Do you work hard doing good for others? Are you constantly looking for opportunities to continue to do good? Are you under the impression that by doing good you can earn your way to heaven?
There are many who think the more good they do the better chance they have to spend eternity with God. We see them volunteering for all types of organizations. Perhaps we are doing this ourselves.
It is not that doing good for others should be ignored. But take a look at today’s passage closely. We are to offer a sacrifice of praise to God. We are to profess His name openly. He is to be at the forefront of our minds. We are to do this while not forgetting to do good and share with others.
What does this mean? It means our attitude toward doing good matters. Are we doing good to earn our way to heaven? Or are we doing good because we are praising God and know we already have heaven promised? If we answer yes to the first question, we will wear ourselves out, doing the work out of our own strength. If we answer yes to the second question, we will naturally do good in the strength God provides, not growing weary.
It comes down to our trust and confidence in God’s promises. When we trust God and the promises He has made, we have an abundance of strength, energy, and focus on the work He has prepared for us to do. We sing His praises and tell others about Jesus. That doesn’t mean we are obnoxious about it. But when asked, we state it is Jesus who is the genesis of our good works. We pray before going about the work. We give thanks for the good work when done. He has the stronger focus rather than the work.
Why is it considered a sacrifice to praise God? When we praise Him with all our heart, we set aside our desires to carry out His. We give up our preferences to serve Him. Our objections to getting messy in this world go away in order to serve those He wants us to serve. Our praise comes from both our lips and in our service. But we must first be willing to praise Him with our hearts and through our confessions of faith.
I pray we all praise God with our hearts, minds, souls, and words. I pray we surrender to His guidance. I pray each of us put God first followed by our willingness to do the good works He has set aside for us. Praise God. Praise Jesus. Put Him first. Follow His guidance. Do the works He set aside for you. Trust God’s promises.
Hebrews 13:15-16 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Marty Pressey 