Posts Tagged ‘joy’

Driven by Joy – Again

Jan
2

Why do people fall in love?  What’s their motivation?  I mean, why does anybody go through all the trouble of pursuing and building a love relationship.  I’m not talking about lust and sex.  I’m talking about people who fall head over heels and are willing to put on their best and spend their money and make extra time for dating and gifts and trips –and all the emotional stress and upheaval that comes with the risk of putting your heart on the line hoping for somebody else to respond with the same feelings.  Why do people do that?

The answer is pretty obvious–even if it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense when you think about how much time and attention a good relationship takes.  People give their love because it’s rewarding to share real love with another person.  When husbands and wives love each other or parents love their children et cetera, it often requires a lot of sacrifice, but anybody with a good relationship will tell you that it’s more than worth it.

Living for God is the same thing.  Serving God often requires sacrifice and takes work and dedication and commitment.  But anybody who has a good relationship with Jesus Christ will tell you that it’s more than worth it.  The joy and contentment and deep love that fills your life as a result of belonging to God makes living life God’s way a desire rather than just a regulation.

Do you know what I mean?  If so, congrats!  If not, would you like to?

(This podcast is a retelling of the same idea from the December 27th podcast.)

Virus

Dec
29

What could be worse than a virus that destroys your organs and causes you to bleed from your eyes and ears and other openings and eventually killing you in extreme physical agony?

How about something that causes you to be in agony without the possibility of finding relief through physical death?

And how many people will wash their hands multiple times a day to keep from getting sick, but won’t think twice about sinning against God and dooming themselves to an eternity in Hell?

Driven by Joy

Dec
27

What drives you?  What’s your main motivation in life?  Do you enjoy being alive?  Or are you bored or depressed or unfulfilled?  What trips your trigger?

What about you Christians…why do you live a life of love and purity?  Why do you live a holy life and always make righteous choices? (By the way, if you’re not living that way, it proves you don’t belong to Jesus?  If you are a true Christian your life will produce the fruit of the Spirit and you will rid your life of sin.  You can’t love God and commit evil against him at the same time.)  Anyway, why do you live for God?  Because you love to or because you have to?

How do you think God wants you to be motivated?  Fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom.  But love casts out fear.  So if you are motivated by love–if you enjoy living for God–then you have no need to be afraid because your love will drive you to live a life that pleases God rather than incites his wrath.

So, which do you prefer?

the American dream

Sep
5

Most of us, as we’re growing up, learn all sorts of rules to live by–things we’re supposed to do, things we’re not supposed to do, and things we’re supposed to dream about and work for.  And it seems like somewhere along the way we forget the purpose of why we live the way we do and what we’re working for.  We somehow get the idea that having lots of toys or a big house or an important title will really make our hearts happy, and we trade off the things that could really bring happiness for stuff that is ultimately empty and unfulfilling.  So what is it that really makes life worth living?