Tag: Personal Accountability

Personal Evangelism: Are We Praying For Our Greatest Expectations of God to be Successfully Met? Genesis 24:10-14

This is my Servants Prayer,

1. Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more;
feed me till I want no more.

Genesis 24:10-14The Message

10-14 The servant took ten of his master’s camels and, loaded with gifts from his master, traveled to Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor. Outside the city, he made the camels kneel at a well. It was evening, the time when the women came to draw water. He prayed, “O God, God of my master Abraham, make things go smoothly this day; treat my master Abraham well! As I stand here by the spring while the young women of the town come out to get water, let the girl to whom I say, ‘Lower your jug and give me a drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and let me also water your camels’—let her be the woman you have picked out for your servant Isaac. Then I’ll know that you’re working graciously behind the scenes for my master.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

A Servant’s Prayer

Genesis 24:12 New American Standard Bible

12 And he said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, please [a]grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

Our reading for today opens with Abraham calling his most trusted servant to a special task – to swear an oath to go forth into his homeland and find a wife for his son, Isaac – from those who authentically worship Jehovah God not idols.

The servant makes a vow, gathers his master Abraham’s gifts on his camels and sets out on a journey to find a wife for Isaac from among Abraham’s relatives.

We do not know much about this “senior and most trusted” servant, but we can tell he has truly seen God at work in the lives of Abraham, Sarah, and now Isaac.

Mother Sarah is dead and Father Abraham is old, and he wants Isaac to marry.

Abraham is trying to arrange for a bride for Isaac, but only Jehovah God is the one who will really provide “our success” so that God’s promises are fulfilled.

Before the servant starts any conversations with the young women of the area, he prays to the God of his master and asks God to show kindness to his master.

Success for the servant will come by God’s taking the next step in this mission.

Why is the name of the servant not shared in this story?

Maybe it helps us focus on God as the primary actor in this drama – a servant who prays for success turns not to his own abilities but to the kindness of God.

Not knowing the name of the servant helps us put ourselves in his sandals.

How do we define “success”?

In this case, the servant’s success is the completion of Jehovah God’s mission by the most senior, most trusted servant for his master the Patriarch Abraham.

The master’s success is the ultimate goal of the servant.

Have we prayed the servant’s prayer lately?

Praying Our Great Expectations of God Will Be Met

The major emphasis of this passage is centered on what we might call the cooperation of the Spirit. 

This is the missing note in much personal evangelism.

Many men and women have heard the command of God, Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation (Mark 16:15).

Mark 16:14-16 The Message

14-16 Still later, as the Eleven were eating supper, he appeared and took them to task most severely for their stubborn unbelief, refusing to believe those who had seen him raised up. Then he said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all. Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned.

They have recognized this is a command, but then, in their uncertainty, in their “stubborn unbelief” they go out, acting as if all success all depends upon them.

This is where the grim-faced, fever-eyed fanatic comes from, on the one hand and, on the other, the fanatically shy, timid, blushing, flustered Christian who hardly dares to utter a word believing success is that thing they all desire least.

There is a failure to recognize that not only has God commanded us to do this, but he has also provided the Holy Spirit by which we will overcome, to go do it.

This is what we see as the story progresses.

Here is a man, a loyal servant, greatly expecting God to work for our success.

He does not go into this land and say to himself, 

“Well now, I guess the success or failure of this whole job is up to me and me alone. I have to find this girl, and how in the world am I going to find “the right one”? And after that, I must somehow persuade her to come. How am I going to do that?” 

For this loyal servant of Father Abraham, it is very simple for this man, because he knows within the deepest parts of his soul he is not left alone to do this task.

Hebrews 11:1-2 The Message

Faith in What We Don’t See

11 1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

An invisible partner is at work, going ahead of him, preparing the way for him.

I wish we would pray to successfully learn this lesson about our own witness.

Jehovah God has not left it to us to do alone.

John 3:16-18 The Message

16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

The work of going forth into our own homelands, to pagan lands reaching men and women for Christ is not a matter of human persuasion, but it is a divine call.

Luke 10:1-9 GOD’S WORD Translation

Jesus Sends Disciples to Do Mission Work

10 After this, the Lord appointed 70 [a] other disciples to go ahead of him to every city and place that he intended to go. They were to travel in pairs.

2 He told them, “The harvest is large, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord who gives this harvest to send workers to harvest his crops. 3 Go! I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don’t stop to greet anyone on the way. 5 Whenever you go into a house, greet the family right away with the words, ‘May there be peace in this house.’ 6 If a peaceful person lives there, your greeting will be accepted. But if that’s not the case, your greeting will be rejected. 7 Stay with the family that accepts you. Eat and drink whatever they offer you. After all, the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from one house to another. 8 Whenever you go into a city and the people welcome you, eat whatever they serve you.  9 Heal the sick that are there, and tell the people, ‘God’s kingdom is near you!’

We are called and sent – not just into all of the easiest places as Abraham sent his servant into – with that highest expectation of our own personal success.

As the stark reality of Luke’s narrative plainly puts before us in Luke 10:1-9 we are also summoned and called by God to try and to evangelize even the wolves.

We are also called by God to try and evangelize those who would not even give us the time of day or would offer to sell us us drugs at the point of a revolver.

We are also called by God to go and move and evangelize among those who are marginalized, untouchable, viewed by us as being too far gone even for our God to make even .01% difference, are too deeply inside our own “abhorrence zone.”

Overcoming our “abhorrence zones” thru the intercessory work of Holy Spirit.

Recalling first and foremost John 16:31-33 The Message

31-33 Jesus answered them, “Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I’m not abandoned. The Father is with me. I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”

Jehovah God is the One who is continuously and miraculously at work to move, to overcome hate, to shape, to develop, to transform the lives and hearts of all.

Do you notice how Abraham’s servant does it?

Genesis 24:11-14 Names of God Bible

Abraham’s Servant Finds a Wife for Isaac

11 The servant had the camels kneel down outside the city by the well. It was evening, when the women would go out to draw water. 12 Then he prayed, “Yahweh, Elohim of my master Abraham, make me successful today. Show your kindness to Abraham.  13 Here I am standing by the spring, and the girls of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 I will ask a girl, ‘May I please have a drink from your jar?’ If she answers, ‘Have a drink, and I’ll also water your camels,’ let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. This way I’ll know that you’ve shown your kindness to my master.”

First, he prays, revealing his expectation that God is at work.

In his simple prayer he asks God to make the way clear, to indicate the one to whom God would have him speak.

As he prays about his problem, he confidently, greatly, expects God to answer.

This is a wonderful concept to remember when we’re testifying and witnessing.

When I get behind the wheel of my personal vehicle, or go on a cruise ship or go someplace where I may be in contact with someone who doesn’t know the Lord, I try hard to recall to ask God to indicate who is the one He wants me to talk too.

Maybe there is no one; maybe the Lord wants me to spend my time reading or studying and praying and observing all of those neighbors placed into my path.

But very likely He does have someone He wants me to encounter and to engage with at some point in my future – I don’t know with whom God is working, but I know He will certainly direct me through ways of which I am hardly conscious.

“Jehovah, Lead, Guide, Direct my Steps. Break My Heart for What Breaks Yours.”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 37:23-34 The Message

23-24 Stalwart walks in step with God;
    his path blazed by God, he’s happy.
If he stumbles, he’s not down for long;
    God has a grip on his hand.

25-26 I once was young, now I’m a graybeard—
    not once have I seen an abandoned believer,
    or his kids out roaming the streets.
Every day he’s out giving and lending,
    his children making him proud.

27-28 Turn your back on evil,
    work for the good and don’t quit.
God loves this kind of thing,
    never turns away from his friends.

28-29 Live this way and you’ve got it made,
    but bad eggs will be tossed out.
The good get planted on good land
    and put down healthy roots.

30-31 Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone,
    rolls virtue around on his tongue.
His heart pumps God’s Word like blood through his veins;
    his feet are as sure as a cat’s.

32-33 Wicked sets a watch for Righteous,
    he’s out for the kill.
God, alert, is also on watch—
    Wicked won’t hurt a hair of his head.

34 Wait passionately for God,
    don’t leave the path.
He’ll give you your place in the sun
    while you watch the wicked lose it.

Master, Creator, make me a servant of your peace. Help me continue to pray and seek for your will to be done on earth, in me, as it is in heaven. In your name, O Jehovah.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Honoring Parents, Honoring God. Exodus 20:12

Exodus 20:12Amplified Bible

12 “Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

The fifth commandment is simultaneously a simple instruction and an indispensable element of the well-being of entire societies.

When the Lord gives the command “Honor your father and mother,” He is laying down the essential blueprint for maintaining the stability of families, communities, the Body of Christ and His churches and hosts of all nations.

What does it mean to honor your parents?

The word for “honor” carries the notion of weight and heaviness; children ought to feel the weight of respect for their parents.

By this fifth commandment, God places the full weight of responsibility for the lifetime of moral and ethical upbringing of the children and their instruction in righteous living, firmly and squarely on the shoulders of the father and mother.

By this “God” weight, this weight of God, Parents are owed such high regard because God has placed upon them in their roles, the stewardship of such a role, accountability to such a role, to raise the next generation of children, is worth many times over, far beyond its utmost maximum possible weight in honor.

While children are in view here, the Bible also has much to say about parenting that honors God (see also Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21). — More on this later.

How does a child display this honor?

In several ways.

For one, a child ought to show practical respect to his or her parents.

This can be as simple as speaking well of our parents, showing them courtesy, looking them in the eye, and addressing them with a due sense of deference.

Second, it involves genuine love; there should be heartfelt expressions of affection between parents and their children.

Third, unless it would involve disobeying God, a child ought to obey what his or her mom and dad say.

This expectation is found all over Proverbs: for example, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8).

Fourth, a child should submit to their parents’ discipline and authority.

All good parents discipline their children (though it must not be done in anger nor vindictively or disproportionately), and children should ought to be taught to implicitly trust such discipline is for their long-term good (Hebrews 12:5-11).

In ancient Israel, respect for ones parents was valued so highly that those who disregarded it flagrantly or persistently faced the death penalty (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).

Why such a significant consequence?

Because the home provides the most essential and vital training ground, the success of which affects how the child will relate to authorities of all kinds.

We never outrun authority in our lives.

There are political authorities we are called to obey (Romans 13:1-7).

Spiritual authorities we are to respect (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12).

And those of advanced years we are commanded to honor (Leviticus 19:32).

Most significantly, when children are taught how, when they learn over time to honor their parents, even despite their parents’ many imperfections, they learn what it too means to learn how to honor our ABBA, our perfect heavenly Father.

Reverence for parents is an integral part of reverence for God.

Because parental authority is God-given, for children to learn to honor their parents is to come to that place of spiritual maturity and honor God Himself.

So if you are a parent [age not specific] with children [age?] at home, it is not loving (though it may be easier) to fail to insist that your children honor you.

If you are an adult with parents still living, it is a matter of obedience to God you still show them the honor they are due, not according to how well (or other- wise) you feel they raised you but according to the position the Lord gave them.

As you honor them, you will be pleasing Him and showing those around you that God-given authority, when exercised in a godly way, is a blessing to all.

Honoring Parents …

It may come as a surprise to many of us this commandment is not age-specific.

It’s a commandment not just for the young but for children of all ages.

God asks parents be worthy of honor in the way they relate to their children.

And God commands that children obey and show respect for their parents in line with doing what is right.

This means both are to act appropriately at each stage of their lives together.

This commandment came to a society without the support systems that many of us are used to.

Adult children were totally responsible to look after aging parents.

God reminds us that as long as we have parents, we are to honor them, seeing that their living is respectable and they are well cared for.

It’s not just a matter of doing what our parents tell us to do when we are young.

It’s a matter of showing our utmost respect, life-long honor to the parents who gave us life, sacrificed incredibly all to raise us, launched us upon life’s journey.

The apostle Paul calls this “the first commandment with a promise.”

God indicates when we honor the parents with whom we are in relationship, he will honor us and He will surely and certainly bless us.

Some parents are easier to honor than others.

But respecting to the utmost those whom the Lord has chosen to place over us opens a door to abundant blessings.

By honoring our parents and others whom God places in authority over us, we honor and glory and our utmost worship and praise unto our Father in heaven.

Which is what each and everyone of us were created, shaped by God, to do …

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Let us Pray,

Heavenly Father, ABBA Father, thank You for my parents and for giving me life. My First ABBA, Thank You for the lessons I have learned and the good times we have shared together. Forgive me for the times when I have not honored my father and mother as I ought – for I am aware that this is dishonoring to You. From this day forward, I pray that I may honour You in all my interactions with my family and my friends, and may my whole life be honoring unto You. This I pray in Jesus’ name.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Our Personal Accountability to God: Biblical Guidance. Hebrews 4:10-13

Hebrews 4:10-13Amplified Bible

10 For the one who has once entered His rest has also rested from [the weariness and pain of] his [human] labors, just as God rested from [those labors uniquely] His own. 11 Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience [as those who died in the wilderness]. 12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b]soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Accountability is a big topic.

Does Integrity count for anything anymore?

Does Honesty count when, in this age of social media and the internet, we try so very hard to hide everything about us, who we are, every single thing we can in mindless minutiae, and cyber-cookies – just trying to get away with so much?

There are a whole lot of places to “hide stuff” on the internet in “cyberspace.”

Does Accountability matter?

Do we try too hard to let too much just slip into a state of cyber-anonymity?

“Who is going to know what to look for anyway?”

“Who has the time to look anyway?”

“Who has the energy to look anyway?”

“What are the chances of ever our “being discovered or found out?”

“Isn’t everybody too busy “minding their own business” anyway?

Do a quick google search!

You will find a whole lot of people are asking things like:

What is personal accountability?

What is the difference between responsibility and accountability? 

What does the Bible say about accountability?

Why is personal accountability important?

And searching things like: How to hold people accountable, how to hold yourself accountable, and how to be accountable to others.

But around here, our primary interest is in what the Bible has to say on any matter, so the main question we want to answer today is, what does the Bible say about accountability?

We will strive to faithfully, hopefully, lovingly, prayerfully learn that personal accountability is a major key to living a life of victory, so of course, we want to strive to give practical application advice for how to hold yourself accountable.

What does the Bible Say about our Personal Accountability?

It’s hard to narrow the answer to this question down to just one verse, because there are so many facets to personal accountability. Of course, we will try to cover some of these facets and verses below, but if I had to choose one verse that kind of sums it all up, I think it would be this one from Hebrews 4:12-13

12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b]soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.

Nothing whatsoever is hidden from the Lord our God, the Word of the Lord our God, the POWER behind the Word of the Lord our God and there’s not one single creature exists that is concealed from HIS sight, but ALL things are open and exposed, AND revealed to the EYES of HIM with whom we have to give account.

Psalm 139:1-12 Amplified Bible

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
2 
You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do];
You understand my thought from afar.
3 
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 
Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken],
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
5 
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.
6 
Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.

7 
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there.
9 
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
And the night will be the only light around me,”
12 
Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You,
But the night shines as bright as the day;
Darkness and light are alike to You.

What an incredibly stunning revelation spoken, penned, then sung by David!

The question that always seems to linger in my mind when I read these verses is what David’s emotional state was when he wrote and then sung these words.

Was he singing them from a place of hiding -from man, from God, or both?

Was he singing them from a place of intrigue?

Was he singing them from a place of joy?

Was he singing them from a place of gratitude?

Was he singing them from a place of thanksgiving?

Was he singing them from a place of fear and trembling?

Was he singing them from a place of anger?

Was he singing them from a place of anxiety?

Was he singing them from a place of depression?

Was he singing them from a place of deceit?

Was he singing them from a place of subterfuge?

Was he singing them from a place – “secure” in his knowledge he just pulled the wool over everyone’s eye – including God’s – In essence – committing criminal acts, conspiring to commit criminal acts, Mocking man and God?

Was he singing them from a place – secure in his absolute authority as King and anointed by God, being a child of God – “now I will get away with everything secure in the knowledge, belief, “because I know God will forgive me anyway?”

Was he singing them from a place of a soul needing to be humbled before God?

Was he singing them from a place of kneeling on his way towards repentance?

Any one of these starting places is fully and equally valid – even for us in 2022.

Whether trying to be honest or trying to be deceitful or somewhere in between,

Whether we accept it or not, the Bible is clear that we are all accountable to God, and since no one and nothing is ever hidden from Him, we WILL have to give an accurate account of ourselves. The excuses, manipulations we are all tempted to employ in this life simply just will not work when we’re standing before Him.

Since that’s true, let’s dig a little deeper to discover how to hold yourself accountable now so that when you stand before Him, you will be prepared.

What is Personal Accountability?

Before we go too much further into answering the question, “What does the Bible say about accountability,” let’s take some time to define exactly what personal accountability is and why it’s important.

To understand personal accountability, we really just have to break the word down and find some definitions.

The root of the word is account, and the definition of account, in this case, is a report or description of an event or experience (Oxford).

So, to be accountable for something is to be “able to give an account,” or to have the capacity to report or describe that thing.

To be accountable to someone is to have the responsibility of offering an account to that person.

Most of us are accountable to someone (a boss, partner, board members, or shareholders) in our jobs, but that’s not personal accountability, that is corporate accountability.

So, what is personal accountability?

Romans 14:11-12Amplified Bible

11 For it is written [in Scripture],

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall give praise to God.”

12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

As we’ve already discovered,

GOD SEES IT ALL!

GOD KNOWS IT ALL!

GOD HAS HEARD IT ALL!

We are all going to have to give a personal account to God.

That means, we are all going to have to answer to Him for our own lives. Not anyone else’s. That is what personal accountability is, and whether we choose to accept it or not, none of us will be able to escape from our God’s Judgement.

If you and I want to take that even .01% seriously, you and I will have to learn how to hold ourselves accountable to someone here. And just as no one will have to answer for you or me before God, no one can do it for us here either.

Accountability vs. Responsibility

Many people will think and believe that accountability and responsibility are the same thing. In fact, many sources will even use one of these words to define the other. But in reality, there is a very important difference between the two.

The word responsibility carries with it culpability or fault, while accountability simply necessitates giving an answer.

In the corporate world we can see this easily demonstrated in the relationship between boss and employee. The boss is not responsible to do the job of each employee but is accountable for whether or not the job gets done and the job gets done according to established manufacturers’ specifications correctly.

In our personal lives too, we’re not responsible for each and every detail.

Much of it is out of our control.

We don’t have any say in whether or not people treat us well, how certain events play out, or a thousand other little incontrollable details.

But according to the Bible,

We are still, will remain, 100% accountable to God for every detail of our lives.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Generous God, you are my soul’s provider, you give me everything I need. Our prosperity is only found in you. Give me clarity of mind and thought as I face difficulties and confusion in my life. Help me make choices that are obedient to your word and your will for my life. Help me to walk in your ways, obey your commands and trust in the name of Jesus. Help me to do this and prosper in everything I do, wherever I go. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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