"Is Tom Brady content yet?"

In 2005 Tom Brady - at that time the 30-year-old winner of 3 Super Bowls - made some surprising statements to 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft.



His three Super Bowl wins came in his first five years in the NFL. That's pretty good.

Since 2005, Brady has lost two Super Bowls and won another. That's 4 trips to the top of the mountain! Maybe he's getting bored.

If Tom's still lacking contentment after winning 4 Super Bowls, will winning more rings do the trick? How many will it take - five ... six ... one for each finger? I don't think so. Eating sand will never satisfy a guy who's made to eat steak. And eating more sand will never change this fact (though it may lead to some incredibly clean bowels).

Though Brady makes a lot of money, it doesn't seem to be his driving force. He's not even one of the top ten highest paid NFL quarterbacks. He's currently #12, in your program and on the pay scale.

Hmmm ... I can't decide whose hair is more magnificent.

Contentment enhancers

Tom now has something he didn't have back in '05 - a Brady Bunch. He's married to a rich Brazilian supermodel with a cool German-looking name, Gisele Bündchen (go ahead, say it out loud, it's fun - Ju-zel Boond-chin!). The Bunch also has three kids and an extra mommy of the oldest son.

Maybe marriage and kids have answered the question Tom didn't have the answer for in 2005. Obviously marriage and kids can surpass any satisfaction and contentment gained from career accomplishments. But even the depth of satisfaction that can come from having your own bunch can fall short of fulfilling our greatest need.

Our greatest need

I heard the story of a man who spent his whole life striving to climb to the top of the success ladder. One day, late in his life, he finally made it. "This is what I've always dreamed of," he thought to himself. He looked around with pride in his life-long accomplishment. Then, in an instant, the happy feeling was gone. He barely had time to enjoy it. With a heavy weight in his chest, he looked around and realized that he'd set his ladder against the wrong wall. Crappers.

A man can make it to the top of the ladder, even the top of the mountain. But there's something way above these two high points in life. You knew I'd get to it eventually, so here it is: God. Yeah, He's our greatest need, our ultimate goal. What's higher than Him? What else in life is more worthy of our attention and devotion than Him?

You see, God knows that He is our ultimate goal, so He diminishes anything else that we would chase after in place of Him. Yeah, He lets us go on these wild-goose chases as we chase success, fame, money, Super Bowl rings and an innumerable array of things. He may even let us chase our whole life. He may allow us to chase and never attain that which we think will satisfy us. But if we do grab it (whatever "it" is), God will ensure that the joy will be short-lived.

Absentee Child

We've all heard about absentee fathers - the ones who aren't there for their offspring either physically or emotionally or both. Based on the events leading up to this year's Super Bowl, it's clear that Tom has a great relationship with his earthly father.

An earthly father's presence in his child's life is essential. When the father's gone, there's a huge void that only the father can fill.

But how big of a void exists when your heavenly Father, your Creator, is absent from your life? Is He absent because He left you, or because you've unknowingly (or knowingly) turned your back on Him while you're busy chasing your dreams that don't include Him? Are you an absentee child? Is Tom Brady an absentee child? In fact, we are all absentee children in some way until we come to our heavenly Father.

Acts 17:26-27,

From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.

He's so close, and yet so far away if our focus is on other things - even good things - that just can't satisfy and bring contentment like Jesus can. Are you and Tom Brady seeking Him and reaching out for Him?

Tom Brady's just like us

I don't know what Tom Brady knows about Jesus. I don't know if Tom Brady knows Jesus. I don't know if his Brazilian supermodel wife knows Jesus. I know she asks people to pray for Tom to win Super Bowls, so she must think Someone is out there hearing those prayers. But praying to win the big game and knowing God are two different things.

I'm no Tom Brady. I can't pull off the magnificent hair thing ... or the 4 Super Bowl thing. But I can match Tom in this - I'm human and so is he (except on the field, there he's a machine!). I've asked the same question Tom Brady asked in the video (but with different words) - "Is this all there is to my life?" I asked this question in my early twenties. Tom waited til he was thirty. Maybe you've asked this question. If you haven't done it yet, you will. You can read my story here.

Learn from Tom

One lesson you can hopefully take away from Tom Brady's experience is this: reaching the mountaintop of a career or some other endeavor will not provide lasting contentment. It may not even provide enough contentment to last to the end of the day that you reach the summit.

There are innumerable mountains that we can spend our valuable time climbing in this life. And none of them reach as high as Jesus. But the cool thing is this - you don't need to climb a mountain to get to Jesus. He has to come to you, because you can't get to where He is on your own. Believe in Him and call on His name - He'll show up.

Learn from me

Maybe you can learn something from my life. I hope you can learn that true, lasting contentment can only come when you have a relationship with your heavenly Father. Nothing in my life brings me happiness and contentment like my relationship with Jesus and my heavenly Father. And I have an awesome family that makes me as happy as they possibly can. I love them with all my heart. But even they can't take the place of God in my life. And they don't have to. I can have both, just like Tom Brady can have all his Super Bowl rings, his Brady Bunch and Jesus. He just needs to realize that Jesus is #1. But even if you have nothing in life, you can still have Jesus.

Jesus said this to a group of religious people in John 5:39-40,

"Search the scriptures, for in them you are supposing you have life eonian, and those are they which are testifying concerning Me, 40 and not willing are you to come to Me that you may have life." (Concordant Literal New Testament)

The mountaintop for these people was knowing the Scriptures. But they didn't realize that the Scriptures they idolized pointed them to Jesus. And they refused to believe in Him and come to Him. So they didn't receive the eonion life only He could give them. They had life, but they didn't have The Life that came by knowing Jesus.

Jesus spoke this to His Father in John 17:3,

"Now it is eonian life that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Him Whom Thou dost commission, Jesus Christ." (CLNT)

The Life is knowing Jesus and and His Father. Tom Brady has a life that is probably envied by millions. But does he have The Life? I don't know.

I have The Life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, not even magnificent hair.

Sincerely,

Wes

P.S. - The story of the prodigal son (or absentee child) is the story of each one of us.

P.P.S. - Here are some other Scriptures that relate to this post that will help you:

Then [Jesus] said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15 - NIV)

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21 - NIV)

Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who is drinking of this water will be thirsting again,
14 yet whoever may be drinking of the water which I shall be giving him, shall under no circumstances be thirsting for the eon, but the water which I shall be giving him will become in him a spring of water, welling up into life eonian." (John 4:13-14 - CLNT)

"Verily, verily, I am saying to you that he who is hearing My word and believing Him Who sends Me, has life eonian and is not coming into judging, but has proceeded out of death into life." (John 5:24 - CLNT)

Jesus, then, said to them, "I am the Bread of life. He who is coming to Me should under no circumstances be hungering, and he who is believing in Me will under no circumstances ever be thirsting." (John 6:35 - CLNT)

[Jesus said] "The thief is not coming except that he should be stealing and sacrificing and destroying. I came that they may have life eonian, and have it superabundantly." (John 10:10 -CLNT)

Jesus is saying to him, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one is coming to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6 - CLNT)

Life lesson from a dog with 3 and 3/4 legs

I was recently doing electrical work at a new home in the country. There were several dogs roaming the property inside and out.

It was cold outside and I was in the house waiting for the power company to show up. As I stood there, a German Shepherd came up to me with a tennis ball in her mouth. She dropped the ball right in front of me, eager to play.

The ball was covered with dog slobber, so I kicked it across the large concrete floor. Every bounce of the ball left a gooey wet spot as the slobber spun out of the ball.  

As she took off running, I noticed she kept one of her back legs elevated. If it did touch down to the ground, I could see it was very painful for her.

But here she came again and again - ball, slobber and eagerness  - despite the pain she was in.

This little game made me think about life. How easy would it be for her to just lay around in less pain than when she ran?

It's as though the thought never crossed her mind.

God created her to be playful and to run and to enjoy life. And she knew she could still do this despite a bad wheel. Her circumstances may have slowed her down, but they weren't going to stop her. 

"I'll wait 'til I'm 100%"

Sometimes we two-legged creatures tend to avoid doing things that involve pain in our lives. The pain could be emotional or physical or both. The pain could be major or minor.

We lay around, choosing to live a life with the least amount of pain. But this isn't a very satisfying life. The laying around can actually bring its own kind of pain - depression, guilt, loneliness, etc.

You can't avoid pain in your life. If you're alive, life will deliver pain right to your front door - free of charge.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, "Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I think we'd all agree. Each day has some trouble. Again, some of it's minor, some major. But there it is - every single day.

Will it stop you?

♪♫ "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen ..." ♫♪

The dog wanted to chase the ball, which meant running, which meant being a little slower than she preferred, which meant putting up with pain from her damaged leg. To her, the positive outweighed all the negatives. So she played - and had joy.

She wasn't going to lay around 'til she was 100%.

 

Who's 100%? Nobody I know.

If you wait in life for the day that you're 100%, you'll eventually get there - when you're 100% dead. Not much joy in that.

Don't wait.

Jesus looked beyond the cross to the good stuff

Jesus knew severe pain was coming His way as His torture and crucifixion approached. But He also knew extreme joy was waiting for Him after the pain. 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12)

The hardest part of His mission was over. He had painfully paid for the sins of the entire world. He's now with His Father in heaven experiencing joy.

Instead of going to the excruciating cross, Jesus could've avoided all that pain, sat on the couch and watched the Jerry Springer marathon on Fox TV. Much less pain - absolutely no gain.

He endured extreme emotional and physical pain for all of us, for Himself, and for His Father. Thanks Jesus.

Pushing through the pain of life benefits not only you, but those who care about you. They want you to have joy in your life. 

What joy lies beyond the trials you're facing?

There's something good for us when we overcome the pain we face.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

What's the good waiting for you in your situation? Look at your life. Maybe try a new perspective.

"It's just too hard out there!"

If you can't see it yet, ask God to open your eyes. Ask Him to give you encouragement along the road. Ask Him for wisdom - we could all use more of that. Keep your eyes open.

Sometimes we can't see or experience the joy until we start moving through the pain. Get going.

Focusing on the negative and the current pain is too easy, but not profitable. There's good to be seen, but sometimes it's a little more work.

Talk with your closest non-negative friends. They may be able to give you a perspective that you're currently blind to - a perspective that may make a world of difference.

Moving at the speed of life

For those who may be on the opposite end of the activity spectrum, maybe God is using a trial or some pain in your life to get you to slow down long enough to think a little deeper about your life.

Too often as we move at the speed of life, constantly doing stuff, we don't take the time to just stop and think. Here's some questions to get you started.

• "Where am I heading?"
• "Am I even on the right road in my life?"
• "What can I do differently?"
• "What am I doing well?"
• "What can I do better?"
• "What should I stop doing?"
• "Have I forgotten God?"

Shut the TV off. Shut the radio off. Shut the cell phone off (yes, it actually has an "OFF" button). Get out of the house. Get away from all distractions ... and think.

The still, small voice of God can get drowned out by the constant noise we surround ourselves with.

God created you to enjoy life with Him regardless of your circumstances. He's near. He'll help. Let Him help you.

Will you overcome your pain, or will you be overcome by it?

I know you can be an overcomer and experience the joy set before you.


Sincerely,
Wes



P.S. - I encourage you to read in the Bible what Jesus went through for you (see Mark 14:32-16:8). 

  

Crushing Jesus

Have you ever felt like God's a gazillion miles away? Or that He's not even there at all? I think we've probably all felt this way at one time or another. But what's the reality of God's nearness to us? How far away is He?

Finding the invisible God

I've often imagined what my life would've been like if I'd lived during other times - the early stages of man's existence, or the wild west in America, or the time when Jesus walked the earth. But I didn't have a say in the matter. So here I am, right where God wants me in 2016.

God determined where you, and everyone else, would be born. And He determined what time in history you would live.

There's one major reason why you were plopped into the circumstances of your life. 

Paul, a follower of Jesus, explained this reason to a crowd in Athens who'd never heard of Jesus. 

²² Paul then stood up in the meeting of the council on Mars Hill and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you."
²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’... " (Acts 17)

Those words I put in bold, especially the bold italics, were given by God through Paul to give you hope.

"Open your eyes. I'm right here."

God created you exactly when and where He wanted you to be so you "would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him." And this is exactly what will eventually happen for all people. If not in this life, in the next. He'll cause you to find Him, even if He has to grab and crank your distracted, reluctant head.  

God is not far from you!

So why does He sometimes (or maybe all the time) seem so far away? The answer lies in the following story.

Suffering woman seeks, reaches for, and finds God

The purpose of the following uplifting true story is to help us find our God, Who is already near.

As Jesus was on His way, the crowds almost crushed Him.
And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.
She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.”  
Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched My clothes?”
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against You.”
But Jesus said, “Someone touched Me; I know that power has gone out from Me.”
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him and how she had been instantly healed.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
(Combination of Mark 5:26-34 and Luke 8:42-48)

Awesome story.

The frenzied crowds were nearly crushing Jesus. But only one person in the mass seemed to catch His attention. Someone had sought Him, reached out for Him, and found Him as God desires to happen according to Acts 17:26-27.

A life-changing and life-saving connection had been made between the poor woman and Jesus.

Why some connect with Jesus, and some don't

Was power going out of Jesus to other people in the crowd that were bumping into and nearly crushing Him? It doesn't seem so. If you're merely bumping into Jesus but aren't connected to Him and His power, He's basically "an unknown god" to you, as He was to the Athenians in Acts 17.

So what was it about this suffering woman's touching His clothes that was different from all those who were nearly smothering Him? Faith! According to God's desire in Acts 17:27, she

• sought Him
• reached out for Him
• found Him

When you do these expecting to make a genuine connection with God - the invisible God will somehow make Himself known to you. And you'll know that you've connected with Him.

These are three things that ANYONE, ANYWHERE can do to come to know Jesus. I was just an average Joe in my early twenties when I met Jesus in St. Louis Park, Minnesota in the early '90s. Just me and Jesus in my empty one-bedroom apartment. And I haven't been the same since then.

Are you expectantly doing these three things? This is God's desire for you. And He's crafted the circumstances of your life for it to happen. Why not today? Why not right now, right where you are? Don't move a muscle, except the ones you need to call out to Jesus.

If you've already connected with God, that's awesome. Stay with Him.

Power for you

When power went out of Jesus, the woman received it and greatly benefited. (Don't worry, Jesus won't run out of power. There's plenty for everyone.)

But when you don't know Him, you don't experience His power.

When someone comes to Jesus with faith, they receive a unique, supernatural power directly from Jesus. He's got a monopoly on this power. You can't buy it. You can't sell it. Jesus gives it freely to those who seek Him, reach for Him, and find Him. And His power can do amazing things. For this woman it was physical healing. And I'm sure she was healed emotionally also. Wouldn't you love to talk with her and hear her whole story?

This power also connects us to Jesus so that we know He's near us, even when we may not feel that He is. It's like my relationship with my wife. I always know she loves me, but I don't always get a tingly feeling about it (but sometimes my heart does beat a little faster when I think about her). I would rather know that she loves me than be dependent on fickle feelings to prove her love to me. I can always know, but I don't always feel.

"I tried the Jesus thing and it didn't work."

I don't know your exact situation. But I've heard people say they "tried" Jesus and it didn't work. Some of these people merely went into a church building expecting something magical to happen. And nothing happened other than them adding Jesus to their list of things that don't work. They may have very well been in a dead church where Jesus wasn't the focus at all. There could have been other factors that prevented them from connecting with Jesus.

Seek Him, reach for Him, find Him

Notice in the story above that the suffering woman didn't go to the synagogue for healing (though she may have tried this earlier). She'd tried things that had no power for 12 long years, and she grew worse. Finally, she went directly to Jesus, because she knew He was the One with the power she needed. He was her last hope. And she was healed.

Have you gone directly to Jesus? Or have you simply done some religious stuff - where there is zero power - and gave up.

Or maybe you've done religious stuff for many years, and you still don't know Jesus and His power. Notice above in Acts 17:22-23 that the Athenians were "very religious," but they didn't know God.

Where are you placing your hope for healing, power and salvation? Are you trying everything except Jesus? If so, how's that working out? He's still there, not far from you - seek Him, reach out for Him, find Him.

What does Jesus have in store for you when you come to Him? Love, power, grace, forgiveness, relationship, peace, hope, new life, and so much more. I can try to explain it, but you need to experience it.

Sincerely,
Wes

P.S. Never forget this: You are the offspring of the living, loving, almighty God.