Fulfillment in God

Since I am a golfer and have been a sports fan my whole life, this is a slant on trying to be fulfilled through a sport or anything else that we are interested in. I was thinking if I could just shoot par golf I would be satisfied. However, after shooting par, I was thinking maybe I could shoot five under par. I did that, but I wasn’t fulfilled or satisfied. We can never reach perfection or attain a level that we can’t improve on. There is nothing wrong with competing or trying to improve on something as long as we don’t become obsessed with it. We can only find fulfillment in God and not in a sport, hobby, or job.

13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.” -John 4:13-14

4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; -Psalm 37:4-7a

To delight in the Lord means to gain joy from Him and seek happiness in Him. Intentional effort must be put forth in taking delight in Him. It is a conscious decision and heart posture. It is important to ask ourselves, “To whom or what are we looking to in order to gain happiness or fulfillment?”

We must eagerly desire to gain all fulfillment in Him, fixing our eyes and posturing our hearts towards Him. We will truly delight in Him when we truly know Him.

God has made each of us with a bigger thirst than anything the world can fill. He is the only one who can satisfy us. So, enjoy golf or whatever sport, hobby, or activity and within reason try to be the best you can be, but in the end, let it go and keep it an enjoyable game. These activities are all good, but they are a terrible god. We have to be careful not to let our recreational activities become our god. God is perfectly good and the only one who can fulfill us.

Heavenly Father, I am thankful for the incredible life you have given me. Help me to never let the blessings in my life become distractions from what is important and that is You, my God and my Father. Amen.

What Does God Require?

Have you ever asked the question "What does God require from me?" Thinking about that answer can sometimes feel overwhelming. There are so many things that we "think" God requires from us such as, doing a lot of church work, doing a certain number of "good deeds", extreme sacrifices in our lives, always doing everything perfect, spending lengthy hours in meditation, or reading our bible from Genesis to Revelation every year. With that kind of a list we can definitely feel overwhelmed. What if our idea of what God requires from us, and His requirements of us are not the same lengthy list at all, but just 3 things? Micah 6:8 specifically tells what God requires from us:

"He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you except to be just, and to love and diligently practice kindness and compassion, and to walk humbly with your God, setting aside any sense of self-importance or self-righteousness.”

God is just, which means He is always fair, and He works to make wrong things right. We should treat people justly and work to see justice is done in their lives. Many people have been terribly mistreated and abused. As God's representatives we have the opportunity to tell them of what Jesus Christ died to give them, life, everlasting life. We can help to restore them to the knowledge of God and His love for them, as well as bring aid and help to them in their current situation.

God is also merciful and kind, so therefore we should be merciful and kind toward others. The world pressures people to be and act perfectly that is the opposite of what God does. God loves and accepts. Romans 2:4 states that "it is the kindness of God, not the judgement of God, that leads people to repentance". Our job is to not be fault finders, but to give mercy and compassion to others, just as God showed us mercy and compassion.

Finally, we are to walk in humility with God. We all know how it feels for someone to look down on us as if we just don't quite measure up. The attitude of our heart and mind towards others and ourselves should always be focused on humility. The bible states that "everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"; therefore no one is above anyone else. A disrespectful attitude and harsh behavior towards others are what results from lack of humility in our walk with God. It also causes hurt feelings and anger between us and other people.

We should all strive to give God what He truly requires, which is to act justly towards each other, love kindness, and walk humbly with Him. Amen

Too Busy for God

We make time for and devote energy to the things that are important to us. We call those things priorities. As we each prioritize our lives, I hope that none of us have become too busy for God. I pray that each of us carves out time and space for the Lord in our life. When we fail to do so life becomes empty. We see this happen in the book of Haggai.

God’s people, after returning from captivity in Babylon, were tasked by the Lord to rebuild the temple. They ran into some difficulties and the project was put on hold for many years. God sent the prophet Haggai to them to tell them it was time to get back to work and finish the task God had given them. They could no longer focus on their own priorities, they needed to prioritize the things of God. Their lives were missing something vital because their priorities were out of whack. Listen to God’s reminder from Haggai 1:9 (ESV),

You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.

Life is not what it should be when we push God to the side or make Him take a back seat. God is meant to be the one thing at the center of our life that all things revolve around. If we have God, we have all things, because He is the creator and sustainer of all. However, if we don’t have God, we really don’t have anything at all.

How have your priorities been lately? Have you made time to read your Bible, go to church, or spend time in prayer? If your priorities have gotten off track, set them right today. Make time for God. Choose to open your life to Him and watch how He fills it.

Christmas All Year Round

Sometimes we hear someone say, “It just doesn’t feel like Christmas.” We may be in the midst of the busy holiday season, but in our heart, it didn’t feel like Christmas.

We are no longer kids, and the magic of childhood innocence is gone. Now we have life circumstances to deal with and sometimes that crushes our Christmas spirit. We aren’t kids anymore and have to deal with life’s sadness and its ups and downs.

We need to remind ourselves that, even though life gets messy and painful in the moment, we should intentionally redirect our thoughts from our problems to the manger and the hope Jesus’ birth brings. We can focus on the blessings we have and find joy in the little things through the strength of Christ alone. We can commit to hang onto hope and remember that Christmas spirit must come from Christ, not our external circumstances.

In the Christmas story, we read about the promise of hope. The angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you, he is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)” Most believers know this popular passage well, but in the face of great pain, suffering, and adversity, we often forget the meaning, even at Christmas. Heartache, grief, pain, or anger can easily cause us to lose sight of the fact that this is the season we celebrate God sending his Son into the mess of our lives so we can have hope and joy no matter what.

Maybe for some it has been a difficult year from personal situations, separation, divorce, heartbreak, not being with family, loss of a loved one, kids grown up and have moved on, loss of a job and on and on. Whatever the reason, if your Christmas spirit feels crushed, you’re lacking joy, and feeling void of hope, remember that although life continually changes, Jesus and His love for us never does. Redirecting our thoughts to focus on the hope and joy available to us because of His holy birth can restore the most broken spirit.

Our level of Christmas spirit will always depend on where we are looking for it. Look to Jesus.

Dear Lord, you know the heaviness of our hearts. Please help us refocus on you and the fact that you sent your son to this earth as a baby so we could live with hope despite our circumstances. Refresh our Christmas spirit and infuse us with the joy we long to have in Jesus. Amen.