Do you remember that Keith Green had an album called No Compromise?  If you don't know what an album is, Google it.  If you don't know who Keith Green was, go here: http://www.lastdaysministries.org/keith/music.html.  Keith Green was a prophetic psalmist to his generation.  I don't know that we truly have a voice like his today.  

Life has become so full of compromises - even for followers of Jesus.  Esau traded the inheritance from his father for a bowl of soup because he was HUNGRY!!  Sound familiar?  Let's see, I have this craving, this desire, hunger, lust - whatever label you give it.  How can I satisfy it?  Well, I could trade my most valuable possession for it.  How sad.

I'm afraid that Christians have become so much like non-Christians that they (we) have lost their (our) distinctive.  The very fact that I belong to Jesus assures me that HE is my inheritance.  HE satisfies my desires.  HE fulfils my dreams.  To be sure, some of these desires are legitimate.  I long to love and be loved.  I long for acceptance.  I long for a sense of purpose.  The problem lies in where I go to meet those longings.  In the same way that Judy makes sure I don't have to go outside our relationship to find romance, I believe Jesus offers the promise of complete satisfaction for every inner ache. 

Too often I have traded that promise for a quick fix.  In the heat of the moment I've compromised my relationship with Him and accepted whatever I could find to make the ache go away.  Still, when I find that doing it my way only lasted temporarily, He stands to welcome me back into relationship with Him as if I never turned away.

Clara T Williams was a great hymn writer from the end of the 19th century.  She wrote the lyrics to one of my favorite testimony songs, Satisfied, recalling the story of the prodigal son.

"All my lifelong I had panted for a drink from some cool spring that I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within.

"Feeding on the husks around me 'til my strength was almost gone, longed my soul for something better only still to hunger on.

"So poor was I, and sought for riches, something that would satisfy.  But the dust I gathered 'round me only mocked my souls sad cry.

"Well of water ever springing, Bread of Life so rich and free, untold wealth that never faileth my Redeemer is to me.

"Hallelujah!  I HAVE FOUND HIM WHOM MY SOUL SO LONG HAD CRAVED.  Jesus satisfies my longing.  Through His blood I now am saved."

I haven't read much from The Message, but this verse caught my eye today.  Hebrews 12:16 "Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite."   I'll be on the lookout this week for how it will apply to any temptations I may face. 

Some co-workers gave me the book Cure for the Common Life (Living in Your Sweet Spot) by Max Lucado for Christmas.  I just started reading it last night.  I can tell already that it's an appropriate book for where I am in life right now.  I've read a few books about desires, dreams, vision, destiny, and of course, purpose.  My favorite so far is a 1992 book by Myles Monroe called In Pursuit of Purpose.  The book is still in print, and I would encourage you to find a copy. 

I thought the new Max Lucado book might just be a clone of the best seller from Saddleback Church.  It isn't.  There is a "Sweet Spot Discovery Guide" at the back of the book to help me do some practical soul-searching.  There are some really powerful exercises throughout the book, one suggested by the chapter title "Read Your Life Backward."  hmmm... 

The most eye-opening sentence that I have read so far is this: "Stand at the intersection of your affections and successes and find your uniqueness."  When you actually find that place, you see that it is true.  No one else stands in that exact spot at this time in history.

What I most appreciate about this book (again, so far) is that it is not shy in pointing me to the true source of my worth and my purpose.   The scriptures on which the concepts are based are listed in each chapter and in the study guide.  One of my well-worn Bible verses is Philippians 2:13.  Lucado inserts the New Century Version of it in chapter 3.  "God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him."

So, when I finish the book, I should be able to finally tell you what I want to be when I grow up!

Go here for a brief video intro to the book:  rtsp://real.streamtoyou.com/ThomasNelson/CureCommonLife_WPG_Hi.rm