“Whoever desires to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
—Jesus
It never ceases to amaze me, how I need to be reminded again and again, that the primary cause of anxiety, depression and worry is due to an inordinate self-focus.
Worrying about, focused on, my problems, my circumstances, my situation.
My, my, my.
That's my problem—me.
It's self-idolatry. Self-absorption.
The Holy Spirit always has a way of bringing me back to focusing on this little acronym for J.O.Y.
J-esus first.
O-thers second.
Y-ourself last.
When I take my focus off of myself, and focus on Him first and foremost, I am again thankful for who Jesus is and what He has done. He is God, and the Savior of the world. He gave His life for me that I could have eternal life in Him. He is my Savior. My Creator. My Giver of Life. My Sustainer. My Redeemer. My Everlasting Father. My Wonderful Counselor.
When I focus on others who are in need, and not on my own needs and problems, I allow God to work through me to bless them, because we, as the Body of Christ, are to be His hands, His feet, His voice to a lost and hurting world. To give a cup of cool water to every little one who is thirsty. To comfort the lonely and the hurting. To bring hope to those who are downcast and oppressed. To encourage those who have given up.
You can go virtually anywhere and not have to look very far in any direction to find someone who is in need of God's love, hope and encouragement.
You can go virtually anywhere and not have to look very far in any direction to find someone who is in need of God's love, hope and encouragement.
And you don't need to go to Bible college, or off to some distant country halfway around the world to find people to serve who are desperately in need. There are people living in cars right in your own town. People dying of a terminal illness in your neighborhood. Fatherless children and widows in need of God's love are right there in your own church. Broken people whose spouse just abandoned them, and desperate people who have lost all hope are everywhere. Just open your eyes and open your heart.
If you are constantly focused on Jesus and on the people that He sends you to love and serve, you simply won't have time to think about your own problems.
And therein lies the secret.
Whoever loses his or her life for Jesus' sake will truly find the Life he or she has always been searching for. A life filled with joy and purpose.
Jesus said,
"It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35)
God's love is a sacrificial love, not a self-serving love.
“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus:
that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those
who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them
and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
Love Jesus, and love Him even more by loving others. Lose your life for His sake and you will truly find Life.
Happiness is usually determined by one's current state, circumstances, or situation. And those things can change without notice.
But true joy is not based on my current circumstances or situation.
True joy is simply being in Christ—knowing Jesus and making Him known.
—There is no greater joy.
God is Love and Love Never Fails.
Thank you for the great message and reminder to place our God the Father before all else. Our current culture of self promotion, evil endeavors and corruption, entices us to grab all we can, dog eat dog, the survival of the fittest, the one with the most toys win, ... I spent two days in Portland, Oregon last week with my daughter who is interning with Bridgetown, Inc. This nonprofit Christian organization " helps people because people matter." We walked with the homeless. We sat in the parks, alleyways and doorways in the missions district along the river. We gave these lost souls sandwichs, coffee and socks. We participated in Night Strike on Thursday providing nutritious meals,, haircuts, feet washing, bicycle repair, fingernail painting, and medical assistance to the homeless masses; over 300 men, women and children. These are God's children! I have, in the past, avoided these "undesirables", by not making eye contact, crossing the street, ignoring them if they talked to me, thus everything the Good Samaritan parable told us not to be. When I was walking the streets, I always thougbt to myself, "What would Jesus do or say?" He would love on them; our brothers and sisters. He would sit down with them and listen and minister. Mark is correct how the need is here, in our backyard, our neighborhoods and community. Focusing on Jesus as our example to live a Godly, Christ- centered life. Matthew 25: 31-46...Feeding the Hungry, Clothing the Naked, Visiting and Ministering in Prison and Aiding the sick (physically and mentally). What a joy to give the gift of eternal life to the lost. Praise God from whom all blessings
ReplyDeleteflow,... Peqce and Love, Ralph <><