Are my expectations too high for this life?

I read an interesting article a few days ago about a survey that was done in Britian on life satisfaction.  (http://www.rense.com/general4/bn.htm) Although the article is a few years old, the conclusions I am sure are only more true for today.  Here is one of the conclusions from the article:

Christine Webber, the psychotherapist who carried out the survey, said: “Sadly, it comes as no surprise to me that so many people are unhappy at home and work. It seems that people’s lives do not live up to their extremely high expectations.”    She said: “It is particularly worrying to see so many people dwelling on morbid thoughts, with a large proportion just plainly exhausted by life.”

Listen to the words again “it seems that people’s lives do not live up to their extremely high expectations”.  I find that so interesting. We want a lot out of life, and want to enjoy our life, yet because life itself does not meet those expectations, we are dissatisfied and unhappy. So unhappy, in fact, that ten percent of those in the survey said that they would be better off dead.

There is a question however that begs to be asked- are we meant to expect a lot from this life? Should we expect this life to provide us with the fulfillment and happiness that we are all looking for?  First, let me say that I believe we are meant to have a full life, a meaningful and purposeful existence here on this earth. God has not designed life to be a meaningless, meandering time that is a chore. God did not set up life to be a daily grind (which is an awesome name for a coffee shop!).

Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came to give us life that is abundant. Abundance is overflow, more than enough for what is needed. That is His promise, His purpose, to give us a life that is not only worth living, but full and fulfilled. What we need to focus on is what type of abundance that Jesus is speaking about. If our expectation is that I want my life full of sensual pleasures, financial independence, relationship control and stress-free living… then yes, we will find this life very unsatisfying. All of these things have appeal for us and all of them give us pleasure, but only for a time.  The Bible speaks to this…

Hebrews 11     ²⁴ By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

The pleasures of the world are a thing that passes, meaning that they are ultimately unsatisfying. In the time before I became a follower of Jesus Christ, I was a pretty typical young man, drinking, partying and, as the song says, lookin’ for love in all the wrong places.  My friends and i would go out, have a good time, and work at having the best time we could. The next day we would compare our “wounds” and talk about what went right or what stunk about the night before. But no matter what happened, we had to saddle back up again and hit the bars and clubs because what happened yesterday was, well yesterday. There were no lasting effects to the night out, nothing to come home to, nothing to rely upon. What was left was the need to top the night before.  That is the passing pleasure of this life.

If my expectation is that this lifestyle will bring me permanent happiness, the expectation that this will fulfill my life, I will be disappointed.  The point is not the alcohol or the partying or “lookin’ for love”, you could just as easily substitute career, money, power, popularity, status, happiness or a hundred other things and come out with the same result. As the psychologist noted from the article above, this is an exhausting way of living life. The chase is a tiring. The “pursuit of happiness” that is guaranteed to us, can be just that, a pursuit, a never-ending, never-satisfying chase. Are you tired today?  Are you tired of chasing a life that you can never seem to catch?

What are the expectations of a Christian for this life?  Can we have fun? Can we have a full life, pleasure, happiness and fulfillment? Can we get these things without a tiring chase?  Look at another verse that speaks to our enjoyment of life:

Romans 8   ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things.

He will freely….give us…all things…. now look at another passage….

Matthew 6   ³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

What can we conclude about our expectations for this life?  Does God wish us to experience abundance, fulfillment and joy?  Yes, He does. But He expects us to find that fulfillment in Him, in His Kingdom and in His ways. Even as Christians we often try to find the realization of our dreams and plans for happiness in worldly things. We don’t look to God as the source of our fulfillment. He often becomes an add-on to our life or worse the God who is supposed to supply us with these worldly things.

I have talked to numerous Christians who chief complaint is that God has not sufficiently blessed them with worldly things. They complain because they don’t make enough money…. to pay for all of the things they have bought over and above their income. They haven’t experienced perfect health or life has not been smooth enough for them, and God should provide these things if He expects them to love Him.  This was the attitude of Job’s wife, who after calamity in their life wondered why Job still loved God. Listen to their encounter:

Job 2    ⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” ¹⁰ But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

I can imagine that Job’s expectations of life were not exactly being met. He had suffered much and his wife’s response is like that of those in the article mentioned at the beginning– just give up and die.  Job however held onto his expectations, focusing his life and his hopes on the Lord. Life is not always perfect and yes, sometimes our expectations can be too high if we are placing our hope in the things of this world. But as Christians, with God, our expectations should be high. We should expect great things from the God who says, “is anything too hard for me?” (Jer 32:27) Jesus told us to pray believing and to have expectations for God to move and work and accomplish His purposes. Think about the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5), gifts that the Holy Spirit works in the lives of bleievers who are filled with Him- love, joy, peace… all blessings that we strive for in this life… and God provides them through His Spirit. We have the opportunity to experience the abundant life Jesus talked about, but it will come when our expectations are placed on Him.

If you are tired of the chase, exhausted at life, think about where your expectations are placed.

Am I Connecting with God?

I had the opportunity this week to teach a class for Bible study teachers on developing their skills. As we talked about teaching the Bible and spiritual truth, we kept coming back to the idea that teaching was really about connecting. True Biblical teaching is more than just information, but sharing spiritual truth so that others can connect, understand and embrace the God who is truth. God has brought that thought back to my mind several times over the last couple of days and I want to take some time to consider our  connection with God.

We are enamored by cell phones and all of their gadgets and features. As I was driving to work today, they were commenting on teen cell phone usage and the “need” for a teen to connect with others through their cell phones- photos, texts, etc..  It is really amazing when to stop to think about all of the methods we have today to interact with one another.  Our cell phones take a picture, which can then be sent by e-mail for someone to be able to download, we alert them about the e-mailed cell phone picture by text messaging them while they are sitting in an airport on their wireless laptop… then forwarded via a social networking site like Facebook, which is then picked up and automatically updates their blog… which then shows up on Twitter so that everyone can see that they just took or downloaded a picture. The quantity and type of our connections is not the problem. I am not anti-technology, nor am I enamored with it and “just must have it”. In fact how we connect is not the concern at hand. My question is about the quality of our connections.

We have all kinds of tools at our disposal to connect with one another in some way, and for the most part we are connected. We make many little touches to people by instant message or by sending them a picture or a note, but how deep does the connection go? The 2006 General Social Survey by The National Science Foundation reveals an epidemic of loneliness in America. The study shows that the number of “socially isolated” Americans has doubled since 1985. Despite the advances in high tech connections, more than a quarter of U.S. citizens saying that there is no one with whom they can talk about their personal troubles.  Connected more, yes… connected deeper… no.

That can be true of our Christian life as well. We can “connect” with God in many ways. We can attend Bible Study, worship services, pray, read our Bible, serve, have a spiritual discussion over a cup of coffee, collect food for a homeless shelter… but in all of that connecting, do we connect with God? Are we as Christians finding ways to touch the religious, but not embracing the Holy? Do we do more things, engage in more ways, yet still feel separated and apart and spiritually lonely?

Our culture tells us the lie that if we do more, we will be happier and more fulfilled.  Activity does not equal intimacy. That is true in a family, in a marriage and in our relationship with God. Just because you go to a ball game together doesn’t mean your family has a healthy relationship. Just because you and your spouse watch a movie together doesn’t mean you have a deep intimate relationship. Just because you go to a worship service does not mean you leave feeling the intimacy of having worshiped God.   Our connections to God sometimes are many, but shallow.

What about your prayer life?  When you pray, do you sense a deep connection to God? Do you know that when you speak to God that you are speaking to Him, and not just to yourself or to the air?  Let’s take it a step further. Connection means that two things become linked. When you pray, do you know that God is communicating with you?  Do you wait for Him to speak and do you anticipate that there will be dialog? Intimacy involves two way connections, where there is the sharing of heart, trust, emotions and understanding.  Prayer is much more than a religious exercise where we get stuff off of our chest. It is supposed to be communication with God. That is why Paul can call us to pray without ceasing. It is communication, communion and connection with our Heavenly Father.

Too often prayer has become less about connection and more about a monologue about our issues, wishes, problems and good old-fashioned complaints.  When we do all the talking there is little connection taking place. We are making a verbal deposit, and hoping that it bears interest somewhere down the line.  Prayer involves more than just engagement with God, it needs connection to make it what it can be. So many Christians feel their prayer life is missing something, could it be that they are not connecting?

What about your worship?  The activities of worship we are familiar with- singing, Scripture, offering, preaching, etc.. But do we connect with God through these things?  Do we sense the presence of God, interact with Him and allow Him to speak, challenge, shape and mold us as we give our love, devotion and praise. Each time we go to worship, we need to remember that worship is about offering, it is about giving. When we worship we are to give God love, praise, honor, glory, repentance, faith… while at the same time receiving from Him love, forgiveness, affirmation, challenge, joy, peace.

Connecting in worship is an interchange between us and God. That is where most of us miss the connection in worship.  Christians can approach worship as a intake. I come. I get. I evaluate what i got. I like it or don’t like it. This is why so many Christians can leave a worship service with the familiar refrain, “I didn’t get anything out of that”.  There would be a good reason for that– it wasn’t the purpose of the gathering. We can approach worship as a time of connection with God in an atmosphere of love and support from fellow believers. If your worship has become dull or uninspiring, look at your approach. Are you entering the time with the idea that this is your time to connect with God, offer Him your heart and respond to Him in faith?

Connections are important to us. The only thing God saw in His creation that wasn’t good was that man was alone. He needed connections. You and I need connections. Are we connecting with God or are we, like so mnay in society today, lonely- spiritually lonely?

Remembrances And Reflections on 9/11

I was sitting in my office at the church, another typical September 11th, when one of the church members walked in to talk to me about a roof repair that we were pricing out. “By the way”, he said, “check out the news, some kind of plane has hit the world trade center”.  So I logged onto to the internet and sure enough, there is the image of the North tower on fire with black smoke billowing out. I can remember thinking that was really awful and wondering how the firemen were going to get the fire out.

Suddenly, there is a second explosion, shocking everyone. Another jet plane hits the South tower, blowing a huge hole in the tower. Immediately, the reports go from wondering if this is an accident, pilot error, the sun in the eyes of the pilot, to terrorism and an attack on our nation. At that point it was time to make sure that my family was alright, like many people did that day, reaching out for those who you loved. My wife was working midnight shifts then, so I woke her just as she was getting to sleep good and we watched the news reports for a while, mesmerized by the images of the World Trader Centers burning. Seemingly moments later reports of the Pentagon attack…our nation’s capitol and White House being evacuated…then reports of another plane down in Pennsylvania. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tm_UsssULM)

It has been 7 long years now since that awful day. Not only as an American, but as a Christian, what have we learned from this day. I reflect not as a politician or as a policy maker or even someone who is overly concerned with the partisan blame game, but as a spiritual observer of people. Not to make this trite, but just to organize my thoughts, I want to give you my Top 10 list…

10) Every day is precious and we should count it as such. How many stories have you heard about frantic phone calls and voice mails from those who were about to die or who were searching for those they loved? It was a day like any other day, but it would not end that way. The Bible says that “this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”- we just don’t know what that day holds. How about you, are you counting your days as precious? Are you appreciating the people that you love and who love you… or are you always assuming that you will have another time to tell them that you love them?

9) Know your enemies. I would venture to guess that, outside the intelligence niche of America, you couldn’t find 25% of Americans who could have named Osama Bin Laden or Al-Qaeda (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/world/2001/war_on_terror/default.stm). In general, we leave that kind of stuff up to the FBI, CIA, NSA or whatever other “initials” organization tracks these folks. The general public may hear about it, but until something like 9/11 happens, we remain generally oblivious to the threat. “Al who?” was the question of the day, along with “Osama who?”. Who were these people?  Why did they hate us? As Christians, we don’t need to be unaware of our own enemies… and Osama and Al-Qeada are not it. We don’t war against flesh and blood, but against evil spiritual powers and against our own flesh that seeks to rebel against God. Evil is evil, and we are against it.

Don’t believe it can’t happen to you. Other than a few voices who tried to sound the alarm, the majority of Americans did not believe that something of this scale could happen here. We had dealt with terrorism before. The 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. The 1995 Murrah Federal Building bombing in which 168 men, women and children were killed (http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/index.php). But nothing of the scale of 9/11 in which almost 3,000 people were killed and three of our most recognizable structures were destroyed. Whatever it is, it can happen, and it can happen to you. Immunity is never granted when it comes to life. Nobody gets a pass. Not even a great and powerful nation. Not even the best Christian.

7) Yes, there is evil in the world. As much as we like to think that the world’s “karma” and the message of peace with all people is growing, evil will always exist. We have a hard time imagining that anyone could do such a thing. It only shows that we are not a student of the history of humans. All manner of tragic things have been done since the dawn of time. From Cain committing the murder of his own brother, there have been tremendously evil acts of human destruction. And yes, some of them have been perpetrated by those who call themselves Christians (see the Inquisition). Evil will continue to be a part of our world, no matter how much Oprah and Dr. Phil make people feel better.

6) There can be good after the disaster. Survival was the goal when 9/11 began. No one knew how far this attack would go or who would be hit next. There was a great deal of uncertainty, how deep would this disaster go? Even at the end of the day, when there had been no attacks for hours, there was a sense of anticipation if there would be more plane crashes or even bombs going off. As the dust settled and the weight of the horror sunk in, amazement, gloom, anger and disbelief settled in as well. But we also quickly heard about acts of great heroism from firemen, police officers and average citizens. In the midst of great evil, great good also shined. It reminds us that light always overtakes darkness.

5) Life is fragile, hope is resilient. Many things were broken that day, but we have endured the brokenness. The pentagon is fixed. Plans to make a structure at the World Trade Center site is underway. Memorials have been built and we are hoping for better things to come in our world. Tragedy, while painful, is a moment, but hope is eternal because it is focused on the future, a future that God has promised for us. For Christians, even in the midst or our worst days, have better days to look forward to.

4) Life is a mix. I was struck watching a retrospective on one of the cable channels about 9/11. They were taking a minute by minute breakdown of events. While people were tragically jumping out of the windows of the twin towers, there were others who were, despite broken limbs, burned bodies and bloodied faces, forcing their way down the stairs. No one can possibly imagine what it would take to jump from 80 or 90 plus floors up, rather than wait to be rescued or try to survive. I am not passing judgment upon those folks, just noting the contrast between those who fought through the flames and those that did not or could not. Life is full of mixed messages and mixed emotions. Tragedy and triumph. Pain and endurance. That is just the reality of life that was played out before our eyes. We need to celebrate the good, pray for the bad and anticipate that both will happen to us in our lifetime.

3) Small groups can be powerful forces. A small group of men, less than what takes a football field, brought the most powerful nation in the world to a halt. Their actions changed the way we travel, our laws, our freedoms, not to mention how it has affected our feelings of security. Jesus told a small group of people that they were to make disciples of all the nations. Seems like a big task. But small groups can be a powerful force. We should never come to the point as people of God that we think the world is too big, too evil or too hard to change. If evil can do what happened on 9/11, then we have to believe that good can accomplish so much more.

2) It’s people that are important. Yes the buildings fell and yes there are memorials at those spots, but it is the people that we remember. The stories of those brave people on United flight 93. The stories of heroism and self-sacrifice… and unfortunately the stories of those that were killed that day. It is not the concrete, wiring, or jet engines that we mourn, it is people. We focus way too much on things. If anything 9/11 should be a shining screaming reminder, “It’s about people”. Ministry is about people. Jesus was all about people. People are our focus. Structures come and they go. “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever” 1 John 2:17

1) Our security is found in God alone. No amount of military might, economic power, intellectual prowess or diplomatic finesse could help us that day. Pundits screamed about intelligence failures, communication breakdowns and “should haves, could haves and might haves”… but even if all of this is in place, there are no guarantees of security. God alone is security for us, because He alone can guarantee our eternal security. Jesus reminded us…

“And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell”  Matt 10:28

Do not fear those who kill the body… that is what I take away. My task as a Christian is not to fear, but to embrace God’s love and God’s mission for us. That has been and will be our constant. 9/11 was a horrific event and we should learn much in the midst of difficult times, but we have Jesus as the anchor for our soul (Heb 6:19)

Is Our Political Discontent a Good Sign?

Well, the political hothouse season has begun. The mudslinging, name calling, 30-second accusations and general nanny-nanny-boo-boo-stick-my-tongue-out-at-you political campaigning started appearing on my TV, in my radio and on my internet. Yah…

I am not much of a political aficionado, never really have been. Politics to me are interesting to a point. It is also funny to a point. It is really sad to a point. But it is important. Culture writers are telling us that this year people are engaging in the political process like never before. Yet it doesn’t seem that they are doing this because they are overly excited about the candidates or a renewed interest in the great job our government is doing. Consider the following two articles…

1) Nearly one in five voters are still undecided (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,409225,00.html)

2) Majority of Americans are unhappy with congress as a whole, with less than a quarter of voting American rating their congress as good or excellent (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congressional_performance/congressional_performance).

Now, it seems interesting that while Americans are engaging in the political process, they don’t seem, as a whole to be happy with the state of politics or the political candidates. It would be easy to simply be cynical about the whole thing, and many people are. Personally, I am about a fraction of an inch from being cynical, but my faith tells me that I must believe that with God all things are possible… even politicians are not impossible for God to change and deal with.

But I have observed something about this process that I find spiritually very interesting. Our cynicism, our unhappiness with the job our political leaders are doing and our indecisiveness about candidates, points to something that I believe is possibly good for the cause of Christ. All of this unrest points to the fact that people recognize that there is a need for something new, a change in our basic culture and how we carry ourselves and run our country… we just aren’t sure what that is. Campaign slogans reflect this: “Change”, “Reform”, “I want you to believe”, etc.. People are looking for something, something different, they just don’t really seem to be able to put their finger on it. War. Economy. Jobs. Immigration. Taxes. Health care. There seem to be too many issues to point to any one solution, or in the case of those undecided, even one person who can handle all of these complex issues.

What should this tell us as people who are living out our faith and seeking to live the Christian life in this world today? First it should indicate to us that people are engaging life again. The disinterested masses have started to look for something to help them. People cannot hide from loved ones who have gone to war, friends that have lost jobs and paying high gas prices. If they wouldn’t come to the world, the world has come to them. For us, this could be a good thing.

Do you remember the late 1960’s, there was social revolution. Masses of people were unhappy with the status quo. Unhappy with a war in Vietnam. Unhappy with the culture of cookie cutter suburbia. Unhappy with cultural norms that they felt suppressed their freedoms. Beginning to sound familiar?  By the thousands they turned to the church, seeking out the message we preached: love, acceptance, family, hope.  Many struggled to find these things within the church and unfortunately, never found a home in a local church. Despite their passion for Jesus, they were unable to discover the answer to their needs The same things could happen today. Many are searching, hoping to find some kind of key to happiness and contentment.

Unfortunately the church is not on the forefront of society any longer. We don’t have the masses turning to us for the answer. It is a lot like the first century. People in Jesus’ day were upset with the political situation. They did not like Roman rule and were looking for hope, a messiah who would set them free from this oppression. What they really needed was spiritual freedom. Freedom that originated from the inside rather than from a government or a ruler. The church thrived under these conditions because God’s love was displayed and it was shown by the people of God.

Our nation is in such a state today that we should recognize the “hope hole” in our neighbors. They are searching for it. They are hoping that one of the these political candidates can bring it to them, that is why they are engaged in the process. The church has complained for years that people are isolated and insulated in their own little worlds, numb to the influences of the church. Well, we don’t seem to have that issue right now, people are looking… but what are we offering? If the world is looking for hope, for a reason to believe that they can experience a better life, are we offering that to them?

John the Baptist once sent messengers to Jesus to ask Him a key question. Now John was in a little distress himself. He had been preaching the coming of the Messiah, had pointed out and proclaimed Jesus as that Messiah, and had suffered for upholding righteousness in his culture. Now John was in prison, having to sit and wait and watch what would happen. John, being human, begins to wonder if he really had the answer right. Was Jesus really the one to hope in…or is there someone else, is there another answer out there to believe in?

Luke 7:      ¹⁸ Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. ¹⁹ And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” ²⁰ When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ” ²¹ And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. ²² Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. ²³ And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

At the moment that John is looking for hope, Jesus demonstrates His power and gives assurance that indeed, He is worthy to place faith in and to believe in. What of today? If our world is looking for hope and they come to the church, to God’s people on the earth, and ask, “are you the ones that have the answer for our hope… or do we look for another way of having hope in our life?”  How do we answer?  Do we demonstrate the power of God in our lives and His power to change our world for the better… or do we leave them to search out politicians and pleasures to place their hope in?  Yes, this political discontent could be a good sign, but it will be a revealing time for the church. This is the place where we are supposed to shine- when people need hope, need something to believe in.

Are we the ones… or do they look for another?

Is it me or the church that is causing this…

Ever felt bad and not known why? You go to the doctor to find out that you have an infection or high blood pressure or one of a hundred things that you were not expecting.  Several years ago I was, shall we say, a little dizzy. It got to the point I was having trouble standing up. Off to the emergency room we went and I ended up having a bout of vertigo, an inner ear infection that causes you to be off balance and lightheaded. What I did not expect was a life-altering event. While in the emergency room the doctors discovered that I had high blood pressure. I went from being a little dizzy to having to take pills every day for the rest of my life.

Now my dizziness did not cause me to take pills every day for the rest of my life, it just revealed my need for it. Our spiritual walk can look similar. We don’t feel right spiritually. We aren’t praying with passion or our worship is cold and heartless. Maybe you spend your Christian life feeling guilty because you are not serving. Maybe, you just don’t feel like you love God like you used to or like you should. Whatever it is, maybe today you just don’t feel right spiritually. Who or what is at fault?

We sometimes see an external cause for our lack of Christian passion or excitement.  Often times we turn our attention to the church or more specifically the organization of the church. We see the problem of our spiritual weakness or blandness and think, “if only my church ____________ (fill in the blank with: was bigger, was better, was nicer, had more music, had less music, had different music, had shorter preaching, had better preaching, had a nicer sanctuary, had a class for people my age, etc., etc., ) then I would feel better about loving and serving Christ. Now the church is not perfect, never will be on this side of heaven. But the church is made up of its’ people and if the church is going to be stronger, better, nicer, then the people need to be better, stronger and nicer.  The expectation becomes that the church is a service provider, and we become the dissatisfied consumer, wanting better product and better service.  We can try to blame our spiritual blandness on “the other people” in the church. Yet, when we read the Scriptures, the church depends on each part:

Ephesians 4    ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

If the church is to be blamed, then we must be blamed. It is our task as Christians to each do our part to strengthen the body. If someone else, we feel, is not holding up their end, then we must help bear the burdens of others in love. We are not be be weak, whinny and critical of others, that only enhances our feelings of spiritual dryness. No one ever experienced renewal in their spirit by merely being critical. Serving, meanwhile, not only strengthens others, but strengthens us as well. As Jesus did, the more we give away, the more we seek to serve others, the more we please God and the more we feel the presence of the Spirit. You gain no strength from sitting and criticizing. It doesn’t work well in a marriage, and it doesn’t work well in your Christian walk either. If something is genuinely wrong, use your strengths to be of help. Pray, help, encourage, give of your time– all of which will again, not only strengthen others, but strengthen you as well. Christianity is not designed as a spectator sport, God saves participators. So today, if you are feeling that spiritual blandness, don’t look to see what others are doing for you, but examine your service to Christ first.

Not only do we sometimes blame or point a finger at the church, but we also sometimes blame the world. We turn an accusatory eye upon the difficulty and trials of this world, as if it is the cause of our spiritual emptiness. One truth we must learn to accept, the world (the things of this earth) are not meant to support us spiritually. Your job is work, and while it can be spiritually enriching and God can use it for tremendous good, your spiritual life is meant to be used in, but not dependent upon our work. Money is the same. If we feel better spiritually when we have more money, then we have a spiritual problem. We cannot blame the money or our lack of it for our spiritual condition, it is only revealing that we have a spiritual issue to deal with. That is what the world is often good at and good for- revealing our weaknesses and opportunities for growth. Don’t wait for the politics, job, economy, traffic and social issues all line up before you feel revived and renewed spiritually… you will be waiting until the day you die. The world is not here to support your spiritual life and we should not depend on it.

God has however designed us to experience abundance in life, and has given us the source for freshness, renewal and excitement. Jesus said,

John 7   ³⁷ On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ³⁹ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Three things are important for us in this passage…

1) That we are thirsty. Are you thirsty spiritually?  Is there a need within you to seek out and want the Holy Spirit to fill you… or have we quenched our thirst with the things of the world only to find ourselves dissatisfied with what we have taken in?  When was the last time you truly had not just a desire, but like true thirst, the absolute need to connect with God and to feel the filling of His life in yours?

2) Drink from the person of Jesus Christ. Come to me and drink Jesus said. The source of our solution is in the person of Jesus Christ. There seems to be no end to our personal choices these days, and our choices are being emphasized like never before. Choices in material goods, attitudes, sexual preferences and religious doctrines seem to all be open to whatever you would like and whatever you think is good for you. Yet when we look at Jesus’ words, He said, come to me and drink. Only Him. Are you mixing your spiritual drinks today? A shot of Jesus with a little “it’s alright to have a little casual sex”, with a little “I just hate her”, with a little “that jerk got the job instead of me”, all put into a shaker glass of “it’s my life” and there you have a recipe for a disaster of a spiritual life.

3) The promise of abundance and life. Notice where the river of living water comes from- from within. The life that Jesus promises comes not from a perfect church and perfect life, but from within, from the place that only God can touch and fill. God will put life in and it will flow, rivers of it. Yet today if you are feeling dry and empty spiritually, where are your rivers of life and abundance?  Don’t look for them from the outside, but look to what God can and will and has promised to do in your heart- to make it a point of life, the head of the river of living water. Your life is not meant to be a receptacle, just barely holding onto God’s blessings, but a source of life for others.

Don’t wait for someone or something else to bring renewal to your heart. Don’t sit and wait for there to be a right song sung or right message preached or right Bible study, trust in what God has promised for your life, and let the songs, messages, Bible Studies, fellowships and other things just enhance the abundant life of Jesus flowing in you and through you.