Today is Saturday, May 19, 2018. Hi, my name is Adam Burton and you are listening to The Daily Devo, a short devotional designed to help you apply God's word to your life. The content comes from the Gospel Project. Take a few moments and read the 2nd Corinthians, chapter 8, verses 1-15, and chapter 9, verses 6-15.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ takes total control in the heart of someone who has surrendered to it. The Gospel works in our hearts and transforms us so that our desires begin to change, becoming more Christ-like under the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit who has taken up residence in us. That one of the places we most try to maintain sovereignty over, our stuff, is one of the places Jesus most wants to exercise his lordship. Think of Jesus' encounter with the tax collector, Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus's heart was apparently as small as his wallet was large. When he climbed up into that tree, to hear Jesus' teaching, he was confronted personally indirectly and the resulting change he experienced through Jesus' grace extended to his deepest idolatries. The treasure he found in the riches of Christ was so incredible that Zacchaeus was willing to hold all of his worldly goods loosely, committing to give half of his possessions to the poor and to pay back everything he'd taken four times over. You may not treasure actual treasure, but we all have idols in our hearts, we are tempted to give our loyalty, things, peoples, ideas, ambitions, and dreams.
From these idols we get our sense of worth, fulfillment and validation. Until we're willing to put everything under Jesus' lordship and he graciously removes these idols from the throne of our hearts, we won't fully surrender to him and we won't fully be of service to others. Think about this. What are some treasures that we value more than Jesus?
How can we demonstrate a heart of greediness with these treasures at times? If you are in need of prayer, please get in touch with me. I would love to pray for you. You can connect with me on social media or shoot me an email at www.adonburton.net.
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