Resolutions 2008: Contentment

You have a lot of choices when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. You could pick the usual culprits, lose weight, eat better, control anger, get up earlier, exercise more, read you bible more, pray more, saving money, and etc. But what if you did something different?

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?” ^{Hebrews 13:5-6}

What if you decided to be content with everything you have in 2008? Everything? I mean everything.  Here is a list of things to be content with,

How much money you have, the things you own, house, car, clothes, shoes, your job, friends, family, your kids, your spouse, your sex life, how about pets or your lack of pets, your looks, and ultimately yourself.

I am not talking about grudgingly accepting your lot in life. I mean really learning to be happy with what God has provided and how God has created you. Remember, He gives good gifts and He loves you.

I have seriously considered trying to get through 2008 without buying any stuff. No new clothes, no car, no major new purchases of any kind. I would limit my spending to food, shelter, and family. Think you could do it? Think for just a minute about all the things you were thinking of getting for yourself next year. Just think about it.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6

God bless. Think more. Be content.

Free From Money

Do you feel as enslaved to things and money as I do? I really wish I could be content with what I have. Not wanting another thing. Free.

Impossible you say? (I am there with you.)

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

The practical implication of these verses is fantastic! Never left alone, God as my helper? Can this be true?

Question: Will you trust him? Really trust him?

Answer: Pray

Lord, teach me to trust you.
Open my heart and my eyes.
I want to see your presence in my life every day.
Forgive my unbelief. Amen.

God bless. Pray like your life depends on it.

Self-Indulgence & Taking Life Easy

I mentioned how much I enjoyed Robert Fraser’s book Marketplace Christianity in a previous post. He has many lessons in the book that spoke directly to me. One was from Luke. Being the Luke-ophile I am, I could not resist passing on some of Robert’s thoughts. If you get the book you can find more about this topic on pages 157-158.

I think from a child I always dreamed of retiring early. It is the American dream. Work a little play a lot. I wanted that so bad. It affected the way I thought about work. Work being a necessary evil, was something I dreaded and trudged through. NOT, enjoyed, improved, mastered, and produced much valued in. Needless to say I was wrong. But I digress.

Our culture promotes self-indulgence and living lives of ease. When we wake up Monday morning we are looking forward to Friday. Luke talks about this in the parable of the rich fool.

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God Luke 12:15-21

From Marketplace Christianity, Robert writes..

But to seek a life of ease is to seek earthly reward instead of heavenly. It means we have ceased from our spiritual calling. It makes sense that in Jesus’ parable of Luke 12, God took the rich man’s life – it no longer had any spiritual purpose.

What is my spiritual purpose. To take life easy, or to live a productive life of giving that glorifies God. Hmmmmm. Not to hard is it?

A Thankful Heart

Do you have a thankful heart? Here is a good test… Sit down and write a list of all the things you want.

My Want list

• New bike
• Some bike clothes
• Digital Camera
• New Weed Eater
• A new radio
• Some new shoes
• Big Yellow Pickup Truck
• And the list goes on….

What do you have on yours? Okay now the test.

Put a mark next to each item on the list you already have. Bike check, bike clothes – check, Camera – Check, Weed Eater – check, check, check, check, check, check.

I fail. Because, I already have everything on my list, the only difference is the word NEW.

I find it very difficult to turn my wanter off. In this country I am bombarded with things to buy, all things I need desperately.

Paul warns Timothy about the love of money.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6 :6-10

To be content. That is what I desire. Contentment with thankfulness will give me peace of mind and bring me closer to God.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5-7

God Bless.

Lessons from a Child: But I really Want It!

If you have children I know you have heard it before. “I want it, I want it!”  This chant can be heard at most grocery stores and shopping malls across the world. We could all stop reading now and start chanting the familiar chorus together now.

Well I have realized something. My own, wanter, won’t break. I want it turned off. I have found my self getitng onto my kids about all the stuff they own, how they do not play with the toys they have, or that they just had their birthday and don’t need any more toys. (I know my parents are laughing at me now.) And I realize I am no different.

I could make you a list of things I want a mile long. I was wondering the other day how long I could go without buying myself something. But more importantly, why can’t I just rely/revel in the love and supply of God.

 Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:27-31

I believe I have no idea of how well God can supply my needs because I do not rely on Him to.  All I do is want more. It is the mantra of the world, “I want it, I want it!”

Lord, break my wanter! Help me to rely on you to meet my needs.

God bless.

What can you Live On

It is a common question we ask ourselves. What do I need to live on? How much money do I need? You start adding in all the things you need, food, clothes, housing, utilities, phone, car payments, gas, insurance, medicine, and the list goes on. Oh, yes, saving for retirement. I wonder how much I need for that. I want to be comfortable then too, don’t you?

I am so worldly. I want so much more than I already have. I could if I had too, live on less; however, I really like stuff. I believe the Christian’s life is to be about learning to rely on God not stuff. Jesus practiced relying on God. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry he deprived himself of all worldly pleasures and even necessities.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”  Luke 4:1-4

Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3 when he answered Satan. Here Moses is reminding the Israelites how God was trying to teach them to keep God’s commands and rely on Him.

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:3

One of the main reasons we rely on God in this life is because we are looking forward to another life/home. Moses reminds the Israelites why they are “suffering” in the sort term. (I put suffering in quotes because they were not really suffering.)

Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey;  a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. Deuteronomy 8:6-9

We are looking forward to a time of plenty living in the presence of God. How often have I read the scriptures that remind us to rely on God today because he cares for us and loves us. How often have I gotten so caught up in the world that I forget that I am here for only a short time. When will I ever learn that, “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

God Bless

Handle Money Well?

Warning: This topic could lead to self-righteousness and prideful thoughts. No where in this passage did Jesus tell us to compare ourselves or success to others. Just says what it says.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? Luke 16:10-12

Jesus says some scary things. Here is one time when I am.

My thoughts,

1. How we handle our money matters to God. I have heard it said, “Look at a man’s check book and you know what is important to him.” God may be testing us with the money he gives us. I could say, “I have never had worldly wealth.” But I could also ask, “how have I handled the money I have been given?”

2. What do you think “true riches” are? I think Jesus is talking about spiritual riches. Because he uses the words (I realize it is NIV words) “worldly wealth” in the first part of the sentence he has to be speaking of something else when he says “true”.

Conclusion: This is not a promise of worldly wealth or success. It is a moral question/statement about who can be trusted with spiritual wealth. Whether or not we can be trusted with worldly wealth, determines how trusted we are with true riches.

God bless. Be trustworthy.

The Roman Centurion

Yesterday I posted about the Roman Centurion that asked Jesus to heal his servant. There are so many lessons here. Here are some of the things that strike me…

1. He did not ask anything for himself. Unlike many people hovering around Jesus, this man’s request was for his servant. Don’t get me wrong, there were many good people drawn to Jesus because of his message of hope and repentance. However, I’ll bet most wanted something for themselves. The apostles included. Take Judas who helped himself to the purse. Or Peter, Andrew, James & John who wanted to be first, the greatest, or the leaders of the pack. So many people today want the same from Jesus. Coming to Jesus for wealth, blessing, prosperity, may be far off the mark when He talks about obedience, love and cross carrying.
2. He saw himself unworthy of Jesus’ time. How many Jews saw themselves below Jesus? How many humbled themselves before Jesus. Those who did were the lame, sick, sinners who recognized what Jesus could really do in their lives. What did they get? Salvation. Not wealth and prosperity but real blessings. Who did not submit to Christ? The Pharisees, the rulers of Israel, the powerful and rich.
3. He respected Jesus’ power and authority. The ruling Jews during Jesus time, refused to acknowledge Christ’s authority. They questioned it. They doubted it. How many people demanded signs for Jesus to prove he was the Christ. This man knew Jesus was over him. AND He was a Roman. Not only that but one with real Power. Political, military, and money. I could learn a lesson here.

I look forward to hearing Jesus say of me, “What great faith.” However, I believe I need to really look at what it means to be faithful to Christ. I suspect it has more to do with a steadfast hope demonstrated by my humble submission to the authority and power of God and less to do with how well I follow the creeds and rules of the worlds religions.

Scripture from New International Version,  Gospel of Luke 7:1-10

Want to Know how Rich You Are?

Jesus really gives wealthy people a hard time. His message is all about lifestyle. Our culture is all about lifestyle. It boggles my mind sometimes to think of how much energy and effort goes into acquiring wealth. Luke warns us over and over about the dangers of wealth.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty. Luke 1:53 (NIV)

24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
Luke 6:24-26 (NIV)

“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Luke 18:24-25 (NIV)

Want to know how rich you are? The rich calculator can tell you. Click here to find out.

Want to know where I fit. Well lets just say I need to do some soul searching. How about you?

Saving it Up

Jesus said,

Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed: a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

Life does not revolve around possessions. I have been absolutely dumfounded over how much stuff I want. I have visited friends of late and could not believe all the new stuff they had. Jesus said do not be greedy. But I want so much.

Jesus told this parable after making the previous statement. I think it probably explains more of what Jesus meant.

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

Lets break it down. First, nice wealthy man blessed with good income. Working hard making a great living, living it up in ease. I think we would look at this man and say,”Boy, is God blessing him. He has it together, it would be nice to be him.” Second. Rich man looks at the money he make and invested in his future. He was saving for retirement and looking for a way to get out early. He took what he earned and bought things. He took what he earned and saved it for the future. Finally, He thought he was set. He looked at all his possessions and said I have arrived.

I think a lot of people want to stop this parable when the man was taking life easy, eating, drinking and being merry. NO. Jesus does not stop there. He ends it with…

“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Are you storing up things for yourself? Where do you spend your money? I am not going to judge you. But, God is.