One Thing Only

Psalm 27

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2027&version=NIV;NLT

  

Last weekend all eyes were on the world of college football in Columbus, Ohio. Saturday night the Buckeyes made their case for getting into the College Football Playoff by defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Championship game.

 

The waiting began for the Buckeye nation shortly after midnight when the game was over. Through the night the committee of thirteen people diligently hashed out what schools would be in the 4-team playoff… and who would not.

 

Finally, at noon on Sunday, the 4-hour announcement program began. Four 4 more hours! Unbelievable! But about an hour into the show, after tolerating the talking heads as they blabbed on about nothing, it was finally announced.

 

The wait had been excruciating… as all waiting is. We don’t like to wait do we? We

want what we want, when we want it. We don’t like the thought of waiting for someone else to have control over some part of our life.

 

According to my NIV study Bible, “David knew from experience what it meant to wait for the Lord. He had been anointed king at age 16, but didn’t become king until age 30. During the interim, he was chased through the wilderness by King Saul. Later, he was chased by his son Absalom.” Yet David waited patiently for the Lord.

 

¹⁴ Wait patiently for the Lord.
    Be brave and courageous.
    Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.          NLT

 

What gave David such confidence and contentment during these difficult times? For David, there was one thing only. For him, waiting patiently was directly proportionate to seeking the Lord and being in His presence.

 

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple… ⁶ Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me…           NIV

 

Ultimately, the Buckeyes couldn’t count on the committee. But you can always count on the Lord! He may not always give us what we want, when we want it. But He is always with you. He loves you deeply and unconditionally. He is always faithful to His word. And you can take that to the playoffs every time.

 

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The Grass is Always Greener

1 Corinthians 7:17-24

 

 

You know the saying, “The grass is greener on the other side”. It’s human nature to always want what we don’t have. It’s also human nature to complain about what we do have. It’s easy to complain about your boss, your spouse, the weather, the traffic; take your pick. Yes indeed, we find something to complain about every day!

 

When I first started working for my employer, he hired me to do marketing. It was fun, challenging and rewarding. But about the second year the personnel needs changed, so he moved me out of a private office to the main entry office. Overnight, I became the receptionist, the operator, the mail boy and the filing clerk; all jobs that I felt were beneath me; beneath my experience and my age.

 

Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth about keeping their attitude in check about marriage, religious traditions, work, social and economic standing.

 

²² If the Lord calls you, and you are a slave, remember that Christ has set you

free from the awful power of sin; and if he has called you and you are free, remember that you are now a slave of Christ. ²³ You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears.            TLB    

 

“You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him.”  It took quite a while for God to straighten my attitude about being “demoted”. I suppose I could have looked for another job, but then I wouldn’t have learned a valuable lesson.

 

Above all else, no matter what your circumstance, you are a child of God. For Paul it didn’t matter whether a person was married or single; circumcised or gentile; slave or free – they were a child of God, “bought and paid for by Christ”.

 

The same message is true for you today. God has called you to serve Him in one capacity or another; through your marriage, your job, your church, your community. Find your calling and serve him with all your heart, mind and soul.

 

¹⁷ Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.            NIV

 

 

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The Serenity Prayer

1 Timothy 6

 

Reinhold Niebuhr is given credit for writing the Serenity Prayer in 1943. It is one of the most popular prayers known, and has been made famous by AA and other twelve-step programs. However, did you know that the version used by most of these groups is an abreviated one. Here is the complete prayer:

 

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.”

 

Obviously, you don’t have to be an addict to benefit from this prayer. Serenity, or contentment, is a fleeting experience in all of our lives. Think about how many times a day you complain about something: the weather, the traffic, your boss, your co-workers, your spouse, your kids, your food, your self, your health, your church, your house, your car… God. The list is undending.

 

In today’s chapter Paul wrote to Timothy about being content.

 

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that”.            Verses 6-8 NIV

 

People have been discontented since the Garden. Satan sowed discontent in Eve’s heart, and it’s been a part of the human condition ever since. In fact, it’s such a problem of the human condition, that God devoted one whole commandment to it.

 

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”           Exodus 20:17 NIV

 

Why else do we covet unless it is because we are not happy with what we have? We are not content. So what is the key to finding contentment in our lives? To help answer this question, here are Paul’s words to the Philippians:

 

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. 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. I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.

Everything that we try to gain in this world stays here unless it is eternal. The only things that are eternal are our souls and God’s word.”        Philippians 4:11-13 NIV

 

So let us learn to focus on what is eternal – our souls and God’s word. The Serenity Prayer speaks not of perfection, but of growth; of surrender to God and trusting Him. Doing this leads to contentment. The same contentment that Paul wrote about. What more do we need?

 

 

 

 

To Make Your Joy Complete

1 John 1:1-4

 

 

Hello. My name is John. Not John the Baptist, but John a son of Zebedee. I’m a fisherman by trade and used to work in my father’s business with my brother James. Mostly we fished in the Sea of Galilee.

 

There has been a lot of unrest in our little part of the world. People were unhappy with the oppressive Roman rule, and our Jewish religion was at a fever pitch of expectation for the Messiah. First John the Baptist appeared, but he claimed not to be the Messiah.

 

Then this other man showed up. He was a common carpenter, but people were beginning to follow him like a great teacher. In fact, one day my brother James and I were fishing when he called us to follow him. We left our boat immediately. I don’t know how our Father got along, but we had to follow this man Jesus.

 

We were with Jesus day and night for the next three years, and during those years I witnessed some of the most amazing things. He healed the sick, made the lame to walk, cleansed the leper, fed thousands in one sitting and turned water into wine. He even raised the dead and forgave sins. Only God can do that.

 

I have wonderful memories of him. On one occasion he took Peter, James and I to the top of a mountain. We saw the brightest light I’ve ever seen. Then a voice that filled my soul said, “This is my son whom I love. With him I am well pleased”.

 

We were in Jerusalem for Passover when everything started to unravel. He took Peter, James and I out to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. The next thing we knew, Jesus was being dragged away by soldiers. He was tortured, beaten, mocked and spit upon. There was a travesty of a trial and finally he was hung on a cross. I felt so powerless and so ashamed. I loved him so much, but fear paralyzed me.

 

The day after the Sabbath all of us were sitting around in a safe house feeling sorry for ourselves when some of the women came running into the room breathless with an unbelievable story. The tomb where Jesus had been buried was empty. We were stunned. Soon though Mary came, and with tears in her eyes, told us that Jesus was alive; that she had seen him, talked with him and touched him.

 

Indeed, Jesus stayed with us for another 40 days before we watched him ascend into heaven. I’ll never forget it. My life will never be the same because of him. That is why I wrote these letters: “to make my joy complete”.

 

You see, Jesus was the Son of God and he was the incarnation of God Himself sent here to bring salvation to all who would believe and follow. And in a way, those of us who believe and follow him are his hands and feet. Maybe even in a small way, we are Jesus to those with whom we share his love. That is why I share with you and why you need to share with others. So that your joy may be complete also.

 

Won’t you join me?