Category: Sister Judy (Page 250 of 271)

Devotions from Gary Thomas’ book Pure Pleasure

Jean Vanier, founder of L’Arche, an international community for people with intellectual disabilities said, “ So many people with disabilities are seen by their parents and families only as a tragedy…. But every child, every person, needs to know that they are a source of joy; every child, every person, needs to be celebrated. Only when all of our weaknesses are accepted as part of our humanity can our negative, broken self-images be transformed.”  The sooner we accept our weaknesses as part of our humanity, the more we can learn to embrace others.  Our homes should be a place we here we are loved, celebrated, and enjoyed, not a place of judgment and disappointment.  Let us take pleasure in one another. Families begin to break down when they stop enjoying one another. Children are not just projects to be improved but real people to be enjoyed, to laugh with, to relate to, to play with.  Families often get obsessed by fears, worry about the future, and concerns of all that could go wrong. When we do this we bury the present and its joy and no longer build times of pleasure together.  Enjoying the present instead reminds us of all that is right. Today why not ask ourselves what we can do to bring pleasure to our spouse, kids, and friends.

Devotions based on Gary Thomas’ book Pure Pleasure

In Ecc 7:16, 18 it says “Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise- why destroy yourself?… The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.”  Some may make an idol out of poverty, wanting to be more pious. Spurgeon believed in riding first class on the train and a smug man approached him and said he was trying to take care of the Lord’s resources, and was traveling 3^rd class. Spurgeon answered him, “You take care of the Lord’s resources, and I shall take care of the Lord’s servant!”   Of course we should act responsibly but some might choose to skimp on some things in order to find pleasure in something else. “Cheaper is better” doesn’t always square with scripture.  We can make frugality a god when we sacrifice family.  The author is very big on family fun times together . Kids grow up quickly and that season of raising them ought to have some fun family times together, even if it means saving all year .  Let us not judge one another in this area. One woman challenged Gary Thomas on regularly buying Chai tea from Starbucks. She on the other hand was driving a much more expensive vehicle than his Ford.  Let each of us find balance in our own lives

Devotions from Gary Thomas’ book Pure Pleasure

As Christians we need to embrace and celebrate true, godly pleasure, lest we become susceptible to soul-destroying substitutes. If we feel all pleasure is wrong, then we squeeze all the joy out of life and  end up squeezing part of God out of life too. We close ourselves off from the beautiful, and all-inviting side of God.  But He also gives us appropriate boundaries.  We can tell if a pleasure verges on becoming a dangerous threat to us by: 1. Thinking about it all the time. 2.Getting impulsive about it. 3. Getting compulsive about it. 4. Getting out of control about it etc.  It’s important to control our pleasures or they will control us. We must not become a slave to anything. There is a hierarchy of pleasure-with God at the top- that orders all of our other pleasures.  He designed us to receive pleasure in many ways as He is preparing us for an eternity of pleasures for ever more!  Let us have a healthy balance and not go off into extremes.  We need the right mix of work and play for even He rested on the 7^th day.

Devotions from Gary Thomas’ book Pure Pleasure

Our need is to live IN the pleasure instead of living For the pleasure.  When we live In the pleasure, we take time to savor it; that moment becomes sacred. When we live For the pleasure, we often get so tied up with the expectations, fear, anxiety, and a sense of entitlement that we just rush right through it and never really enjoy it. We fear that someone will take it away from us. We need spiritual strength to enjoy pleasure in this world. Without self-control, our passions become like minefields of potential spiritual destruction. “Some of us need permission to embrace pleasure; others need to gain more responsibility and self-control so that they can truly enjoy the pleasures they’ve previously polluted with a lack of discipline.”

We need to seek His kingdom first and His righteousness, and then all the other things will be added as well. When we come to know the Lord we receive a new heart and new desires. And as we delight in Him, He gives us the desires of our hearts. Ps. 37:4.

As we surrender our pleasure to God’s design, our desires become a reflection of His.  As we live this day may we let God redefine and shape what brings us pleasure.

Devotions from GaryThomas book, Pure Pleasure

Peter Kreetf said “I agree that pleasure as such is good, but not that all pleasant things are good.”
In James 4 it says that friendship with the world is hatred toward God. And if we choose to be a friend of the world we become an enemy of God.
“Desire divorced from God becomes decadence. Decadence, in turn, chases away true, godly pleasure. We have an obligation to preserve holy pleasure, in part by approaching God with open, inquiring hands: “May I have this?’” When we run our pleasures by God, He acts as the filter, telling us what will build us and what will destroy us at any given moment. It is not wise to seek pleasure apart from God or we become enslaved. He wants to provide for us and will satisfy and nourish us. So many think that holiness and pleasure are opposites. But Holiness is pleasure’s truest friend. We find spiritual health in trusting that God knows best, and will give us strength to choose the best.

 A test of overpleasure (that is a sense of entitlement), is seen when we have to delay our pleasure or it is taken away and we get very upset. For example the author loves to jog but if his schedule is interrupted and it becomes a major issue, then it has become an overpleasure. We are not entitled to it at all times over and above our relationships and responsibilities.

“The brilliance of Christianity is that it gives us permission to enjoy appropriate pleasure as well as the power to enjoy pleasure without becoming its slave, which in turn preserves pleasure for the long haul.”

Devotions from Gary Thomas’s book Pure Pleasure

Francis Fenelon said, ”What do we need?…..Not to neglect our own needs while devoting ourselves  to those of others, and not to neglect the needs of others while being engrossed in our own.”

If we live our life out of obligation, neglecting our need for rest and recreation, we ultimately choose a spiritual breakdown..  Our pride leads us to believe that we can set unhealthy schedules and not suffer the consequences. This is not faith is it neurosis.  Dr Carnes said he sees relaxation and leisure as essential to break the cycle and power of addictions.  Almost all relapses from any addiction starts with life-style imbalance. Living in the extremes and being overextended leads us to addictive feelings of entitlement ….that we deserve it and just a little won’t matter.  Well meaning Christians can say they don’t need occasional times of rest and pleasure and end up spiritualizing the breaking of the rules by calling it “faith”.  We need to be humble and not keep driving ourselves into the ground or we will have a spiritual meltdown.

Let us ask ourselves if we are living, worshiping, and ministering out of a sense of joy and delight in the Lord, or are we driven by frustration, duty, and obligation? Let us delight in God so that we can delight in others and even delight in life.

Devotions from Gary Thomas’ book Pure Pleasure

There is no doubt how important praying, serving, giving, meditating etc is. But they are not the only pleasures, for God accepts more than “religious activities”.  We must give ourselves permission to sip a cup of coffee, watch a football game without feeling as if God has to excuse himself from the room. We need to build our life by making room for healthy pleasures that lift our soul in the midst of our most difficult days. We can put our family, our health, our ministry in jeopardy by living as though we can’t go 24-7 without a break. Let us think about what gives us lasting pleasure. What leaves us refreshed, renewed and revitalized?  I think we would find it different for all of us. Some enjoy pleasure in touching like a hot-oil massage.  Some find it from hearing like listening to our favorite group on a fabulous sound system.  Or some people get pleasure from tasting- like enjoying a gourmet meal.  Others derive pleasure from looking at a breath-taking scene. Many find great pleasure in creating things like painting a scene of beauty. Others may relish mental stimulation like word puzzles. Many find pleasure in connecting with others and relating in deep ways.  How about just sharing laughter with a friend?   Let us do what inspires us to the point that it inflates our soul and makes us long to be faithful and obedient..

Devotions based on the book Pure Pleasure by Gary Thomas

“Contempt for pleasure, so far from arguing superior spirituality, is actually ….the sin of pride. Pleasure divinely designed to raise our sense of God’s goodness, deepen our gratitude to Him, and strengthens our hope of richer pleasures to come in the next world. “ J. I. Packer.
In Ps. 37:4 we are told to delight in the Lord for He will give us the desires of our heart.
Sometimes when we feel tired and burned out and depressed we may think we need to fast, pray and fast some more. But sometimes the answer is practical and we may need a nap or just go have fun.  We may need to become more intentional in our life to enjoy the God-given pleasures, which can cause us to become more energized, more generous with our time, more patient etc.  When we get stuck the answer may not be more discipline but a Sabbath refreshment!

One way of fighting sin is to build into our lives holy pleasure…like getting together with close friends, having a round of golf, reading a novel etc. We need to feel free to pursue and cultivate and enjoy soul-filling pleasures that will leave us so full that we won’t have much time to dwell on the negative or illicit. But if we feel we must  always sacrifice our own pleasure and never take time for ourselves, our body will suffer the consequences of stress.  And when we don’t get refreshed, others around us will suffer as well!
Today let each of us take time for a pleasure that will fortify our soul, expand our spirit, and enlarge our hearts.

Devotions from Gary Thomas’ book Pure Pleasure

Dr. Houston said “For Christians who live closely with God, life is like a festival.”
In fact if we live in a spirit of gloom it denies the effectiveness of Jesus sacrifice on the cross. He set us free and our freedom needs to be realized and celebrated.

IF God’s people can’t play and celebrate, then who can?  To call God anti-pleasure is to dishonor Him who created pleasure and who promises pleasures for evermore.

Of course we need to set boundaries so we don’t fall captive to the enemy. But also we must remember that because something is wrong in excess doesn’t mean it is unhealthy in moderation.

Heaven is a place of extravagance and the most important part of heaven will be living in the presence of God…But His presence will also set us free to truly enjoy all that He has made for our benefit. Can you even imagine the feasting, the rejoicing, dancing, singing, laughing and playing? 
“When we embrace pleasure we stand on God’s ground.  He uses pleasure to motivate us and to bless us.”  …..chances are it will lead to worship!

Devotions from Gary Thomas’  Pure Pleasure

Do we really know what it means to live in the love of God and to believe He delights in us?

Julian of Norwich said,” He makes us love all that He loves, for His love’s sake, and makes us take pleasure in Him and all His works.

God isn’t just our Redeemer, he is also our creator and brilliant designer. “He made us, and He made the world. So when we participate in this world as he made it, we celebrate Him every bit as much as we honor Him when we do things that reflect His redeeming work.  In fact, we insult Him when we deny the glory of God in His creativity.” He is more than our Savior and rescuer for He invites us to enjoy Him and all that He has made.  He wants us to use the world to enjoy Him for it points to Him.  That means we can enjoy prayer and worship etc but we can also enjoy traveling, reading for pleasure, laughter, exercise etc. When we are “redeemed by Jesus, we are finally set free to truly enjoy and participate in the things of this world without becoming sinfully entangled by them.” In a literal sense, every aspect of our lives that we find satisfying ultimately has its roots in God’s goodness. But if we use pleasures contrary to God’s design then it can become an idolatry. 
So may we let God’s blessings and pleasures remind us of God rather than to dull us to His presence. Under His rule, this created world becomes a lovely place of worship, delight, and spiritual wonder.