Today we're going to explore the actual discipline of simplicity by answering questions like,

what does it mean to simplify life? How would Jesus have us actually simplify our lives?

How can embracing simplicity enrich our day-to-day experience?

May your heart and mind be open to all the wisdom and goodness God has for you today.

And may you find comfort in making Jesus your one necessary thing.

Welcome to the first 15 podcast. Our scripture today from 2.3213 reads,

For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom, but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.

Often, we are kept from living lives marked by the joy and peace of our Heavenly Father

because of our continual pursuit for more.

Humanity's first sin was pursuing more than God intended for us,

and the enemy continues to entice us with that temptation today.

A core value of the world is more, more money, more fame, more friends, more success, more happiness, more possessions, more of anything, because we feel dissatisfied with our lives. We're constantly grabbing for that which will never fully satisfy in the present,

or lead us to a lifestyle of continual satisfaction.

So Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 112,

for our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience,

that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom, but by the grace of God, and supremely so

toward you. Simplicity is a God-given discipline that prunes the dead branches of waste,

that effectually deplete us of the energy,

time, and provision with which God has blessed us. When we make the decision to stop pursuing more,

we step in line with the spirit and place our trust and faith in God rather than our own

understanding.

You see, at the core of a continual pursuit for more is a lack of faith in God's goodness.

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