Alex on #1Thess3:11-13

May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you... May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers.
~ 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 (MSG)

Alex on #Happiness

Does God want us to be happy? I mean, God wants the best for us. Doesn't that mean he wants happiness for us?

There are lots of things in life that will make us happy that are not necessarily good for us, good for others, or that are right. For example:

• Looking at pics and talking to my friends on Facebook makes me much happier than doing Math homework ... but Facebook does not help me pass Statistics
• Getting a boyfriend or girlfriend will probably make us happy ... but, especially when we're not ready, it also adds a huge level of stress and additional pressures
• 'Taking' that candy/game/car will definitely make you happy ... but when you get caught you'll realize that jail is not fun

Maybe, just maybe, God doesn't want us to be happy. He wants us to be blessed. See, happiness depends on happenings, or circumstances. But God doesn't work that way. God has designed a purpose for each one of us, and our lives are all about finding that purpose in Jesus, whether it makes us temporarily "happy" or not. It will certainly bring lasting joy in the long run.

Someone very wise once told me that my life and service should be 80% what I like and 20% what I don't like. By serving God with that 'unliked' 20%, I'm becoming the person I never thought I could be.

So go for it! Follow after Jesus with everything you are, even it means giving up today's happiness for tomorrow's joy.

Alex W / Message Writer

Alex on #Truth

Has Satan ever told you a lie? In 2007, I wrote the following mini-devotional for my friends.

Don't. Look. Back. He's behind you... You know, him. He's back there... watching and waiting. ...Oh, come on, I know you don't exactly see him, but he's there. He's the one that whispers those little lies in your ears. Yes, they're lies. Can you hear him? Just one little peek won't hurt... Or: But it's love. It doesn't matter whether it's a guy or a girl. Or maybe: God wants you to have fun. It's just one drink, anyway. Can you hear him? I can.

So what are you going to do about it? I mean, really. You can't just sit and let this happen. Because if it hasn't happened already, it's going to. And the enemy has very creative lies. They get much worse if you keep listening to them. So what should you do? What are you doing? What will you do?

When Satan (as a snake), appeared to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he told them lies to get them to disobey God. But his lies were't outright blatant. They were half-true. A little right. Satan asked Eve, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

Well, no, God didn't say that. God said that Adam and Eve could eat at any tree in the garden except for the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. So, of course, Eve chose to defend God, but she went too far, claiming that God said that she and Adam couldn't even touch the tree.

Satan said, "You will not surely die, For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Satan will find ways to ask you little questions, to test your trust in God, to deceive you. But do not let him win! Find out what truth is - and believe it. Find out what truth is - and live it with grace. And how do you find out what truth is? Find Jesus.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

- John 14:6

Alex W / Message Writer