the things that I want to be remembered for is being a friend of God and a Godly friend to you, showing love and compassion as God did to me. It’s not the objects you leave that make an impact, it’s by your example and the testimony of what impact you made to others.

Of course, I rambled over on this devotional, but remember this: that and who you are responsible for matters, and YOU matter! But God should matter most, and he’ll equip you with the provision you ask for!

God Bless You!!!