This is a marathon series, not a sprint. For parts 1 and 2 click the following links (Part 1 … Part 2)

And now, the most common reason people raise the topic of being “under grace and not law…”

To get out of tithing.

Friends, I promise you there are a gazillion great reasons for living under grace rather than bondage to the Law, but the above is not one of them.

Once again, let’s take a look at Matthew 5:17-18,

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

Since we know now that Jesus did not ever claim to be abolishing the law (quite the opposite in fact) we now need to ask what He meant by, “fulfilling the law.” How was the law not fulfilled before Christ?

Or, to put it another way, How was it not ‘accomplished?’ How was it not ‘complete?’ How was it not ‘established?’

It was none of these things because it was entirely temporal in nature. That’s right, the law was never meant to be the end all, beat all, show-stopper of Christianity. It couldn’t be. Why? Because every sacrifice offered for sin before Christ (no matter how close to perfect it seemed) was imperfect because of the Fall—because of the sin disease. So these temporary, imperfect sacrifices could do no more than point the way to the perfect lamb who would one day come, live a completely sinless life, and pay the sin price once for all with His shed blood on the cross. This is why we no longer need to offer sacrifices to God of lambs and goats and rams or anything else for that matter. It’s done, over, accomplished. Didn’t Jesus say this on the cross?

“IT IS FINISHED!”

But what about the law? Does this mean that it should be abolished as well?

No. Jesus already said it would not be—it would be fulfilled, but not abolished. The purpose of the sacrificial system was completely fulfilled on the cross at Calvary, but the purpose of the law (to point people to Christ) will not be completely fulfilled until everyone who the Holy Spirit points to Jesus is saved and we see Jesus face to face.

Now listen very carefully at this point because here is where I may lose some of you. You can’t be saved through the law (you never could) but the law still points out the fact that we are sinners in need of a savior. It’s just that we do not respond to the conviction of the law by going out and purchasing a nice, plump little lamb and burning it on a make shift altar in our garage. No, we respond to the conviction the law brings by accepting the once for all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. People in the Old Testament were saved by faith in God for what He would one day do. People in Jesus’ day were saved by faith in the present Lord and what He was doing. Today we are saved by faith in the finished work of Christ. No matter what point in history you lived there is still (as Luke said in Acts 4:12) only salvation through Christ—“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Ok, pastor Rob, I get that, but what about those pesky “seemingly contradictory” passages you alluded to earlier? Passages like Ephesians 2:15-18, where it seems like Paul is saying the opposite of what Jesus is saying? Or Hebrews 7:18-19? Quickly, I’ll address each of these…

First, the passage in Ephesians. Here it is,

“¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

 The scope of Jesus’ work as our “peace” is detailed here.

First is the work of union which is bringing together both Jews and Gentiles–that is, “believing” Jews and Gentiles. They are no longer Jews or Gentiles, but Christians. Strictly speaking, it is not accurate even to speak of them as Jewish Christians or Gentile Christians. All fleshly distinctions, such as nationality, were nailed to the cross.

The second phase of Christ’s work for our peace might be called, “demolition:”

“He has broken down the dividing (middle) wall of separation…”

This speaks not of a literal wall, but of an invisible barrier set up by the Mosaic Law of the commandments contained in the ordinances which separated the people of Israel from the nations around them. This is talked about in the Believer’s Commentary as follows,

“The non-literal wall that spiritually separated the Jews from the pagan nations around them if often illustrated the literal wall which restricted non-Jews to the Court of the Gentiles in the Temple area. On the wall were no Trespassing signs which read: “Let no one of any other nation come within the fence and barrier around the Holy place. Whoever is caught doing so will himself be responsible for the fact that his death will ensue.”

Umm, ouch.

Pretty strict, eh?

The third aspect of Christ’s work was the abolition of the enmity that smoldered between Jew and Gentile and also between man and God. That is what’s being abolished–not the law. Paul identifies the law as the “innocent cause of the enmity, that is, the law of the commandments contained in the ordinances. The law of Moses was a single legislative code; yet it was made up of separate, formal commandments; these in turn consisted of dogmas or decrees covering many, if not most, areas of life. The law itself was just, holy, and good (Romans 7:12), but man’s sinful nature used the law as an occasion for hatred. Because the law actually did set up Israel as God’s chosen earthy people, many Jews became arrogant and treated Gentiles with contempt. In return, as one can imagine, the Gentiles weren’t the Jews biggest fans either.

Jesus died to pay the penalty for all law that has been broken by anyone at any time. Thus, He completely satisfied the righteous claims of the Father. Now approaching God via a strict adherence to the rule book (the Law) would be foolish (and useless). The law was a GPS instrument meant to point the way to Jesus. It was a runner in a relay meant to hand it off to the final runner–Jesus–who took the baton and ran the final lap. In this sense, it is correct to say that believers are no longer under the law but under grace.. However, this does not mean that they can live as they please; it means they are now enlawed to Christ, and should live as He pleases.

And Hebrews 7:18-19?

“¹⁸ For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.”

This one’s easier. Simple really. Again, this passage isn’t talking about “abolishing” the law in the sense that we are trashing the 10 commandments or something. It’s talking about the ultimate upgrade–from “something” that merely pointed out the problem of sin to “someone” who provided the solution! In coming to fulfill the law, Jesus would no longer point out our flaws and ask us to clean up our act–He would now “take all our flaws (sin)” upon Himself and deal with them once for all time.

The law couldn’t do this–it was inadequate. Jesus can and did–He’s more than adequate! But listen, again, that doesn’t mean the law was evil and needed to be abolished. It did it’s job.

Think of it like using a “Pointer Dog” on a  hunt. These dogs will literally ‘strike a pose’ (Not like Madonna–but you get the point) that resembles pointing. Follow the direction they seem to be pointing and you (the hunter) will locate your prey and can shoot it (sorry PETA readers). The dog was therefore, ‘useful’ in pointing you in the right direction, but your furry little companion is not going to kill the pheasant for you. So, since he can’t ‘complete the job’ does this make your little four legged friend bad? Should you ‘abolish’ him?

Of course not.

Listen, I know it’s not the perfect illustration, but hopefully your beginning to see where all this is headed. Living under Grace raises the bar, it doesn’t lower it. And it certainly doesn’t abolish it altogether.

Now, back to the tithe…

Look at Luke 11:42-43,

“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,^[a] but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”

Jesus here, indicted the Pharisees for the very thing they were so good at: majoring on the minors, concentrating on external details while ignoring that which was essential and eternal. It was not their tithing that was wrong, but their failure to love. In fact, if it were the tithing Jesus was getting at, then He would never have added, “…You should tithe, yes,…” Again, if tithing were wrong Jesus would not have said the opposite! Again, tithing was not even the issue here—it was, once again, a “matter of the heart.”

Listen, “If one truly loves. Tithing will follow, for while it is possible to give without loving, it is not possible to love without giving!”

To wrap up, here is what is meant by “fulfilling the law.” In fulfilling the law Jesus is saying that mere ‘shadow things’ are now revealed in all their fullness by the ‘shadow castor’ God (Jesus). Now both sin and good works move from the written tablet to being written upon our hearts. Here are some examples…

Examples of  both Sin and doing good—Old Testament (Law)

1. You shall not commit adultery.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself
3. Do not kill (commit murder)

Same Examples—New Testament (Grace)

1. To even look at a women lustfully is to commit adultery already in your heart (Matthew 5:28)
2. It’s not enough to love your neighbor. You should also love your enemies! (Matthew 5:43-44)
3. To even hate your brother is as bad as murder (1 John 3:15)

Question? What’s tougher, the law or grace?

Seems like grace after reading the above! But, if that’s all we glean from this then we’ve missed the point. Jesus certainly wasn’t trying to set up even higher hurdles to jump in the New Testament then we see in the Old Testament. No, what He was doing was clearly establishing the truth that we are all sinners whether we do bad things, think bad things, dream bad things or even try our hardest to do good things. That’s because we are born sinners! All of us. Every single one.

With one exception.

Jesus Christ.

But this still leaves unanswered the mystery of what Jesus meant by fulfilling the law.

He meant no more shadows, no more alluding, no more pointing, no more temporary fixes and no more outward conformity. He’s after the heart. The apostle Paul named the law a “school master that pointed out our sin and drove us to Jesus.” It is Christ alone who can transform us into sons and daughters who do good out of love for Him rather than by following a rule book. This is why Jesus said that the most important, most pivotal commandment of them all was the commandment to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul!” Why is it the most important? Because it’s a “matter of the heart.” And out of love in our hearts for Christ (from His Holy Spirit living inside us) comes the power to live righteously before Him–a power no rule book is capable of giving.

To those, therefore, who protest that the concept of tithing being prescribed in the law is no longer relevant to those who live under grace, I point out the following: Tithing is seen prior to the law when Abraham tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20). Tithing was commended by Jesus when He told the Pharisees that, although they should remember justice and mercy, they should not cease to tithe (Luke 11:42). Tithing was taught by the apostle Paul when he told the Corinthians to give according to how, God had prospered them (1 Corinthians 16:2)—which the early church took to mean tithing, as is seen in the writings of Jerome and Chrysostom. Tithing precedes the law, is spoken of by the Lord, and is seen in the Epistles. Therefore, to say tithing is not applicable in this day and age, I believe, a failure to understand the full council of scripture and church history. And what is the result of this failure?

Malachi 3:9 says, “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.”

Whoa Pastor Rob! Now hold on a minute. A curse? What curse?

Haggai 1:9 says, “You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses.”

We bring home our paychecks. Where does it go? The Lord says, “I blew it all away! It’s cursed because you’ve robbed Me. What could have been, what I shaped you for, created you for, longed to see in you can’t be blessed because the blessing has been removed.”

Back to Malachi 3 (verse 10)

“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

This is the only place in all of scripture where God says, “Prove Me!” And if we do, according to Jon Courson (one of the best theologians ever and one of my favorites—if you haven’t guessed by now) we’ll see at least 3 things happen…

1. Reward – The Lord will open the windows of heaven and bless us in ways we can’t possibly imagine (BTW, you might miss His blessing if all you’re looking for [and all you are willing to accept] is financial blessings).
2. Rebuke – Satan is a destroyer, a murderer, a deceiver, a liar. If you can recall times when you have robbed God and things started happening—refrigerators burned out, cars broke down, friends betrayed you—and you wondered what was going on, it could be that you removed yourself from the promise of covering; that you made yourself vulnerable to the devouring of the enemy.
3. Revival – When we tithe, fruitfulness will reign in our lives once again to such a degree that even those around us will notice it.

• So excited to see so many people “getting it” when it comes to being more generous! People are sending in their stories over and over again—finding out that God is faithful!
• So proud of the staff team we have @Southbrook Church! They are among the most sacrificial givers in the entire church!
• “Money will buy a bed but not sleep, books but not brains, food but not appetite, finery but not beauty, medicine but not health, luxury but not culture, amusement but not happiness, a crucifix but not a Savior, a temple of religion but not heaven.” –Anonymous   Don’t know who said this (obviously) but it’s powerful, huh?
• I’m praying for my Southbrook church family! Whenever a church teaches a series on giving and biblical stewardship—it can stir up a whole host of feelings—but I want so much for everyone to experience the goodness of God! He wants to bestow blessings on His children but we’ve got to trust Him.
• Tuesday night is the first meeting for the 2012 Mighty Men! Pray for the 29 men who are desiring to take their Christian walk to the next level! I have a feeling God is going to do great things through this group!
• My little girl will be 13 years old tomorrow. A house full of teenagers! One word….AAAaaaaauuuuggghhhh!!!
• On a serious note…My little girl is growing up. It’s a happy/sad experience. She’s my little princess and each year brings her closer to the possibility of leaving home to start a family of her own. Michelle and I are praying now that she will find a godly man who loves the Lord even more than she does—and even more than he loves her. If that sounds odd, think of the alternative—a man who loves himself more than her! Ugh! Makes me want to clean my shotgun every time a boy comes anywhere near her!
• Here it is, Superbowl Sunday—but God is doing so many awesome things in our family and the larger Southbrook family that football seems pretty small in the scheme of things. Think I’ll go spend some time with my soon 12 year old girl before she turns 13.

Just joining this discussion? Then click here to catch up.

With me now? Good. Then you know that we left off yesterday’s discussion with the cryptic (to some) statement about the law that Jesus made in Matthew 5:17-18 when He said,

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” This is one of the most misquoted scriptures in all the Bible, but even when people do get it right, they often don’t understand it correctly”

Friends? It is absolutely vital that we understand not only exactly what Jesus was saying here, but also exactly what He was not saying.

What’s another way of putting this?

Commentator Jon Courson says the following,

“When it comes to Jesus’ statement, “I have not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it, what He’s saying is, “I am not seeking to weaken it, but to establish it.”

The age old barrier to mankind being reconciled with God is not our only sin—another one is our inability to think of ourselves as ‘sinners.’ People think, “Well, I’m a pretty good person.” But the law says, “Oh really? Well here’s your standard.” And suddenly, as they read through the law, they realize they’re sinners in need of a savior. At least we hope they realize this. Some read through the law and are only inspired to try harder to be good—an exercise in futility if ever there was one. Many of those at Southbrook Church have heard me say this before, but it’s worth saying again.

“God’s not after our behavior, He’s after our heart!”

That’s right, it’s always been a “matter of the heart.” From Old Testament times to New Testament times to modern times—and it’s still a matter of the heart for God.

So, it’s not that the law is abolished and we can all cast off restraint and do anything and everything we want—nor is it the opposite, that by fulfilling the law Jesus meant to just add more laws. It’s neither. It’s about our motivation for doing good things and not doing bad things.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter where we live, where we go to school, what job we have, who our family is—anywhere we are and everything we do can either be “as unto the Lord,” or it can be, “as unto ourselves.”

For example, I can workout at the YMCA (and do – Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed!) and it can be an act of worship if I say, “Lord, I thank You for the fact that I can exercise. Help me to somehow reflect you even as I go through my routine workout. May this be a time where I actually encourage others around me and really be thankful to you form the heart!”

You are in the Holy of Holies at that time, even though there isn’t a worship team or pew or pulpit in sight (unless I’m doing preacher curls – sorry, that was weak). Does this mean you should never read your Bible, or pray, or tithe, or go to church? Of course not. It means, however, that our motivation for doing these things changes. Instead of feeling responsible to demonstrate your level of spirituality, you realize the work has already been done, the price paid, the victory won—and study of the Word, prayer, tithing, fasting, serving one another, and any number of other spiritual disciplines changes from one of responsibility to one of response.

I love the example theologian and pastor Jon Courson shared on this,

“When my wife gives me a Valentine, I don’t say, “I better read this. In fact, I’ll have to discipline [myself to set aside some time each day] to do it. I’ll begin carving out time tomorrow. Hope I can stay awake. Hope she’s impressed that I read it.” That’s crazy! And yet we take the Valentine of God’s Word—His love letter to us—and say, “Well I better discipline myself. Hope I can stay awake. Where should I start?” When you’re in love with someone, you want to know what she’s saying, what he’s thinking, what they’re feeling. You want to know her mind; you want to hear his heart”

Why do I study the Bible? Because I am so impressed with the Father that I want to know more about Him!

Tomorrow I will wrap this up with the main reason I started this blog series in the first place—for those who mistakenly believe that tithing is somehow ‘wrong’ because we are “not under the law, but under grace…’

You won’t want to miss it!

Years ago when reading the Old Testament I would get a little discouraged with all the law requirements—how in the world could people remember all that stuff let alone obey it?! Some of you are thinking, “Are you serious, Pastor Rob? Who can’t remember 10 simple commandments?”

First of all, there weren’t just ’10 simple commandments’ there were actually 613 laws! Second of all, recent “man on the street” surveys have been done that show that the average person living in supposedly  “Christian” America cannot name more than 2 of the 10 commandments! So it would seem most of us are not quite ready to pick the Bible category on the game show, ‘Jeopardy.’

All this makes me so thankful to have been born and called as a child of God after Christ came and paid for my sins on the cross—a time period many refer to as, “the age of grace.” The Lord’s mercy and grace toward me is the greatest gift I’ve ever received—should be for every believer.

But, sadly, grace is not always understood let alone embraced by Christ followers today. In fact, when it comes to grace, the reactions of Christians run the full gambit. Some full-on abuse it. Others take it for granted. Still others don’t see the difference between grace and law at all. Another group will embrace it at the moment of salvation but then spend their lives trying to earn it. All these responses are unbiblical responses to God’s great gift. Let’s talk about a couple of them…

First, there are those who basically spit in the face of God’s grace. I call them “The Grace Mace Crowd”. Paul talked about the grace mace group in Romans chapter 6 verses 1-2,

“¹ What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

Since this was said at the very beginning of chapter 6, we need to take a look at what was said about grace in the previous chapter.

“¹⁹ For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

What this is saying is that, because of Adam’s failure, sin continually enters the world. Like babies tragically born addicted to crack/cocaine because of the sin of their mothers, we have been condemned because of Adam’s sin and continue sinning as a result. However, the apostle Paul teaches us that the grace of God is greater than our sin! This should cause us to rejoice!—to have great hope! But, sadly, it sometimes evokes a different response…

Which brings us up to speed with the beginning of chapter 6. Paul—as though anticipating the argument from the “Grace Mace” crowd–pens chapter 6 as a preemptive strike against cheap grace and easy believism.

“¹ What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

He’s saying, if all we want to do is grab the “Get out of Hell Free” card from God and then live the rest of our lives for the devil—we’ve cheapened grace and spit on God’s precious gift! No one whose heart was truly transformed would ever respond that way!

All too often, Christians try to fight sin by preaching, “No, no, no.” Paul’s method was to teach, “Know, know, know!” He said, “Know you have a new identification with Jesus Christ (vs. 3-5); know you have freedom through the cross (vs. 6-15); and know some things about Jesus’ cause (vs. 16-20).

Others respond to the “age of grace” by nullifying the Old Testament usually with dead giveaway phrases like, “We’re no longer under law, but under grace now.” While technically this is true, I find it of utmost importance to get people to clarify exactly what they mean by that. It’s vitally important because this line of reasoning can very easily lead to the same approach to God that the “Grace Macers” use.

How so, Pastor Rob?

Simple really. If we carry this idea that we are ‘no longer under law’ to extremes, what comes next?

• The law was bad?
• The law can be ignored?
• I’ll obey the ones I want to and ignore the others?

Truth is, the law wasn’t bad—it had its purpose. And its purpose was very important. Once again, the apostle Paul verifies this in Romans 7:7,

“Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”

And again writing to the Galatians in Galatians 3:19,

“ ¹⁹ Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.”

So then, if the law is good, why did Jesus come to abolish it?

Who ever said He did?

Certainly not Jesus. No, the scripture people are thinking of (and butchering, I might add) when they make this misguided statement, is Matthew 5:17-18—though they almost never know where the scripture they’re “thinking of” is located when they misquote it. It’s a lot like the following misquote of scripture,

“Money is the root of all evil.”

Ever heard that one?

Sure you have. So have I. Only problem with it is, the Bible doesn’t say this…ANYWHERE! Here is the actual verse,

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” 1 Timothy 6:10

Two things we should notice right away are the words, “the love, a, all kinds,” and evil(s)” So it’s not money itself. Money isn’t good or bad—it’s an inanimate object for goodness sake! It’s whether or not it is an idol to us that makes all the difference. Do you “love” money more than God? That’s a problem.

And what about the phrase, “all kinds?” Well, that certainly encompasses a lot, but it doesn’t encapsulate all evil. Another example of an attitude that covers quite a lot of sin territory is the sin of pride—it was this sin that preceded the downfall of Lucifer (Satan).

And finally, the word is not “evil,” but rather, “evil(s)” – plural. Again pointing to many sinful outcomes but not all. Certainly the love of money is not the only trap the evil one can use to ensnare us.

So one can easily see how tiny changes in just one verse can alter the meaning quite a bit. With this in mind, let’s take a look at what Jesus actually said in Matthew 5:17-18,

“¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Matthew 5:17-18

What’s this? Not only did Jesus NOT say that He came to ‘abolish’ the law—He actually said the exact opposite—that He did “NOT come to abolish the law.” So how in the world do people get the notion that Jesus came to abolish the law from a scripture that says the exact opposite?

Simple, they view other scriptures that seem to say this and then forget to go back to Matthew 5:17-18 in order to reconcile (or not) what other seemingly contradictory texts seem to be saying. When it comes to Matthew 5, I find most are simply ‘vaguely aware of some passage in the Bible “somewhere” where Jesus supposedly said that He came to abolish the law.’

Do you see how dangerous this is?

So then, just how do we reconcile all this?

Simple, we keep reading. When Jesus said He did not come to abolish the law he immediately followed up with what He did come to do to the law, “; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” He came to “fulfill it.”

And how did He do that?

Well, that’s for tomorrow’s post. I’m about to Carpal Tunnel out here and this post is already making a strong bid to be the longest I’ve ever written so…

Cya then!

What are You Craving?

“¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
² My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.”

Your Bible may say that the “sons of Korah wrote this particular Psalm. However, many commentators (and I agree) believe this is another Psalm of David—written at the time he was in exile from Jerusalem because of the rebellion of his son, Absalom. If this is true, we see David longing not for the palace he had or the power he once enjoyed. Nor do we see him pining away for the popularity or position he once held. No, instead, we see him longing for the presence of the Lord!

We may not realize this, but David’s longings—the cravings of his very soul are ours as well. The great early church theologian, Augustine once said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”

The problem?

Most of us haven’t got a clue what the underlying restlessness in our souls is all about! As a result, late at night we think we need noise, so we watch television. But when that doesn’t satisfy us, we go to the fridge and have a bowl of ice cream. Still, that does no good so we go online and peer into everyone else’s trivia on Facebook—still, the craving goes unmet. Finally, some of us will panic at how late it is and take some kind of medication to help force sleep upon our already weary souls only to wakeup more restless than ever because the yearning of our soul was left completely untouched.

Why?

Because it was for the Lord’s pleasure that we were created (see Revelation 4:11). Therefore, it is only when we are pleasing Him, spending time with Him that we find true satisfaction for our souls.