If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
– 2 Chronicles 7:12a-14
You know what? I think God said it just right in those passages of scripture above. But just so He remembers where I stand with Him, and so you know I didn’t mean that in jest—God always says it right.
He always sets the right path out before us. And always corrects and convicts us, with His objective always being to direct us in the way we should go, in our best interest.
In 1670, Blaise Pascal gave a defense of the Christian religion in a book he wrote. In that book he talked about an emptiness, a craving within man seeking true happiness. And that we try to fill this emptiness, void or hole, with everything around us.
But he goes on to say, that it can only be filled by God Himself. This emptiness, hole or void which Pascal wrote about has since been referred to as a “God-shaped-hole” within each of us.
A hole which we all try to fill, seeking satisfaction and fulfillment, with things like accomplishments and achievements, climbing one career ladder after another, acquiring money and stuff, seeking championships and trophies, or hoping for the approval of others while trying to meet never-ending expectations.
We discover that all of those would-be “fillers,” even if reached, do not satisfy our longing for a sense of worth, fulfillment and accomplishment. And none will provide us with the lasting peace, satisfaction or fulfillment we seek, or fill that hole within us.
Only one thing can forever and completely fill that “God-shaped-hole” within us. Very simply—a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. God said it right.
So what is filling the “God-shaped-hole” within you? Something temporary, worldly and fleeting? Or is that “God-shaped-hole” being filled with a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ? If it is, guard it, keep it. Nurture it by spending time with Him.
It is the only relationship that will be satisfying, fulfilling, lasting and eternal. God said it right. Again. Always. Scott Whitaker
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
On average, 7,708 Americans die each day.
As the news constantly reminds us, any of us could die at any time. And yet, if you ask Americans to name their top fears, their personal death ranks surprisingly low. More than half of us either are “not very afraid” (27 percent) or “not at all afraid” (25 percent) of death. Only 11 percent of us are “very afraid” of death, while 31 percent are “somewhat afraid” to die and 7 percent “don’t know.”
We are more afraid of the way we might die than the fact of our death. In a list of our “top ten fears,” “mass shootings” comes in at #3, followed by “terrorism” at #5 and “becoming terminally ill” at #7. Each points to how we might die rather than the fact of death itself.
Why are we mortals not more afraid of our mortality?
The answer is tragically not that we are prepared to meet God. Only 35 percent of American adults believe salvation comes through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And yet, 54 percent believe they will go to heaven, many of them because they think they have earned their place in paradise through their good works.
What of the rest?
▪ 15 percent say they don’t know what will happen after they die.
▪ 13 percent say there is no life after death.
▪ 8 percent expect to be reincarnated.
▪ 8 percent believe they will go to a place of purification prior to entering heaven.
▪ Just 2 percent believe they will go to hell.
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German pastor Martin Niemöller said of the Nazis, “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
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Thousands of pastors in Canada devoted their sermons recently to affirming biblical sexual morality in response to a new law in their country some warn could criminalize such teachings. Bill C-4, which went into effect January 8, describes as a “myth” the belief that heterosexuality and cisgender identity are preferable. According to Fox News, “Counseling that does not align with such a worldview now carries a potential five-year jail sentence. Prosecuting Canadian Christians for believing biblical morality is likely a sign of things to come in the USA.”
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
The casino sign at the entrance read “We Need Winners”! Truth is they need 35 losers for every winner so what do you think they really need? Dwight Short
The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. ELBERT HUBBARD
Satan appeals to our flesh in order to destroy us. Dan Shock
No Christian can do everything, but every Christian can do something. Jim Denison
Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself. William Faulkner
Our hope is in heaven, not in the government. Ken Whitten
The Holy Spirit is your GPS ….. God’s Position Source. Jomo Cousins
Live your convictions regardless of the consequences. Ken Whitten
Being a Christian is like swimming upstream in a downstream world. Daniel Henderson