Contentment

Why is it that we are seldom satisfied with what we have? Perhaps it's our propensity to compare ourselves to others. Or maybe it's a knee-jerk reaction to all the advertising we see everywhere we look.

No matter the reason, the results are the same; a dissatisfaction with what we have or where we currently are in life. Usually resulting in a frantic attempt to get "that thing" that we think will make us happy.

Here's what God says about that...

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.”  Hebrews 13:5 NIV

He has promised never to leave us, never to turn his back to our needs, but to be with us always - every minute of every day. As a good Father he understands what we need and will give it to us. Not what we WANT, but what we NEED. In his wisdom, he knows what affect granting all our whims might do to us. Knowing what is best and most beneficial to us, he gives us everything we need for a good life, beginning with a relationship with him through Jesus Christ, who came and died to pay the penalty for the sins of mankind, opening the door for the greatest adventure of our lives; walking in step with God and enjoying the love, freedom, peace, healing, acceptance and the contentment he brings.

Things will never satisfy our longing hearts, but God will. Have you reached out to him? Do you want to experience this way of life? Just invite him into your life, understanding that he is ready and waiting to accept you as his child and begin that step-by-step walk with you.

Let today be the first day of a remarkable new you and an awesome adventure. You will be enriched in every way and find true contentment.

Just ask.

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How Quickly We Turn

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Luke 19:38

These were the words of a patriotic crowd in Jerusalem just a week before Jesus was crucified. Unfortunately, they were sadly mistaken about Jesus' mission here. They thought he came to free the Israelites from the rule of the oppressive Roman empire. But, his mission was far greater than that. He came to free mankind from the tyranny of sin. He came to restore us to right standing with God. Jesus' willing sacrifice on the cross to die for our sins opened the door for anyone who believes in him and receives him as their Lord and Savior to enjoy a blessed life and eternity in Heaven after we leave this planet.

The amped-up crowd in Jerusalem that day were sorely disappointed that Jesus was not who they thought he was and did not do what they thought he would. For in just a few days, they were shouting, "Crucify him. Crucify him!"

We might shake our heads at the way they so quickly went from worshiping Jesus to condemning him, but let's stop and think for a moment.

Have you ever assumed that Jesus (God) would do something in your life, only to be disappointed that he didn't act the way you thought he would or should? How did that affect your attitude toward Him?

Here's the truth - God has a wonderful plan for our lives. He is not at our beck and call like some genie that is required to do our bidding. The issue is not his failure, but our unrealistic or misinformed understanding of who he is and what he wants to do in our lives, which is to make us one of his family and to transform our sinful nature until it matches the sinless nature of Jesus Christ.

This happens naturally as we lean into his word, into prayer and into obedience to his directions. These daily practices will  allow that transformation to take place. It's an ongoing process, which will only be fully achieved when we finally go to be with him. In the meantime, we live under the blessings of our relationship with God - never alone, because he has promised never to leave us or forsake us.

So, the next time God doesn't act the way we think he should, let's recall that he is God and will do what's best for us. 

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Are You Following at a Distance?

Does it sometimes feel like God is keeping His distance from you? Do you feel as if the close relationship you had with Him is waning? Ever wonder why? 

Let's take a lesson from Peter, the disciple upon whom Jesus said He would build His church.

Jesus had just spent 3 years teaching his followers. They had walked with him along the dusty roads of Israel, Slept in the desert and eaten in towns with Him. Sat with Him in the temples as He taught about God and His plan to bring salvation to mankind. Finally the time came when He needed to let them know that His death was drawing near.

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”  Matthew 26:1 (NLT)

As they traveled to Bethany, Jesus said... “Tonight all of you will desert me.  Matthew 26:31 (NLT)

Peter, was adamant! He declared, "Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you,"  Matthew 26:33 (NLT) 

But then, Jesus was betrayed and led away by a mob of men with clubs and swords. All the disciples scattered, perhaps fearing that they, too, would be hauled off to prison. All except Peter, that is. What did Peter do?

"Meanwhile, Peter followed him (Jesus) at a distance and came to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and sat with the guards and waited to see how it would all end." Matthew 26:58 (NLT)

Peter followed Jesus at a distance. This was the beginning of Peter's fall, which led him to deny that he had any relationship with Jesus at all.

We can pick up here with the truth that any time we begin to distance ourselves from God, He begins to seem further and further away. 

We might begin by neglecting to read the Bible, getting too busy to pray, or allowing things to slip into our lives that we know aren't right.

We might be still going to church (at least most of the time) and acknowledging that we are believers, Christ followers, but we've begun following at a distance and that can only lead to drifting away from our relationship with God. Suddenly we hit a crisis and need God's help. We pray and search the Word, but God seems so far away. The truth is that He is always as close as our next breath, but it doesn't seem so.

How do we fix that? How do we return to the close relationship we had before?

"This is what the Lord says: "Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old godly way, and walk in it." (Jeremiah 6:16 (NLT)

Prayer:

Father, I recognize that I've been drifting, that I've allow distance between us. Please forgive me. I truly want a close relationship with you. I'm turning back to what I used to do when we were close. Lord, strengthen my faith and give me a sharp awareness of your constant presence. Amen

Return to the things you once knew and God promise is this;

"Come close to God, and God will come close to you..." James 4:8 (NLT)

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10 Ways to Delight Yourself in the Lord

  

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

For the past few days, God has been bringing this scripture to mind.

I've been a Christian for over 40 years. I love the Lord, I read his word, I pray daily, I attend church and love my church family, but delight in the Lord? I'm not sure.

I had to look up the definition of the word delight, both in the dictionary and the bible concordance for the Greek and Hebrew meaning. (Yes, I am a word geek.)

delight (verb) - to take great pleasure in - 
rejoice in - enjoy immensely -
to be tender and pliable toward

Wow, there's a lot more to delight than I thought. 

So, how can we delight ourselves in the Lord? Here are some thoughts...

1. Seek His presence
2. Read, study and enjoy His word
3. Pray - talk to Him throughout the day and listen for His voice (He does talk back)
4. Notice and be amazed at His creations
5. Watch Him work in the lives of those around me
6. Marvel at His greatness
7. Drench myself in his love and give that love out to others
8. Recall His many blessings in my life and give Him thanks for each one
9. Awaken every day with the joy and anticipation of knowing him better by bedtime
10. Fall asleep with His praises on my lips each night

I now have a new focus for 2023 - to delight myself in the Lord daily. I can only imagine the blessings this year holds.

Prayer:

Lord, I will delight myself in you. I will take great pleasure in getting to know you better. I will enjoy your presence, the works of your hands, and be thankful for every blessing. I will be tender and pliable before you, allowing you to reshape and transform me - not so I can have the present longings of my heart, but so that the desires of my heart will align with your will and purposes. Amen

Deeper:

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..." James 4:8

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" Jeremiah 29:13

"I love those who love me and those who seek me find me." Proverbs 8:17

"Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory," 1 Peter 1:8

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How Can I Be Saved?

God is calling us to Himself. He wants to cleanse us of our sin and restore us to a right relationship with Him, that He might bless our lives and rescue us from destruction.

Many are hearing His call, but are not sure how to enter into the salvation that Jesus came to give us. Here is a simple explanation from the scriptures that shows us how to be saved.

THE WAY TO SALVATION

• For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ROMANS 3:23

• For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ROMANS 6:23

• But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ROMANS 5:8

• Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. ROMANS 10:13

• If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ROMANS 10:9

• Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ROMANS 8:1

 

PRAYER:

Dear Heavenly Father,today I acknowledge that I am a sinner. Thank You for sending Your Son to die for me on the cross of Calvary. By faith I ask You to forgive my sins and to come into my life. Because of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection all of my sins are forgiven and I am starting a brand-new life today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

My friend, if you have sincerely prayed this prayer, you are saved. Your sins have been forgiven and you have entered into a new relationship with God. From this point forward, He is with you. He will never leave you. He will direct your footsteps and help you to grow spiritually. You will experience His love, forgiveness and guidance as you lean into your new life with Jesus at the helm.

If you have prayed and given your life to God today, please drop a comment below and let me know so that I can be praying for you.

And welcome to the family of God!

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Between the Prayer and the Answer

"Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name." Psalm 33:20-21 (ESV)

Who enjoys waiting? Not me.

We live in an impatient society. We want the immediate.

Even when it comes to prayer, we want immediate results, immediate guidance from God, immediate fulfillment of His promises. We don't want to wait! 

But what if that waiting process is our greatest opportunity for spiritual growth? What if waiting is God's plan for deepening our relationship with Him? What if it's in the waiting that we become more like Jesus?

I call the time between our prayers and the answer, the In-Between.

How long? Have you ever asked God that question? Maybe you didn't verbalize it, but you've wondered it. Maybe even agonized over it.

What if we approach the In-Between differently?

What if we...

• Keep seeking a closer relationship with God?
• Keep praying in faith, believing for the answer?
• Keep serving God and others?
• Keep trusting God to be faithful?

Psalm 62:5 (NLT) says:

"Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him."

Quietly...not anxiously, not grumbling and complaining, not doubting and discouraged, but quietly, with calm assurance that the answer will come. Knowing that God's timing is perfect and His will is what's best for us.

Let's flip the script and use waiting as an extended Quiet Time with God.

Deeper:

Isaiah 40:31        Lamentations 3:25        Psalm 27:14        Romans 12:12

Questions:
How do you usually handle times of waiting?

How do you think you will handle waiting differently in the future?

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Answered Prayers Every Time

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." 1 John 5:14-15

What an awesome promise - pray and we have what we asked for.  No, wait - there's more to it than that. Read our verses for today again. 

The key to answered prayers every time is asking according to God's will. So, how do we know God's will in any given circumstance? First, we get to know him from his word. There we will see what he's done in the past, what he's promised to do, what he said he will never do. That helps us to pray according to his will. Next, we can discern his will by staying sensitive to his Spirit which lives inside us. Some call it intuition, but so often that little niggling in you heart, that cautionary red flag or that nudge to proceed is coming from the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised would lead and guide us through life.

And finally, we can come to him with a concern and end out prayers with "Lord, let it be done according to your will." And we can trust him to do what is best for us, even if it's not exactly what we would like to see or as fast as we would like to see the answer. 

Even Jesus prayed this way - “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42

Deeper:

Hebrews 4:16        Philippians 4:6-7        Psalm 17:6        Romans 12:2

Questions:

Are you sometimes frustrated with your prayer life?

What can you do to change that?

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