Being Content

Being Content

By John Lysaught

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The world is against us on all sides. The devil and the world are in battle with us on all fronts; spiritually, physically on all levels every day, every moment. One of the ways that the world and Satan try to snare us is by using the world against us in our contentment with what we have.

Are you content? Being content is being satisfied with what you have. Pretty simple concept, huh? But do we really live that way? Are we truly content with what we have in this life?

Whether you are rich, middle class or poor, are you content? Designer clothes, the latest fad, wanting a bigger house, a nicer yard, that perfect job, that perfect family, etc., is this what we are looking for? I would say that most people, yes, even Christians are not content with what they have. It seems to me that a lot of people are always trying to keep up with the Jones’ (with material things in life instead of focusing on Jesus and being happy with what they have).

The Bible says in Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

But do we live that way? No. I’m guilty of this and only today realized that I should be content with what I have. I have been caught-up in the world of wanting more and more, bigger and bigger, this and that, that and this. All of that really doesn’t matter to my spiritual well-being or my walk with Jesus. My worldly desires are just that: worldly desires. And you know what? I’m ashamed of myself for this. 

Having worldly desires is a tool that Satan uses to drive a wedge between us and our spiritual walk with Jesus. The world and Satan wants us to have desires for the latest fades, clothes, etc. to distract us from what is most important: our relationship with Jesus. Want a bigger house? You have to work harder, longer, get a job you don’t like but pays more, just so you can pay for a bigger house that costs more in the mortgage, bigger utility bills, more maintenance and such which takes away from you and your walk with Jesus. 

Whether you live in a 5,000 square foot house or a 500 square foot apartment, you should be content with what you have and your place in life. Does that mean you shouldn’t seek higher education or that promotion? Not necessarily, but be content with what you have and if the Lord blesses you with the opportunity to seek higher education, or gives you a promotion at your job, then accept those blessings, but don’t seek them out because you are not content with your possessions or your place in life. Don’t seek these things to just keep up with the neighbors or to get worldly possession or to make your life easier, just be content with what you have and who you are.

God didn’t make a mistake when He made us. He knew you before you were born. He knows what kind of person you will become, what job you will have, what things you have, your desires, your wants, yet all he really wants is for you to be content and to love Him. Is that so hard? Is it so hard to be just content with life and love Jesus? Yes it is—for some.

Some people want all the things the world has to offer, even Christians. Their priorities have been skewed by Satan that seeking more and more worldly things (nice cars, fancy houses, all the toys, etc.) is okay. Is it a surprise that that average credit card debt in America is so high? People are spending outside of their means to get the things they want like bigger TV’s, nicer cars, newest clothing styles, the best shoes, etc.

I’m as guilty as the average Joe on this. Until today, I didn’t realize that I was not content with what I have and because of that I’m in debt. I have toys I don’t need, and things that I could do without. Now that I realize this, my attitude will change. I am now content with what I have and believe I have too much stuff now. I resolve to not seek out the best of the best or more stuff just to have more stuff that I don’t really need.

Philippians 4:11-13: “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every- where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

I grew up very poor. I remember finding a bag of groceries on our doorstep on Thanksgiving mornings and I remember getting toys from charities for Christmas and using duct tape to fix my shoes that were too small for my feet. Some of you can relate and some of you can’t, but as a kid I was content with what I had, even though it wasn’t much.

Throughout the years God has blessed me with a good job with a great income and I am no longer poor, but I’m not rich either; I’m just a bit higher than average middle class. I should be content right? But I haven’t been. I wanted my kids to have all the new stuff, my wife to have the latest Coach purse, to have the new car, the 5^th wheel trailer for the truck, all these things I really didn’t need— but bought anyway—because I wasn’t being content with what I had. I wanted more and more stuff because I wanted them, not because I needed them.

Shouldn’t we be content with what we have? Shouldn’t we have contentment of who we are and our place in life? Regardless of your standing or your possessions, the most important thing is to be content with those things and who you are and seek Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. We should be seeking Jesus, not the latest iPad.

We should be seeking Jesus instead of working longer hours to afford that BMW that you have dreamed of having. We should be seeking the Lord instead of seeking all the worldly things the world has been stuffing down our throats that the world says we need to be “happy” in this life. Happiness is found in only one thing and that is our relationship with Jesus.

Seek out Jesus and you will receive blessings from Him. They may or may not be material things or wealth, but he may bless you with better health, a softer heart, a love for others, and most important, he will bless you with eternal life. 

1 Timothy 6:6-8: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”

Being content is also being strong in the Lord, for he strengthens us. Not being content, shows us that we are still affected and driven by the world and not by Jesus our Lord. We must seek the Lord and be content with our lives as they are now and be patient for the plans the Lord has for each of us. What those plans are may be revealed to you already, or they may not have been revealed. We must remain content with our lives and wait patiently for the Lord’s direction.

Being content in what we have and what we are is also tied to loving ourselves for whom and what we are. If you don’t love yourself, as the Lord loves you, how can you have that full relationship with the Lord? For not being content with yourself will affect your walk with Jesus. If you are content with yourself then kudos to you, you are ahead of the game. 

At times I’m not content with myself and don’t love myself as I should and when that happens I do feel a separation from the Lord. For me that lack of love comes from the chemical imbalance in my mind that causes major depressive disorder.

When I have a “flare” of that depression, I feel worthless and not worthy of myself or the Lord. I pray earnestly for that feeling to dissipate because logically I know I am wrong for feeling that way but emotionally, at the time, I feel as I do: I don’t love and am not content with myself. 

 believe that there are a lot of people out there who don’t love themselves as they should, as the Lord want us to. He loves us unconditionally and we should love ourselves unconditionally. This is a lesson I’m working on in myself and for those of you out there that feel this way, know that you should love yourself as the Lord loves you: unconditionally.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that contentment of our life and us is important in our walk with Jesus. He is our life, He is our hope, and He is the way to eternity in heaven. Be content with what you have and what you are. You are a child of the Most High God who loves you and only wants your heart; not the things you have, not the material things you want, but your heart and your love for Him. Don’t let what you have define your relationship with Jesus, but let your heart for Jesus define you and be content with yourself, your place in life, and most important be content in the Lord, for He will provide what you need.

Let the things of this world go and don’t get pulled into the belief of the world that you need stuff to be happy. Be content with what you have, not want you want and your relationship with Jesus will grow, will be refreshed, and will be filled with love and blessings.

I’m in the same boat as a lot of you out there and this article is not just for you, but a lesson for me as well. I intend to strive to be content with I have and will be content with who I am. I will turn my ways around and will focus more on my relationship with the Lord and not the material things in this world. There is a difference in our needs and wants: I want the Lord.

Proverbs 14:30: “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.”

John_lysaught@yahoo.com

All Scripture citations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

What is Important

I failed. I didn’t listen to the Holy Spirit about 10 weeks ago. I was getting bored and began to consider going back to school for a second master’s degree.  I received my first one prior to being saved and figured this would be an easy endeavor again because I wouldn’t have to take all the classes required and would finish in less than a year. My gut, the Holy Spirit, told me not to do this, but me being my stubborn self listened to my mind and signed up as a full time master’s student.  It was only two classes for a nine week term but it was a great mistake; I should have listened to the Holy Spirit instead of my mind.

Anyway, the gist of it was this: School interrupted what was most important to me which is learning and studying about Jesus.  The school work, reading, stress, and anxiety of school took first place in my life when it shouldn’t have been there at all. The Holy Spirit knew this would happen to me and that is why he urged me not to do it, but again, I didn’t listen.

It was a horrible time in school. I have finished all projects, papers, and reading so I am now getting back into His word and look forward to reading books and the Bible again instead of a text books about human resources.

I totally felt like a failure to God.  I thought to myself that I was only taking a short break from my walk with Jesus and that short time would have little effect on me. It did though. I missed Him. I strayed from the path. I put God on the back burner and it hurt. It hurt deep inside my heart and soul. Yet the course was paid for by the Veteran’s Administration and I couldn’t afford to withdraw and reimburse them so I suffered through the time, all the while yearning to get back to God. I am not going back to school for any other terms. I’m at peace with this and the Holy Spirit has confirmed this in my heart.

This got me thinking about what is important. I talked it over with a good friend and spiritual mentor mine, Bishop Al Brown, when I began to feel the emptiness of my heart getting enlarged by not being in the Word like I should have been. He told me that anything that takes away or is not focused on my walk with Jesus is not worth the time and effort at this time in my life.  Wow. How simple a statement that was but it hit me hard about what was important to me. I guess I just got so used to being in the Word and reading books about Jesus that I took it for granted that straying from that would not affect me. I was certainly wrong.

I think we all do this in our lives: listen to our minds instead of the Holy Spirit because we think we know best and/or we are not in tune to the Holy Spirit, or as I did, I just plain ignored him. Matthew 6:33 says “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (KVJ).  I didn’t seek the kingdom of God first. I was seeking worldly knowledge that I thought would add to my resume and make me look better to the world. What a mistake. I don’t need to look good to the world, but only to God and by failing to stay on path with Him, I failed myself in this walk. He is always there, but it was me who put Him on the wayside.

Proverbs 4:25 says “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee” (KJV). My eyes were twisted, to say the least. Have your eyes ever been off a bit, even slightly from the Lord? Maybe it is like me, seeking something worldly like a second master’s degree. Maybe you’ve gotten a new distraction like a new TV show that has taken your eyes from the Lord, or maybe just a simple hobby that takes all your spare time away, especially from the Lord?  I did, and if you’re like me, then you will understand that feeling.  Let it go. Draw back on your hobbies, DVR that TV show, do whatever it takes to keep your eyes straight on the Lord, not looking away from Him in your walk with Him ever. I learned the hard way and I hope by reading this you can see or avoid doing what some of us do that takes us off the path of the Lord. 

By no means am I saying you shouldn’t seek to self-improve or to have hobbies. What I’m trying to impart here is for you to think about what is important to you. Is there something getting in your way with your relationship with Jesus, your true Lord and Savior, even a little bit?  If so, a course change may be called for. A readjustment of priorities needs to be looked at. Adjusting the trim on the wings of your life needs some adjusting.

Matthew 6:24 says “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (KJV). I’ve always took this verse for granted and never thought it would apply to me. Only after being in this degree program have I realized that I was trying to serve two masters, but I could only serve one and at the time it was not my true master, Jesus, but the master of the world through a fruitless and needless endeavor for me. 

I love learning but my learning priorities got mixed up. I sought the love of knowledge of the world, not my true love of learning of the Lord.  Did I despise the Lord when taking these courses? Of course not, but the gist is that I had a choice of two masters to serve and by default, I choose at the time to serve the world with hopes of improving my resume and my place in life. I was mistaken. I am not poor by any means, but choose unwisely to seek worldly gains, so by my own argument, I can attest that by default (hurts to say this) but I was loving mammon and despising God by my own ignorance. 

What a great mistake. I keep saying this but it is so true.  Only recently did I realize my mistake and made a turn back to God. Near the end of the term I put God before my homework for I no longer cared about school. I begun going through the motions at school and have been getting good enough grades, and am glad it is now over. I’m the type of guy who likes to get “A’s” in everything and so to let that ambition go was hard but an easy choice. I’m back to my true love of learning about Jesus, a subject much more worthy with greater rewards than any secular school can ever give me. 

Proverbs 16:3 says “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established” (KJV). I didn’t do this. My work at school was not for or to the Lord but for selfish means to an end that I have stopped doing for it is not worthy of the Lord nor will it lead to the plans He has established for me. What those plans are, I don’t know, but it didn’t include a master’s in human resources. 

What is important is to follow the Lord’s will for you and to love Him with all your heart, soul, and mind. 2 Timothy 2:15 says “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (KJV). Are you doing this? I didn’t but I am working towards it again.  I am washed clean by the blood of Christ and am a saved sinner, destined through all hope, to go to eternity with Jesus. To be a child of the Son of God, Jesus, is to be approved through His sacrifice on the cross for our sins, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

In our lives we must make time and ensure we spend time with Jesus through the study of His word through the Bible and, like me, through books written about Christ written by people that are a lot smarter and have better insight than I have so we can get closer to Him and keep us on the right path to Glory. 

Proverbs 2: 2-5, “So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God” (KJV)

We must know what is important to us and that should be first and foremost the Lord. Everything else should be in second place in our priorities.  Proverbs 2:2-5 (above) says this clearly that we must be attentive to the wisdom of the Lord and seek and search for it. I didn’t recently and I lost time with God, time lost in understanding Him and time lost on my precious walk with him.  We must find and listen to the knowledge of God as put forth to us through the Bible and as inspired and lead by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is our guide on this world that will keep us on the straight and narrow path to salvation, but we must listen. I learned this lesson greatly, and still fail a lot to not listen to the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit will let you know what is important. Listen to that voice in your head, gut, or heart that tells you what to do or not to do.  I’ve learned this lesson over and over again. I will not listen to that voice telling me not to do something and then as expected, after I did it and I failed or it turned out to be a mess, I then only could look back and say to myself that I knew the Holy Spirit was talking to me and I didn’t listen to him on what was important. 

I have a hard time admitting this because I want to be the best Christian out there, but I am human and I live in a fallen world as a sinful creature full of selfishness and selfish desires that get in the way of my walk with Christ all the time.  I know I’m not alone and if you think you don’t do this, then I question your honesty in yourself. I’ve tried to fake it, but I find that being honest about my failings with Christ is therapeutic and only strengthens me with Christ.  I know that He is my center and my most important part of my life, even when I fail, He is always there to help me back on track.

I implore you, I beg you, to evaluate your life and look at it and take an honest examination of yourself and figure out what is most important to you. Is it Christ? Is He the center of your life and being? Is He the reason for getting up every day? Is He the reason for your life and do you rely on Him to guide you through each day? If not then it is time to change this. Christ centered is the way to go. Is this hard and do we fail at this? Yes, all the time. Don’t give up though. If you fail and if you fall, get back up, take Jesus by the hand and get back on the path of salvation to eternity with Him in heaven. 

I can tell you that having Jesus out of my life for that short period had a profound and negative impact on me. I feel into old habits that were not good for my body and soul and I had gained that emptiness that I felt prior to being saved. It was miserable and I don’t want this to happen to you or me again.

You are important to Chirst and He loves you and wants you, all of you and your heart. You need Him too, we all need him.  He IS the way the truth and the life. He is our access to forgiveness and our way to salvation to gain entrance to heaven.  If you are saved, you know this already and you know the importance of having a Christ centered life, to have him as the most important thing in your life above all else.  He is our life and our being and He is our way to salvation.

It took a short time away from Him for me to realize how important He really is to me. If you were like me, or are like I was, it is okay. You can regain that relationship with Christ again. All it takes is that first step. That first step can be hard, but once you make it, the next step and the next step is easy and then you will find yourself running to Christ, to be with Him as the important and center of your life.   

I’ll leave you with this to think about what is important to you: Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (KJV).

With all blessings and love.

John_lysaught@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

My Mighty Rock

“In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalm 62:7-8).

In salvation I find comfort and love from my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the rock I lean on in times of trouble and glorify in times of joy. He is my refuge and my strength, which I pour out my heart in earnest desire to feel His presence and to hear His voice through the Holy Spirit in times of trouble.

I totally and honestly love the Lord with all my heart. I feel guilty though, a lot, for the sins I continue to do, even though I don’t want to do them, just as the apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15-18:

“For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”

I am by far not a perfect man. I make mistakes every day in thoughts, words and actions the moment I do, I regret it, knowing it was sin in me that took over for that one moment leading me to say, think or do something I knew I shouldn’t have, and I feel like I disappointed the Lord. 

Yet I know that God is my salvation and my rock. He is quick to forgive and is steadfast in His love for me, and for you. He loved us so much that He sent His only son down to earth to live with us and teach us of God’s love and then His son, Jesus, died for our sins.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

What strength and love that is from God, to give His only Son to us, to make a way for us to be connected to God through Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself to forgive our sins? It shows He is a great and loving God. By Jesus’ sacrifice, He made a way, a path for us by grace to have a relationship with Him for everlasting life—as long as we believe, truly believe, that He died and rose from the grave three days later to defeat death and offer us eternity through Him.

Because of His sacrifice, because God loved us so much, I know that He is the rock of my strength, the sturdy hand I can hold to get through each day, each week, and each hour. Without His strength I am just a feather in the wind, letting the wind take me this way and that way with no set destination, just floating through life without direction.

God is the God and ruler of the universe and yet he cares for me, and for you. Each one of us is important to Him. We are the “apple of His eye” in the entire universe, made in the likeness of Him for His pleasure to watch us grow with Him, live for Him and rely on Him to take care of us—to be our refuge in times of trouble and pain, and to share our successes.

Have you ever been in that position? Ever been in so much pain—emotional, physical, etc., that all you could do was cry out to the Lord? Even non-believers cry out to God when in times of trouble, but often they don’t cry for refuge, they cry out of anger thinking that God is the cause of their troubles, when in fact—God can be the refuge for their troubles. God is there to comfort us, to love us, and protect our souls from the troubles of life. All you have to do is believe in Him, that He is real, and that He cares for you unconditionally.

We are not ants that God enjoys stomping on or toying with for His pleasure. Through His grace and power He has breathed life into us by giving us souls with consciousness and morality. God’s signature is written on all our hearts. Whether a believer or not, we all have an inherent knowledge of right or wrong. 

Once you find God, once He becomes your mighty rock to hold on to and to stand with, do you find that you are more than flesh and bones with only a knowledge of right or wrong? You become a changed person trusting in the Lord to be there for you in those times of trouble when you can’t bear it on your own.

Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and pour our hearts out to Him and ask forgiveness of our sins we become true children of God. He becomes our strength and our rock that we can lean on, cling to, in this world we call earth and all the troubles that come with living in this fallen world. 

Each one of us faces troubles, some more often than others. We are persecuted in our own ways. People are harsh to us, take advantage of us, do their best to hurt us both emotionally and sometimes, physically. Some people have grown up in abusive homes, some in loving homes. Some people learned that life is about taking care of number one (themselves) and others learned that life is full of opportunities to excel and succeed to gain a name for themselves and to gain as much as they can (such as material goods).

And yes, some people grew up knowing God from an early age. Regardless of your background, regardless of how good or bad your life is, we all face troubles and seek ways to relieve our troubles.

Some people relieve their troubles through revenge. Some find refuge in drugs and alcohol. Some find refuge in sexual escapades. Some find relief and refuge in their careers; the list can go on and on. I propose though, and many have found, that true refuge comes from the strength and grace found in Jesus Christ yes, Jesus Christ.

We can’t see Him, we can’t touch Him, but if you know Him in your heart, you know He is real. He is the rock we can hold on to when we are sinking in the quicksand of life, when we have nowhere else to turn, we can turn to Him. He is there to lift us up, to give us refuge from life’s troubles. Will He solve all your problems? Will He take revenge for you against those that did you wrong? No, but He is there to comfort us and wrap us up with His love to give us assurance that we are being taken care of.

If you have Jesus and take refuge in Him, you see situations differently. Your refuge won’t be the same as it used to be. You can find comfort and joy in the Lord. You find forgiveness to others. You learn to love others, regardless of problems with them. You will look at your troubles and will take refuge in Jesus over all the other ways you tried before.

Again, all your problems won’t be solved, but your attitude toward them will be. By having God as your rock, refuge, and strength, you will have the means to face troubles knowing that God will not forsake you nor abandon you. As Hebrews 12:11 says:

“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

We can take comfort that our troubles are temporary and occur to bring us closer to Jesus and to help us gain strength in our relationship with Him.

There is a lesson to be learned here. The lesson is if we did not have troubles, if we did not have hard times, if bad things didn’t happen to us, then we wouldn’t need to seek the Lord. Does God throw glass on the floor while you are barefooted just so you will seek Him to avoid the glass?

No. We live in a fallen world full of sin and bad people who are evil and do evil things; people who don’t know our loving Father. But God is there, always, for us to seek the refuge of his protection of our souls and the comfort we need to get through the tough times that life and the world throw at us.

I didn’t believe in Jesus for the first thirty or so years of my life. I believed in a higher power and had my own ideas of what heaven was and how to get there. I also believed that God liked to mess with me by throwing obstacles in my way in life: a bill I couldn’t pay, a person whom I hated, poor health, and a job I despised. 

I found refuge and relief in everything but God. I felt that God was pushing me away from Him, that He didn’t want me; that I was so bad He couldn’t love me. What I now know was that God was trying to get my attention through the troubles of my life. He was always there for me, trying to draw me to Him, but I didn’t seek Him. I was relying on myself to solve my problems while God was waiting for me to only just turn to Him and seek Him for strength and refuge from my troubles.

For thirty-plus years, Satan did a good job of keeping me from my Lord and Savior. Grace, I didn’t even know what grace is. I thought it was just a name like my grandmother’s name: Grace. Through great prayer from my family and through the urging of my wife to go to church with her, I began to recognize that God was not who I thought He was.

My heart began to soften and instead of daydreaming at church, I actually began to listen to what the story of salvation is. God began to break through my heart because I changed my attitude from hostility toward God, to wanting to learn more about this God. The God being preached about who is caring, loving, strengthening and, what hit home for me—is that He is a refuge for troubles. 

I learned that God was the missing link in my life that I needed to get through my troubles. I realized that through Him, through Jesus Christ, I could find strength and refuge in Him for my troubles. I began to turn to God for strength and comfort. I began to want God in earnest and I got saved and the Holy Spirit became part of my being. 

Prior to being saved, I was mostly angry at God for all my health problems. I hated Him for allowing me to have so much trouble with my health, all the ailments I had, all the medicine I was taking, and all the side effects from them: I just despised Him. Then after I was saved, I found that even though I have all these health problems, I could find strength and comfort in God. He became my refuge and strength. And when my health began to get worse, I found comfort in Him and strength in Him to endure.

I found that through my troubles, not only my health troubles, but all sorts of trouble, I could rely on Jesus to be my rock, my strength, and my refuge to seek when I feel overwhelmed by life’s troubles. I found that with my heart changed by accepting Jesus, my troubles did the opposite of what they used to do; instead of pushing me away from God, they brought me closer to God. With Jesus as my strength and refuge, I found in times of trouble, my relationship with Jesus is strengthened, not diminished. Glory to God for this!

For those who are not saved, if you don’t know Jesus, you face the same troubles as the rest of those who are saved and know and have Jesus in their hearts and lives. Troubles will always be there. No matter what you do, don’t do, avoid, or don’t avoid, troubles are always around the corner because we live in a fallen world full of horrible things and people.

Having Jesus in your life as your strength and refuge will change how you look at troubles. You will no longer fear the bad times. You won’t be moved by what wrenches life and the world will through into the gears of your life. Jesus will be there for you, to comfort you and to help you through those rough patches you are going through. 

The Holy Spirit will be there to help you work through the tough times. The Holy Spirit will give you the guidance you need, as long as you listen, to get through tough times, troubles, and every other problem thrown your way. All you need to do is accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you will attain what a lot of people don’t have: Assurance, refuge, and strength in Christ.

Time is short here on earth. You don’t have much time left to make your choice. If you need motivation to come to Jesus, let your life’s troubles lead you to the cross, to Jesus. Let your guard down, as I did, and be receptive to the words of God and the grace bestowed upon you by the sacrifice Jesus made for you to wash your sins clean. 

It took trouble in my life to lead me to Jesus, and I fought and screamed the whole way there. Yet when I finally listened, really listened and took to heart the words I heard about Jesus and the promises He had for me, I was a changed man. I accepted the Lord and have not looked back since. I find His presence comforting, loving, and my soul is happy in the good times and yes, even in the bad times.

This is your time to accept the Lord. Whether you want help with your life’s troubles, you feel emptiness in your heart, or you want to see heaven, Jesus is the way to meet those needs and more.

“For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Only by accepting Christ as your savior can you attain the life God has planned for you for His good pleasure and yours. 

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14: 6).

God is the mighty rock we can hold on to. Through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, you can be assured that whatever you may face in this life, Christ will be there to comfort you and the Holy Spirit will be there to guide you through the tough times in life, the troubles you face, and the adversaries you will meet along the way on the path to heaven.

Trust in God to guide you. Let Him be your mighty rock to stand on to face life with the confidence and assurance of Christ in you and assurance of eternity with Him in heaven.

With all blessings and love,

All quoted Scripture is from the King James Version of the Bible

Debauchery

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people” (2 Timothy 3: 1-5, NIV)

 

This verse seems to reflect the world today. It’s like summing up the daily news or what is on TV or what you hear on the radio, or what is going on in people’s homes and lives.  It is really sad though that this is happening here in the last days.  It saddens me that this is happening and it is happening in our churches too.  You can’t seem to go anywhere, even in churches, where this debauchery is occurring. It is horrible that we live in such times, yet here we are, living in the middle of the fire, trying our best to be clean and blameless before the Lord. If you are of the Lord!

 

Does this verse sound like you? Read it again. If it does then you are in a world of hurt with the Lord. You’re mad at me for calling you out? Good, because you need to be awakened to your shortfalls with the Lord. If you proclaim you are a Christian and are described above, you need to reconsider your standing with Jesus.

 

In church a recent Sunday, the pastor was talking about fruitfulness. He asked the congregation what they thought fruitfulness meant.  Some said that fruitfulness meant personal wealth. What? Did I hear that correctly? Fruitfulness meant getting personal wealth? Then another said having a good life and material things like a nice house or car. What? What is with these people? These came from a people who have attended this church for years and they spilled out this junk of what fruitfulness is and say that they are Christians! Unbelievable! Fruitfulness is not a good life or material things it is different from that as the two verses below give examples of what fruitfulness is:

 

“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1, KJV).

 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galations, 5: 22-23, KJV).

 

Then there are those who live wild lives Monday through Saturday night (or the early mornings of Sunday) and come to church smelling of alcohol or look strung out on something. They are lovers of themselves and selfish for partying and living it up during the week, only to come to church to “proclaim” their love for Jesus. Hypocrites! This just makes me upset.  I mean I’m not perfect in any way and am a sinner and make mistakes like the rest of us but I don’t live my life as described above in 2 Timothy 3: 1-5.

 

Then there are those who are boastful of themselves. They talk about the things they have, things they do, what good Christians they are, and how perfect and blameless they are.  But you know what, I see them outside of church and they are by no means acting like Christians. They party, they gossip, and they curse out people; they live out parts of the verse 2 Timothy above. What is this world coming to when professing Christians act this way? It upsets me and frustrates me because the world sees these people and assume that this is what being a Christian is like. They think they can have all the worldly pleasures and still find their way to heaven because of the example some of these so called Christians portray.

 

“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good” (Titus, 1: 15-16, NIV).

 

These people are corrupted. For some reason I don’t think they are really saved and walk with Jesus. As this verse says they say they know Jesus but their actions don’t show it.  Really, they are worldly people pretending, or believing by delusions, that they are Christians. Just because you go to church and be nice to people or smile and shake hands there doesn’t make you a Christian. They may say they believe in God and Jesus and they are saved, but their actions and demeanors outside of church say otherwise.

 

These people are corrupted. If they truly accepted Jesus in their heart they would be different and act differently. Jesus doesn’t say its okay to go party Friday night and then get right with Him on Sunday at church, every week. He doesn’t tell you to go make as much money as you can or buy all the material things you can’t afford. He just wants your heart and when you get Him in your heart, you change. You become a new creature. Without Him, with pretending to be with Him, you are still and old creature of the world and live in and of the world.

 

But people are deceived, both in and out of the church. Maybe it’s our society, maybe it’s their misinterpretation of the bible, but I know it is of satan. He has slipped into these people’s lives and they have fell for his lies of what being a Christian is about. He has them believing things like fruitfulness is about money and good lives, and people believe it. They think to have Jesus is to get a better life and to have better things. That is not what Jesus is about; Jesus is about love and having love in your heart. Am I wrong?

 

Being a “Christian” while living in the world is the best of both worlds, as these people probably think. They can have it both ways: Get the fun and good things of life like wealth and partying, or living unholy lives and have Jesus at the same time. They are wrong; You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Living for Jesus does not include living in the world. It means delving yourself into Jesus and His desires for you and having Him in your heart to live the life He wants you to. Jesus doesn’t want us to pursue the worldly things of this world, but to be content and thankful for what we have with a humble heart and to follow Him and to strive for Him in our walk in salvation.

 

“That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10 NIV).

 

We who love God and follow Jesus do labor and strive to live the way He wants us to and to follow Him in our walk through this life with Him. We have the hope of eternity, the hope of everlasting life with Jesus. We believe in His word and do our best to live out His will for us; not to do what we want, but to do His will for us. This is what we strive for and have hope and labor for: Jesus in our heart and heaven with Him forever.

 

There are those who don’t get this. They may know it and believe it, but they ain’t living it. They go about their lives thinking they have Jesus when in fact they have nothing of the sort. They are either ignorant of that fact or are deceived by satan that how they live is their path to heaven. I say they are both. They are ignorant to the truth because satan has been able to deceive them to believe a different truth than the real truth.  Jesus is the way the truth and the life. Some people are blind to this and I feel sorry for them that they think they on the right path, but they took the wrong exit somewhere along the way.

 

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1: 5-7, NIV).

 

There are people (including so called Christians) who walk in darkness and don’t know it; I don’t know what light they think they are walking in. They go day to day living life thinking they are in the light but they aren’t. As explained above, I don’t have to revisit the reasons other than they have been deceived to think that the darkness they live in is the light and the light of God is something they only have to live on Sunday mornings.  They don’t live out the truth that Jesus is the light and that is sad to me. It grieves me to think of all the people that will stand at the judgment seat and be told that God didn’t know them.

 

Is there hope for these people, both in and out of the church? Yes, and that hope is Jesus. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6, KJV). I think it is easier for new believers to realize this than it is for those who have been in the church for a long time and are deceived by satan by their actions that contradict how they are living their lives and how they have probably never lived by this simple promise.

 

If people would live by this verse, and are truly saved, they would not be living out the actions in 2 Timothy 3: 1-5 (top of page). They would be living for Jesus; Their actions and demeanors would reflect the love and the guidance Jesus has for us as given through the Holy Spirit and in the Bible.  I believe this to be true and I am reminded everyday by this verse that I’m to live for Jesus and be a reflection of His love for others to see.

 

If you are not living a good solid Christian life, now is the time to get back on track. We all make mistakes and we are all sinners, but we must strive to live out and reflect the love of Christ for ourselves, our families and others.  Pray and pray and pray for Jesus to be in your heart and your life. Turn from your old ways of living the worldly life and turn to the life Jesus wants for you; Freedom for the evils of this world and the ways of the worldly life we are stuck in the middle of.

 

Is this hard for some people? Yes, it is hard for all of us because we are surrounded by the enemy on all fronts, but with the armor of God, we can overcome this world and wily tricks of the devil. Will we stumble on our walk with Jesus? Yes, but he will be there to take our hand, lift us up, and put us back on His path for us as long as we trust in Him and live for Him.

 

If you’re reading this and are not saved, or want to be saved from eternal damnation, please pray to Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and ask Jesus into your heart. Dust off that bible and delve into His word and pray often, everyday, for guidance from the Holy Spirit and live your life for Jesus.

 

If you do this, you will become a new creature of God and will be part of His eternal family in heaven.  You will change, no doubt, and will begin to change from the inside out. Your heart will change and you will begin to look at your life and the world differently. You will want to turn from your old ways and turn to the ways of the Lord. Are you scared of this? Don’t be. It is a great adventure and a decision you won’t regret. Having Jesus in your heart will give you an unspeakable joy and you will have a better outlook on life and your eternal destination once you pass from this world.

 

Don’t want Jesus? That is your choice, but you will be missing out on a life full of joy and contentment, and most importantly, you will miss out on heaven. Make the right choice; make the choice of letting Jesus in your heart and let Him rule your life and overtake you with His love and compassion. You won’t be disappointed.

 

God bless you.

Love Never Fails

Love Never Fails

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8, NIV)

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galations 5:13, NIV)

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2, NIV).

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22, NIV)

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7, NIV)

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, NIV).

Above are just some examples of the plethora of verses regarding love found in the bible. Love is something we should all embrace and live for, for others and for Jesus for He loved us and gave His life for us on the cross for our sins so if we believe in His life and resurrection we can spend eternity with Him in heaven.

I will admit before I was saved I didn’t love as the Bible says to love. I mean, I have always loved my family and friends and life, but not in the sense of what the Bible says. I lived life for myself, my selfish ways, always looking out for number one: myself. I wasn’t patient, I wasn’t necessarily kind, and I had bitterness in my heart for the wrongs done to me by what I thought was punishment from God, a toy He played with to make my life miserable for His own pleasure of watching me struggle.

I used to live completely in the world and fulfilled and fell for the temptations of the world that were best for me and that I felt like doing, regardless of the consequences. I partied, I slept around, and I didn’t love others. I looked out for myself only and fulfilled my own desires of pleasure without a second thought to the plight I was heading for: hell. 

Only once I was saved did I realize all the wrongs I did to others, to myself, and how much I let God down by my actions, words, and the life I had led from a teenager until I was saved. Did I mature in my ways as I got older, yes, but I was still reckless in my younger years and did all the wrong things I thought were right, for me and no one else.  I was on the wide path to destruction and I didn’t know it and didn’t care at the time. 

Once I found Jesus, once I was saved and began my walk with Him, I realized how bad a life I had lived and thanked God that I made it to salvation before it was too late for me. Only as I delved into the Word and walked along with Jesus did I realize what love truly is and what it means for me, others, and my salvation. I realized how I used to live was not in love but in selfishness filled with fulfilling my own desires without second thought to the repercussions that occurred. How many people did I hurt? How did my selfishness affect other’s lives? How bad of a person was I really? 

If I met some of the people I hurt and affected negatively, they would not recognize me and would say I am a different person. Why? Because I have the love of Jesus in me now and emulate that love to the best of my abilities. Do I fail sometimes? Of course I do. I’m not perfect. I’m not holier than thou, and mostly I am a human in a fallen world full of sin. Yet I strive to live for love and portray that love to others in the way that Jesus wants me to.

For me, it’s about attitude and demeanor. If I keep love and compassion in the forefront of my mind, I emulate that love of Jesus to others and myself, reminding myself that it is my duty to love myself, love others, and most importantly, to love Jesus. If I keep that attitude of love at the forefront of my mind, I’m a happier person and feel good and closer to the Lord. When I slip, when I fail to love, when I get angry or frustrated I feel guilty. I feel separated from God and I do my best to make amends and pray for forgiveness.

What about you? How is your love attitude? Do you just love yourself and not others? Do you look out for number one (you) or do you look out for others and show love towards others? At first I found this hard to do in the beginning of my walk with Jesus. It was not an automatic magical change in attitude but it took work and time through prayer and reading and taking to heart the words in the Bible about love and caring for others.  As time passed and I learned more about love, I began working on my love attitude towards others. I failed a lot at first, but now, even though I still slip sometimes, I can say that I show love towards others a majority of the time.  I urge you to emulate the love of Christ to others. 

It’s a great feeling to have the love of Jesus in your heart. Looking back on my walk and my life before knowing Jesus, I can’t believe the amount of love there is from Jesus; it is never ending and fulfills me more each day in my walk with him. I have a compassion for people I never had before and a love for others I never imagined I could have before I was saved.  Retrospect gives you 20/20 vision of your past life and I can testify that the love I had before Christ was an empty love, not nearly as full of love as I now feel in my heart and soul.

Jesus makes love complete, for He is love and all He has for us is compassion and love. He wants us to love others as He has loved us. To emulate that love in our life to reflect His love for others to show compassion, empathy, sympathy, and the care for others that can’t be offered or shown without the love of Christ in our hearts. To deny Christ’s love is to deny God’s perfect love for us and separates us from the Lord.

If you don’t love as Christ loved you, what are you doing with your life? You need to question your standing with the Lord and ask yourself what you are really doing. Are you emulating the love of Christ in your life to others? Are you showing and feeling overwhelming love for others that hurts your heart when they are in trouble or need support? If you don’t you need to reevaluate your attitude. This love should be towards believers in Christ and more importantly to unbelievers who don’t know Jesus.

By having love in your heart of that comes from Jesus, you can’t help but have love for others and concern for their eternity and well being. Showing love isn’t going through the motions at church by helping with the food bank or kitchen to feed the poor, it is the attitude you have when helping others. If you feel compelled to help people out of motives other than love then you are wrong. If you go through the motions of church and your Christian life without the attitude of love at the forefront of your existence, then you are wrong. Reevaluate yourself and test yourself to see where you stand with love for others and your love for Jesus.

Having the love of Christ in your heart will truly change your being. If you have love in your heart, you know what I mean and what I’m talking about. Yet, if you don’t know the love of Christ in your heart, you’re missing out on a huge part of your walk with Christ.  The love of Christ in your heart is so overwhelming it is hard to put into words. It is a feeling of great love and compassion. The love of Christ in your heart will fulfill you with an endless fountain of love and compassion for others that will bring you to tears at times. 

If you are saved and don’t have that feeling of the love of Christ in your heart, you need to pray for it. You also need to read the Bible to discover how Christ showed His love and compassion to others. Once you are filled with that love and it grows in your heart as you walk with Jesus and study His ways in the Bible, you will not regret it. You will feel real fullness of love that you haven’t experienced before and a compassion and care for others that you hadn’t had before. Your soul and heart will change and you will want more and more of that love every day. The love of Christ and His fullness in your heart is ever growing and you will want to seek more of it day to day.

When you have that love and compassion of Christ in your heart, you can’t help but love others as God loves you. You will radiate that love to others and people will see that love in you and the compassion you have for them. They will appreciate it and they will know you are a true Christian who has God’s love in your heart. This in its self can lead others to Christ for they will feel and see your love and compassion and will want that for themselves.

You see, love never fails. If you love you can’t ever go wrong with your actions and attitude towards yourself and others.  If people still shun you, that’s okay, because with love you can look beyond that and still show them love by your words, actions, and attitudes.

Have you ever met a bitter person who hates the world, hates people and just has a sour disposition about them? When you talk to them with love and compassion, sometimes it softens their heart. If you show them love and compassion in your interactions with them, they change, just a little bit, but enough to know what you stand for and what you radiate to others. You never know, that bitter person’s heart can be softened by your showing of love and compassion that eventually leads them to the Lord.

We as Christians need to always strive to show the love of Christ towards others. Many Christians don’t and it makes me questions their standing with God. If you go to church or meet other Christians, you can usually discern their true intentions and their love of God by their words and actions. There are a lot of bitter Christians out there that don’t emulate the love of Jesus. By their actions, they show the world that Christianity is not what Christianity is about. It’s about love and compassion through Christ.  By their negative words and bitterness they show the world and others that they truly don’t have the love of Christ in their hearts and turn people off to find Jesus.

By showing the love of Christ to others, people may want that love and want to know how and why you have it. Christians in the best of times and the hard times should always show the love of Christ through them so that others can see that we trust in the Lord and know that He is in control.  Many times when there is a crisis at home or work, it can be easy to get angry or bitter. I’ve seen it at my workplace. When a crisis occurs, when a deadline isn’t met, people get angry at others and show bitterness in their heart. Me, I stay calm and collective in my demeanor and actions for I have the love of Christ in my heart and by showing them that love, it usually calms the situation down and the bitterness dissolves and the anger goes away, for how can someone be angry with me when I don’t fight back but show love and encouragement of Christ through my words and actions. Love is very disarming to those that don’t have it.

If you want this kind of love you need Jesus. If you want to be filled with love and compassion for others, you need Jesus in your life and in your heart. If you are a Christian and lack this love and compassion in your heart it is time to change that through honest and humble pray to Jesus. Get that Bible out and open the word to read about the love of Christ, not just on Sunday’s but every day.

If you aren’t a Christian and want this heart fulfilling love, you can have it. Pray to Jesus to forgive your sins and believe that He died for your sins and was resurrected. Ask Him to begin to work in your heart. Ask Him to give you compassion and love for others as He did for others. Get a Bible and start reading about the life of Jesus and you will begin to have a changed heart. Will this happen immediately? For some yes, for others it will take time as you walk and build your relationship with Christ.

Remember that love never fails. With love anything is possible and can overcome everything thrown your way. Have hope in love and have hope for compassion. Not only will you bless others with your love, but you will be blessed by the love you have and give to others. Trust in the Lord to give you this love and the hope of eternal life and blessings.