“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ” (Matthew 7:22-23).

Knowing God personally, through Christ, by the Holy Spirit is the essential foundation for Christian living (Ephesians 2:18). Jesus explained that He is not looking for our service only, but for us. He does not want our work, He wants our complete devotion – all we are and have (Hebrews 2:13).

We are also told our faith in Christ will be demonstrated by our behaviour, not just by our declarations (James 1:26, 2:20). Christ warns on Judgment Day many will stand before Him thinking they are Christians because they have prophesied in His name, cast out demons in His name and performed many wonders in His name! These people will know the Bible and believe they are saved, and yet they will be denounced. They, “Practice lawlessness.” These are people who confess faith in Jesus, whilst still loving sin, without remorse, repentance and have no desire to be holy (1 John 1:9). They may appear to do good works, nevertheless, the Lord will say to them, “I never knew you.”

What does Christ want from us? Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ ” (Matthew 22:37-39).

God’s primary will for our lives is for us to love Him with everything we are and everything we have. He wants us and He desires us to want Him. He loves for us to spend our lives becoming more and more His (2 Thessalonians 1:12), and by doing so, His grace will flow from us to others. The Bible states: ‘A man’s heart reveals the man’ (Proverbs 27:19). What is in our hearts? Do we love God with everything, or at least, do we desire to love God with all? God does not want good works, He wants pure hearts.

This is an excerpt from the book ‘Jesus Today - Daily Devotional - 100 Days with Jesus Christ’ by Paul Backholer and is used by permission.