Author: Dave Dishman (Page 30 of 451)

Ever wonder what’s out there? Does it feel like there should be more to this life? In a quiet moment, does your heart long for something unknown?

King Solomon wrote that God has put eternity into man’s heart. Our restless feelings stem from a heart seeking its true home.

Saint Augustine struggled as his heart found its way to God through a circuitous route. He wrote of his journey and prayed, You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.

We all hold a sense of something more, a feeling of beyond lingering in the back of our minds. Every culture throughout history believed in some set of gods, acknowledging this sense of eternity. Even today, with a rise in atheistic ideology, religious faith is growing worldwide, not shrinking. Most who don’t believe in God still wonder if something unknown exists over the horizon…

Eternity in our hearts. We long for more. Like Augustine, our hearts skitter and jump. We plug the eternity gap with the one who exists from eternity past to eternity future. We answer the ache by opening up to Jesus, following him and joining his people. Dive into the eternity you sense in your heart, and find the Creator in its midst.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

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Making money in the Lord’s service.

I’m off track when I view godliness as a path to wealth. Over the years charlatans exploited the faithful in order to get rich. TV preachers being the most famous, but before televangelists came sellers of get-out-of-purgatory indulgences and hawkers of enhanced prosperity (with a large enough donation).

Paul addressed this foolishness. He wrote of people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. Paul then countered, godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

Contentment results from first loving God and loving others. A spirit at ease forms as I meditate on the fact that all I have comes from the hand of God. He gives me enough—more than enough, in fact. Food, clothing and a roof over my head meets my needs. Throw in a hot shower and I’m in the bonus. As I learn to grasp what is enough, I’m on the path to peace of mind. A quiet heart leads to a tranquil mindset and a good night’s sleep.

But how to foster such an attitude in a world committed to making me feel unsatisfied? Turn off my screens, take a walk, breath deep and ask the Lord for his peace that surpasses understanding. Such a gift truly is great gain.

1 Timothy 6:5-6

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If you spend any time on college campuses you’ll notice the names on buildings. What used to be called simply the Science Labs is now the Walter H. White Science Labs, named after a generous benefactor. Colleges and universities constantly solicit gifts, and naming a building is one way to reward an openhanded donor.

I don’t knock that type of giving at all. I and my children benefit from such contributions. But that level of largesse remains beyond my ability. Fortunately, in the Lord’s eyes the value of the gift rests in the heart of the giver, not the total on the check.

In fact, there’s no need for me to let anyone know about the good things I do, be it financial giving or helping a neighbor clean up their yard. Paul wrote, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.

People notice your good deeds, even when you try to hide or act quietly. You gain a reputation of a person who helps others. No need to flaunt your kindnesses. The right people will see and understand.

Which is quite freeing. I don’t need to keep score. If someday I come into a fortune and endow the David L. Dishman School of Daydreaming, so be it. In the meantime, I can do the bits and pieces of good for others I find in front of me every day.

1 Timothy 5:25

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Does this line from Proverbs sound like the situation many embrace in our world today? When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.

Fortunately, Solomon added a hopeful addendum: But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

I see folks running wild on my screens every day. Whether it’s riots or wars or simply debauchery, left on our own we devolve toward selfishness and abandon.

But the law of the Lord carries to a different horizon. Those who obey experience joy—which is hard to come by. Notice Solomon does not say those who obey the law have life easy, or don’t face problems, or are not tempted to run unchecked. But reading the Scriptures and applying them bends our souls away from a wildness that leads to emptiness, and towards enjoyment and pleasure in the Lord.

The proverb points out the stark difference in these two approaches to life. Shunt the ways of God aside, throw off all restraint and party like it’s 1999. Or, invest in the teachings found in the Scriptures, and quietly yet firmly say yes to the principles found within. One way leads to chaos, the other to flourishing.

Proverbs 29:18

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