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Then Jesus said to them, “Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns.” Luke 12:15 (NCV)
Contentment. When you think about it, it just may be the single most important thing we seek during this journey called life. We seek for it in relationships, and when one goes sour we reach out to others who may be able to fill the void. We seek it in our jobs, our marriages, our children, the number of toys in our yard and even in the church we attend. It can become the driving force in every thing we do, every thought we have, and every word we speak.
The lack of contentment can push us to try harder or it can lead us to hang our heads in disgrace and failure. It’s the lack of contentment that causes us to succumb to the addictive patterns in our life. Addiction to drugs, pornography, anger, work-aholism and a whole list of other activities that drain us of our desire to succeed and bring on more discontentment. The negative spiral continues. We want to feel good about ourselves, to be content, so we try new things and fail which brings on more frustration and a stronger desire for contentment.
Jesus says, STOP! You are looking for contentment in all the wrong places. Contentment isn’t found in relationships. Even if those relationships are good relationships with your spouse, your children, your friends, earthly relationships can not completely fill the void in your life that we call contentment.
You won’t fill that void with more or new, friends, a better job, a new car, a bigger house, a vacation home or a new toy. Contentment goes well beyond these things. Contentment comes from inside. It comes from being satisfied with who you are, with believing the fact that you are God’s creation, his number one masterpiece. Contentment comes knowing that the job can fail, you can lose your house, and you can find yourself without a friend in this world. But if you have Jesus, you have the strength to go on and the contentment within yourself that says: “I’m okay. Things are tough right now. But I’m okay because of Jesus.”
Contentment doesn’t mean we are satisfied to stay where we are. It means we know that whatever we are going through is for a time and that someday, because of Christ, things will be better. Contentment weathers the storms of life with confidence that who we are isn’t dependent on the outcome of our trials.
PRAYER: Father God, things aren’t going so well for me right now. I’m worried about finances, my kids, my marriage and a whole list of other things. Help me to realize that I have all that I need in who I am because of you. Empower me with your Spirit to be content with who and where I am. Give me strength to endure and to make my world a better place. In your name I pray, Amen.
God is strong and can help you not to fall. He can bring you before his glory without any wrong in you and can give you great joy. Jude 1:24 (NCV)
I sat and watched a group of rock climbers one day as they tried to scale a sheer rock cliff. From a distance it seemed impossible for them to be able to make it to the top safely. It was apparent from my observation which climbers were novices and which were the ‘veterans’ of the group. The novices moved very slowly and tentatively. Some got half way up and came back down by the safety ropes to regroup and try again. One by one the group made it from the bottom to the top safely. With each person’s successful climb you could hear a cheer erupt from the onlookers.
Later, I had the opportunity to ask one of the climbers what he thought were the essential ingredients to a successful climb. He told me that, in his opinion, there were three things each successful climber needed to make it to the top. One was faith in your equipment. The climb I watched was pretty minor but especially on the big climbs you needed to have good equipment and trust that equipment to do what it says it would do.
The second ingredient was remaining focused. He referenced the few ‘novice climbers’. Their biggest problem was that they focused so much on the danger and the possibility of falling and getting injured that they lost their grip. On this climb it was okay because there were safety ropes to lower them to the ground. In a real climb one slip can mean death. “Most climbing accidents are the result of improper use of equipment and/or climber error” He told me. Equipment failure is rare.
Lastly, he said, good climbers don’t climb alone. They would prefer to climb in groups because the support of the group helps them, especially during the tough climbs and during inclement weather. Group support is indispensible when it comes to making it to the top.
As I left I thought about the application to our spiritual lives. When we first start our walk with Christ we are careful to do the things that will help our growth. We read his Word, we pray, we seek every opportunity to make our way up the slippery slope of life.
As we ‘grow older’ in our faith we may tend to lose our focus on the task before us. We may have more faith in our own ability than to trust the equipment. We may be so intent on looking back to our past that we lose sight of the task before us. We may look towards our goal and wonder how we will ever make it to the top. When we lose our focus we increase the chances of losing our footing and falling.
Along with the focus we need to have in our climb, we need to have faith in our equipment. Climbing equipment rarely fails. The word of God and his presence in our lives NEVER fails. But falling is a possibility when we fail to have faith that our God is strong enough to see us to the top.
Lastly, when climbing the sheer rock wall of life, we need each other. Fellowship with other Christ-followers encourages us on the way, reminds us who we are, and gives us another vantage point to see our way to footholds that help us advance.
Proper equipment (Faith in a living and powerful God); Focus (relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us through the daily tasks of life); Fellowship (surrounding ourselves with people who can help us along the way). Three ingredients to making it up the slippery slope of life.
PRAYER: Father God, there are so many times I’ve lost focus on you or relied on my own power and ability to make it through life’s challenges. Empower me with your Spirit to climb the slippery slope of my life relying on you to conquer to obstacles before me. In Jesus name, Amen.
But since I was worse than anyone else, God had mercy on me and let me be an example of the endless patience of Christ Jesus. He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and have eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:16 (CEV)
To the Judge your value is determined by your ability to follow the rules. To the educator your value is determined by your grades and your performance in the classroom. To your spouse your value may be determined by your ability to perform according to their expectations. To your friends your value could be determined by your willingness to go along with their crowd. To the businessman determines your value by the amount of profit you generate. Bottom line is the motivator. The politician determines your value by the strength of your vote and the depth of your pocket. The religious zealot determines your worthiness for the heavenly gates by the number of ‘spiritual hoops’ you need to jump through.
With all these demands on us, it’s no wonder that we find ourselves asking the question ‘Am I good enough?’ We look around and see other people who seem to have arrived and wonder what is wrong with us. We try and fail. We pick ourselves up and try again…and fail again. Sometimes we decide it’s easier just to give up. We are misunderstood, abandoned by lovers, used by friends. Finances don’t work out and our health gives out.
In the midst of the gloom and doom, when we find ourselves in the midst of despair and disappointment; when the anger and bitterness and frustration seem to be too much it’s important to remember that our Heavenly Father, the creator-God of the universe tells us a different story. While others look at our failure and dismiss us, God looks at our failure and uses us.
Our best work for the kingdom comes because we have failed and been forgiven; because we are weak in ourselves but strong in our faith; because we have used our own shortcomings to prove to those around us that while the world may say you won’t amount to anything, in God’s eyes you are his everything.
Don’t listen to the lies of those around you. It’s your inability to get things right that gives God an opportunity to use you in mighty ways.
PRAYER: Father God, I’ve been living far too long under the scrutiny and judgment of the world around me. I’ve believed the lies that my worth comes from my ability and not my faith in you. Thank you that in Jesus, no matter what, I have great value. Empower me with your Spirit to live according to the value you’ve placed in me to do your work. In Jesus name, Amen.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. Romans 6:22
Harry was your stereo-typical bachelor. He lived alone in a modest home. His yard was seldom mowed. If Christmas decorations were put up, they were put up on December 24 and taken down sometime in July, if they were taken down at all. Harry wasn’t necessarily a slob. He just had better things to do than clean house. So his house was usually dusty and cluttered. He’d wash dishes when he ran out of them. But Harry was happy with this life, for the most part.
Then, Harry met Sally. (No not the movie by the same name!) The more Harry hung out with Sally the more things began to change. The changes were subtle at first. He would shower and shave every day. The clothes he wore were more in tune with the requirements of the social police. He was even known to dust the house and wash dishes on a more regular basis. Not only was his lawn mowed weekly, he even made a few lame attempts at planting some flowers.
What happened to Harry? Was it because Sally nagged him? Nope. Did Sally come over every day to make sure he was dressed appropriately? Not a chance. Did the neighbors complain about the lawn? Well, actually yes, but that wasn’t what motivated him to clean it up.
What was it then the caused the change? One simple word: LOVE. Yep. That’s it. Love. The closer Harry grew to Sally, the more he saw life in a different perspective. He didn’t change because he had to. He didn’t change because it was the only way Sally would hang out with him. Harry changed because he had a new perspective on life. One other thing happened with the change. Harry felt better about himself. He realized that one reason he stayed away from home is because the place bothered him as much as it did his neighbors. Harry had no desire to let his life get stuck in the same rut as it did before Sally came along.
The story of Harry and Sally is a very simple example of what should happen in the life of a person when they decide to say ‘yes’ to Jesus. The change within comes because we are tired of the way we are living and want to change. The closer we walk to Jesus, the more we see areas in our lives we need to clean up. Oh sure there are days when we regress. There are some areas that we may struggle with for a long time. But we earnestly want to see a difference in our lives.
One of the things I struggle with the most in the area of Grace is how easy it is to take the issue of sin lightly. We don’t even like to talk about sin anymore. It’s too negative. Too harsh. Too unbending.
Fact of the matter is, sin of any sort hinders our relationship with Jesus. Does he hate us? NO! Will we lose our salvation? I don’t believe we will. Will our relationship with God and others suffer? Definitely.
Too often we as Christ-followers take the issue of sin too lightly. Believe me, I’m just as guilty or more so than most on this point. We want to change but it comes hard. We may give up and rationalize. “At least I’m not as bad as (the name of a bigger sinner than you). Or, “Thank Jesus I’m forgiven. I’ll just have to confess when I get home.” Until we fully realize the effects sin has on our relationship with God change will not happen.
Don’t let yourself get tricked by the enemy into taking sin lightly. Let the Spirit of God work in you to show you areas that need change. Trust him to direct you. Don’t beat yourself up for failing. Confess that sin and try again.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess that too often I’d rather compare myself with others worse off than I am than to deal with the issues in my own life. Help me to take sin seriously. Empower me to want to change and protect me from the lies Satan tries to feed me to keep me defeated. In Jesus name, Amen.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
As Jesus traveled along the dusty paths and streets of Israel he met many people from many walks of life. Some, like the woman at the well who had been divorced five times and the woman caught in adultery were struggled with emotional issues, feeling the guilt, shame and embarrassment of failure.
Others had more physical issues. The blind, the lame, the leprous suffered daily in a world of pain and darkness. Socially outcast and physically in pain they lived a life of pain and misery.
Then there were those who marveled at his teaching. For their entire lives they had been held captive by a religion which offered no hope. Strict rules and empty hope were just another irrelevant part of the journey they called life. It was a religion built on guilt, shame and fear.
Then Jesus came along. He offered rest to those who struggled with relationships. Don’t think for a minute that kids didn’t rebel back then. Pornography and lust were different then, but not non-existent. Feelings of failure and desperation were just as real then as they are today in your life.
One would think that the people who saw the miracles would follow. You’d expect that every person healed and all their families would give up everything to become his disciples. Some did. Most didn’t. In fact the very people he offered rest to from their physical and emotional trials were the ones who shouted ‘Crucify Him!’
Seems outlandish doesn’t it? Then again, maybe not. Over 2000 years later we are still doing the same thing. Jesus offers us hope. He offers us emotional healing. When he doesn’t offer physical healing he offers us strength to endure the pain. But people still seek religion over relationship; rules over freedom; death (spiritually due to sin) over life.
There is no religion on earth that offers us the things that Jesus does through a relationship with him. All he asks is that he be the only source of your praise, worship and love. Friends will mislead you. Religion will use you. Only Jesus gives you rest.
The hard truth is, as in any love relationship, you can’t experience the total joy Jesus offers without total commitment. Darkness has no place with light. Sin has no place in the life of a Christ-follower. Can you be forgiven? Yes. Can you live comfortably (physically)? Sometimes. But you won’t experience the total joy and peace Jesus offers until you come to him, only him, for rest.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I confess to you that there are so many times I seek pleasure, peace and comfort from things and people rather than you. My focus shifts from the eternal to the temporal. I want, so I go after it even if I know it will hurt my relationship with you. Forgive me for my refusal to sell-out to you completely. Empower me by you Holy Spirit to live completely for you. In your name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 