By: Rebekah Page
Aristotle says, “Happiness is, the settling of the soul into the most appropriate spot.” Well, what is our “sweet-spot”? Is it acquiring a desired home, job, family, or sphere of influence? And once we have achieved a greater high or enough success, status, recognition, affection, and power, does it then settle our soul into a state of happiness?
Regardless of how much of each of these we have, there is an ever present thirst and hunger for BIGGER. BETTER. GREATER.
But, what if the glory we search after was not meant to be our own? What if we are to seek the glory of our Heavenly Father and operate within His loving parameters and follow His leading in order to have true satisfaction. “Holiness is what leads to happiness,” says Pastor Skip Heitzig.
HOLINESS
1) First, God is perfect, but our sin separates us from Him.
2) Next, God in His righteousness desires us to be near to Him, because it is best for us. He is best for us. He fights for us, He sent His Son to replace the death and wrath we deserve. 3) He will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, when we believe that Jesus, died and rose, and is our “living” sacrifice. (For more information on why sacrifice is important see the video review of Leviticus.) 4) We serve a living God who fights for and intercedes on our behalf. He is consistently merciful and gracious to all of us who call on His name, who turn away from our fleshly desires, and our sinful hearts and take a stand to focus and follow His will and way for our lives. 5) We are eager and energized by His spirit, who He sends to us. Living holy makes us “whole” and we are passionate and zealous for the kingdom of God. We gladly offer our entire lives as a living sacrifice back to Him in thanks for all He has done for us.
HAPPINESS
Happiness is Holiness. And the souls of our life will not be happy, and vibrant until they are settled in their “sweet-spot,”which is in the arms of Jesus. He will take us where we need to go and grow. And it will be BIGGER. BETTER, GREATER than we could have ever hoped for or ever imagined.
PRAYER
I pray for the name of Jesus to be known to the readers today, that you would restore our souls through your word. Penetrate our minds with truth today so our thinking patterns are conformed to your spirit and we are changed. Renew our minds to focus and follow you.
Father, I pray we ask for forgiveness and turn away from our flesh and sin, help us to be eager to confess them to you and those who we have wronged. Lead us to your ways for your people.
WEEKLY VERSES
*In the comments share your favorite verse to help us drown out the worldly-chatter with the truth.
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| 2 Corinthians 4:18 |
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And whatever you do whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through Him.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:8
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1
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THIS WEEK’S RESOURCES
2) To understand more about why sacrifice was necessary, watch the video summary of Leviticus by Skip Heitzig.
3)Other resources from Skip Heitzig- www.skipheitzig.com
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