38 year old Harry Morton was found
dead though the circumstances of his death were not immediately forthcoming.
Drugs were suspected. His younger brother died some years ago from an overdose.
Harry was the son of Hard Rock Café’s co-founder, Peter Morton, and grandson of
Morton’s the Steakhouse founder, Arnie Morton.
Harry was known in the restaurant
business in California and had dated some of Holywood’s famous such as Lindsay
Lohan and Demi Moore among others. While in college he worked summers at the
Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas before becoming involved in the development program
of Hard Rock Café. He had his own night club business.
“When will we ever learn,” used to sing Peter, Paul , and Mary back in the
1960s. It seems like mankind is ever learning but unable to come to the
knowledge of the truth.[1]
What is truth he seems to be missing? It’s the fact that man is a spiritual
being and we must seek for the spiritual realities of life, if we hope to find
any sort of lasting happiness.
The Scriptures tell us that the “flesh
profits nothing.”[2] Apostle John so aptly
wrote, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world. And the world
passes away and the lusts thereof, but whoso does the will of God abides for
ever.”[3]
But we’ve been taught since childhood
that we need to study hard to get a good job, so that we can be happy. Study
Hard = Good Job = Money = Happiness. But it just doesn’t work that way. Why?
Because we put the needs of our flesh above the needs of our spirit and our
flesh is never satisfied. It always wants more: more food, or more alcohol, or
more soft drinks, or more chocolate, or more sugar, or more tobacco, more
sleep, or more television, or more sex, more money, or more power, or more
fame, or more properties, or more drugs.
Ultimately, the lusts of the flesh choke
out the spirit from our lives. We find momentary pleasure in these phyiscal
appetites while our heart, our soul is left empty. Like God’s people who lusted
in the desert for meat and God gave it to them. But His Word informs us, “He
gave them their request but sent leaness to their souls.”[4]
In the past we seen in the deaths of
Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, River Phoenix, Michael Jackson, and many others
that fame and fortune don’t bring the happiness that they are made out to
bring. Van Morrison said when he reached the top that it was like entering an
empty room filled with nothing.
Please don’t neglect your spiritual
life and let the things of the world choke out God’s presence in your life.
Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things will be
added unto you.”[5] In Isaiah we read, “Why do
you work for that which profits not and spend money on that which satisfies
not? Harken diligently unto Me and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Incline your ear unto Me: hear and your soul will live.”[6]
What we
really need is God in our lives. We need to reconnect with Him and know that He
loves us. We need to know that our lives have purpose and meaning in Him. We
need to have forgiveness from the guilt we feel from the wrongs we’ve done. We
need freedom from fear of man, from fredom fear of failure, freedom from fear
of death, and freedom from meaninglessness. That’s the salvation He is
offering.
God has that
freedom, that forgiveness, that purposefulness that we seek. But like anything
that’s worth something, we need to make a concerted effort to find it. But if
we seek, we shall find.[7]
He says, “You shall seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me, with all your
heart.”[8]
Are you searching for God with all your heart? Or are you letting your flesh
and the desires of your flesh choke your spiritual life?
Apostle Paul
warns us, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh;
but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally
minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the
carnal mind is enmity against God.”[9]
In his letter to the Colossians he writes, “Set your affections on things that
are above, not on things on the earth.”
He continues
and warns that we should put to death the carnal impulses like illicit sex,
uncleanness, unrestrained affection, evil desires, and greed, which is
idolatry.[10] These behaviors and
desires become the things we worship instead of God in the Spirit. They become
idols. We are worshipping idols. God is a jealous God and will not have any
other Gods before Him. They ultimately won’t satisfy and may even bring us
death in their pursuit.
Please make a
renewed effort to bring God into your life. Apostle Paul tells us that God is
not far from anyone of us and if we seek Him, we will find Him for in Him we
live, and move, and have our being.[11]
Jesus Himself tells us He wants to have fellowship with us, He wants to live in
us, and all we need to do is call upon Him. Please call upon the Lord with all
your heart. He is your all and all. He’s all you really need. If you have Him,
you have everything. Call upon Him today!
[1] 2
Timothy 3:7
[2] John
6:63
[3] 1 John
2:16-17
[4] Psalm
106:15
[5] Matthew
6:33
[6] Isaiah
55:2-3
[7] Matthew
7:7
[8] Jeremiah
29:13
[9] Romans
8:5-7
[10]
Colossians 3:5
[11] Acts
17:27-28
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