."Beyond Fluff"

  Maybe it's just me. I'm not real sure people know what the true nature of being spiritual minded and walking by faith is all about. Maybe I've missed something and that could be possible. I've missed things before but when I read how Jesus made a difference in the lives of those with faith, they worked against the norm of the people just as Jesus did. 

  In John 5 we have the healing of a paralytic. Take some serious time and read the whole chapter but one thing is for sure, this man went against what the religious people around him thought and he sided completely with Jesus despite all the ridicule. 

  Have you ever felt like you have just messed up your life completely and accomplished little? Some people battle through life feeling as if they are going nowhere. Look back over your life from this moment. Is your life half done? Is your life 3/4 done? What has your life been about up to now? Those could be questions many think about but are afraid to ask. And here comes Sunday, the resurrection day. Someone is singing from their heart "Jesus!" There is a name above all others. 

  There is simply too much fluff and syrup today! Christmas and Easter are poured over as if life is about those days. We need to move beyond what the world uses as fluff and syrup twice a year. We get the fluff and syrup in sweet sentiments we read or someone forwards us something from the internet. It's this kind of stuff that thickens the heart that keeps us from perceiving the true nature of Jesus. Don't allow all the surface stuff to blind you to the truth of Jesus as you find in His word. Look at His life carefully and take His claims seriously. There you will see how much interest the Lord takes in us. All the syrup and fluff can be blinding to the real Savior and while feeding our fleshly desires.

  The world we live in is steeped in traditions. Jesus exposed He was not part of the traditions of men (Matt. 15). The humans God created are up to their eyes in injustices and sins. But it was because of all this that Jesus came to rescue us. We have messed things up badly in our personal lives sometimes. We have distorted and bent the world out of shape in regard to the true value of what it means to be spiritual. Jesus came to bring order to a world of chaos and in the lives of mankind. Too many with all the fluff they go after and all the syrup they pour on their lives get so bogged down you would think that walking with Jesus was some sort of magic wand. We go after this and 'poof' all is well with us! We move from story to story, from certain days as our renewal and think its all well. We need the real Jesus. We need to put our faith and trust in His teachings and listen more closely to what He desires. Our focus needs to be intently on Jesus alone and let all the other things go by. Maybe the movies are having a greater impact on us than Jesus!