GODencounters is a movement of young adults who are wholeheartedly seeking a 24/7 experience of GOD, recklessly living for His renown



March 7, 2012

Out of This World?

[posted Spring 2012] Do you know what the big story was today?  The big headline?  There is a new iPad out!  Higher resolution, 4G, it’s awesome!  A close second is the Republican Primary races, or perhaps Peyton Manning’s release to free agency.  Those are the biggest priorities in our country right now, and nothing else really matters.

So what’s really going on out there?  Syria continues to kill its own people, and a UN report out today demonstrated that the Syrian Government is torturing people (often to death) in the state run hospitals.  In the U.S. tornados have ripped across the south, destroying homes, killing several and injuring hundreds more.  There was an avalanche that wiped out a village in Afghanistan.  The Sudanese government is trying to wipe out people living in the Southern part of that country since they have to leave Darfur alone.  In each of these stories there is a person or people working to make a difference, to shine a light into the darkness and give the people hope.

But hey, the iPad is IMPORTANT!  And Peyton Manning should be a Miami Dolphin!  Priorities!

It’s times like these that I am reminded of the advice for living the Apostle John gave us:
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. (I John 2:15-17)
Does that mean we can’t have cool stuff?  Of course not!  But if having stuff is our priority, we’ll lose sight of what is really important, which is our relationship with God.  And after awhile, the things we thought were so important before fade away, and we see the world as God sees it, beautifully and wonderfully made.  Not only that, we see opportunities to make our world a better place!

Like Jesus said, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also.”

Encounter: Where are the desires of your heart today?

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