Manna for Your Morning

A hostile world! I call to God, I cry to God to help me. From his palace he hears my call; my cry brings me right into his presence— a private audience! — Psalm 18:6 (MSG) Fear of human opinion can disable you from doing what God has called you to do. (Proverbs 29:25). May we live for an audience of One, the One who created us and will never abandon us. No matter how hostile the world around us becomes, we cannot go wrong when we live to please our heavenly Father. In John 8:29 (NKJV), Jesus said, “ And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him. ” May we follow in His footsteps and always live to please God. Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1 NLT)

The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe. — Proverbs 29:25 (NKJV) Live for an audience of one, the One who created you. Trying to please people will leave you exhausted and empty. Being overly concerned about the opinions of man will paralyze you and keep you fearful of doing anything. Put your trust and confidence in the LORD, and pursue that which He has called you to do. Remember that God is able to bring you through whatever He has called you to. And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not abandoned those who seek You. (Psalm 9:10 AMP)

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 6:1 (NLT) Avoid the trap of being a people-pleaser and doing things for the sake of appearances. Let all that you do, be motivated by the love you have for our heavenly Father and a genuine desire to please Him. Live for an audience of One. ‘So love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ (Mark 12:30 MSG). And serve Him only.

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. — Isaiah 43:19 (NLT) God's doing a new thing in my heart. I desire more of Him, but more importantly I want Him to have more of me. He will cherish every broken piece of ourselves that we give to Him. And when the Master has fashioned it with His hands, we will be amazed at the masterpiece He has made! The Apostle Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). Let us die to self and live for Christ, where we lay all our concerns on His altar and live for an audience of One. Let Him do something new in you! He will create rivers of living water in dry wastelands.

Many rulers believed in Jesus. However, they wouldn’t admit it publicly because the Pharisees would have thrown them out of the synagogue. They were more concerned about what people thought of them than about what God thought of them. — John 12:42-43 (GW) Are you trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? What our heavenly Father thinks of us, is of utmost importance. May we never be more concerned about what people think about us than what God thinks about us. To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness (Ecclesiastes 2:26). Live for an audience of One!

Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he freed Barabbas for them. After having Jesus beaten with whips, he handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified. Mark 15:15 (NCV) Guard your heart and mind against the negative influences in the world. Because Pilate was more interested in being a crowd-pleaser, a murderer was set free and the Son of Man, who knew no sin, was crucified. Sometimes the right things that we are called to do, will not be the most popular, but we must live for an audience of One: our heavenly Father. Do what you know in your heart is the right thing.