What does life consist of?

Luke 12:15 - Man's life does not consist of the abundance of things that he possesses. 

May I ask you a question?  If life is not made up of possessions, just what is it made up of?

I believe there are several answers. Relationships with family and friends should be near the top. What good are the possessions if there is no one to share them with?  Career is also important. All of us have to work. If you are going to spend all your time doing something why not get the skills to do a job you enjoy. It will make life much more enjoyable. Where we live and how we live are all important. But they still don't provide the most important ingredient to life.

Jesus said he came to give us life. Not just any life, but life more abundantly? He said that if we believe in him then rivers of living water would flow out of our inner most beings. This was a prophecy of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. This is the truly abundant life. A life without the Spirit of God is empty and will always lack meaning. A life filled with the Spirit of God will overflow with joy. Yes, there will still be heartaches; There always are. Financial problems and sickness still cause us stress, even as Christians. But the Christian who is filled with God's spirit knows that this present life is not all there is. There is a spiritual realm to which I can enter everyday in prayer that makes life truly worth living.

Just what does true life consist of? What is the main ingredient? It is a relationship with Jesus Christ. When one has Jesus, everything else is secondary. It is nice to have things in this life. I would rather have money than be without out it. It makes life easier to have a little extra cash in one's pockets.  But at the end of the day the only thing of lasting value in my life is my relationship with Jesus. He has blessed me with a good job, a good home, and many friends. May I never forget that without him everything else is meaningless! He is the meaning of life because he is life itself.

Loving Jesus,

Sullivan Jones 

Living Water

Proverbs 27:20 - Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. 

Isn't it amazing how unsatisfied we are? It is in the nature of life. We eat breakfast at six or seven a.m. and by noon we are "starving." The natural man must eat to keep up his nourishment. And no matter how many days we do eat, we will always want something else to eat pretty soon.

As the natural, so is the spiritual. We are never satisfied because the things of this world can not satisfy the innermost needs of a man's heart and soul. Most of us live in houses that are much nicer than anything the rest of the world has. We don't truly know what it is like to be hungry. We can get at least some healthcare if we are sick. Yet for all that we are not satisfied. If we could go shopping with unlimited funds and take as many vacations a year as we wanted to take, we would still be unsatisfied. Why? Because the eyes of man are not satisfied. They will always want more.

The only true way to be satisfied is in Jesus. He told the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well that he could give her living water that would quench her thirst forever. It is interesting to note that after this one encounter with Jesus she left her water pot and went back to tell her friends and family about this living water. She had found something else to satisfy her thirst. Oh, I'm sure she eventually needed water again. She was, after all, human. But Jesus wasn't speaking of the natural man. He was speaking of the spiritual man. The one who can only be satisfied with a drink from the cup of Jesus Christ.

Is there emptiness in your life? Do you find that, no matter what you have, it is never enough? Are you anxious, afraid, or depressed? Do you always desire more? Have a longing for something you can't name? If so, you need a long drink from the spiritual well of Jacob, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. It is only HE that can satisfy your soul. Ask him today for a drink of that living water. Once you taste it you will never be the same. But be forewarned; This water is addictive. Once you drink of it, nothing else will ever again satisfy your thirst. You will have to come again and again to the well of salvation. It is the only source of living water.

Yours in Christ's Service,

Sullivan Jones 

Good Tidings of Great Joy

Luke 2: 10-11 Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 

Last night I was chatting online with a friend from Honduras. He lives in an area of the city not far from where I lived during my year in Tegucigalpa, the capital. That side of town is known to be quite dangerous in places. I was asking him about about the safety of that area. He said it was about the same as when he first went there in 2001. When I told him that the reports I hear all tell how bad the city has gotten he had this reply: Man, it is the same as it has always been. The reason that people think it is worse is because the media only reports the bad things. They put gruesome crime scene photos in the papers that would not be put in the papers in the United States. The purpose is to be sensational because it makes a good story. No one, it seems, wants to read about good news. 

This world is indeed full of bad news. There is always another story about a murder, rape, or robbery. But for the Christian there is always good news. Our good news is that Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from our sins. We who believe in him are eternally set free from our sins through the His atoning blood on the Cross. We need never hang our heads in shame, fear, or doubt. No matter what happens in this life there is one thing that never changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Riches come and go and fame fades. Governments rise and fall. There will always be wars and rumors of wars. But the Christian has a constant hope. God will always be by my side and that is what gives me my joy. No matter what the papers say, there is good news today. Jesus Christ Lives!

Loving Jesus,

Sullivan Jones