All Things For God's Glory

I've been meditating on Isaiah 58 for the past few days as I've been lying in a hospital bed, being "rerouted" by the good hand of the Lord. It seems the fasting that the Lord hates is fasting that elevates self (even though we may be saying we are seeking to know the mind of Christ, we may say we are wanting what He wants). Self glory is hideous to God - whatever form it takes. But God clearly states what kind of fast He delights in in verses 5-7 - a fast of humbling our hearts before our Almighty God, and letting the Word of Christ that should be dwelling in us richly pour forth in loving service towards the people around us - not motivated by self-glory, but by God's glory. We are a people who love self and self-glory, and we are so careful in our church circles to not let that self-glory look like self-glory. We are careful to not "smoke or chew or go with those who do"; we are careful to be squeaky clean in our reputations; we are carefu

Mark 10:17-23   Jesus loved this rich young aristocrat.  But, did Jesus love this man the same as He loves His own kids ?  I would contend that He did not.  God cannot even look upon sin, let alone love it.  And if we truly believe that we are born dead in sin (Col. 2:13), then we must admit that we are dead through and through - heart and body, and that there is nothing else about us to love.  We are actually called the enemy of God in Romans 5:10. This means God is at war with us, and we are at war with Him and His kingdom.  Jesus' love for this man was the love He tells us to have for our enemies, the love He had for the "world" in John 3:16 - meaning it is a love that is a choosing to do good in spite of being despised, rejected, scorned, mistreated, misunderstood, and murdered.  It is a love based upon the grace of God and not upon the recipients' worthiness.  But did Jesus' love for that young man signify his acceptance into God's eternal kingdom, o