Obtaining Happiness

"8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead... 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."
Philippians 3:8-11 & 20-21

People will never be happy until they reach an answer to the question, why am I not happy? Nothings ever enough, and for that we complain. Surely we deserve more, Surely we deserve more, Surely NOT. So where does true happiness come from, and how can I get some???

True happiness is found in gaining Christ. Our comfort, clothing found on our backs, a flower blossoming, that perfect cup of coffee, the perfect essay response, anything that is good comes from God, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17). We're told in the passage above, in Philippians, to count everything as loss in view of our relationship to Christ, so that we may gain Him. This is basically telling us to draw closer to God, have better fellowship with Jesus. But how can we gain Christ? I believe we must first look at the word gain, and I'm going to argue the word can mean the same as redemption. From the passage above in Philippians, Paul explains what gaining Christ entails...

Gaining Christ is equal to redemption, and for three reasons:

1.) Righteousness through Faith (vs. 9) = Justified
2.) Sharing in His sufferings, become like Him in in His death (vs. 10) = Sanctified
3.) Transformation of our lowly bodies (vrs. 20-21) = Glorification

Therefore, we can assume, everyday we are/should be gaining Christ. Redemption happens everyday, every moment is forgiveness. So we should be gaining Christ everyday. We no that's no so, because that would mean everyone would always be content and completely at peace, i.e. happy. So what's keeping us from always pursuing and gaining Christ? I believe it's due to our total depravity as a human race. That brings me to a couple of key questions...How can one go about gaining Christ? Why is it important?


How can one go about gaining Christ, and why is it important?

Well since gaining Christ can also mean redemption...we gain Christ by living in Him daily. You ask, "How can I gain redemption?" You don't do anything to gain it! You love God, and honor Him with your life, because of the free gift of Christ. Therefore, in order to gain Christ, we love Him. Then we tell others about the love we've received. There isn't a set of ways we can draw closer to Christ (gain Him), we're called to Love God & Love People. It's not something we should have to think about doing, we just do. We do, because He already did. So where does that leave us, "11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2: 11-12). Our good works don't save us, but they should be a result of His good work in us.

This is important because our lives depend, every second, on Christ blood. His redemption gives us life every day. We need to be gaining Christ daily, drawing closer with Him as we grow older.

Practical Ideas:
-Spend time with Him
-Pray
-Preach the good news

KA - seeking Him

Past Journal Entries

February 2nd, 2009


It's always easy to be okay with God's will when His timing lines up with yours. But what about when all seems to be lost? Am I going to fall -like some helpless child or am I going to hold strong-- on the shoulders of my Savior?

It's easy to praise God when your happy. I'm learning, our reliance on Him, is critical for life here on earth. We are nothing. He is something. We are incapable..of living, getting a good job, dating, anything. If our view of God is small, what's gong to happen when we figure out we can't "live" without Him. Relying on God is key for surviving this world. We are nothing, He is everything. As a tree's roots give it strength and nutrients to grow, surely we must be rooted in Christ. We must trust in Him, we have no clue what to expect in our life's. My prayer is that my view of God would be big and I would see myself as very very very very small.

"Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off" Psalm 37: 34

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" Matthew 6:33

"Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases" Psalm 115:3

Our God is one of second chances; well second, third, and fourth chances...lucky for me because I sin every single day. "Every breath is a second chance" J-Foreman

"I, I am He
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins" Isaiah 43:25

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases" Psalm 103:2-3

just give me Jesus

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39

This world is broken; we live in ruins. As a believer; however, I can live without fear, because Satan has no power over me. My God is sovereign, in control, over all Satan does. (1 Peter 3:17, James 4:15) I truly believe that. The Lord controls the roaring lion, and only has to decide when and when not to stop him. He's capable at any time to completely destroy him, but He allows Satan to tempt us for our own benefit (Hebrews 12:6). Demons shudder at His name (James 2:19), and He commands the unclean spirits (Mark 1:27). My God cannot lie, cannot sin, cannot be unholy (Ps. 145:17)--"The Lord is righteous in all His ways".

God's everlasting love, destroyed sin at Calvary, and continually saves me.

just give me Jesus

i'm tired, but He's still good

I've been on a journey, and I'm tired... For the past 6 months, I've been on a journey. Looking back now, I'm not remorseful of anything that happened, "He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness" (Hebrews 12:10b). God, as a loving Father, disciplines us to better prepare us for our future dilemmas. Who better to sanctify us than a perfect and just God? The cool thing about the journey He took me on, was that I wouldn't have changed any of the pain, exhaustion, or anything else I went through. I don't want to go in to much detail, but I can't stop from typing this out, it's all for His glory. His presence is so evident and straight forward, I'd feel guilty keeping it to myself.

Our aim (as Christians) should be one of, complete and utter reliance on Him. When the first sign of evil slithers in to our lives, when Satan tries to ensnare us while we're tired, or even when we pass our final exam. Where or Who do we turn to? As Christians, it should be to God. "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). Easier said than done I know, because I've been there, I'm still there. You see, for the longest time I knew that I was supposed to rely on Him first, but it took God taking me on a journey to really make that evident in my eyes. He brought me to the point of tears, and a realization that I'm INCAPABLE of doing anything good here on earth, without Him acting through me. He showed me that I'm not "all that" and I'm really not "a big deal". Something that I've been resting in, is that He is a big deal, and I serve a God who is all that. I can rest in His love.

For the longest time, I had this thing (let's call it dating) right in front of me. I'm stealing this illustration from Ben Stuart's last Breakaway message. I was living my life with my hand covering my face. My hand seemed big, because it was right in front of me. When God took my hand away from my face, I realized that (in comparison to everything else) it was rather normal. Just like dating, I thought it was such a big deal, because it was right in front of me. I wasn't obsessed or anything, but I was giving it more importance then was called for. Now that He's taken my hand down, I realize that dating is still great, but it's sooooooooo small in comparison to what God's doing in the world. If I'm supposed to date someone, He'll bring that person to me, as I'm running towards Him. Praise God for taking me through the desert, for sanctifying me in ways that I'm still not aware of. One thing that remained true through the past months, was the bountiful amount of manna He steadily laid upon me. His mercy was sweet and endless.

My prayer now is that, regardless of where I am in this life, I'd continually be running towards HIM. That I wouldn't be tainted by this broken world. My mindset would be fastened on following Him. Lord God give me an undivided devotion in You, "I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord" (1 Corinthians 7:35). This verse has really struck me this last week. What does it mean to have an undivided devotion with the creator of the universe? Simply amazing that He loves us so much. I've found the best medicine after going through such a journey, is rest. It's only been one week, but the time has not gone untouched by God. I'm ready to meet with God, to meet Him on the mountain. Next weekend I'm actually going camping, by myself, 50 miles away from College Station. I'm taking a bible, matches, cigars, hotdogs, and a machette. I'll literally be in the middle of no where, and hopefully around no one. I can't wait to see what God does with that time. You know...i said this before, but I really mean it. I wouldn't have changed anything, no, not one thing.

God, make me more like you, and less like this world.

Help my unbelief.

You are good.

a passion of mine

Over the last three summers, the Lord has blessed me immensely. I've had the great privilege of attending a mission trip that Denton Bible Student Ministries has put on, to Austria. I have never, truly, sat down and clearly written out my thoughts on Austria, except for my prayer journal. I could sit right here, in Coffee Station, drinking my oolong tea and write about my experiences until next week--still having more to say. So....I'm probably going to break the blog posts up, and talk about different experiences when they come up in memory.


Maxim "What is this?"

Summer of 2006. I'd been on a mission trip the summer prior, to Mexico, and going on another mission trip (in my mind) just wasn't an option for me. God had a different idea--that seems to be a recurring process in my life. Before leaving on the first ever High School Ultimate Adventure, Joe called me aside and flat out asked me to come on the Austria trip they were taking. I'd heard about the trip, when I was in Mexico the summer before, and it sounded pretty interesting--just never thought it was a realistic option. Well...I was wrong, and the Lord really pulled my heart towards Austria. I spent the remainder of the summer mentally and spiritually preparing for the trip of a lifetime.

The day came and we were there, in Austria. There was 8 in our group, 3 guys and 5 girls. The only guys were Joe, Jason, and myself. Being able to watch them run a mission trip, and simply watch them live life was truly an experience in itself. Anyway, let me get to the main point of this blog. Before we go to the ETC (English Teenage Camp) itself. We meet most of the kids at the train station, and ride with them all the way to Aigen. It never seems to fail, every year, it's always scary having to jump in to their, already secure, social groups. I was walking on the train, looking for someone to offer a seat for me, it didn't happen. Then I saw a kid sitting by himself, he looked lonely, so I chose to jump on the opportunity. I kind-of motioned (my kind-of communication) if I could sit down, and he nodded. I began "talking" with him, and it was A-mazing to watch God tear down walls between us. After a few minutes of waving my arms around, I got a name. Maxim.

For the rest of the train ride Maxim and I exchanged drawings to each other. I learned that he was a Russian refugee, only 13 yrs. old. He couldn't pronounce my name, so he called me what Keaton means in Russian--"fish". That's right, the rest of the week I was known mostly to Maxim as fish. The following week at camp, Maxim grew in to the hearts of everyone in our group. This guy was absolutely crazy, just ask anyone who was at the camp. He knew barely any English or German, so communication was very difficult. He would say things like, "What is this..." and "okay okay okay...". By God's grace, I got to spend a considerable amount of time with him. That was mainly because the schedule at camp gave us a ridiculous amount of free time during the week. Whether we were playing ping-pong, or running around in the gym--God was constantly at work.

The most rememberable moment I had with him happened during the designated "quiet time" time for the kids. Jason had sat with him a day earlier and not only shared the gospel with him, but found out some intense information about his childhood. I wanted to talk with him and see if I could simply "show" him the gospel--straight up, and maybe find out some more about him. When we sat down I started to draw up the "cross-bridge" illustration. It was clear that he knew the difference between heaven and hell; however, he thought that hell was the proper place to go. He knew that's where he was headed, and he was okay with it. At least, that's what I could tell from our our limited communication. He then started drawing pictures which represented his childhood. I won't go in to great detail, but when he was younger he witnessed his father being murdered by the Russian Mob. My heart broke, again, for this young boy--my friend. I still have that piece of paper, and that conversation is still imprinted in my memory--it'll never leave me. Before I parted with Maxim, he gave me a ring that he was always wearing. I keep in on my key chain now, reminds me to pray for my good friend Maxim.

I know I couldn't see any process with him spiritually, but I also know that God was working in his heart. Through and by God, Jason and myself had the privilege to show Maxim grace. Now his soul is completely in God's hands and will. All I can do, all we can do is pray. Maybe one day we will reunite somewhere, until then God bless Maxim.