God versus the world...

As I take a look around the world that we live in, I am astonished with all the things people crave. Power, money, sex, materialism, security, love, and the list go on and on… What is heart-breaking is that I see Christians falling into this trap of what the world supposedly say will satisfy us. What ever happened to the simplicity of life? Whatever happened to believing in God, through thick and thin? Whatever happened to prayers in school? What ever happened to saying the pledge of allegiance? Whatever happened to discipline and accepting the consequences of our actions? Whatever happened to saying ‘In God We Trust?’ In America, we are losing our focus in the One that matters the most. The first president of the United States, George Washington, was a faithful man who prayed before God prior to every battle. He was a great inspiration and role model to many people. I’m confident that because of his faith in God, he kept pressing on knowing that God was in control. I read that he was never wounded in battle and that all the bullets that fired at him only hit his clothing. Simply amazing and obviously protected by God!

There was a young man of the Bible named David. He was a man described by God himself as a man after his own heart. David was the greatest king of Israel. David’s life shows us that God greatly desires our complete trust and worship. There was a time when Israel needed to face the Philistines in battle. A Philistine soldier named Goliath stood out and challenged the men of Israel to fight against him. Goliath was a huge man who was over nine feet tall! He wore helmet and armor weighing about 125 pounds and held a spear which weighed at 15 pounds! He also wore some type of bronze covering his legs and carried a javelin that hung on his back. Simply put, Goliath was a big man who appeared very strong. Goliath challenged the men of Israel to find one man who would be willing to fight him. The losing team would become subjects (become servants) of the winning team. No one from the Israel tribe dared to step up and take on the fight against Goliath. No one except one man…David, who was a shepard. David was nothing like any of the soldiers of Israel. He was just a handsome boy and probably thought of, by the men of Israel, as oblivious to what appears to be reality. He was a blessed musician and poet. He knew that God was in control and trusted that God would give Israel the victory. He believed that God would stay right by him. The men of Israel scoffed at him and didn’t believe he could defeat Goliath. After some convincing, Saul, the king of Israel at the time and the soldiers let him go fight. David defeated Goliath simply as he is (no protective wear) and a staff with 5 stones in his pouch! Here I am thinking how much we can accomplish if we just trusted God! If David trusted in God, then why can’t we do the same?

David trusted in God, but also made a lot of mistakes. He sinned many times but was quick to confess his sins. He wasn’t just confessing because it was the right thing to do, rather it came right from his heart. His repentance was genuine. Even though he suffered from the consequences of sin, he still took joy in forgiveness. David was a man who lived with great zest! Like David, I want to live my life to the fullest in serving God with all my being. I once read a quote from Saint Irenaeus, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Each and every one of us was created to do something awesome! God meant for us to experience the true nature of ourselves in which He created us to become, however, because of sin we are just dragging along. It doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, we live in a sinful world and face temptations everyday, but I know we have an awesome and forgiving God who loves us so much! There is no way in the world we can be perfect without the help of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So the next time you come face to face with the choices this world has to offer, think about whom you are serving. Are you serving God or man? How much of your time do you spend with your eyes focused on getting an education, earning a living, establishing a career, building a home, staying healthy, and achieving your goals versus the amount of time you spend on your eyes focus on Jesus and His mission? It isn’t wrong to earn a living, build a home, or stay healthy; but Jesus’ followers cannot make these things as priorities if we are considered disciples. Discipleship isn’t about making a home in this world, it’s about preparing for another. It’s about investing in the kingdom of God rather than the kingdom of this world. Every time we face with the choice of settling into this life and striving for the kingdom of God, remember what matters most. We’re on a journey and we simply cannot settle here. There is something so much better in store for us and God promises us that!