This morning I was listening to my Pandora Jeremy Camp
Station and all of a sudden I heard “a beat” and rapping, and I thought to
myself, “what in the world is this song doing on this station”. Then I heard the familiar melody of “Lose my
Soul” by Toby Mac. Now it made sense. I hadn’t heard this song in years! It
definitely got me thinking (and helped me get my groove on!lol…thank goodness I
live alone ha!). Then, I went to Church
in which the sermon kept my thought process going, forcing me to try and write
it all down.
The
main point in Toby Mac’s song is: “I don’t want to gain the whole world, and
lose my soul”. It’s a mantra that is
sung over and over again, and I believe that we should
always stop and reflect on our own lives to see if we are letting the glitter
of “this world” blind us of the things eternal.
Are we so focused on our jobs and getting promotions that we are
sacrificing time with God and our families? Are we so wrapped up with material things
that we are putting in late hours at work in order to buy the latest and
greatest tv’s, clothing, cars, sofas…whatever it may be? Are we letting the busyness of being “here”
and making appearances “there” crowd our lives with so much clutter and a
desire to increase in popularity among men that we can no longer see the image
of our loving Savior crying out to come and seek Him? Are we putting all our effort into a new
boyfriend/girlfriend relationship and turning to them for fulfillment instead
of realizing God is the only one who can ever truly fill our hearts first, thus
allowing His love to trickle down into our precious relationship and bless
it? Jesus makes it crystal clear: "No one can serve two masters; for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one
and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth” (Matthew
6:24).
Are you loving the world so much, that you are turning
away from the heavenly perfect love that was made for you? There is hope and there is help for you. Church this morning seemed to fit perfectly
with how to get back to loving God and step away from self-absorption and
worldly absorption. It’s funny how the
Holy Spirit makes things fit so perfectly together sometimes huh? So I’m going
to write about what the Pastor talked about in Church this morning. I cannot take any credit for this, it’s all
his message which I’m sure in turn he would give God all the glory for the
words that he spoke this morning.
First, you must restore your relationship with God. The best way to do this is to set aside quiet
time with Him. Pour out your heart to
Him. Open up His Word and allow it to
flow into your soul. It also helps to
talk to others about where you are at and where you want to go. Where 2 or more are gathered in His name, He
is surely there! Once you are living in
close relationship with God, you will begin to see how things of this world
become less and less appealing. You will
begin to see how some of our culture’s lies that supposedly lead to happiness
are only dark holes that suck you in and leave you feeling lost inside. Second, restore your relationships with those
close to you. Build one another up and
help each other walk closely with God. Third,
restore your relationship with those far from you like with volunteering or
mission work. As you draw closer and
closer to God and to your brothers and sisters in Christ, you will be
overflowing with love that You cannot help but desire to perform acts of
charity.
God wants to give you the pure joy and the unfailing hope
that Jesus earned for you on the cross. He wants you to set down those files
and paperwork on Sunday morning and come know Him through the Church. He wants you to turn off The Bravo’s Real
Housewives at night(yes, this truly applies to myself!) and tune into quiet
time with Jesus. A lot of people reading
this are thinking, “I’m too busy, I just don’t have enough time”. So start slow, spend 5 minutes a day alone
with God. I dare you! You will be amazed at where it will take you! Our souls were made to love God. Nothing else on this earth will satisfy that
hunger deep within each one of us…nothing.
My prayer tonight is that you take the time to walk with Him. Let Him show you the ways to everlasting joy
instead of following the lies of the world.
I pray you lose your grasp on this world and hold tight to the hands
that loved you before the world ever began.
Help me to stay that way through all life's demands,
'Cause they chip and they nag and they pull at me,
And every little thing I make up my mind to be,
Like I'm gonna be a daddy whose in the mix,
And I'm gonna be a husband who stays legit,
And I pray that I'm an artist who rises above,
The road that is wide and filled with self love,
Everything that I see draws me,
Though it's only in You that I can truly see that its a feast for the eyes- a low blow to purpose.
And I'm a little kid at a three ring circus.
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.
America has no more stars, now we call them idols,
You sit idle, While we teach prosperity,
The first thing to prosper should be inside of me.”
