After thinking of my own mortality I was reminded that Jesus defeated death.  1 Corinthians 15:54 says, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  Jesus gave His life so that we wouldn’t have to lose ours.  Death seems to be so final and most of the time devastating.  However, for those who have made Jesus Lord of their life death has lost its sting.  Thank you Jesus for defeating death! 

If you knew that you had 30 days to live; how would you spend your time?  Remember focus on the things that matter most because life is short on earth but it is eternal in Christ.

Every couple that comes in for pre-marriage counseling is the same; they think their relationship is different than all the other couples.  Some have gone as far to say that they felt their marriage was invincible.  As I hear these couples talk about the strength of their relationship I am burdened because I know that there is another side to the story.  I know that they will face marital challenges that many couples don’t survive.  I do my best to unpack those challenges so at least they will be aware of them when (not if) they happen. 

How can a couple go from sitting in my office blissfully in love to bitter hatred of each other in just a few years (or less)?  The answer, I have learned, is that it doesn’t happen in one day.  The failure of marriage is a process that happens in a destructive cycle that begins in a very subtle way.  I have never heard of a person in a successful marriage waking up one morning and saying, “Today I will ruin my marriage and pursue divorce.”  It just does not happen in one day!  

These subtle attacks can come from so many different directions.  Not spending enough time together, course joking (joking about divorce), not communicating, pornography to name a few.  These subtle attacks seem so insignificant but as the cycle progresses the couple grows apart.  Then one day they realize their marriage is in shambles but they don’t know how they got there.  It is so sad but I see it so often. 

Remember marriage doesn’t fail in one day!  What is it that is attacking your marriage?  How can you eliminate those attacks?  If your answer is focused on how your spouse can change…you have just found your first problem.  What changes can YOU make to be a better husband/wife?  Don’t let the cycle continue…there is too much at stake!

However, many of us spend a lot of time in our lives being fearful.  On the surface it seems that there are so many things to be fearful of; bad health, possibility of rebellious children, broken relationships, lost job, and the big one MONEY.  Over recent years God has taught me to be fearless in so many things, but the one I still struggle with from time to time is the fear that my family (or church) will not have enough money to pay bills.  As a pastor I meet and counsel with so many people that struggle with this same fear…The fear that there is never enough. 

In April of this year I found myself paralyzed with this fear.  My family was running short on money and it seemed that our church was also falling short in finances.  Many of you can relate to how I was feeling, I was scared that there wasn’t going to be enough money to pay the bills and that fear consumed me.  I found myself waking up at night thinking about it and spending the majority of the day trying to figure out a solution to no avail. 

In my fear, I turned to God.  Although, I didn’t understand why I was in this hard financial situation, I knew that God was faithful and He would hear my prayers and answer.  I really poured my heart out to Him.  I was scared, confused, and even a little mad but I was completely focused on God. 

He did answer!  He taught me that fear tells us that there is NEVER ENOUGH, but with God there is always MORE THAN ENOUGH!  Here is the passage I read: 

¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” ¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. ¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14:15-21)

The disciples had the same fear; “We have here ONLY five loaves and two fish”.  Do you see their fear?  They thought there was NOT ENOUGH, but with God there is ALWAYS MORE THAN ENOUGH.

I decided to trust God at His word and believe that there was more than enough.  The next week my wife and I received an anonymous check in the mail for $2,500 which was more than enough for my family and our church prospered. 

As I think back on April, I feel kind of silly to think that God wasn’t going to provide.  He always provides!  What about you; are you living in the fear that there is NEVER ENOUGH or are you living in the belief that with God there is ALWAYS MORE THAN ENOUGH?

But here is the tension:
If it is God’s desire that Joy would be “made complete” in our lives, why do so many people live without Joy?  I have experienced times where there is not much joy in my own life.  During those times it feels like I am numb, it is hard to laugh, it is hard to be motivated, and there is definitely no inspiration.  Can you relate?  

Yesterday, at Impact Church, we heard the story of Joshua’s “quest for joy.”  Three months ago Joshua did not have much joy in his life.  From my perspective his lack of joy did not make much sense.  God has done great things for him.  Joshua was Bi-polar and God delivered him from that.  He was actively and openly gay for 10 years and God saved him from that lifestyle.  If there was anyone that should have joy it was Joshua.  However, his life did not reflect joy and by God’s grace Joshua set out in March to find joy.  He decided that he was going to live on the street in Little Rock.  I thought it was a really bad idea and as his pastor I told him so, but Joshua was intent to live on the street. 

Although, I thought it was a bad idea for him to live on the street, I did agree that he needed to make a drastic change in his lifestyle.  He was simply stuck in a rut (we all know what that feels like).  Joshua writes, “But somewhere along the way, I found myself in a rut.  There were sins that had persisted year after year after year.  Sins that I didn’t know how to rid from my life. No amount of prayer, bible study, service, counseling, accountability, discussion, research, mentoring, or pleading with God would free me.  Pride, arrogance, idolatry, lust, apathy, vulgarity, being inhospitable, uncompassionate, loveless.  Even though there were occasional moments otherwise, I realized how very much I cared about my comfort more than loving and serving other people.  I realized how often I placed my desires above God’s infinitely wiser and loving commands.” 

Joshua realized an important truth; Joy had not left him but sin had hi-jacked it.  Joshua understood that for him to experience God-given joy he was going to have to eliminate the lifestyle pattern (sin) that was robbing his joy.  What is robbing your joy?  Bad financial decisions, broken relationships, sexual and substance addictions? 

Joshua went on the street and God used him in amazing ways.  You can read about it at foundrylife.com.  He came back to Impact Church three weeks ago and he is a changed man…THERE IS JOY IN HIS LIFE! 

I was challenged…What changes do I need to make in my own life to reclaim the joy that God wants me to have?  What changes do you need to make?  Let me know…