DO YOU WANT
HAPPINESS?

Jesus Christ once said, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36).

Jesus is clearly showing from the above statement that there is something that God can give us that is much better than what the whole world can give.

Just imagine for a moment. If I were to tell you that there was a huge deposit of gold not far away, you would probably go to the site and dig and sweat away for weeks, perhaps months on end, until finally you reached the gold. This gold then makes you the richest person on earth. However, could all this money bring you continual happiness? The answer is clearly no, because very wealthy men have committed suicide. No matter how wealthy a man is, he can still have his moments of despair, worry and sorrow.
Why is it then that a person, no matter how rich cannot make his or herself continually happy? The answer is found in the first book of the Bible. God created man and all living things. Since it is God who created man, he is the one who can make man happy. But you say, "Why doesn't he make us happy all of the time?"
The answer to that question is also found in the Bible. When God first created man (Adam and Eve) they were continually happy because God had His Spirit within them. Now God gave Adam and Eve a test to see if they would remain faithful to Him. The test was quite simple, God told Adam that he could eat of any tree in the garden of Eden, but from one special tree he could not eat. God gave him the warning that in the day he disobeyed God and ate of the fruit of this tree, he would surely die (Genesis chapter 2 verse 17).
Now notice that God said "when you eat of it you will surely die". Not the next day or sometime later. Genesis chapter five verse four (5:4) shows that Adam and Eve lived after their disobedience to have sons and daughters, so this clearly shows that the death that Adam and Eve died on that day was not an immediate physical death, but a spiritual death. God withdrew his spiritual presence from them.
The devil deceived them into thinking that it would be good for them to know both good and evil (Gen. 3:5). So they decided to go their own way; they broke God's commandment and ate the forbidden fruit.
The punishment for their actions is the withdrawal of the intimate spiritual presence of God from Adam and Eve, and they became spiritually dead. Because they were spiritually dead, they had children that were spiritually dead. Anything that is dead cannot produce life, so spiritual death and sin was passed on to all men (Romans 5:17-19).
Several things happened when God left Adam and Eve. Firstly, they became mortal. The beginning of their physical death was on the day of their rebellion. Consequently, man is now like the grass that grows and then withers away and dies. He is often unhappy, greedy and lustful. Just take a look at one of the major newspapers and you are likely to read a report on a vicious crime, perhaps a murder. To find the basic cause for all crime, we must turn to the Bible.
The reason people commit crime is because they do not have the Spirit of God within them. God has shown the world that man needs Him for happiness and purpose in life.
Now you say, "How can I receive the Spirit of God so I can have happiness and purpose in life, and freedom from condemnation in the judgment to come?" God has provided a way that you can be united to Him. There is only one way, and that is through His Son Jesus Christ. He sent His Son to die on the cross for those who acknowledge their sins before God, so that those who believe in Him (Jesus) "...will not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

If you have placed your trust in Christ, you may like to offer up to God this simple prayer. "Dear Lord God, I confess that I have not lived a perfect life. That I have done wrong against you, and I am sorry, please forgive me. I know that Jesus Christ has died for sinners. I thank you that he has died for me. I also thank you that your Spirit has come into my life, and that you will work to change me into a much better person. Help me to assist the work of your Spirit in my life by being obedient to what you tell me in the Bible. Thank you for your great love for me, in Jesus name, amen."

If this is a sincere prayer, God will certainly bring about a great change in your life. Help your spiritual life by talking to a Christian friend, and go to a Church which honours the Bible.

To view a document (PDF format) which explains the solid foundation of the faith of the Bible, click on link Go. Also read, God's Method Of Saving Sinners available from the home page of this web site.

David Holden

DO YOU WANT HAPPINESS?

DO YOU WANT
HAPPINESS?