I Never Knew You

Matthew 7:21-23

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"

I recently had a conversation with a friend.  Someone they know who professes to be a Christian does not live a Godly life.  I got to thinking about this.  If YOU personally lead someone to Christ and you KNOW at the time of their conversion that they were sincere but now they do not live for Christ, are they Christian?  How do we know if someone is truly converted?  That is not really for us to decide and we can not really know.  The only way we as humans can know if someone is living for God is to go by their attitudes and actions.

*Do they read their Bible?

*Do they put others before themselves?

*Do they KNOW God?

*Do they want to learn more about God and His word?

*Do they want to tell others about the love of Christ?

*Do they show love and kindness to one another?

This is just a small list of questions.  I could go on but am not sure I need to.  This is where I would start.  We are to disciple others, whether it is a church member, our own children, or strangers.  But, what do we do if they do not live for Christ, what then?  So many times people get caught up in the process of saying that prayer and forget to disciple.  You can't lead someone to Christ and then pray they will find their way to Him without guidance.  If we are able, then we need to come along side them and assist them in any way possible.  That means, we can hold them accountable.  We cannot MAKE them do anything, only Christ can give them that will.  But, we do have choices.  We can choose to defy or be obedient.  

I want to be obedient.  I want others to see in me the servants heart that Christ had.  I am not perfect and I will stumble, but I will get back up, dust myself off, and begin again.  I want to Honor Christ and give Him the glory.

Will you?  Do you?  Do you need encouragement today?  Do you need the love of God in your life?  I pray that He will give you the strength and wisdom you need this day.  Please take time now to pray to Him.  He will not forsake you!