The thrill is gone
Pastor Mark Jeske

Taste is fickle. You love a certain musical group, but then their appeal fades and you never listen to another one of their songs again. You love a certain restaurant but then lose interest. You go crazy with paintballing or snowboarding or salsa dancing but then drift away.

People drift away from God too. When you are caught up in a spiritual love affair, at first God’s words and ways seem exciting and compelling. You love going to church, love reading your Bible, love praying, and love serving with other Christians. But life happens. You get distracted. You find other passions. You feel disappointed and unfulfilled. The thrill is gone.

It suddenly dawns on you that you are playing Russian roulette with your eternity. Whoa—I could be flirting with hell! What happened to me? Where did my original love go? At times like that, let a repentant sinner named David give you words: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:12).

How do you get the joy back? Joy comes from worship. Take inventory of the blessings in your life and give glory to God. Joy comes from serving others. Find pleasure in being part of a service project bigger than you. Joy comes from generosity. Whose life have you made better today? How can you be a broker of God’s mercy to somebody who really needs it?

Learn how to manage your life—God’s way!

Money Talk: Managing My Life—God’s Way is a new book by Pastor Mark Jeske based on the proven principles of God’s Word. It shows that when you’re operating in God’s financial wisdom and generosity, you’ll gain more in return! And that means living a life that’s more content, more at peace, and more secure, as you realign your thinking and invest in what really matters to him. 

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