What do you want out of Life?

Everybody wants something. Prosperity, fame, fortune, acceptance. What do you want?  At one time I thought I wanted a  successful career that would bring plenty of money, a great title and the power to go with it.  I wanted and needed to prove myself to others.  I placed my value based on achieving these things.   The problem was the more I got the less it satisfied.   

At the peak I found myself working 60 plus hours a week with a six digit income, a great title, power, etc.   The problem?  I wasn’t fulfilled because I really wasn’t making a difference.      At a missions conference I heard a missionary make the following statement:   “My greatest fear is not of failing, but of succeeding in something that really doesn’t matter”.    It hit me like a two by four.  I was succeeding in areas that really did not matter in my life.   I realized that when I got to the end and it was my time to be put in the dirt, that what I was doing with my life would not make a difference.  

God used that phrase to change my life.  I realized that the only thing that matters in this lifetime is fulfilling God’s plan and purpose for my life.    The greatest thing that could be said about my life is what God said about King David.   The Bible says that “David served God in his generation and then he died”.   That is what the abundant life is all about, serving God in His way and His will.

Now my time, energy, talent and treasure are used to further God’s kingdom and to change lives.   My desire is to become fully surrendered to God.   I now pride myself not on what I can accomplish but what God can do in me and through me if I humble myself to Him.

So what are succeeding in?   Will that really matter in 200 or 2000 years?  What you do for God now will echo in eternity!

Knowing the Heart of God

To really follow someone and be like them you need to know their heart.   Authenticity and devoted following comes from knowing the heart.    In Luke 15 Jesus was hanging out with the “sinners” of the day.   The religious people did not like this and condemned Jesus for it.   The problem was they did not know or understand His heart.  

Throughout Luke 15 Jesus shows us what is important to Him.  The first illustration Jesus gives is the shepherd leaving the 99 to find the one that was lost.   When He finds the one it says in verse 7  “there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

The second illustration is of the lost coin.   “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’  In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

The third illustration is that of the lost son.  The son demands his inheritance and leaves to go live his life.  After living wildly, the son’s money ran out and there was a famine in the land.   The son found himself working for a local farmer feeding the pigs.   He became so hungry that the food he fed to the pigs even looked good to him.  After coming to his senses he decided to return home and ask forgiveness from his father.    While he was still a far way off his father, who had been watching for his return, saw him and ran to meet him.   Many of you know the rest of the story of how there was a celebration for the son’s return.  The older son who had been working out in the field came home and heard music and dancing.   Upon finding out what happen the older son became jealous and angry.  

This reminds me of many Christians or “religious” people of today.   We get so caught up in self that we miss out on what really is important.  Notice the brother was out in the field working.   Had he known the father’s heart he probably would have also been watching for his brothers return.    So many get caught up in attending church or teaching Sunday school, etc.  These are good things but the father’s heart is to reach the lost.   The father’s heart is to find that which is lost or dead and give it life.   Are you like the brother that is caught up with himself, doing what seems to be all the right things but never really knowing the fathers heart?  If we truly desire to be followers of Christ and to be authentic then we need to know His heart.   All three illustrations that Jesus gave indicated His heart and what He truly cared about.    As stated in verse 32 the father tells the son “We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Don’t waste your life doing what seems right or important based on other’s opinions.  Instead, get to know the heart of God and live your life for the things He cares about.

Kevin

Who am I following?

Who do you follow in Life? Is it your spouse? A teacher? A celebrity role model? A Pastor? A friend? A band? A group? I was watching the movie “The Devil wears Prada” (I know chick flick) but at one time in the movie a statement was made that really resonated with me: “The person that you are taking calls from the most is the one that you have a priority relationship with”, (something like that). Are we taking God’s calls? Are we talking with Him on a regular basis? Does He get more of our texting time? Truth is whatever is most important in our lives is what we are giving most of our time to. There are many people, causes and groups to follow but the only one that can provide peace, comfort, success and purpose is God. Christ gave everything for us and He desires and expects for us to give everything to follow Him. Are you really a Christ follower? Before you answer ask yourself this question; Do you know the heart of God? Only when we know His heart can we follow and please Him. Tomorrow we’ll take a look at what is the heart of God!

Kevin