This past Sunday I taught my class from Romans 13:11-14 which says:
11Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (ESV) more »
I am moved today by Galatians 2:20, the second half of which says “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” I sense that we all live by faith in something to some degree or another, but most of our faith living is unjustified because the object of our faith isn’t worthy of our faith nor able to sustain us in our lives. After all, isn’t that what we are doing when we put our faith in something; intrusting our sustenance and well being to it?
I see in Paul’s words a justifiable reason for putting my faith in Christ for all things. The first justifiable reason is found in the fact that Christ is the Son of God. The object of my faith is trustworthy. He is able to sustain me and care for my well being because he is the divine creator and sustainer of all that is. No other person or thing has the power, ability or willingness to care for me in the complete way that Christ does, and for this reason, I place my faith in him.
The second justifiable reason for faith in Christ is the way he loved and gave himself for me. Greater love is not found than that which is found in the one who lays down his life for another. Christ did more than this. The demonstration of his love is in that he gave up his glorified state and subjected himself to the same sorrows, sicknesses and temptations that we face everyday so that his death would be effective and a justification for my redemption. He willing subjected himself to his own father’s wrath in order to save me from that wrath. He willing accepted the cruelty of his own creation in order to redeem me from my own lostness. His love is completely selfless and no other has or will ever love me or you in such a way.
If you find these reasons for faith compelling and justifiable, trust Christ today and give testimony to that fact in a reply. Tell me and others why you trust Christ.
Have you ever considered the fact that godliness really isn’t godly if it isn’t accompanied by contentment? That idea may seem strange to you, but I bet this thougt will ring a sound of truth in your ears: It is impossible to be like God and yet long for anything other than God. Let me try to explain.
Contentment is often thought of as being satisfied with what you have; not wanting more than what you need. My contention is that contentment has nothing to do with how much or how little you have. Rather, contentment, the biblical model of it, has to do with where you find your satisfaction, where you rest your soul, where you keep your focus at all times, where you abide.
Paul himself said, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” (Phil 4:12). Paul had discovered that contenment doesn’t rest in having just the right amount of the things we want or need. Having an abundacne didn’t make him more content and having nothing didn’t make him less content.
How is this possible? How might we be content? Well the answer lies in Paul’s next statement in verse 13 where he points to the fact a person can endure any circumstance if he finds his strength in Christ. In 1 Timothy 6:11-12 Paul expands on this by pointing out that the one who grows in Christian contentment is the one who flees from sin and pursues righteousness and grabs ahold of the hope of eternity with determination and vigor. The one whose eyes are set upon the Lord will not faulter in snares of wealth or poverty, though he may experience one or both in his life, for there is great gain in godliness with contentmet (1 Timothy 6:6).
Where do you rest? Where do find your satisfaction? True rest and true satisfaction can only be found in Christ – abide in him and be content.
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
