Bible Verse of the Day


2 Peter 1:5-8


For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Seek Contentment


Philippians 4:12 says, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

Do you ever feel empty? Like nothing is working in your life? Many people in our society suffer from emptiness. Most people look for happiness, which is short term. Happiness is a counterfeit high that quickly goes away. They hope the next superficial satisfaction will be the one that lasts. But it doesn't. External happiness is like cotton candy; it's sweet for a moment and dissolves an instant later.

The peak of emotion is happiness; the valley is sadness and depression. Many feel dissatisfied with life and look to things to bring us up. We look to more money, to have bigger and better things. We want to look better, feel more accepted, have more power and find love for our happiness. Rushes of happiness are short lived. When we rely on outside things to make us content, we will be disappointed. What we all really want is deep down soul-satisfying contentment that lasts a lifetime.

Let’s look again at Philippians 4:12 "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." The beginning is "I have learned."

Contentment is learned, it doesn't just happen. Contentment has everything to do what is inside of us. True peace & happiness comes from within. The source is Jesus Christ. We learn and grow when we accept His love & forgiveness. Our need for acceptance and accolades from outside and/or man fades when we know in our hearts the joy and contentment only Jesus and can bring.

It’s a slippery slope of disappointment and pain when we look to anything else to fill us. Contentment, like spiritual joy, is not based on circumstance or situations and especially not other people. It is a deep seeded, satisfying internal fire in which we bask, the glow of the fulfilling love Jesus offers which is not tempered by time or circumstance.  

My friends, I pray you are filled anew with an all encompassing contentment and the joy of the Lord!

Dedicated to my dear friend, Patricia McGuire July 26, 1946 - June 30, 2011

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