Daily Devotional for Thursday November 12, 2015

The Unquenchable Thirst

(John 4:14)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: ***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, give me your strength to stand for your Truth no matter what the cost. It is easy to call myself a follower of Jesus, but when confronted, when challenged, when faced with persecution, will I still say I am a follower of Jesus? I love you Lord and ask for your strength so no matter what I have to endure for my faith, I will stand firm. In the name of Jesus I pray...AMEN!

The unquenchable thirst. A few weeks ago I took an hour off to go to the grocery store. It is a place I sometimes go to unwind. After spending 30 minutes getting all of the things I like, I took them to the cart and was promptly under conviction that everything I had chosen was really not good for me. Having no real argument to keep my Twinkies, ice cream, M&Ms, cookies, and other items of equal non-nutritional value, I took everything back.

In the process, I found myself in the soft-drink aisle. It was incredible to look at the number of various brands of soft drinks. Forty kinds of bottled water, numerous specialty teas, and on and on they went. This was in addition to an aisle where they had about 100 different kinds of juice drinks, not to mention good old milk. I started to think about how much we drink every day.

Of course, from a physiological standpoint we need a certain amount of fluids each day, but I was just thinking about how much we drink, and drink, and drink, and yet are never really satisfied for very long before we need to drink some more!!!

Sin is also an unquenchable thirst. Once we start on a road of sin, we can never get enough. Even when we are tired of it, we still continue. You see my friend, when you are involved with the things of this world, you will never find real satisfaction. There may be a temporary joy, but it is quickly gone and replaced by emptiness. The bible says we have ALL sinned and fallen short of God's glory. We all know what it is to sin. We all know the temporary "high" sin gives us. But we also know the emptiness when that short-term high passes; then the guilt and the shame.

Sin comes at a very expensive price. For the little bit you get, it can end up costing you everything!!!

My appeal to you today is on a very practical, common sense level. All I ask is that you are honest with yourself. When you have sex outside of marriage, whether it is in an adulteress relationship or fornication, there is usually 5 to 10 seconds of enjoyment. All I want you to do is weigh what it takes to achieve that 5-10 seconds of pleasure, and ask yourself if it is worth it. Is that 5-10 seconds worth how you feel afterwards?

Or what about those fighting the sin of alcohol, or drugs, or gambling. When the buzz, the high wears off, is it worth it? I don't care what the sin is, the results are the same. There are a few seconds of enjoyment, but at what price. This doesn't even factor in the consequences down the road. Unwanted pregnancies, disease, becoming addicted to a certain sinful lifestyle, losing all of your money, divorce, losing your children, public shame, destroying your career, the potential disastrous consequences are endless. All of that for a minimal amount of pleasure from whatever sin you choose to engage in!!!

I bring a message like this today, because I really do love you and care for you. Having lived my early adult life in absolute rebellion to God, I can personally attest to the high price of sin. I can also personally tell you that when we surrender and live life God's way, under His plan, dedicated to Him, we find a peace, happiness, joy, and contentment that isn't possible chasing the things of this world. The things of this world, no matter how much you get, keep you wanting more.

There is a perfect peace in serving God and perfect peace when you are fulfilling your God-given purpose to serve and glorify Him with your life. Jesus spoke of drinking and never being thirsty again. That water is available to you today. If you are tired of paying the high price of sin, if you are tired of never being satisfied, Jesus says come to me, all you who are burdened, and I will give you rest.

I love you and care about you so much. I realize that turning from sin is not easy. But God can give you a game plan, people to hold you accountable, and the strength to be victorious. I will be praying for you today. Sin simply doesn't make sense. It is like paying $42,000 for a $1 hamburger. If I am going to pay $42,000, I want to own a piece of the farm and the animals! Sin is a bad deal all the way around!!!

Count on my prayers today, that the Lord will quicken this message to your hearts and help you realize what a bad deal sin is, and how God has something so much better for you. Sin always leaves you wanting more, but following Jesus gives you perfect satisfaction.

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller