Central Issues
Go ahead and throw all the stuff in your life into a pot and stir it. When it cooks down and has simmered you will find a few basic issues.
You need food, water, rest, and it is a good idea to wear clothes. If you plan to be around others, it is a good idea to wear deodorant and brush your teeth.
You need friends, provision for sustenance, and hope.
You need God.
You will also discover what our existential (carnal, lustful, God-denying live-for-the-moment) world wants to pretend is not true. But it is true: You NEED A PLAN FOR LIFE THAT INCLUDES ETERNITY.
Try putting the life of Jesus into perspective. Think about the central issues that motivated him.
1. He was on a mission.
2. He did not live for the pleasure of the
moment...yet He lived the moment with
pleasure.
3. He included others in his plans...including the
poor, lonely, and disenfranchised.
4. His life was an offering to the Father.
5. He used natural resources, but refused to be
confined or owned by things.
6. He lived his whole life as if there was an after-
life...an eternity...a holy eternity---no sin.
7. He worked unceasingly to his last breath to
include others in the eternal plan.
Begin with the basics. You probably need less than what you have. While it is nice to have things, most things are not food, water, shelter, and love. Most things do not offer an inner feeling of peace and contentment.
Howard Hughes became one of the world's first billionaires. Reportedly he was worth about 25 billion dollars JUST BEFORE HE DIED--- Just after he died he was financially broke, busted, bankrupt! The Bible says a living dog is better than a dead lion.
The older he became the more Howard Hughes became eccentric. He would have fresh steaks flown in to his island home at a cost of thousands of dollars. If a fly buzzed in the room or a person sneezed the steaks were thrown out. The chef cooked new steaks. He became obsessed with his health, his hair, his fingernails. He could afford all his eccentric whims. But he died.
Before he died millions wanted to be like him. After he died the undertakers used gloves to handle his body, and no one wanted to be Howard Hughes. Dead is history. Dead cannot spend money. Dead has no power. Dead is in the hands of the Just Judge.
When he died folks lined up claiming to be his relatives. Relatives he never knew. Relatives he had never heard of. Relatives who cared nothing about Howard Hughes's soul or where he would spend eternity. They simply wanted his money so they could live the "good life" on this earth.
The spirit of Babylon lives on.
What we need is a revival among the saints. We need "salt" and "light" to be manifested in the lives of those who are following Christ. We need the saints to rise above
lust of the flesh -feels good,
lust of the eye -looks good,
and pride of life---I am better than others and deserve more (I John 2:16).
We need saints to settle down and act like they want to go to heaven when life is over. This is not a fatalistic/suicidal wish, but a living of life to the fullest with the understanding that life has an exit door. Flesh cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.
My Friend, decide the Central Issue of Life: Jesus. Settle the question. Your life will be much happier.
Pastor Bare
Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.