hballingerLeave a comment

“For Reward” is NOT “For God”

http://bible.com/116/mat.6.3-4.nlt
But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.  Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Life Application
It’s easier to do what’s right when we gain recognition and praise. To be sure our motives are not selfish, we should do our good deeds quietly or in secret, with no thought of reward. Jesus says we should check our motives in three areas: generosity (Matt 6:4), prayer (Matt 6:6), and fasting (Matt 6:18). Those acts should not be self-centered, but God-centered, done not to make us look good but to make God look good. The reward God promises is not material, and it is never given to those who seek it. Doing something only for ourselves is not a loving sacrifice. With your next good deed, ask, “Would I still do this if no one would ever know I did it?”

Personal Observation
Sometimes it is hard for me to gauge the true intentions behind what I say and do. I look at things like sharing my journal publicly and being involved in various other witnessing/evangelistic efforts, and I begin to question myself. What are my true motives? Am I just wanting others to see me and recognize and acknowledge me? Or am I wanting others to know a closer walk with God themselves?

Continue reading ““For Reward” is NOT “For God”” →

hballingerLeave a comment

We aren’t playing peek-a-boo

http://bible.com/116/mat.5.14-16.nlt
You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Life Application Devotional
Can you hide a city that is sitting on top of a hill? Its light at night can be seen for miles. If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like. We hide our light by (1) being quiet when we should speak, (2) going along with the crowd, (3) denying the light, (4) letting sin dim our light, (5) not explaining our light to others, or (6) ignoring the needs of others. Be a beacon of truth-don’t shut your light off from the rest of the world.

Observation
We are on vacation this week with family.  We are talking a break from our normal work and circles of people. We get to play games with our daughter, all kinds of new games. But she’s 4 and a half now,  so no more peek-a-boo. It’s all new games as she grows and learns new things each year,  the vacations change little by little. And it’s very different from the precise schedule of our busy week of life at home.

Continue reading “We aren’t playing peek-a-boo” →

hballingerLeave a comment

God type blessings

http://bible.com/116/mat.5.11-12.nlt God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.  Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
image

Observation
I see people twist this message so horribly that it is no wonder that people are confused by all of the false teaching out there. I hear people twist the beattitudes into a “if you do this,  you will receive blessings” – as if God provided a magical recipe book for worldly prosperity. How deep into the darkness will the wolves lead the goats to slaughter?

It does not say “if you suffer, then you will receive blessing as compensation for your sufferings”. No, it says that God bless you WHEN these things happen to you. The sufferings are the blessing.

Continue reading “God type blessings” →

hballingerLeave a comment

He sees you, what does He see in you?

http://bible.com/116/psa.33.18.nlt
But the Lord watches over those who fear Him,
those who rely on his unfailing love.
image

Observation
He watches over me. Just think about that for a moment. Hear it like a child.

The Lord watches over me.

Let’s step outside of the familiar religious attitude of listening with our minds,  and let’s hear this message with our young,  new hearts.

The Lord watches over me.

Yes, everything I do. Even every word I say. Even every thought that enters my mind. The Lord watches over me.

Continue reading “He sees you, what does He see in you?” →

hballingerLeave a comment

Why I don’t solicit for money, I solicit for your testimony

http://bible.com/116/1co.9.14-18.nlt
In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it. Yet I have never used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that I want to start now. In fact, I would rather die than lose my right to boast about preaching without charge. Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!
If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust. What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News without charging anyone. That’s why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News.
image

Observation
There is a danger in becoming a hired hand to the religious machine. Once we’ve chained ourselves to funding budgets for great buildings and programs and salaries, and we rely upon the support of people in the way of tithes,  offerings,  collections,  or solicitations – there is opportunity for the message to be compromised because we consider the possible consequences of sharing a truthful message that won’t be well received by a rebellious group of supporters that might in turn adversity effect our ability to “pay the bills”.

Continue reading “Why I don’t solicit for money, I solicit for your testimony” →

hballingerLeave a comment

Prove It

Today’s Manna – Our Daily Bread
http://bible.com/116/mat.3.8.nlt
Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.

Life Application Devotional
John the Baptist called people to more than words or ritual; he told them to change their behavior. “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins” means that God looks beyond our words and religious activities to see if our conduct backs up what we say, and he judges our words by the actions that accompany them. Do your actions match your words?

Observation
More often than I like to admit, I share my lessons, and at some point in that very day, an opportunity arises and I realize that the lesson was written on my heart but that I am being sanctified but that I am not yet perfected. Because on the very day that I shared a message, I examine my own life and see how I missed the mark in a certain situation. But I also recognize there were times where it made a difference.

Continue reading “Prove It” →

hballingerLeave a comment

My Wife, My Blessing

Eight years ago today, I woke my wife up at 3AM to propose to her.

That moment together,  in the quietness of the night, seeing the ring on her finger for the first time, knowing that she was going to be my wife, knowing that we would start a family together and spend our time together until our time was over. It was a different time in our lives. So much has changed. We’ve been shuffled and rearranged.

As I watch a family member lose his wife this past week, I am reminded how precious and short our time together can be. I’m so thankful for my amazing,  beautiful,  loving, and strong wife. If I were to go first,  I know that she would maintain her faith and lead our daughter down the path of a life seeking and honoring God. I hope that she might know that same trust in me.

Continue reading “My Wife, My Blessing” →

hballingerLeave a comment

Ask for Rain

Today’s Manna – Our Daily Bread
http://bible.com/116/zec.10.1.nlt
Ask the Lord for rain in the spring,
for He makes the storm clouds.
And He will send showers of rain
so every field becomes a lush pasture.

Observation
How rarely do I ask God for the things that I need? How often do I find myself overlooking the pattern of the Lord’s prayer and leaving out one of the crucial components necessary for a full spiritual life?

You see,  rain to a shepherd is everything. It is what brings life. It is not something trivial and unimportant, but it is what either brings crops and fruit and growth, or what never brings life to the parched and empty soil.

For us believers, the Holy Spirit is our rain. He teaches us and guides us and comforts us. He is that part of God that comes and lives in us and through us as we are sanctified.

Continue reading “Ask for Rain” →

hballingerLeave a comment

Silence

Today’s Manna – Our Daily Bread
http://bible.com/116/hab.2.20.nlt
But the Lord is in his holy Temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.

image

Observation
How rarely we are silent.

How rarely we are patient enough to listen for the Lord.

How often we let the noise of the distractions of this world fill our ears.

Continue reading “Silence” →

hballingerLeave a comment

Without Trust, we walk alone

image

Today’s Manna – Our Daily Bread
http://bible.com/116/hab.2.18.nlt
What good is an idol carved by man,
or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can’t even talk!

Life Application Devotional
Idolatry may seem like a sin that modern people need not fear. But idolatry is not just bowing down to idols; it is trusting in what one has made, and therefore, in one’s own power as creator and sustainer. If we say we worship God but put our trust in bank accounts, homes, businesses, and organizations, then we are idolaters. Do you trust God more than you trust what your hands have made?

Observation
Where do we put our trust? What do we desire?

Continue reading “Without Trust, we walk alone” →