Back to the Basics…December 15th
Life is like that…the basics. Sometimes we lose sight of what they are. For some of us we never had them in the first place. The world tries to teach us some basics. Here they are:
- Make as much money as you can and buy as much as you can!
- Upgrade or you will never be happy!
- Get the latest and greatest fashion or style or be less of a person!
- Make sure you appear successful!
- Put your needs first after all if you don’t care about you who will?!
- Don’t think for yourself, let the TV do it for you.
- Charge it…you can pay for it later!
These are some pretty simple, worldly basics that you have heard in your own head. We seem to be tempted by them constantly.
Now I want you to get rid of all these…go ahead…toss them…they are useless to you. Let’s learn some new basics that will last you a lifetime and will never betray you.
These come straight from the heart of God.
Paul says these are the basics and they are all interwoven. Your Faith, Your Hope and Your Love. These will never fail you.
YOUR FAITH: This is something that is a must. To have it means to understand that there is something larger and grander working in your life. Faith means we believe in the things unseen. We have a God that wants us to have faith that He loved us so much that He gave His only Son for the forgiveness of our sins. Faith in that simple message saves us. Believing in that redeems us. This kind of faith will help you rise above any storm and overcome any hurdle. But you must nurture it. You must kindle it and stoke it like a fire. You must feed it and continue to hone it. It is a powerful weapon. Worship, church, Bible study, prayer and service all help shape it.
YOUR HOPE: This is different from faith but connected. If we know that faith brings us to a place that things are certain (i.e. we have a God that loves us and forgives us), hope then keeps us looking toward that day when all things will be restored and made perfect. Hope continues to point us to a brighter tomorrow. Hope, spurred by faith, calms our heart knowing that all things are possible. Hope keeps us moving forward not backward. Hope keeps our eyes ahead not behind. Without hope we are stuck. Without it we are frozen.
YOUR LOVE: Love is the result of both faith and hope. Your faith in God reminds you that God asks you to love others. It will make you want to love others. Your hope in a better tomorrow puts the desire to make tomorrow better by loving all you meet. Love, therefore, is the culmination of both and faith and hope and it is the greatest of all! It is your faith in action. It is you making hope a reality in the lives of others. It will melt a cold heart; warm a depressed soul, and sooth an anxious mind.
Now the question is, “Do you have these BASICS?” A life without them is frozen, unmovable, anxious and restless.
SO GET BACK TO THE BASICS TODAY! If you concentrate on them amazing things will happen. Let them fuel everything you do. Let them be the thing that races through your spirit. When you do you will discover something more important than the world, schedules, appointments, deadlines and the rest…instead, you will discover what it means to LIVE!
Love you all!
Rev. Jim
