The Pursuit of Happiness Joy:

   Two words that I hear misused more than most are joy and happiness. I have found that even if you seek answers from Webster's you still won't find much difference in the two, but oh how different they are.

I am not sure how this post will flow exactly, but if you are reading this is means I didn't absolutely hate it and decided to give it a shot and post  it. So, let's go.

   First, let me express what makes me so passionate about this topic. I have had this talk with my of my friends, likely a portion of those who actually read this. They know, in some detail, how I feel on this; after being approached with it twice last night it has been on my mind, so I thought maybe I could try this method.

The words:

  Happiness. I see happiness as good. It is indeed good, I think most people want to be happy, but happiness is like a feeling. What I mean by this is that is a description of your current state. For example, back in the days of Myspace you could attach faces with your status. They had a happy (and many others of course). Why? Because your status can be happy. It's how you feel now. Can we agree on this? Good.

  Joy. Oh joy. This is much different, at least for me, and I believe, all Christians. You see, joy is much more than a current state; it's a mindset, a lifestyle.

  If you still don't quite get what I'm raving over, don't worry, I have plenty more raving to do. So, feelings are a current state of being. They can, and will, change. Say you talk to someone and ask about their day at 0900 and they tell you they are happy. Great. But lets say during they day they spill coffee on themselves, get a speeding ticket during lunch, show up late returning from lunch, their child gets in trouble at school and they have a blow out on the way to the school (I don't envy the life of parents). If this said person truly meant that they were just happy as a current state (I dare not say a person can say happy without meaning joyful), because they had experienced a good morning, then, if you ask again after this kind of day they might not give quite as warm of an answer.

   Now, lets take another person, someone who is madly in love with Jesus and filled with His joy that I will talk more about in a bit. In a one year span of time he runs out of money for school, sees his parents divorce, loses two grandparents to cancer and gets laid of from his job (to those who know me this might sound familiar). One day you run into him and ask how he is and he might be transparent and tell you things have been hard, there have been some curve balls thrown his way, but I guarantee he will end his sentence with, "God is good though." This huge difference is because joy isn't JUST a current state. It's a condition of the heart. You might be thinking, this guy is crazy if he thinks people can just never be upset. Hold on now. I never said that. Because I am talking about two different things, they can, and do, exist  together. You can be sad and joyful at the same time. The sadness might have a good night, but it will not overcome true joy.

"For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." Psalm 30:5

Anger, like sadness are just emotions or feelings. Temporal.

My good friend, Paul, understood joys superiority over happiness too. Follow me for a moment.

"Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with fullcourage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again." 

Philippians 1:18b-26

 "Rejoice in the Lord always [pantote at all times, always, ever]; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace [eirēnē of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is] of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

In this passage Paul is comforting believers with the truth that joy is greater than the things of this world that make them anxious and worried.

You want more?

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvationready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:3-9

Think you've done to much wrong to be blessed with the unstoppable joy of Christ? Listen to David after he had committed adultery.

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
     wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
     let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,    and uphold me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:7-12

So, joy is more powerful, longer lasting, undefiled, unfading, imperishable, glorious, uncircumstantial. We can agree that it is indeed good, right? Just to be absolutely certain, joy only comes from God. If you aren't a Christian, you cannot be joyful the way we can. I don't mean to sound harsh, and I certainly do not wish unhappiness on you, but joy and Christ are inseparable.

 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17

I pray you see why I care about this so much.

I encourage you to ask God everyday to fill you with His joy. It grows everyday and wells up inside you until you overflow and others get to experience that joy, just by being around you. And if you live like that you will know the joy of doing this:

"but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15

I love you all.

WARNING. CALL YOUR DOCTOR.

This morning after my workout I ran to get some food. As I was about to walk out some advertisement for some miracle medicine was coming across and I could help but hear them say, like always, if you experience any of the following side effects please contact your doctor and stop taking the medicine immediately. You know the gist. We've all hear these things. As I walked out listening to the effects mentioned I laughed to myself because I thought, if someone was experiencing diarrhea, fainting, random bleeding, racing heart or terrible headaches because of a medicine do they really need to be told to contact their doctor and stop? I mean, people usually want to feel good so it's kind of obvious.
Then God did was He does often.
He reminded me how many times, with the knowledge of how things are hurting me, that I have continued to take them in.
Follow with me.
Proverbs 5:7-12 this is a warning to those who are sexually immoral. It is specific enough to warn against STD's.
"And now, O sons, listen to me,and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,lest strangers take their fill of your strength,and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
¹¹ and at the end of your life you groan,when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline,and my heart despised reproof!"
Isaiah 59:1-3 Sin can cause you  to experience loss of hearing.
Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
    nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
² It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
    Because of your sins, he has turned away
    and will not listen anymore.
³ Your hands are the hands of murderers,
    and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
    and your mouth spews corruption.
Hosea 4:5-6 Blindness, loss of motor skills and lack of clear thinking.
You shall stumble by day;
    the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
    and I will destroy your mother.
⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
     because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
     I also will forget your children.
Mark 9:42-48 Worst of all, sin will separate you from God and make you experience death for eternity.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.  And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.  And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,  ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’"


The good news is none of these side effects are permanent, yet. As long as you are still alive, I assume you must be to be reading this (if you haven't already stopped), then you can stop taking this sin and contact your doctor, Jesus Christ. (John 5:1-9)



^{Romans 10:12-13} For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Don't wait. Contact your doctor immediately. You need not suffer through the consequences of sin. Let Him purge you of poison and fill you with inexpressible, uncontrollable, undeserved joy in Him.


I love you. 

Parable of the Talents

I assume everyone knows the parable of the talents. Jesus gives this somber parable near the end of his ministry. In case you don't know, or actually want to read over it before continuing in this blog, here it is:
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants^[c] and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents,^[d] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷ So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. ¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good andfaithful servant.^[e] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’²² And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’²⁶ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹  For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’


From this parable I think we can gather a few bits of info.
1) Everyone was given talents "each according to his ability"
2) Jesus cares very much about how we spent those talents
Now, I've heard sermons comparing these talents to skills and things. I don't think that is wrong-not at all. But I was recently hit with something else. Something I think, because of its magnitude encompasses those talents as well.

Time. 
Time is a difficult thing. We think too much of it. We think too little of it. We think not at all of it.
What we seldom do is think rightly of it. I think much more than specific talents and abilities Jesus is talking about our life-that is our current state (and currency).

Consider Luke 14:25-35 Jesus talks about calculating the cost of war, but along with the parables above it, Jesus is really talking about being a disciple.
OR
  Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^[b]   Do not be conformed to this world,^[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.<sup>[d]


Jesus, through Paul, tells us that real worship is our life; offering our life as a living sacrifice for the Kingdom of God and letting that life be dedicated to fulfilling that Kingdom here on earth. This is exactly what Jesus is talking about and angry with those who wasted it. 


How about you? How are you spending your talents? You don't know how many you have been given (how long your life will be) but you know you have been given one and Christ demands you spend it rightly. This isn't a bad thing because whether you know it or not Christ IS your ultimate joy.


I pray you would be burdened to spend your life wisely. To spend it loving God, serving people, offering your life as a sacrifice for the world. You can't lose in this deal. You gain Christ if you give it up! What on earth could be worth giving up supreme joy in fellowship with God? Nothing.


I encourage you, spend it all in one place. :)
19  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[e] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.</sup>

Riches for the poor.

1. 
   ^Source

* More than one in five children in the United States (15.75 million) lived in poverty in 2010.
* More than 1.1 million children were added to the poverty population between the 2009 ACS and the 2010 ACS.
* The 2010 ACS child poverty rate (21.6 percent) is the highest since the survey began in 2001.
* Children from all race groups were added to the poverty population since the 2009 ACS, including children reported as White (507,000), Black (259,000), Some Other Race (99,000), and children of Two or More Races (160,000).
*At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day.Source1
*More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where income differentials are widening.Source2
*The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.
*Based on enrollment data, about 72 million children of primary school age in the developing world were not in school in 2005; 57 per cent of them were girls. And these are regarded as optimistic numbers.
*Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
Water problems affect half of humanity:
*Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
*Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than $2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day.
*More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day.
*Access to piped water into the household averages about 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared with 25% for the poorest 20%.
*1.8 billion people who have access to a water source within 1 kilometre, but not in their house or yard, consume around 20 litres per day. In the United Kingdom the average person uses more than 50 litres of water a day flushing toilets (where average daily water usage is about 150 liters a day. The highest average water use in the world is in the US, at 600 liters day.)
All People Groups                   16,652                 6.90 billion
Unreached People Groups   7,009                2.83 billion
% Unreached Peoples            42.1 %                 41.0 %
10/40 Window Total                    8,686                 4.54 billion
10/40 Window Unreached    5,992                 2.76 billion
10/40 Window % Unreached    69.0 %                 60.7 %
People Groups (without reference to Countries)  9,985
Unreached People Groups (without reference to Countries) 4,353
Countries 237
Languages 6,517

^{Luke 4}

¹⁶  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
     to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Romans 12:1-2

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

^{Matthew 28}

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Chains Hit the Ground.

"I’m holding on to You.
It’s all I know to do.
When fear has had me bound when enemies surround, there’s freedom in this truth:
My salvation is in You.
And I remember the nails that You took for me, when You died in my shame and iniquity.
Jesus, You have set me free.
The thorns of my pain You wore in a crown when You bowed Your head Your love was poured out.
And my chains hit the ground.
You are the Rock I’ve found, above the shifting ground amid a raging war You’re the One I’m fighting for.
For all of my years, my banner will be clear.
I am Yours.
And even though the waves, they crash below I’m holding onto love.
I’m holding onto love.
I am Yours.
Forever all my days, I lay before Your holy love.
I’m holding onto love"

Galatians 5:16-24
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

My Five Year Plan, if you call it a plan.

I am going to begin this blog, and what I have to say, with part of what God used to bring this to completion. It comes from David Platt's sermon on the Radical Abandonment that the Gospel demands of us.
Here is what he said (quote may not be exact as it is from memory)
Say you were a citizen of France, given the opportunity to go to America for one month. You were to stay in a hotel room for this time and work. You were told you can make AS MUCH money as you want during this month-limited only by the work you put it. The only rules were you couldn't take a single thing back on the plane. Nothing, no matter how small, but you could deposit your money back home in your bank in France.
Now, would you then, waste your money on fancy clothes, televisions, accessories, paintings, and other things to make you comfortable during that month? NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. The very thought of this is pure foolish. 


And yet. This is life. Especially for us in America. We spend so much money on things we don't need, yet we are only here for a "month." Even if you live to be 100, which is possible, that  kind of time is vapor in comparison to eternity.


I feel this fact alone is enough to prove the point, but it isn't the only reason our style of living is wrong. When you consider then the needs of our world, it brings a whole new meaning. For example: the amount of money spent on specialty coffee in the US each year is 18 billion dollars. Apple is now worth more than 550,000,000 dollars (I own an iPhone). Every weekend new movies bring in 30 million dollars or more (some WAY more).


Don't get me confused, these things are not bad themselves (except coffee you know I think it's gross). But are they necessary, especially to the extent that we consume them (my question is certainly not limited to these three things)?
What if one week we gave up our coffee and movie weekend and donated it to someone in need? You might think, wow Michael that's maybe 35 dollars, if you're lucky. YES. That's exactly it. Your 35 dollars matters. Any gift that you give towards Christ's Kingdom matters! And if you did it, maybe someone else would, and then someone else. And then maybe you see Christ working in your sacrifice and give more. Don't underestimate what God can do with an obedient heart.


I did not expect any of that, I began this to say what is on my heart, and what I want to do, Lord willing, so I guess I should get to that. :)


For those who've followed for awhile, and those who know me, you know my heart for poverty-Africa in particular.
Well, the last few months I haven't had nearly the concern for others. In fact, I've become self-centered, especially with my finances. I thought simply because I had worked hard that I deserved to get nice things. HA. I don't deserve any good thing I have.
Anywho, today, God reminded me of the world's need and my responsibility-they are so connected.
For the next 5 and a half years (this is according to my plan, God may have to tweet it) I am dedicated to my country and profession. During this time I will fulfill my oath completely. During this time I will devote myself to others and to the study of God's Word. I will be frugal with everything in regards to myself. I will save money and spend all  my time. I will live with a war-like mindset, and John Piper likes to say. I will not be consumed by flash and glamour. And, if the Lord wills, when my commitment has been completely I will leave the United States and go to where my heart resides.
I will teach.
I will dig wells.
I will build homes.
I will love children.
I will share the Gospel.
I will spend my life establishing Christ's Kingdom.


I don't know how long I'll stay there-that is up to God.
I'll stay as long as He wants, and when He tells me to leave, I will go do the same thing somewhere else.


Please, consider how little worldly things matter. And how great  eternal things do.
If you must waste your life, and it will end someday, waste it  on things that will never end, rust,  break or perish.


I love you all.
This is for me, but I hope maybe you find encouragement for your life.
I pray that you will make Christ glorified where you are.
That's what I am doing.
It's what you should do.
I don't want to convince anyone to move or donate all their money.
I want to convince people that Christ is all-satisfying.
That He is worthy of everything.
That He is your joy-even if you don't know that.


Hoping to make a difference, knowing Christ will.
I love you. :)