Sunday, November 1, 2020

Can't Please Everyone

Acts 5:28-29 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men."

If there is anything in life that can derail us in our walk with the Lord it is being, or becoming a people pleaser. Heaven knows that we can make a long list of people that we can add to our "people pleaser" list. Some of us want to be liked so much that we have no sense of when we should say "no". We are afraid of conflict, and use the Scriptures to justify our position as a "peacemaker" or being kind to others. Because we want to be known as a "nice" person, we end up making promises to do things we either really do not want to do, or really do not have the ability to fulfill. The end result is that we stress out, or fail to keep our word, and ruin our testimony as a follower of Jesus. The bottom line is that it is impossible to be everything to everyone, and quite frankly, that is not what God calls us to; for even Jesus did not perform miracles for everyone while He was here amongst men. There will be times when God presents to us a need in someone's life where He wants to use us to be a blessing; but we have to be discerning. If we are not careful, we will even agree to do things for others that are not pleasing to the Lord. Our fear of what others think about us will potentially take us down paths that move us away from the Lord. The Bible tells us that the fear of man brings a snare, but there is safety in trusting the Lord (Proverbs 29:25). When it comes to deciding who we need to please in life, the decision for us, as God's children, is a simple one...we are called to serve and please the LORD (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

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