Contentment

There's a conversation that goes off like clockwork everyday after school, one that is so predictable and can be likened to a constant drip. It greets me minutes after my sixth grader walks in the door after school. I think her version of the verse in Timothy must go like this:

1Tim. 6:8 - "But if we have food, clothing and a cell phone, we will be content with that."

This is one deprived child. You see, she is one of the only students at her school without a cellphone (so she thinks). And she wastes no time after getting off the bus to engage me in a 17 minute conversation about how irritating all her friends are with their cellphones and how rude their texting is because it causes them to ignore her and about their "chatting amongst themselves" about their razors which causes her to feel left out. She hopes her life of despair will be solved by me rushing right out to buy her a cellphone. I listen with empathy and respond with great wisdom: "You need to choose new friends".

So I pondered today - do I whine and complain like a child to God when I want something that I can't have? Of course I do. Do I sound like a constant, irritating drip? Probably. Does He listen with empathy? I'm sure He does. And He always responds with His infinite wisdom: "You need to choose me". Ahh, yes. How simple the solution and how wonderful the contentment that follows.

1Tim. 6:6 - "But godliness with contentment is great gain."

Sustainability

Psalm 54:4 "Surely God is my help; The Lord is the one who sustains me."

Psalm 55:22 "Cast your cares on The Lord and HE will sustain you."

We sing these promises in worship. We read these verses in our devotions. We know with our mind that God's word says He will sustain us, but do we believe with our heart He will follow through on His promise when difficulties come? It's too easy to pull out the plastic when an unexpected expense arises. It's too tempting to rely on the advice of a friend instead of the knowledge of the Lord. It's too common to fix something ourselves without waiting on the Lord for His plan and purpose.

sus·tain:

To keep in existence; maintain.
To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for.
To support from below; keep from falling or sinking.
To support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage.
To bear up under; withstand.
To affirm the validity of.
To prove or corroborate; confirm.
To keep up.

Son - allow your human instincts that demand human solutions to rest at the feet of Jesus. Experience what it is like to be rescued and sustained by the Lord!

Chose Integrity

Psalm 41:12: "In my integrity YOU uphold me and set me in YOUR presence forever."

I was compelled to read this verse "opposite" this morning.

"In my lack of integrity YOU can't uphold me and won't set me in YOUR presence forever."

When read as an opposite, it comes across much more powerful in producing a challenge that will prompt an action of integrity. I want God to uphold me. I want to be in His presence. What will keep me from that? My lack of integrity.

Son, make it your daily discipline to be a man of integrity. This chosen (as we have to chose integrity) characteristic pleases the heart of God.

Recovering What Was Lost

There is a parable of a woman with ten coins who lost one and now has nine. Luke 15:8-9 tells us that she lights her lamp, sweeps the house and searches carefully until she finds it. Then she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin."

Just recently I lost something of value. It was the memory on my hard drive. The diagnosis: it had failed and all data was lost. My digital pictures, my excel spreadsheets and my word documents were gone. There was nothing I could do. Lighting a lamp, sweeping my house and searching carefully would not bring back the treasured data.

With hope, I took the hard drive to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. They sounded optimistic that they could recover the data. After not hearing from them for a week, dad went to see if he could "encourage" them to put us as a priority since we had been shipped a new hard drive and needed to mail the defective hard drive back. It was then that a divine intervention took place: Dad ran into Richard, a man who attends our church, at Best Buy. He told him about our dismal situation. Richard offered to take a look at the hard drive if the Geek Squad couldn't recover the data. He mentioned that he has been able to retrieve information when others couldn't.

And the Geek Squad couldn't. Thus ensued a phone call to Richard, then a quick delivery of the dead hard drive, and finally a resurrection of all my data! A light was lit, the house was swept and the careful searching produced what was lost.

I called my friends and neighbors together and said, "Rejoice with me; my lost memory has been found!" Thank you, King of Kings, for showing up at Best Buy at the appointed time.

Matthew 19:26 - "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Preparing a Place

I overheard you telling granny that having company over was hard work! On Christmas Eve you had family visit and now you were expecting more company on Christmas Day.

It is a lot of work if you want to present your company with an experience they will enjoy! Preparing a place for them to hang their coat, an area for them to sit and exchange conversation, a place at your table for a feast they will savor . . . yes, it really is a lot of hard work to prepare a place for company!

John 14:2 says "In my Father's house are many rooms . . . I am going there to prepare a place for you." In some small way our preparations at Christmas connect us closer to the truth of this scripture. We prepare our homes for the company that is coming and we deeply desire for their visit at our house to be a warm and welcoming experience.

In this New Year that is quickly approaching, let your preparations be not only in your home but also in your heart. The song Joy to the World says it best, "Let every heart prepare Him room."

Son, preparing a heart that has room for Jesus is also hard work! Let's break a sweat, sweep the floors and remove all the garbage from our lives so that the Savior can hang his coat, sit for a lovely visit and enjoy the feast at our table!

Pearls of Wisdom Project

On Christmas morning 2007, I asked my mom to blog her thoughts daily, over the course of the next 364 days, passing on wisdom and insight that she has gained over the years, general advice on life, and other Biblical truths and principles that would help guide me in life.  The following is what transpired.