What Defines Happiness?

There is not a single person on this earth who is not seeking for happiness - the pursuit of happiness is everyone's dream. Although we are chasing this dream called "happiness", what actually defines happiness? Is your definition of happiness the real happiness that you should be pursuing? Will your definition actually bring you to happiness? Happiness is a simple word to understand and an emotion that is easily relatable, yet why is it that not many people reach happiness? 

The answer to this question is because many people chase the wrong happiness. Many of us define happiness as to how much we have and own (which includes money). I don't blame those who have this mentality because we grew up with this mentality as children. When we were young, we were trained to see happiness as something that was given to us; a reward or gift. When we got an A on a test we would get rewarded by getting the toy or item we always wanted, when we did well in school we would get candy, and the list goes on. We have been trained to love receiving toys and gifts and saw happiness as to what our parents gave us. A reward for us was defined to what we got in return for obedience. 

But as we get older in Christ, we should start to see the reward of life as giving back to others, spending time with the people you love, and impacting the world. As adults we start to have more responsibilities, and although it might not seem that having more responsibilities is a reward, when you really think about it, it is actually more rewarding to have more responsibilities. When you have more responsibilities, you have the ability to make a greater positive impact to others. 

Acts 20:35 says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." You might be wondering but how does giving to others more than yourself make your life happy? I asked this same question to myself as well many times before. 

I was reading the story of Mabel Dean, a lady who dedicated her life to God. God called her to leave the U.S and service as a missionary in Egypt. She left everything that she had and followed where God had called her. Even though she wanted to go back to the U.S, she stayed in Egypt and sacrificed her life for 30 years in Egypt to do God's calling on her. As I was reading her story, I could not help but wonder how could someone be willing to sacrifice their life and still feel happy? Although I appreciated what she did, I could not understand how serving and sacrificing her life brought her joy. 

How could a life that asks for so much of yourself be a life worth living for? Then I read the last sentence in the passage that opened my eyes. The passage stated how she built 15 churches and another 30 congregations. She made not only a big impact on Egypt, but a lasting one as well. That is when I realized that this is the life worth living for. I finally learned the simple definition of happiness: 

Happiness is not from what we hold, but from what we leave behind. 

Did you know that you have something worth more than money? Something that can last for generations to come? That something is your legacy. We all have the power of happiness and it is not determined by our circumstances, or of how much money we have. What we have will not last forever, but our legacy does - it can last for generations to come. 

A life like Mabel Dean's is a life worth more than what money can buy. Having a life where you are filled with money means you can own everything you want - the best brands, house, clothes, cars, ect. It is a great life, but it is a life that anyone could have and that money could buy. Money cannot buy a legacy that will last for generations, it cannot buy the salvation of Jesus, and it cannot buy an impact to the world. 

Money only means you will have more, but having more does not mean you will be happy. Our natural tendency is to always want more than what we have, so what we have will never make us content or fulfill our lifelong happiness. 

Your legacy and impact is what will make you happy and create purpose in your life. Many of the people who are most happy are the ones who gave and left behind the most. The things you have will not last forever, but the impacts you make will last forever. John the baptist is another great example in the bible. He sacrificed his whole life to serve Jesus and even ended up in jail, but his example and teachings have left an impact to the world even until today. 

Life's reward is not on how much we can take from this world, but on how much we can give to this world. 

So now that you know the definition of happiness, can you pursue happiness? The answer to that is yes! You are the source of happiness - it is not what you have but because of you and your capabilities can you create a strong legacy. I encourage you all to stretch your capabilities to impact this world. With the hand of Jesus in your life, you will be able to do more than you can imagine. 

1 Corinthians 2:9 says, "No eyes has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." Let Jesus into your life and you will find your true happiness. Jesus is worth more than anything on this earth, and he will help you define your purpose in this life. So remember, the foot steps that you leave behind today is what defines your happiness for tomorrow.

Are We Dirty?

Dirty- a word that many of us do not want to be described as. Many of us take the time to make sure our physical bodies are clean; we take showers everyday to be clean and fresh, brush our teeth, and the list goes on. Although your physical body may be clean, have you ever questioned if your spiritual life needed cleaning? Is your spiritual life dirty?

Imagine going to a smokey bbq place. When you first enter the place you are most likely going to notice the smell. Although the smoke smells bad, you cannot runaway from it because the place is filled with smoke. However, as you stay longer the smell starts to fade away and when you get out, you probably won't even realize anymore that you smell because you already got used to of the smell. This here is called adaption.

This analogy applies exactly to our spiritual life. We all live and interact in this world that is full of sin and corruption, yet we all forget that just like the smoke in the bbq place, the sin of this world gets on us too. We become dirty just from going out in this world, and when we go home we forget that we are dirty and need to wash ourselves with God's word and the holy spirit.

Many of us think that we do not need to pray and read the bible everyday. But if you interact with this world, its corruption will go on you and you will have to wash your souls and mind just like how you shower everyday. Do not let Satan plant a lie in your heart telling you that you can go out in this world without needing to cleanse yourself with God's truth.

Like the smoke in my analogy, this world will get to you. And if we do not hurry to clean ourselves, we will soon adapt to the sins of this world without realizing it. We need God everyday to cleanse us and renew our minds to purity. So how do we prevent from being dirty?

1. Acknowledge the world is dirty and full of sin. 

2. Acknowledge you will always be dirty and never 100% clean when you live in this world. 

If you keep these 2 things in mind everyday, it will prevent you from sining without realizing because you see the need to wash yourself with God's word everyday. Believing that you do not need to speak and hear from God everyday will make you vulnerable. It will lead you to sin without knowing you are sinning.

I was recently reading about the life of Charles Parham who was used by God greatly, and was one of the founders of the Pentecostal religion. However, near the end of his life he started to drift away from God, and probably without even realizing it. He had a spirit of racism and believed that blacks and whites should be separated even during church services. It wasn't surprising to read about this because during the 1800s, racism was still prominent. However, it was shocking to see how a great man of God could still fall to such a sin without realizing it. He later was accused for many other acts that lead to his decline as an evangelist.

The story of Parham made me realize how we need to constantly check on ourselves to make sure we are not adapting to what is going around us. It can be so easy to adapt to the environment we are in- it is our natural human tendency. Satan wants us to adapt to sin without us even realizing that it is sin that we accept.  There are 2 types of conditions when we sin: Sinning but not realizing that we are sinning, and sinning and understanding that we are sinning. 

Sinning and knowing you sinned is already bad enough, but sinning and not knowing is even more dangerous. Pray and ask the holy spirit to help you see your own dirtiness that your own eyes cannot see. This world is corrupted and it can easily brainwash you without you even realizing it.

Don't adapt to the world, but adapt to God's word.

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." God told us not to conform to this world because he knew that it would be easy for man to conform to this world. But as long as we wash ourselves with his truth, it will transform us and make us clean and pure to be the light of the world. Ask God to reveal the things you need to wash away from your life, and he will reveal them to you. So remember, wash yourself physically and spiritually everyday.

How To Have The Perfect Heart

Have you ever felt guilty of not being perfect enough for God? Finding yourself disappointed because you know you disappointed God? Wishing for a perfect heart that seemed too far to reach? 

There have been many times where I too found myself disappointed from my mistakes and failures. I recently failed a commitment I had made, and could not help but feel guilty for not standing up to a responsibility I was suppose to do. That night I prayed to God and told him that I didn't feel good enough for him. As much as I desired serving God, there were some days where I lost his desire in my heart. I didn't have the "perfect heart" that many of my fellow ministers seemed to have. But in the midst of my cry to God he told me,"I'm not looking for your perfect heart, I only want your broken heart." That night I learned this truth: 

God is not looking for your perfect heart. He only wants your broken heart so that he can take the broken pieces and turn it into a perfect heart that belongs to him. 

Our hearts cannot be perfect alone; we need God to perfect it. It can be easy to rely on our own strengths and capabilities to shape the perfect heart that we want, but if we do this we will find ourselves failing to complete the perfect heart that we desire. The best way to have a perfect heart is to give our broken heart to God.

Once we have a heart that belongs to God, we will find ourselves desiring what he desires without any struggles. Give God your heart so that he can give you back a heart that is filled with his desire. God wants to give us a heart like heaven; a heart that is in accordance to his kingdom. The byproduct of a heart that is owned by God is one that desires what he desires. 

So now you might ask, how do I know if I have the perfect heart that belongs to God? It is simple: Your heart will tell you. 

1 John 3:20 says, "If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." Your heart will condemn you when you do wrong against God. As much as we want to runaway from the truth of our failures, the heart knows and it will condemn you. The good news is, it is not the end when your heart condemns you. God doesn't want to be greater than your heart, he wants your heart to be his. If your heart condemns you, then you know that your heart does not belong to God. But if you surrender and give your heart to God, it will open the window of blessings to your life. 

Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it." Guarding your heart is so important because it determines your destiny. Your heart is the storehouse for God's truth to resonate in your body, mind, and soul. It is a necessity for you to have a perfect heart owned by God. Without an open and willing heart to God, it will close the doors that God has prepared for you and  prevent you from gaining the desires that he has for you. A heart that does not belong to God will prevent you from pursuing the great plans that he has prepared for you. 

Our actions all come from the condition of our heart. Everything we do starts from the heart because the heart is what produces our thoughts and actions. To guard also means to examine, so we should examine our hearts to make sure that it is aligned with what God loves and desires. Ask God to help you examine your heart and turn your broken heart into a perfect heart like his. 

I challenge all of you to give your hearts to Christ and let him perfect it. When you replace your heart with a heart that belongs to God, you will start to see blessings in your life flow from it. Rest your heart in God's hand because it is the best place and condition for your heart to be at. Only God can turn your broken heart into something beautiful. So remember, God is the way to a perfect heart.