Seek ye first happiness and......

Lately - I've been hearing a lot of people talk about their desire to be happy.  I get that - really I do.  I once used to be one of those people who desired and was seeking happiness.

I did a google search for "bible happy"- and came across an interesting site:

https://www.openbible.info/topics/being_happy

The interesting part about the site is none of the Bible verses mention happiness or "happy".

Which I think is where a majority of people and a majority of Christians get it wrong.

Definition of happy:  feeling or showing pleasure or contentment

Definition of joyful:  feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness

Joy - in the Hebrew comes from the word 'simchah' which means: blithesomeness or glee, (religious or festival):—× exceeding(-ly), gladness, joy(-fulness), mirth, pleasure, rejoice(-ing)

While the words are quite similar - it would seem they are also different.

The Bible teaches Christians to live by the fruit of the spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

To all people - where does it say happy or happiness in that verse?

In my experience happiness is a temporary feeling.  I'm happy in this moment.  Joy is a long term feeling.  I may not be happy about my job, I may not be happy about the amount of money I'm making and I may not be happy with how my family or friends are treating me.  But - I can say I'm joyful - because I still have a roof over my head, I'm being looked out for by the Lord God.

Again - the problem in the world is people are seeking happiness.  The Bible doesn't teach such a thing.  The Bible doesn't teach - seek happiness.  The Bible teaches in Matthew 6:33:

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Interesting - if I seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness - happiness and other things I am seeking will be added to me.

Do you see the problems that we now have in the world and why we have them?  A majority of people seek happiness first - oh wait isn't that something selfish?  Hmmm...But you see - a majority of people seek happiness first and in the process others are left out; they will continue seeking happiness and never find it.  As I already said - happiness is a temporary thing.  Seeking happiness is where addiction may stem from.  Seeking happiness is where problems stem from.

There are 2 great commandments that Jesus gave in Mark 12:30-31:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

If you are seeking happiness first - the questions you need to ask yourself are these: 

·         Do you love the Lord with all your heart and soul and mind and strength?

·         Do you love your neighbour as yourself?

·         More importantly - do you love yourself?

People who tend to seek happiness are people who don't love themselves.  They aren't confident with who they are. 

Trust me - I know from experience.  I used to once live a life where I sought after happiness and worldly things - and at one point in time, I realized and actually asked myself this question:  Is this all there is to life?

It wasn't long after that - when I had my "intervention" with Jesus - and my journey started.  I no longer seek happiness. 

I share these blogs with you - because I want all of you to know there's another way to life.  There's a better way where you can be joyful, and have your moments of happiness.  I truly believe if everyone lived out the way of seeking God's kingdom first - we'd all be happy and we'd have peace on Earth.

It is mostly for these reasons and other of my blog posts that I believe we live in a world that lacks God - and mostly because people reject God or reject his teachings.

Be blessed,

I love you all!

Love is patient....

The other day I was reading through the Bible and was making my way through a very known Bible verse:  1 Corinthians 13.

Marshall Erikson from How I met your Mother did a good rendition of it(Season 2 episode 22):

Horrible wedding clichés we're not going
to touch with a ten-foot limbo pole.
Oh, like First Corinthians?
That Bible verse?
They do that at every wedding.
How's it go?
"Love is patient and kind.
"Love does not envy or boast.
"It is not arrogant or rude.
"Love does not insist
on it's own way.
"It is not irritable
or resentful.
"Love bears all things,
"believes all things,
"hopes all things...
"endures all things."

Love is patient they say?!

What patience though?

According to Mr Webster, patience is:  the capacity, habit, or fact of being [able to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing with problems or difficult people]

Ok then....

 

Well - I was reading this passage in the King James Version (KJV) of the bible and here's how it read:

[Love] suffereth long, and is kind; [love] envieth not; [love] vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Suffereth long seems to be so much better than "is patient".  Patient seems to have so much room for interpretation based on what each person believes it to mean - but when you read "suffereth long" - it really hits home.

Where there is love - there will be suffering.  If people tell you that love is all rosy and everything else - they're lying to you.  But - the suffering should not be the suffering of you hurting the other person.  It's more of a you are suffering because you want what's best for the other person, they don't listen and as a result they get hurt and this leads to you suffering.  You warned them because you love them.  You warned them because you're trying to look out for them.  You warned them because you see a potential in them that you want to see them achieve.  Them falling short leads to you suffering.

Jesus suffered long on the cross.    He suffered getting whipped and all other physical abuse prior to the cross.  He suffered when he was betrayed.  Still with that - he continued to love.

With love there is a passion - I wrote briefly about this as a tribute to my uncle and how this ties into love and suffering (see here:  http://thejoshuejourney.blogspot.ca/2015/07/the-real-tom-green.html)

Today when I look at the world - I don't see a world that loves their neighbour as themselves.  I see 1 - parents buying iPhones for their kids because all their friends have one(thou shall not covet thy neighbours' belongings), 2 - I see families fighting over money(love of money is the root of all evil), 3 - I see siblings not speaking to one another (Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.)

If we look at these 3 items I just mentioned and compare to 1 Corinthians 13 - we can clearly see how they fall short from love.

1 - Why does your child want the phone?  Yes - I'm asking why your child wants the phone and not why you're buying it for them.  They want the phone because their friends have one.  But isn't it written:  love does not envy???  And parents - should we not be teaching our children this?

2 - Why are families fighting over money?!  Pretty much the same thing as item 1 - they want something that the other person has.  They are jealous of the other - but again - it is written:  Love does not envy.

3 - Why are siblings not talking to one another?  Is it because one has something the other doesn't have?  Well - love doesn't envy.  Is it because one sibling is upset at what the other sibling did?  Well love is not irritable or resentful. 

If you find yourself in one of these 3 items in any way - you should pray about it.

It's clear we live in a world where people don't love their neighbours as themselves.  The only way this can get fixed is through prayer, and recognizing our behaviour when these situations comes up.

Where are the Christian Leaders in Presidential Election?

So – it’s probably about time that I write something about the Presidential Election in the US of A.  Not being an American citizen makes this so much easier too.  In the USA there is a “law” known as the “the Johnson Amendment”, which refers to a change in the U.S. tax code made in 1954 which prohibited tax-exempt organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates.

 

Churches and Religious Organizations

It’s good to know that Churches and Religious Organizations are tax exempt organizations.  But at what cost does this come?  They are prohibited from endorsing or opposing political candidates.

 

Which leads me to ask?  Where are the Jesus-like Church leaders?  Where are the Peters?  Where are the Johns?

 

Mahatma Gandhi is known for having said:  I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.

 

If we examine that along with how Church leaders are in regards to not speaking out about the political candidates – I’d say they are a bunch of cowards.  Church leaders should do as Jesus did, even if that means being penalized.  They should do as Peter and John did to the point that they would be whipped for doing what is “wrong” in the eyes of the law – in order to do what is right for people.

 

It would be right for Church leaders to advise people that neither Hillary nor Trump should be President – yet here we are with these two as the Presidential candidates.

 

Gandhi – is also known for having read repeatedly the Sermon on the Mount – a sermon that is the most powerful sermon in history.  Examining this sermon we see Jesus repeatedly say:

 

• “Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time”
• “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time”
• “ It hath been said”
• “ Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time”

 

And it goes on and on…..just read Chapter 5 of Matthew and you will see.

 

So – the Bible even demonstrates the Hebrews as not always having had a King – for God was their King……

 

BUT…

Samuel 8:6 - But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us.

Samuel 8:7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them

 

Samuel 8:10-18

And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king.

¹¹ And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

¹² And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

¹³ And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

¹⁴ And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

¹⁵ And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

¹⁶ And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

¹⁷ He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

¹⁸ And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.

 

 

One thing that it doesn’t say…….BUT if it were asked to Jesus I’m sure it would have gone something like this:

 

• Lord, is it ok to have a President to watch over us?
• No – you should only have God to watch over you
• But Lord – why did Samuel give us King Saul?
• King Saul?  Because of the hardness of your hearts!  But from the beginning it was not so.  In the beginning, it was God in the garden with people, with God as King.  In Heaven it is God with his people – and may God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven without Presidents and kings.

 

Christian leaders don’t teach you this though.  Instead they teach you to support our Government leaders and so on; which this is true from a certain perspective.  The only thing is – we should be praying for our Government leaders that they would come to know the truth and depart from politics.

 

Instead Church leaders are silent.  When people say a judgement is coming upon America, this may be true and God is allowing it to happen – but mostly because Church leaders are silent.  They are being “paid off” likely in some way(tax exemptions).

 

Here’s the judgement for those Church Leaders, as stated in Ezekiel 3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

It would be better for the Church leaders to speak out and face the consequences of the law and perhaps lose their tax exemption – than to remain silent.

 

Speaking out should not be done in the way John Hagee has done though.  He’s clearly a puppet in doing something and his prophecy teachings are a farce.  BUT it can be assumed he’s supporting Trump.

 

 

What Church leaders should be doing is teaching the ways of old – and why the political leaders in power are putting in Principalities that are just horrible.

 

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

 

The only way to rid of these powers is to stop supporting them and to start supporting God and each other.