CURRENT RADIO SERIES The Power of Love   CURRENT TV SERIES A Life That Pleases God

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. --2 Timothy 2:15 I remember when I was a student at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, and there was a group of young men who were preparing to go into ministry. They had come in as ministerial students and they liked to talk about how they pictured themselves up on platforms and in pulpits, preaching and winning people to Christ. But so often when Sunday morning would roll around, these same guys who wanted great public ministries wouldn’t even get out of bed to go to church. And then they wondered later why God couldn’t use them. It’s because they weren’t prepared! You see, God wants to use you to do something great. But you have to make yourself available to Him if you want to be used! It seems like there’s a prevailing attitude among so many Christians today that God will excuse and compensate for their laziness. But today’s passage couldn’t be clearer… preparation is key! Are you currently preparing yourself for the next great way God wants to use you? Or are you content to simply sit and wait, hoping God will bless your non-efforts? Do your best to be prepared so when the time is right, God can look at you and say, “Now, let’s go!” CHRISTIANS SHOULD ALWAYS BE PREPARING FOR HOW GOD WILL USE THEM NEXT. SO AS YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE, GROW IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN HE’LL CALL! Do You Really Mean It? Tuesday, November 05, 2019 by Dr. Paul Chappell “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.” Mark 10:17–20 When the man we sometimes refer to as the “rich young ruler” came to Jesus with his question about the way to eternal life, he called Jesus “Good Master” before asking what he could do to inherit eternal life. Rather than answering his question, Jesus asked him a question in return. Jesus was probing the sincerity of this man’s interest (though of course He already knew) so he would be forced to confront the roadblock to his faith—his reliance on his great wealth for his standing with God. Jesus interrogated him to show whether he really meant what he said or not when he called Jesus “Good Master.” Since only God is good, if this young man wanted to call Jesus good, he would have to confess Jesus’ divinity and his own inability to get to Heaven by good works. But there is another implication for us who have already trusted Christ as our Saviour. To confess Jesus as God requires submission and obedience to Him. He has the right to tell us what to do and what not to do, and we have the responsibility to obey. The young man was unwilling to do what Jesus said. “And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:22). As Christians, when we profess our intention to do what God says, we must follow through with our actions. Christianity is a life religion, not a lip religion. If we profess our submission to God but live in rebellion, we are demonstrating that our obedience is only on the surface. Today's Growth Principle:  It is not enough to say the right things about God. We must also demonstrate our sincerity by our actions.