Gateway Church - MO

When I Begin To LOVE What God VALUES, I Begin To VALUE What God LOVES.

Having conviction can put us into uncomfortable circumstances. When we stand for godly values in a world that either doesn't understand or doesn't like those values, we can find ourselves alone with the odds against us. But if we have the conviction to stand for God, He promises to use the stand we take to make a difference… EVEN IF He doesn't change our circumstances.

When we think of conviction, we think of standing against evil or moral corruption. For most of us, having conviction means taking a stand against something. And that is often the case.  But sometimes conviction isn't as much about standing alone as it is being willing to stand tall and let God use us where we are needed most, even if it's risky or unpopular.

If we are followers of Jesus there will be times when we must take a stand against what the world is doing, even if we are the only ones to take that stand. However, taking a stand doesn't have to mean making an enemy. It's possible to take a stand that honors God and still loves people, even the people we stand against. And when our convictions honor God and love people, we can trust that God will honor our stand.

Discontentment: Not being satisfied with what you have. There is an entire segment of our society and economy build on our discontentment. The focus of advertising is to make us discontent with what we have so we’ll buy more. But that discontentment impacts more than just our buying habits. We are a culture of people who have become discontent with just about every aspect of our lives and that discontentment robs us of our joy. We long for joy, but it always seems just out of our grasp. But what if we can have real joy? What if the secret to joy is found in learning to be content?

We’ve all heard the expression, “you are what you eat.” What you feed your body impacts your health, your mind and even how you feel.  The same is true for our minds.  The direction of our thoughts is the direction our life will take.  When we focus on junk, it derails our relationships and robs us of our joy. When we focus on those things worth focusing on, we experience the joy of a transformed life.

Fear, or at least anxiety, seems to be at epidemic levels in our society. We face fear and anxiety from politics, to health, to relationships and everything in between. Few things rob us of joy faster or more completely than anxiety. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul provides an antidote to fear and anxiety that brings us peace and joy. And when we learn to pray and praise with an attitude of thanksgiving, God brings peace in the midst of our circumstances.

If you are religious or if you’ve been around religious people, then you know that religion can be exhausting. So many rules. So many things to do and other things to not do. And depending on what religious group you’re with, the list changes. But what if religion wasn’t what God is after. What if what he really wants is a relationship. While religion can drain us and rob us of joy, a real relationship with God refreshes us and fills our lives with joy.

Some people are great to be around. They add joy to our lives. But SOME people drain our joy and leave us exhausted. What do we do when “some people” make our relationships harder than they have to be? We love them like Jesus loved us. When we learn to love the “some people” in our lives the way Jesus loves us, they become real people who can be a source of real joy in our lives.