Being content

Driving home from the store the other day my seventeen year old daughter asked “What inspires you”. For a moment I was stumped with her question but knowing she was really interested, I looked deeper into my memory for a good answer. After what seemed like a very long pause, I successfully stumbled upon a couple of appropriate answers while wading through a quagmire of jumbled ideas. “Music. Music inspires me,” I said while keeping my eyes on the road but I kept on searching for a better answer.  Then more ideas came in like a flood. “Good artwork, food and fellowship, these things inspire me,” I said with a smile confident that I was truly making father points, but then…

It dawned on me, something that the apostle Paul said “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-12.

That was it, the answer to her question that I was desperately searching for. “Contentment”.  Even the full definition of “inspire” supports my theory “transitive verb: to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration”. To know that God is protecting me, providing for me on a daily basis and that I can rest in that promise.

If we take our eyes off Jesus, off God the Father and shut the Holy Spirit out of our lives, then we lose sight of where our strength and power comes from. Soon the trials and tribulations of this life become too numerous and heavy for us to carry on our own and we begin to doubt God is there to help. Peter, after seeing Jesus walking on the water, petitioned the Lord that he may come to Him. The disciple took a step in faith as he stepped out of the boat, walking to Jesus on the surface of the water. As soon as the reality hit that the wind and the waves might overtake him, he took his eyes off Jesus, began to doubt and sank into the sea.

It is important to keep things in a clear perspective or before too long fear will devour and steal our joy. Take money as an example, how many zeros behind the number seven do you need to be satisfied?  Look at this string of figures:  $7.00, $70.00, $700.00, $7,000.00, $70,000.00. I know we all think that we would be more satisfied with $70,000.00, but really being content means that whatever amount we have we are thankful for it. The truth is that we will always want just one more zero behind the number seven. 

 

I love what Jesus said about trials and tribulation “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you will have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Oh what beautiful words those are to meditate on in times of trouble. Our hope is built securely on the foundation of Christ and our future eternity with God. Our lives here are but a vapor or a vanishing mist short lived while we pass through like pilgrims on a great journey.

God has promised us an inheritance and sealed us with the Holy Spirit as pledge of that future state. Unfortunately, our window to that future has become clouded with lustful wants and desires. Greed continues to push and drive us to work longer hours and harder for things that we won’t be taking with us when we go to meet our maker. You don’t see many coffins towing trailers full of toys.

Being content each day with what the Lord gives us is what inspires me to do the things that put a smile on the face of my Creator. Our enemy tries to sell us things by making promises that have no guarantee but that look shiny on the outside, appealing to our human lust. The grass might look greener in your neighbor’s yard but it will turn just as brown in the drought that looms over all of us. Being content is a real act of faith. It shows others that we trust our God with our lives and, even if we don’t get a beautiful rose garden, we have a home waiting for us that was not made by hands.

The final clue

The clouds began to gather in the sky blocking the sun’s light and causing shadows to fall on the crowd that was gathered to watch the afternoon executions. Large hollow areas in the cliff, below the bluff where the crucifixions were being performed, gave the appearance of a large skull. A breeze began to blow as several of the women pulled their shawls tighter into their bodies and turned away from the wind. Mourners wailed as Jesus writhed in pain. Agony gripped Him as He dangled from nine inch Roman spikes that impaled His hands to the roughly peeled wooden cross beam. Several soldiers sat on the ground with their legs folded, casting lots for his garments.

Weary, from the all night proceedings and after being flogged within an inch of His life, Jesus did not have a great deal of strength left to fight for life. He desperately tried to push up on His legs attempting to ease the pain but the throbbing continued radiating down the entire length of His body.  On His head a make shift crown of thorns had been driven through His scalp. Above His head was placed the plaque that Pontius Pilate ordered written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that read “Jesus Of Nazareth, The King Of The Jews”.

 Jesus looked up towards heaven and cried out “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Many in the crowd and some of the soldiers mocked Him saying “He saved others but He could not save Himself”. Hearing this, Jesus asked the Father to forgive them, cried in a loud voice “It is finished”. Then, bowing His head, He  gave up His spirit.

The last words of Jesus are so important to understand. The Lord had had a tough time trying to get His disciples to understand why He was willingly allowing the Romans to kill Him. They were expecting their prophesied Messiah to be a conquering King, the Lion from the tribe of Judah. Instead they got a lamb being led to the slaughter. Jesus, in His infinite wisdom, before He dies, leaves them all with one last clue; he quotes the beginning of Psalm 22, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

God inspired King David to write this psalm about 970 years before the birth of Christ. The psalm has been troubling to Jewish scholars who can’t seem to merge the two distinct profiles of the Messiah. For thousands of years Jews had been awaiting the day their Messiah would come to crush their opposition and usher in the kingdom of God. However, God’s plan was so much better as His One and Only Son would come twice.  By quoting psalm 22, Jesus was alerting and pointing His followers to the psalm where they might discover His real mission and identity. 

The seventh verse of psalm 22 goes on to describe how people would mock Him. “All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying ‘He trusted the Lord, let Him rescue Him, since He delights in Him’”. After being falsely accused by the Sanhedrin, Jesus is mocked by the soldiers of the governor inside the Praetorium. There He is stripped, clothed in a scarlet robe, given a crown of thorns, a reed is put in His hand, He is spit upon and struck in the head. “And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’” Matthew 27:39.

Remembering that psalm 22 was writing by David 970 years before Jesus’ birth and before the art of crucifixion had been invented, now look at verse 16 “For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierce My hands and My feet;” If that is not painting a clear enough picture of the Lord’s crucifixion lets add some highlights; verse 18 “They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Other psalms of interest: psalm 34:20 (not one of His bones would be broken), psalm 41:9 (Christ would be betrayed by a friend), and psalm 69:21 (Christ would be given vinegar and gall).

So this last clue from Jesus, as important as it is, pales in comparison when we read His very last words “It is finished”. At that moment all of the world’s sin was cancelled, paid in full never to be seen again. The bible teaches us that salvation is a gift from God and it’s not something we can work towards. But as with any gift you must reach out and receive it!

Signs in the heavens

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:25-28.

 Jesus is encouraging us to look up for signs in the heavens in hopeful anticipation of His return as our redemption draws near. He wants us not to be weighed down with the anxieties of everyday life but rather to live always on alert for His imminent return. Jesus is giving us some signposts to watch for; the first is going to be signs in the sun, moon and stars.

Psalm 19 states “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” It’s certainly true that our universe is too wonderful to grasp a hold of. Its dimensions are too enormous and unfathomable for our finite minds to comprehend. Look up into the night sky and behold the universe brimming with galaxies that are filled with a myriad of stars. God’s complex rules and laws define precise order and design to our cosmos. We watch daily as our own star rises and sets on our horizon. Our clocks can be set to it, our lives ordered to it as our earth’s rotation and orbit transverse large expanses of interstellar space. Keep your eyes on the Lord, His glory and continue to watch our skies for the signs that He promised us would appear just before His return.

Jesus also warned us that as we got closer to His imminent return that the earth would begin to suffer tribulation.  He compared this time of pain and suffering to a woman in labor where as the birth event got closer, the frequency and intensity of her birth pains increased. 

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginnings of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:6-14.

Just within the last few weeks two major earthquakes in Nepal have killed thousands and displaced even more families from their homes.  Today Isis continues their un-holy war on Christians in the Middle East. Evidence of genocide continues to mount in northern Iraq. The group continues to persecute Christians who refuse to denounce Christ. The northern territory of Iraq which once recorded 1.8 million Christians  now records numbers in the 300,000. Isis has been looting banks, stealing the country’s wealth, taking over oil fields while they rape young girls even as young as five years old.

So here’s some writing on the wall, If American Christians don’t begin to stand up and be the salt and light of the world that Jesus commanded us to be then it’s only a matter of time until this great wave of evil  begins devouring our own shores.  Don’t let fear and anxieties rule your life anymore but rather put your trust into Jesus Christ. For God so loved His world that He gave His only begotten Son that who so ever would believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life. Eternal life is our blessed hope. 

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse. And He who sat on him was Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns.” There is a day coming when all men will bow their knee and confess with their mouths that Jesus Christ  is Lord either to glory or their destruction. God is our salvation, Jesus is the Logos and His name is Jeshua! Glory to God in the highest!