Can I be Successful Without God?

"The essence of man's life is to be successful in this world and find salvation, joy, peace and contentment."

The Atheist says,"I can be a successful man without God." But the Theist says,"I can't be a successful man in this world without God." What is the essence of success in this world?

To have the essence of success is the most important aspect for a successful man. Story of success is a very interesting topic for those who want to be a successful man. Who does not want to be a successful man in this world? Perhaps, every body wants to be a successful man in this world. As a Christian, we believe that without God, we cannot be a successful man in this world. But have you ever seen that many non-Christians are successful in their career, business etc. In today's Christian society, many leave their faith in Jesus and run after the worldly fame, money and power. And they are very successful through their hard work and struggle.

When we read the book of kings (in the Bible), we noticed that many people become a great king worshipping the idols, Baals etc. To become a successful man or popular man in this world is no solely depend on God's help. From the ancient history of Israel to the contemporary world, we have learned that without God many people could become successful in their life. Many Christians cannot become a successful man as they only depend on their faith without action. When we read the book of James, we found that faith without work is dead.

"Faith by it self if it is not accompanied by action is dead." James 2:17

When we want to be a successful man in this world, we need sincere hard work, determination, interest etc. Faith is nothing to do with, without work. But work is something to do with without faith. Man can become successful and create many new things with his hard work. A businessman can do well in his business without God if he works hard with positive attitude. A farmer also can have abundant of crops with his hard work. Any other professional workers also can do well without God. So, can't we say that without believing in God - we can be a successful man in this world?

We can be a successful man in this world but the salvation, joy, peace and satisfaction are different matters. A successful man may or may no have salvation, peace and joy. Anybody who works hard with right approach and positive attitude will be successful regardless of his or her religion but salvation matter is different aspect. There is greater chance for a man to be successful with work without faith than faith without work. Through his struggle and hard work like Jacob (in the Bible) became successful in his work. Many Christians believe that they cannot succeed in life without God, which mean without faith.

But they actually have little or no faith in God, nor? they work hard to be succeeded in their life? Any body that works hard will find good result and succeed in life. But the problem for those people who are successful in life without faith in God will no receive salvation. Salvation, peace, joy and contentment come from God. A successful man without faith in God, feel emptiness in his heart. He may work hard and struggle to reach his goal but after reaching his goal, he will no satisfy in his life. Momentarily, he may be happy but that kind of happiness and satisfaction is ephemera.

Man works hard to be successful with an expectation to get contentment, joy and peace. Man deserves to receive contentment, peace and joy after he works very hard and successful in his dream and work. What if we work hard and become a very successful man in this world but find no peace, satisfaction and joy? Is there will be any meaning when we are successful in life but find no salvation, contentment, security, peace and joy? What is your objective in life trying to be a successful man in this world? A successful man without salvation and contentment, peace and joy is meaningless in his life. When we are successful in our work or anything, satisfaction, peace and joy should be there. The fruit of succeed should be satisfaction, peace and joy but man cannot find the fruit of success without God. Man can create all the tangible things but he cannot create the abstract thing. Salvation, peace and joy are abstract thing and man cannot create such thing. Man can make some environments to create abstract thing (peace, joy and contentment) but only God can create and provide to man. The essence of man?s life is to be successful in this world and find salvation, joy, peace and contentment. If we miss any of these, there will be emptiness feel in our heart even after becoming a successful man in this world?

In conclusion, man can become a successful man in this world with his struggle and hard work, but he cannot find salvation, peace, joy and contentment in his life without God. The essence of succeed should have salvation, peace, joy and contentment.

The Six Pillars of Character

These six core ethical values form the foundation of character :
Integrity
· Be honest
· Don't deceive, cheat or steal
· Be reliable — do what you say you'll do
· Have the courage to do the right thing
· Build a good reputation
. Be loyal — stand by your family, friends and country

Respect
· Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule
· Be tolerant of differences
· Use good manners, not bad language
· Be considerate of the feelings of others
· Don't threaten, hit or hurt anyone
· Deal peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements

Responsibility
· Do what you are supposed to do
· Persevere: keep on trying!
· Always do your best
· Use self-control
· Be self-disciplined
· Think before you act — consider the consequences
· Be accountable for your choices

Fairness - Play by the rules
· Take turns and share
· Be open-minded; listen to others
· Don't take advantage of others
· Don't blame others carelessly

Caring
· Be kind
· Be compassionate and show you care
· Express gratitude
· Forgive others
· Help people in need

Belonging
· Do your share to make your school and community better
· Cooperate
· Stay informed; vote
· Be a good neighbour
· Obey laws and rules
· Respect authority
· Protect the environment

The poor has so much more than the rich...

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

" It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing?
Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!

"COME TO ME... AND LEARN OF ME"

by Chip Brogden

(This article is taken from our audio series called, "Growing Up Spiritually". The spoken form has been retained throughout. For more information on how to get the complete teaching series on compact disc, please check out the link at the bottom of this email.)

Jesus says it is the narrow Gate AND the narrow Path that leads to Life, and only a few will find it. There is a Path that you must walk, and the Path is a process that Jesus calls "discipleship". Discipleship is not an optional extra to people who are already born-again. I don’t believe that you can make Jesus your Savior, and later on, at your discretion and at your convenience, make Him Lord. I believe He must be Lord OF all, or He isn’t Lord AT all. Many people just want to trust in Jesus to save them from their sins and take them to heaven when they die, but they don’t want the process of discipleship. They are willing to enter into the Gate, but they are not willing to walk the Path. That’s what it amounts to. Many Christians have entered the Gate, but very few of them are actually walking the Path. There they are, sitting just inside the Gate, rejoicing in a future hope, rejoicing in a future heaven, rejoicing in a future reward, but they don’t realize that being a disciple of Jesus does not simply mean praying a prayer or believing something or joining something. It is a process. It is the Path, in fact, that leads you to Life. The Gate does not lead you anywhere - it is only the beginning of the journey, it is not the destination.

Now, what is a disciple? What really is a disciple? Well, a disciple, according to the Scripture, according to the usage of the term if you’ll look this up in Strong’s Concordance, a disciple is a learner. A pupil. A student, if you will. Let me ask you a question. If Jesus call us to be His disciples, and a disciple is a learner, a pupil, a student, what does that mean? It means…

"COME TO ME, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and LEARN FROM ME" (Matthew 11:28).

Underline that, highlight that, write that down, but make special note of that phraseology. "Take My yoke upon you and learn OF Me," King James says. "Learn FROM Me," New King James says. "For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden light."

Now that word "learn" there, where He says "learn of Me" or "learn from Me", that is the same root word as "disciple". A disciple is one who learns. When He says, "learn of Me" He is saying, "Be discipled by Me. Learn of Me. Be my pupil. Be my student. Come to Me and be discipled by Me." That is discipleship. "Come to Me and be discipled by Me." We could say "Come to Me" is the Gate, and "Be discipled by Me" is the Path. We could say, "Come to Me (enter into the Gate) and learn of Me (walk the Narrow Path)." Do you see that? The Gate, and the Path. It’s not just coming to Jesus, it is LEARNING of Jesus! Coming to Jesus, everyone [is] coming to Jesus - but how many are LEARNING of Him? "Come to Me and be discipled by Me. Come to Me and learn of Me."

What’s my point? To be a disciple of Jesus means you are a student of Jesus. A pupil of Jesus. A learner of Jesus Himself, as opposed to going someplace to learn ABOUT Jesus from someone else. It’s a very fine, fine distinction. See, most churches will want you to come to church and learn about God, learn about the Bible, learn about church doctrine, learn about their denomination, learn about their religious ways and customs and philosophies and traditions. But that is not what Jesus said at all. He says, "Come to Me and learn of Me." "Come to Me and learn of Me." "Come to Me (that is the narrow Gate); learn of Me (that is the difficult Path)."

So what was He doing? Was He teaching them teachings? Was He giving them doctrines? No, He said, "Come and be with Me." It says in Mark that He selected twelve disciples. Why did He select them? Not just to give them some teachings. Not to give them some doctrines. But it says "He selected Twelve that they should be with Him and that He might send them forth to preach" (Mark 3:14). Your primary calling as a disciple is to BE with Jesus, because that is how you LEARN OF HIM. It is not learning about the Christian faith - that is a thing. It is not learning about Bible doctrine - that is a thing. We’re not talking about things, we’re talking about a Person. It is not learning about Christian things or religious things or spiritual things. It is not learning about the Bible. It’s not even learning ABOUT Jesus, it is learning OF Jesus FROM Jesus. Can you see that? Can you see the difference between coming TO Jesus and learning OF Him, versus coming to someone else and learning ABOUT Him? The difference is night and day, and for the majority of Christians, they don’t know a thing in the world directly FROM Jesus, they only know what they have heard the church say, what brother so-and-so said, what sister so-and-so said, some book, some article, some tape they got off of the Internet or off the television set. They don’t have a personal, intimate, experiential, knowledge and knowing of who the Lord is for themselves because they have never come to HIM to learn of HIM. They go everywhere else but Jesus to learn ABOUT Him, but they never come to Jesus to learn from Jesus. And that’s what being a disciple of Jesus is all about. If you go anywhere else you are their disciple, you are not the disciple of Jesus.

It is learning OF Jesus FROM Jesus. Here’s what I believe - now, you check yourself out and see if you believe this as well. I believe Jesus is alive. I believe He LIVES. He is not a million miles away off in heaven either. But He is an ever-present help in time trouble. He says I will never leave you, I will
never forsake you, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. I believe He is risen, I believe He is alive, and I believe He is well able to teach us and disciple us HIMSELF if only we will come to Him. If only we will come to Him and learn of Him. He is alive. He did not just hand down some teachings because He knew He was going to die, and so He gave some teachings to the disciples so
they could keep the message alive and keep the Gospel going forth in His absence. Absolutely not! He is alive, and He is teaching us, and He wants to disciple us, if only we will come to Him and learn of Him.

Nothing Is Wrong With God, His Word And You

Song of Solomon 4:7
7You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you.

Sometimes, when we don’t receive our healing, breakthrough, restoration or miracle child, we can’t help but think that something is wrong with us. We tell ourselves, “Nothing’s wrong with God, nothing’s wrong with the Word, so something must be wrong with me!” My friend, if you think that your miracle depends on you, then you are on shaky ground.

In the old covenant, we see this “it’s all up to me” demand put on man. God’s part was to bless His people, but only if they played their part by obeying all of His laws. If they didn’t do their part, not only would they not be blessed, but the curse would also come on them.

Most of the time, they ended up under the curse because they just could not keep all of God’s laws. So God found fault with that covenant because though He wanted to bless man, man’s sins made it difficult for Him to do so. Man himself was the weak link.

In the new covenant, man has no part to play except to believe and receive. The new covenant of grace was cut between God the Father and God the Son — both infallible and more than able to keep the covenant.

God the Son is man’s representative. Jesus represents you and me. So in this covenant, how much we can receive from God depends on how good our representative is, how perfect His obedience is. Of course, Jesus is the perfect Man with perfect obedience. So in Him, we are qualified to receive all the blessings of God! We only need to believe and receive.

Jesus’ blood has been shed for the remission of all your sins. You are now the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21) By His one perfect sacrifice, He has perfected you forever. (Hebrews 10:14, KJV) There is no spot in you!

Today, the devil has no right to tell you that you cannot be blessed because there is something wrong with you. So as you are waiting for your miracle, say, “Nothing’s wrong with God, nothing’s wrong with the Word and nothing’s wrong with me! I am going to receive my miracle!”

Surely!

Isaiah 53:4
4Surely He has borne our griefs [sicknesses] and carried our sorrows [pains]…

While waiting for the manifestation of their healing, some people find it hard to believe that Jesus really took their sicknesses and pains, just as He took their sin and shame. If you are one of them, don’t feel condemned. Your Father in heaven understands. That is why He put the word “surely” there when He said, “Surely, My Son has borne your sicknesses and carried your pains.”

Once, my daughter Jessica was crying all night because she was not feeling well. She had been sick for a few days. In my study, I took out my Bible and the Lord led me to Isaiah 53:4 where it says, “Surely He has borne…” Now, I know the original Hebrew here and it says, “Surely He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains.” So I said, “Surely, He has borne Jessica’s sickness…”

But it was like the verse was just not real to me. Her cries seemed more real. Then, all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to a word in the verse that really revolutionized the way I saw the whole passage.

Notice the first word in the verse? It says, “Surely…” Surely, He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains. Now, look at the next verse: “He was wounded for our transgressions...” Every Christian knows and believes that Jesus was wounded for our sins, yet the word “surely” is not put here but in the earlier verse. I think God knew that we would find it hard to believe that Jesus also bore our sicknesses and carried our pains, so He put the word “surely” there to help us believe!

When I saw that, I put my Bible on the floor, stood on it and said, “Father, you know I don’t mean any irreverence, but I am standing on Your Word. Surely, Jesus bore Jessica’s sickness and carried her pain! I don’t care if I can still hear her crying. Surely, Your Son, Your beloved Son, bore her sickness and carried her pain! Hallelujah!” That night, the breakthrough came. That night, little Jessica was healed.

Are you or your loved ones suffering some sickness or pain right now?

Surely our Lord Jesus has borne your sicknesses and carried your pains. And as you believe this truth, surely, your healing and breakthrough will come!