“Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace!” Proverbs 3:17

The best thing you can do to find happiness is to stop looking for it. The more we pursue it the faster and further it flees from us. Nobody knew that better than Solomon. He tried everything under the sun in his search for satisfaction, but failed to find it. It was only when he turned to God that he found what he was looking for. The same is true of every person. This is where wisdom leads us. Consider these thoughts from the pen of A.W. Pink:

The Satan-deceived world imagines that godliness is a thing of gloom — rather than of gladness; that it is something which the saints endure — rather than enjoy. On the contrary, holiness is happiness!

It is neither the mirth of the fool, nor the giddy gaiety of the thoughtless — but a “peace which passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), and a heart-satisfaction not to be found elsewhere! So far from piety robbing us of freedom, it conducts into true liberty — delivering from the bondage of sin. Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).

God has established an inseparable connection between holiness — and happiness; between our pleasing Him — and our enjoyment of His providential smile.

Worldly mirth is at best evanescent — but the delights of holiness are eternal.

Only the One Who made us — can truly content us!

Note:The following is taken from a message by J.C. Ryle in 1879. I can’t help but wonder what he would think if he could see things as they are today. I,m also wondering—What are you thinking?

There is a common complaint in these days, that there is a lack of power in Christianity, and that the church does not shake the world as it did in former years. Shall I tell you what the reason is, in plain words? It is the low tone of life which is so sadly prevalent among professing believers. I believe we fall far short in our standard of Christian practice.

The times require a higher standard of personal holiness, and an increased attention to practical religion in daily life.

I must honestly declare my conviction, that there never has been . . .
so much profession of religion–without practice,
so much talking about God–without walking with Him,
so much hearing God’s Words–without doing them,
as there is at this present date!

Never were there so many empty tubs and tinkling cymbals!

Never was there so much formality–and so little reality!

The whole tone of men’s minds on what constitutes practical Christianity seems lowered. The old golden standard of the behavior which befits a Christian, appears debased and degenerated. You may see scores of religious people (so-called) continually doing things which in days gone by, would have been thought utterly inconsistent with vital Christianity! They see no harm in such things as theater-going, dancing, incessant novel reading–and they cannot in the least understand what you mean by objecting to them! The ancient tenderness of conscience about such things seems dying away and becoming extinct, like the dodo-bird.

And when you venture to remonstrate with those who indulge in them, they only stare at you as an old-fashioned, narrow-minded, fossilized person, and say, “What is the harm?” In short, laxity and levity are the common characteristics of the rising generation of professors.

Where is . . .
the self-denial,
the redemption of time,
the absence of luxury and self-indulgence,
the unmistakable separation from earthly things,
the manifest air of being always about our Master’s business,
the singleness of eye,
the simplicity of home life,
the high tone of conversation in society,
the patience, the humility, the universal love–
which marked Christians seventy or eighty years ago? Yes, where is it indeed? We have inherited their principles–but I fear we have not inherited their practice!

The Holy Spirit sees it–and is grieved! The world sees it–and despises us. The world sees it–and cares little for our testimony. It is life, life–a heavenly, godly, Christ-like life–depend on it, which influences the world!

If God loved you as much as you love Him where would you be? Let that sink in and be honest when you answer. It’s easy to sing,”O How I Love Jesus”, or to testify, “I just love the Lord so much”, but it’s another thing to prove it. And if there’s no proof there’s no love. God proved His love by giving His own dear Son, heaven’s best, for sinful man. But where is the evidence that we love Him?

Have you ever considered what the Bible says about the fruit of faith? If nothing is more important than trusting Christ and obeying Christ we dare not refuse to examine ourselves. Love for God will show itself in our worship, our work, our words, and our walk. A person’s lifestyle reflects what they think about God. Sadly, from all appearance, some don’t think much of Him.

Now, back to our question–” If God loved you as much as you love Him where would you be?”. Naturally we could never love Him as much as He loves us, but we could sure love Him more than we do. We ought to love Him as much as possible. Do we? Do you? Be honest!

God demands our love–it is the first and great commandment,and God deserves our love as well. To love Him less than we could or should is a sinful insult to God–a crime of the highest order. Yet, amazingly, He loves us still. His love is unconditional, undeserved and unending. Is that not all the more reason why we should love Him? No one ever has a reason to not love God. No one could ever do anything greater than to love God. This is the one thing that affects everything. If we fail here we have failed altogether.

I know how to abound.–Philippians 4:12

There are many who know “how to be abased” who have not learned “how to abound.” When they are set upon the top of a pinnacle their heads grow dizzy, and they are ready to fall. The Christian far oftener disgraces his profession in prosperity than in adversity. It is a dangerous thing to be prosperous. The crucible of adversity is a less severe trial to the Christian than the fining-pot of prosperity. Oh, what leanness of soul and neglect of spiritual things have been brought on through the very mercies and bounties of God! Yet this is not a matter of necessity, for the apostle tells us that he knew how to abound. When he had much he knew how to use it. Abundant grace enabled him to bear abundant prosperity. When he had a full sail he was loaded with much ballast, and so floated safely. It needs more than human skill to carry the brimming cup of mortal joy with a steady hand, yet Paul had learned that skill, for he declares, “In all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry.” It is a divine lesson to know how to be full, for the Israelites were full once, but while the flesh was yet in their mouth, the wrath of God came upon them. Many have asked for mercies that they might satisfy their own hearts’ lust. Fulness of bread has often made fulness of blood, and that has brought on wantonness of spirit. When we have much of God’s providential mercies, it often happens that we have but little of God’s grace, and little gratitude for the bounties we have received. We are full and we forget God: satisfied with earth, we are content to do without heaven. Rest assured it is harder to know how to be full than it is to know how to be hungry-so desperate is the tendency of human nature to pride and forgetfulness of God. Take care that you ask in your prayers that God would teach you “how to be full.”–From “Morning and Evening, by Charles Spurgeon

…be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only..–James 1:22

It was discovered that in the margin of several pages in D. L. Moody’s Bible that he had written the letters “T” and “P”, which meant “Tried” and “Proved”. In other words, Moody had put into practice what he read from God’s Word, and in each case proved it to be true. We ought to do the same. Whether you mark in your Bible or not is up to you, but we all ought to be marked by the Bible. When there is a command we ought to obey it. When there is a promise we ought to embrace it. When there is a principle we ought to follow it. Where there is a warning we ought to heed it. When we study the Bible it ought to be with the attitude that the learning is for the living. Just accumulating facts is not enough–we need to apply what we learn to how we live. Bible study should affect our heart and hands as well as our head. Don’t think of it as a task to endure, but as a treasure to explore.

We haven’t actually accepted what the Bible says until we apply it to our life. As J. A. Bengel wrote, “Apply yourself to the whole text, and apply the whole text to yourself”. That’s good advice.

Bruce Hurt writes— “Don’t be like Crowfoot, the Chief of the Blackfoot nation in southern Alberta, who gave the Canadian Pacific Railway permission to lay track from Medicine Hat to Calgary, and in exchange received a lifetime railroad pass.  Reportedly, Crowfoot put the pass in a leather pouch and wore it around his neck for the rest of his life – but he never once availed himself of the rights and privileges it spelled out.  He had the ‘truth’ but never acted upon it.  If we study to now but never do, we like Chief Crowfoot will never fully tap into the blessing of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ep.1:3).”