August 27, 2011 - I'll take two!

     We traveled to Florida on highways cut through orange groves quite a bit when I was a child so I believed Anita Bryant when she appeared on our television with a bright smile and a glass of orange juice saying, "A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine."  I still call orange juice "bottled sunshine." 

     We buy into what's advertised hoping for a sunny day, a confident day, an inspired day, a high energy day, a few productive moments or an over-the-top-experience, yet we must fight our flesh to fully invest in the One Who can provide seven full days of meaningful relationship, a lifetime of significance, and an eternity of mind-blowing experiences in an exotic, exalted land.  Maybe it's the packaging?

"Then He said, 

'If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." 

Luke 9:23

     Jesus wouldn't have made it in the advertising field, would He? Advertisers dazzle you with why you deserve what they're selling, the benefits, the popularity, the status. Potential customers must ask questions to learn about the difficulties and costs.  Jesus is Truth and yes, salvation is free, but the abundant life costs us what we're going to lose eventually anyway: our lives, our souls, our wills. Instead of scrambling to buy bottles of sunshine and treasures on earth, we need to learn to access the endless array of gifts and riches God places at the next point of obedience.

"But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge." 

Psalm 94:22

"If any of you lacks wisdom, 

he should ask God, Who gives generously to all without finding fault, 

and it will be given to him." 

James 1:5 

Father, the road can seem so long when we think only of carrying a cross and look to the side at all the advertised specials the world offers. Give us wisdom to trust You and to stick to Your Footprints.  Fill our days with Your Presence so we're not tempted to look away from the Best to drink what won't satisfy. Bless You for Your Grace and Love to us, seven days a week, rain or shine.

In the Name of Jesus, The Son of Righteousness

Inspired by Live Loved, by Max Lucado

Photo from Google images