Today's reading

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? –Mark 8:36 NIV

October 14, 2019

Pursuing the Dream

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? –Mark 8:36 NIV

We live in an imperfect world with imperfect people during imperfect times. There is a constant clamoring for bigger, better, and more expensive things. The current mindset in our world is that “I deserve a break today. I should have it my way. I deserve all the expensive things and toys.” The pursuit of those things is touted as our God-given right. There’s only one problem—the only thing that all of us really want is to be loved. We can have it all on the outside, keep up with the Jones’, have the best of everything, but still feel empty inside. We often feel like Oliver Twist asking, “Please sir, may I have more? ”It’s not the stuff we want; things don’t bring lasting happiness. What we truly desire is to be loved, valued, and to know that we matter. We want love, not things. What does it mean for us to gain the whole world yet lose our soul? (See Mark 8:36.) It means to have never truly experienced love. May the cry of our hearts be heard, and may we seek the only One who can truly fulfill those cries for love. Lasting happiness comes from knowing the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10), not from owning them ourselves.

prayer focuses

Things aren’t wrong unless they have us instead of us having them.

Father, please help me to keep my priorities straight. Father, help me to seek first Your Kingdom, and everything else will fall into place.

music

latest reads

3/28/2024

Know Your Enemy

3/27/2024

Get Past Your Past

3/26/2024

Freedom

3/25/2024

Cold Snap

3/24/2024

Golden Buzzer

3/23/2024

Can You Hear Me Now?

3/22/2024

A Giving Spirit

about the

Author

Brenda Beattie

Brenda Beattie is a retired letter carrier and an active Chaplain for the USPS. She and her husband retired to Bradenton because they loved their church, Bayside Community Church. She has self-published two books, "Finding Sacred Ground In The Daily Grind," and "The Case Of The Missing Letter." She is also a repeat author for "Chicken Soup For The Soul." Her articles appear monthly in the "Mountaineer," a postal publication. Her hearts desire is to encourage and to give hope.