Month: October 2021

28.u. “For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content”

 

Philippians 4:11   Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

 Genesis 28:20   Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

 Matthew 6:31-34    Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

 Hebrews 13:5-6   Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

 1 Timothy 6:6-9   But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

How do we know contentment, happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, peace in all circumstances? Where is it to be found? How is it demonstrated? When our circumstances place us in a time of prosperity and plenty we think this is how and where we find contentment. Not true at all.  Ease of life, prosperity, abundance, peace, and comfort is no guarantee of contentment.  In fact, it is where neglect and complacency of God’s Word, more times than not, takes place in our lives. Think about a trial or troubled time in your life.  Did you grow closer to God and seek Him more fervently?  Was your trust and belief in Him alone firm and trusting?  Did you come to a place where you were beyond self-reliance or reliance on others and placed your heavy burden into His hands, relying on Him alone? Did you experience contentment and peace placing it in His hands?   Godly contentment, happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, and peace are not based on the circumstances of life.  They reside in our hearts and minds. It is when we surrender and yield our lives, days, minutes, and seconds of every day to the will and purpose of God, knowing and trusting in Him alone, and where we live seeking and desiring all we think, say, and do for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ, is where we find contentment.  Paul learned it.  He lived trusting God was in total control of everything.  Whatever situation, in plenty and in want, Jesus strengthened Him. If our commitment is shallow and surrender of self to the purpose and will of God each day is non-existent, we will find ourselves missing out on contentment, happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction, and peace.

28.t. “Think about these things”

 

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

 1 Thessalonians 4:12    so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

 Titus 3:14   And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

 1 Peter 2:12   Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

 Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

 1 Corinthians 13:4-7    Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

What in life is true, sincere, and genuine? How do we know what is true? What is honorable, respectable, moral? What is just, fair, equitable, ethical, and impartial? What is pure, uncontaminated, wholesome, innocent, and above reproach? What is lovely, pleasing, and heavenly? These are seemingly easy questions but just try to answer them. How we answer them will depend on the conditioning of our hearts and minds. What feeds our hearts and minds will be how we define truth, honor, justice, purity, and what is lovely. We can easily see flagrant cases of the opposite. However, the lines blur when we try to define truth, honor, justice, purity, and love.  Culturally acceptance does not make for a good basis to define them.  Culturally, a homosexual life is acceptable and called an alternative lifestyle. Abortion is acceptable and called a right. Pride is acceptable and is called a self-made man. Greed is acceptable and called being a good businessman. Pornography is acceptable and called adult entertainment. In the eyes of God, they are all void of godliness, holiness, and righteousness.  

Much of the Christian life comes down to the mind. Romans 12:2 speaks of the essential place of being transformed by the renewing of your mind and 2 Corinthians 10:5 speaks of the importance of casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. What we choose to meditate on matters. (Guzik)

What is it that mingles around in your mind throughout the day? Is it thinking about things of God? Is there any time during the day you are mauling over His Word, what it means or how to apply it? Are we seeking wisdom and understanding between (holiness, godliness, and righteousness) and things of this world? Do we even try? When I was in my early 20’s my old Pastor (in his mid 50’s) (I don’t think this is old anymore) said it seems like the church is only 10 to 15 years behind in accepting what the world says is ok. In my 60’s now I find this to be so true. I fear to say it, but I know it to be true, God’s Word is being neglected in our daily lives, many Pastors proclaim shallow truth and do not address culturally accepted norms, and our thinking has become void of that which is pure, true, just, honorable, and lovely. It would seem most Christians shamefully find it easier to fill their minds with CNN, FOX, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, ……………………… than to fill it with God’s Word even one-tenth of the time.  Test me on this and you will find it is not far off.  What would it take to clarify what is true, just, honorable, pure, and lovely? Try this, intentionally choose to be void of any time listening to or reading CNN, FOX, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, … for one week. Read God’s Word and allow the Holy Spirit to guide your mind and thoughts in what is true, just, honorable, pure, and lovely.  Try it.  I know without any hesitation that you will see things differently.  The hymn by Helen Lemmel has this line, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.”  

“Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts.” Yes, we are responsible for the thoughts we cultivate in our minds. (James Allen)

28.s. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you”

 

Philippians 4:6  do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 Psalms 29:11   May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!

 Isaiah 26:3   You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you

 Psalms 85:8   Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.

 Isaiah 48:18    Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

 Luke 1:79   to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

 John 14:27   Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

 Romans 5:1   Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 Romans 8:6     For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

 2 Thessalonians 3:16    Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

Peace of mind. How people are able to rise above fear, worry, anxiousness, confusion, hatred, and anger?  Everywhere we turn we are bombarded with fear, worry, anger, confusion by mainstream media news outlets and various social media outlets.  They tell us what we should be fearful of.  They tell us who to hate. They tell us we should be angry.  They tell us we should be anxious.  They tell us we should worry and what to worry about. These are all from the voice of those in darkness, without hope, and under the influence of Satan’s lies and deceitful deceptions.  This is what this world has to offer. It truly is a shame when Christians are influenced by these worldly thoughts. Paul is saying our lives will have trials and troubles and when we are blindsided our practiced response should be in humble prayer to God. Why? Because we trust, rely on, and have faith in God, the Creator, All-Powerful, All-knowing, and All-capable, Holy, Loving, Merciful and full of Grace… God.  There is a peace that passes all understanding. It can be found nowhere else but in God. And yet, Christians buy into the fear, worry, anxiousness, confusion, anger, and hate seemingly without one thought of God.  Have we drifted so far from Him that we have lost the ability to have peace in our lives? It is shameful to hear some of the thoughts and witness some of the actions Christians are doing. Is God ever limited? Is anything beyond the control of God? Do we even believe in the power of God? This world will offer many things to convince us where we can find peace.  It will tell us to listen and to follow them down paths with the promise of peace. When we allow ourselves to be influenced more by the world than by trust, reliance, and faith in God we are walking in darkness on a slippery slope of false hope that will lead to great grief, worry, fear, anxiousness, and certainly no peace.  We replace what God is able to do in our lives with false hope in what the world has to offer.  Does this make any sense? Will we ever find peace for our hearts, minds, and souls apart from God? Will God give peace to those who trust in and make peace with what the world has to offer. Oh that our eyes were more on the heavenly, holy, and eternal rather than on lies and deceptions the world proclaims. God is not limited in anything.  He is more than able to carry us through this life and into eternity with peace of mind no matter what occurs in this life. It is by intentional faith, trust, reliance, and obedience in Jesus Christ there is the hope of salvation, redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life. This is the beginning and completion of where we find and experience true peace.

28.r. “Who is Speaking to you”

From Pathway to Victory, I like the thoughts he brings out in this devotion.

The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!”
–Genesis 3:2-4

Satan speaks to us through other people, and sometimes he even speaks to us directly. So how can we know for sure whether it is God or Satan speaking to us? Let me give you three filters to use when you are evaluating the messages you receive.

First of all, are these words true? Remember in John 8:44 Jesus said that Satan “is a liar and the father of lies.” When somebody comes to you with a railing accusation that has no basis in fact, you can know that Satan is the source of those accusations. The Bible says he is “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). Lies always come from Satan.

Second, do these words motivate me to faith or to fear? Sometimes Satan places paralyzing thoughts into our life to keep us from moving toward God. These words seize our minds and paralyze us with fear. Where does that come from? In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul wrote, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” No, when somebody speaks words to you or you have thoughts that cause you to question the goodness of God, the love of God, or the power of God over your circumstances, that is Satan communicating his thoughts to you.

Third, do these words contradict the teaching of Scripture? In Genesis 3, God had told Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate from the tree in the middle of the garden. But the serpent said to Eve, “You surely will not die!” (v. 4). Amazingly, Eve chose to believe the serpent rather than God. She was saying, “I believe this serpent knows better than God what is best for my life.”

Other people may speak words to you that sound appealing, but they contradict God’s Word. Maybe your employer comes to you and says, “Why not fudge the truth here a little bit?” Or maybe your mate says, “You need to put your allegiance to me above your allegiance to God.” Or maybe your pastor says, “You really cannot believe that this Bible is the truly inspired Word of God.” Whenever you fall for words that contradict the teaching of Scripture, what you are really saying is, “This person knows better than God what is best for my life.” You see, any time we sin, any time we knowingly disobey God, what we are really saying is, “God, I know what is best for my life. I know better than You do.” Somebody has said, “All sin is basically contempt for God.” That is why it is important that we carefully evaluate every thought that comes into our minds and every word that is spoken to us.

28.q. From “Pathway to Victory”

 

1 Chronicles 21:1  Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.

When Satan wants to gain influence in our lives, he does it through our minds. One way he influences our thoughts is through the corrupt desires we inherited from Adam and Eve. But Satan understands that he cannot rely on our sin nature alone to influence our lives. So, second, Satan influences us through other mediums. Genesis 3 is a great illustration of that. Before Adam and Eve fell into sin, Eve did not have a sin nature. If Satan could not rely on her corrupt desires, how was he going to influence her life? He used a neutral creation, the serpent, to communicate to Eve. Through the serpent, Satan asked her, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’” (v. 1). Today he might use the alluring talking box that is at the center of every family’s home. Am I saying television is evil? No, not at all. Television is a neutral medium, but Satan can use it to voice his enticements to us–just like he can use internet sites, books, and other media to speak his messages to us.

Third, sometimes Satan speaks to us through other people. Last week we looked at Matthew 16:23, when Peter was trying to dissuade Jesus from going to the cross. Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!” Why did He say that? He realized that Peter was simply being used by Satan to voice an invitation to disobey to God. It is the same way in your life. Sometimes Satan will use a friend, your mate, or even a pastor to voice his messages of disobedience to you.

Finally, sometimes Satan or his demons speak to us directly, without any intermediary. Have you ever been somewhere, maybe even sitting in church, when out of nowhere a blatantly sinful thought comes into your mind? You think, “Wow! Where did that come from?” Sometimes those thoughts come from our corrupted desires, but many times it is simply Satan or his demons speaking to us. David was a man after God’s own heart and yet he experienced Satan talking to him directly. Look at 1 Chronicles 21:1-3: “Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, ‘Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their number.’ Joab said, ‘May the Lord add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?’” Let me explain what was going on here. God had told David, “If you count your troops it means you are depending upon your troops rather than My power to protect you.” But David decided to disobey God and count his troops anyway. What would cause David to do such a foolish thing? Verse 1 tells us it was Satan who moved in David’s heart to commit that sin. Sometimes Satan himself can be the one who is speaking to us.

28.p. “Practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

 

Philippians 4:6  do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

 Matthew 6:25-33    “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

 1 Peter 5:7     casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

It is not easy to stay away from falling into the trap of anxiousness. It sneaks up on us and floods our hearts and minds with all sorts of fear, worry, and paralysis.  It is common to all of us but some seem to rise above it and are able to have peace and hope through it.  Where do this peace and hope come from? It comes from and through Jesus Christ.  In God’s Word, we find the reason for hope, trust, and refuge, but it is so much more than reading about it. It must be believed, trusted, and relied upon. It must be what feeds our hearts, minds, and souls.  Some may think they can live a worldly life and chase after worldly things and keep Jesus Christ and the Word of God in their back pocket for when things in life go bad.  This person will never enter a time of trial or trouble with any foundation and when their life is sideswiped they fall pray to a host of heart defeating depressing days. It is far better to be intentionally walking in trust, reliance, and hope in Jesus Christ when trials and troubles come.  

28.o. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow”

 

Philippians 4:5  Let your gentleness be known to everyone.

 Matthew 6:34   “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble

 Luke 21:34 “Be careful or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

This is the heart of a person who will let the Lord fight his battles. He knows that vengeance is Mine, says the Lord. It is a person who is really free to let go of His anxieties and all the things that cause him stress, because he knows that the Lord is his refuge. 

How are we to show gentleness to those closest to us, yet alone those we happen to meet by chance, when we are anxious and weighed down with cares of this life? Things happen, accidents happen, bad things happen, and they seem to happen out of nowhere.  One day all is well and then….. there is a pandemic, volcano, earthquake, storm, bad drivers, sickness, financial troubles, etc…. Though they have devastating effects, if we are not already walking closely with Jesus Christ these events can rob us of joy, peace, gentleness, hope, kindness, love, forgiveness, patience, and leave us anxious, worried, and fearful.  If we are not firmly rooted in God’s Word with humble surrender of self and self-reliance, self-worth and worthiness we will crumble to the cares of this world. It is in humbleness we stand before Jesus Christ and in Him we find hope for today and tomorrow. If we become complacent and neglectful in our Christian walk the things that happen, whatever they are, will snare us and leave us anxiousness, fearful, anger, greedy, despairing, miserable, conflicted, distressing, resentful……..

Cares of this world and what it has to offer are easily seen.  Our family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and strangers need to see Christian examples who are not affected by the cares of this world and are not lead by what it has to offer.  When our heart’s desire is to honor, glorify, trust, rely on, and cling to Jesus Christ, it is then we will be able to discern the difference between what is godly and worldly, and the worldly cares and worldly expectations can put it in its proper place – into the hands of our redeemer, fortress, and refuge, Jesus Christ.  It is then we will walk above worldly cares and worries. It is then, those around us will see that in Jesus Christ, things that happen, we are not robbed of joy, peace, gentleness, hope, kindness, love, patience, and forgiveness.