Greater is He….

We live in troubled times. You don’t even need TV or newspapers to see it. If you have a Facebook account and friends, you can see that something isn’t quite right. Here’s the scenario: You wake up in the morning, make your cup of coffee, reach for your Smartphone and start scrolling through Facebook, just to see what’s going on with family and friends. But what do you really see? Images of social violence, political scandal, domestic abuse, and physical harm to unborn babies and overly vulgar “jokes.” In other words, rude, crude, and often explicit images that most people wouldn’t expect to see over morning coffee.

Here’s the thing – I am not in anyway, a prude. I have a sense of humor, and I have trouble sometimes controlling my own attitude and my mouth. But I’m trying. That said, I have also noticed something else… There is not one single person who is completely happy with the world we live in. Everyone I see expresses the idea that this world we live in is “going to hell”, and that’s because they’re right.

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

What’s the reason? A lack of God. Not because He’s abandoned or forsaken us, but because we’ve abandoned and forsaken Him! We, as a people, put our wants and desires first and foremost before and above the creator of the universe. The one being in existence who created everything and all of us, and we exclude Him from our lives on a regular, daily basis. We’re all guilty of it to some degree. All of us. There are many people who know He’s real and yet refuse to acknowledge Him in any way or worse, completely deny His existence. This way of life has tragic results. On the other hand, when we give our lives to the Lord, He says, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezk 36:26)

Let me ask you something… do you ever feel like there’s something missing in your life, but you just can’t put your finger on it? That’s God. He’s trying to get your attention. Ever feel like you need someone or something to comfort you? That’s God telling you He wants to give you His perfect love, and asks that you love Him in return. He’s polite though. He’s not going to barge in and take over your life. You have to want Him there. You have to invite Him in. But what do we do? We turn to material things, or even short-term relationships with people who we KNOW aren’t good for us, in an effort to fill that void in our lives. That’s what the world does to us. It leaves us empty, angry, and hurting.

Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

John 3:16 “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

1 John 4:4 – “ You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

All you have to do is invite Jesus into your heart, and the rest will follow. I’m not saying you’ll never struggle again, I’m saying you’ll never be alone again. And you’ll have the creator of the universe and all things in it to help you. And He will help you!

If this message has been a blessing to you. I ask that you please “like” and “share” it. I ask nothing in return. I just want to know that what God is giving me, is making it out there for his glory, and the enrichment of your spirit – In Jesus’ name, amen!

Rev. Crystal Bennett