How would making your motive match the Lord's motive change how you approach the Christian life (from witnessing to praying to Bible reading and so on)?
Most people assume the Lord’s actions are motivated almost solely because of His love for man. Yet, God works for His own glory and for His own name’s sake.
A martyr is one who is killed for his faith. Only two individuals are specifically named as martyrs in scripture: Stephen and Antipas.
The Bible mentions true riches thus indicating the existence of false riches. Much of what the world considers riches simply serves as a veil for true poverty. While on earth, the Lord appeared to be the poorest of the poor (Matthew 8:20), all the while being the One who owned all things. The believers at Smyrna appeared to be poor, but the Lord unflinchingly stated that they were in fact rich (Revelation 2:8-9). The opposite was said of those in Laodicea. Although they claimed to be rich, the Bible states the reality: they were poor (Revelation 3:14-17). This truth is confirmed in Proverbs 13:7 when the Bible says, “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.”
Rebellion is identified in a variety of ways, but the Lord often associates it to someone with a stiff neck. Society should find this concept easily grasped. A stiff neck impedes the head from bowing. Moses directly associated the stiff neck with rebellion when he said, “For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck” (Deuteronomy 31:27). Like Moses, the Lord identified the rebellion of the children of Israel when He stated that they were “a stiffnecked people” (Exodus 32:9). Isaiah likewise attested to this truth by stating that rebellious people had a neck of iron sinew and a brow of brass (Isaiah 48:4). These descriptive terms demonstrate that rebellion is exemplified by an individual who refuses to bow and allow the mind to be changed. He has an unyielding spirit.
True loyalty never wavers without sound justification. The book of Revelation reveals that believers in Smyrna were going to face various difficulties such as imprisonment, trials, and perhaps even martyrdom. In the midst of these calamities, the Lord admonished them to be “faithful unto death.” God’s people have always had their loyalty to the Lord tested. If loyalty occurred naturally, everyone would exhibit loyalty. True loyalty is not something a believer possesses in the absence of adversity. Rather, adversity provides the means for loyalty to excel. In fact, it was in the face of the adversity of crucifixion that the Lord Jesus Christ exemplified His loyalty to both mankind and the Father. In doing so, He set forth an example that every believer ought to willingly follow and exemplify.
God hates! For those enamored by the teachers who strictly emphasize the love of God, this fact may be difficult to appreciate. Yet, it is both true and scriptural. In fact, the truth becomes even more peculiar when considering that God's hatred is founded within His love. According to 1 John 4:8, “God is love.” He never ceases to be love, and if He did, He would cease to be God. Yet, the Bible specifically points out that God also hates! Let the Bible speak for itself and it will clear up any preconceived ideas. God hates because He loves. God loves the righteous; therefore, He hates “all workers of iniquity” (Psalm 5:5). The Bible also points out that He hates the wicked and those who love violence (Psalm 11:5). These truths are frequently contrary to the common teaching by men who fail to consider the whole of scripture and the depth of God. The old saying, “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner” apparently fails when considering the whole matter. God does, in fact, hate the wicked! Additionally, God hates wicked deeds and wicked doctrines (Revelation 2:6, 15). Each of us must insure that we declare all the counsel of God and not conveniently limit our understanding to only the most positive aspects (Acts 20:27).
There are few sights and sounds like that of a majestically flowing river. For this reason, the Lord promised His people that they would have “been as a river” through simple obedience. This analogy using the river not only speaks of quality but also of quantity. Israel's obedience would bring a peace similar to the calming effect of a flowing river. This peace would also be quantitatively associated to the vast amounts of water which flow down a river. The Lord reaffirmed this truth when He said of Jerusalem, “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river” (Isaiah 66:12). This peace too was dependent upon the obedience of the people of God. Unfortunately, for most people, life is more like the raging waves of the sea rather than the pristine flowing waters of a river. God in His grace desires to reward the obedient with peace like a river, but disobedience has its own set of unmanageable outcomes.
God knows everything about everything, yet Christians sometimes act as though He has some debilitating limitations. Once again, the Bible shines the light of truth upon the matter. It reveals that He is great, “and of great power: his understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). In fact, His eyes “are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). In other words, there is nothing that escapes the knowledge and attention of God. This includes the good and the bad! The Son of God proclaimed to the church at Thyatira that He knew their works, charity, service, faith, and patience. He too knows about the level of a man’s faith! He knows the content, strength, and reality of that faith. A man can and will fool others and frequently even deceives himself (Jeremiah 17:9), but he has no capacity to mislead God. The Lord knows those who believe and accept His word as the perfect word of God and He is not unrighteous to forget (Hebrews 6:10).
