Tag: happiness

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The scripture for today, February 17, is 1st John 2:17 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-COVER-KINDLE“The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.“

The previous verse in the KJV says there are three basic types of sins: Lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and pride of life. The lust of the flesh is feel-good things that we are willing to do anything to get, even if it is wrong. Lust of the eye is things and possessions that we are willing to do anything to get, even if it is wrong. The pride of life is power, prestige, a well-known name that we are willing to do anything to get, even if it is wrong.

But once we get what we crave ~ what we lust for ~ we end up just wanting a little more, and then a little more. We are never satisfied. All these things ~ the fleshly, the material, the power ~ are temporary.

Only one thing can ever give us what we truly crave ~ doing the gentle will of God. He is our Creator and he knows what will make us happy. Then we can have all we ever craved ~ forever.

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Daily, Inspirational2 Comments

The scripture for today, February 26, is Ecclesiastes 2:26 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

05-Inspirations-Cover-KINDLE“To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Are we happy regardless of how much wealth we do or do not have? Do we require things in order to be happy? Solomon, who wrote the above scripture, was the wealthiest man in the world, but he found it to be meaningless, a chasing after the wind. In another place in Ecclesiastes (5:10) he said that a man loving money never has enough. Wind indeed.

Centuries later, the apostle Paul, who did not own a home or much of anything else, explained his happiness: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:11b-12).

If we can do this, then we do indeed have wisdom ~ God’s wisdom.

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The scripture for today, February 11, is Ecclesiastes 2:11 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-COVER---Star-Song---flat“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind, nothing was gained under the sun.”

King Solomon wrote this. He tried everything to bring deep happiness and satisfaction. He tried writing proverbs and songs. He tried every pleasure there was. He tried working hard with his hands. He tried investing his money and becoming the richest man in the world. Nothing worked. He still couldn’t achieve the deep happiness he longed for.

There was a book published a few years ago entitled, HOW TO WANT WHAT YOU HAVE. It seems that, for most of us, the deep contented happiness we all crave is always just around the corner. If we could just be selected for that promotion, if we could just get married, if we could just get a pay raise, if we could just be on the winning team, if we could just have children, if we could just get that house or car. Always if. The problem is that, once we attain what we believe will bring us happiness, we just want the next promotion, the next pay raise, a different marriage partner, the next house, no children, the next car.

What was Solomon’s conclusion? You’ll find it in the final few verses of Ecclesiastes: True happiness comes from a love relationship with God

The scripture for today, June 6 (6/), is 1st Timothy 6:6f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”

Still, don’t we all do it?  Compare what we own with what our neighbor owns?  Work and strive to gain more and more?  A long time ago, a man wrote a book called, “How to Want What You Have.”  He emphasized that, to people who are never content with what they have, happiness is always right around the corner.  If we could just buy that object, or get that house, or obtain that promotion.  But once we get it, we are only satisfied briefly before happiness slips away again, and we decide we would truly be happy if we could buy yet another object, or get yet another house, or obtain yet another promotion.  And so we live our lives.

Let us dare to look around us today and tell ourselves, “I have all I need.”

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Daily, Inspirational2 Comments