The more time we spend concerning ourselves with selfish pursuits, the less time we have to live the life God created us to live. Most of us would not consider ourselves selfish, but the truth is we spend far more time focused on ourselves than on Christ or anyone else. Our modern society attempts to dictate how we should live, feeding subtle – and not so subtle – messages into our minds at a dizzying rate. Satan has masterfully disguised his undermining of God’s character by manipulating the societal forces that play into our psyches every day. The tricks of the devil are as old as creation. He tempted Eve by questioning the trustworthiness of God, implying He had an ulterior motive to keep her from eating of the forbidden fruit. Today He slyly convinces us that we need more “stuff” and to look out for ourselves first, clearly calling into question God’s ability to provide for our needs.
John
Easter
At the time this article is being published, it is the day after Easter. Easter is my favorite day of the year, and arguably should be so for all followers of Jesus. Certainly Christmas is important. If Christ had never been born, He could never have died, and therefore never have risen again to defeat death and save us all. But the last part – rising again and defeating death – is the entire reason we follow Him. Plenty of important and influential men have been born throughout history. Some have even died standing up for that which they believed. But only one ever rose from the dead.
Impact Your World
How can I serve God best today? It’s a question each of us should ask at the beginning of each day. The way we frame our days determines how we live our lives. If we wait for life to just happen to us, we will constantly be in a reactionary mode, and this is not the optimal way to live. Reacting results in circumstances dictating our own actions. A better way to live is to proactively and intentionally influence what circumstances will actually occur in our life. Remember the old saying that the best defense is a good offense? That sports analogy works well in life. We want to make our lives happen rather than wait for things to happen to us. As followers of Jesus, the absolute best way we can do this is to determine ahead of time how we will impact our world for Christ each day.
The Voices in Your Head
The spiritual battle that wages around us is often played out through the voices in our head. Every day we face a constant barrage of nonstop conversation within our own mind and it can be hard to discern which voice to listen to and which one we should disregard. How do we know when its God speaking to us, when it’s the devil, and when it is simply our own thoughts? The constant tension between the voices is a source of great consternation for most of us. Fortunately, it’s a lot simpler than you think to sort out who’s got the microphone at any given moment.
Mercy
“Hear my cries Lord, hear my plea / All around me, all I see / Are canyons of heartache, rivers of mistakes / … It’s clouding up my clarity.” Those lines are from the song, “Mercy”, written by Aaron Pelsue. How often have you felt this way? Every day brings a new disappointment, and it seems as if bad news has taken up permanent residence in our inbox. The daily news grows ever more depressing, and the demands on our time our choking out any semblance of a spiritual life. We are dismayed by our past, discouraged by the future and despondent over our current circumstances. Where does it end, and how do we get off of this ride?