A Contented Heart

 

A Contented Heart

Contentment can seem so elusive, like a slippery bar of soap popping from a toddler’s hand. We strive as believers to place our trust in the Lord, but some circumstances can hinder our growth and keep our emotions in a tangled mess.

The Bible tells us that contentment is being satisfied and at peace with what we have or with our current circumstances. Contentment grows in us when our hearts and minds are not monopolized by the external world but are focused more on God’s promises. We must trust that God knows what is best and will provide for our needs.

Trust, Faith, and Peace intertwine to produce the contentment we seek. Don’t give up hope on that slippery bar of soap, God can create a contented heart in us if we only ask. Below are some Scripture verses to help focus our minds and hearts on Him.

Five Verses on Contentment:

1 Timothy 6:6-7 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

Hebrews 13: 5-6 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Proverbs 15:16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.

Psalm 37: 3-4 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Matthew 6: 25-26 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

May the God of Peace guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

 

 

Live Again

"I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land."

Ezekiel 37:14 (NLT)

Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven talks about the Valley of Dry Bones. In this chapter, God asks Ezekiel an impossible question, “Can these bones become living people again?”

Ezekiel answers with a great response. “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know the answer to that.”

God acts to bring the bones back to life and promises to bring Israel back to life by putting His spirit in them.

As a Christ follower, I experience seasons of dry bones where everything seems to have lost its zest, but God is faithful to me in those seasons. He fills me with His spirit reviving me. He stirs the flames, and a new burning for His Word and presence ignites inside me.

If you are experiencing a “dry bones” season, call out to Father God and ask Him to revive your heart by filling you up with His Holy Spirit. Then lift your heart in praise and sing to the One who can bring the dead back to life.

He will meet your needs even in the season of dry bones and will cause you to live again!

 

Father,

Meet me in my dry season. Your Word tells me that you never leave me nor forsake me. So, I know You are with me every step of the way. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and revive my fainting heart, so that I may soar on wings like an eagle. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Time is Precious

 

So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Ephesians 5:15-17

Time is a precious commodity - one, once spent, we do not get back.

Now, that I'm drawing closer to sixty, I'm re-evaluating how I'm spending these last years. I'm not thinking so much about retirement activities though my hubby and I do love a good adventure. 

My focus is more on the day to day activities that eat up so many of my hours. 

Are they worth my precious limited time? Are they God honoring? Or do they compromise my beliefs, or worst yet, waste the hours I've been given?

I've heard it said, "The years are long, but the days are short." I believe there is some truth in that.

My battle has always been with practicing moderation and making good choices, especially when it comes to my biggest time waster, the television. It's been a long struggle a true love-hate relationship. Now, with a plethora of streaming services, I allow compromise where I never would with books or music.

This industry used to monitor and rate what it produced, but now, it seems as if the ratings differ from service to service. And what at one time would have been considered unsuitable for a sixteen-year-old is now permissible.

So, this spring as the weather warms and the birds sing, I'm going to exercise my ability to choose and my prowess for moderation. I know these attributes aren't popular, but my time is limited. And if I am to do all that the Lord has for me, I must have open ears and available time.

Our Father, Creator of Time,

Thank you for all the days You have given me. I know I can rest in Your plan for my life. Help me to walk wisely each day and to make good decisions about how to use my time based on Your Word and direction. Let me practice moderation, so that no one thing becomes bigger in my life than You.

In Jesus' name, amen. 

Daily Bread

 Daily Bread

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.” Exodus 16:15b (NIV)

(Jesus prayed) Give us this day our daily bread. Matt. 6:11 (NKJV)

 

Throughout the Bible, God uses our physical needs to point us to our need of Him.

God had freed the Israelites from the Egyptians in a great show of His might and power. First there were all the plagues. Then, He parted the Red Sea. And if that wasn’t enough, He placed a cloud in front of them to lead them by day and a pillar of fire by night. God left no doubt that He was in the midst of His people.

And Yet …

I must admit I often fall into the yet category. Yet I doubt, fear, and yes, grumble against the Lord. Unsure of how He’s ever going to provide in the middle of my present circumstances.

From the time of Israel’s redemption from Egypt to the time of Jesus’s redemption of our souls, people had not changed. They still doubted God’s ability to provide what was needed.

Thank goodness, our wonderful savior, God incarnate understood our propensity to let our emotions drive our belief and taught us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Some days are so much harder than others. Perhaps, you have left what was comfortable and familiar and have followed God into something new and different. Or the day that faces you seems buried in overwhelming heart ache and decisions. But on those days, you can pray “Give me this day, O Lord, my daily bread. Provide what is needed.” Then wrap your arms around His promise to be in the middle of all of it with you.

 

Dear Father,

Thank you that Jesus understood our needs and taught us to pray for our daily bread. I embrace the promise that You never leave me nor forsake me. Wrap Your arms around me and thank You that Jesus is the Bread of Life. I look to You to provide each day what is needed.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

 A Latin hymn translated by John M. Neale

"O come, Desire of nations,

bind all peoples in one heart and mind.

Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease;

Fill the whole world with heaven's peace.

Rejoice, Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, Israel."

We celebrate the birth of Emmanuel, God with us. And we rejoice for the forgiveness of our sins. A way made for us through the blood of Jesus on the cross.

Now, we rejoice to see Him return a second time!

This season, let us pray for Israel, the salvation of all who are lost, and for Emmanuel to come.

Merry Christmas and God's blessing this season,

Bonita Y. McCoy