The Myth of Doing for God | Spiritual Formation with Brian Delamont (Ep. 218)

The Myth of Doing for God | Spiritual Formation with Brian Delamont (Ep. 218)

Does God want me to do things 'for' Him? In this Spiritual Formation conversation, Brian Delamont unpacks the myth that our service somehow benefits God or earns His approval. More than acts of service or obligation, it's about the heart. Brian offers a question to guide our reflection this month as we consider our motivations and perspectives of God.

• Isaiah 41:10
• Deuteronomy 11:18-21
• John 10:27
• “When I’m doing something ‘for,’ do I picture that as I’m doing God a favor or I’m actually bringing something to God that maybe He can’t do without me?”
• Jeremiah 31:3
• “The thought of me doing something ‘for’ God [is] because I’m questioning whether His love really is unfailing.”
• Hebrews 13:5
• Mark 12:41-43
• In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen
• “Caregiving, tithing, parenting, mentoring someone, gifts of time and helps are beautiful ways of doing ‘for’ God that become these tangible embodied expressions of His love when they are done as an act of worship.”
• James 2
• Ephesians 2:8-9
• Ephesians 1:3-4
• “Before I was capable of doing anything, before the creation of the world, God chose me, God chose to love me, God chose to love us.”
• Colossians 3:23
• “God is simply bigger than my understanding of Him. He is both grace and truth. He has fully paid for my salvation as the spotless Lamb of God, and He calls me to take up His cross and follow Him at exactly the same time.”
• “God said, ‘I want you to bring your tithes into the storehouse.’ So they’re doing what God said, but it’s a completely different story being told in worship or not worship.”
• “God does not demand that we do things ‘for’ Him – He’s more than capable of anything that needs to be accomplished, in this universe and beyond – but, we see from the beginning of creation, God invites us to partner with Him in this flourishing that is His design. He wants our love, which also means that He wants our highest allegiance.”

April Reflection: Does how I’m feeling about God as I serve Him align with who He is, what He has revealed about Himself, and the witness of Scripture and the Holy Spirit?

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: Playing Frisbee with his sons
• Heather: Following the Artemis II space mission
• Brian: Anticipating a vacation

Weekly Spotlight: Bucharest Christian Academy

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