Categories
Relationships

Obtaining Real Satisfaction

From my last post about filling our lives with Christ to find satisfaction, two questions were posed: What is “real satisfaction”? and How do you “fill your life with Jesus”?

The answer I shared was that the ever-increasing number of dissatisfied and depressed people in our nation is an indication that too many people are putting their hopes for satisfaction in the wrong place. So reading devotions, studying the Bible, getting involved in a church, listening to uplifting Christian music – all of these help us to fill our lives with Christ.

Two other quotes from Matt Chandler’s ‘Creature of the Word’ also spoke to this issue. Both quotes have to do with the satisfaction we try to gain through relationships and connectivity to others.

#1 – “We simply ask too much of our relationships. Women, you’ll never find a man who completes you. Regardless of what the TV shows and movies promise you, no one can fix what’s broken in your heart…. No man is enough. You need a Savior.” And the same goes for men – there is no woman out there that is enough. You need a Savior. We can so easily believe the lies of Hollywood…that there is some Mr. or Ms. Right out that there that will meet our every need. Perhaps that’s why Hollywood is filled with so many failed relationships – these actors believing the lies of their own TV shows and movies. When we believe these lies, we place too much stock in the belief that the other person should bring us all the happiness we need. Only Jesus can bring lasting joy. Once we have Him as our foundation, then we will develop a proper understanding of the roles of our other relationships – to supplement the lasting joy that He brings.

#2 – “Connectivity does not equate to community. Being able to make quick connections with people doesn’t automatically require any depth to the relationship…. So although we are more connected than we have ever been, we also feel more alone and unknown than at any other time in human history. We relate without relationships, all together but all alone. Thus, without the gospel forming community, We are doomed to connectivity and aloneness in the midst of crowds. Only the gospel forms deep community.” It is so easy to see the truth of these statements from the social media explosion that has taken place. We quickly find that connectivity does not equal community. The need for a Savior and the relationship transformations that He provides within His church – the forming of true, deep friendships with unity and interdependence – are essential for our total well-being.

So how else would you answer the two questions of:
1. What is “real satisfaction”? &
2. How do you “fill your life with Jesus”?

Categories
Christian Living

A Cup of Cold Water

It’s been pretty chilly all over the country the past few weeks, including here in middle Mississippi, so if you are still trying to thaw out, a glass of ice-cold water doesn’t sound very good to you. That just means we’ll need to use our imaginations today. Travel in your mind to summertime – the middle of July. Do you remember how hot it is? So hot you could fry an egg on the hood of your car. When you step outside the heat hits you so hard, it makes it difficult to breathe. Now you’re no longer complaining about how cold it has been, but rather, you are sweltering and sweating and wishing for cooler days and that you weren’t cooking in the summer heat. When you get to that mindset, think about a simple glass of ice-cold water.
A glass of ice cold water
Think about standing outside in that sweltering summer heat, having just finished weedeating or some other miserable summertime task that has you dying for a glass of water. Sweat is dripping off your brow and into your eyes causing them to burn a bit. But you look over on the steps by the door and there is a thing of remarkable beauty. Someone has set out for you an ice-cold glass of water. The glass is full of ice cubes and the water is glistening inside that glass – beckoning you to come over and drink it. Beads of condensation are running down the sides of the glass. Your hand grabs that cold, wet glass – it feels so good that you even get a little shiver – and you put the rim of the glass to your lips. The coldness is about to be on your tongue, you tilt your head back to take your first big swallow and to feel that ice-cold goodness pour down the back of your parched, dry throat. And as you pour it into your mouth, you get a terrible shock as you realize it is a glass of salt water. The salt is all in your mouth, and you find yourself spitting and sputtering out nasty salt water. What a terribly cruel joke.

It looked like what you needed, your desire for it was so strong, but once you tasted it, you found that it didn’t satisfy in any way.

Ocean water contains seven times more salt than the human body can safely ingest. Drinking it, a person dehydrates because the kidneys demand extra water to flush the overload of salt. The more saltwater someone drinks, the thirstier he gets. You can actually die of thirst while drinking water.

In this life, we can do the same thing as we lust after the things of this world instead of for Jesus. We thirst desperately for something that looks like what we want. Something that will make living enjoyable – that will give us a sense of satisfaction and joy. We try all sorts of things. We don’t realize, however, that all these things that we are trying are the opposite of what we really need. We are thirsty for something in life that will bring us true satisfaction, but we are not drinking from the right fountain. Jesus says He is the Living Water – the only fountain that satisfies completely.

Whatever you are filling your life with – if it is not Jesus – it will not fully satisfy. It might give a moment of happiness, but in a short matter of time, life seems empty again. Only when you are filling your life with Jesus, does life make sense and bring satisfaction. It is only then that everything else fall into its proper place and can be properly enjoyed. Take a moment today to be certain that you are filling your life with Jesus, the Fountain of Living Water.

Don’t drink in salt-water – drink in Jesus.

Categories
Worship

no other gods

I am the Lord your God… you shall have no other gods before Me.
The first of the Ten Commandments.
How important is this first command?

“Martin Luther articulated that the first commandment appears first because it is the foundation for all the other commandments. He said that if We keep the first commandment, we will keep all the others. And if we break another commandment, it is because we have already broken the first commandment. For example, if you break the commandment to “not give false testimony,” it is because you have rejoiced in something other than God, something that seems worthy of your lies. If you break the commandment not to covet, you have first elevated the thing you are coveting as the object of your affection. You have made it your god.”

Using this same track of thought, we find that Jesus indicated that the greatest commandment in all of Scripture is to love God with all that is within you, and that the next most important commandment is to love others as much as you love yourself. So we really only need to obey these key commands to be fully obedient to God, but because we can be a bit dense at times, God took time to spell out how these primary commandments should be lived out. But all of the commands in the Bible come back to these key commands.

“Luther Wrote, “Under every behavioral sin is the sin of idolatry.” When we sin, We are ultimately worshiping something other than God, placing an idol on the throne of our lives.”

To place anyone other than God on the throne of our lives and hearts, we must first ask God to step down from the throne. This One who we said would be Lord, we boldly walk up to Him and say – Jesus, would You mind stepping off the throne for a while. I need You to hand back to me the royal crown and the royal robes. Just stand over here to the side while I place this idol on the throne to worship for a time. And this One who is the King of kings and Lord of lords, though He maintains all authority in earth and heaven, steps off the throne of your life until you are ready to repent and give Him control again.

Today, when you are tempted to worship something other than Jesus, remember how your worship of lesser things equates to you asking Jesus to step off the throne. Allow that imagery to help you keep Him in His rightful place as Lord and Master of your life.

(Quotes from ‘Creature of the Word’ by Matt Chandler)

Categories
Worship

Worship Wars, part 2

I had planned to share this about two weeks ago, right after my first “Worship Wars” post, but then I came down with some less-than-enjoyable headcold. And as you know, the last thing you want to do with a congested head is make it try to think! But the head is now clear, and so it is now time to start posting again. The previous post was about our worship of lesser things than God Himself. So here is a bit more on that issue…

Our worship of lesser things leads to worship wars in our hearts. God indicates that He is a jealous God who is not only worthy of worship, but is not willing to share His worship with other lesser things.

Here is part of our problem… too often, “we prefer creation to the Creator.”
We end up worshiping, enjoying, and having a passion for the things He has created for us, instead of worshiping and having a passion for the One who provided these blessings.

“…in essence, sin is a fundamental failure to rejoice in what we should rejoice in. Our worship has to be redeemed and rescued from futile things. Rather than rejoicing in our Creator… we rejoice in and serve shallow, temporary things that are here one moment and gone the next. The reason some of us swing from elation to despair so easily is that we rejoice wrongly. Our worshiping is in the wrong place.”

“God, because He created us For Worship, pursues our worship. The first commandment listed in the Ten Commandments is God instructing His people to worship only Him. He said…: “I am the LORD your God….You shall have no other gods before me….You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.” ”

“Prior to giving the command to have “no other gods,” God reminded the people who He is and what He has done. His demand and desire for worship were based on His character and the fact that He had rescued these people from bondage. He was worthy, He said, of their rejoicing in Him.”

And He is still worthy of our rejoicing in Him above all other things – because of who He is and what He has done for us. We were not led out of physical slavery/bondage, but we have been provided freedom from the bondage of sin and eternal death. We have been given the opportunity to experience abundant life through our relationship with Him – a life of joy and peace even in the midst of the difficulties of this world due to His walking with us.

Let us make sure that we engage in an internal worship war so that at the end of the battle, God emerges as the winner and the only One we take real delight in.

(Quotes from ‘Creature of the Word’ by Matt Chandler)

Categories
Worship

Worship Wars

This phrase – “worship wars” – is often used to discuss the ways that people argue about church music, but truly that battle over church music is really just a “music style war” – arguing over the style of music I want in my service (so serving “I” & “my” becomes the focus instead of “we” & “Him.”)

The truth is that a real worship war is taking place at a much deeper level – in the heart of each of us. Each of us has to determine what or who we will worship – and often that turns into a battle… a worship war!

” … even those men and women who don’t enjoy worshiping their Maker can sometimes be seen with their bodies painted in team colors, becoming emotionally affected for hours, sometimes days, by how the game went…. They’re ready for worship any day of the week… But, their hearts are yielded to lesser things.”

This isn’t to say you can’t enjoy watching a game, but when does it turn into worship? Is your heart yielded to “lesser things”? Do you ever find yourself putting way too much emphasis on things that aren’t eternally significant?

“Because we humans are worshipers, we are rejoicers. It’s what we do. Every single person, whether religious or irreligious, actively worships. They have identified something bigger than themselves that they believe is worthy of their money, time, and the meditations of their hearts…. It comes naturally…. Easily. Enjoyably. But in our sinfulness, this tendency to worship things other than God is an exercise in disappointment. It offers us nothing but temporary satisfaction…. Since we are worshipers by God’s design, the problem is not that we rejoice but rather that we rejoice wrongly.”

It is so easy to fall into the trap of worshiping the lesser things. There are so many things vying for our attention. There are so many competing voices out there, and each one is shouting “worship me!” I’m not sure that I can draw for you exactly where the line is between enjoyment and worship, but I definitely think that if our allegiance to and passion for ______ (fill in the blank with your own personal worship war word or words!)… if our allegiance to and passion for those things are greater than our passion for God, enjoyment of His Word, and devotion to His church… then we’ve gone too far and crossed the line.

What do you find are the biggest worship war dangers for you/us today?

How do you make sure that your worship of God is stronger than your other passions & devotions?

When you realize that your worship for lesser things has become too strong, how do you re-orient yourself?

(Quotes from ‘Creature of the Word’ by Matt Chandler)