I really thought there were material things in this life that were important. I saw people living in luxurious furnishings. I saw their fine cars and their exclusive clothing. That seemed important, for a moment at least. Then I saw something else. I saw that so many who had all these things were living empty lives. I saw them grasping for some measure of happiness. I saw them looking into the bottle to give them some relief from their worried business deals. I saw them involved in extramarital affairs to bring them to "completeness." I saw all of this in the lives of people who worked in the office where I worked. Then I looked at humble, dedicated Christians -- members of the congregation where I preached. I saw the genuine joy and rich fulfillment that was evident in that new convert. And then I prayed ... "O God, forgive me for my longings for the material things in life! Forgive me for my envy of the unrighteous and their possessions ... ! O God, help me to be like that newborn Christian in being totally happy in my relationship with You. Make me a simple servant of Yours."

I watched a child at play. He had no worries about what he would eat, what he would wear, or where he would live. He had a father and mother who he knew would care for him. He was so contented and happy. And then then I prayed ... "O God, make me like that little child. Help me always to remember that, I, too, have a father who will provide all I will ever need if I seek Him and His will first. Help me to be like that little child in contentment and peace of mind. Help me to always have the trust in my heavenly Father that he has in his father. O God, make me like that little child."

I sometimes wonder if my life should be a life of preaching. I thought maybe I should go some other way. But I looked about me and saw the crying need for the word to be taught to sinners mid saints alike. And then I prayed ... "O God, help me to see the fields that are white unto harvest. Help me to know that my lot in life is to preach and teach your word. Help me to do the work of an evangelist, to make full proof of my ministry. Help me to be content in whatever financial state I am in."

I believe in the power of prayer. God truly hears my petitions. I am content with my station in life. I have all and abound. I have no compulsion for what the world has to offer. I have the riches of His mercy. I have the forgiveness of sins. I have the hope of heaven. And I have sufficient for living in this world! I would not exchange the pulpit for a throne! I looked at all this ... And then I prayed ... "O God, don't let me become arrogant with these blessings. Please help me to be humble before you 'all the days of my life! Help me to realize that someday I can exchange my life for a heavenly crown. O Lord, I love you so. Help me to show it every day that I live."

It was 2007 and I was in a very rural part of the southernmost state of Mexico: Chiapas. My dad and I had been in the car all day (or, at least, what seemed like all day), had preached at two churches, and spent time with the Christians in each place. Finally, the sun had set, and we arrived where we were finally going to be able to lay down and sleep before another eventful day. The brother there told us he knew of an individual who wanted to study the Bible. Eyes half-open, we agreed to study with this man and, by 11 PM, we were heading to the closest river, so he could be baptized. While we were getting into the backseat of the car, my dad said, "Remember what Paul said: 'Do not grow weary while doing good.'"

At that moment, I felt like I had been punched in the gut (although I didn't have much of one then). Here I was focusing on how exhausted I was without realizing what a wonderful scene was about to unfold: a new brother in Christ! But while I certainly needed an attitude adjustment then, I'm not so sure this was the exact message Paul shared with the Christians in Galatia (Galatians 6:9).

The Greek word that is translated "grow weary" in Galatians is also translated as "lose heart" in other verses and is most closely related to the idea of becoming discouraged. Paul isn't teaching that we shouldn't be physically tired when doing good. (How have you felt changing a newborn's diaper at 2 AM?) He is, however, teaching that we shouldn't become discouraged as a result of doing good. And isn't that more relevant to us anyway?

Have you ever done something good and become discouraged as a result of it? Maybe you studied the Bible with someone and they didn't believe it. Did you get discouraged? Maybe you helped someone financially only to discover that you were being taken advantage of. Did you get discouraged? Maybe you taught a Bible class and, instead of a shared interest in and appreciation for truth, you were met with criticism. Did you get discouraged? Maybe you gave someone your love and trust, only to have both violated. Did you get discouraged? I want to share three reminders to help you when you feel discouraged from doing good.

Reassess Your Motive

Many times, discouragement from doing good comes from an improper motive. If, after doing good, we find ask ourselves, "Who noticed?" or "Why didn't anyone compliment me on the good job I did?" we need to reassess why we did good in the first place. Consider what Jesus taught in Matthew 6:1-4 regarding giving to the needy. His emphasis is on doing good in secret and not for the praise of others. Our motive, contrary to what the world teaches, must be love (I Corinthians 13:1-3). We can do all the good we can, but if we have a self-serving motive, we forfeit the reward from our Father and "gain nothing" (Matthew 6:1; I Corinthians 13:3).

Don't Complain

It is easy to complain when we feel discouraged. We express our frustration with others' behavior and, if we're not careful, wade into the treacherous waters of speculation and gossip. We act the way Elijah did in I Kings 19 when he was facing severe persecution at the hand of Jezebel. We say things like, "I have done all this good for you, Lord, so why am I be treated so badly?" Aside from the simple prohibition against complaining in verses like I Corinthians 10:10 and Philippians 2:14, complaining is pernicious in that we choose to emphasize the negative over the positive. This is certainly not how Jesus behaved and cannot be how we behave (Isaiah 53:7; Luke 23:26-49).

Do Good

The most damaging result of feeling discouraged comes when we throw up our arms and give up doing anything good in the future. We say, "If this is how I'm going to feel for doing good, I might as well do nothing." Can you imagine how Satan feels when we reach that conclusion? What about God? Paul taught that our reward from God will come "if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). Nowhere in the Bible do we receive permission to give up doing good because we feel down or discouraged. Doing good is, paradoxically, the best way to overcome discouragement. Paul makes this very point: "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10).

So, my final encouragement for you is to not lose heart but to get busy doing good for the Lord. There is plenty of work to do and you are needed in that work. Yes, even you.

My mother suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. She constantly copes with pain that even strong pain pills cannot stop. So, there was a time several years ago when she was in intense pain for many days. She just thought it was an especially severe arthritis flare up. Finally, the pain was so extreme that she could not stand it. She called 911. Surgeons were waiting for the ambulance and im-mediately successful heart surgery was performed just in time to save her life.

The heart is the source of man’s physical life.  The Bible teaches, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev 17:11).  If our heart is unable to pump the blood throughout the body, we will die.

In the Bible the word “heart” is used many times with reference to man’s mental and moral activity, including his thoughts and emotions.   The heart is our “inner man”, that is, the source of our spiritual life, our relationship with God.  The state of our spiritual life is dependent on the condition of our heart.

All manner of wickedness can come from the heart (Mk 7:15-23).  On the other hand, the heart can be the source of love for God (Mk 12:29), faith in Christ (Rom 10:9-10), and the desire to seek after God’s will, to do it, and to teach it (Ezra 7:10).

What comes from the heart results in either spiritual life or spiritual death – either a relationship with God or separation from Him.  No wonder Solomon warned, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov 4:23). 

God’s Tool for the Heart

God uses a tool to work on the spiritual heart of man, to resurrect man from spi-ritual death to spiritual life, by helping him deal with the cause of that death- that spiritual separation- his sin.  Note the following example:  

It was the Jewish feast day of Pentecost, a thanksgiving to God for the first fruits of the harvest.  As usual, the streets of Jerusalem were crowded with Jews from every nation who had come to worship.  But this Pentecost was like none other.  The Holy Spirit descended on the apostles as made evident by sight (tongues of fire on the apostles’ heads) and by sound (the roar of a might wind).  The apostles began to speak in various world languages that they had never studied to the amazement of everyone (Acts 2:1-11).

When an explanation for what had happened was demanded, Peter stood with the 11 other apostles and announced that what they had witnessed was the pouring out of the Holy Spirit as predicted by the prophet Joel.  Then Peter very clearly, logically and force-fully gave the crowd evidence that Jesus whom they crucified was not only alive but was exalted as King on the right hand of God (Acts 2:12-36).

When Peter brought his remarks to this conclusion, many were “pierced through the heart” and cried out, “Brethren, what shall we do?”  Peter told them to “re-pent, and each of you be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.”  Three thou-sand people gladly received Peter’s instructions and were baptized (Acts 2:37-38, 41).

Such is the power of the Word of God, His tool to work on the human heart.  Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation…” (Rom 1:16).  The writer to the Hebrew Christians stated the same truth in this way, “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and morrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12).

Still today, men who are lost in sin, yet having a tender heart, can be touched by God’s Word- shaken with the force of a ton of TNT- pierced through as with a sharp sword.  As those on Pentecost, when they come to faith in Jesus, they will be deeply affected by the guilt of their sins.  They will be moved with love for Jesus who died for them- moved to gladly accept His remedy for sin, the blood that He shed, by obeying from the heart His conditions of forgiveness (Rom 6:17). Have you let God’s Word do its mighty work on your heart? ...

Until there was no remedy

God’s powerful tool for the human heart can be made powerless.  Man can render the dynamite of His Word no more powerful than a cherry bomb, the sharp sword of His Word no more cutting than a dull pair of scissors.  Here’s how it can happen:

Of 603,500 Israelite warriors who left Egypt, only 2 men entered into the “land of milk and honey”  (Num 1:46; 14:30). 

Despite warnings from prophets such as David for men not to harden their hearts as in those days (Ps 95:8-11), they did not learn from the mistakes of the past.

King Zedekiah was typical of the kind of men that caused the Israelites to suffer yet another judgment of God, captivity in Babylon.  The king stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to God.  The chiefs of the priests and the people also persisted in the abominations of the nations around them. 

God had compassion on these people and on the many wicked generations before them.  For at least 150 years He sent them prophets to turn them back to Him.  But they ridiculed and laughed at these messengers and let their messages roll off of them like “water off a duck’s back” until God could no longer contain His wrath.   God’s longsuffering and mercy was held out “until there was no remedy” (2 Chron 36:13-16).

A heart that is hardened renders the powerful Word of God- His tool for reaching, correcting, and saving men- ineffective.  It is as if the heart is covered with stone so that the Word can no longer penetrate.  The heart becomes calloused to the point where it no longer feels the pain of conscience that is designed to cause man to want to end his separation from God by seeking His forgiveness and renewed spiritual life.

Hardness of heart develops as an individual stubbornly resists God’s Word, determining to live in sin no matter what God may say.  Finally, the Word “goes in one ear and out the other”.  The once tender heart becomes tough, and the individual reaches the point of no return.  His spiritual health, like that of Israel, is beyond remedy.

The only way to avoid this spiritual “terminal illness” is to give immediate attention to the Word of God when it pricks our heart because of our sin.  Failure to do so makes us as unresponsive to our conscience as we are to our car alarms that go off so often that we pay no attention to them.  At this point there is no remedy for our spiritual condition.  In our hardened state we will remain separated from God and one day that separation will become eternal in hell (Rom 6:23; 1 Thess 1:9).  Don’t let your heart get beyond remedy! ... 

Your Heart?

Dear reader, nothing in this life is more important than your heart and its condition before your God. What effect does God’s Word, His tool to work on the heart, have on you?  Is your heart tender, able to be pricked as the Jews on Pentecost?  Or is your heart as tough as the heart of the Jews who died in the wilderness or who went into captivity because of their stubborn refusal to repent? 

Our prayer is that you are one with a tender heart.  If such be the case, once God’s Word brings you to faith in Jesus you will feel the guilt of your sins.   Then you will promptly receive the benefits of Jesus blood by repenting of your sins and being baptized.  You will be saved- you will have a relationship with God- you will have life.

Please take a moment to meditate on the chorus of E.A. Hoffman’s song:

“Is Thy heart right with God,

Washed in the crimson flood,

Cleansed and made holy,

Humble and lowly,

Right in the sight of God?”

Do you desire for God’s Word to have His intended effect on your heart?  Let us know.   We will do our best to help you learn His Word by personal study in your home, by video chat on the phone, or by mail via correspondence course. 

Lukewarmness among the people of God is hardly a new problem. Malachi warned against apathy explicitly, and signs of apathy are evident as far back as the Exodus. Unsurprisingly, preachers today also often warn their hearers about the dangers of indifference.

I read one such warning recently, and it led me to consider my own heart. I searched for signs of lukewarmness, and I found none. I still have plenty of spiritual problems, but a lack of emotional commitment to God is not on the list. I am blessed to be a member of a congregation with good preaching and good singing, but even if the preaching were amateurish and the singing cringeworthy, I would be determined to assemble faithfully for as long as I was physically capable of so doing.

My motivation is simple just as my life is simple. Thanks to ALS, I have no options remaining but to trust in Jesus. He is the branch that can keep me from going over the cliff. Without Him, I am utterly ruined and hopeless.

These are familiar sentiments. We sing many hymns about our need for Christ and our helplessness without Him. The problem is that while we give intellectual assent to these concepts, we don't really get them. I know I didn't before my diagnosis. It's the difference between the abstract acknowledgment that seatbelts save lives and the realization that your seatbelt just kept you from being launched into the path of an oncoming eighteen-wheeler.

Such abstraction provides fertile soil for the growth of indifference. The less we gut-get our absolute need for Jesus, the more likely we are to be apathetic in our worship and service.

I was pretty impressed with myself for figuring this out until I realized that the apostle John had gotten there 2000 years before I did. In Revelation 3:18, he rebukes the Laodiceans, “For you say, 'I'm rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,' and you don't realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” Their lukewarmness started with their conviction of self-sufficiency.

Too often, spiritual apathy leads us to expect less of ourselves and demand more from others. On the one hand, it excuses our sporadic attendance (especially at Bible class), tolerance of sin, and halfhearted worship and service. On the other, it leads us to find fault in the contributions of others.

We would attend more if only the preaching were more interesting. We would have had an easier time worshiping if only the song leader chose our favorites. We would associate more with Christians instead of the worldly friends who are dragging us off to destruction if only the Christians made a special effort to include us. All this is to say nothing of how much better things would be if only the elders listened to us!

Thoughts like these are not an excuse for complaining or bad behavior. Instead, they are an urgent call to examine our own hearts. We do not fuss over details when we are rock-solid convinced that Christ is all that stands between us and eternal damnation. When we've had a massive heart attack and are on the way to the Emergency Room in an ambulance, we do not grumble that the paramedic has bad breath!

Instead, we start griping when we believe that we are in control and the other is dependent on us. We have no problem sending back an overcooked steak at a restaurant because we know the manager is afraid of losing our business, so he will accommodate us. He needs us more than we need him.

So too with a lukewarm, exacting attitude toward the things of God. The assembly is not a product, and Christians are not consumers. It is not the job of the elders, the worship leaders, or our brethren to cater to our every whim, to make sure that everything is just so before we deign to become emotionally involved. We are wretched supplicants before the throne of the great King, and we need to act like it.

If we find Christianity tiresome, we have no one to blame but ourselves. The issue is not that some Christians need God more than others; it is that some acknowledge that need more than others. The cure for the disease is not everybody else getting their act together; it is time spent in meditation and prayer about our desperate need for Christ and how much He has done for us. When we recognize the magnitude of our debt to Him, the imperfection of others can neither stifle our devotion nor prevent us from expressing it.