{"id":658,"date":"2020-10-30T04:17:18","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T08:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/?p=658"},"modified":"2021-07-31T04:51:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-31T08:51:00","slug":"august-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/august-2\/","title":{"rendered":"August 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">John 6:27 <\/span><\/strong><br><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">&#8220;Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.\u201d (NKJV)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-purple-color\">What are you working for?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you complete an assignment (no matter where that assignment is), you expect the praise, the rewards, and the promised payment. If you are working for men, to get what the world values, you get what men can give. How long will it last?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Matthew 6:19-20 \u201cDo not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.\u201d (New King James Version NKJV)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are getting what the world wants and loving it, the day will come when you will have to identify where your loyalties lie. Why? God has to show you where your heart is. A decision will have to be made that will challenge your Christian values; someone will tell a joke that is not funny for many reasons; they might ask you to take one for the team, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord]. (Amplified Bible AMP)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No one can give you what you really want, or stop you from getting what God has ordained for you to have, no matter how powerful you may think a person is. Is your ultimate goal to be with Jesus when He returns? Men don\u2019t have control over that outcome. Do you want to spend eternity in heaven? Only the Almighty God can give that to you. When the time of testing comes, don\u2019t be afraid, thinking you may lose what you have. If you chose incorrectly, it will cost you your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Matthew 10:26-28 Do not be afraid of those who may taunt or persecute you. Everything they do\u2014even if they think they are hiding behind closed doors\u2014will come to light. All their secrets will eventually be made known. 27 And you should proclaim in the bright light of day everything that I have whispered to you in the dark. Whatever whispers you hear\u2014shout them from the rooftops of houses. 28 Don\u2019t fear those who aim to kill just the body but are unable to touch the soul. The One to fear is He who can destroy you, soul and body, in the fires of hell. (The Voice TVT)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please keep in mind what you are really working for and work toward that end. Live the life God has commanded. He is The One who holds your greatest reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Please agree with me as I pray:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><em>Father, there were times when I looked for the validation and approval of man. I repent because somehow; I lost sight of the fact that whatever I thought they could do for me, they couldn\u2019t give me a place in heaven. I also repent because I wanted what the world described as success, the job, the house, the cars. Those things did not mean I was connected to You; even though I heard people say, \u201cGod must really love you, look how He is blessing you.\u201d I had to build my relationship with You with Your help. Now, my goal is to get Your validation and approval and Yours alone. I thank You for continuing to remind me of that fact. I appreciate those people who see my life as a sign of Your blessing. However, I want them to see the right things. Help me keep You in the center, worshipping You, not always praising what You have done, and what they will see is You\u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Ask the Lord what He wants to say to you about today\u2019s devotional and journal His response as described <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/journal\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John 6:27 &#8220;Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.\u201d (NKJV) What are you working for? When you complete an assignment (no matter where that assignment is), you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27],"tags":[237],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2144,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658\/revisions\/2144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}