Have you ever known anyone who is very materialistic? In fact, more so than most anyone else that you know.
Many years ago, my Sister-in-Law married a man that was like that. He had trouble keeping a job, and yet he was always spending what money they had on some kind of his latest interest. From camping to trail bikes etc. It was always something and whatever it was at the moment would change on a regular basis.
I didn't know it at the time but realized a few years later what had been really been going on with him during those years. He had been trying to fill a void in his life. He had grown up in a very dysfunctional home life, where he was not cared for and loved the way he should have been. And he was looking for something to fill that need in himself by always wanting the latest "toy", whatever that might be at the time.
Whatever he would get, did not fill it, and so he would go on to the next thing. And eventually, he even went so far as to leave his family to start another one.
As sinners, we are all that way to some degree. Maybe not exactly like him, but we do try to fill the holes in our lives with things. And sometimes those things are not good for us. Maybe it is drugs or alcohol. Or just to have a stockpile of money. Maybe for some people, it is food. And for others, it might be sex and going from one partner after another trying to fill in that need for something that is missing. And as sinners, we don't even realize what we are doing.
But God wants us first to seek him as Psalm 37:4 says. And that word "first" means just that. We need to seek him first. To find him. And as we do, he will give us the desires of our heart.
Consider these statistics:
A recent LifeWay Research study found only 45 percent of those who regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week. Over 40 percent of the people attending read their Bible occasionally, maybe once or twice a month. Almost 1 in 5 churchgoers say they never read the Bible—essentially the same number who read it every day.
source: https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/july/epidemic-of-bibl
As Christians we expect God to take care of us and our needs? And yet, we don't give him the time of day? Not to say that he doesn't keep his promises when we don't keep ours to him. I have found in my life that even when I am not faithful to him, he is still faithful to me. But really? Should I expect him to give me the desires of my heart if I don't have a real relationship with him every day? I along with so many other Christians need to work on that to make it better. To give God the time he deserves.
I know we are busy every day with other things. And God knows that too. But we have no excuse when we can't take some time out for the God who saved us and loves us. Do we ignore our spouses, our children, other family members? How about our friends? Do we ignore them?
After my brother-in-law left his family, he took up with another woman. Or maybe he did before he actually left them. At any rate, to the best of my knowledge, that relationship didn't work out either and he died an early death all alone, never finding what he had been seeking all along and didn't know it. How sad and yet, but for God, we could be in that same situation.
If we say we love God, why then do we not spend time with him each day? I know it is something I have been trying to do more of, but to be truthful, I can improve on spending even more time with him. How about you? Do you need to start spending time with God? If so, maybe you should get on with it. He is waiting for you. He wants a real relationship with you. Not a superficial one.
Today's bulletin blooper: For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
Thanks for your visit today Friends. God go with you on your day and I hope you will come back tomorrow!
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