What determines life? Throughout the countries on this planet, this is an ever-increasing debate on what is life. Whether it’s the quality of life or when that life begins officially, we hear about these a lot.
Dr. Jack Kevorkian gained a lot of attention as the “death doctor” after his arrest in 1999 for voluntary euthanasia, or assisted suicide. It was believed that he assisted over 130 people end their life. One major reason for doing it was both the patients, and the doctors’, perception that their quality of life wasn’t good, therefore, they didn’t need to go on living.
Interestingly, Kevorkian’s mother, Satenig, was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 during the World War I. In an effort to rid the world of the weak and the Christians, the Ottoman government, modern day Turkey, made up primarily of Muslims, drove out the people that they deemed unworthy to live. From Constantinople towards the Syrian Desert, their trail of cruelty gained attention from those sympathizers of the infirm and Christians, but not before 800,000 plus people died.
Dr. Kevorkian ended up following in the same footsteps as those who nearly annihilated his own mother and her people. The Nazi’s also modeled their efforts after the Ottoman’s philosophy to some degree. In each of these cases deception was a key ingredient in letting people to give up their homes, their citizenship, or their lives to someone set out to destroy them.
Peter reminded his followers that there was a similar foe that is essentially doing the same thing in 1 Peter 5:8-11, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” However, he gives hope to those enduring his efforts to “steal, kill, and destroy” by saying, “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
But how do you resist someone, or something that is so deeply deceptive as Satan or people like Hitler or Kevorkian? Perhaps it’s in the spiritual understanding of what is the real meaning and value of life.
That understanding helps us determine the real gift of life that God offers but it only comes through what Jesus made possible on the cross. John begins his gospel similar to how Moses began the book of Genesis, “In the beginning…” but John says in “In the beginning was the Word…” John 1:4-5, “In Him (the Word) was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
And he continues in his epistle in 1 John 5:19-20, “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” The real value of life is found in Christ, not in what a person has the ability to physically do, not in the intelligence a person demonstrates, not in any one ethnic group.
As Jesus said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”
So as Paul, John, and Jesus remind us, that an understanding of what true life is results in a conviction to live according to the magnificent life that Jesus came and died to bring us. So how does a person know that they are living according to the Spirit of God? According to God’s evaluation of a quality life?
Just like a peach tree produces peaches and an apple tree produces apples; a Spirit filled person, which is the result of God’s gift towards eternal life, will bear fruit that shows they understand the real meaning of life.
Paul highlights the fruit that should be seen in someone who not only has the Spirit, but understands God’s desire for us to have real life. He says in Galatians 5:22-24, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
When we make these qualities the criteria to evaluate real life, it will be impossible to carry out things like genocide on whatever level that may come on. Dr. Kevorkian failed to understand what true life is because he still lived in the darkness, a darkness that many people still live in. My challenge to each of us is to better understand what life is through God’s lens. Or as Proximo said in the movie The Gladiator, “Everyone dies, but not everyone truly lives.”
Wouldn’t you like to have real, true, lasting life that is only found in Jesus Christ?
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
True Thanksgiving
The other night my wife showed our kids a video of some Syrian refugees landing in Greece in over-crowded rafts. They’d left their country because of war and violence. Ironically, I was reading William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation at that very moment. In William’s journal, he describes the conditions leading up to the famous Mayflower voyage to America. The Puritans also felt the pressure of persecution and realized there was no relief except to leave.
So this was a teachable moment to explain what a refugee is and what that really means in terms of lifestyle changes and choices. To decide to leave what you know out of fear of loss of your property or your life forces you to venture off into unknowns and vulnerabilities. Trying to avoid the political muddle tied to the story of Syrian refugees, I took the opportunity to further explain how the Syrians both compare and contrast to the Pilgrims. But even beyond either of these groups, I wanted my children to understand how as believers we are called to be like refugees, sojourners, aliens, or pilgrims.
1 Peter 2:11-12, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Peter urged early Christians to live with that same “refugee” mentality. Live like you don’t belong here. Then use that understandably awkward and even scary position in life to demonstrate where your confidence really lies.
The real war going on isn’t within the borders of nations, but within ourselves. Wars are fought (to some degree) for freedom. Freedom to own a particular piece of land, freedom to use your money or your talents as you wish, etc. Sin steals our potential and our freedoms, which is one reason it’s so important to flee from those things that steal our potential in God.
Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” That’s our potential, to be a tool for God; which in turn reaps a harvest beyond understanding.
Paul told the Romans in Romans 6:17-18, “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
Where will the refugees end up? Is there a place that will bring them peace? The reality is that the victory they’re seeking doesn’t come in the form of a title deed for property, or in a flag, or in anything you can put in the bank. The real victory is something bigger—it’s in God, the creator of all things.
1 Corinthians 15:57-58, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
That was a lesson the Pilgrims would soon learn as well. The freedom they
sought wasn’t in America, but in the freedom to fully surrender to Christ and His guidance. We were created for a purpose, and that purpose is to glorify God. Peter explains that through our “good deeds, as they observe them” that is when others see what real freedom is and that’s when God is glorified.
Nelson Mandela said just months before his release from prison, “The only prison that takes away a man’s freedom is the one that does not allow that man to dream.” God has given us something more than a dream; it’s a promise. To have that ability to live for that promise makes us freer than anyone on the planet.
This Thanksgiving, pay special attention to the opportunities around you to share what makes you free.
So this was a teachable moment to explain what a refugee is and what that really means in terms of lifestyle changes and choices. To decide to leave what you know out of fear of loss of your property or your life forces you to venture off into unknowns and vulnerabilities. Trying to avoid the political muddle tied to the story of Syrian refugees, I took the opportunity to further explain how the Syrians both compare and contrast to the Pilgrims. But even beyond either of these groups, I wanted my children to understand how as believers we are called to be like refugees, sojourners, aliens, or pilgrims.
1 Peter 2:11-12, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Peter urged early Christians to live with that same “refugee” mentality. Live like you don’t belong here. Then use that understandably awkward and even scary position in life to demonstrate where your confidence really lies.
The real war going on isn’t within the borders of nations, but within ourselves. Wars are fought (to some degree) for freedom. Freedom to own a particular piece of land, freedom to use your money or your talents as you wish, etc. Sin steals our potential and our freedoms, which is one reason it’s so important to flee from those things that steal our potential in God.
Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” That’s our potential, to be a tool for God; which in turn reaps a harvest beyond understanding.
Paul told the Romans in Romans 6:17-18, “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
Where will the refugees end up? Is there a place that will bring them peace? The reality is that the victory they’re seeking doesn’t come in the form of a title deed for property, or in a flag, or in anything you can put in the bank. The real victory is something bigger—it’s in God, the creator of all things.
1 Corinthians 15:57-58, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
That was a lesson the Pilgrims would soon learn as well. The freedom they
sought wasn’t in America, but in the freedom to fully surrender to Christ and His guidance. We were created for a purpose, and that purpose is to glorify God. Peter explains that through our “good deeds, as they observe them” that is when others see what real freedom is and that’s when God is glorified.
Nelson Mandela said just months before his release from prison, “The only prison that takes away a man’s freedom is the one that does not allow that man to dream.” God has given us something more than a dream; it’s a promise. To have that ability to live for that promise makes us freer than anyone on the planet.
This Thanksgiving, pay special attention to the opportunities around you to share what makes you free.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
God's Promises
We are all accustomed to promises. We are also accustomed to seeing them made and broken. Anyone who has lived for a number of years would certainly never lay claim to having kept every promise made. There are many reasons why this is true. Sometimes we forget, sometimes we are negligent, and sometimes it may be due to circumstances beyond our control.
A brokenhearted girl might say to a boy, “But you promised to marry me.” And the answer comes back: “Yes, but I changed my mind.” People do change their mind, and they do break their promises.
What about the promises of God? How certain are they? Paul said this concerning God’s promises, “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith . . . For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants” (Romans 4:13, 16). God's promise to Abraham was first spelled out in Genesis 12. It was repeated in Genesis 22:18, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
A promise is only as good as the ability of the one who makes it to carry it through. It also
includes willingness to do so. God did carry through with Abraham. Paul points out in Galatians 3:16, that it was through Christ God intended to fulfill the promise to Abraham. Also in Acts 13:32-33, Paul says: “And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus.”
Jesus’ life was shaped, while living on earth, by His trust in the power of the promises of God.
When Jesus said: “I am that bread of life," (John 6:48), “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12), and “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25), He did so fully realizing that He had been empowered with this right by the Father who had promised to raise Him from the grave. There were more than 500 people at one time who bore witness to the fulfillment of this promise, according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-6.
What can be said about God's promises to us?
1. He’s promised to supply us with what we need for everything we face. The Bible says: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). We have to realize that God knows what’s best, which means it may not include earthly things that often times distract us from the heavenly things.
2. God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). In fact, He has
made provision for our salvation by His grace through faith. Read Ephesians 2:8. It is
through an obedient faith that we have access into the grace of God according to
Romans 5:2.
3. God has promised us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such
as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape
also, so that you will be able to endure it.” Jude wrote: “Now unto Him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory
with exceeding joy” (Jude v 24). Darius, King of the Medes, said to Daniel, “Your
God whom you have served continually, he will deliver you” (Daniel 6:16). He did
deliver Daniel from the den of lions.
4. God has promised us victory over death. He first resurrected Jesus by way of assuring our resurrection. Peter said: “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32). Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Later on he adds: “but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
5. God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully (Romans 8:28). It may be difficult for us to see and understand how this is accomplished at times, but God has promised it, and He will deliver.
6. God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins will be saved. (Acts 2:38). It was a promise for those listening on the Day of Pentecost, but also as he says “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
7. God has promised His people eternal life (John 10:27, 28).
These are just a few of the many promises God will fulfill in our lives if we honor Him and allow Him to work through our lives.
A brokenhearted girl might say to a boy, “But you promised to marry me.” And the answer comes back: “Yes, but I changed my mind.” People do change their mind, and they do break their promises.
What about the promises of God? How certain are they? Paul said this concerning God’s promises, “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith . . . For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants” (Romans 4:13, 16). God's promise to Abraham was first spelled out in Genesis 12. It was repeated in Genesis 22:18, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
A promise is only as good as the ability of the one who makes it to carry it through. It also
includes willingness to do so. God did carry through with Abraham. Paul points out in Galatians 3:16, that it was through Christ God intended to fulfill the promise to Abraham. Also in Acts 13:32-33, Paul says: “And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus.”
Jesus’ life was shaped, while living on earth, by His trust in the power of the promises of God.
When Jesus said: “I am that bread of life," (John 6:48), “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12), and “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25), He did so fully realizing that He had been empowered with this right by the Father who had promised to raise Him from the grave. There were more than 500 people at one time who bore witness to the fulfillment of this promise, according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-6.
What can be said about God's promises to us?
1. He’s promised to supply us with what we need for everything we face. The Bible says: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). We have to realize that God knows what’s best, which means it may not include earthly things that often times distract us from the heavenly things.
2. God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). In fact, He has
made provision for our salvation by His grace through faith. Read Ephesians 2:8. It is
through an obedient faith that we have access into the grace of God according to
Romans 5:2.
3. God has promised us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such
as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape
also, so that you will be able to endure it.” Jude wrote: “Now unto Him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory
with exceeding joy” (Jude v 24). Darius, King of the Medes, said to Daniel, “Your
God whom you have served continually, he will deliver you” (Daniel 6:16). He did
deliver Daniel from the den of lions.
4. God has promised us victory over death. He first resurrected Jesus by way of assuring our resurrection. Peter said: “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32). Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Later on he adds: “but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
5. God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully (Romans 8:28). It may be difficult for us to see and understand how this is accomplished at times, but God has promised it, and He will deliver.
6. God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins will be saved. (Acts 2:38). It was a promise for those listening on the Day of Pentecost, but also as he says “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
7. God has promised His people eternal life (John 10:27, 28).
These are just a few of the many promises God will fulfill in our lives if we honor Him and allow Him to work through our lives.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Control
During the late 1970’s the Chinese government began implementing some social controls in response to the economic strain the growing population was projected to put on the Chinese government. So the "one child" policy was put into place and remained in place until it began to be phased out this year. From an economic perspective it may have seemed very logical, however what about freedom?
China isn’t a free nation, but what about the church? As Christians we’ve been offered freedom through what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Paul said in Galatians 5:1-16, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery...”
Throughout history mankind has sought this hope-filled freedom offered to us in Christ, but not without reservations. There’s just something within most of us that gets a little scared of complete freedom. To allow other people to control themselves. In the first century, the Jews were really concerned that the Gentiles might not observe or honor the feasts, and other practices, that had been established during the Mosaic age, so laws were imposed upon them to make sure they would take time out to reflect on what God had done for “his people” in times past. However, it was what Jesus had done during their lifetime that deserved the most respect, the most honor.
Throughout history mankind has sought this hope-filled freedom offered to us in Christ, but not without reservations. There’s just something within most of us that gets a little scared of complete freedom. To allow other people to control themselves. In the first century, the Jews were really concerned that the Gentiles might not observe or honor the feasts, and other practices, that had been established during the Mosaic age, so laws were imposed upon them to make sure they would take time out to reflect on what God had done for “his people” in times past. However, it was what Jesus had done during their lifetime that deserved the most respect, the most honor.
A more pertinent concern would be that all Christians observe and honor what Jesus did in the NOW age. This remains a legitimate concern for Christians especially as it fits within the parameters of a congregation. Will my church show the proper respect for acts of worship like: prayer, The Lord’s Supper, Bible reading, or singing?
Can we trust each person to demonstrate the appropriate honor without imposing a law on them? What if they don’t do it like I do it? How is it regulated? Paul continued in Galatians 5 concerning those imposing circumcision on all Christians, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Paul also said in Ephesians 5:17-21, “So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”
Ultimately, we have the responsibility to grow in our knowledge and understanding of Christ, not just as a person, but as our pattern to follow. Jesus modeled a revolutionary expression of honoring God, all while practicing self-control.
Can we trust each person to demonstrate the appropriate honor without imposing a law on them? What if they don’t do it like I do it? How is it regulated? Paul continued in Galatians 5 concerning those imposing circumcision on all Christians, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Paul also said in Ephesians 5:17-21, “So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”
Ultimately, we have the responsibility to grow in our knowledge and understanding of Christ, not just as a person, but as our pattern to follow. Jesus modeled a revolutionary expression of honoring God, all while practicing self-control.
Just like the Israelites longing for a king to oppress them, people today still long for some kind of leadership to rule over them even if it limits the freedom they’ve been given. During the Restoration movement, many church leaders realized how quickly mankind resorts to oppressive leadership and they sought to break those bonds (once again). It didn’t take long for the fear of freedom to make some nervous. In the early-1900’s several groups (which included the churches of Christ) disbanded communion with each other because some groups felt you couldn’t preserve the integrity of pure worship without some kind of denominational government controlling how things are done in corporate worship.
So why write this? Perhaps the appeal to each of you reading this to KNOW why you believe what you believe and to learn to live within the freedoms allotted to us in Christ. It takes a lot of faith to follow what you believe the Scriptures to say. It takes faith to recognize action that you need to do because God wants you to do it, and simply do it. It takes faith to stand up to traditions that actually may harm the work of the Spirit in our lives. It takes faith to trust that God will do what He says the word of God has the power to do.
Hebrews 4:12-13, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.”
To follow God requires to let go of our fears. We must trust that he really has come to give life, and give it to the fullest measure as he says in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Our goal is not to regulate someone else’s spiritual walk, but to selflessly encourage them to love God with ALL their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then we don’t have to control them, but model the Christ-like example of leading people to a fuller understanding of God.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Contentment vs. complacency
In 2000, Bruce Wilkinson wrote a short devotional book called The Prayer of Jabez. Within the pages of that little book, Mr. Wilkinson used 1 Chronicles 4:10 as a pattern to effective prayers. Tens of millions of people bought the book hoping that perhaps this little verse and the story of this obscure person tucked away in the genealogy of Ashur could indeed reveal how to be blessed.
1 Chronicles 4:10, “Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!’ And God granted him what he requested.”
The powerhouse in this verse isn’t that he asked, but that God granted his request. This verse became instantly famous with the publication of this book, but has it been taken out of context?
Unfortunately, there can be a fine line between trying to excel to higher levels to better one's position and being a covetous person that constantly focuses on being covetable. On the other end of the spectrum, there can also be a fine line between being content with where you are and being complacent. The drive to be better is inspired by God; the understanding of how far to go, how much to ask for, and when to stop before it takes control is also given to us by God.
James reveals one of the reasons that our requests to God may not be answered the way WE want them answered. He says in James 4:2-3, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
Finding that safe haven of contentment between the thresholds of complacency and covetousness might require a new way of thinking. The Bible urges us to think about heavenly things, and that serves as our motivation to endure less than perfect scenarios here because we’re anticipating a much better place later. However, that doesn’t come naturally or easily.
Hebrews 5:13-14, “For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”
In his prayer, Jabez asked to have his boundaries expanded, but we can recognize the other part of his request as the heart of what he was asking for, “…that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm…”
Paul says something similar in Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
As we consider where our real citizenship is found (Philippians 3:20), it helps us to be more content with our worldly situation and it drives us to demonstrate our gratitude towards God in how we live in spiritual situations.
Contentment could be explained by being satisfied with less than you think you deserve. It’s what Jesus modeled for us by coming to this earth to save us from the consequences of our sins. Godliness, therefore, becomes the asset we should desire to have more of. The nice thing is that He’s made the steps clear and that goal obtainable every time we seek it.
2 Peter 1:3-8, “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Chronicles 4:10, “Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!’ And God granted him what he requested.”
The powerhouse in this verse isn’t that he asked, but that God granted his request. This verse became instantly famous with the publication of this book, but has it been taken out of context?
Unfortunately, there can be a fine line between trying to excel to higher levels to better one's position and being a covetous person that constantly focuses on being covetable. On the other end of the spectrum, there can also be a fine line between being content with where you are and being complacent. The drive to be better is inspired by God; the understanding of how far to go, how much to ask for, and when to stop before it takes control is also given to us by God.
James reveals one of the reasons that our requests to God may not be answered the way WE want them answered. He says in James 4:2-3, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
Finding that safe haven of contentment between the thresholds of complacency and covetousness might require a new way of thinking. The Bible urges us to think about heavenly things, and that serves as our motivation to endure less than perfect scenarios here because we’re anticipating a much better place later. However, that doesn’t come naturally or easily.
Hebrews 5:13-14, “For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”
In his prayer, Jabez asked to have his boundaries expanded, but we can recognize the other part of his request as the heart of what he was asking for, “…that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm…”
Paul says something similar in Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
As we consider where our real citizenship is found (Philippians 3:20), it helps us to be more content with our worldly situation and it drives us to demonstrate our gratitude towards God in how we live in spiritual situations.
Contentment could be explained by being satisfied with less than you think you deserve. It’s what Jesus modeled for us by coming to this earth to save us from the consequences of our sins. Godliness, therefore, becomes the asset we should desire to have more of. The nice thing is that He’s made the steps clear and that goal obtainable every time we seek it.
2 Peter 1:3-8, “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”