We Are Far Too Easily Pleased

Where do we find real, lasting, joy?

Not in the food we eat. Not in the wine we drink. Not in the work we do. Not in the home the bank owns. Not in the car we drive. Not in the games we play. Not in the books we read. Not in the music we listen to. Not in the movies we watch. Not in the jokes we hear. Not in the places we visit. Not in the friendships we have. Not in anything of this world.

There is not one person, place, or thing on this earth that will not fade away. There is not one person, place, or thing on this earth that can give us joy forevermore.

I'm not saying we shouldn't eat, drink, have a home, drive a car, play games, read books, listen to music, watch movies, hear jokes, travel, have friendships, etc; however, let's keep proper perspective and seek to find joy only in the one who can give us real and lasting joy: God.

Let us find so much pleasure in God that we innately give continual thanks and praise to Him and glorify Him in everything that we do!

Its easier said than done! I won't speak for you, but I think I've spent enough time looking for pleasure in all the wrong places that my capacity for joy got crippled. As C.S. Lewis put it: "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Thank you God, for a longing for more. Thank you God, for showing me where to fill that longing!

The Mouse And The Elephant

I lifted the gist of this story from Pastor Harry.

Once upon a time there was a mouse and an elephant. The mouse would ride around on the elephant everywhere. Most of the the mouse was happy with where the elephant wanted to take him, but one day, the elephant came up to a big canyon that stretched out as far as the eye could see. The only way across the canyon was a narrow, rickety, old rope bridge -- you know, the kind you see in the movies or cartoons right before some bad character plummets to his grisly death. The elephant put one foot on the bridge.

The mouse was a bit concerned.

"No no!" shouted the mouse, "Don't go that way, well find another way!" The elephant continued. The mouse closed his eyes. Step by step he crossed the bridge, against the mouse's constant protests that kept getting louder and more frequent. Then, the mouse and the elephant soon found themselves on solid ground again. The bridge was crossed. They were okay.

"WE DID IT!" shouted the mouse, full of joy.

We?

Well, the mouse didn't do a whole lot on his own. The elephant made the decisions on where to go and how to get there. The mouse did one very important thing though. He chose the right ride.

Choose the right ride through life.

I think I'll take the Jesus train. :-)

Neutron Stars

The gravitational field at the surface of a neutron star is 2x10^12 stronger than on Earth. The escape velocity of a neutron star is about 100,000 km/s, which is about 1/3 the speed of light. A neutron star is so dense that one teaspoon of its material has a mass of over 5x10^12 kg, which results in a force of gravity so strong that an object falling from one meter above it would hit the surface at 4.3 million miles per hour.

Now that's compact!

You know what is even more compact -- the infinite, eternal, and awesome power and glory of God becoming flesh in a little baby born in a stable to a peasant girl in a tiny town. There is nothing more compact than wrapping God in flesh. Intellectually, we can say it, but can we ever comprehend it? No, not really.

Two centuries years ago, our great, eternal, and infinite God came to us here on earth in the flesh in the most humble of circumstances to reveal Himself to us, to reveal us to ourselves, and to redeem us.

So this Christmas Day, and every other day of our lives, let's remember that God's gift of Himself to all mankind through Jesus Christ on that first Christmas is the most wonderful gift we can receive. Let's not try to take that one back to the store or throw it away! Let's accept this gift and respond properly to it!

Thank you, Father. Thank you, Jesus.

The Difference

Jamie has this on a table in our home:

I got up early one morning
And rushed right into the day
I had so much to accomplish
That I didn't have time to pray

Problems just tumbled about me
And heavier came each task
"Why doesn't God help me" I wondered
He answered "You didn't ask"

I wanted to see joy and beauty
But the day toiled on gray and bleak
I wondered why God didn't show me
He said "But you didn't seek"

I tried to come into God's presence
I used all my keys at the lock
God gently and lovingly chided
"My child, you didn't knock"

I woke up early this morning
And paused before entering the day
I had so much to accomplish
That I had to take time to pray

A Lesson From Esau

Remember Esau? He's the guy who sold his birthright to Jacob for some bread and lentil stew. Nevermind the later inheritance. He was hungry and wanted stew, immediately! Then later he said that Jacob cheated him and took his birthright from him (nevermind that he agreed to it).

Born again believers become children of God have an inheritance as well, and a really good one at that! It doesn't come without some strings attached of course, and those strings include turning from sin to Jesus, having faith in Jesus as Savior, and following Jesus as Lord. Living life as a Paul instead of a Saul requires walking a more difficult road.

We live in a world of nearly instant gratification and waning morality. Given that, are we going to reject the value of our eternal inheritance and trade it for a short time of fake happiness through self-indulgence? Or are we going to seek the inheritance, fulfill the duties that come with it, and find real joy at the same time?

I know the obvious choice is the latter; I just need some help to keep making it, and I'm really thankful that God's got my back.

The Authority Of Scripture

One thing on my list of things that bug me is the failure of folks to accept what the Bible says as true and reject it as authoritative and the Word of God just because it says things they don't like.

It seems pretty clear to me that the Bible is a reliable source for learning about the life and teaching of Jesus. It seems pretty clear to me that Jesus was God in the form of a human for a short while and thus could speak with authority. It seems pretty clear to me that Jesus taught Scripture was authoritative.

Therefore, if the Bible says that Daniel was a prophet, then Daniel was a prophet. If the Bible says that trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is our means to salvation, than trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is our means to salvation. If the Bible says there is a hell, then there is a hell. If the Bible says that we are to love our enemies, then we are to love our enemies. If the Bible says that something is sinful -- murder, greed, lust, hypocrisy, dishonesty, sexual immorality, self-righteousness, [insert something here that contradicts the Bible, but that you think is okay anyway, by your own standards], than that something is sinful.

Period.

Just because something isn't popular or palatable, doesn't mean it isn't true. We should never dismiss the Word of God because we don't like what it says. After all, what authority do we have over the creator of the heavens and the earth to say that He is wrong?

None.

Thank you God for your Word; please help me to know it and spread it. Thank you also for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus that covers my failure to live up to the standards you have set by it!

The Trinity And Jesus

Lots of folks don't get, or don't accept, the Trinity for various reasons. I fear that those reasons sometimes can hurt the understanding of Jesus' nature as well. The truth is none of us limited humans are going to fully understand the nature of God completely, being humans, but we can look to the Word of God and do the best we can. So I thought I'd write up a little bit of the limited understanding I have of the Trinity and Jesus from a Biblical perspective.

1. The Bible says that there is one true sovereign God who created the heavens and the earth.

2. The Bible says that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God.

3. The Bible says that Jesus was also a man.

So far, from this, we can conclude the following:

1. There is one God comprised of three beings, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I.e. three persons in one divine nature. While Jesus is the Son, but He is also eternal and equal in essence with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. There are parts of the Bible where Jesus, while here on the earth as a man, appears subordinate to the Father -- that does NOT take away from the divine nature of Jesus! For example, a human father and child are equally human, but the father holds a higher position than the child. Well, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are equally divine as well; how they operate together in their interactions with each other and with man has no bearing on their nature.

2. Jesus is a being with two natures, divine and human. He is fully God, and was fully man for a short time on this earth. Did Jesus know about His second coming? As God yes, but as man, no. Did Jesus know all things? As God yes, but as man, no. Did Jesus get hungry? As God no, but as man, yes. In His divine nature, Jesus is equal to the Father, but in His human nature, Jesus is subordinate to the Father.

Can we as believers ever really understand this completely? Not during our stay here on earth at least! Does the complicated nature of the Trinity make it illogical? No! Its in line with the Bible. Does the complicated nature of the of the Trinty make it untrue? No! If someone was in the business of inventing religions, then that someone could go make up something a lot easier than this! However, we as believers are not in that business; we must believe what the Bible shows us to be true, even if it is complicated!

Does that mean we've got the nature of God totally right in our understanding of the Trinity? Maybe, but probably not. Does that mean we need to believe in the doctrine of the Trinity to be saved? Hardly, but it sure does help understand who Jesus is and what He did for us! Here we have Almighty God coming down to earth to be born as a human in the most humble of circumstances so He could later die a terrible and humiliating death on the cross as an atoning sacrifices for the sins of the world. Talk about humility! Talk about love!

Thank you Jesus!

The Miracle Of Christmas

My mom put a note with this in it in a letter she sent. I thought it was pretty cool.

It started with Mary, so humble and mild,
With the heart of a woman and the faith of a child.
She rose above anything she might have feared
To answer "Amen" when the angel appeared.
And on that first Christmas, in spite of that cold,
A sweet newborn baby was all hers to hold.
Strangers and shepherds, ignoring their sheep,
Watched while she rocked little Jesus to sleep.
What joys we can known, what a miracle starts,
When we, too, can say yes to God in our hearts!

Focus And Love

Focus on the grand big picture of eternity, instead of getting wrapped up in the little problems of day to day life. The Lord has a greater plan than we could possibly imagine.

Focus on how well your needs our met, instead of how your desires are unmet. The Lord provides for the birds of the air, and He certainly will provide for us as well.

Focus on all the joy in your life, instead of the sorrows. The Lord gives us so many ways to find joy in glorifying Him.

Focus on what you have been given, instead of what has been withheld or taken away. The Lord gave us life here on earth and provided a means to eternal life through the atoning sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

Focus on who loves you, instead of who hates you -- and with proper focus you will see that God loves you so much. He loves you more than any person on earth could possibly love you. If you doubt this, ask yourself this question: Is there anyone on earth who would allow their child to suffer and die for me? I think not, but God did just that.

In response to "I love you" my youngest daughter once said to her mother "God loves me more". She's pretty smart.