Looking for the good life this year?

In our quest to discover the good life this year, we must be careful that we do not drift into an aimless life. The worst thing that could happen to us this coming year is that we just let the year happen to us rather than charting a course and getting into God‘s appointed harbor and His will for us.

More than likely, you won’t drift. It may just happen. You’ll be coasting along at a good clip, and then before you know it you’re drifting away. . . that is, unless you have an anchor. That anchor is Jesus and faith in Him.

Reflect on this past year. What were some things you did right… what were some things you would do differently this new year? We have today to work for the Lord and there is no guarantee of tomorrow so live and give your faith away today. If tomorrow comes, then begin it with the power of God in your life and give away your faith and your hope to someone. Keep doing this until the year is over or until you go to be with Jesus, then you will have done your part and fought the good fight.

Consider this quote:
“No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always convinced that it says what he means.”
–George Bernard Shaw

Your life and mine are worth more to God than they are to the world because this world and the ruler of it care nothing for us. Satan has exactly zero tolerance for you or me, especially if we truly belong to Christ. He absolutely loves it if you decide that God doesn’t exist or that you will turn your back on Jesus, because if he can cause more trouble and heartache for you then he will do it, and keeping you from being effective for Jesus or keeping you away from Jesus is his goal!

It is true that Satan took the Earth from Adam in the garden and it won’t be taken back until Jesus comes again, even though the battle is already won! When you are part of the world and have not given your life to Jesus, you are part of Satan’s kingdom. But, when you make the decision that you want a future and a real life, then give your heart to Christ and follow Him. From that point on, even Satan will hate it when you speak to others about Jesus and he will hate it when you get up every day and pray for a great day.

Update: The good life is something that we all strive for, but what defines the so-called “good life”? That depends on you, really. The good life for some is being out of debt, for others it may be having fame and fortune from being a movie star or Broadway actor or actress. Some people may get their satisfaction by serving people as a police-person or firefighter or maybe as a paramedic or ambulance driver.

The point of your life is yours and yours alone, good or not. Jesus did not tell His followers that they had to give up any pretense of wealth or prosperity, even though when He spoke to the “rich young ruler” He did ask him to sell his belongings and follow Him. The reason for this was not to make him poor or to get rid of his “stuff”, it was to show that his priorities were in the wrong place. The “rich, young ruler” placed more faith in his wealth than he did in religious areas of his life. We don’t have to give up our wealth or fame or power, as long as we keep the priority of our Christian life centered on Jesus.

For many people, especially those who are wealthy or those who have all that they need, dependence on Jesus and following Him is not really a priority. That is why there is a huge gap in church attendance in places where people have money enough to take care of their wants and needs as opposed to areas where lack of money is more rampant. God loves each and every person on this world, but there are some who place their faith in “stuff” more than they do anything else.

Just as someone who may have cancer but doesn’t know it yet, people who depend upon their money and position in society tend toward being “self-reliant” until something takes their cushion away. When the person with cancer goes to the doctor for something minor and then finds out about the real problem, then they will usually go to almost any length necessary to get better. It is the same with someone who has never realized that they need Jesus, when they do come to that point they will find out all that they can from many sources if necessary in order to make faith in Him possible for them. “Seek and ye shall find, knock and it will be opened to you”, that is what is needed today more than ever!

Temporary living arrangement

Have you noticed that there are many people here who are living in a temporary arrangement? They stay in one place for a while then stay in another for a while, they never settle down and live anywhere. In a way, that is exactly the way that our life is supposed to be lived, temporary residence in a permanent place.

Jesus said that He was going to prepare a place for us to be with Him, forever. So, in light of that, the life that we live here is considered temporary. It doesn’t matter how many months or years that we have been living in the home that we have while here because it is not our permanent home. Only a home built by His hands will last forever, not these homes of clay, brick, and wooden sticks. Not even the ones that are built of concrete will last forever, although without being subjected to an earthquake they would come close.

What will you do in eternity, if you haven’t asked Jesus into your life? Well, Jesus said that people who reject His grace and His sacrifice for their sakes will be cast into the lake of fire with Satan and his angels. I know that seems to be a harsh punishment for not giving your life to Christ, but it is the destination that you choose by not accepting Him. God did not create hell for us, it was made to punish Satan and the angels which rebelled with him. The reason that some of us will end up there is because of our rejection of God‘s gift of salvation through Jesus. When you do that, you have chosen to put yourself on the side with Satan, whether you know it or not.

There is not middle ground, no grey area where we can live and have a little bit of our way and a little bit of Christ. It is all or nothing, you are either a follower of Christ and have asked Him into your heart or you are not. There are many people who don’t believe in God or anything that is in God’s Word, the Bible and that is their priority. Sometimes, there is no way to convince people of the love of God or His grace, but I pray that many will come to know Jesus before your time on Earth is over.

I have been accused of using fear tactics to scare people to come to faith in Christ, well if it works, so what? I want you to be afraid of going to hell! Do you really want to spend eternity in punishment, in a place that was not made for you? If you are not a disciple and follower of Jesus, then you will be in that place. Think about it.

Trying to reach the moon

Three men were being chased. Suddenly, they came to a cliff top with the ocean waters far below. Seeing the moon shining brightly in the night sky, they agreed that if they could jump to the moon, they would be safe. The first man, a cripple, hobbled as fast as he could and leapt from the cliff. He jumped less than a metre before he fell screaming to the jagged rocks below.

The other two men agreed that he hadn’t jumped far enough. So the second man, of average fitness, took a running leap. He flew out five metres before he, too, plummeted to the jagged rocks far below.

The last man, the strongest of the three, decided he should take an extra-long run-up to reach the moon. So, at great speed he leapt from the cliff. He soared through the air with outstretched arms in order to reach the moon, but he, too, fell short and plummeted screaming to the jagged rocks below. He had leapt an impressive eight metres; however, he didn’t realize that the distance to the moon was 221 463 miles.

The distance between our righteousness and God’s righteousness is greater than the distance between the earth and the moon. It is the distance between imperfection and perfection; the finite and the infinite; the east and the west. It would be easier for us to jump to the moon than work our way into Heaven. No matter how moral or how many good deeds we have done, we will always fall short. If we could earn our own salvation, Christ died needlessly on the cross. We are only saved through faith in Christ not by our meager good deeds. As Ephesians 2:8-9 states, ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast’. The big question now is do we accept God’s gift or try to get into Heaven by our own merit? (Romans 3:23)

This is a copy of an e-mail that I get from Ian and Sue Coate and it illustrates the problem of us attempting to reach Heaven on our own merit. We can’t do it! It would be like trying to span the distance from the East to the West, it is infinite so it is impossible for us, but it is not impossible for God. He does span the infinite because there is no beginning nor ending to Him. He stretched out the heavens and placed the stars and galaxies in their places so infinity is like walking in a park to God, since He created it! Yes, I did ask permission to use this. Think about the message contained here please! Remember, we are not guaranteed tomorrow so get your heart right with God today while you are here!