The Pursuit of Pleasure

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

Pleasure’s benefits are brief and never as sweet as the lasting pleasure seeking God brings.

Scripture of the Day:

Psalm 1:1-2

“How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers! Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; he meditates on his commands day and night.”

Mmmm. The silky smooth milk chocolate glides through my mouth as I bask in the enjoyment of all its flavor. Unless, of course, it is cheap, generic chocolate, wrapped prettily but lacking in substance.

Ah, yes, I am a connoisseur of all things chocolate. Ok. * Sigh *  I am a recovering chocoholic.

But what drove me to this fascination with chocolate? The taste buds that God gave me, and the pursuit of the pleasure I feel when indulging in the sweet bliss of all things chocolate. This pleasure, however, is somewhat fleeting, as the scale reminds me the next day of the cost of that pleasure.

So why did God create tastes buds in the first place? Maybe if we did not have them, we would not delight in food. It seems the senses, in general, can get us into trouble.

Funny things is, God wants us to delight – He wants us to enjoy and experience – even pursue pleasure. The object of our delight often falls so very far of what He has for us, though. Everything around us was not meant to satisfy our deepest need, only our Creator could do that.

We hunger for this satisfaction of the soul and try to fulfill it with the outward senses, but when the temporary fix wears off, we are left wondering why it did not last and what will please us next. Like the Israelites, we hunger for the wrong thing and sometimes blame God when we don’t get what we want.

Then there’s this battle with gratitude. God gives us just what we need and blesses us so abundantly, but we tend to not know our limits. We like His blessing so much we want more and more and sometimes are not content with His provision and can complain when it is removed, as if we deserved it.

I am preaching to the choir here, people. Me, too. I confess that chocolate and I are close – perhaps a little too close, sometimes. But when I realize how I have allowed the creation to become my delight rather than the Creator, it brings me to a place of humble worship.

He alone is my soul’s delight. I have an inner thrill when I consider His incredible care and sovereignty. Wow. Instead of finding delight in things, we can ask God to help us delight in obeying Him and meditating on His Word. It is in this pursuit that we find lasting pleasure that the world can never take away.

Lord, You are our treasure, the delight of our souls. May we never search for satisfaction for our souls from an unspiritual world, but only find our complete joy in God.

Is Your Plan from God?

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

When God inspires, He guides and provides a purpose beyond ourselves.

Scripture of the Day:

Acts 5: 38-39

“‘So in this case I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking originates with people, it will come to nothing, 39 but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them, or you may even be found fighting against God.’ He convinced them.”

We all want to succeed, all want to accomplish something that lives beyond ourselves. This cry for eternity is deep within our souls, so, we, like our Creator, set about creating and striving toward plans formed in our mind and soul.

We hope that our plans that will make a difference for someone, perhaps change someone’s life – even our own, for the better. And sometimes those plans fail. Sometimes we are successful and perhaps wish we never concocted the plan. Sometimes we pause and wonder what it is within us that urges us on to complete the work we are motivated to do in the first place.

I’ve had some pretty crazy ideas in my time, can’t say I regret any of them because God has used them all to change me for His glory. I live outside my comfort zone constantly, and it probably drives my family nuts – because they are often a part of my plans. (Insert sinister laugh here and envision me rubbing my hands together, hubby rolling his eyes).

But a plan is insignificant and temporary if it originates in the flesh. When God inspires, He guides and provides a purpose beyond ourselves. This might sound grandiose, but truly everything we do originates in the flesh or the spirit and has a purpose that will accomplish temporary gain or impact souls for eternity.

Reading in the book of Acts, we see a passion that the disciples had in their plan to reach people with the Gospel that intimidated the religious rulers of their day. When we seek to honor God and make a difference, we will face people who are against us and wrongly judge our motives. We will likely not get support from those “closest” to us, doubt ourselves and wonder if it is worth continuing to try at all. So why plan at all, in the face of persecution and perhaps even hardship?

As hard as it is to stick ourselves out there to try to achieve something grand, this is what it means to live and not just exist. Seeking to grow and be used by God sometimes leaves us weary and worn, but inwardly there is a delight when we are fueled by God’s strength and vision.

As we plan for the new year, may our plans be formed in the Word of God, covered in prayer and done for His glory alone. May our plans have Kingdom purposes, stand firm and may we resist the enemy in the pursuit of our goals.

Every deed and thought is laid bare before the One we are accountable to. He completely knows our hearts, though we cannot even fully know our own hearts. We often do not recognize fleshly motivations and are easily deceived, but the Bible, Holy Spirit and prayer are our compass that lead us to eternal motivations.

Lord, You know us completely. Give us a heart and a passion singularly focused on glorifying You and may we be sensitive to the leading of Your Holy Spirit. Give us Your plans for 2017 and grant success that impacts souls for You – be glorified in us.

The Gift that Never Stops Giving

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

Joy from a gift given is temporary, but the joy from the gift of God lasts forever.

Scripture of the Day

1 Peter 1:8-9

“8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 

So, what did you get for Christmas? Did the longing for the gift equal the satisfaction you hoped it would bring? The joy from every gift is temporal, but not the joy of the LORD.

Throughout the day I have been thinking of you, friends who have chosen to stop in here for a moment each day to hopefully be refreshed as you press on to know God more. Writing this blog has been one of the greatest joys in my walk with God, and I thank you so much for joining me on this quest to go deeper with God.

As I thought about what I would say to you on Christmas day, “Merry Christmas” could not adequately express the greeting I wished to give. It feels a little “surfacey” for a blog that seeks to go deep.

Frankly, we don’t use the word “merry” all year long except for when Christmas rolls around, and it is a somewhat antiquated term. So, what is meant by this term?

A search on Google yielded these results: “cheerful, cheery, in high spirits, high-spirited, bright, sunny, smiling, lighthearted, buoyant, lively, carefree, without a care in the world, joyful, joyous, jolly, convivial, festive, mirthful, gleeful, happy, glad, laughing.”

Thing is, if we have lived long enough in the world we know about tragic events as have unfolded in this fallen world as well as in the life of my church in the past two weeks – two young lives tragically lost, a week apart, due to merely curving off the road and hitting a tree. Young children diagnosed with cancer. Spouses being unfaithful and breaking one another’s hearts.

How can simply saying, “Merry Christmas” bring the joy we hope it will? It can’t. A day can also not extinguish the hardships this life brings.But the message behind the term “Merry Christmas” is life-changing and brings a joy that nothing in this world can ever take away.

The gifts God gives us are temporary, as is this life, but the gift of His salvation never ever fades away. A secret joy is stirred in our souls that covers all the disappointments a fallen world brings. This life with all of its blessings and burdens was never supposed to be our joy. He is. His word, His Spirit are an ever-present joy to those who have learned to abide.

So, I wish you a Joy-filled Christmas and life, friends. When the floor beneath your feet is unstable and your heart longs for the pain just to stop, there is a joyful refuge we can run to, and it was revealed on what we now celebrate as Christmas. This joy, this gift, is not just on Christmas day. Jesus is ours forever.

Lord, thank You for the gift of Your Son. May we walk in the joy of the LORD every day of our lives, cognizant of Your sacrifice and love for us.

Day 14: Facing and Embracing Reality – The New Normal

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

Change is a stepping stone in the path of life that is necessary for our final destination.

Scripture of the Day:

Psalm 37:9

“Those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.”

Coming to grips with our new normal is no easy task. We are creatures of habit and prefer comfort and stability to change – especially if that change is abrupt and unwelcome.

But while we are waiting for our circumstances to change, looking to the future is not our only solace. Right smack dab in the middle of our new normal we can be not just content, but at peace – knowing we are exactly where God has us to be in that moment.

This truth might also create some misunderstanding between ourselves and God. Why would He allow it? Can’t He see that we are uncomfortable?

In a land not their own, the Israelites wondered if they would ever reach the promise land. Many of them didn’t. They did not like God’s provision, doubted His goodness and His promises. It did not make sense that they should stay so long hanging out in a seemingly purposeless trip in the desert, yet they determined the length of their stay by their actions.

If our chief goal is to glorify God with our lives, then we don’t just accept our new normal, but embrace it as being in God’s will for a purpose much higher than our own.

Hanging onto yesterday will leave us discontent and ineffective for the Kingdom of God. But being Kingdom-minded will help us to have a perspective that thrives when things around us are unsettling and uncertain.

Did we somehow forget that our stay here is a temporary one? This is not our home. Having a mentality of flexibility helps us to process change and view it as a stepping stone in the path of life that is necessary for our final destination.

Each presumed off-course path that we take is instead a fulfillment of our calling. Will we accept our mission? Having our hope in the character of God enables us to overcome a lack of faith when it seems we have been forgotten in the new place He has brought us too. We hold firmly to God’s hope because of the character behind His promise. He cannot be unfaithful. It is impossible for Him to do so.

If we could see the end goal of where God is bringing us too, we would not try to avoid each station of life. Instead, maybe we would learn to get comfortable with discomfort and joyful when things are doubtful, for it is in the dark places that a new hope is born. 

Adversity in the dirt of life creates a beautiful pearl of substance and a hope that is no longer easily shaken. Staying in one place in a perfect surrounding could never achieve such beauty.

This worship song really sums up well how God can use our momentary problems and turn them around as blessings disguised. Blessings by Laura Story

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for changing our hope into one that never fades. Help us to trust you in the transitions of life that threaten to steal our hope and find ourselves filled with a reinvented hope, instead.

 

Worshipful Wednesday:Favored Favor

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

The favor of God is our greatest reward.

Scripture:

Psalm 4:2-3

“You men, how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? How long will you love what is worthless and search for what is deceptive? (Selah) 3 Realize that the LORD shows the godly special favor; the LORD responds when I cry out to him.”

Psalm 5:12

“Certainly you reward the godly, LORD. Like a shield you protect them in your good favor.”

The thrill of receiving a gift is a surge of elation, a cherished favor; but sadly, it does not last.  Nope, the hard-earned new car or house, the pretty new outfit or exciting new relationship eventually become old.  The pursuit of the next new thing is futile, as the endless cycle of newness wearing off leaves us disillusioned, wanting for more.

The irony is that the things we often desire are not worth our time at all.  No one would choose a lump of coal for their stocking over a priceless, cherished gift, yet we daily are duped into pursuing things of lesser value compared to the riches God has in store for His children.

We might not at first recognize that we are esteeming worthless things, but that is often because we are deceived.  Blinded by the desires of our flesh, we long for things that temporarily satisfy us while God has riches beyond our greatest imagination.

Often we fall short of receiving God’s best because we are impatient or do not trust in what we cannot readily see.  Like the rich man who yearned for the comfort that Lazarus had after the sorrows on this earth, we have a choice right now to put our trust in the future hope that God has for us and not look only for rewards that this world offers.

To love what is worthless when the King of kings offers Himself, instead, is perhaps the saddest deception of all.  He longs to have us look up and worship the only One of worth, Himself, and to bless us, but we choose things that do not last and ultimately our own destruction apart from the grace of God.

What is this favor He longs to give?  We have an audience with the Almighty Creator.  Not just an audience, but One Who hears us and acts on our behalf.  He is our Shield, our Protector, the Lover of our souls.  His favor is eternal salvation for those who recognize and receive the gift.  The highest favor, indeed.

Lord, help us to invest our lives in what matters – pursuing You.  May we not waste the precious gift of life on worthless endeavors, but pursue knowing You above all things.

Truthful Tuesday: Temporal Popularity

http://www.stridecreative.com

Jeremiah 20:7-13

7 LORD, you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. Now I have become a constant laughingstock. Everyone ridicules me. 8 For whenever I prophesy, I must cry out, “Violence and destruction are coming!” This message from the LORD has made me an object of continual insults and derision. 9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message. I will not speak as his messenger any more.” But then his message becomes like a fire locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. I grow weary of trying to hold it in; I cannot contain it. 10 I hear many whispering words of intrigue against me. Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” All my so-called friends are just watching for something that would lead to my downfall. They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up, so we can prevail over him and get our revenge on him. 11 But the LORD is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior. Therefore those who persecute me will fail and will not prevail over me. They will be thoroughly disgraced because they did not succeed. Their disgrace will never be forgotten. 12 O LORD who rules over all, you test and prove the righteous. You see into people’s hearts and minds. Pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause. 13 Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For he rescues the oppressed from the clutches of evildoers.”

Luke 4:22, 24, 28

“All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”  24 And he added, “I tell you the truth, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown… 28  When they heard this, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage.”

They did not call Jeremiah the weeping prophet for no reason.  I have wasted too many tears myself lamenting (pun intended), the people who have rejected me.  The place we each hold in this society tells our story before we can.  Gender, occupation, financial status, appearance and our beliefs all speak volumes about us and are perceived differently by each person,as well.

Peers who have chosen a similar path hold similar views.  As a woman, another woman perceives of me quite differently than a man would.  As a home educator, as a mother, and most importantly as a Christian, I represent each facet that I embody.  While this can mean kudos to us when we are surrounded by like-minded people, the tendency of mankind to judge those who are different will likely mean rejection for us at some point.

Popularity is a fruitless pursuit, however, in that it is superficial and evaporates about as fast as we bask in it.  Although no one enjoys being cast aside as different or odd, it is the glory and privilege of a Christian to be so, and our calling.  We will not be popular when we serve God in a godless society, but the eternal rewards we reap will be worth it.

Seeing how Christ, the perfect One, was treated one moment and then discarded the next is a comfort to us who are so treated.  Cliques and groups that exclude others may or may not have a motive of inflicting harm, but we who have accepted the gift of salvation never have to despair of losing our position in Christ, for in Him we always belong.  Amen!

Lord, thank You for choosing us and never letting us go!!!  Help us to rejoice in You and be grateful to be identified with You!

What Are You Afraid Of?

A ship lost out at sea, an intruder in your home, a scorpion in your bed, a bully threatening you, a terrorist attack or world war III . . . all legitimate fears, I think.  But what scares me the most is apathy concerning my faith in God.

It is easy to focus on the here and now – that is all that is in front of us.  But to maintain a zeal for the unseen, which lasts forever is not easy to achieve.  I can become easily distracted and thrown off of a consistent devotion time, or allow that time to become stale.

So many have walked before us living to please their flesh, but I cherish watching the faithful who never cease to seek God and know Him more.  That is how I want to be, all my days.  I want to leave a legacy of faith for my children, where they can say I walked with God and was not merely religious.

Life is a mere whisper in the voice of all of creation and time . . . I pray that I can remember that truth and make my life count for Jesus and His glory.