For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world.
--1 John 2:16
I’ll never forget one Christmas Day many years ago when one of my children, after opening up all of his presents, came to me and said, “Daddy, I’m bored!” There we were, wrapping paper everywhere, brand new toys all over the floor, and he played with them for about 30 minutes before he was bored!
Were living in a time when more is less. We have more to live with and less to live for than any other generation! One man said, “If I have everything, why is it that I’m so empty?” We have more than we’ve ever had, and yet people are restless, empty, always on the move, and always wanting more!
My son on Christmas morning is really no different than many adults with their toys today. They’ve got all their toys, but they’re ultimately feeling empty because they’ll never find true contentment in the things of the world. Materialism can never satisfy!
Don’t look for your joy in the things of the world. Instead, find your joy in Christ, because while the things of the world may gratify for a short time, Jesus is the only one who can truly satisfy.
INSTEAD OF FINDING YOUR HAPPINESS IN MATERIAL THINGS, FIND JOY IN CHRIST, WHO TRULY SATISFIES!
Time for God
Monday, March 30, 2020
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.”
Mark 1:34–37
In her book Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, Edna Gertsner described the habit that helped Jonathan Edwards accomplish so much with his life. “He frequently spent thirteen hours a day studying. He managed this amazing amount of time by husbanding every hour of the day. He usually arose at four in the morning, indulging himself in the later rising time of five in the winter. In this way he was far along in his studies while the household slept.”
The pace of modern life is more hectic and frantic than ever before. It is tempting to use that as an excuse for ignoring time spent with God and in His Word, but it is not valid. We have the time to do what He commands, but we have to be willing to make other sacrifices to ensure God is not crowded out. The best way to measure true priorities is to evaluate how we are spending our time and our money. More than anything else, how we spend these reveals what matters to our hearts.
In the midst of a very busy time of ministry, after a long day healing the sick and preaching the gospel, Jesus could have said He was tired and stayed in bed. He was fully man as well as fully God, and He got tired just like we do. But instead of resting, Jesus did what was most important–getting up early to spend time with His Father.
Today's Growth Principle:
No matter how busy we are, we always make time for the things that are most important to us.
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