Life is liking walking through a minefield. You never know what the next step will have in store for you. However, the book of Proverbs is like having a map showing you where all the mines have been placed; “step here, step there, don’t step over here…” While often overlooked, I wonder if we Christians…
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Let’s imagine for a moment that living a good life will get you to heaven someday. All the charitable giving you’ve done, all the volunteer hours, all the niceties to strangers, all the service of loved ones – all of this accumulates over a lifetime and when you breathe your last, you enter heaven. As…
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The gospel is different than any other religion or worldview out there. How so? “Religion” says, “I obey, therefore I’m accepted.” That is, when I morally or spiritually perform well, God will bless me and reward me with a good life and even heaven. The “gospel” says, “I’m accepted through the life and death of…
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“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” – Luke 12:32-33 Notice…
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In the first century people didn’t have savings accounts or retirement accounts. There were no banks or investment groups. Today, this is where our accumulated wealth exists. But people in the first century had money in the form of currency; they had coins. But their accumulated wealth was in their possessions; their homes; their furnishings; their stuff. In Luke…
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Picture being a farmer who grows a number of crops during the course of a year. This is your livelihood. Now, as a farmer, read this verse: Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. – Proverbs 3:9 Why would this verse be very difficult for a farmer to handle?…
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One of the reasons you may lack contentment is that you’re not giving enough away. Enough money. Enough time. Enough skill and energy. Let me explain… If I use a glass jar to pound in a nail, I’ll quickly find out two things. First, the nail won’t go into the wood. Second, the jar will…
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Here’s the final installment in this series. Much more could be said, but we’ll leave it here. Unholy discontent arises when we perceive that we lack something. I’ll list a few examples to get you thinking about where the source of your discontent lies. This last reflection is meant to get you thinking about how…
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Humility goes a long way in nurturing us to a state of contentment. It is pride that stirs the waters until the foam of discontentment is unmistakably present. Today we’ll think about one sign of each. Sign of Discontentment: complaining The malcontent is ever complaining of one’s condition. Rather than deploying the calming power of…
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Discontentment occurs when what I want and how it is are different. When there is gap between how things really are in my life and how I want them to be, discontentment often thrives. Let’s get to part of the solution to discontentment. Let’s talk about THE key ingredient that makes contentment come alive: faith….
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