• It’s not just a one-off event – it lasts a lifetime. Change is a lifelong process, not a singular event – a journey rather than a destination. Don’t expect major changes to happen overnight; don’t give up if they take awhile to consolidate.
• It’s Scriptural: This is why we all need to get it happening in our lives. We need a steady input of God’s word to keep the changes flowing. Yes, His word is encouraging, but it’s also challenging! We need to be regularly reading and hearing the word. As we do, it won’t take too long before we get challenged to change! Come to church attuned to His voice, ready to be challenged. How’s the ratio of your Bible reading compared to input from other sources such as TV, internet, news, magazines?
• It’s directed by the Holy Spirit. He knows your ways and will tell you things, give you ideas and nudge you into action. God will put things on your heart and light up particular areas to you. Be open to His voice (which often just comes as an inner sensing than rather an audible sound) and learn to listen to His promptings.
• It involves every area of your life. It’s not just about your Sundays or even just spiritual areas. It applies to every area of your life, often in very practical, down-to-earth ways.
• Don’t expect it to be easy – true change never is. And God has a way of pinpointing the particular areas where we don’t want to change! We cry “I’m not ready” or “any other area than that one!” but the Christian walk is not always ‘a walk in the park’! Sometimes the seasons we’re finding the toughest are actually instigated by God. In fact God will use difficulty and challenge as catalysts for growth.
• God is creative – he can bring change in unexpected ways. He orchestrates circumstances that challenge us, encouraging growth. We can get complacent when things are going too easily! It’s easy to resist growth and get stuck in a rut. A key – learn to change quickly. We need to stay flexible, adaptable and teachable.

To think about: Have I made significant God-directed growth/changes in the last year? If not, am I really listening to what God is trying to tell me?

We all like asking God to change what we think He should – but are we asking Him what we need to change?

One of the things I love most about church involvement is seeing how God can transform people’s lives. Whenever God gets involved in someone’s life, changes start happening; from day one, our Christian walk is an ongoing, lifelong journey of dramatic change. It’s a foundational truth that God changes people.

God often uses commonplace, practical things to teach us things. In this story, God tells Jeremiah to watch a potter – an everyday artisan, a tradesman of the time – going about his daily work, and to learn about life from what he sees.

Jer 18:1-4 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ² “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him…

The raw material used by the potter is nothing fancy, just an ordinary lump of clay dug from the ground, something which would probably be discarded as having no value by anyone else.

First the clay needs to be washed with water to remove large impurities such as stones and plant matter – often a number of times.

Next it is thrown onto the wheel, where further work is done to remove any other impurities and inconsistencies. If it’s not working out as intended, the potter may squash the clay back into a lump and start the process again. As the wheel continuously spins, the pot is gradually worked into the desired shape.

Then it is allowed to dry, glazed, and baked in an oven.

You Can Change Your Life: The Potter’s Hand from Lifeplace on Vimeo.

How does all this apply to us?

God is the potter.

Is 64:8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Rom 9:20-21 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?” ²¹ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

We like to think we are in total control but our lives actually belong to Him – He’s in charge. The clay doesn’t shape itself – the potter has sovereign power over the clay. We all need God to shape us.

Clay itself has very little value until it has been processed into something useful or attractive. Like the work of a talented artist, the finished product has much greater value than the cost of the raw materials used to create it. The potter has a plan – a vision of what he wants to produce – a finished product in mind. God has a clear plan for who He wants you to be.

The wheel is like the ‘daily grind’ – the repetition of life. Imperfections are smoothed down. Form begins to take shape. It’s the constant motion that makes the process possible. God moulds us on the wheel of life. We need to be in motion to be in the process.

The oven strengthens the vessel. Even after it’s been shaped, the clay is of no use until it’s been heated and hardened, giving it strength and durability. The oven represents difficulties and pressures in our lives. Feel like you’re in a tough time or maybe even a crisis? These are the times when we need to remind ourselves that God is still at work on us, even though things seem difficult. In fact God uses these times to give us the incentive to change.

Change is hard. But never forget that God is at work on our lives fashioning something attractive and useful. Notice that the potter didn’t discard the clay because of faults and imperfections. In fact God NEVER gives up on us – we are the ones who tend to give up on ourselves (or others) too easily. No matter what season of life you’re in right now, God is at work in you, helping you to change and grow, creating something incredible. You have never been shelved for good – you are not forgotten.

We all have many opportunities for dynamic, powerful, life-transforming change in every area of our lives – our family/marriages, careers, finances, relationships, and church involvement.

What’s the condition of your ‘clay’? Is it soft and pliable? Or has it gone dry, setting hard to become tough, and unworkable? Are there impurities, inconsistencies or cracks? Are you resisting the changes God wants to make in you? Unwillingness to change can close the doors on your future potential. The more we give ourselves to the change process, the more useful we become. And remember, church is ‘The Potter’s House’ – the place where the transformation begins.

What’s the potter working on in you right now? Whatever this week holds for you, be attentive to what the potter is doing in your life. Decide on a few areas and make these your points of faith for the next few weeks. Open up the door to change, and refuse to give up on yourself. If you really want God to move on your life in a big way this year, make it the year you allow Him to make big changes in YOU, and get ready to see the amazing plan He has for your life unfold!

You Can Change Your Life from Lifeplace on Vimeo.

Change is defined as ‘to make different, undergo modification’. Are you ready for change?

Put simply, change = discipleship.

Gen 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

We see that God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. How this relates to us: He intentionally places us where He wants us. He has placed you in a particular family, church or work situation. He sometimes even places us in situations that we find difficult. There will always be things we’re not happy with. God uses these imperfections in life for our benefit.

Adam was given a garden to look after. It was a large area – a whole realm – a massive responsibility. It contained all his potential along with many problems.

Adam represents all mankind – all of us. We all have our own gardens – our lives – and we are all given the mandate of tending and developing them. Tending a garden successfully is hard work! I should know – recently I’ve had to deal with a neglected garden on my block of land. For some eighty years, weeds have run rampant and become deeply entrenched, with roots that now run for meters, wrapping around rocks and trees, making them almost impossible to remove. What an exhausting job!

How’s the condition of your ‘garden’? Is it fruitful? Or is it neglected, infested with weeds that need to be removed? Most of us tend to do well in a few areas and neglect others.

Take some time to reassess your ‘plot of land’. Break your life into segments. How are your different areas of responsibility going? How’s your ‘relational’ patch; your financial patch; your God/faith patch?

Do you need to do some weeding, cultivating, sowing, fertilising, or pruning?

Need to see some changes? Work on the areas of life God has given you responsibility over. Get God’s help to get some changes operating in your thought life, your emotional life and your faith life – you’ll be amazed at how the momentum in your life will build!

Prayer for this week: Lord, what do I need to change? (Don’t worry, you’re guaranteed to get a quick answer from God on this one!) 

If I want to grow and mature as a Christian, it’s going to require one key element: change! Change is a vital component of our Christian walk; we’re all on a lifelong journey of continual change.

It’s easy to wish that our circumstances, the economy, the system, and of course, other people would change. But how about looking at where we need to change?

The trouble is: change is hard! Any business manager knows that generating change within an organisation brings opposition. Creating change in a church is difficult, which is why we see more traditional churches declining as they cling to old patterns. And changing our own thought patterns and lifestyle habits is never easy. Most of us have a tendency to resist change. We get uncomfortable when things shift too quickly. And there are some things that seem to be ‘hard wired’ into our system – maybe even from generations back.

But true change is possible for all of us. In fact one of the foundational truths of the Christian faith is that God changes people. We see it in so many stories in the Bible; when God gets involved in someone’s life, changes follow. God is a change agent. He doesn’t want us to stay the way we are!

Gen17:4-6 … this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

Here God establishes a covenant with Abram, outlining a destiny way beyond anything Abram could have imagined. Yet sandwiched in the middle is a slice of change – God changes his name to Abraham, meaning ‘Father of many nations’. To reach his destiny, Abram had to change the way he saw himself. Change begins on the inside.

The words ‘born again’ imply a new start, as a baby, an infant who needs to go through many stages of change along the way to maturing into an adult. Becoming a Christian is the starting point of a life of dramatic, radical change. Sure, God loves you just as you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way!

Change is the vehicle for you to progress in the things of God. Are you in the vehicle?

Just as the wheels on your car need realignment from time to time – so do our lives! The start of a new year is always a good time to reassess your goals and priorities and to check up how you’re tracking.

Some tips:

• Take some time to realign your life with what God is calling you to do.
• Focus on fundamentals: take your prayer, Bible reading, and church involvement up a level. (If you’re not already part of a life group, get along to one!) Remember the more you put in from the start of the year, the more you’ll get out as the year continues.
• Take off the limits: dare to dream big and refuse to settle for less. Dare to think some bold thoughts. Give God room – don’t limit what He can do in you by thinking small.
• Start implementing some practical steps towards achieving your goals. It’s the little steps that will take you to your destination.
• Activate your faith: faith has the power to move mountains! Get hold of a word that applies to your situation, and speak it over whatever you are about to face.

We need to understand that we all have a ‘Circle of Influence’ – the things we have control and influence over.

For a start, what’s outside our control? World events, politics (apart from our vote and voice), the economy, wars, natural disasters, the advance of technology; and of course other people’s opinions and behaviour, actions, attitudes and decisions.

So what’s inside my Circle of Influence?

My attitude, including my general disposition – no one else determines what I think, feel, do or say (or eat!)

My finances: despite the ups and downs of the economy and interest rates having some influence on our finances, we have a far greater influence on this area of our lives than we might realise: we are the ones who decide where to spend, save or invest our money.

My health: yes, we all experience the unexpected in this area to some degree, but how we maintain our general standard of health is largely up to us. No one else can control your food intake, exercise for you, or maintain your healthy (versus unhealthy) habits. You play a large part in deciding your basic level of health.

My character: No one else decides this for you – how you build your own character is up to you. As Christians this includes how much time we spend in the word and in prayer.

Our marriages and relationships: Only you manage how you relate to those around you – your family, friends and people at work.

My thought life: The thoughts, words and actions we choose every day will have lasting consequences on our future.

My response to life’s ‘ups and downs’: as a parent, as a friend, at work, as a church member.

It’s actually the things we have most control over that have the greatest effect on our lives – yet it’s so easy to get the two ‘circles’ back to front! Many people spend much of their lives worrying about what’s way beyond their control, yet fail to take responsibility for what they could actually do to improve their lives. How often do we get caught up in worrying and stressing about things we have no control over by focussing on what we can’t change, instead of getting to work on the things we can change?

So here’s the ‘Law of the Circle’ – and there is great value in what it can teach us:

‘Don’t worry about things you have no control over; instead, focus on taking full responsibility for the things inside the circle you do have control over.’

When the world around you seems to be plunging into uncertainty, remember that God’s Word nature, character and His promises remain unaltered.

Also remember that there’s actually nothing terribly new about living in uncertain times. Think about the challenging times faced by some of the great men of the Bible – Noah, Moses, David, the disciples…in fact throughout history the future has always been uncertain.

As this year draws to a close and we look ahead to the new year, I want to encourage you that no matter how uncertain the world around you seems, God is in control! He will help you conquer fear and worry if you hold onto His great joy, hope, peace and love.

Over two thousand years after the event, the cross is still recognised as a powerful symbol of death, even in today’s largely secular world. It cannot be ignored, even by non-believers.

The entire Old Testament points towards the cross, while the New Testament flows from it. The whole of history – world events, including kingdoms, nations and rulers rising and falling, all moved in concert towards and around this single event. It is ‘the hinge of history’. Jesus was born and died at a strategically ordained time in a dramatic season.

Imagine what it was like for Jesus’ followers to witness Him dying on the cross – hearing the fickle crowds, who not long previously had heralded him with cheers, now scorning Him and demanding to have him crucified; seeing their beloved leader, their long-awaited deliverer, the one they had seen do so many miracles, hanging on a cross in what seemed like total defeat.

The disciples scattered in confusion. Even though he had witnessed astounding miracles, Thomas was thrown into a state of total doubt and deep disappointment. He was among those who simply went back to their former trade as fishermen – somewhat like Christians who, when things get tough, revert back to the old ways they’re more comfortable with.

But the cross didn’t take God by surprise – it was a part of His plan from the very beginning. And though Jesus realised the agony He would have to go through, He didn’t resist it.

Many Christians don’t realise that the cross isn’t just all about where we go when we die. It actually has the potential to have a great influence on our current day-to-day lives.

The cross reminds us:

• How much God values each and every one of us – we are the reason Jesus submitted to such a terrible ordeal.

• That God’s ways are often surprising. God is at work even in times of hardship and with you even in your greatest challenges.

• That Jesus paid the price for our sin once and for all. The nation of Israel needed a High Priest to stand between the ordinary people and God. The only way they could receive forgiveness was by the high Priest entering the most sacred part of the temple and offering up sacrifices as atonement for the people’s sins year after year.

Jesus is now our High Priest. We don’t need someone else to go into God’s presence for us – as believers we all now have direct access to Him ourselves. Jesus closed the deal completely when He sacrificed His life as the price for our forgiveness – a price we could never pay ourselves.

But the greatest miracle was yet to come – the resurrection.

In John 21 we see a glimpse of Jesus’ personal care for those He loved. A few of the disciples, having fished all night and caught nothing, responded to someone telling them to try again. Only when they pulled up a massive haul did John realise that it was actually the risen Jesus, who then invited them to join him for an impromptu breakfast of fish and bread.

He is there with us in our everyday lives too, even though we may not always realise it! He is always with us – He never leaves us on our own to figure it all out by ourselves!

The resurrection reminds us that:

• We are overcomers through Christ.

• God can conquer anything because He conquered death. He’s always on our side, and His conquering power has been made available to us through Jesus’ death on the cross.

• Jesus is with us in our day-to-day lives

I’m so glad that the story didn’t end with the crucifixion. Let’s ensure the message of the resurrection affects every day of our lives.

A quick review of 2011events:

• Qld. floods
• Cyclone Yasi
• NZ earthquake
• Japan tsunami and nuclear power plant disaster
• The end of the line for Osama Bin Laden
• Protests in Egypt
• Killings in Oslo
• Riots throughout London – fires
• Occupy protests start in the US and go global
• 10^th anniversary of 9/11
• Dictators toppled from power
• Turmoil in the Arab world
• Deepening crisis in world financial markets

• Famines in Africa

We live in times of constant change, unrest and turmoil. So how can we live victoriously in times of such great uncertainty?

Firstly, we need to realise that nothing ever takes God by surprise. We see such occurrences mentioned in Mat 24.

Matthew 24:3–14 (NLT) ⁶And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. ⁷Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.

2 Tim 3 almost seems to describe today’s culture.

2 Timothy 3:1–5 (NLT) ¹You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. ²For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. ³They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. ⁴They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.

Some observations:

1. Lovers of themselves: people seem overly concerned with looking after themselves rather than helping others or contributing to the community. This generation has been labelled ‘the entitlement generation’, obsessed with ‘looking out for number one’.

2. Lovers of money: as a society we are addicted to spending more than we earn – both on individual and national levels. As a result, some economies are reaching dangerous tipping points.

Two main themes emerge:

1. Jesus was not just a great teacher, religious figure, philosopher, humanitarian or even just a really good person – He truly was The Son of God.

2. He totally loves each one of us as individuals.

Topics we looked at in this series:

• Jesus scourging the currency traders in the temple: reminds us that revival starts in the church. We may be led to thinking it starts ‘out there’ somewhere but God wants to start by doing something in us.

• Jesus said ‘I am the way the truth and the life.’ It’s only Jesus who can give us new life.

• John calls himself ‘The disciple whom Jesus loved’. Every one of us is ‘the disciple Jesus loves’. God loves every single person as an individual.

• We are all called to be evangelists to those around us – the job of reaching others is not just for a few particular people.

• Nicodemus was a prominent public figure who seemed to have all the right credentials, yet knew something vital was missing. Visiting Jesus secretly one night, he learns that no matter how much someone may appear to have it all together on the outside, everyone needs salvation.

• Jesus’ dialogue with the woman at the well who had had many husbands taught us about our problem with finding lasting contentment, and the danger of getting caught in the trap of always wanting a bit more.

• Thomas wouldn’t believe until he had the material evidence. Jesus walked through a wall to meet him, transforming his doubt into an unshakeable conviction of faith.

By the way, the same John also wrote the book of Revelation, and don’t forget – it lets us know that we are on the winning team!

Here are three things we all need to help us through times of doubt:

1.Be planted in a local church. I’m not talking about just attending – I’m talking about being built in. By building relational connections with others in a local church you are becoming a part of a supportive network that will help you make it through difficulties and encourage you to keep growing in God.

2. A Pastor. Just as a team needs a coach and students need teachers, we all need shepherding. We are designed to benefit from having others around us who are more experienced in the faith to speak into our lives, helping to encourage, equip and empower us. God puts these people in our lives to bless us.

3. Develop a thorough understanding of God’s Word. The Bible is not just for church on Sundays. We need to be able to feed on the Word throughout the week ourselves, rather than just expecting to be spoon-fed on Sundays – that’s a bit like starving your spirit all week!

To help counteract doubt, get to know some of these great scriptures about faith: Mark 11:22; Luke 17:6,19; Mark 9:23; 2Cor 5:7.

Ever wrestled with doubts – about your faith, the Bible, why some things happen, or even your own ability to live for God?

We all face doubt at times. Things don’t always work out the way we planned them to. Sometimes confusion sets in. Things take us by surprise. Sometimes God’s timing is perplexing. There may be things we just don’t understand.

What’s important is how we deal with doubt. Having doubt is never a reason to give up or pull back.

Thomas the disciple was hurt, disappointed and disillusioned by the death of Jesus. He was also someone who liked to have visible proof to support his beliefs. Having witnessed Jesus’ ministry, he would have seen many miracles – the water turned into wine, the feeding of the five thousand, healings and even Lazurus raised from the dead …yet somehow he still wasn’t completely convinced of Jesus’ divinity. He openly admitted he needed to experience it for himself.

John 20:25 But he (Thomas) replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later, Jesus, resurrected, walks through a wall and speaks directly to Thomas:

John 20:27-9 Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

²⁸“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

²⁹Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Notice that Jesus didn’t rebuke Thomas harshly for his misgivings, but graciously offered him the chance to feel his side for himself.

Some people think that seeing a miracle or a sign or having some other kind of amazing moment will fix everything. This has actually shipwrecked a lot of Christians. Some people even become more and more desperate for the next big thing, not so much chasing after God, but after signs and wonders, opening themselves up to anything and everything. And interestingly enough, even witnessing great miracles doesn’t prevent us from experiencing doubts.

I can relate to Thomas. I have had doubts – in fact I still have areas of doubt and things I struggle with. But some of my previous areas of doubt and difficulty are now areas where I have strong faith.

We need to realise that having doubts is a part of the Christian walk. None of us has it all together. There are some areas we will never have totally sorted out. We just don’t have all the answers. Learn to ask God to speak into these areas.

We all have doubts at times. God isn’t overly alarmed by our doubts – we shouldn’t be either. As you open your heart to God and let Him speak into these areas of your life He can turn your areas of doubts into convictions of faith.

Our journey of faith is a journey of renewal. Living like Jesus starts with the renewal of your mind. Don’t write yourself off – allow God to work in you. Believe for every area of doubt to be changed into a conviction of faith.

Live Like Jesus: Contentment from Lifeplace on Vimeo.

We all want contentment, yet it can seem so elusive. All of us know what it’s like to feel nagged by a persistent sense of inner dissatisfaction. In fact many of us spend a great deal of our lives feeling discontent.

Like the Samaritan woman Jesus spoke to at the well, we try dipping our buckets into one thing after another in the quest to find what we’re looking for.

Every day we are bombarded with ads telling us how our lives will become better if we buy this or that. The message is always ‘The more you can get, the happier you’ll be’. I call it ‘The culture of want’. It tells us to keep chasing after that little bit more, to always be grasping for what we don’t have.

We fall for it all so easily, even linking our self-esteem to how much we can accumulate and judging others by how much they own or what they earn.

So what would it actually take to make you happy? How much more do you think you need to find contentment?

Psalm 23:1 (NLT) The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

When we read King David’s famous words, we could be forgiven for concluding that he was sitting pretty, enjoying the good life. Yes, he eventually became a king with his own palace and servants; but his life was far from cushy!

Looking back on David’s story, we see he had plenty to be discontent about. To start with, his father overlooks him at an early age – not even considering him in contention to become the future king.

The current king, Saul, tries to spear David to death in his rage, and then sends him out on dangerous missions, expecting him to be killed.

As Saul continues to mount a vicious pursuit against him David is forced to run for his life, hiding out in caves.

Later David is drawn into a crippling chain of sin and deceit, committing adultery with Bathsheba and then arranging her husband’s death.

His best friend Jonathan is killed in battle.

His own son Absalom rises up to oppose him, leading a military coup against him. Eventually Absalom meets a nasty end, causing David great grief.

How could David honestly write these words?

He had found the true secret to contentment: that it doesn’t depend on your circumstances or getting rid of all your difficulties and problems, but that it is found by focussing on God’s presence.

Philippians 4:11 (NIV) I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Ecclesiastes 5:19 (GN) If God gives a man wealth and property … he should be grateful and enjoy what he has … it is a gift from God.

Psalm 23:1 (NLT) The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

Can you say all this about yourself?

It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have dreams, goals or desires – in fact we need these to make the journey rewarding. But any satisfaction we get from achieving our goals only lasts for a while. Sooner or later something is sure to come along that drains our contentment.

The Bible teaches that happiness isn’t getting what you want – happiness is being happy with what you have – being grateful for all God has given you.

In John 4:18 Jesus hints that the Samaritan women drawing water at the well is like someone who has dipped their bucket into the well of ‘relationships’ numerous times but has never found the lasting contentment she was searching for. There is one ‘well’ we can always dip our ‘buckets’ into that gives us real life – life that will not only sustain us but can also spill out onto others around us – the well of living water. Jesus is the life we need to drink from.

John 11:25–26 (NLT) Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. ²⁶Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die …”

John 14:6 (NLT) Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

How to tap in to the living water:

1. Put God first. Make Jesus the centre of your life. We can’t find true contentment in earthly things. He is our source of joy, peace and life. Learn to live from the true source.
2. Practice the discipline of contentment. Learn to let your appreciation for what God means to you override any difficulties you encounter.
3. Give out from what’s in your bucket. Be a life giver! Jesus gave His life to others. (Have you ever met a happy selfish person? I’ve found they usually seem upset, offended and bitter and always seem to feel they’ve been let down.)
4. Attend church regularly. A Church that seeks God and honours Christ is a life-giving community.

John 4:3-30 tells us of an exchange between Jesus and a Samaritan woman fetching water at a local well. Surprised that Jesus even spoke to her, she hears Him describe her history of failed relationships and offer her water that will leave her never thirsting again.

What is Jesus getting at here? He likens her attempts to find contentment via relationships with one man after another to so many buckets of water. She had been looking for life but was left still feeling thirsty, discontent and unfulfilled.

This woman thought men would be her source of satisfaction and the answer to all her needs. How many of us dip our ‘buckets’ into all kinds of wells, hoping the results will satisfy us once and for all? What are the buckets you have in your life? Where are you looking for contentment? Trying to find happiness from other people and things can actually be quite a trap.

We convince ourselves that people or things can satisfy our search for contentment, and that they can answer all our deepest needs – permanently. I am amazed by what some people will do for money. People will do almost anything for ‘more’. Are we kidding ourselves?

Three most common areas we try to draw life from:

Relationships: In marriage, the attitude that ‘It’s my spouse’s job to make me happy’ is faulty, and will often lead to ‘If they don’t give me enough of what I want or need I’ll find someone else who will…’

The woman in this story had done this five times – and still didn’t realise that it was never going to work. She obviously had a problem with commitment. When she didn’t find what she was after she kept hoping the next relationship would be better.

Remember the guy in the lift in the movie ‘Jerry Maguire’ saying, “You complete me” to his girlfriend in sign language? This type of message can be misleading. We need to be strong enough in ourselves to be able to give out to our spouses rather than demanding too much from them. And even then, we can never fulfil all their needs – we’re only human.

The next two areas where many people look for self-fulfilment are very closely connected:

Success: – achievement, career, recognition, authority, influence etc

Money – not just for provision but for status, possessions, power etc.

We can easily get caught in the trap of thinking once I have this or that, everything will be great and I’ll find lifelong happiness. Have I ever told myself: I’ll be happy when

I’ve finished studying

I get that job/promotion

I get married

I have children

My children are at school

I start my own business

I can move/travel/go overseas

I can retire

My health problems are fixed

Etc. etc.?

Could it be that we actually have a contentment problem ourselves? We live in a society that cultivates an attitude of insatiable want. The recent global financial crisis was largely caused by greed. No matter how far we’ve come or how much we’ve attained, it seems we constantly crave for more.

It’s not that pursuing either relationships, career success or money is wrong – none of them are actually bad in themselves; but neither are any of them are meant to be the source of life, and if we habitually chase after them in the belief that they will answer our deepest needs we’re headed for disappointment.

It’s easy to get caught up in comparing ourselves with others, focusing on what we don’t have and forgetting the many wonderful things we already do have – not just material blessings, but also far more important things like family and friends.

What are you waiting on to make you happy? A key to finding lasting deep contentment is to recognize that right now you have the choice to be happy with all the many things God has already given you.

Live Like Jesus: John 3:16 from Lifeplace on Vimeo.

As a young man, John the disciple left his family fishing business to follow a thirty-year-old teacher.

Written some forty years after Jesus’ death, John’s eyewitness account of Jesus’ ministry highlights particular incidents, emphasising Jesus’ love and care for all those He encountered, regardless of their social standing.

Nicodemus was a teacher and a man of considerable eminence, with high religious qualifications and moral standards. He not only knew the ins and outs of the extensive religious laws but also taught them, and would have been a model of religious observance.

Yet he felt the need to seek Jesus out in secret, the middle of the night. Although he appeared to have it all together spiritually, Nicodemus had big questions, seeming to sense something was missing and realising that he was still searching for truth in a state of spiritual darkness. We aren’t told what brought him to this point – perhaps some crisis, or maybe just a creeping, nagging feeling that he might have missed the point.

Understandably, Nicodemus finds Jesus’ initial response to his enquiries somewhat confusing:

John 3:3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

⁴“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

Jesus was describing spiritual rebirth – a totally new start, a transformation.

It’s interesting that this statement is not made to some obvious sinner or someone who seemed far from God, but to a Pharisee, a teacher of the law who would have been considered right up there on the righteousness scale.

This story raises some interesting points. Here are some things people often parade as excuses for avoiding God that are addressed in this encounter:

‘I have questions’: Like Nicodemus, we all have questions – about God, truth, life and death. Yet most people think relying on their own merits to satisfy the spiritual requirements on their lives is enough to get them by. The Bible refutes this!

Religion: ‘I go to church once in a while…’ Jesus lets Nicodemus know that even all his considerable religious qualifications weren’t enough – and if a respected religious dignitary still needed to receive God’s saving grace, how much more do all of us!

‘I’m a good person’: Most people think they are pretty good compared to others, especially compared to some of what they see on the news etc. But ‘good’ simply isn’t good enough. The Bible is very clear in its message that every one of us is part of a fallen race with an inborn tendency towards selfishness and sin, and that Jesus is the only remedy.

If ‘good’ were good enough, why do we need John 3:16? We all need the ‘one true fix’!

‘I’ve failed’: We’ve all failed and fallen short of what we know we should be. God knows this and His grace allows for it.

‘I’m too much of a sinner’: Nicodemus had all the externals together, yet even he still needed inner redemption and renewal. All of us, from the most notorious sinner to the most honourable, need Jesus’ payment for our sin.

My church experience: We all have our own unique journeys. Having been brought up in a church environment, I’ve seen the good and also occasionally the ‘not so good’. There is no perfect church and all church members are only human!

I could have had plenty of reasons to pull away from church, however I made a deliberate decision to keep attending, despite some of what I’ve seen and experienced.

God’s grace bypasses all these issues and does away with the need for our own inadequate efforts to attain His acceptance. The most famous verse in the Bible tells us this so clearly:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

The message of the Bible can be summarised in these words: ‘God so loves YOU’! The big question: how will I respond to God’s love?