Learning to be Content

When is enough, enough?

Will you ever get around to it?

Is it our right to have “a life”?

Does anyone ever “arrive” at their destination in life?

 

The answers to the above questions are tough.  Our culture urges us to increase and accumulate.  We’re pressed to accomplish a wide range of tasks.  Success is measured in the status level one attains (and maintains).  The aim of too many is to retire happy; to rest on their laurels; to enjoy the golden years (and have enough money to finance a life of leisure).

 

Unfortunately, all of the goals our culture pushes us to achieve never really satisfy.  There never really is enough.  With so many people and projects vying for our time, important things usually get set aside.  The “life” we desire continues to stay one step out of reach.  And the “destination” changes too often. 

 

Why is this so?  Is it because God doesn’t want us to enjoy life?  Is it that He doesn’t want us to feel fulfilled?  No . . . it’s because these empty aspirations only distract us from true contentment and fulfillment; they’re matters that really don’t matter (Ecclesiastes 1 & 2).

 

Happy, contented people are satisfied with life and are finally at ease because they have quit asking the pointless questions above and have learned to be concerned with just attaining and maintain a relationship with their Creator.  They’ve learned that the things that matter in life can only be found with Him (Philippians 4:11-13 - notice the word “learned”).  Satisfaction in life comes as a result of a life-long journey of trial and error; of striving and coming up empty; of assessing and reassessing priorities.

 

Just understand a few simple truths that hopefully will head you down the right path to true joy in life:

            (1) God really does want what is best for you. 

            (2) He will work in your life to bring good things about (on His time-table). 

            (3) The more in-tune your life is with His, the easier it will be to see what He’s doing. 

 

So trust Him, let Him work in and through you, and just concern yourself with handling the challenges that each day brings (Matthew 6:33-34). 

Doug

The Power of Influence

            When God led His people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, He gave them three commands concerning the native peoples they would encounter in Canaan.  Moses records these in Deuteronomy 7:2-3:

            1.  They were to totally destroy the evil inhabitants that God had judged guilty of vile sin.

            2.  They were to make no treaties with any of their neighbors.

            3.  They were not to intermarry with any of their neighbors.

            God required the Israelites to treat these people this way because He knew the power of their influence.  His people were a nation in training.  He needed to remove as many distractions and outside influences as possible.  The influence of idolatry practiced by the Canaanites had become so strong that the only way to keep His people safe from their evil influence was through these 3 rules.

            However, the Israelites failed to keep these directives.  They just pushed back the enemy nations a comfortable distance – enough to create a “buffer zone” between them.  In time they made business and political alliances which seemed harmless, but were really done to satisfy their own selfish purposes.  And, worst of all, they began intermarrying with idolatrous people.  Perhaps they reasoned that this was a good way to influence these ungodly people to learn about and follow the One, True God. Eventually, though, Israel ended up being influenced to worship foreign gods just as they had been warned by both God and Moses. So God had to punish them for their unfaithfulness.

            The same will happen to us today if we don’t heed the warnings of God’s Word.  The power of evil to influence us into multiple forms of idolatry today is very prevalent and extremely appealing – even to those we consider the most faithful (notice Jesus’ shocking revelation in Matthew 24:10-12, 24). This is why there are so many pleas within Scripture to listen only to God, to beware of the enemy and his schemes, and to be busy doing what we know is right.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Because on this side of Jesus’ resurrection, we can, with the power God gives us, turn the tables on the immoral people around us and influence them to do what is right. With God’s Spirit guiding us, we can be “salt” and “light” to our tasteless and dark world (Matthew 5:13-16). So shouldn’t we be busy finding ways to change things for the better and to enhance not only our life, but also all the lives around us?

God has given each of us the power of influence for good. He has given us His Spirit to live inside us; an immensely powerful weapon to use against Satan and those he influences. I suggest we use it so that we can quit being defeated by Satan and be a beacon of hope to those seeking freedom from the hatred, violence, oppression, and greed that is destroying our homes and souls. 

            Make no mistake; the power of influence is within each of us.  The only question is how it will be used.  Will we allow ourselves to be influenced for the good or toward what is evil?  Will we influence others to love, and care, and assist one another? Or will we continue to allow the devil and his minions to influence us to not care, or to give up trying, or worse, to give in and follow the crowd into sin?  Make your choice. 

            God wants you to love Him with your whole being so that He can influence you to imitate Jesus and mature your faith.  Then you will possess the power to influence others to halt their backward slide toward destruction and get back on the road toward God and eternal life.

Doug

Rest For The Weary

            “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”                                        Matthew 11:28-30

            People of all ages have been troubled with similar worries. And the stresses of life have a way of increasing the burdens caused by these cares and concerns. Satan is good at finding things that vie for our time and tempt us to put righteous living on the back burner. This is the reason Jesus spoke these encouraging words that Matthew was inspired to write for us. He is inviting everyone to get rid of the worries of life that plague us and to be free to live the life that God created for us to enjoy (see Matthew 6:25-34 and John 10:10).

            We all clamor for peace and rest. And life rarely provides it for us. Isn’t it comforting that God knows we need it and is also willing to offer it to us free of charge? Few, however, are willing to take advantage of it. And this includes His own disciples. Why do you think that is?

            My guess has to do with the words “yoke” and “burden”. Too often well-intentioned people think that rest should include nothing to do but kick back in a soft, comfortable chair and just relax. But there is never a time in this life (and possibly even the next one) when we will be free to just sit back and take a vacation. Jesus is not talking here of the removal of all work, but is promising that we will have help getting through life’s tasks. We have someone willing to share our burdens with us. Jesus is inviting us to work alongside of Him.

            Notice that horses or oxen that are yoked together must have a common purpose and must be willing to cooperate in order to get the job done. This is the same thing Jesus is calling us to commit to. He has invited us to share “His” yoke and “His” burden. And the only way we will make it through life and beyond is to take upon ourselves His purpose and be willing to submit to His will. Otherwise, we will not be able to get the job done (John 15:5).

            Would you like to be relieved of the burdens of life? Could you use someone to help you get through each day? Jesus is pleading for you to get together with Him. He really does want to help you with your life. Give in to Him today.

Doug

Peacemakers

            “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

The Beatitudes are one of the most intriguing teachings presented by Jesus. They set the stage for the remainder of instruction in what is known as The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12). These describe the basic qualities/traits needed for a disciple of Jesus in order to successfully carry out His work of reconciling sinful, lost souls to the God who created them and desperately wants them back in His loving fellowship.

He uses the term “Blessed” before each quality. The word means “happy, contented, healthy, whole” and refers to the inner comfort (peace of mind) that results from displaying that attitude in daily activities. Then Jesus follows with the spiritual reward that naturally comes from making each characteristic a natural part of life. Thus . . .

            3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

            4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

            5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

            6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

            7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

            8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

            9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

          10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.

The one, in my opinion that seems to encapsulate the whole idea of what a disciple of Christ is all about is that of the peacemaker. To be Christ-like is to be a peacemaker since that is the main purpose Jesus came to this earth: to reconcile hostile sinners to a holy God and to one another (Ephesians 2:13-18), thus creating in Himself, peace (true blessedness). And notice the wording: peace-maker, not peace-keeper. Their presence and reconciling abilities make for peace and so, by natural result, keep the peace. That’s why the outcome of this spiritual trait is for them to be called sons of God, because Jesus, the Son of God, came to provide peace.

It is also what was prophesied about the Messiah and what His main objective would be: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given . . . And he will be called . . . Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Prince signifies His leadership of this godly quality and His commitment to nurture and mentor this in His disciples. The Apostle Paul says that our ministry is reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). God wants there to be peace, happiness, wholeness in all of our relationships, especially in our relationship with Him. This is only possible because of the atoning sacrifice of our “Prince of Peace” Jesus Christ. Only in Him we can anyone know the blessed inner comfort and peace of mind that God desires us all to experience to the full – forever.

Come to Jesus, put Him on in baptism and allow this Prince of Peace to control your will. The world is full of chaos, turmoil, hatred, selfishness, greed, oppression – all the things that destroy peace. But we can be a beacon of hope, a light in a dark world, a maker of peace for those seeking rest and comfort for their souls by being in Jesus and acting like Him. Make this your commitment from this moment on. Please. The world is in dire need of peacemakers.

Doug

Shutting Down Satan

The devil goes by many different names and titles: Satan (the adversary), Beelzebub (literally “the lord of the flies”), the evil one, the tempter, the father of lies, the prince of darkness, etc.  All of them are a means to teach us how the enemy tries to work in our lives.  Yet, even though we know all of this about him, the devil has been very successful at getting away with his malicious plans against us.  Why do you think that is?  Well for one, we keep falling for the same deceptions over and over again.  For another, we like what he has to say and what he suggests to us.  But most of all, I think we continue to fall for the same garbage because we haven’t been serious at shutting him down in our minds.

We have to admit, as Paul did, that we know what he’s up to (2 Cor. 2:11).  His usual devices are doubt (when we have access to divine truth), discouragement (when we are to trust and be patient), distractions (to keep us off track), moral defeats (to cause a delay when we are to be active) and countless others.

And we know that he will use the direct approach (ridicule, teasing or physical abuse) or he will work through those around us (friends, family, co-workers), or he’ll work covertly by pretending to be a friend until we give in (wolf in sheep’s clothing – Mt. 7:15).  He tried to attack Jesus in these very same ways.  And it would do us well to acknowledge his persistence at stalking us as his prey (1 Pet. 5:8).

What is needed is for every child of God to go on the offensive against this belligerent piece of trash.  As Jude urges, we need to actively “contend for the faith” in order to defeat him.  He won’t go peaceably; he will not show mercy; he does not negotiate terms.  We need to learn to shut him down.

Take your example of how to do this from Jesus and His apostles. 

(1)            Use God’s power to overcome him (James 4:7).  Pray continually; Know God’s Word so you can use it to defeat the devil and his henchmen (Mt 4; 22 and John 8).

(2)            Quit dwelling on past events (good or bad).  They’re gone and they’re useless to you now (Php. 3:1-15).

(3)            “Murder” your sin (Rom. 8:13); don’t give the devil any leverage (Eph. 4:26-27).

(4)            Live each day trusting in the One who holds your life firmly in His hands. Trust that He will never let go of you.

Doug