Gateway Church - MO

Anymore it seems like almost everyone is a cynic. The lack of trust in institutions and the constant barrage of negative views found on social media platforms gives us a lot to by cynical about. But cynicism is deadly to our relationships and our faith. The good news is that we don’t have to be cynical. We can learn a lot from the innocent faith that our children have. In fact, Jesus calls us to that kind of faith. The truth is, a childlike faith protects from the cynicism of our world.

Discontentment is a way of life. We hate being discontent, but we are trained to live that way. In fact, an entire segment of our economy is based on our discontentment. We have become discontent with just about every aspect of our lives. We long for satisfaction, but it always seems just out of our grasp. But there is an antidote. The secret to satisfaction is the practice of gratitude. 

One of the most subtle poisons in our lives is greed. Most of us don’t see ourselves as greedy. We’re simply cautious or wise with our money and our stuff. But the truth is, when we hold to tightly to what we have, it isn’t long until our possessions possess us. When we are under the influence of greed, we stop trusting God and our soul slowly dies. But there is an antidote: Generosity. Generosity protects me from being possessed by my possessions.

Fear is one of the most toxic things we can encounter. Fear causes us to freeze up. It causes us to invent problems and monsters that don’t exist. Fear frequently gets in the way of our obedience to God. But when we focus on Jesus, the fear in our lives – both real and imagined – fade to the background. When Jesus is at the center of our lives, fear cannot control us.

Pride is one of those toxins that’s easy to see in others but hard to identify in ourselves. But our pride is one of the things that keeps us at arm’s length from God. However, when we are willing to admit our need and our weaknesses and humble ourselves before God, he is drawn to us and our lives point others to Him.

Anger has a way of saturating every aspect of our lives. Anger, left untreated, spreads like a poison and infects every relationship we have. Unchecked, it always infects and that infection leads to bitterness. But when we learn to let go of our anger by forgiving others and trusting God, the poison stops spreading. When I let go of my anger, bitterness lets go of me.

It has been said that the ultimate thief is death. Death steals our future, our hopes and dreams and ultimately our peace. If you have ever grieved the loss of someone, you know how death can rob you of everything including peace. But Jesus conquered death through his own death and resurrection. In defeating death, he robbed it of its power. When Jesus is in the room, not even death can steal your peace.

Sometimes there things that rob our peace. Health issues, relationship breakdowns, just life in general. Our natural response when our peace is gone is to work and fight to get it back. There are many things that promise peace, but they fail to deliver in the end. Ultimately the peace we need comes from just one source; Jesus. He restores peace when nothing else can.

Many of life's storms are the result of what is going on around us. And often we have no control over them. But the strongest storms we face are often the ones that rage inside of us. The truth is that most of our fear, stress, worry and anxiety are the result of spiritual needs that we have tried to meet in ways that only Jesus can. But the storms inside of us are still subject to the power and authority of King Jesus. He not only calms the storms around us, Jesus also calms the storms within us.

Sometimes if feels like life is out of control. Chaos, confusion, frustration and anxiety seem to mark our days more and more frequently. We often feel overwhelmed and wonder if we can keep our heads above water. It can all be pretty discouraging. But there's good news.  In scripture we see that Jesus is bigger than our storms and when we call on him, he will bring order out of chaos and peace in the midst of the storm. Jesus, the Lord of all creation, offers us his peace even when the storms are raging.