“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

My life is blessed beyond anything I could ever have imagined. Katie (my MAIN blessing) and I have owned a rental house, on a canal, leading to the Gulf of Mexico, that has been paid off for years. Both blessing and heartache have come with the sweat the equity required of ownership. Mostly mine. Lately, my blessing has become VERY expensive!

Now I’m not talking about ‘money’ expensive! It’s WORSE! Being October in Florida, the summer heat has gotten to me. As it always does this time of year, I’m tired of sweating! But my rental house is demanding even MORE of it! Unhappily, I really do NOT know what to do about it. Honestly, I have simply become worn out, tired and irritable! What’s worse… I don’t like this guy living inside of me because of it.

With any house, and especially with a rental, there’s always work to do. Seeing houses all over town selling at phenomenal prices, we decided to see if WE could ‘cash in big time!’ We called our dear friend, also a real estate agent, and told her, “we don’t know if God wants us to sell or keep this blessing. So let’s see!” With houses flying off the market in hours at WAY over market prices, ours has been on the market for 3 months! I’m beginning to feel like an idiot!

I have NEVER learned ANYTHING the easy way. Having owned 6 properties in our marriage, NONE of them were easy. Money, sweat, time and tears tore me apart on a regular basis as I continued to ask God, “WHY did we buy this again and WHY is this SO HARD?” As with my working career, I should have learned to accept the hard fact that God does things the HARD way!

If God says ‘X,’ I want ‘Y’! And if I DON’T get ‘Y,’ or a ‘WHY,’ I have a terrible habit of whining, conniving, negotiating and HUMPHING until reality REALLY hits! Sadly, this attitude can slow my spiritual growth substantially. Not a good thing for a preacher! It’s a good thing I was saved early in life!

So me and God have an issue. Or at least ‘I’ do. Because ‘I’ was the one who set the terms for this ‘deal.’ And I think I already know what you’re thinking. Maybe I should have just flipped a coin!

Are YOU trusting, leaning and submitting? Or are you ‘negotiating’ with God?

“‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday He will return from heaven in the same way you saw Him go!’” Acts 1:11 NLT

The hype was absolutely over the top, and was what immediately caught our attention. Dubbed “The Return,” the event was played up as the football game of the year. Tom Brady (Tampa Bay Bucs Quarterback) was going BACK to New England to BATTLE his old team and former coach. And EVERY commentator had SEVERAL insights as to how it would go. Katie and I made plans to watch!

Katie likes watching football even more than I do. There’s just something about the sound. Our boys played it all through school and our girls were cheerleaders. To us, there’s just something about the sound and season that brings us joy. Fall, the anticipation of the coming Holidays and cooler temperatures, make it my favorite time of year. “The Return” was just a bonus!

There is no doubt that politics has invaded the football world. I know lots of people who won’t even watch sports anymore. Even casual interest can spark controversy like, “what should Christian parents do on Halloween?” But Katie and I are adults and can see past the political attempts to sway and change people’s views of things. Our focus on “THE REAL Return” has made it easy!

Mention Tom Brady’s ‘return’ and people’s strong opinions erupt to the surface. If you’ve ever mentioned Jesus Christ and HIS return, you probably weren’t surprised to see evidence of what ‘unbelievable’ really means. Scowls, eye rolls and subject changes are the lateral moves the world seems to take when considering the coming of God’s Son to earth… to victoriously right all wrongs and to rule and reign the planet! It just sounds too far-fetched! Or is it?

I’ve never met anyone who didn’t realize this world is a mess! Inside all hearts, even unbelievers KNOW that we were not made for this. And that right, fair, love, joy and perfect relations among people and God HAVE to exist. And while NO human has provided a lasting answer for ANY of it, we ALL just KNOW that there HAS to be ONE who DOES! Enter Jesus!

And that’s it! Enter Jesus… PLEASE! It is my mantra and ultimate Hope. Maranatha…’even so come’ Lord Jesus! And HURRY! Cuz it’s getting pretty messy down here and I’m getting tired of the games!!

Are YOU Ready?

“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 16:25

Looking at tires is not a normal thing for me. So I don’t know how I actually noticed that Katie’s tire was so low as to almost be un-drivable. Since we had to go right back out, I fired up my 40 year old used, rebuilt compressor and pumped ‘er up! Occasionally and over 2 days, I’d give it a quick glance. It APPEARED to be ok. Yesterday, after 2 days, it wasn’t looking very pumped.

I KNEW simply pumping it up was probably not going to last. Tires just don’t simply leak air unless something is wrong. So last night, I pulled out my tire patch kit and proceeded. Now I’ve patched many a tire in my day. But it wasn’t going so well. So I called my friend, who also happens to be a top mechanic, and asked, “if I can’t get the reamer to go into the hole, can I use a drill?”

I was laughing when I asked the question, because I already assumed the answer. “WHAAAAAAAA? Ya gotta make it go in the same direction as the nail.” Right then I knew that, even if I didn’t get the tire patched, I had a topic for the ‘Words of the Day.’

This Bible verse today is found in Proverbs… TWICE! So, like Katie’s tire needing air, it MUST be an obvious truth. But for me and my brain, it wasn’t. Lately EVERYTHING has been difficult. What should be easy, seems hard. Simple things go wrong so easily. I changed my broken cell phone case this morning and got jabbed…leaving a bloody thumb as a consolation prize. 3 pens in a row simply quit writing! And I WANT to SCREAM!

Ya’ll, screaming doesn’t help. I SEEMS like it SHOULD. But it only releases built up pressure and then seals off for another build up. As Katie heard me hissing, she paid attention and listened. Then suggested I sing to the Lord and praise Him in SPITE of my leak. Words I have said to SO many people…SO OFTEN! Now ‘I’ need a fill up!

This morning I reluctantly took a look at the tire and it held up. So going in the right direction was good advice. Now, I’m going to apply that same lesson to the leak in my spirit. And thanks for your prayers too!

R U Pumped?

God Morning…. This is SO good.  There are sheep in our flock who are going through some VERY difficult circumstances.  When that happens, it is easy to drop confidence, loose heart and even to blame God for those difficult situations.  This is a GREAT article to encourage us to see God for Who He REALLY is. ALL GOOD ALL THE TIME.

He is Good by Costi Hinn, from More than a Healer…

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. — Psalm 34:8

You say it, I say it, we all say it.

It usually comes out when we purchase our first home, deliver a healthy baby, find a perfect front row parking spot at the grocery store, hit the road for summer vacation, or get promoted at work. “God is so good!”

There couldn’t be a more reassuring truth. He most certainly is good. We say it because it is one of the best ways to express our appreciation to God for how things are working out in our favor and for giving us a temporary state of happiness and excitement. Would we say the same thing, however, if things were not working out the way we desired?

Do we truly embrace the fact that God is good, even when our circumstances are not?

Could there be more to His goodness than just the bright side of our story? If we’re going to grow closer to Jesus than ever before and find our ultimate purpose in who He is (and not merely in what He can do), we must ask ourselves these kinds of challenging questions. They are essential to our growth.

God Is Good All the Time

When things are going right, we rightly declare God’s goodness, but the Bible clearly shows us that God is still good when things are going horribly wrong. This is because goodness is part of God’s nature. He is always good, because it is innate to who He is.

God allowed Satan to afflict Job with suffering as part of a test (Job 1:6–12). Even still, God is good. Paul begged the Lord to remove a “thorn in the flesh,” but God did not (2 Corinthians 12:7–10). He is still good. When King Nebuchadnezzar commanded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to bow down and worship the idol he’d raised, they refused. The king threatened to have them thrown into a fiery furnace. Their response? They declared that their God was able to deliver them, but even if He didn’t, they would not worship any other gods (Daniel 3:17–18). Those men knew that God is good, even if He didn’t deliver them from a blazing death.

Now personalize this truth. Is God still good if you lose your job, if you lose your home, if you can’t have a child, or if a doctor says you have six months to live? Answering that question will test your view of God.

God’s goodness is based on His character.

Which means that your career advancement and good health are unrelated to whether He is good. He is good and He is good all the time, no matter what our circumstances might be.

The Biblical Reality of God’s Goodness

Scripture is not silent on this subject. Countless passages point to the goodness of God throughout the ups and downs of life. For example, the apostle John wanted to shape and protect the way Christians viewed God, as do I. So when false teachers misrepresented the gospel, He reminded believers,

This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.

— 1 John 1:5

Regarding John’s writing style, Charles Spurgeon said, “The apostle John’s style was to give you a truth then guard that truth.” In this case, John’s statement that “God is light” is doubled down with the declaration that “in Him there is no darkness at all.” What John is saying here can be paraphrased this way: “In case you were wondering if God isn’t all light, or if maybe some element of Him can sin, that’s not possible. If you somehow think that His anger, wrath, sovereignty, and judgments are His dark side, and His goodness, love, joy, mercy, and grace are His light side, that’s not possible. He is all light and always light.”

God isn’t like some of today’s movie superheroes, complete with a troubling dark side that must be hidden or tamed.

Every aspect of who He is and what He does is good. This truth impacts how we view Him in our darkest moments, because we can still know that He is light. He is good. We don’t need to cry out in anguish, wondering if He still has a handle on things or if He has suddenly turned into a monster. Such a thing will never be. God is good.

Discussion about God’s goodness in the midst of horrible situations in our world begs the question, why did God create evil? But that question contains a false assumption.

Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that God created evil, has evil in Him, or is the author of evil. We know from the Bible that God can cause calamity and bad events to occur, and therefore, certainly allow it (Lamentations 3:38; Amos 3:6; Isaiah 45:7), but since there is no evil in Him, we can trust that His purposes and judgments are still ultimately for good. Someday, we know, He will eradicate evil. Since God cannot eradicate Himself, we can fully affirm that He is not at all evil. Instead He will judge all evil one day.

Most helpful of all for your immediate situation is that God can take something evil and make it work out for good. That is a truth we need to keep close to our hearts.

God Works All Things for Good

Romans 8:28 is a very important passage to address when we’re talking about the goodness of God in all circumstances. Paul writes,

We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. — ESV

Often you may hear a person or a preacher say that this passage means that everything happening to you is going to turn out for your good, that the blessing is just on the other side of this burden, that your prosperity is going to come from the pain. Basically, this approach to Romans 8:28 sees good as your definition of good. This is not the right way to handle this passage.

No matter how well intentioned, another inappropriate handling of Romans 8:28 is to throw it around after a tragedy as though it makes everything fine. Does it have a place in the wake of painful events? Yes. But most of the time, it’s needed only after the initial mourning process slowly begins to give space for reflection and deeper conversation. How many of us know that in the early stages of pain, we just need prayer and for others to mourn with us, not statements (no matter how true) about how it’s all going to be okay? There are many tragedies that will never be okay. We simply learn to lean on Jesus, grateful that He is holding on to us.

So what does Romans 8:28 mean, and how does understanding it fit into our growing closer to Jesus? First, it is speaking specifically about “those who love God,” “those who are called according to His purpose.” Those phrases are directly aimed at believers, which means this is not a general promise you can throw around at people, like a prosperity gospel preacher telling a crowd that God will make them happy, healthy, and wealthy. Second, this passage says “all things,” which means that the good, the bad, and the ugly will happen. No one is immune to the “all things” in life. Third, this passage reminds us that God’s definition of good is what will ultimately be accomplished, and His good will be good for us. One of my favorite explanations of this passage is by Randy Alcorn.

The focus is not on isolated events in the believer’s life, but on the sum total of all events. Do you see the difference between saying “each thing by itself is good” and “all things work together for good”? Think about it. The difference is tremendous. The verse does not tell me I should say “it is good” if my leg gets broken, or my house burns down, or I am robbed and beaten, or my child dies. But it does say that God will use these events and weave them together with every other facet of my life in order to produce what He knows to be the very best for me… Once I heard a pastor say, “I’m tired of hearing people tritely use Romans 8:28.”

So am I. But I am not tired of Romans 8:28 itself and pray that I never will be. When you use this powerfully explosive verse (and you should use it), handle it with care. But whatever you do, don’t stay away from it. The truth it contains can change your whole outlook on life.¹

In light of the great truth contained in Romans 8:28, and all that the Bible teaches about the goodness of God, we do well to internalize at least three powerful truths that can transform our perspective in the midst of pain.

God Is the Giver of All Good Things

Our pride tells us that we are responsible for earning good things, good income, and even good results from hard work.

That may be true to an extent, but it’s not the whole story.

While you are the one who goes to work each day to earn income, and you are the one who goes to the gym to improve your health, and you are the one who performs with excellence and gets a promotion, all of the good things in your life are from God. More than that, even the ability to work hard or do anything good is a gift given to you by God.

James 1:17 reminds us,

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

When we see good things through this lens, entitlement shatters and gratitude soars. Entitlement emanates from a heart that believes it deserves everything it gets.

Entitlement tells us, “You shouldn’t be dealing with this right now. You’re such a good person. You deserve so much more!” We silence entitlement by reminding ourselves that we are undeserving recipients of so many good things from God. Suddenly we can be in the middle of pain, cancer treatments, relational conflict, or an anxiety attack and still maintain a heart posture that overflows with thanksgiving toward the Giver of good.

God Is Good Even When Our Circumstances Are Not

All through the Bible, God’s people encounter both immensely good times and horribly hard times. Yet through it all, the Bible declares God’s goodness. The psalms are filled with declarations of God’s goodness, made by David even when he is going through pain. Enduring King Saul’s jealous rage and attempts to kill him (1 Samuel 18:11; 1 Samuel 19:10), experiencing injustices and betrayals (1 Samuel 23:15–29), waiting years to take his rightful place as king, running like a fugitive from his own rebellious and tyrannical son (2 Samuel 15:13–17:22), David still declares the goodness of God. Psalm 106:1 exalts God, exclaiming,

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1 repeats these words, and so does Psalm 118:1 and Psalm 136:1. The theme of thanksgiving is prevalent in these praises, which reminds us again that we can praise God in the midst of pain. He is good, even when our circumstances are not!

1. Randy Alcorn, “What Does Romans 8:28 Really Mean?” Eternal Perspective Ministries (March 21, 2010)

Excerpted with permission from More Than a Healer by Costi Hinn, copyright Costi W. Hinn.

“Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.'” Luke 22:7-8

Tonight at 6:30, we are having a Spaghetti Dinner at FLAP (our Church’s Bible Study). We haven’t had a dinner in a while and being nudged, I felt like it was time. So I ran it past a couple people, they said, “O.K,” and it’s on! And I’ve been running like a mad man!

I don’t like putting people out and hate to ask things of them. So, since it was my idea, I did the research and math to figure out what we needed, went to the store (several times), gathered kitchen supplies, and with Katie, set up the church. Now all that’s left is for volunteers to show up, cook and serve it to the folks who decide to come! Jesus had it EASY!

Jesus told His disciples to“Go and make preparations for us to eat.” He didn’t do math, shop, prep, cook or serve. All He said was “GO!” And they went! Since His disciples were His FOLLOWERS, that means that they were WITH Him. While we think that there were 12 disciples, we know from Scripture there COULD have been more. But we can presume that Peter and John knew how many were coming…AND HOW to prepare! A blessing I second guess.

I have no idea how many people will be coming tonight. Jesus had the ability to multiply food and have baskets full of leftovers. The LAST time we did this we had a boatload of leftovers. So I’m not concerned. But I AM preparing to be prepared! Why? Because, having said “YES” to Jesus myself, I WANT to be!

Peter and John were not given a Job Description when Jesus asked they follow Him. It was assumed that their ‘yes’ was to be found in their footsteps. As time passed, they were led into the deeper territory of ‘whatever!’ Based upon The Word, they all faced mystery, fear, uncertainty and a LOT of crazy in their walk with God! But they had the time of their lives.

Are YOU into ‘Whatever?’ Are YOU prepared to instantly follow, go or say what He asks of you? I have learned that HIS way has never changed. It is ALWAYS costly in time, money and nervousness. He doesn’t give all the details, but expects you to know, or find out, what it takes to get the job done. Reward or judgment falls upon the outcome! But hey!!!!!! It’s Jesus! Nothing to be nervous about… RIGHT?? haaaaaaa!

If you live here, I hope and pray you come. While I’m not sure that it will be the best spaghetti you’ve ever eaten, I CAN tell you this… JESUS will be there! And THAT’S enough for me!

“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Jude 20-21

I have the best eye doctor in the world! The problem is, I don’t really, completely, 100%, LISTEN to her! I USED to see perfectly. Then with age, reading glasses became necessary. Then years later, far away glasses were needed for DRIVING. So I have a pair of glasses when I read, a pair for driving in the daytime, and another for driving at night! My Doctor suggested Progressive lenses. But honestly, I just refuse to see the point!!!!!

What a funny spectacle I must be. Even working in the yard requires wearing prescription sunglasses. But hooked in the neckline of my shirt is a pair of reading glasses for when I need to see something up close. Switching glasses is a chore, but I do it anyway. Because doing what my Doctor says, just seems MORE uncomfortable!

Other people have done it… made the switch to 1 pair of glasses for everything. But my Doctor said, and others have confirmed that, “it takes some getting used to.” And that headaches, in the process, are not uncommon. But dummy me…it seems THAT is all I’ve heard! I don’t like headaches!

Our ladies in the church are learning how to become a good Ezer Kenegdo. That term means like a warrior helpmate for their husbands AND for others! When Katie got home from Ladies Bible Study last night, she was SO excited to tell me all that they had learned together. BUT…the underlying issue… has an issue. To BECOME a better Godly woman, one has to make it a GOAL to NOT do what they are USED to doing! Which can be a headache!

The verse today says that it is up to US to build up our own faith and remain in God’s Love! God guides, but prayer and focus are the tools WE must use to build. Which means WORK! As we learn to NOT do what we USUALLY do, discomfort will come. But the outlook WILL be SO much more glorious!

So THANK YOU LADIES for leading the way. As the days become more difficult, it will become even harder to see past the distractions the world, flesh and devil throw at us. May your example teach us to work and wait patiently for the Lord to take us to our eternal home. Which the Bible tells us…is God’s very progressive point of view!

How do YOU see it?

“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again— my Savior and my God!” Psalm 43:5 NLT

I woke up with this overwhelming feeling of sadness, bordering on despair. And it’s Monday! One thing led to another and soon I found myself doing math… which is a REALLY bad sign. I multiplied the weeks of my life and found that there have been about 3,444 Monday’s in my life! An action which is strange, because Mondays’ never ever bothered me. Maybe it’s a coincidence?!?

Last week I was FORCED to cut my grass, which I hadn’t been able to do because of rain. But it got so high, I couldn’t put it off any longer. What usually takes about an hour took 3. The wet grass just stuck, like green mushy goo, underneath my lawnmower. But as I said, I HAD to get it done. Today… I have to do it AGAIN. And it’s Monday!

As I said, through all my years of working, I never had a problem with Mondays. To me, it was just another day. Having preached on Sunday’s now for over 22 years, Monday’s can sometimes be tough. After a hard week of trying to lead sheep, Monday’s can sometimes make me feel like I’m a goat herder instead.

Mushy, messy, sticky grass can be scraped off of a mower deck. It isn’t that easy when it’s covering a brother or sister in Christ. And when it sometimes sticks to ME…it can slowly shut me down. The call of ‘The Master’ to shepherd His sheep is a serious one… coming with DOUBLE judgment for failure. I take ‘The Call’ even MORE seriously than keeping my lawn in shape. Which CAN cause me even MORE harm. But why am I writing this??

The answer is strangely easy. Because David did! David, a man after God’s own heart, had bad and sad days too! As a young lad in the pastures, His relationship to God grew because HIS sheep didn’t talk to him. So he focused on his relationship with God. Whether up or down, in or out, he wrote about it. Writing just seems to help break down and analyze the situation.

I realize that a messy Monday is my own fault! When I start looking around and evaluating who’s in or out, who’s growing and who not, who’s following and who’s just being stubbornly stupid… I can EASILY get into trouble. Why? Well, since ‘evaluating’ is NOT my job, ‘I’ need to work hard to avoid it… or get messy!!

We are studying James at FLAP and the ladies are studying how to be an Ezer Kenegdo. It stands to reason that getting this focused on focusing on Jesus tends to bring out Jesus’ enemies in full force. I thank God that MY EK just reminded me to “put my hope in God, and praise Him!” Which is EXACTLY what David said… and did! So I’m on my way!

Happy Monday to ya’ll!

It’s Friday!!!   And I have been saving this to send because to me, it is the simplest most profound Truth in all of the Universe.   I have used this passage about Lazarus for every Memorial or Funeral service I have ever done.  but THIS lesson I have never heard before.  It makes the story even MORE special.  I pray you enjoy and feel the same about Jesus Christ as John and I do….and like Jesus Christ loves YOU.

Why Does God Love ME? 

What would it look like in your life to know that God loves you — I mean to know that he really loves you? Would that love be proven in a new job? Or maybe a better job? Would it be an open door that will allow you greater financial independence? Maybe it would be to find a spouse. Or maybe deliverance from chronic pain that depletes your energy. Or maybe it would look like being delivered from the consuming demands of a special needs child. What would prove God’s love to you? And what if the answer to that question was something altogether different than what we expected? What if, instead of any of these things, God showed his love to you by letting you die in sickness? Crazy, right? Totally counterintuitive. And yet this is exactly what we read about in John 11:1–44. Read this extraordinary story, because in it we find a life-changing lesson God wants all of us to grasp. Here’s Pastor John to explain, in one of his sermons from 2001.

This is John 11. I have used this text now in about five settings in the last couple of months because no other text has gripped me like this in driving home this central point.

Love and Glory

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. (John 11:1–2)

This is clearly a picture of sweetness and love. Mary loved Jesus, and Jesus loved Mary. Mark that word love. It will show up several more times.

So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11:3–4)

So now you have two profound realities on the table: love and glory — the love of Christ and the glory of Christ. My question is, How do they relate to each other? Verse 5:

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

“Until Christ becomes our treasure, we don’t know what it is to be loved by God.”

Notice three things: (1) Jesus chose to let Lazarus die. (2) He was motivated in this by his zeal for the glory of God to be manifest. (3) This motivation is love.

Do you see the word so, or therefore, at the beginning of verse 6? Do you see what it’s preceded by and followed by? It’s preceded by the fact that Jesus loved Martha; Jesus loved Mary; Jesus loved the dying man, Lazarus. Therefore, he did not go heal him but stayed two days longer where he was and saw to it that he died.

Why Do You Want to Be Loved by God?

Now, what on earth could possibly turn that into love? Verse 4: This is not going to end in death. This is all about the glory of God, “that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

So here’s my definition of the love of God based on this text: God’s love is his doing whatever needs to be done, at whatever cost, so that we will see and be satisfied with the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Let me say it again: the love of God is his doing whatever needs to be done, at whatever cost to himself or to us, so that we will see and be satisfied by the love of God in Christ forever and ever.

Let me confirm this with John 17:24. Here’s Jesus praying for us, and he loves us in this prayer — oh how he loves us in this prayer. John 17:24: “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory.” If Jesus loves you and prays for you, do you know what he finally asks for you? That you may see him. The ultimate answer to the prayer of love is, “Show them my glory, Father. Show them my glory, and they will have arrived at ultimate satisfaction.”

Why do you want to be loved by God? Yes, not to perish. Yes, not to go to hell. Yes, not to have a guilty conscience anymore. Yes, to have the marriage put back together. But if that’s all you want, you don’t know him. You don’t know him. It’s for life. And what is life? It is to know him and his Son. It’s to fellowship with him. It’s to behold him. It’s to be satisfied with him. It’s to enjoy him. Until Christ becomes our treasure, we don’t know what it is to be loved by God.

Why are you thankful for the love of God today? I hope, before we’re done, God will have worked in your heart so that you see enough of God the Father and enough of God the Son, Jesus Christ, so that you will know and feel that it is not finally for the relief of your conscience, it is not finally for escape from hell, it is not finally for health in our bodies, or reconciliation among our family members; it is finally to bring you home to God, where you can see him and enjoy him forever and ever and ever.

Seeing and Savoring Forever

I want to know: Do you want this? Do you want this? Do you want to be loved by God for God? Do you want to be loved by God for God? Or do you only want to be loved by God because it feels good that he seems to make much of you? Have you taken the American definition of love — being made much of — and so twisted God to fit that definition that the only way you would feel loved by God is if he makes much of you, when, in fact, the love of God is working so as to change you so that you enjoy making much of him forever and ever and ever? And that’s the end of your quest. There isn’t anything beyond it.

“You will be satisfied when you forget yourself and are swallowed up in Jesus Christ, and he becomes your treasure.”

I do believe that is in every heart in this room. And we are all fallen, and we are all sinners. I know that every person in this room has a distorted desire for God, and it’s on the way to being purified. And it’s being tricked. You’re being tricked, many of you, into thinking that the satisfying thing in life is to be made much of: “If I could just get some people to clap for me, to like me, to approve of me, to give me a raise, or to give me an advancement. If I could just get someone to pay attention to me, I would be satisfied.” You wouldn’t. I promise you, in the name of Jesus Christ Almighty, you wouldn’t.

You will be satisfied when you forget yourself and are swallowed up in Jesus Christ, and he becomes your treasure, and he becomes your delight, and he becomes what you cherish and what you value, and you spend the rest of your eternity growing in your capacity to see and savor, to know and to delight in him forever and ever — and it will get better and better and better.

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Providence.

“The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” 2 Chronicles 15:2

The other day I wrote about Katie’s computer crash! Her computer froze up and left a screen with only error messages. With years of her hard work on the now inaccessible hard drive, the situation was bleak! 40 years ago that would not have been the case. But progress! But then…40 years ago, I didn’t know Mike!

One of my sayings is, “Heaven is like a good government job, it’s not what you do, but who you know!” That is NOT to say that what I DO doesn’t matter. In the case of the crashed computer, knowing Mike is not even enough. I had to call, ask and take my problem TO him. Last night, we got her computer back!

I don’t know how he did it…though he tried to explain. Honestly, we didn’t care! What was lost, because of him, had been found! The joy was flowing baby! And I mean ‘slay the fatted calf and call for a praise party’ kind of Joy! Which only served to remind me that the truth of that saying is still rock solid! ‘Doin’ and ‘Who’n’ go a LONG way when it comes to life! Which brings me to today’s Bible verse.

If I were to ask YOU 2 questions, based upon YOUR experience and what you KNOW, could you give me an answer to each? OK…let’s try!

1. What is the Meaning of Life?

2. What is the Secret to Life?

In our FLAP Bible Study last night, we started the book of James. Because we are human, each and every one of us have faced trials in life. As the clock ticks, time SHOULD give us more rock solid answers, if only by trial and error! That said, what do I KNOW for SURE? And do I know it to be true EVERY TIME, for EVERYBODY and for ANY situation?

As life crashes in and all around me, it is important that I seek and KNOW what to do when it does. Rock solid knowledge that is TRUE can then be passed on to others who find themselves in similar crashing situations. So as for the 2 questions, I have MY answers. Do you have yours? I’d LOVE to KNOW!

I await your email response.