Something Fishy By Brent Knox

Something Fishy
By Brent Knox

"Wait a minute," I thought to myself, "while this sounds good at first glance, something smells just a bit fishy." I had just read the opening of a popular book by a well-known Christian author. The book opens with a story about a man on vacation in Hawaii. He was a good man who had achieved some success. He was touring the island and caught a glimpse of a gorgeous house. It sat on a hill, surrounded by palm trees, green gardens, with a great view. He commented to his wife and friend, "I can't even imagine living in a place like that." Right there, something inside him said, 'Don't worry. You won't. You will never live in a great place like that.' Startled by his own thoughts, he asked himself, 'What do you mean? As long as you can't imagine it, as long as you can't see it, then it is not going to happen for you.' The author went on to explain, "The man correctly realized that his own thoughts and attitudes were condemning him to mediocrity He determined then and there to start believing better of himself, and believing better of God. It is the same with us. We need to conceive it on the inside before we're ever going to receive it on the outside. If you don't think you can ever have something good, then you never will. The barrier is in your mind."

Yes, God wants us to be people of faith. And yes, our limited thinking and limited prayers will limit God. And yes, we should see God as very big and able to do big things. But there is something that comes first. God is not here to serve our dreams. God is not here to serve our pleasures. We are here to serve God and His dreams and His pleasures. At the foot of the throne, we will be saying, "You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created." Revelation 4:11 (NLT) Everything God created is for His pleasure. In other words, we exist for Gods pleasure-not our own.

If you ask people, "What do you want most out of life?" what would most Americans say? Most would say, "I want to be happy." What is wrong with that answer? It is basically selfish and self-centered. Our great goal in life should not be our own happiness. Our great goal in life is to make God happy. We are created for His pleasure. We don't follow God so we can be happy. We follow God to make Him happy. Therefore, let's be careful with speakers and authors who seem to imply that we can dream dreams for ourselves and ask God to fulfill our dreams. We are here to serve God and His dreams. God is not here to serve us.

Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV

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