Self Exam

2 Corinthians 5:15 - He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them.

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This passage flies right in the face of the way that I live my life. I feel like I try to live my life by both of these paradigms, and surprise surprise it doesn’t work as well as I would have hoped. I am ashamed to say that I live to please the Lord, because that pleases myself. And I don’t mean that in a “It gives me joy to serve the Lord” kind of way. I mean something that I have confessed to many times on this blog. I serve the Lord often because of what I get out of it. Whether that be personal satisfaction, praise from man, or anything else, I need to regularly check my motives. I want to live to please the lord exclusively and let the bi-products be exactly that – bi-products.

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Lord don’t let me use you. I want my heart to be pure before you. I want to please you because you are worth it. Help me to be more honest with myself and have a better eye for my true motives.