Psalm 46:10–Be Still and Know

Psalm 46:10: "Be still and know that I am God."

Here's a news flash: life is tough.  It is exhausting, stressful, and the swings of emotionality border on vertiginous.  Therefore, it is all the more vital that amidst such an undulating life, a life that is naturally bent on unsteadiness, that we would have a solid rock on which to stand secure and strong.  There is, it turns out, no more solid and stable a rock than the rock of God, which is Christ Jesus.

All this being true and good, it is a necessary thing, then, that when life becomes too overwhelming for us to process effectively that we would pause to realign ourselves to the rock of Christ.  This is what this verse is about.  Let us take it as a prescription when life gets tough as well as when life gets easy, always setting ourselves sure in Christ and in Christ alone!

1 Peter 5:6-7–Humble Yourselves and Cast Your Anxieties

1 Peter 5:6-7: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you."

Perhaps the most difficult task for humans as well as one of the most essential is the task of humbling one's self.  The very idea itself can sometimes be a humiliating proposition.  It is thus ironic that there is nothing more liberating and more empowering than humbling yourself and laying your anxieties on Christ.  This is the task for Christians.  It is our call, that we would humble ourselves before the Holy Lord as we cast our worries upon the Lord.  But it turns out that this is, in actuality, a simple task when we place Christ upon the throne of our lives.  Let us then strive to humble ourselves with all sincerity and devotion.

Psalm 30:4–Joy Comes With the Morning

Psalm 30:4: "For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning."

 I love this verse.  It is a famous passage but its fame does not overshadow in the slightest its beauty.  This verse speaks of God's discipline in anger but that it is also paired with His awesome and comforting compassion.  It speaks of seasons, of the undulating reality of the human experience.  But it also consoles us to know that this sort of ebb-and-flow was, in fact, by design, His design.  There is, thus, always hope to be found in God no matter the emotional harvest or drought.  Hope with the morning.

Philippians 3:14–Pressing Onward

Philippians 3:14: "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

This verse is about, among many things, perseverance.  It speaks of pressing on toward the goal of praising Christ Jesus with every available talent, resource, and breath.  In context, Paul tells us all of the sacrifice and hardship that he has been forced to endure for the gospel, but he concludes that he "counts it all rubbish."  There is no greater prize, no more valuable treasure than to serve God with earnestness and passion.  Any other treasure is not only transient and failing, it is also counterfeit and insufficient.  Let us then press on toward the eternal prize that is knowing and serving God in Christ Jesus!

Thoughts on Obedience

Obedience, the conscription of duty and compliance to the prescriptions of another.  It forms the very bedrock of the Christian life.  The tragedy, though, is when obedience is valued for obedience's sake.  This is to say that obedience is useless apart from the reverent ascension to authority that confers and informs any sense of obedience.  In other words, one cannot be obedient apart from the One being honored by the other's obedience: e.g. God.

Because of all this, when we speak of Christian obedience we are, by nature, speaking most-directly about Christ Himself, who He is and why He is worthy of our obedient devotion.  This is what we mean when we talk about obedience: it's not about us; it's about Him!

Hebrews 11:1–Faith Defined

Hebrews 11:1: "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen."

We speak of faith in so many different senses.  But at its heart, there is distinct and certain content of faith.  When we talk of faith in any way other than faith in Christ Jesus, then we are, by definition, speaking of faith's derivative.  That is to say that when we say that we have faith in this or that we are merely paying homage, consciously or otherwise, to the faith that is eternal: faith in God.  We should keep this perspective before us at all times as we strive to live lives of fulness and authenticity.

Matt. 6:19-20–Right Treasures

Matthew 6:19-20: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal."

This passage comes in the middle of one of the greatest sermons of all time delivered by Jesus Himself on a hillside overlooking the sea of Galilee.  It speaks of differences in treasures and the vast contrast in value of these treasures.  In the most broad sense, there are two types of treasures: treasures eternal and treasures transient.  But in addition to outlining different treasures, Jesus also critiques them.  Jesus indicates that there is only one kind of treasure worthy of our attention, that is, eternal treasure.  Let us take this seriously and not waste our time, energy, and passion on treasures that will fail and fade away.

Jeremiah 17:14–Heal Me and I Will Be Healed

Jeremiah 17:14: "Heal me, o Lord, and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved, for You are my praise."

I like this verse; it touches me.  It speaks of faith in the One that heals.  The truth of life is that we all, everyone of us, is wounded and in needed of healing.  Each one of us is lost and in need of being found.  And everyone of us is in need of salvation.  But it is God who heals.  God who finds.  And God who saves us.  This is why we praise God!

For He does heal, and He does save us.  Let us always keep this truth before us as we allow it to form the basis for everything we do!

Matthew 16:15-16–Who Do You Say Jesus Is?

Matthew 16:15-16: "He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'  Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'"

All of Christianity can be reduced to this question that Jesus asks His disciples.  Who we think Jesus was/is forms the basis for all of our belief.  A low view of Christ will, most assuredly, result in low forms of worship that reflect that view.  On the other hand, views of Christ which are inline with Scripture's claim that He is the Son of God will equally result in worship that praises His name rightly as the Son of God.

In the end, what we think of Christ is the singly most important thing about us.  Maybe we should take this with the seriousness and the sobriety it deserves.

Love: Defined.

Love.  It is a word dense with connotation and value.  It has a purview of expanse and an arena that encompasses every human.  In some way, every human being experiences love.  But by that same sentiment nearly every person has experienced counterfeit love.  That is, we've often seen or been exposed to something claiming to be love which, in the end, turns out to be something less, something toxic, or even something relationally dangerous.

Yet the world is inundated with the language of love.  We speak of the things we love and the history of love.  Love songs still fill the radio waves.  Love is, it would seem, an inescapable and significant component of the human experience.  But with all this talk of love, have we not in, in some ways, dissolved the definitions of love to mean whatever we want it to mean?

But Scripture defines love not in some abstract definition but in a person, in Jesus.  He is love. His life, His death on the cross, and His resurrection: this is the definition of love.  Therefore, every other perceivable attempt at defining love must, by nature, look to Christ as its source and its rubric.  It all comes down to Jesus.  We would be so much wiser if we always kept that before us.

Proverbs 26:10–The Worst Kind of Fool

Proverbs 26:10: "Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?  There is more hope for a fool than for him."

This verse and those like it have become sort of a rubric for me, a litmus test for gauging foolishness in both myself and the people around me.

It is a simple question: do I think I am wise?

The reality is that there are two kind of fools: the kind that do not know they are fools, and the other, far worse kind.  While it is not a good thing to be foolish, it is far worse to assume that one are not foolish when all the available data may, in fact, say that the person is foolish.  And what's worse, they not only do not know that they are foolish, but they even gloat about how wise they may be in face of their blatant foolishness.  After all, what could be worse than the fool that thinks he is wise?

Isaiah 41:10–Do Not Fear for God is with Us

Isaiah 41:10: "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Think about this: God is asking us not to fear.  But He is also giving us the reason that we have no need to fear: He is with us.  This alone is enough for us not to fear.  God upholds our weakness by His strength; He helps our unrighteousness with His righteousness; and we need not be dismayed because we are held in His power.  We have no need to fear.  We are not alone! Amen and praise be to God!

Psalm 119:7–Praising God Right Requires Knowing What is Right

Psalm 119:7–"I will praise You with an upright heart, when I learn Your righteous rules."

The question is: how can I praise God in the most appropriate way that would please His heart the most?  The answer: to learn His commandments.

When we know the commandments of the Lord and we apply them into our hearts we become able to fully worship, body, mind, and soul.  It is not that we are unable, per se, to praise Him apart from the commandments.  It's just that if we truly desire to praise Him we will desire to please Him through obedience to His commandments.  There is, as it were, a direct correlation between our obedience to His Word and to our ability to worship.  We would do well, then, to take seriously the call to worship in Spirit and in truth, making sure that the truth is planted firmly within our lives as deeply as we are rooted in Christ!

Romans 1:16–Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Romans 1:16: "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

This verse speaks of not being ashamed of the Gospel because we understand its power for those who would rest upon the truth of its promises.  This is a good thing: to believe that Jesus is Lord and God has raised Him from the dead.  But it is not enough to merely give assent to the theological assertions of the Gospel; it must be planted within our hearts for its power to take root and for lives to be transformed.

Here's the Catch-22: if we do not implant the Gospel deep within us, we will always think of it as a set of doctrinal assertions lacking any 'real' power to transform hearts and lives.  Are only understanding of the power of the Gospel will be, by nature, second-hand.  We will be able to see the Gospel working in other's lives, but because we have never committed to our own lives in faith, we will remain just outside the purview of experiencing the Gospel's power.

In a round-about way, that's part of what this verse is talking about.  If we are embarrassed or ashamed of the Gospel we have, in the very least, affirmed a low, un-salvific view of the Gospel. This view will, in the end, prove to be self-prophesying, for as the power of the Gospel is applied through faith, if we do not have the faith overcome our own uncomfortability of the Gospel, we have, in fact, rendered the Gospel an innocuous set of theological propositions lacking any perceivable power.

But the Gospel is powerful.  Therefore, if we the Gospel seems embarrassingly powerless, the issue is not the impotency of the Gospel, it is our faithlessness and doubt.  The relevant solution to such a lopsided ordeal is not, it turns out, to find a 'new, more-powerful' gospel, it is to press in wholeheartedly to the Gospel to see its power for ourselves.  In the end, if we find ourselves ashamed of the Gospel it is not the Gospel's fault; it is ours.  It is ironic, then, that the only cure for such a spiritual malady is the Gospel!

If we find ourselves at the precarious position of feeling ashamed of the Gospel, the only tactic which will prove fruitful is to pray and seek ever more for the face of God in Christ, which is the Gospel.  In this way, we will see the Gospel's power in all its glorious splendor as it is: the power of God!

Colossians 2:9-10–The Fulness of Deity in Christ

Colossians 2:9-10: "For in Him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority."

Jesus is more than a man: He is God incarnate.  This is such a fundamental component to the Christian message and we would do wise to learn it, to root our lives in its truth, and to preach it for it is an instrumental part of the Gospel.  God, the Divine Almighty Himself, became a man so as to make a bridge for humanity to relate to Him.  Sin and the grave were overcome by the sacrificial and atoning death of Christ.    We should never forget this truth but we should let it form the basis of our Christian lives.

James 1:21–Put Away Filthiness in Order for the Word to take Root

James 1:21: "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

Occasionally–maybe more often than I'd like to admit–I have a little problem with vulgarity.  In fact, it is only by the grace of God that the crudity of my younger days has been quelled and transformed.  I cannot boast in this transformation, I can only praise God for the great work that He has done in me.

However, it would be incorrect not to point out that I did have a choice to make in this regard: I had to choose God.  It was only after repenting of my sin and turning to God in faith that I was transformed from the inside out.  And although it has not always been easy to commit myself daily to obedience, I can say without a doubt that as long as I have remained focused on God, He has changed my heart, my mind, and my soul, to reflect His holiness.

But there is something else about this: implanting the saving word of God requires a dedication to put away the filthiness so that the word may take root in our lives.  The trick to overcoming vulgarity, it turns out, is not to attempt to manage but to press into God for transformation, which comes through the washing by His word.

Let us then commit to lean into God for truth and understanding but also so that God would rid our lives of al filthiness and vulgarity!

Lives of Thankfulness

Thankfulness.  It is a direct commandment in a simple word.  But it is not nearly so simple to commit ourselves to thankfulness in obedience.  Thankfulness, it turns out, can be a difficult task to perform.  We are always battling thankfulness with out own pride for it is pride that prevents us from being truly and sincerely thankful.

Thankfulness requires, at its base, a measure of humility.  We must truly recognize how blessed and how undeserving of blessing we are.  This is thankfulness: recognizing the greatness of God despite our wretchedness.  It is, thus, a matter of perspective more than simply saying thanks.  It is an attitude, an understanding of the world as it is: God's.

Let us then take seriously the call to live a life of thankfulness all the days of our lives.

Living Lives of Good Works to Glorify God

Matthew 5:16: "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

This is such an interesting verse.  It compels the believer to an understanding of life as an exhibition.  This is to say that we are ordained, as Christians, to live life as a light that glorifies God.  

Essentially, what Jesus is telling us is to do good works not from the perspective of meritorious salvation but instead, we are to live lives of good works for the expressed purpose of pointing people to God.

Jesus is calling us to live a certain way (good works) with a specific attitude (to glorify God).  This is, it turns out, the essence of the Christian life: that every thing we do would, ultimately, being glory to God.  

Let us then take seriously this call to do good works, not to be glorified ourselves but that in doing good works we may glorify God!

Thank You for 30th Birthdays

What to say?  Friday was my 30th birthday and unbeknownst to me my wife and my mother organized a surprise party.  I had no idea, I mean no idea.  My soon-to-be-brother-and-law was taking me frisbee golfing before going to my parents for dinner and–bam!–I am suddenly bombarded by about 40 people that I love and who mean the world to me all at one place singing "Happy Birthday."

Aside from the shock and speechlessness (yes, I was actually speechless), the one thing that struck me was just how absolutely blessed I am.  There is no other way to say it, so I will keep it simple: thank You.  Thank You, Lord, for blessing my life with such amazing family and friends.  Thank You, Lord, for giving me the breath to breathe and live in this amazing world that You have created.  Thank You, Lord, for my mother and my wife, not to mention my father or my sister or a whole list of others!

All I can say is:

Thank You.

Amen.

God of Impossibilities

To say that nothing impossible to God is an unfathomable distinction for us to comprehend.  But this is exactly the statement made throughout Scripture, of particular importance is Jesus saying it Himself (Matt 19:26).  While as an assertion it is logical and coherent, we struggle against the very tensile limits of language and thought to grasp its fullness and meaning.

The classical argument against runs something like this: 'can God create an object so large that He Himself cannot move it?"

While it may seem at first glance that this question has, in a sense, put God in a logical box that He cannot escape, I assure you that this question betrays itself.  Let me explain.

When we, as humans, think of possibilities we, because of our nature, are forced to think of it in terms of limitations.  In fact, our whole world is defined by limits.  After all, how would I be able to write this coherently if not for the limits of the english language; or how would I know that I am not the person next to me if not for the spatial limitations of my body (the list goes on and on).  These can be limitations of engineering, of language, of creativity, of resource, et al.  Because of this, we cannot fully fathom anything at all that is not defined by limit.

But God does not in any sense whatsoever possess limitations akin to our own.  His limitations are not based upon anything other than His own character.  For instance, He cannot do something unholy.  This is not a limitation but is the very essence of perfection, because when something is perfect it cannot at anytime or in anyway do or possess any imperfection.

In reference to the question about creating a giant object, we must recognize that not only does God not create in the same way as us (He creates by the very power of His word), but also He is never constrained to potentiality.  This is to say that God does not deal in that which may or may not be.  He is the ultimate reality; therefore, everything He does is.  He speaks and it occurs.  There are no constraining limitations to this method.  So in a real sense, the realest sense, nothing is impossible for God.

However, a small disclaimer must be asserted for fear of misunderstandings.  Although there is nothing impossible for God, in one sense there is a limit to what is possible.  That limit is, quite frankly, His very nature and character.  Because He is God, He is restricted to be God.  He cannot, as it were, do or be anything other than God in character and in nature.

We implicitly know this.  That is why the incarnation can be such a difficult thing for us to grasp.  But it is also this fact that makes the incarnation both a necessity as well as a true statement to the utter depths of God's love for us.  It shows us how far He was willing to go to vanquish sin from this world.  Jesus, the Son of God Himself incarnate, emptied Himself of His eternal power as he condescended to the form of a servant and a creature, and by His own volition was killed on our behalf so as to save mankind from the eternally destructive force of sin.

In the end, all we can say is: Amen!  And praise be to God!!!

Psalm 118:24–This is the Day

Psalm 118:24: "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

I woke up today exhausted.  Not enough sleep and a busy day of walking around in the hot sun made for a sore body and a tired head.  When I finally did get out of bed, which was a fight in itself, I was convinced that it was going to be a trudging sort of day.  You know, the kind of days that feel like you're never quite on all the way.

This verse was nowhere near my lips this morning, I must admit. But it occurred to me that God didn't need to give me a sunshiny day, lungs to breathe the beautiful air, a good job, a lovely wife, and a whole litany of other amazing things.  In fact, although He was in no way obligated to love and bless me He did anyway, and abundantly I might add.  All I can do is utter praise.

Thank You, Lord!

Dissecting Devotion

Devotion.  It is a word thrown around with such frequency that its meaning has all but disappeared from our vocabularies.  But it, like all words, conveys a specific idea.  It is a noun but a verbal noun, that is to say that it describes a certain type of action, a particular brand of love.  Devotion is, when it is stripped of its periphery connotations, a matter of love.  But this love is unlike the average, it is something more, another level, a deeper degree.  Devotion is a profound loyalty and trust that is rooted.

This is what we are called to as Christians: to be devoted to God.  It is not enough to tacitly claim devotion, for true devotion cannot be tacit: it is holistic and all-encompassing.  If we are truly devoted to God then it matters not which part of us is in use; it is devoted to God.  This is the very essence of the Christian experience, the very crux of Christian life.  We are to be whole-heatedly devoted to God, body, mind, and soul.  There is, it turns out, no other way to love God.  We will either be on-fire for Him in love and devotion, or else we will be lukewarm and loveless.

Let us then always be assessing our devotion as we seek after God and His glory.  Eternally speaking, no amount of firmly held doctrine matters.  The only thing that does is what Christ has done on our behalf and that alone is worthy of every ounce and inch of our devotion for eternity!

Psalm 138:2–The Proper Hierarchy: God's Name First

Psalm 138:2: "I bow down towards Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name and for Your steadfast love and faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word."

There is nothing, no thing, greater than the name of the Lord.  His name alone is full of power and awesomeness.  By His name, life is brought out of non-existence.  And by His great name, we are saved from our sin and restored into right relationship with God.  We should never forget then about the greatness of His name!  Let us be steadfast in our faith and in our devotion to His great name! Amen!

Considering the Merits of Self-Love

I've heard this phrase spouted on more than one occasion recently:

"You can't love until you love yourself."

In many ways this maxim is considered sacrosanct as if it were taken straight from Scripture itself.  But I assure you that it is not only not from Scripture, it is, in fact, un-scriptural in content.
No where does God say that we should love ourselves in order to love others.  So say so is in fact a contradiction of the two great commandments (Matt. 22:37-40).

In reference, then, to this statement I thought it might be a fruitful endeavor to consider its worth.

At the onset, I must be asserted that there are at least two opposite ways to understand this sentiment.

The first is to think of self-love as a self-desiring, self-satiating, latent narcissism, where the individual and his/her needs, wants, and desires, are put before anything else.  If this is what we mean by this statement then it must be said that it is unequivocally un-scriptural, un-godly, and opposed to the Gospel of Christ.  Plain and simple, this is idolatry.

On the other hand, if what we mean by this statement is that we treasure and cherish the Giver of life for making us, then, by jove, we have entered into worship of God and not the worship of self.

Think of it logically: if love another is about laying down your life for the other, then you would be at odds, naturally, with loving anyone else at all times if you held to the maxim of loving yourself in order to love another. After all, you cannot hold to two contradicting understandings of love.  In this case, you cannot love another as an extension of loving yourself.  Instead, you love yourself through loving another.

Consider the testimony of Christ, who loved His creation so much that in obedience to God He laid down His life for the good of mankind.  If He was concerned primarily with loving Himself He wouldn't have died for us.  Thank God, then, that we are not called to love ourselves but we are called to love God and to love one another!

Matthew 24:35–Eternal Words

Matt. 24:35: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."

I love this verse.  It is a prophecy and a promise made by Jesus Himself.  He is challenging His disciples and His critics, as well as the annals of history, that His words are, in fact, eternal.  Jesus is God incarnate, He is Immanuel, and because of this everything that comes from Him, being by nature God, is eternal.  That is why it is not a mere suggestion that Christ live inside of us as a measure of our eternal life.  To be sure, if Jesus' eternal nature is not in us then we must say that we do not yet possess eternal life because of that lacking of the eternal One within us.  Remember, we die to ourselves so that we may be made alive in Christ.  This is not a suggestion, it is a logical extension of the reality that we are, by nature, not eternal and so in order for us to be made eternal eternity must enter into us.  After all, non-eternal creatures cannot create eternal life; it can only be gifted from an eternal source who inputs His life into us.  So I say: "Amen! Thank You, Jesus, that Your words are eternal and that they rest within my heart!"

Isaiah 12:4–Give Thanks to the Lord and Proclaim His Greatness

Isaiah 12:4: "Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples, proclaim that His name is exalted."

This is a prophetic command given to Isaiah, a promise that the people of God will be obedient in the future to proclaim the greatness of God.  But the future is now and the commandment is for us.  We are the people who are to make the deeds of God to be known among the nations, to proclaim exaltations of His greatness.  This is our commandment.  Let us take this seriously, to give the loudest thanks to God and to proclaim the greatness of His name for all the people of the world! Amen!

Independence Day–Freedom in the Lord

2 Cor 3:17: "Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

This verse popped up on my Facebook page today, Independence Day.  I love how direct it is, how contrary to our human understandings of freedom and liberty.  The truth is, there is no freedom apart from the Spirit of Christ.  But we think of freedom and liberty as primarily human attributes.  This couldn't be further from the truth.

Think about it: God alone doesn't have to answer to anyone or anything.  He alone has freedom and liberty in all its virtue and magnificent glory.  Humans, on the other hand, are completely contingent.  We are not and cannot be free because of our dependent nature.  Because of this reality, humans can only become free if God, in fact, makes us free by entering into us.  This is what Paul is talking about: freedom in Christ alone!

Proverbs 14:34–Righteousness Versus Sin

Proverbs 14:34: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."

I think this verse is so timely for our present national predicament.  We live in a culture that calls good evil and thinks of sin as good.  We've so heralded personal freedom that we've lost touch with decency, modesty, and holiness.  But we need not think that this is how we must live; we are not obligated to follow along with the cultural milieu.  In fact, we are continually reminded by Christians that we are not of this world although we remain in it.  The truth is that we have an obligation to consecrate the sinfulness around us, beginning with the sin that is in us.  This happens, quite plainly, through giving ourselves fully to Christ.  Let us then set it in our minds and in our hearts to fix our eyes on Jesus and live lives of righteousness that He has called us to.

Jeremiah: God Knows Our Hearts

Jeremiah 17:9 reads: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"

Which is followed by v. 10: "I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."

Who can weigh the content of their own heart?  Even the most self-aware person can be unable to see the obvious parts of themselves.  But even more so, we do not have the ability to weigh our sin against the holy perfection of God.  Only God can truly weigh our heart's content.  Being holy, He alone can truly ascertain the depth of sin's pervasive venom in our hearts.  This is why He had to forgive us from our sin, because only He could know how deep our sin disorder went.  Praise be God that knowing our hearts He sent His Son to forgive us and restore right relationship with us!

Galatians 6:9–Do Not Grow Weary in Doing Good

Galatians 6:9: "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Doing good with perseverance is the very essence of giving ourselves fully to Christ.  But we do good with a resolute hope that our steadfastness in godliness will reap a harvest.  And this harvest is not one of financial blessing or prosperity in wealth; it is a harvest of souls won for Christ.  Our good is not done because we expect to receive some sort of monetary reward. We persist in doing good for the sake of eternity.  That is why we do not give up and why we do not taint our goodness by disillusion or weariness of our perseverance in goodness.

Let us then remember:
Do not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."