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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Lord of All

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Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.—Luke 14:33

It was George Bernard Shaw who said, “There are two sources of unhappiness in life. One is not getting what you want; the other is getting it.”

This statement reminds me of the account in Matthew 19 of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus seeking answers. Here was a man who, of all men, should have been content and fulfilled. He had great influence and affluence. Yet in spite of all his accomplishments, there was something missing in his life. He asked, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

Jesus told him, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Jesus was not implying that by keeping the Ten Commandments, a person would be saved. Rather, Jesus held the Ten Commandments up as a mirror to show this man his sin.

The ruler replied, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

I think Jesus probably smiled at this. He saw what this man was really all about. So He took it up a notch and said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Jesus knew the problem with this young ruler was that possessions had possessed his soul. But Jesus just as easily could have said something completely different to someone else. What is really holding someone back from Christ and from further spiritual progress can vary from person to person.

We would do well to come before Jesus and ask, “Lord, is there anything in my life that is getting in the way of my relationship with You?”

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Even Atheists Have Moments of Doubt

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Perhaps you have heard of George Bernard Shaw. We was a highly regarded thinker and writer and, among other things, won a Nobel Prize in literature. He also was an avowed and vocal atheist. Shaw firmly believed in science and what mankind could accomplish. But toward the end of his life, he realized this was a misplaced hope. He wrote, “The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, led, instead, directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions of worshippers in the temples of a thousand creeds. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who lost his faith.”

As C.S. Lewis wrote, “Even atheists have moments of doubt.” Problem is, George Bernard Shaw put his hope in the wrong thing. Do you have hope today? Victor Hugo said, “Hope is the Word which God has written on the brow of every man.” That all sounds good, but the question is: Hope in what or whom?

When I use the word “hope,” I don’t mean a blind optimism. The modern idea of Hope is “to wish for,” “to expect.” This may be based on fate, serendipity, good luck, or perhaps, wishing on a star. As the great theologian Jiminy Cricket sang to the wooden puppet Pinocchio, “When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you.” But that really isn’t true is it?

Some will say, “I just know it will get better!” but it won’t always. Some put their trust in their investments; the things of this life than can quickly disappear. The Book of Job reminds us, “The hopes of the godless comes to nothing. Everything they count on will collapse. They are leaning on a spider web. They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last. They try to hold it fast, but it will not endure” (Job 8:13-15).

That is especially poignant in this economy; is it not? We need to put our hope in God. We should not have hope for hope’s sake; we must have hope in God. The Psalmist writes, “Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God” (Psalm 42:5). This will give us the strength to go on in life, because we know there is a heaven where wrongs will be made right. The hope of a Christian is a quiet confidence. It is a supernatural certainty.

And where do we find this hope? In the pages of Scripture. Paul reminds us that the Scriptures were written to “give us hope” (Romans 15:4). So put your hope in God today. He will never disappoint.