Thirsty...

John 7: 37-39

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

John 4:11-14

"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Our souls hunger and thirst, just like our flesh does. How do we feed our soul?

Christ is the Bread of Life. He tells us that those who thirst will thirst no more-when we come to Him.

If you think about it-in regards to food and nourishment-we can learn all we want about healthy eating, we can study it and we could look at all the healthy food all day long but if we don't eat it and fill ourselves up with it, what purpose does it serve? What good does it do us to just know the truth about it, to just watch others eat healthy.

When we decide to eat healthy and wisely, what changes? Do we feel refreshed? Do we come alive and have more energy? Does it take a desire and self discipline to eat healthy and make wise choices about our food and drink and what we put into our bodies? Do we have to focus on it until it becomes natural? Isn't that the same way with our Spiritual appetite as well?

What good does it do us to just know the truth about Christ? Not much. We need to make it a priority to feed our souls with Him. He is the Bread of Life. When we drink from His well, we will thirst no more. But it doesn't just happen. We have to put Him first. We have to make the effort and take the time out of the busyness of life to be self disciplined and to make room for Him.

When we come to Him, He will fill us up. His Holy Spirit will fill us up with rivers of rushing water when we put Him first-over all else...over exercise, over work, over our family, over our spouse, over our children, over our things, over our comforts, over our fears, over all.

The Bible is called His Living Word.

He is the Bread of Life.

In Him we will no longer be thirsty.

What do we allow to "fill us up"?

The things of this world or Him?

Let's be honest with ourselves. A good view into this-is to look at where we spend our downtime? If we work and/or care for our family 8 hours a day and sleep 8 hours a day, where do we choose to spend the rest of our time? Focused on who?

Even the bad guys take care of their own family...

I remember when I lived in Beverly Hills back in the late 90s. Our priest told a story that has stuck with me ever since. He told about a lady at his church who had eight children. She had no help and she had so much to do to care for her children, but yet she was the one who volunteered the most at the church. She volunteered to serve the poor, feed the hungry, love the unloved. She allowed herself to be inconvenienced. She chose to serve and not be served. Christ was first in her life and everyone saw that without her having to say a word.

Lord- I love you so much. Help me to be wise with my time. Thank you dear Lord for giving me ears to hear You as You often make me aware when I am wasting my time on things that are self indulgent. I am grateful I am becoming more and more aware of this. I pray that I may go to sleep earlier so I may wake up earlier and spend my mornings with you. I desire to put you first in my day and may nothing else come before you each morning. I struggle with this. I don't understand why I want it but my flesh does not always do this. Help me Lord to be self-disciplined for I can not do it alone, only through your Spirit. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit that fills me up. I do get confused on the Scriptures though because I can never get enough of You-my thirst for You oh Lord is never quenched. I always long for more. But my soul is satisfied in You alone-so I guess that is what it means. I love you Lord!

Oh how HE loves us....Oh how HE loves

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹ O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

⁵ You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, ^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} you are there.

⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

¹¹ If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

¹⁷ How precious to ^{b]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[b]} me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸ Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.

²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?

²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

An appetite is never satisfied...

Cognitive Dissonance

The uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The theory proproses that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, believes and behaviors, or by justifyin or rationalizing them.

Cognition-the act or process of knowing; perception

Dissonant-not in harmony

Dissonance- lack of agreement; especially : inconsistency between the beliefs one holds or between one's actions and one's beliefs

The classical version of this idea is expressed in the Aesop fable The Fox and the Grapes, in which a fox sees some high-hanging grapes and wishes to eat them. Unable to think of a way to reach them, he surmises that the grapes are probably not worth eating anyway (that they are not yet ripe or that they are too sour). The dissonance of the desire for something unattainable versus the lack of fulfillment is reduced by irrationally deciding that the grapes must be flawed.

Because it is often easier to make excuses than it is to change behavior, dissonance theory leads to the conclusion that humans are rationalizing and not always rational beings.

Today in church we continued on the subject of one's appetite. An appetite of any kind can never ever be fulfilled. The only word it knows is more.

Appetite-the desire to satisfy a bodily craving.

We read from Genesis 25, as we learned how Esau literally traded his birthright to his brother Jacobfor one measley bowl of stew. Esau was so desperately hungry, he sacrificed his entire future and birthright as the first born son of Issac, because of a short term desire that was right infront of him because of how good the stew smelled and how starved he was at that very moment. He had focalism on his hunger.

Focalism- allowing too much focus on one event and not enough focus on the consequences of future events

As we live life, we need to be aware of what we want our future to look like and carry that picture with us-so we don't allow our appetites to get in the way of us being healthy down the road, of us being financially secure down the road, of us not being the best parents we can be by spending time with our children.

Impact bias-when we over estimate the length and intensity of impact of an emotional event. (maybe we thinking buying a new car or getting our drivers liscense will make life all better and we will feel great for as long as we have it-when in fact it the happiness will only last a little while.)

What short term financial decisions can cause a long-term impact we spend too much time digging out of?

What impact does that have on our family?

What example does that set for our children?

What is at stake as a business leader?

What impact does unhealthy eating have on our bodies longterm?

Do we use cognitive dissonance to justify eating junk food and food we shouldn't eat? I do.

Do we have focalism that causes us to make unwise impulse decisions?

Shouldn't we be more sound in our thinking and consider the consequences of the decision and not be so quick to react-but be discerning and thoughtful?

The sermon was ended with this:

If you don't have a clear and simple picture of what your future will look like-you will settle for anything that feels good in that given moment. Don't let your current appetites derail your longterm plans.

It is critical we become aware of this within ourselves, our habits, our decision-making and reframe and redirect our appetities. Be intentional and wise. Don't be foolish by being impulsive.

Dear Lord- Help me to defend against my impulsiveness whether it is with my tongue, how I spend my money, my eating habits, or my time. I pray I always turn to the Holy Spirit to guide me and I don't allow my flesh to just be reactive. I pray that I am able to walk in the Spirit in this area so that eventually the way I react to an appetite is natural for me and I make wise decisions that allow for my long term picture to be fulfilled. Lord-may I lean hard into you on this always-so that at any given moment, I am wise and I think big picture. I love you. Amen

Whose Father? Our Father. Part 2

It is hard for me to understand how some people believe that God just created the world, created each of us born into the world and then He stands back. If He is our Father-why would He do that? What parent just creates their child and then after they are born says, "ok your own your own."?

Jesus taught us to call God Father because of the love relationship that exists and that God longs to have with us all. We can't earn this by being a good person. Just like (well for most of us) we can't earn our parents love by being a good child...they just love us regardless. It is the same way-but even moreso with God.

Deism is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme being created the universe, and that this can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, with the need for either faith or organized religion. Many Deists rejec the notion that God intervenes in human affairs, through miracles and revelations.

Obviously, these views contrast our Christian faith and everything that Scripture reveals when we read it.

I wonder how many Deists have ever opened a Bible and prayed as they read it asking the Holy Spirit to reveal God's truths to them. Hmmm....

Whose Father? Our Father! Part 1

Abba is the Aramaic word for "father." In the three times it is mentioned in the Bible, each time it is followed by the greek word for father reading abba ho pater in the Greek text and "Abba, Father" in the English version.

Brennan Manning points out in his book, the furious longing of God, "that American psychologists tell us that the average American baby begins to speak between the ages of 14 and 18 months. Regardless of the sex of the child, the first word normally spoken at that age is- da-da, da, daddy. A little Jewish child speaking Aramaic in first-century Palestine at that same level would begin to say

ab-ab, ab, Abba."

When Jesus teaches us in Luke 11:2-4 how to pray, He said,

"When you pray, say:

" 'Father, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

for we also forgve everyone who sings against us.

And lead us not into temptation.' "

Jesus taught the Jews that God is our compassionate loving Father. Before Jesus, people did not look at God in this way. Some still don't. No-many do not. But I am so glad I do!

How comforting! How amazing! How safe! How exciting! But oh how comforting!

This is a huge hurdle in the deepening of one's faith for many. Some just can not get their arms around the fact that God wants to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us. But for me, as I read God's Living Word day in and day out-it is so evident to me. He loves us profoundly. He knows us intimately (even if we don't know Him). He watches over us. He will never fail us...never.

It is so God to send His Son into our world, so at the crux of our faith is a Father's love for His Child, Jesus' love for His Father and there He sits at His Father's right hand...for us.

Since the majority of adults are parents there is meaning beyond measure in this love relationship.

I am not even a parent (unfortunately), yet I know that Jesus loves me more than my own parents do-because I know the love of Christ. (I don't understand the depth of it or the magnificance of it by any means...but I have always known His deep love of me) For a parent to try to get their mind around the fact that God loves their own children more than they do-must be mind twisting.

He loves us more than we can begin to fathom.

He didn't just create us and send us on our way.

If we want Him to-He will guide us and show us what we "ought to do."

He created us for a love relationship with Him first, so He could teach us how to go out into this messed up world and love others with one of a kind Christ-like love.

Any other kind of love will not run deep enough, will not be selfless, will be based on fear and insecurity, will be imbalanced and will not be perfect.

He is our Perfect Father, our Perfect Mother. He is the Perfect Parent.

Heavenly Father-

Thank you for allowing me to humbly come before You, the Creator of all things, and call You Abba Father. Thank you for loving me, for caring about me and for always being there with me wherever I go. Thank you for showing me what you care about in this world and what you do not care about-so I can get to know you better each and every day. Thank you for loving me right where I am.

One nation under God?

Are we still a nation under God? I chose to think so. I hope so...no matter what pop culture says or does not say, regardless of what is allowed legally to be posted in a public building or not.

Did you hear about the sign displayed the past two Christmas seasons at the state Capitol in Chicago by a group known as Freedom from Religion Foundation? The sign

(placed infront of the Christmas tree) read:

"At the time of the winter solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is just myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

When a Chicago Republican candidate running for office knocked the sign face down he was escorted out of the building and written up by the Capitol police.

Stories like this make me sad about our country. But on the other hand, I was delighted as I spent some time researching our nation's history in order to reconfirm the facts that articulate we are of course a nation founded under God. The information is overwhelmingly clear. Here is just one link to review.

http://www.afn.org/~govern/Christian_Nation.html

And just a few examples of what is listed in the link...

Most of the fifty-five Founding Fathers who worked on the Constitution were members of orthodox Christian churches and many were even evangelical Christians. The first official act in the First Continental Congress was to open in Christian prayer, which ended in these words: "...the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Savior. Amen".

This view, that we were a Christian nation, was hold for almost 150 years until the Everson v. Board of Education ruling in 1947. Before that momentous ruling, even the Supreme Court knew that we were a Christian nation. In 1892 the Court stated:

"No purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people...This is a Christian nation." From the Supreme Court of the United States. This court went on to cite 87 precedents (prior actions, words, and rulings) to conclude that this was a "Christian nation".

If it is so abundantly obvious that we were founded as one nation under God....why does current culture say otherwise? It seems to me our founding fathers were full of wisdom and our current culture is far more foolish. Was is the minority winning out in our country? Why do they want God to not be at the center of our country? I mean...really?

Any poll over the past 10 years is going to show that 75-86% of our country states they are Christian (only 33% of the world states this claim), 1.5-2% Jewish (less than .025% of the world) and 13-15% no religion (right on par with the rest of the world), 4% of our nation says they are a religion other than Christian compared to the world where an entire 54% claim a religion other than Christian.

I wonder what George Washington would say to our country not being a Christian nation? He used 54 Biblical terms to describe God in his various writings.

One nation under God? I think so. I live as so.

God Bless America, my home sweet home.

Psalm 33

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.

Lord- Help me to stand strong in honor of you. Stronger than those who deny you. May I never be timid, may I walk boldy. May all of us who live in this great nation and love you rise up taller and higher than those who deny you. May your kingdom always reign in our nation forever. May more Americans come to know you intimately each and every day. May our children find you early on in life. May our soliders and their families know you and know your endless unconditional love for each of them. May you be with all of our men and women Lord as they step out into the unknown to protect- those of us who stay back and those who are yet to be born into this great nation-as they serve others, just as you call each of us to do. Thank you for all that have gone before them too Lord.

Pick me! Pick me!

Why do some of us care so much about our clothes and how well dressed we are? Why do we spend $400 or more on a silly pair of shoes or $1k on a business suit or $500 on sunglasses that will soon be outdated or $100,000 on a car that depreciates 25% or more within minutes of driving off the lot? Then there are even some who have a closet full of purses that may even total close to $15-$20,000 and yet we buy a new one instead of reusing the ones we have piled up, still looking brand new. The point is-why do we spend our money the way we do-relative to our income.

Is it to seek the approval of men instead of God? Is it to be recognized by the world as someone special...above others? Are we living of the world or walking in the Spirit?

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

(GAL 1:10)

servant: a devoted and helpful follower

I have to ask myself: Am I am devoted follower of the world or Christ? I can not be a servant to both.

When I was in elementary school I never ever wanted to be picked last. I can still remember clear as day, the pit in my tummy if it came down to me being one of the last three. When I played basketball growing up, I often would turn around after a defensive steal or scoring two points to see if my parents saw; I would even wait an extra few seconds to seek out their big smiles of approval. Then when I went to college it was so critical that my sorority "accepted" me. What if they hadn't? Oh boy, back then my world would have been destroyed if they had rejected me and my desire to be a part of their group-I would have felt worthless. Cut to my career where I have always sought the approval and recognition from my boss and at times even my peers. I even went so far five years ago to gain worth through the car I bought. At the time I didn't realize it -but now that I look back why else would I have bought that car-I mean seriously? This was only five years ago, when my faith was already at a deep place. Was I unaware that my decision was so self-indulgent? Did I surpress the guidance from the Holy Spirit at the time of the purchase or did I not even recognize the Holy Spirit's whisper? (Honestly I can not remember...I am sure the shiny new black car was all I could think of at the time and my mind was focused on instant gratification and not Christ) If we are really honest with ourselves, isn't part of the reason we buy jewerly, or design and decorate a home or drive a certain car-to indirectly imply to others "over here...look at me over here. Include me. I fit in. I am worthy." That was my logic. Why do we have this strong need for approval?

I know why I did...I desired to feel accepted and worthwhile, to know that I mattered and was special, to be included and considered important....and especially to feel loved. The moment we first begin to understand Christ's love for us, the realization of how precious we are to Him unravels. The approval we seek from the world slowly starts to dissipate. We are refreshed and it is beautiful. Aaahh-the heavy burden of acceptance is lifted. We are accepted, loved and cherished by Him.

He knew us before our parents even thought about us. Just take a moment and think about that....wow! Especially if you are a parent - think about how much you love your child or children...and to think that Christ loves them infiinitely more than you must be overwhelming. He created our innermost being and knit us together in our mother's womb. (Psalm 139: 13)

He made us. He will carry us and sustains us...until grey hairs and old age. (Isaiah 46:4)

Whatever life has handed us from the generation or generations before, we can take refuge in knowing that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. God's love for us in endless and unconditional. We don't need to dig ourselves in a hole, waste our time numbing ourselves from past pains or possibly even go bankrupt trying to gain acceptance, approval or recognition from the world. We are precious to Him. It is critical we grasp this or we will spend our lives in toil and then turmoil over our toil.

I know the Holy Spirit dwells within me and it is because of this, that when I make a poor decision in effort to gain the world's approval and not His, I am immediately uncomfortable inside my own skin. Yet, sometmes I still choose to surpress the Whisper that seeks to guide me away from my unwise choice. I used to flat out ignore the Holy Spirit-that is no longer the case. Regardless of my foolish ways, the Holy Spirit is still there inside me. The compromise becomes an uneasiness that lingers and it may plays itself out, even at times with more compromises-until it becomes a vicious cycle to the point where we can become so caught up in it we are unaware that we are living of the world and not of the Spirit. If we are a follower of Christ and if we truly have heart-felt love for Him-we are called to recognize this of ourselves and turn.

Each time I make a choice of any sort, I have to slow down and think about it. I need to ask myself...do I really care most about bringing glory and honor to God in the way I live or...do I chose to put myself first? What is this choice about? Merely me wanting instant gratification and possibly to gain acceptance and approval from others? How do I spend my time? On what do I spend my money? What do I do first each morning? What do I do during my down time? Does it serve a purpose of comfort or convenience for me primarily or am I spending myself for God's Kingdom? I have to call myself out on it. Do I? Not enough.

Lord- Help me to always put You and Your Kingdom first in all my choices. Hold me accountable. Call me out by making me restless when I make a choice that is self-serving and is intended to gain approval from men. Help me to always make choices that You approve of...in how I utilize my time...in how I speak...and in how I spend my money. Lord-Help me to be intentional. Help me to not be idle and to spend myself for your Kingdom. Help me to speak words that are refreshing, honest, uplifting, kind and gentle to others. Help me to be wise with my money no matter how much or how little I have. Help me to always think of others first. (I need lots of help here God) You call us to love You with all our heart, all of our soul and all of our mind and to love others just the same. May I make choices that You approve of always. I understand it isn't a matter of if You and the world approve-as a servant I can only have one master. Help me to not compromise. Help me Lord to get to a place where the decision-making is no longer of my flesh but only of my Spirit. Transform me Lord to always seek only Your approval. May I get to a place one day Lord where I don't even have to think about it-it just comes supernaturally by the way I live. I love you dear Jesus! Amen.