Human Happiness and Joy

Where do you go to find happiness? Wouldn’t it be great to have a blueprint or an instruction manual to get to happiness. Well, there is, God’s Word. All that is needed is to keep it close to be able to reference and refer to when things get a little sideways, or you want to make sure that you are taking things on in the right manner. God’s Word has all we need to start and make it through the day and life in general.

“⁴But he answered, ‘It is written,

“Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’” – Matthew 4:4 (ESV)

“⁷Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”’” – Matthew 4:7 (ESV)

“¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“You shall worship the Lord your God

and him only shall you serve.”’” – Matthew 4:10 (ESV)

This morning I was reminded that Jesus depended on God’s Word as He worked through this world. In the above verses, Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, and yes, Satan was using scripture to distort the truth to get Jesus to give into the temptation. But, Jesus did not fall into that trap. Even as He was weak from a 40 day fast, Jesus went back to the instructions or blueprint to make it through. He consulted God’s Word to find the strength and just what was what. Jesus quoted God’s Word in refute of the lies from Satan. Jesus was able to find happiness in the Word of God as to how to proceed.

But what did Jesus do after fending off Satan, He began His ministry. Jesus was able to get back (or started) to work doing what He loved, teaching and caring and loving and leading and healing and all that came with His ministry. He had consulted the blueprint that got Him through the sticky spot and stuck with the blueprint to move forward into that which brought Him joy.

If you remember, happiness is a momentary emotional thing. Joy is more lasting and internal. With Jesus in our lives and God’s Word to lean on daily, we are able to find joy in all things and circumstance. We will however need happiness from time to time in a moment to get back to the joy. Joy and happiness are found in the instructions for our lives that was laid out by God through His Word. Jesus used it and certainly if it was good enough for Jesus, then it is good enough for me.

Where do you go for encouragement and life giving instructions? Do you look for momentary happiness and then back to the grind? What if you found the instruction on how to get through things and then used those instructions to get you back on track and moving forward into joy, God’s Word, Jesus did can’t we?

Jesus is Lord, What Does That Mean

When we hear that Jesus is Lord, it should conjure up some feelings and understandings within us. But, what are they. James MacDonald asks in my study this morning what I think about when I hear that Jesus is Lord. My written response was quick and only three words, King, controller, Father. Then I kept reading and came to the realization, He is more than that and I have to think harder.

Jesus is Lord is not just about who He is but also what He is. He has titles and roles, He is not just there. Way more is Jesus as Lord than King, controller, and Father.

“¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” – Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV)

Colossians 1:15-20 give us the picture of who Jesus is and what He does/did. MacDonald lists out six things that He is/does/did. Where I agree 100 percent, I wanted to bring my own thoughts here.

“¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” – John 1:1-3 (ESV)

Jesus is Lord means that He is the everything. He is the beginning of everything. He is the end of everything. He is all things between. He created everything. Even as the image of God, there is not another like Him. Jesus as Lord is not just a role or a title or a position. He is action. He demonstrates Himself through that action. I have to remember that what He can do and does or did is as much of Him as who He is.

Something that struck me in my study this morning is our molecular structure. Our molecules should be exploding based on science yet they do not thanks to the Lordship of Jesus (see Colossians 1:17 above). He holds us together even at our most basic self. Jesus did not just create us, He keeps us together for His glory.

My thoughts of Jesus as Lord were so simplistic before, and where it is not bad to have a simple view, I have to remember that He is way more. As I have dove in and think of Jesus as Lord now, I think of Him as it all. All things come after Him, and, because of Him. I come back to the next part that John reminds us in His gospel.

“⁴In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:4-5 (ESV)

Jesus stands above all because He is above all. He is the light on the hill that draws us to Himself. He is looking over us and protecting us, because He created us. He loves us as a creation, but also as a Father and a brother. Jesus is Lord, because He is.

What do you think about when you hear, Jesus is Lord? Are you thinking as I did, about who He is? What if you were to add in all that He did/does and lean on that He created all things and all things are here after Him and because of Him, including you?

Follow the Real Jesus

I am going to get a bit controversial here for a minute. I don’t want to offend and imply anything, this is my own thoughts. I am not a fan of wearing a cross around my neck. I know many people do and it is their full decision to do so. I do not need the badge around my neck that can and will be seen and judged. I am not perfect and will always be a sinner. When others see the cross, the judging begins and there is potential, to me, for the immediate cynical thought of showing one thing and then doing other things. I know that I am cynical, but I will say that it does not come without reality. I have seen too often the distortion of Jesus to fit into the box we have for Him at that moment. Now, the real Jesus is not a cross. He died on a cross for my sins so that I would not have to. I pray that is the reason for the wearing of the cross.

In my study this morning we explore the “right” or real Jesus. James MacDonald points to caricatures to show how we “paint” Him to be something or a number of things. The caricatures are; Jesus is my buddy, my safety net or good luck charm, my religious artifact, my meal ticket, and/or my social conscience. Notice that the caricatures all point to Jesus as a thing. And, He is thought of as “mine” as if I somehow own Him and we can use Him when it pleases us our we find “need” to call on Him.

“³But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. ⁴For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” – 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 (ESV)

Paul points out to the church at Corinth the fickle nature we hold. We are subject to that which is in our view. We are concerned with acceptance of and hold back from reality. We are fascinated with the “truth of the moment” and less about the truth. The real Jesus is not a thing, He is more than my buddy, He is my friend. Jesus is not just my safety net or good luck charm, He is my guide and protector. Jesus is not my religious artifact, He is my LORD. Jesus is not my meal ticket, He is my master and I serve Him. Jesus is not my social conscience, He is the Truth.

We have to get to the place where Jesus is LORD and not just a thing. Jesus is not just part of our lives, He is the focus of our life. The real Jesus is not the “truth of the moment”, He is the Truth of our life.

James MacDonald writes, “The problem with a caricature is that the truth is in there, but it’s distorted by an emphasis of one thing to the exclusion of others.” It is the capture of the “truth of the moment” and not as just the truth. The real Jesus is The Truth and does not change with the moment. Oh, yes, Jesus does provide what we need when we need it, but He does not change to fit what we want out of a moment. He provides the truth that we can rely on forever.

How are you looking at Jesus? Do you see Him as a thing to help you make it from one point to another? What if you saw Him as real and The Truth as opposed to the “truth of the moment”?

You Choose Whom You Serve

It is pretty clear in this world and life that we are the masters of our choices, as we have grown to understand them that is. As a small child we are not in understanding and therefor rely on our parents to decide for us. But now that we are not small children, we are in control of our choices and decisions.

The title of my writing this morning is the same as my study passage from James MacDonald. We are indeed in charge of our choices and the object of our service is certainly in that realm of choice. We like to think that we are the product of our circumstances and that things are left to chance and where it appears that way, it is not true. Yes, things happen and we are left to work through that which follows, but we can either be the victims or lean in and serve the one really in charge as we work through them. God allows things to happen and we have the choice to serve Him or abandon them in favor of ourselves or some other entity.

“¹⁵And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15 (ESV)

The Israelite people had the choice to serve the LORD or serve the idols of their ancestors or serve themselves. Joshua pointed out their choice and was clear where he and his family landed. And he made it clear that once the decision was made, the commitment would be held to account. God would remember and the outcome would not be of the people’s liking.

“¹⁹But Joshua said to the people, ‘You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ²⁰If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.’” – Joshua 24:19-20 (ESV)

It is not just of words that we commit to serve. It is in action. We can say that we will serve, but not until the action is taken does the service come to being. Lori and I are members of a church plant, although we are now going on 5 years now. As a part of our membership, we committed to volunteer our service. But, just saying we would volunteer does not make it so, it is in our action of service that we are demonstrating our service. And for the 5 years of the Bridge Fellowship, we have served.

With God and service to Him, it is not something we can say and then get away with avoidance. He is watching and keeping account. As noted in verses 19 and 20 above, if we have committed and then turn away, we will be dealt with and held to account. Even as we were once doing as we committed. The choice is for now and forever.

I want to be careful to point out that our choice to serve is not a condition of our salvation. When we choose the LORD for our salvation (in our heart, mind, and body), that choice is made. We are saved. And then comes the next choice, to serve Him. We are still sinners and will be swayed easily by the evil one. We will still be subjected to the ways of the world. So, just because we have accepted salvation through the grace, mercy, and love of God, our job is not done. Service to Him comes next.

“⁵Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, ⁶not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,” – Ephesians 6:5-7 (ESV)

We do choose whom we serve. We are to make it clear and then act on that choice. The words have meaning to tell others of our choice, but it is the actions we take that demonstrates that choice. As Paul notes in his letter to the Ephesians to do “the will of God from the heart,…as to the LORD and not to man”. Actions speak louder than words and it is our actions that demonstrate our choice of just who we serve.

What actions are you taking to demonstrate your service? Have you said the words of choice and now leave it to chance as to how it plays out? What if you demonstrate your service to the LORD through your actions “from the heart,…as to the LORD and not to man”?

Who You Gonna Serve

“²⁴No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” – Matthew 6:24 (ESV)

This morning as I continued my study into choices, I was reminded that we have to choose to serve somebody. At this I was reminded of the verse above that we cannot serve God and money. That we cannot have two masters in our lives. Where money and the challenges it poses was not the focus of my study this morning, it is certainly one of those things that vies for our attention and service.

Where we are giving our attention is where our service lies. Is it a work and our devotion to that work. Are we spending so much time there that it is keeping us from other things in our lives. Is it in an idol or group that steals us away from other places in our life. Is it in an individual that consumes our being so much that no other person even really exists in our lives. Or, is it in ourselves, where we are more focused on getting ours that the rest seems to go by the wayside.

Either of these will certainly take up our attention and drive us away from the others. But what if we were to chose the one to serve that ultimately leads us back to all of the others that we may be separated from. Jesus and God’s Word is the one authority we serve that leads us back to all others. Our service to God not only gives us purpose each day, but that purpose is in assisting others achieve what God has for them as well.

We should be choosing God. Oh, don’t get me wrong, however we come to know God is great, it is the choosing Him that gets us where we should be. But, when we choose Him, we are making the conscious decision to serve Him. Sometimes I believe that sometimes, people “come” to God, selfishly looking for the next thing in their list of accomplishments. It was a choice of convenience to get something and then the choice is abandoned for the next thing on the list. There is a lack of service to the LORD and a looking for something from the LORD instead.

You cannot give your attention to more than one. Even by not “choosing” where to put your service is a choice in and of itself. By not choosing, you have chosen ambiguity and chaos. You have nowhere to put your trust and devotion. You have chosen to drift and where drifting may be okay in the moment, ultimately it leads you nowhere, at least nowhere of any real consequence to you. You are simply living for yourself and the momentary “happiness” that fades when the moment is gone.

Stumbling or expecting to drift into the LORD is not the way. Make the conscious choice to serve Him. As noted in the Matthew 6:24 above, you can only love and be devoted to one master. When we choose to serve the LORD, He gives back to us the lasting joy that cannot be found in things of this world. By choosing the LORD and serving Him, we are rewarded with that which we need and blessings that we don’t deserve based on the sin we commit and the sinner we are.

Who do you choose to serve? Are you looking to serve yourself or something else to get that momentary “happiness”? What if you were to choose lasting joy and the only one you can serve to provide it, our LORD Jesus Christ?

I Suck, God is Awesome

The title of my writing this morning is from a friend of mine, Jared Carter. During our discipleship study, with three other friends, Jared Campbell, Nelson Pereira, and Rob Whitehead we broke down our relationship with God and His with us. One of the themes that came up time and time again is that God’s mercy and grace and love are not what we should be getting, but, that is the thing with God, He is bigger and better than we.

This morning the question in my study by James MacDonald that hit me the hardest is this, when we die and are standing before God and He asks, “Why should I let you into heaven?” How will I answer? How will I plead my case for entrance. The answer from MacDonald shocked me a bit, but is true, “You Shouldn’t. Lord, I can’t believe I’m even here.”

This is so true. I don’t deserve the mercy and grace and love of God. I am a sinner who fails time and time again. I sin consciously and unconsciously. I cannot escape sin in this world. Yet, even in all of that He loves me and provides for me and has pardoned all of it so that I can enter His kingdom and rule with Him.

“⁵he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” – Titus 3:5 (ESV)

“⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” – Ephesians 2:8 (ESV)

As sinful as we are, we are not able to get to Heaven on our own. We need help. There is nothing we can do to get there. No actions we can take. No tasks that check the right box. We cannot reach God and lay down a list of items completed to reach the pinnacle of favor with Him. We need His mercy, grace, and love. We need what He has already provided and offered to us, salvation. God gave His Son Jesus to die. He died for me. He took my sin upon Himself so that I would not have to die for them myself.

When I stand before God, and He asks why He should let me into Heaven, my answer will be something like this. I gave myself to you. I have believed that you gave Jesus to die for my sins. You shouldn’t let me in because I don’t deserve it. But I know you and love you and trust you and you mercy, grace, and love. GOD, I suck and YOU ARE AWESOME!!! I choose you.

What is you choice? Are you choosing to keep trying to measure up? What if you choose to surrender to Him and His mercy, grace, and love and recognize that we suck and God is Awesome?

The Way Out has Been Paid

Our way out of the consequences of sin has been paid. Yes, prepaid. We no longer have the payment for sin due. We only need accept the payment has been made and be grateful.

Notice what I wrote above, accept and be grateful. There is no repayment that can be made. I cannot make up the debt. God provided the payment for our sin and there is nothing we can do but accept that the payment has been made and be grateful for it.

“¹⁰In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” – 1 John 4:10 (ESV)

“²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” – Romans 3:23 (ESV)

I am a sinner and will always be a sinner in this world. But, the escape from the consequences has been provided. Christ came to this world to walk as I do and take on the sin that I commit and then He died so I do not have to. Not that I will not die, but Christ died in my place as the consequence for my sin.

“²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23 (ESV)

I was destined to die for my sin, and Jesus came, or rather was sent, to die in my place. It is the only way out and it was made so by God. God’s grace (getting what we don’t deserve) and mercy (not getting what we do deserve) is demonstrated in His offering of forgiveness for the sin that we are born with and will always have in this world. This offering of forgiveness is made possible only by payment and that payment was made by Jesus’ death.

Our role in all of this is to believe and choose the gift of salvation provided thanks to the payment for our sin. That payment was extreme and I will say, Thank you God for providing and Thank you Jesus for paying and Thank you Holy Spirit for walking with me daily. I believe and choose to escape the consequence of my sin through acceptance and gratefulness in you and your grace and mercy.

What is your understanding of the consequence for sin? Are you able to get out of it on you own? What if you accept that the payment has already been made and you should believe and choose to accept and be grateful for the grace and mercy of God?

Sin Leads to Perish

“¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 (ESV)

See in the verse above, “should not perish”. Perishing is the consequence related to sin. There is no varying degrees of sin, sin is just sin. Whether you tell a little white lie, or swipe a pack of gum, or rob a bank, or engage in immoral acts. All sin is in the same bucket of working against God and for that His wrath is the result of that working against Him.

Perish: “1: to become destroyed or ruined: cease to exist 2: deteriorate, spoil” – Merriam-Webster Online

Let’s talk about that perishing for a moment. Notice the definition above from Merriam-Webster Online. The one that gets me and is most like the Biblical review is to “deteriorate, spoil” and then there is “ruined”. Yes, there is the destruction and ceasing that comes with perishing but from the Biblical review, we will be cast into the lake of fire, Hell, and will be tormented, bonded, will have our memory, will fully experience lake of satisfaction, and will be separated from God. There is not full destruction of us, only that we will be miserable for eternity. I have written about Heaven based on my study and it is going to be wonderful, beautiful, and frankly a place of immense joy and glory. As lovely as it will be, think of the exact opposite as it come to Hell.

Look back at John 3:16 above. There is a way to avoid the consequence of Hell.

James MacDonald writes, “The key word that unlocks the door to John 3:16 is believe. And believe always includes choice.”

So the choice is to perish or celebrate eternally. God gives a way to avoid the consequence of sin. Make no mistake, we are still and will always be sinners in this world, but as we believe in the salvation provided by Christ taking our sin upon Himself and dying for us, we have an escape from eternal anguish.

It is important to understand sin and the consequence of it so that we are able to make an informed choice. When we gloss over the perishing part, we are not taking into account the long term impact of our choice and only work with the now in which the evil one is working hard to deceive us as to the consequences.

MacDonald writes, “Hell will go on forever because no amount of punishment for sin can justify the choice to reject the forgiveness God so freely offers.”

“⁹The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

Even as we continue to sin in this world, God is not giving up on us. He is waiting patiently for our choosing of Him. We have until that time when we cease to exist in this world to choose to believe. But, we have to get on the ball as we do not know when that time comes. And I don’t know about you, but I do not want to perish.

What is your thoughts on the consequences of sin? Are you of the varying degrees and consequences camp? How do things change for you when with the understanding that all sin is sin and the consequence of that sin is perishing eternally?

Sin – Why Keep Talking About It

Well, because it is always a part of our lives. It is rooted in our DNA. I am a sinner, and I cannot escape that, in this world. I am no different than each of you. We are all sinners and need to understand that as we go through this world. We cannot escape it in this world, we can pursue God who provided the way out of sin, and He is waiting on us.

Back to this sin and why we cannot escape it in this world. James MacDonald has identified 5 reasons; We are determined, diseased, deceived, desperate, and destined sinners. I know what you are thinking as I thought the same, those are pretty strong reasons and if this is so, how do I escape.

“²³For the wages of sin is death,” — Romans 6:23a (ESV)

Each of the above are terminal reasons. And even read the above verse. We are to be put to death for our sin. So there really is no escaping our sin, in this world. “Everything happening in the universe and in your heart that is sordid and sideways is because of sin” – James MacDonald. We are headed for certain death thanks to our sin.

“²⁰20The soul who sins shall die.” – Ezekiel 18:20a (ESV)

So, if we are destined to die thanks to sin, why discuss it. Shouldn’t we just discuss things that are more positive, like getting what we want from this world. Even the bible says to let tomorrow worry about itself. Well, let’s discuss that. If death has been determined and we cannot escape it, we should think about positive things. How about we think about the way to escape. Remember above how I phrased the no escape, “in this world”. There is an escape and we should discuss that.

“²³but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD.” – Romans 6:23b (ESV)

Look at that, the back half of Romans 6:23 gives us the answer. Eternal life is free from God with our belief in and trust in our savior who took our sin upon Himself and died, so that we do not have to. Yes, we will die, or pass, from this world, but we will live eternally in the New Heaven and New Earth without sin. So there is an escape, through Jesus Christ.

Here is what I have thought about this morning. I am, and all of us are, a sinner. I cannot escape it in this world. I am determined, diseased, deceived, desperate, and destined a sinner. It is in my DNA thanks to my ancestors, Adam and Eve. As a sinner, I am doomed to continue to experience sin in this world, as long as I am here. The consequence of my sin is death, but I can escape that consequence through the life giving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He took my sin, yes mine, and paid for it with His death.

That is what I should think and discuss, the idea that my sin is there, and in this world I cannot shake it. I have to remember sin by talking about it and then shift to the escape from it. Jesus died for me and in the New Heaven and New Earth I will finally escape sin thanks to Him.

What are your discussions of sin? Are you working to try and avoid it for something more positive? What if you did keep talking about it to be reminded of your sin and then added in that the only escape is in the New Heaven and New Earth thanks to our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ?

Sin is at the Root, God Knows and Solves

This morning I am reminded that at the root of all my issues is sin. Yes, that is right. Everything that is at odds in this world is a result of sin.

“¹²Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” – Romans 5:12 (ESV)

Remember how we got here. Adam and Eve fell for the lies of the evil one and did the one thing that God told them not to do. As a result of that doing, they and we were cursed to live lives full of sin. Until that first sin, things were to be just as God drew them up. Wonderful and lovely. Yet as a result the lovely and wonderful were put on hold.

But, God provided the way out, Jesus. You see, Jesus came to this world to provide the way for us to return fully to God as we were intended. We are His greatest creation and God wants us to return there. Jesus came to restore us by dealing with the root cause of our issues, sin. He came to take it on Himself so that we would be spared. He provided forgiveness for our sin.

“²And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.’” – Matthew 9:2 (ESV)

Jesus was in the mode of healing people during this time. He had been doing so and the people knew it so they brought Him another to heal. And Jesus surprised them all. He healed the root of the issue, sin. The surprise was that this was not really what they were looking for, they were hoping to have their friend walking away. But Jesus was there to solve the deeper problem, not just that which was on the surface.

Isn’t this what we should all be looking for in our lives, the solving of the root issue so that we can get on with things and not worry with the issue any longer? I know for me it is. I have plenty of issues in my life that are getting in the way of my just moving on, but to know that God has taken care of my deep rooted issue, sin, I know that I will be able to get through them. God blots out my sin and forgets it as gets to the healing of my soul.

“²⁵I, I am he

who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,

and I will not remember your sins.”

— Isaiah 43:25 (ESV)

What a great thing. God forgives and forgets. I am a sinner, yes, but I am also forgiven of those sins. I am hard on myself for the sin, but God has forgotten them thanks to my salvation. God has gotten to the root of my issues and solved it so that I can move on to do that which He has for me, completing the tasks He has for me, bringing glory to Him, and celebrating my adoption into the family of God.

Where are you as relates to your issues in life? Are you still trying to solve those that are on the surface? What if you sought God and allowed Him to solve the root of them all, sin, by accepting Him as the only one who can forgive them?