The Cross

the cross

I am humbled today.  To imagine that we are so valuable to God that Jesus would sacrifice his life for us!  Recently, like millions of Canadians and Americans I watched Dr. Billy Graham’s last sermon(http://myhopewithbillygraham.org/programs/the-cross/).  The broadcast was entitled “The Cross”. After hearing the God-story of the two people featured on the video and the message from God’s Word, I am moved beyond words.

As a young person who had just come to faith in Jesus, I accompanied our church’s youth group to a weekend conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  On this particular weekend, one of the keynote messages dealt with the Cross.  As a new Christian, I will never forgot how the speaker described how valuable Jesus, God the Son was to God the Father. He talked about all the Son of God had endured to pay the penalty of the debt of sin that I owed. He talked of the Roman scourge and the cruelest form of execution that the Romans had invented called crucifixion. To top it all off, the separation for the first time in all eternity of God the Father and God the Son, you and I cannot even begin to fathom all that meant. For all the human race,  Jesus endured the shame of the cross to purchase our freedom from sin’s curse.

Have you gotten over it?  The pure, holy, lovely Son of God was made subject to the wrath of God so that we could go free! His righteousness was applied to us so that when God the Father looks at us, he sees his Son’s death and righteousness applied. God knew that this was the only way for us to be saved from his wrath. Here is the kicker for me, in John chapter 10, Jesus said that he willing laid down his life for us, no one took it from him, by his own volition he died. If that does not move your heart today you need to see either your cardiologist or your pastor or maybe even both!

The world has believed the lie of Satan that what we really need is material possessions, be the king of our lives and in control of everything! There is a reason he is called “the father of lies” in the Bible. He knows that none of those things can bring us real joy or satisfaction that lasts more than a day. But we keep trying. Even those who say they are Christians have fallen into his trap.

What the world needs now is the gospel. But the gospel is difficult, the gospel is insulting because we cannot do anything to make ourselves acceptable to God.  You cannot save yourself! The Cross of Jesus Christ is foolishness to the human race because we really think can make it on our own.  Deep down we know we cannot unless God changes our heart.

I am grateful that the Cross of Jesus, this gospel of Jesus Christ, is the only way that I can find true life. I have found out that I not only needed the gospel that day in 1978 but I need the gospel everyday! I need his grace to mold my character and shape my future. What I need now is the gospel.

You and I are so valuable to God that He would endure the cross for sinners like us. Absolutely amazing! We are eternally grateful. Does that humble you, too?

What the World Needs Now

the crossI am humbled today.  I am humbled to think that I am so valuable to God that Jesus would die for me.  Last night, like millions of Canadians and Americans I watched Dr. Billy Graham’s last sermon (http://myhopewithbillygraham.org/programs/the-cross/).  The broadcast was entitled “The Cross”. After hearing the God-story of the two people featured on the video and the message from God’s Word, I am moved beyond words.

As a young person who had just come to faith in Jesus, I accompanied our church’s youth group to a weekend conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  On this particular weekend, one of the keynote messages dealt with the Cross.  As a new Christian, I will never forgot how the speaker described how valuable Jesus, God the Son was to God the Father. He talked about all the Son of God had endured to pay the penalty of the debt of sin that I owed. He talked of the Roman scourge and the cruelest form of execution that the Romans had invented called crucifixion. To top it all off, the separation for the first time in all eternity of God the Father and God the Son, you and I cannot even begin to fathom all that meant. For all the human race,  Jesus endured the shame of the cross to purchase our freedom from sin’s curse.

Have you gotten over it?  The pure, holy, lovely Son of God was made subject to the wrath of God so that we could go free! His righteousness was applied to us so that when God the Father looks at us, he sees his Son’s death and righteousness applied. God knew that this was the only way for us to be saved from his wrath. Here is the kicker for me, in John chapter 10, Jesus said that he willing laid down his life for us, no one took it from him, by his own volition he died. If that does not move your heart today you need to see either your cardiologist or your pastor or maybe even both!

The world has believed the lie of Satan that what we really need is material possessions, be the king of our lives and in control of everything! There is a reason he is called “the father of lies” in the Bible. He knows that none of those things can bring us real joy or satisfaction that lasts more than a day. But we keep trying. Even those who say they are Christians have fallen into his trap.

What the world needs now is the gospel. But the gospel is difficult, the gospel is insulting because we cannot do anything to make ourselves acceptable to God.  You cannot save yourself! The Cross of Jesus Christ is foolishness to the human race because we really think can make it on our own.  Deep down we know we cannot unless God changes our heart.

I am grateful that the Cross of Jesus, this gospel of Jesus Christ, is the only way that I can find true life. I have found out that I not only needed the gospel that day in 1978 but I need the gospel everyday! I need his grace to mold my character and shape my future. What I need now is the gospel.

You and I are so valuable to God that He would die for us. Absolutely amazing! Does that humble you, too?

The Practice of Prayer

In Times Like These

It’s Wednesday night at 7 o’clock, we are gathered at the corner of Queens Avenue      apraying handsnd Adelaide Street in London, Ontario to pray.  We sing a couple of hymns, listen to a brief study of God’s Word then we gather in groups to pray.  But the prayer time seems very sterile and safe.  We pray for health issues, the pastors and missionaries and conclude with an Amen. But there is something missing.  I finally have put my thumb on it.

Prayer can become very rote. We do it because, well, God created Wednesday nights for prayer meeting, didn’t he?  It becomes so mechanical that we can pray whether God shows up or not. We forgot that the fundamental reason for prayer is not asking for stuff but having communion with the Creator of the universe.

Jesus taught this in his model prayer to his disciples.  When we pray there…

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The Practice of Prayer

It’s Wednesday night at 7 o’clock, we are gathered at the corner of Queens Avenue      apraying handsnd Adelaide Street in London, Ontario to pray.  We sing a couple of hymns, listen to a brief study of God’s Word then we gather in groups to pray.  But the prayer time seems very sterile and safe.  We pray for health issues, the pastors and missionaries and conclude with an Amen. But there is something missing.  I finally have put my thumb on it.

Prayer can become very rote. We do it because, well, God created Wednesday nights for prayer meeting, didn’t he?  It becomes so mechanical that we can pray whether God shows up or not. We forgot that the fundamental reason for prayer is not asking for stuff but having communion with the Creator of the universe.

Jesus taught this in his model prayer to his disciples.  When we pray there is a recognition to whom we are speaking, he is ‘Our Father in Heaven.’ There is an attitude of entering a holy place as we bow together with the recognition that we have been invited by him to enter. Hebrews 4:16 teaches us that we can boldly enter into the throne of grace to find help in time of need. We boldly enter with proper reverence and humility.

Have you heard the expression that prayer is work? For a long time I didn’t grasp the significance of that statement. The older I get (cue the record player!) the more I am beginning to get it. Prayer involves more than the repetition of phrases that we have learned from others. It involves the connection of our soul with God. For that reason we need to make sure that there are no impediments (sin) between us and the Lord.

Too often we treat prayer as the lucky rabbit’s foot. We think if we pray then all will be well and God will grant us our desires! Or, if we pray then we will have no problems, if we pray at the right time, with the right posture then God is almost obligated to answer us as we wish. But we have missed the greatest treasure of prayer. True prayer is the intimate relationship that we have with our Father (by the way, the fact we call God ‘our Father’ is a clue to that intimacy).

Jesus gives us a clue to this intimate relationship he invites us to in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” How in the world can we turn down that invitation! It is worthy of us clearing everything from our agenda to respond with all our soul, “Yes!”  The invitation to have a meal is something very personal and intimate. The Lord invites us to sit at his feet and pour out our heart and listen to Him. From the intimacy of our heart we express our love for him and desire to please him above all. That is what we do in prayer!

I am still learning about prayer. I am not sure I understand all of it yet but I hope to grow in getting to know the One to whom I am speaking. You?

Hungry to Learn

Classroom 031

“School House Rock”[1] was television’s attempt to teach children basic things about math, science and government. It aired in the 1980s during Saturday morning cartoons.  One phrase I recall was “conjunction junction what’s your function.”  Remember? It taught kids school subjects while they watched Bugs Bunny and others. I, too. have had the privilege of teaching in a Bible college, and in the local church as a Pastor and Teacher.  I have discovered that the best students are not always those who receive  “A’s”  (speaking as one who rarely received one!) but the best were those who loved to learn.  On the other hand, there were others who one could tell were not there because they choose to be there. In my annual Bible reading plan, I have arrived at the New Testament epistle the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. These people were absolutely amazing! We ought to try and bottle what they had! They had such an insatiable desire to learn but not just in the sense of “book learning.” They took what Paul taught them and lived it out.  They were any teacher’s dream! I can imagine that they sat on the edge of their seats waiting for every word to fall from the lips of God’s servant. As they heard the word of God, they accepted it as the word of God.  To them, Paul was not just another lecturer visiting them to talk about the latest philosophy to come out of Rome. When they heard him speak they understood that God had sent him to be his spokesperson.  It was more than a philosophical chat about abstract ideas. Reading from 1 Thessalonians 2, they understood that these were God’s words and as such they sat with rapt attention at the Word as it was taught. This word was received by them into their hearts and began to take root in their lives. How fervent was their desire to learn God’s Word? Such was their dedication to learning God’s word that they were willing to suffer at the hands of their fellow citizens.  I would call that dedication to learning! As they heard the word and applied it, they knew that they had become citizens of the kingdom of God and as such needed to live distinctly from the rest of the culture. What an impact!

This got me to thinking.  With what attitude do I come to the Word of God when it is preached and taught?  I think that we in North America have become so accustomed to coming to church and hearing God’s Word that it has become mundane.  We have lost the thrill of learning it to live it! Now, those of us who have the privilege and responsibility of teaching must to do so in creative ways.  As the late Bible teacher, Howard Hendricks said many times, “We don’t have the right to be boring when we teach the Scriptures.” But how do we hear the Word? 1 Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.”  For babies, milk is fundamental for their growth and development, no one has to lecture them on their need for it. For the believer in Jesus, the Word is fundamental to learning to become all that God desires us to be.  You and I must long to grow in our relationship to God. It is fundamental! I often think that every time God gives me the opportunity to sit in on a sermon or in a small group that this is another opportunity to marvel at his grace, to deepen my trust in him and grow to become more like Him. I am on the edge of my chair, I don’t want miss a thing. You?

Attention Getters

Have you ever noticed how much competition there is every day for your attention, and your money? It is really incredible the battle that goes on to captivate your passions. Advertisers frame their publicity in such glowing personal tones that one ends up becoming personally and emotionally attached to things. Take for example vehicle advertisements that make the purchase of that particular car or truck to be the absolute fulfillment of all you have ever dreamed to have in life! Fast food ads speak of their edible goods in terms of contentment onthe moral level for eating a certain hamburger or sandwich.  

The truth is that we need to get around and we need to eat. We want a reliable vehicle and good food to follow the examples we just shared. But these can never bring us the ultimate satisfaction we crave as they are advertised.  We are fall in the deceptive trap thinking that they actually can deliver true happiness and satisfaction. How in the world can things created give to us creatures any sense of contentment or joy in life? But that is what the world tries to sell us every day! And…you and I fall for it!  

Psalm 146 is God’s antidote for that erroneous thinking. After the declaration by the psalmist to praise the Lord has long as he has breathe, he challenges our tendency to trust, to find satisfaction, to find joy in that which does not last forever. If we have the choice between trusting in that which is temporary versus trusting that which is eternal, what do we choose? If you will allow me to ask, , what do you choose?  Is it not true that we try to get satisfaction out of that which could never give it to us! The Rolling Stones had it right, “I can’t get no satisfaction.”  

Psalm 146:3 says, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.”  Human beings are tempted to trust in the temporary every day. The advertising industry is built on this premise. They are experts at awakening that part of you that yearns to be satisfied.  But the great ‘shell game’ in that is that what you think you are going to get is impossible from that source no matter how attractive it is. Why? Because it is temporary. Verse 4 says, “When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.” That is a short term investment.   

How much better to find real, lasting, deep satisfaction,and real joy in the One who can actually deliver the goods. ‘The goods’ being that which can bring us true satisfaction and joy in this life and in the next. Verse 5 says, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,” This is truly incredible! Our hope, or our trust in is God, the writer mentions the God of Jacob. Jacob is that Old Testament character whose life was dramatically turned upside down by his encounter with God, you can read about it in Genesis 32:22-32. Jacob was trusting in what he could do, in fact his desire to get his father’s inheritance lead him to trust in his mother’s plan. But God met him, touched his life and Jacob took God as his hope and treasure. Only God could fill him with the satisfaction that he previously sought in a temporal blessing.   

This God who asks us to trust him is described in Psalm 146:6, as the One “who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever…” Then we have a litany of examples given as to how God provides now and eternally for people’s needs. He is  the One in whom we find all of true, lasting satisfaction in life. As I read this Psalm I find myself indignant with my own shortsightedness in trying to manufacture my own contentedness with anything I could purchase with money.   

One of my favourite television programs when I was a small child was Captain Kangaroo (yes, that does date me!). He would always say at the end of the show, “”You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool Mom.” All of us, including Moms, can be fooled into thinking that anything this world has to offer us will bring us such satisfaction that it will last forever. Only God can truly offer that. What are you trusting or hoping in today?

 

What Does God Want Me to Do?


“What does God want me to do?” Have you ever asked that question? A friend said to me recently, “I cannot tell you what God’s will is for you.” I appreciated that. Many times people do try and help us in this area, and at times we are left scratching our head.  The question of knowing and living in God’s will is something that we grapple with in many areas of life. From our vocation, to family issues, to how we spend our money, to how we discipline our children, and in many other areas we want to know what God has to say. Does the Bible have anything to say about this?
God says a lot about it, let me give you some biblical principles when it comes to this area of life:

1. Seek God first – we many times put the cart before the horse.  We want to know God’s will instead of getting to know God as priority. James 4:3 talks about people who put their own desires first then conveniently forget about seeking God first. In Matthew 6 as Jesus gives the principles for living under God’s rule, he underlines the importance of seeking God first (verse 33) before seeking any other thing in life.
2. Know God’s Word – What does God have to say about the issue you are facing?  For example, the word of God may not tell you the name of the person you are to marry but it does give you principles for discovering who he/she may be.  It may not tell you what type of job you should look for but it certainly tells you how God has wired you to serve Him. The important thing is to grow in your knowledge of the Word and in intimacy with God.
3.Grow in Community – If I think that I have the gift of teaching I should be a part of community that will affirm that or lovingly tell me that I don’t have that gift.  I believe strongly in the local church (or a small group within that church) recognizing and affirming the gifts God has given to us. In fact in Acts 13 we read of Barnabas and Saul(later to be known as Paul) being sent out as missionaries from the church of Antioch.  It seems that they were involved in the ministry of that church and then God confirmed in the hearts and minds (verse 2) of the church that these men should be sent out to serve God and reach the unbelievers with the gospel (verse 3). If the church does not recognize one’s gifts then that ought to indicate to us God’s direction for this moment in time.
When you ask next time, “What do you want me to do, Lord?”, know that this is a great question and a great place to start is talking to God about it.  When we sincerely seek him he will lead us in his ways. Psalm 23:1-3 reflects this truth in a beautiful way,
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me like down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for
his name sake.”
The bottom line is that we are asking God to lead us in his path for the glory of His name!

The Great Deception

I have been deceived.  That is quite a statement to begin this blog, is it not?  For my entire life of walking with our Lord I have equated my knowledge of theology, my reading of the Scripture with making progress spiritually. But I have missed the point. Those things are well and good, necessary even. But they can never be substituted in for growing in intimacy with the Lord. 

To grow in intimacy with the Lord is the goal of the Christian life. When the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3 “that I may know Christ and the power of his resurrection” he was talking about growing in intimacy with Christ.  In this chapter he talked about all the things that had become his “claim to fame.” He had a very impressive resume that included spiritual activity that brought “ooos” and “ahhhs” from those around him. However impressive, none of those things helped him grow in intimacy with the Lord.

What is your claim to fame? Your theological training? The church you attend? Maybe you have memorized all kinds of verses from the Bible. My own spiritual heritage was marked by a form of legalism that declared you were okay with God if you followed the ‘do’s and don’ts’. The truth of the matter is that our only claim to fame that is worth anything before the Lord is the fact that we are His! In looking at those things in his past Paul plainly stated in Phil. 3:8, “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things (his claim to fame) and count them as rubbish.” The question that burns in my heart is this, how does one get to that point in their spiritual journey?

How can I look at all my accomplishments and say that they are rubbish? What would motivate me to consider my past as garbage?  For Paul there was something more important, more dear to his heart than anything he had every accomplished. That something became a someone, Jesus Christ.  It was important now for Paul, and for every son and daughter of God, to know Jesus more than any other thing or person in life.  

The crux of the matter is that we should know more theology, and we should be faithful at reading our Bibles. BUT these should be disciplines by which we get to know Christ more. These ought to never stand apart from the greater goal of knowing Jesus; they ought to lead us to love him more.  The commentator Matthew Henry states that this knowledge of Christ is an “experimental acquaintance with Christ.” It is personal, and it is something that we experience because of Christ’s resurrection. It is what we experience in growing more and more in Jesus.

Recently, my wife and I drove the Beartooth Highway. This road has been classified as one the 10 most scenic highways in the United States. On its route between Montana and Wyoming, one must drive on U.S. Highway 212 slowly climbing from 5,000 feet above sea level until you reach the top at 11,000 feet. There are switchbacks going all the way up in order to make that climb. The Christian life is like driving on switchbacks. The goal is to know Christ, to grow in intimacy with him, to strive each day to know him better and more fully than the day before but then comes another switchback when it seems that we are not making progress at all. The apostle Paul expressed our goal in Phillippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal (knowing Christ) of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” We keep on striving with the goal of knowing Christ clearly ahead of us.

The deception that I have experienced is in thinking that the exercise of spiritual disciplines is enough. No, they are not, they are tools to help me achieve the ultimate goal, to know Christ and I dare not confuse the two. When I do then I am off track and end up with a false knowledge of God and not the real thing. Our prayer ought to be that we continue to grow in the intimacy of knowing Jesus.

If I am a Bible teacher in a seminary, my goal ought to be not only that my students learn the material I am teaching but that they grow in knowing Christ better. My goal as a pastor is not just that my people learn to have a daily quiet time but that in that quiet time they are knowing Christ more. My goal as a church member is that I personally am growing to become like Jesus.

May God help us to see the real goal for which he has made us his own! God bless!

Keep the Water Flowing

Pastor Tim Keller twitted recently, “Our hearts are like a bucket of water on a cold day – they will freeze over unless we regularly smash the ice that is forming.”

It got me to thinking, how often do I find that my own heart has frozen over?  When that happens, communication (fellowship) between myself and God seems to be cut off.  So the question I want to pose is this: How can we keep the water of our spiritual lives flowing without the stoppage of ice blocking communication with God?

One example of a church, a group of God’s people, who experienced this blockage, is the Church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22. This is Jesus’ evaluation of this church. We have this evaluation recorded for all time. What would Jesus evaluation be of our church or our life? Thank God that it is not written in Scripture for all to read for all time!  Revelation 3: 15-17 reads, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”

As I read these verses the question that popped into my brain is, “how could they not realize that they were in such a desperate situation?” Then, I remember, how many times do I live in sin and not realize the desperate situation I am in?  Sin is the great deceiver; it promises satisfaction and never delivers! One would think that I am spiritually sensitive enough to know when I have fallen in the eyes of the Lord. But we don’t because, as Tim Keller says, the water in our bucket has frozen over.
There are at least  6 principles, 3 negative and 3 positive, that will help us to smash the ice in our spiritual walk to keep the water flowing.

      3 things that cause the water of our spiritual lives to freeze

            1.     Unrepentant sin – Psalm 66:18 “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
                 the Lord would not have listened.”

2.      Lack of Intimate walk with God – we go through the motions of attending church, do what we should but lack the passion that comes from a daily encounter with the Lord
3.      Unforgiving attitude toward others – Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-26 that if we know that things are not right between you and another member of the family of God that we are to leave the gift and be reconciled to that person. We must avoid holding grudges. The old phrase that says ‘let’s bury the hatchet’ in regards to repairing relationships is good as long as we don’t remember where the hatchet is buried so we can use it against the other person when they mess up the next time!

What things can we do in a positive way to keep our relationship with God flowing?

1.      Have an active, daily dependence in God.  The apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,”  He knew that he needed to live by daily depending on the Lord in order to keep moving ahead to becoming all God desired for him. What does daily, active dependence on God look like? A. Meet with God daily. No Christian can survive spiritually if he is not growing on a daily basis. B. Trust God when you don’t understand what he is up to. There are times when I come to the proverbial fork in the road. At these times we need to follow his clear leading.

2.      Find our satisfaction in God ALONE
      We human beings tend to blame others for what is lacking in our own lives. This can be true in husband-wife relationships, as well as in many other relationships we have. We can’t understand why our spouse is the way he/she is because he/she is not meeting our emotional needs. Because we are not satisfied in God alone, there is no person on the planet who can meet that need! It is only when I am satisfied in God that I can let the other off the hook for their shortcomings.
3.      Keep moving forward one step at a time, one decision at a time. 
      God is continually teaching us.  I remember when summer was over and be back in the classroom in the fall thinking, “Will I ever do anything else in September other than sit in a classroom?” Have you ever thought that?  With God, we are always in the classroom; we are always growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Peter 3:18.  The book of Proverbs is all about growing in wisdom to become a person of wisdom through the decisions we make every day. Don’t allow sin to slow you down! Proverbs 24:16 says, “for the righteous falls seven times and rises again,but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” Confess your sin, ask God to give you victory of it and keep on walking in the grace and victory He has given to you in Jesus!

Conclusion
How are you doing spiritually today? Are you freezing up, as Pastor Keller mentioned, or are you continuing to smash the ice that is forming so that the water can freely flow? May the Lord give us wisdom and grace to keep on keeping on for His glory!

Happy or Holy?

     What makes you happy?  Being with friends?  Eating your favourite food?  Watching a good movie?  The theme of happiness dominates our society.  Do whatever you like, when you like, where you like!  If anyone gets in your way, then you can rain on that person’s parade for getting in your way.  How dare they stop you from being happy?  But, what about when God draws the line in the sand?

     There is a higher priority than being just being happy.  I like to be happy, I love it when my sports teams win and don’t like it when they lose.  However, whether they win or lose, or whether I get to eat my favourite flavour of ice cream is irrelevant to God’s goals for my life.  This is where the proverbial ‘rub’ comes in life. Many people, including some who profess faith in Christ, have not discerned between God’s measurement of contentment and our desire to just be happy. We often miss the point. 
     God’s priority is character development by which we grow to reflect His own.  He takes us from being self-centered people who are all about the good time and moulds us into people who are all about Him.  The apostle Paul talks about this in his first letter to the Corinthians. Specifically, he deals with the cultural right that people had to make themselves happy by eating meat that had just been offered as a sacrifice to a pagan idol. “Just look at that meat, it is almost talking to us, “Eat me! I am delicious barbecued!” But Paul says there is a greater priority than enjoying a tasty steak.  The thing that was more important was that some people’s conscience would not allow them to eat that meat. So if you put yourself first and not think about that person, you would actually be sinning against Christ! These younger Christians had not yet come to the place of a proper understanding that the idol was nothing and therefore they could be free to eat the meat.  Paul’s point was that their Christian lives were not about making themselves happy!There was and is a greater goal.
     This ‘right’ we think we have to be happy extends to the local church too.  The unity of the body is a principle that Paul, and other New Testament authors, wrote about a lot. A person who seeks to develop godly character puts the local church as her goals over their own personal comfort. If the music is not exactly my type but God is being exalted, Praise God! If the Pastor was a little too long or too personal or too boring, or if someone sat in their spot, people who are trying to grow spiritually to develop godly character respond in a way that would edify the whole church.  Our consumer mentality to be happy seems to be unaffected by the fact that God calls us to be united in Christ, to serve one another, care for one another, and love one another.  Local church leaders love to lead people whose goal it is to have godly character as their number one goal in life. That is contagious and the whole body catches it!  Local church leaders also must be growing in godly character as well lest they speak in ways that are less than helpful.  
     The goal for the Christian life is to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind and each other likewise. When we adopt those qualities of being like Christ, happiness becomes a by-product of living for God.  I can’t get passed the fact that the majority of the Disciples that Jesus called to serve Him and His people had their lives ended at the hands of those who sought to extinguish their message from the planet.  We in the Western world know very little about that kind of suffering.  But the one characteristic of each of those followers of Christ who gave up their lives for their Lord was joy!  Joy is the state of being content with life and with what God has given. Paul said, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”
     There is joy in serving Jesus, the joy of growing to be all that he has designed us to be, and no fleeting circumstance could ever match that! For the Christian true happiness and contentment are found when we follow Jesus with ALL of our being. 

     Thanks for taking the time to read the blog! I welcome your response. God bless you!