Divine Addiction

Don't be caged.

We are addictive people. I believe we've been created that way. You've heard the song from Plumb that says, 

"There's a God-shaped hole in all of us
and the restless soul is searching. 
There's a God-shaped hole in all of us, 
and it's a void only He can fill."

Addiction to God will set us free. 

Addiction to anything else will cage us.  

It's from Acts 17:

"Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: 'People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: "To an Unknown God." So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.  The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.  From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  

"God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.  For in him we live and move and have our being."

We will be addicted to something. Let it be the One who created you and knows you best, but loves you most! He gave the very life of his Son to set you free from every shackling addiction. Feed your God-addiction by listening to Him, watching how He works, inquiring of Him, dreaming of Him, thinking about Him, thanking Him, meditating on his words, trusting Him, responding to Him, submitting to Him, and clinging to Him. Fill the hole, and be whole! 

God + me = a whole person. 

Be Free!

Did You Say Your Joy's Been Stolen?

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks. This is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thes. 5:16-18. 

The will of God is a lifestyle, not a location. The Apostle Paul has defined it in these three compelling little verses.

If it seems your joy's been stolen, if you need wisdom, if you feel unloving or unlovable, if peace has been choked out and you're in the grip of worry, doubt, or confusion, practice the will of God in the way Paul has spelled it out. 

Three little tips for doing this, from our Pastor Skip:

1. Celebrate God's Favor

If you are in Christ, God is always for you, and everything He has is for you. Remember the times you've watched his favor in action.

2. Celebrate God's Revelation

Meditate on the life-changing things, deeply personal things, and grippingly motivating things He has shown you -- about Himself, about you, and about life.

3. Celebrate God's Victory

Resurrection can only come after death. Think about the places in you where Christ has brought new life. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us and gave himself for us. 

And . . . keep asking to receive more favor, increased revelation, and greater victory. It's all yours in Christ. Pray into it. Live into it!

 Joy is a divine inner quality of life that lives above circumstances; it comes from above and bubbles up from within. It's a fruit of the Spirit that has to be cultivated, by feeding it with the will of God. Feel like yours has been stolen? Take it back -- it's do-able!