It's the heart of the matter...

 

I want to urge you to take a quick second and slow down with what you are doing to think about a few things.

How is this summer going? Are you fulfilling your goals? Was it different than you expected? Can you believe it is half over? Are you succeeding?

 These questions swirl around in my brain - so I assume that some of you may be asking them as well. Regardless of how you answer these questions lets take a look at what motivates you - lets look at the heart (Luke 16). It turns out that the question, "what drives/motivates you?" is a very common interview question. It's asked because it says a whole lot about the person. If they answer vague - they probably have vague ambitions - however if they answer with decisiveness and precision they may have very specific goal. So answer honestly and you may get a picture of where your heart is at.

I believe Jesus cares deeply not about the end results of how your summer went - or if you fulfilled all your goals - but where your heart was in these matters. Many of us can put on a show on living successful lives but when it comes to whether they love God or success more it may be difficult to discern. Take for instance the story of the rich young ruler found in Mark 10:17-27. He seemed to have everything together but when He was asked to give it all up and follow Jesus - He couldn't.

As the summer gets closer to the end

lets remember that in all our DOING...

be motivated by Jesus' love towards us. Lets be a people who care deeply about the heart of the matter. 

Pastor Joe Pohl  (Youth Pastor)