A number of people were asked: “What would you rather have—$50 today or $100 a year from today”. The majority chose $50 today. They then were asked—“What would you rather have $50 in five years or $100 in six years. Most chose to have $100 in six years. Take away the opportunity for instant gratification and people chose the alternative that paid the most. It tells us, most care more about today than they do about the future. As a financial advisor I have learned that many people under the age of fifty have little concern for retirement. By that age it becomes difficult to change one’s standard of living and begin investing adequately to provide the assets necessary for one’s future. Worldly things are immediate and heavenly things are far into the future. Yet, future rewards can be far greater than anything we can gain from the world when you consider eternity.

Colossians 3:1 2 – “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” NLT

We all realize how difficult it is to focus on Christ and heavenly things. Our concerns are about family, job, finances, relationships and many other distractions. Paul tells us to set our hearts on things above and not on earthly things. Yet the world is trying to do everything possible to get our attention and follow their ways. If we don’t have an RV, computer, a camera, IPod, Xbox, a good home, a new car and eat out regularly we are just not with what is going on around us. What is more important, keeping up with the ways of the world or setting our sights on heavenly things?

God knew that life was going to be filled with temptations and at times we would have struggles. Part of this conflict is caused by our self-centered nature with which we were born. However, He has provided a way for us to confront the world’s temptations and live as He had intended for a person to live. He by His grace provided for each of us to be saved through Jesus Christ. He then promised to place His Spirit into our lives to check us and give us guidance. Upon receiving salvation it requires each of us to accept the responsibility of living our lives patterned after the example Christ set. Not everyone is willing to be held accountable and accept that responsibility. In many cases new Christians are completely unaware of what living according to God’s will actually requires. Too often they continue to live as if nothing happened and requires little change.

This is one reason Scripture tells us that God knew we could not live a pure and holy life without the Holy Spirit in each of our lives. Having received the Holy Spirit in most cases it becomes a slow process of going from the world ways to God ways. Naturally we must determine how to live God’s way and what is God’s will. Our interests and desires must become His interest and desires. This is why studying the Bible becomes so important. We are told that our goal is to have the mind of Christ. We must be willing to put material and temporary things into their proper perspective. There is nothing wrong with having material things but are we willing to share them with others?

Matthew 6:24 –“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

I Timothy 6:10 – “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

If we make material things, such as money, our god we will never have enough and no matter how much we earn, it will never be sufficient. Money does not have to be your god to plan ahead and in particular plan for retirement. Otherwise, without a solid financial plan, either the government or our children will need to support us in retirement. Some will need $40,000 annually to meet their standard of living and others will need $150,000. The question is not how much we need but what will we be spending it on.

We must ask ourselves—what must we sacrifice now, on this earth, in preparing for eternity? Are we living as if this is all there is and we better enjoy it while we are here? Or, are we considering that after death we shall have a glorified body that will not be influenced by evil. We will have positive thoughts and ideas. We will never have a desire that will not be met. We will live in a controlled climate with no pain or sickness. Have we checked our priorities lately?

It is not easy to give up something we have been doing our entire lives. Becoming a Christian and changing the way we have been living is like asking an addict to stop “cold turkey” their addiction without help and on their own. God knew most could not do it by themselves. This is why we have been given the Holy Spirit. Yet, how many Christians recognize that the Holy Spirit is within them? How long after becoming a Christian should we give up our sinful habits and negative attitudes?

Our goal must be to start developing more faith, patience and enough self-control to resist temptations. We are to become gentle, kind and good to others. We are to share our love and in return we shall receive joy and peace into our hearts. Do we want to live being discontented, not finding anything right and consistently pointing out everything that is wrong? Or, living the will of God? Do we want God’s support or to live life on our own?

Over the years I have been blessed to know and work with thousands of people. Never have I met two that were exactly alike. I have two cousins who are identical twins and are extremely different. There are some people that I gravitated to more than others. Some individuals do things with a passion, they are not afraid of working hard and they really seem to enjoy what they are doing. These are people that have fun and enjoy life. It has nothing to do with looks, how wealthy they may be, or how they were raised. In fact, many are just as average as an average person can become.

Typically, most people that I have known appear to struggle with life’s problems and circumstances. Seldom do I see laughter and a passion for living life to its fullest. I must admit that passion and joy can be hidden. Within myself there is a different person than you may see on the outside. I hope that is true of others. Too many Christians seem to live an unhappy or possibly an uninteresting life. Inside I have that joy and peace that comes from faith and trusting in God’s promises.

If we were to ask a person why they seemed to be so grim, they probably would answer, “If you knew the circumstances that I am going through you would find it difficult to have a positive attitude.” Yet, the Bible is filled with illustrations of individuals having far greater difficulties than we have but, seemed to be filled with joy. What made them so different?

The Bible tells us the greatest commandment is to love. I recently wrote: the more we love God the more we have a tendency to pray. The least amount of time we spend praying indicates a less amount of love we have for God. And the more we love God the greater are our chances of loving others. According to Scripture when we are to be judged by God it will be by how much we love. Why is love so important? The result of our love will come the passion so desperately needed to succeed and the joy that is the basis for living life as God intended.

Philippians 1:3 – 4 – “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy,” (NLT) Paul has a love for the Philippians and thinks of them often. He finds it a joy to pray for them. Again, how important is love? It is apparent that our passions and joy in life come from our ability to love. If we love what we do it is easy to become passionate and enjoy what we are accomplishing. The majority of employees I have witnessed worked because they needed a job to provide for their needs. Did they have a good sense of humor? Did they appear to enjoy life? Did they have a love for their job? Did they have a passion for what they were doing?

So who is it over the years that we remember most? We are attracted to those who we would like to emulate. They live life to the fullest, have fun and are full of joy. Shouldn’t we as Christians be these kinds of people? It is those who we will always remember the most. Yet, if you have lived as a Christian for any extended period you probably find many sad and pessimistic Christians. Have you ever wondered why? It is likely that they have allowed circumstances to determine who they are rather than striving to become Christ-like. If we live as the world lives we can take on the world’s image. Thus, the consequence of living as the world lives is to see all of the negatives and problems that evil presents and become a part of it. What benefit would that be, when in its place we can have passion and joy.

Most of us know of a Cinderella story. Once upon a time, I knew a young lady, with a very limited chance of succeeding, actually far surpassing everyone’s expectations. At one of our stores we hired this lady in her thirties that had come out of a very abusive marriage. After a time she remarried and with her new husband and children moved to our city. We hired her to work in our shipping-receiving department. She was shy and had a somewhat shaky self-image. In spite of all this, she was hard working. It was her willingness to chip in wherever needed that caught my attention. I invited her to attend our weekly sales meetings. Attending the meetings meant that some of her work would pile up while she was absent, making her job harder. She was not ordered to attend, but by doing so she showed initiative

She began attending the meetings and as she learned, her enthusiasm grew. Then a suppressed personality began to emerge. Instead of being quiet and reserved, she became increasingly outgoing and self-confident. I promoted her to a full-time salesperson and she excelled in the job. Her industriousness had not lessened and now she had become gracious and helpful with customers. Rarely had I encountered someone changing so drastically. I was so impressed that I suggested that she take a commission job with the possibility of doubling her income. Her initial response was panic. She explained how she and her husband were struggling financially and she was in no position to take any financial risk. On commission, if you sold nothing you would receive about one-third of what she was making. One week without an adequate paycheck could result in a financial catastrophe. After a short period of time the teaching-nurturing training she had gone through was adequate for her to take this next step in her career. She accepted the job. Eighteen months later she was my top commission salesperson. Later I made her manager of our furniture department. She was my Cinderella lady. All of our staff saw where she had come from and what she had done for our store. Her success was challenging to others. The store was a relatively new store in a shopping center that had been very unprofitable when I arrived. When I left it was one of the most profitable small stores in our region. People can and do make a difference. Later this lady moved to Alaska. I was told she was managing one of the largest furniture stores in that state.

I tell this story because it was kind of what happened to me. I had no purpose in life and had no sense of direction. Then a miracle took place in my life after being discharged from the Navy. I accepted Christ as my Savior and received the Holy Spirit. My whole perspective and attitude changed. I now had purpose and a desire to improve my life by getting a Christian education. From the day I became a Christian I have been continually blessed. It may be that I accepted the promise that God wants us to be successful and achieve. When we realize that God adopts us into His family and He truly loves us and wants what is best for us, our whole demeanor can change. That doesn’t mean we can’t fail. Nor do hazards and setbacks need not overwhelm us. However, with the Holy Spirit’s help we can become a completely different person. We can go through life as a witness for Christ or we can be self-serving. Being a committed Christian means: regardless of what we are going through we can continue to remain positive and trusting. We can become more Christ-like in whatever we are doing. Do people look at us and see that we our giving 100% of what we are capable of doing in whatever situation we are involved? Christians, guided by the Holy Spirit, must be positive examples so that others can see Christ in us.

Do you want to become more successful and satisfied? Read the Bible and live as we are told to live. It is not that difficult if we are obedient and can follow directions. Or are we inclined to put something together on Christmas morning without reading what parts go where? Once we foul everything up and make a mess of it we then get out the directions. Too many Christians are not interested in following directions. They end up with the same results that they had putting toys together—a mess of their life. Get out the Bible—the manual for living. Your Father owns the world and you are a very important member of His family. He knows what is best for you and He personally has left you with instructions.

Ephesians 1- 13 – ”And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” If you have believed and have accepted Christ as your Savior you have received the Holy Spirit. Many Christians may find it difficult to believe they have the Holy Spirit because He is not visible or can not be felt. Is there a way to know without any doubt that you have received the Holy Spirit? If we know for sure that we have the Holy Spirit we are assured that we will go to Heaven and we will have eternal life with God.

There is a test that we can take to prove that the Holy Spirit is in our lives. Here is how we can tell. Since we accepted Christ and received salvation have our lives changed? Are we becoming more Christ-like in our daily living?

Prior to being converted I had spent four years in the Navy. Most of those years I spent overseas. I don’t believe I was a typical sailor but had developed a number of bad habits. However, once I accepted Jesus Christ into my life, my life changed totally. The worldly things I believed were fun and important diminished. I think it can best be described by I Corinthians 13:4 – 7 – Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

I noticed a difference in my heart and started to see a love that became patient and kind. It didn’t happen overnight but it gradually improved. I had a problem with anger and had a short temper. I become more considerate of other people and a lot less judgmental. I developed a desire to be more kind to others.

I found myself overcoming jealousy and had no desire to control others or envy what they had that I didn’t. I don’t believe I was arrogant but as a young person there were times of boasting. As I grew older and realized that people with confidence need not brag that no longer became a problem. It seems people who lacked confidence and struggled with a low self-esteem were having a problem dealing with pride.

Interacting with people over a period of time I learned not to let others provoke me to the point of rudely retaliating. We must never get even with someone doing evil things to us by retaliating by being evil ourselves. God will deal with those types of people. It is not our job.

Love does not rejoice in evil but in the truth. I made it a practice to never lie to anyone. Previously I had a tendency to stretch the truth. I have gone for years without intentionally lying to anyone. I have given out information that I later found was not accurate. It was never done with the intention of deceiving someone.

Love protects, always hopes and always perseveres. My love chooses to trust and believe the best in people. Often times people have disappointed me. Over the years of working with thousands of people I have learned to realize that people come from different backgrounds with different temperaments and personalities. In most cases they are doing the best they can with what they have to work with.

The final test question: Is there someone whom I love very much? How often do I think about that person or persons? Do I think about them often or continually? How much do I love God? Do I think about Him more than just through the weekend service? If I don’t think about Him often or continually it may indicate just how much or how little my love is for Him. Am I meeting the commandment to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

I now must ask myself this question: “Could I have changed or in the process of changing this much without the Holy Spirit being within me”? Could I have had unconditional love prior to my conversion? The answer would be: “Never in a million years”.

It is now your turn. Take the test. Since being saved have you noticed any change in how you live and do you now love differently? Then ask yourself: “Could you have made the changes without the assistance of the Holy Spirit?” If you passed the test you can be assured of eternal life with Christ. Don’t you now feel more confident where you will spend eternity?

This week’s message at Central was on John 3:9 – 10. It is one of my favorite Scriptures because it ends up saying in I John 3:10 – “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” The purpose of the book that we wrote was to emphasize to Christians that God wants us to have a rich and satisfying life. We have a tremendous advantage as believers if we comply with the teachings of Christ. Yet, many Christians feel that their life has been anything but rich and satisfying. We respond by saying that there are two ways to live. We can live as the world lives and accept the consequences that the world receives; or, we can live as the Bible teaches and be rich and have a pleasant life. Therefore, many Christians who live as the world lives probably will not have a rich and satisfying life. There are always exceptions.

Let’s look at John 10:7 – 10 – “So he explained it to them: ‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.’”

During the time of Jesus most everyone understood the role of a shepherd. Sometimes shepherds would bring their flocks into town. They would leave them with a person who had large holding pens and they would be placed in pens with other shepherd’s sheep. Then the shepherds would go and bath, get what supplies they needed before going back to pasture. When they went back to get their sheep they would open the gate and the shepherd would call out their names and they would come and follow him.

Jesus uses another illustration. He states He is the gate and those who come through Him will be saved. They then will be able to come and go freely and will find good pastures. When a person could come and go at will means that they were living at a peaceful time or they were at peace with themselves. There were forces of law and order that allowed them to have perfect security. We interpret this to also mean that once we become a Christian we feel a new sense of safety and security in our lives. Jesus being the gate is the one who has promised that this will happen. This is where we must accept our trust in God. But trust most often comes only when we become spiritually mature. To diminish negative fear requires putting our lives in the hands of God as the Apostle Paul did as he illustrated in the problems he went through and yet, lived with joy, peace and love in his life.

At this point we should probably define what Jesus may have meant by rich and satisfying life. Do we live realizing that our Father is the richest person in the universe and He says He will meet our needs? Do we live with the assurance that one day we will live eternally in the most luxurious cities that ever existed? Again, how are we living today? Do we live by Satan’s enticements or by the principles Christ taught? When the shepherd comes to get his sheep and calls out; who will we follow? Do we follow those who come to deceive us with the offers of the world? Or, do we listen only to the One our God has sent to be our shepherd?

Jesus goes on in Scripture to contrast the difference between a good and faithful shepherd vs. the unfaithful shepherd. The faithful shepherd will lay down his life and will accept any risk to protect his sheep. King David, as a shepherd, fought lion and bear to protect his flock. The unfaithful shepherd will run at the sight of any risk of injury. We must ask: who is our shepherd? Are we following the deceivers in life or the only true shepherd Jesus Christ? If we live as the world lives we are following the deceivers. If we say: “No we really cannot afford a new car at this time”, we probably are being a better steward of our money. The less debt a person accumulates the better chance they have of sleeping at night. Can we distinguish between what our needs really are and what our “wants” are?

Do you expect as a Christian to have a rich and satisfying life? Christ says it is there for you! If you consider rich by the standards of those living in parts of Africa and Asia you may already be rich. If you are not living a satisfying life, who is your shepherd? Is it the robbers and thieves who Jesus described (Satan) to whom you are listening? Why don’t more Christians understand the advantages that God promises if they will only live by His commands? We start by accepting the purpose for which God placed us on this earth and follow the direction the Holy Spirit leads us. (See previous blogs – Our purpose in life – God has a plan for you).