Beautiful morning in Scotland
True Happiness
The Bible says those who prosper outside of Christ can only be compared to livestock [cows] headed to slaughter with colorful leis around their necks [reflecting life's good times]. If success in this life is all you are concerned about, only a limited amount of happiness and temporary success is all you will ever obtain.
Huge tree in Gulf Shores, Alabama
True happiness comes about when we repent and turn from our sins, and trust and obey the Lord Jesus. This is the gospel message. It is simple. It is a specific call to the rebirth of a new life of hope and continual repentance of sins even after we are "born again." That alone takes us into eternal happiness that fills our lives now, and later extends beyond the grave.
Psalm chapter 1 says we are happy when we do not walk with ungodly people, or stand or sit in their counsel; however, we find happiness when we delight in the law of God - - the unveiling of God's mind and heart, found in the Bible alone.
Then we "shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."
This is true happiness.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Are you truly happy? True happiness is brought about by true repentance. Does this seem strange to you? Repentance causes you to see your sins as God sees them (Psalm 119:59). Repentance calls sin by the same name God calls them. Repentance brings you to a place in your life where you plead with God to show you what we are to do next (Acts 2:37).
May I say to you that I never see the filth of my sins on my own. Without the word of God and the Holy Spirit, I always think I am alright and in need of nothing.
Repentance is the entrance to godliness. Only as you look into the word of God and the Holy Spirit pierces you, showing you how sinful you really are, can there be any desire for change in your behavior.
And, by the way, being pierced in your heart is not enough. You must be ready and willing to obey God as He is revealed in the Scripture, not as you imagine Him in your heart. Both Cain and Judas were pricked in heart because of what they did, but neither submitted themselves to God with a heart toward obedience. WHAT ABOUT YOU?