Peace and joy
Lately I have given much thought to where happiness truly comes from. It could be your social status, or how much money you have in the bank. Or maybe it is how nice your house is or the age and value of the vehicle you drive. I also see happiness by the vacations people take and by the shopping habits they have.
Notice in that paragraph I did not mention happiness in terms of spirituality, relationships, and physical health. When I started asking people what makes them happy most mention material wealth as their primary source of joy. Oddly enough, of those people I spoke to, none had enough material wealth to find the joy they mentioned.
It seems to me that in our pursuit of material wealth we leave behind or ignore the true source of happiness which is a relationship with Jesus Christ. I do see and know people that attend church regular and even try to get involved in church related activities; however this usually adds to their stress not their peace and joy. You see, many people volunteer or attend church because they are supposed to not because they want or need to. When they are at church, they are thinking they should be somewhere else; and when they are somewhere else, they are thinking they should be at church. The truth is they are never anywhere. Talk about stress, that is it.
Before I go any further, I need to clarify something. Material wealth and possessions are not a bad thing at all. It is the endless pursuit of wealth at the expense of everything else that is bad. Life has to have balance and moderation to find the joy Jesus teaches.
I am going to go out on a limb here and bet that many people reading this are struggling with life. I bet many are asking God where to go, what to do, or what is next. Let me say this right now. It is time we all take off our grave clothes and put on our praise clothes. Let the dead take care of the dead while we all become a source of the living. It is time to claim our inheritance from our heavenly Father. It isn’t money that we inherited; it is the ability to love and be loved. Raise your hand, stand up, and shout out “Here I am Lord; I am here to claim what you are giving me.”
It is time, don’t you think? We can’t change the universe overnight but we can sure start now and when the momentum picks up, the change will happen. It starts with you. Don’t give up now; it is time to get up. God needs you in his kingdom more than ever and we owe to ourselves and loved ones to get up and get out. You can do it; I know you can. I say that with authority because you know and I know God did not create you by accident.
Lord Jesus, you loved us enough to breathe life into us. In prayer I am asking you to breathe new life into our bodies, especially our hearts and minds so we can rekindle a flame that has been dim too long. Lord expose our lukewarm attitudes so that with our help we can bring back the passion of love that can only come from you. We ask this in your holy name AMEN.
Peace love and joy
Notice in that paragraph I did not mention happiness in terms of spirituality, relationships, and physical health. When I started asking people what makes them happy most mention material wealth as their primary source of joy. Oddly enough, of those people I spoke to, none had enough material wealth to find the joy they mentioned.
It seems to me that in our pursuit of material wealth we leave behind or ignore the true source of happiness which is a relationship with Jesus Christ. I do see and know people that attend church regular and even try to get involved in church related activities; however this usually adds to their stress not their peace and joy. You see, many people volunteer or attend church because they are supposed to not because they want or need to. When they are at church, they are thinking they should be somewhere else; and when they are somewhere else, they are thinking they should be at church. The truth is they are never anywhere. Talk about stress, that is it.
Before I go any further, I need to clarify something. Material wealth and possessions are not a bad thing at all. It is the endless pursuit of wealth at the expense of everything else that is bad. Life has to have balance and moderation to find the joy Jesus teaches.
I am going to go out on a limb here and bet that many people reading this are struggling with life. I bet many are asking God where to go, what to do, or what is next. Let me say this right now. It is time we all take off our grave clothes and put on our praise clothes. Let the dead take care of the dead while we all become a source of the living. It is time to claim our inheritance from our heavenly Father. It isn’t money that we inherited; it is the ability to love and be loved. Raise your hand, stand up, and shout out “Here I am Lord; I am here to claim what you are giving me.”
It is time, don’t you think? We can’t change the universe overnight but we can sure start now and when the momentum picks up, the change will happen. It starts with you. Don’t give up now; it is time to get up. God needs you in his kingdom more than ever and we owe to ourselves and loved ones to get up and get out. You can do it; I know you can. I say that with authority because you know and I know God did not create you by accident.
Lord Jesus, you loved us enough to breathe life into us. In prayer I am asking you to breathe new life into our bodies, especially our hearts and minds so we can rekindle a flame that has been dim too long. Lord expose our lukewarm attitudes so that with our help we can bring back the passion of love that can only come from you. We ask this in your holy name AMEN.
Peace love and joy
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