The Sweet Life

The Sweet Life

Do you feel like you are too busy? 

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. II Corinthians 9:8

What are some of the things you are busy with?

Have you ever had one of those moments where you find out that unexpected family is coming, or you remember on Thursday night that you promised to bring a homemade dessert to Friday’s office luncheon?  Or any other time when you’ve got to come up with a sweet treat in a big ole’ hurry?  What do you do then?  Now, don’t say, “Go to Wal-Mart,” because that’s just cheating.  Besides, if you’re like me and live twenty miles from the nearest grocery store, it’s easier just to dig in the pantry and hope you can find enough sweet things to throw together in a bowl and call it done.  Well, today, I want to share with you my favorite, easy-as-pie decadence in a dash, made with things you more than likely already have in your cupboard.  I have no idea what it’s really called – quick cobbler perhaps, but my friend just calls it the Cup O’ Cobbler. It’s just a cup or two of these simple ingredients:

1 cup biscuit mix

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

½ cup butter

2 cups pie fruit (any fruit)

Now, I have a question for you:  what would have happened to this mix if I had left out the biscuit mix?  I would have a slurry, sloppy mess, wouldn’t I?  Would I have a complete dessert without it?  No.  It might be sweet enough, but without this base ingredient, there’s nothing to hold all the parts together. But with this ingredient, the FIRST ingredient, the dessert can be completely whole.

You know, our lives are a lot like this cobbler.  It only takes five ingredients for a complete, sweet life, but each is necessary to make us complete.

At this moment, you may be thinking to yourself, “Girl, you must have been reading my mail, because that is EXACTLY what my life feels like right now – a mess.”  Might there be an ingredient in your life that is missing – a necessary element, without which you cannot experience a sweet life of joy, peace and success?  I remember a time when my life was like that, when a key ingredient was missing.  I want to tell you about that time, but first, let me share with you the five ingredients of sweet living.  Just like the cobbler recipe, all the elements start with the same letter, this time, the letter F.  You’ll want to job these down!

The first ingredient of a sweet life is FAITH.  Now I’m not just talking about faith in yourself, or faith in the bank, or faith in your man, but real faith in the One who can take your life and make it whole.  The second ingredient is FAMILY, and the third ingredient is FRIENDS.  After that is the FACTORY (work) and finally, FUN.  But the key ingredient my friend, the one that holds all the other parts together to make a whole, is FAITH.  When I was 15, I realized that ingredient was missing in my life.

You see, that was the year my father died and, truly, I felt as if my world fell to pieces. All of its parts were disconnected, disjointed.  In short, I was a wreck. I was angry.  I mourned the things that would not come for me – things that every girl dreams about doing with her daddy, celebrating my high school graduation, father-daughter dances, the wedding march.  I bemoaned the fact that I had been left to live with my mother, of all people, and I felt totally alone.  But you know what?  I wasn’t.  We aren’t.  We are never, ever alone.  But what I had failed to do was activate the key element in my life, that which would make me whole, even with a gaping hole in my family, and that was my faith in the Lord.  Oh, you see, I had faith all along.  I was raised in church, my father was a music minister, my mother sang in the choir, and the only drug problem I ever had was being “drug” to church every time the doors were open.  I knew all about the love of Jesus and the goodness of God, but it was something I kept over here, on the countertop, separated from the other parts of my life.

That was something I wanted to keep separate.  I mean, I didn’t want to mix my faith with my family relationships, and certainly not with my friends or co-workers!  Goodness!  What might they say to me?  Or worse, about me?

At the age of fifteen, the only thing scarier than loving the Lord in front of my friends, was loving Him in front of the cool kids.  And fun?  There surely was no place for the Lord on a Friday night, in a field, around a campfire, doing who knows what.   So, I kept my faith compartmentalized; safely to the side where I could dip my finger in occasionally. But never would I dream of mixing it in with the rest of my world.

However, with the loss of my father I realized just how much in pieces I was – how deeply I was hurting, and how desperately I needed a salve for my soul.  And it was during that time that I finally asked God to be present in every part of my life.  And you know what?  He said yes!  And He did.  He did, and it has been a beautiful, complete journey ever since.  Do you know what happened when I opened myself up to receive God’s goodness in every area of my life?  He became the missing piece in my family where my daddy had been.  He came to me, just like he said he would in the Bible, “I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.” John 14:18

With my friends?  He became my friend.  And what about my work?  He has become my work. For the Bible tells me that “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” ² And my fun?  I want to testify to you today that there is no high that any chemical or drink can manufacture that can compare to the thrill of a life of faith in Jesus. “You turned my wailing into dancing;  you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.”³

Ladies, I have come here today to share with you this ingredient.  The key to making every life complete, peaceful, joyful and sweet.  Now some of you here may be following me pretty well.  You really understand where I’m coming from, because you know about the faith base; but like I did, you have been keeping it to the side- for emergencies only- and you have not allowed the Lord to mix in with the other parts of who you are.  And you know what that means?  Every area of your life is missing something.  YOU are missing out on the blessing of who God wants to be in you, and to you.

But there are others here today who may have no idea whatsoever what I’m talking about.  What exactly is this faith ingredient, and if it’s so wonderful, how do I get it?  I’m glad you asked.  The faith ingredient is, specifically, faith in Jesus Christ- the One true thing that can not only complete your life here on earth, but secure your eternity in heaven; the faith without which our eternity in hell is certain.  The reason I believe this is because I know that each of us has a serious flaw in our character from the time we are old enough to recognize and choose right from wrong. That flaw is called sin, and we all suffer from it; we all suffer because of it, for the Bible tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” ⁴ And what’s worse is the cost of that sin, which the Bible tells us is death,  “For the wages of sin is death…” ⁵

In these two statements we can be sure that without some kind of intervention on our behalf, our eternal destiny is hell.   But I have good news!  And I have come to share that good news with you today.  Someone HAS intervened for us- someone HAS paid for us the “wage” of our sin- and His name is Jesus.  You see, the other half of that verse tells us that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” ⁶ It is through faith in Jesus that we have life- true, real, whole life.  As a matter of fact, Jesus Himself said, “I have come that [you] might have life, and have it abundantly.” ⁷ Now Ladies, that is a promise for SWEET living!  It is faith in Jesus Christ as Savior- this One who came to Earth as a man, lived a perfect life, without sin, died on the cross to pay the “wage” that our sin deserved, was buried, and was raised to life again on the third day- He is the One who can deliver us from our sin, who sets us free, gives us hope and pulls all of the other pieces of our lives together.

Do you have that faith today?  Is your faith rooted in the right place?  Because it can’t be in anything else- not a man, not your children or your best friend, because they will disappoint you at some time or another- not your job and certainly not your hobbies- only Jesus, for only he is perfect.  As a matter of fact, Jesus tells us plainly, “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father” (that means heaven), “but by me.” ⁸

Now I want to show you something else too:  what do you notice about the mixture that I have here?  Is it perfected?  Is it ready to eat?  No.  Why not?  Because it’s raw.  It’s uncooked!  What has to be done to this pie to make it complete?  Is has to pass through the fire- it has to be heated at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, to be exact.  But do you know what happens to this dough when it is tested and tried?  It rises up- it permeates all of the other ingredients- holding them together, so at the end you have a product that is deliciously sweet; a thing of joy.  Now if I cooked this without my base ingredient, no matter how hot the oven got, all of its pieces would still be just that- pieces, separated; broken; like many of you here today.

Ladies, we all go through the fire, but with a faith- base in Jesus Christ, even in the difficulties, the heat of life, He will rise up in us, giving us hope for the present and security for the future.

Don’t you want such a hope in your life?  You need it.  We all need it.  We need Him.  So how do we get Him?  How do we get this Jesus foundation?  All you have to do is believe and receive.   Believe in who Jesus in, confess your sins and ask Him to be your savior.  The Bible says it like this:  “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, for it is with the heart man believes unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” ⁹

If that is something you want to do today, I want to help you do it.  I’m going to pray a prayer just like the Bible tells me to do- confessing my need to be saved from my sin and my belief that Jesus is the One who can do that, asking Him to come into my life and make me whole- give me a new base on which to build my life.  If you want to do that too, then pray this prayer with me.  You can say it in your heart or you can say it out loud, but now is your time.  Please pray with me…

(Salvation Prayer Here)

Congratulations!  I want you to know that the Bible promises that from this moment, you will never be the same again.  As a matter of fact, it promises that you have been made brand new “If any man is in Christ he is a new creature, the old is passed away, behold!  All things have become new.” ¹⁰ What a beautiful day for you.  I love the Bible verse that tells us to “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” ¹¹ If you have done that for the first time today, I just want you to know, it only gets sweeter from here.  (Song:  Ev’ry day with Jesus, is sweeter than the day before; Ev’ry day with Jesus, I love Him more and more.   Jesus saves and keeps me, yes, He’s the One I’m living for!  Ev’ry day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before!).

Scripture references:

1. John 14: 18
2. II Corinthians 9:8
3. Psalm 30:11
4. Romans 3:23
5. Romans 6:23
6. Romans 6:23
7. John 10:10
8. John 6:14
9. Romans 10:9-10
10. II Corinthians 5:17
11. Psalm 34:8