Tag: Christianity

Satisfied

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In the superlatively successful Broadway show, Hamilton, the Founding Father’s greatest weakness is that he is never satisfied with what he has. He is always reaching and stretching for something more. When pointed in the right direction, this resulted in incredible success and achievement. When pointed in the wrong direction, though, ruin for himself and others. We all have desires that we long to have satisfied. For some of these desires, though, there doesn’t seem to be anything in this world that can do the trick. As we continue in our series, All Signs Point to Jesus, this week we are looking at a sign that points us toward His ability to satisfy all of our desires. Let’s explore the Scriptures together.

Satisfied

When was the last time you felt really and truly satisfied? What was it that gave you that feeling? Maybe it was finishing a really big project and having your contributions graciously recognized by others. It could have been working with another person, teaching them to do something, and then seeing them succeed wildly. Perhaps it was just a really good meal. There are lots of things that might satisfy us in this life. The thing about getting satisfied in this life, though, is that whatever desire it is that was satisfied has a tendency to return. You ate that great meal, but then you were hungry again. In fact, you were probably hungry again by the time the next mealtime rolled around. You finished that one project, but then there was another one behind it. And if there wasn’t, you went looking for one. That one student succeeded, but then there was another student who needed help. And when those desires returned, sometimes the same things satisfied them again, but sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes you needed more. It’s almost like underneath these more common, daily desires we have there are deeper longings that cry out for satisfaction. Yet try as we might, getting these addressed often seems to be just beyond our reach. 

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More Than Well

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Jesus wants us to see Him. He wants us to see beyond the things He can do for us, to who He really is. As a result, He reveals Himself in ways that enable and help us to do that. One of the ways He did this during His ministry was with a series of what the apostle John identifies as seven signs. As we continue in our teaching series, All Signs Point to Jesus, this week, we are looking at a third miraculous sign Jesus performed. This one picks up from our seeing Him for who He really is, to actually following Him into something more than just a miracle. He invites us to follow Him into real life. Let’s take a look at this together.

More Than Well

Have you ever fallen for a gimmick? Someone came along with a really great sales pitch for a brand new product that was going to completely revolutionize your life. All it was going to take from you was a “modest” investment of capital to help get this new venture off the ground. But when you did, you were going to be on the ground floor of an entirely new cultural movement. This wasn’t just about making your life better; it was about making the whole country better (healthier, more fit, financially stabler, and etc.). This wasn’t just an opportunity you didn’t want to miss. This was an opportunity you couldn’t afford to miss. 

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Morning Musing: 2 Timothy 4:1-5

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“I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We had our regular business meeting this past Wednesday night at church. We Baptists love our business meetings. Fun fact for you: When the Southern Baptist Convention meets for their annual meeting each June, that is the largest business meeting in the world. My guess is that if you have heard of the Baptist church, you’ve probably heard about Baptist business meetings. My further guess is that what you heard wasn’t very flattering of them. They are boring at best, and at worst they are prime examples of every negative stereotype about the church that you can think of. Well, ours aren’t like that. Instead, we get together and celebrate everything God is doing in and through our little body. This past week’s business meeting was particularly encouraging. In fact, we gave so much attention to celebrating what God has been and is doing in our midst that we ran out of time for me to offer a little concluding devotion. Here’s what I was going to say.

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Digging in Deeper: Matthew 16:24

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“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

If someone promised you that you could have everything in your life suited exactly to your desires, would you be interested in what they had to say? Not only that, but they promised that if your desires changed, the state of your situation would change with them. You wouldn’t have to go anywhere you didn’t want to go or do anything you didn’t want to do. I don’t know about you, but that strikes me as likely to be a pretty tempting offer. Well, there is a voice in our world today that makes this kind of an offer to us. This past Wednesday night at Bible study as we were starting to explore Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah we chased a rabbit trail for a few minutes that found us talking about this very offer and how it squares with a life spent in pursuit of Jesus. Let’s talk for a few minutes today about convenience and following Jesus.

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Digging in Deeper: 1 Timothy 1:1-2

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“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our savior and of Christ Jesus our hope: To Timothy, my true son in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Young people need old people. Sometimes they’re fully conscious of it. Sometimes they’re not, but the need is so pressing they are drawn to them anyway. More specifically, young men need older men and young women need older women. Young people need models and mentors they can look up to for wisdom and direction, for encouragement and even for correction at times. When they find someone like this with whom they connect, the bond that forms can be incredibly strong. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a mid-season review of the HBO-Max series, The Penguin, about the rise of the classic Batman villain. Since then, I’ve finished the series. I don’t often come back to a single season of a series more than once, but this one really stuck with me. Let’s talk about the church, being a mentor, and why The Penguin was both great and terrible.

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