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Contentment…No Matter What Part 2: Circumstances
Last week we looked at how comparison keeps us from being contented. If you missed it you can read that post here. Today we will look at a second big issue that causes us discontentment: our circumstances. If only…what if…iif I had…if I lived…if I was….THEN I would be content with my life. Have you ever said, “it must be nice…..”? In her book, Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free, author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth says we believe this: “If my situation was different, I would be different.” We always seem to be searching for that elusive state of bliss in life. In the scripture we looked at last week in…
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Contentment…No Matter What Part 1: Comparison
How content are you right now? Be honest. Is it even possible to be content no matter what? Can we accept what Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:6, “Contentment with godliness is great gain?” Can we really experience contentment in the midst of a relationship crisis, job loss, life threatening health situation, brokenness, betrayal, etc…you fill in the blank with your discontent issue. I believe like me, you may struggle with this, at least occasionally. Perhaps our world would be much more pleasant if we weren’t always striving for something “else”. Let’s define contentment as happiness in one’s life situation and discontentment as craving for what we don’t have. We…
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Forgiving the Devil in Pew Number Seven…What I’m Reading
Forgiveness…what does that word conjure up for you? Forgiving a child or spouse for hurting you? Forgiving a driver who cut you off? Forgiving a predator or abuser? Forgiving a church member or minister for betrayal? When I think of the things for which I’ve forgiven others, I must say they seem small and petty compared to the reasons why Rebecca Nichols Alonzo and her brother had to forgive their mother’s murderer as well as the man who wreaked havoc in their lives for years. I just finished reading, in tears, The Devil in Pew Number Seven by best selling author Rebecca Alonzo. I have never seen a more beautiful picture of biblical…
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Accountable…Me?
All of us have been disappointed by someone. A parent. A pastor. An employer. A friend. I’ve also disappointed me! And I bet you disappointed yourself as well. It’s hard to watch the news without seeing another well known person fall. It could be us. So, let me ask you…who holds you accountable? Romans 14:12 (“So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God”) reminds us that ultimately it’s God we are accountable to. But aren’t you grateful that God allows humans in the body of Christ to walk beside us on this earth? Those who love us, but aren’t impressed by us. Those who will…
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Grow Through What You Go Through
I saw this sign in Target recently and stopped to look at it for a while: Seems like this is the story of my life. As I stood there thinking about the message painted on the glass, I remembered how many times, when I’ve faced something really hard, I do not want to learn anything. I just want it over! But at the same time, when I think back to all the tough experiences I’ve lived through, I wouldn’t change any of them because each one has matured me and taught me more about God. I can’t imagine how I would’ve made it these “growing” seasons without Christ. He was…
