This world - nothing!

Today is a chilly rainy day. I was blessed to spend time playing bunko with friends. One of these friends has been an awesome friend and has walked with me through the good times and the tough times. I am so thankful for that.

Life is filled with changes. What happens next is still to be determined. We will head to the Pastor's Conference this next week. Looking forward to seeing friends.

So, what does this world bring? 1 John 2 says "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

As I read these verses I am again reminded of this world being temporal. Of what really matters in this life. The love of the world is what I see. I get caught up in it too. As I read the first few words "do not love anything in the world" it is very convicting. How easily I can love a home, the computer, my family, posessions...etc. The problem is when those become more important than Jesus. How easily that can happen. We "boast" about what we have - the old adage 'keeping up with the Jones' rings true here. But I love that John says that this kind of boasting does not come from the Father but from the world. We crave things in this world - a new tv, a bigger house, more money, more stuff...etc. I crave to be closer to Jesus. When those worldy cravings hit me, and they will, I want Jesus more than those things.

So where we move to - well... I was watching the movie Bruce Almighty the other day and a couple of lines really hit me like never before. God told Bruce "since when does anybody know what is best for them." Then later in the movie when Bruce realized that he cannot run his life on his own, he gets down on his knees, cries out to God, hands raised to heaven and says "I don't want to do this anymore, I don't wanna be God. I want you to decide what's right for me, I surrender to your will." That is how I feel about our future. I do not want to decide. Trust me, I've tried to plan out the next steps. I see this situation, or that situation, and in my mind I can plan it all out the way that looks best to me. Yikes, good thing God doesn't do what I think is best. What a mess that would be. Trying to play God is tiresome and frankly a waste of time. So we will listen to the voice of God to say 'go' or 'don't go'. It is through his direction and though his answer that we will have peace about our decisions. Because they will not be our decisions but God's.

The world can offer all kinds of things, but it is surrendering our all to Jesus that changes our life. So leave it all at the foot of the cross. Know that our sins have been covered and washed in the blood of Jesus. Surrender your life to Jesus - if you have come to a point when you realize that you've been trying to run your life and it's falling apart - lay it all at the foot of the cross.

You can't do it - but Jesus can!!!!