The Highway To Happiness

Have you ever caught “lightning bugs” and placed them in a jar with vents in the lid so they could breathe? It was a favorite activity for children in our neighborhood when I was a child. We would “capture” them and then place them in a glass jar where their tiny bright “lights” would glow in the darkness of the night. After watching them go “on and off” for a while, we would “free” them, and they would fly off into the darkness fulfilling God’s purpose for them. 

Had they remained in the jar, they would have eventually died. God, however, intended for them to be free and happy and live the life He planned for them. 

It’s like that with us. God planned a unique life for everyone: a life of happiness and peace. But happiness can only come if we are free. Some think that happiness and pleasure are synonymous. They are not. Happiness is not derived from possessions nor destroyed by poverty. There is a story of a king who wanted the shirt “off the back” of the happiest man in his kingdom. When they found the man, he did not have a shirt - he only had a ragged cloak. 

Happiness is not what happens to us - it is what happens within us. It is the by-product of what occurs in us if we live in agreement with the will of God. Life in His will brings us freedom from being “contaminated” by the things of the world. Happiness fills lives that are” regulated” by the Word of God. Following His Word and His way will bring pleasure and peace. 

Psalm 1:1 promises “a blessed - or - a happy life” to those who delight in and obey His law. His law will set us free from being contained and controlled by worldly things that fade. 

Prayer:  Father, may we set our eyes on things that are permanent and not passing. May we discover the joy and peace and satisfaction that only comes from You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today: Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. Psalm 1:1 

Hindering The Work Of The Lord

An evangelist was visiting with a group of missionaries in South America. He asked them many questions about their work, their families, the natives in that particular country and what they missed most while they were away from their families and friends.

As he was concluding his visit, he asked one final question: “What is the greatest problem you face in your work as missionaries?” The answer surprised him.

“Inconsistent Christians,” they replied. “The way they live confuses the unsaved because they are one way one day and another way the next day. They come between God and the sinner and make our work difficult!”

When we live inconsistent lives, those around us are unable to predict the difference that Christ makes in our lives or the difference He can make in their lives. There is no path for them to follow, no promises for them to claim and no peace for their anxieties.

The life of a Christian should be a bridge to the greatness of God that reflects the power of the risen Christ and the joy that comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit flowing through our lives.

Christians are responsible for setting an example for everyone to follow because we profess to be followers of the One who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” If we are irresponsible and inconsistent in the way we live, what do we have to offer others that is different from what the world has to offer? We must be careful not to stand or come between God and the sinner.

Prayer: Lord, may we always represent Your love to those around us in a way that will draw them to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.