If you look around the sanctuary during worship service you will see a mixture of people actually smiling and seem to be happy singing praises to the Lord while others look as though they are in a dentist chair. What is stealing their joy? Or if you look closely you can notice that many of the financially successful Christians live in a world all their own. Where they are a slave to the almighty dollar they need to obtain to pay for all the toys and possessions they have, but when it comes to serving and spending time with the Lord, that time is hard to find. Why is that? Especially when the only success Jesus is concerned with us about is our love for Him and our obedience to His Word.
And do you know Christians who proclaim their faith to all around them, go to church regularly, tithe, listen to pastors and Christian music on the radio but still fall short on actually living the life Jesus asks us to live as true Christians? They know what their responsibilities as Christians are. What keeps them from obeying their calling as a Christian?
Another thing that baffles me is why some Christians are not satisfied with the excitement of being daily blessed and flooded with grace in their lives by Jesus but still continually need and strive for more? Do they not know? Have they not read? (Isaiah 40:28-31)
I can relate to these comments. I have been there and experienced many of the sins that keep us away from honestly following Jesus because I was not content with the way things were. I wanted more.
Personally I think many Christians fall into the same category. Sometimes we are not content with our lives, faith or religious beliefs and not totally devoted to our Lord. We want more!
Let’s start by discussing true commitment. To whom and what are we committed to? People can say what they want but their actions will show to whom they are committed. To some, it may be a pastor. When we do this, the focus is on the preacher instead of the message he is trying to teach. When this happens, we cross a fine line and that cancels out our true commitment to Jesus. When we are not totally committed to what we believe in, we fall victim to our fleshly cravings, desires, wants and likes. We are no longer content and we may even find it hard to focus on the joy of the Lord. What is missing in our lives need to be filled with worldly satisfactions.
The problem is, when we live in our flesh nature nothing seems to be enough. There is a desire to have more and more of something different. We are never satisfied. I believe this is why the extreme charismatics have the constant need and desire for more and better miracles and are always yearning for the special emotional experience, but the desire never ends. Living like this shows we are not pursuing righteousness and godliness, we are pursuing our own self-interest, excitement or human-nature pleasures.
When we realize we are struggling with drifting from our commitment to Jesus, we must turn away. We must examine our hearts, our true desires, and what really is our focus. Are we serving our human desires or are we serving our Lord? Are we going to return to spiritual maturity and do what is right or are we going to fall prey to the world and its truths?
To those who repent, there is hope because in Jesus there is forgiveness, unending grace, and the ability to walk in true contentment. Then we can live this life without idolizing anyone or anything while having the joy of the Lord in our hearts.
A prime example was King David. He was a sinner and a man after God’s own heart. His circumstances and loyalty went from one extreme to another but he always came back to God with a contrite heart and placed his trust in Him no matter what his circumstances. (see 1st and 2nd Samuel).
What are WE to do when faced with a lack of something, have worldly desires, temptations, and a feeling of disconnection? GO to 1 Timothy 6:11 “ But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”
Dennis
1/19/2020
Manos de Dios, Hands of God Ministries 