Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Planning”
Our Bible verse for today: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Plan to fill your days with the things that matter the most.”
I read a statement the other day which caused me to pause and think about the things I allow my days to be filled up with. The statement read, “Unless the heart is full, even a rich person is poor.” That is so true! We have all known of many rich and famous people who were so unhappy they were miserable, sometimes to the point of suicide. And we’ve also known many other people of little means, but who radiated with warmth and joy and peace.
It’s all a matter of what your focus in life is and how you spend your time. Many, many people fill their days with the pursuit of worldly achievement such as educational pursuits, career advancement, acquiring money and possessions, relationships, and hobbies, only to find that those things don’t really satisfy. Somehow, no matter how much of that stuff they acquire, they discover that they’re still empty inside.
There’s nothing wrong with education and careers and all of those other things. In fact, they’re often necessary. But if they become the central focus of a person’s life they will prove to have been futile pursuits that were not really fulfilling and which did not satisfy.
The answer is to have a full life in the sense that Jesus meant it in John 10:10. First and foremost, Jesus offers us life for eternity in heaven. That’s the best life there will ever be. But He also offers us the best life we can have now, in this lifetime. That’s a life that finds fulfillment and happiness from within, not from without. It’s the secret that was discovered by the people I mentioned earlier, the ones who seem to radiate warmth and joy and peace, irrespective of the other things they do or don’t have.
The Apostle Paul taught us about this in Galatians 5:22-23 when he wrote, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Those are all the things the heart is yearning for to begin with, but which people are trying to achieve through all those other pursuits. Unfortunately, they’re looking for love in all the wrong places. Those other things won’t fill the emptiness in the heart. Only God can do that.
And that brings us to the subject for today’s devotional. What are you filling up your days with? School and job and relationships are all important and necessary, but only God will provide you with the fruit of the Spirit, and only the fruit of the Spirit will give you that glow that comes from within and then radiates out.
I encourage you to make your relationship with the Lord the central focus of your life. Plan for it. Structure your days so that the Lord gets the first and best of your time each morning. Then actually plan to include Him in your life all throughout the day by means of times of prayer, Bible reading, listening to worship music, acts of service, and repeating Bible verses which you have memorized.
Our days will necessarily be filled with the activities of life. But the more of the spiritual disciplines you incorporate into your daily routine the more your life will be focused on God. That will always lead to the fullest and best life a person can have.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 