Blessed are The Persecuted: A Study of the Beatitudes

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. " -Matthew 5:10

When I think about persecution my mind immediately drifts back to the early church. The time where Christians were brutally murdered for the sake of following Christ.

I don't think of it happening in the year 2011.

I have a hard time calling anything I have ever faced a persecution, when I think of it in the light of the persecution so many others have faced. Being a Christian isn't always popular, and I have faced opposition of sorts...but, I can't say that I have ever feared that by standing up for Christ I would lose my life.





The sad thing is...persecution still goes on around the world.

In the year 2011, people around the world are persecuted for their identification of Christ.

It is just so far removed from our reality that it is easy to forget. Above is a current map of countries where Christians are persecuted for being a follower of Christ.

The more I thought about it, the more saddened my heart began to feel. It sickens me to think about the trouble these people go through. Not having the freedom to worship God.

But I also began to think of how casually we treat the privileges we have. We are FREE to go to Church and praise the Lord. We are FREE to tell our neighbors and friends about the love of God.

We are FREE to stand up for God...but so often we don't.

Why? Because it isn't popular. Because the gospel offends.

Yet all the while Christians are standing up for the Lord in these countries where taking a stance may very possibly mean losing their life.

It just made me wonder...would we stand up for Christ no matter the consequence?

Blessed are the Peacemakes: A Study of the Beatitudes

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." -Matthew 5:9

If we think back to all of the beatitudes we will see how they build on each other.

We are to see our poverty of our Spirit.

How we are nothing without God.

We are to have a meek spirit.

We are called to show mercy.

We are to strive to please and honor Him with a pure heart in all that we do.

As peacemakers we are called to create peace with others. To get past our own selfish feelings and love the unlovable. To speak up when others are tearing someone down.

When we see others through the eyes of Christ it makes it easier to create peace. God is peace and when we have seen God, we have seen true peace.

The more I thought on this and Jesus calling me to be a peacemaker, the more it took on additional meaning to me. I began to think about the peace that I have in Jesus. The peace that no matter what happens to me, I know that my future is secure. Oh, what a message we need to share. We are called to spread the message of peace with the lost.

One of my favorite hymns came to mind...It Is Well With My Soul. When peace like a river attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say. It is well, it is well, with my soul. What a beautiful song with a beautiful message. A message that so desperately needs to be shared.


Let's go share the peace of God and bring lightness to a dark world.

Blessed are the Pure in Heart: A Study of the Beatitudes

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." -Matthew 5:8

Jesus said the pure in heart will see God.

The heart of man is naturally unclean not pure. We can't even make it clean on our own doing. It can only happen through the blood of Jesus Christ.


"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." -Psalm 51:10


A person with a pure heart isn't a perfect person who does no wrong. Rather, it is a person who wants to serve God and please Him in all that they do. They may stumble, but they are striving to live a holy life. A pure heart comes down to the matter of your intentions.

Blessed are the Merciful: A Study of the Beatitudes

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." -Matthew 5:7

Mercy is a spirit that motivates you to show compassion to others.

It isn't always easy to be merciful.

Compassion doesn't come naturally for all of us.

Some people may seem undeserving of mercy.

I have given this verse much thought for the past few weeks. I will be honest. I am sometimes part of the "us" crowd I mentioned above. You know...the group where compassion doesn't come naturally.

Some situations just get my compassion all clogged up.

I have had to think about the mercy that the Lord has shown me. He has forgiven me of my sins and sent His son to pay the price for me. I am far from perfect and make mistakes pretty much every time I turn around yet He is faithful and just to forgive me of my sins.

Even more...

He not only forgives but forgets.

What an example for us of how we need to be merciful and full of compassion towards others!

Blessed are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness: A Study of the Beatitudes

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" -Matthew 5:6

We all know the feelings of hunger. There are times we crave food or times when a snack would be nice. Then there are the times we NEED food. like. right. now. Our body signals us when it needs nourishment. We experience physical side effects when we go to long without food or water.

So often in today's world, both Christians and non Christians alike, look to the world to pacify our hunger. We all have a hunger and thirst for more in life, something to makes us complete. We look to others. We look to power. We look to money. We look to material things. We search and search to no avail for something that will make us feel full inside. The problem is that the world and the things it has to offer will never satisfy.


"The world promises to pacify us, but it cannot satisfy us." -Rev. Dan Walters


Just like we hunger for food to fill our stomach, we have to hunger for God to fill us spiritually. We are to crave righteousness. We are to strive to live a holy life. It isn't something to take lightly, but something that our focus should be on daily.

Blessed are the Meek: A Study of the Beatitudes

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." -Matthew 5:5

I think that it is important that we understand what meekness really means. Meekness is often looked at in a negative light, and to many it is seen or described as a weakness. Meekness doesn't mean that you have to be a weak person, it is actually quite the contrary.

"The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God's estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sight of God of more importance than angels. In himself, nothing; in God, everything. That is his motto. " -The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer

I love this passage, and I thought he explained it all so well. In himself man is nothing, but in God everything. As Christians we can be meek, but very powerful in the Lord...and bold as a lion. We shouldn't be human mice...I absolutely despise mice and I sure don't want to resemble one.

It is all about knowing where our power comes from. We can look through the Bible and find many leaders that were very powerful and meek at the same time.

Two Biblical Leaders Who Displayed Meekness

Moses

Take a look at Moses who stood up to Pharaoh. He led God's people through the wilderness. He was a great leader who possessed a Godly meek spirit, but was in no way weak.

"Now the man Moses was very meek, above all of the men which were upon the face of the earth." -Numbers 12:3


David

David was chosen by God to be the next king. God had rejected the current King, Saul, because of his disobedience. Saul tried repeatedly to have David killed. David was a great leader, but also displayed meekness. When he learned of Saul's death he mourned.

"Then David and all of the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned, and wept, and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword." -2 Samuel 1:11-12



I would love to hear your insights to this verse and the meaning of meekness!!

Blessed Are They That Mourn: A Study of the Beatitudes

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." -Matthew 5:4

"Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." -2 Corinthians 7:9-10


Two Things We are to Mourn Over

1. The sin in our own lives

I know it has been two weeks, but do you remember the first beatitude? Blessed are the poor in Spirit. That is the foundation for all of the following beatitudes. When we recognize our spiritual poverty it should make us weep over our own unrighteousness. When we see ourselves in the light of God we should be mournful and repentant of our sins.


2. The sin in our world

Our hearts should break with the things that break God's heart. I think it goes without saying that we live in a sinful world. There is sin running rampant everywhere you look. You can barely turn on the TV or radio without being bombarded by it.

This should break out hearts.

This should cause us to mourn and weep.

Over the sin. Over the lost souls.

A New Friend

I wanted to let you know that my friend Elise is hosting a CSN Stores gift card giveaway on her blog!

One thing I love about blogging is the friends that I have met. I never would have met any of them if it weren't for this crazy, silly blog that I absolutely love writing. My newest friend is Elise, who I met several weeks ago.

I normally don't share this sort of thing outside of my Faith of a Foodie posts because this is primarily a cooking blog...but this topic is more important than any recipe I could ever create and share.

Elise is a college freshman who emailed me about my blog and she was asking for blogging advice. I gave her my opinion on the bloggy stuff, but very quickly our talks turned from blogging to faith. To make a long story short, she found what she was searching for. She accepted Christ as her personal Savior and her life is changed. She is such a sweet and adorable young lady and I am so glad that our paths have crossed.

Photo Credit

I don't believe this was an accident that we met. I know that the Lord planned this from the start, and it is amazing to be a part of His work. Her excitement for learning the Word of God excites me. She has learned and studied so much already, it is truly amazing to see the Lord working in her life. I know that the Lord has amazing things in store for her.

If you get a chance, hop on over and enter to win her giveaway and give her a word of encouragement. While you are there, read some of her posts. She has talked so openly about her experience and what she is learning on her journey as a new Christian. I know you will enjoy it.

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit: A Study of the Beatitudes

Last week I talked about the importance of readjusting our gaze inward, to the matters of our heart.

It is so easy to read verses in the Bible and not quite comprehend the meaning and life application of them. The problem comes when we just pass them by and miss what the Lord wants us to see. Because this passage is so good I want to break it down to one verse a week.

The beatitudes are part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. He was teaching that the things of this world are not what matter in life, but rather who we are on the inside. Faithful obedience and a heart for Him far outweigh the power, wealth, and popularity that the world can give. The beatitudes are a map of how we need to live our lives.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." -Matthew 5:3

In order to move on to the rest of the beatitudes we must understand the first. Being poor in spirit is the foundation on which the rest of the beatitudes are built.

Poor in Spirit means that when we look at ourselves in the light of God we see that we are absolutely nothing.

"I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh" -Romans 7:18


To me poverty of spirit is:

realizing our need for God

fully focusing on him and not on ourself

acknowledging our daily dependence on Him

ridding ourselves of traces of pride and self-reliance

completely turning from the path we were on and walking with Him

acknowledging that all credit we get from others is due to Him


"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." -James 4:7-10


For if Jesus had not loved us and paid the price on the cross we would have no remission for our sins. We need to realize that we, on our own, are sinners and need Him. We have to humble ourselves before him and recognize that our worth comes solely from him.

The reward for the poor in spirit is the kingdom of heaven!



What are your insights to being poor in spirit?

A Beautiful Heart: A Study of the Beatitudes

Each and every one of us has gazed before a mirror examining ourselves with a fine tooth comb. We have picked out every flaw in our outward appearance more times than can be counted. After all, aren’t we taught at a young age that beauty is all about how we look on the outside?

Proverbs 31:30- Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

Vast sums of money and copious amounts of hours are spent on improving our outward appearance and covering our so called flaws. God's desire is for us to redirect our efforts inward and work on developing godly character. Godly character will make one beautiful, no matter the state of your outward appearance. People will want to be around you because they see Jesus in you.

1 Samuel 16:7- But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or the height of his stature, because I have rejected Him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

God's plan is for us to be about His work focusing on things that are eternal. Evangelizing to the lost, bringing hope to the hopeless, and being the beacon of light that so many people need today...just to name a few. The problem is, we can’t effectively do those things if we haven’t taken proper care of the condition of our own heart first.

For the next several weeks I want to share about the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are comprised of eight spiritual attitudes. The first four deals with our internal attitude and when we get to the last four we will take a look at our external attitude!

Shouldn’t we now pull that fine tooth comb back out and use it where it is really needed…on examining our heart?

I pray that you will take some time to read Matthew 5:1-12 this week. Ask the Lord to change you and help you on the path of developing godly character and creating a more beautiful heart. The world tries to pull us down every path, but the path less traveled…the path to Him!

The Gift of the Word...

I just heard about the New Testament being taken to the Kimyal tribe of Indonesia for the first time. This work has been in progress for 15 years, and it is unbelievable to watch these fellow believers worship. Believers, that are a world away from me, but are worshipping the same God of the universe.

Until recently they have only had portions of the New Testament in their language. I was overcome with immense joy watching this take place. They have waited patiently for this gift. Can you imagine not having a Bible available to you? They praised and sang and you could tell that this meant the world to them.

At the same time I was overcome by sadness and guilt for how I have taken for granted God's Word. I have never wanted for a Bible...I have many of them. It truly is a gift, and we need to treasure it!

I hope that you will take ten minutes and watch this video. It truly is amazing!

Do You Know Him?

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." - Hebrews 13:8



I find so much comfort in this verse.

Everything in the Bible was written in black and white and is unchanging. With God there is no shadow of turning. He is wanting to have the same relationship with us that He did with those we read about in the Bible!

(I read this next little bit this week from "Just Give Me Jesus" by Anne Graham Lotz)

The one who answered Elijah's prayer and sent down the fire to consume the sacrifice on Mount Carmel and then sent down the rain to end the three year drought in Israel is the same person today who hears and answers prayer.

Do you know Him?

If Adam knew Him as a beloved Father,
if Eve knew Him as the original Homemaker,
if Noah knew Him as the refuge for the storm,
if Abraham knew Him as a friend,
if Moses knew Him as the Redeemer,
if Rahab knew Him as the gracious Savior,
if David knew Him as his Shepherd,
if Elijah knew Him as the Almighty,
if Daniel knew Him as the lion tamer,
if Mary Magdalene knew Him as the bondage breaker,
if Martha knew Him as the promise keeper,
if Lazarus knew Him as the Resurrection and the Life,
if Bartimaeus knew Him as the Light of the World,
if John knew Him as the glorious King upon the throne,
surely you and I can know Him too!

We serve a mighty God. Isn't it amazing that God wants to know each and every one of us on a personal level? It never ceases to amaze me.

Kindness Challenge Wrap Up

Here we are ending the month of November and in the final days of our Kindness Challenge. I have really enjoyed the challenge of daily showing kindness to others. I found myself striving to find new ways to show kindness each day.

I found it to be harder than I originally thought it would be...it truly was a challenge some days. Not because I wanted to be mean, but rather, some days I really didn't encounter many people. I was challenged in finding something specific to do each and every day!

What do they say...it takes three weeks to make a habit?

Well, I hope that I have turned this whole "kindness" into a habit...so that I show the love of Christ to others through my daily living even if it is just by being kind!

I want to hear from you...

What did you take away from the Kindness Challenge?

Was there one act of kindness that really stood out to you?

The Value of a Cheerful Word

"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." - Proverbs 12:25

Since many of us a participating in the "Kindness Challenge" I thought it would be nice to talk a little on the subject this month. I hope you are finding some great ways to spread kindness to those around you. I know that you will feel such a blessing in your own life as you bless others.

I just wanted to share this verse to stress that an act of kindness can be something as little as a cheerful word to someone who is down.

So many people are barely able to walk around...so burdened down by the load they carry. If you look around you will find no shortage of saddened, depressed, and worried people. Sometimes they are so deep in their own troubles that they see no light. We need to be that light. We need to point them to the One that will carry their load.

This is such a simple verse, but it is so true. You will never know how much just a kind word will cheer someone up.

So, my challenge would be for us to keep our eyes open, keep our hearts sensitive to the needs of others, and keep our lips always ready to spread cheer!

How are you doing with the "Kindness Challenge"?

"Kindness Challenge"

The Lord has been dealing with me for some time on the issue of both kindness and thoughtfulness. Not that I don’t intend to be kind, I do, but I tend to get so busy with my own schedule that I forget to look around. Great ideas of sending a kind card or making someone cookies pop in my head often, but I rarely act upon those thoughts.

Just a simple act of kindness lets someone know that you care. It tells them you are thinking about them. It shows Christ’s love to those who need a ray of sunshine in their lives.

All of this has led me to start the “Kindness Challenge” for the month of November!

I will write down one time that I show kindness each day in a special journal. I will likely journal a little about it, too. The idea isn’t to puff myself up for being a kind person. It isn’t a journal to show others and brag.

The idea, rather, is just to keep myself accountable. The idea is to encourage, uplift, and inspire myself to show others where our kindness and joy comes from.

The kind act doesn’t have to be monetary, but it could be.

I remember way back when Daniel and I were dating. We prayed for our meal while dining out and a kind couple payed for our meal. What a blessing that was! More recently we were dining out and a nice man and his wife were walking in before us. They stopped, held the door for us, said hi with a big smile and let us go first. Their kindness made our day.

So you see two different scenarios, one monetary and one just a nice smile. Both went a long way with us. I hope to do a little of both this month. I am praying that the Lord will guide me as to who, when, where, and how I am supposed to go about this every day.

Here are some ideas I have...

•Surprise your friend with her favorite coffee drink on a rough day
•Deliver a crock pot dinner to a friend when they have a hectic day
•Deliver a meal to someone who is sick
•Stop by the neighbors with a plate of fresh cookies
•Ask someone how their day is…and really mean it
•Send a kind encouraging note in your spouse/kids lunch bag
•Send a hand written card via snail mail (so much better than email)
•Lend a kind word to someone who looks down
•Reach out to someone you have never talked to before

I am asking for you to join me this month!

Let's show kindness in everyday ways.

If you are with me on this journey please leave me a comment and let me know you are joining in!!

This post is linked to Works for me Wednesday at www.wearethatfamily.com

Believing God has Power

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." ~Ephesians 3:20-21

I believe that sometimes we limit God's limitless power to a small box...because we don't truly believe.

We say we believe.

We pray for miracles.

BUT...

We doubt.

We worry.

We take matters into our own feeble hands.

We eventually begin to believe that some things are just hopeless and impossible...a lost cause!

God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly MORE than what we could ever even imagine!

I know in this life we face many seemingly hopeless situations. We go through things that drain us. Things happen and we don't understand why. Let's face it...as I often say...life isn't fair!

Take hold of this verse. Believe it. Believe that God is able. His power is limitless...it has absolutely no boundaries.

I have unsaved family and friends that I have been mentioned to God every day for years and years. I have prayed for their salvation to no avail. Somewhere along the way it became routine. I lost hope for them; I quit believing. I mentioned their name to God and tried to live a Christian life in front of them, but...

I didn't take hold of the power that is available in Christ Jesus. By my actions I showed that I didn't truly believe that He was able to do beyond what I could even imagine. As long as someone is living and breathing...they are a prospect for salvation...we can never lose hope. Upon reading and taking hold of this verse the Lord has given me a new burden for these people.

I could go on with story after story of situations in my own life that have seemed hopeless...but it isn't necessary...

We all face these types of things. I know each and every one of you could write a list of seemingly hopeless situations that you are facing right now.

I know there are many facing sickness, many have unsaved loved ones, many are in a deep valley of a bleak financial situation, many are going through unemployment, many are going through difficult family changes...all of these things take their toll on you.

You are overwhelmed.

You worry.

You doubt.

You pray but haven't seen results...

Call on Him who is able. He loves you. Remember...He has power beyond what you can think or even imagine!

My Eyes, God's Eyes, and the Conclusion...

My Eyes:

Do you ever have one of those busy days?

The kind of days when you have a list a mile long, you cram 48 hours of work into 24, you are on a mission and you don't want anyone getting in the way of that?

Friday was one of those days. First on the list was rolling on over to Caribou for a dark mocha and then I was on to my errands...or so I thought. CVS wasn't on the list, but the lot was empty, and I had some bucks to roll. I knew time would be tight, but I decided to go for it.

I power walked my way through the aisles, grabbed my items, and time was on my side.

I thought that the amount was too high, but I figured I just calculated wrong. Quite honestly I had Caribou on my mind and all I could think was, "dark mocha, dark mocha, dark mocha".

I power walked it on out to the car and looked at my receipt. She didn't enter my rain check amount and did overcharge me by a few bucks. SO....I ran back in for a quick little refund...

Long story short...she couldn't figure out how much to give me back. The math was quite simple, but it stumped her. She tried to do the math on paper several times, but just couldn't get it. By this time I was becoming increasingly frustrated...we are talking elementary math here.

This went on for 35 minutes! Yes, I timed it...

All that was going through my mind was "no dark mocha, no dark mocha...".

(You should know, you don't get between me and my coffee drinks...it is dangerous business!)


God's Eyes:

Knock, knock, knock...the Lord nudged me to be kind.

I ignored Him.

At this time we were about ten minutes in and my kindness timer had gone off.

Ding. It Was Done. Nada. NO MORE kindness left...

Bang. Bang. Bang...He was back, stronger than ever...

This time I woke up. I started to see her through the eyes of Jesus.

I began to show her love. I told her it was no problem, I was not in a hurry. I let my coffee go, I could get it another day.

When I let Him take control my kindness was re-fueled, overflowing, filled to the brim.

Conclusion:

CVS was not on my list for the day, but I don't believe that my going was by chance. I believe that the Lord intended it. He was teaching me a lesson. He wants me to see things through His eyes. I don't know if my kindness and patience made any kind of impact on her at all, but it helped me...

I learned that...

1. I need to focus more on showing Jesus to others...even if it is just by being kind and compassionate.

2. I need to make the most of every encounter...I may only have one chance. I want to make a difference in someones life.

3. I need to be in constant communion with the Lord begging that He will continue to refine me and polish me however painful the process may be.

By the way, you should know that the whole "power walking" thing was fabricated for the sake of being funny...I do love chasing me some deals, but come one...I am not a total nerd?!?

To Know You

“What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” ~Philippians 3:8

I love the song by Casting Crowns, "To Know You". I heard it playing earlier this week and I was quickly reminded of this verse. I opened my Bible and began to break this verse down and really grasp it. I think all too often we read verses and are on to the next one before we really get the message of the previous one.

Through my study there were two things that really stood out to me in this verse...

1.Paul writes here about knowing Jesus Christ MY Lord.

I read right over that the first few times and then the realized it…

He didn’t know Him as Jesus Christ THE Lord.
He knew Him as Jesus Christ MY Lord.

What a difference that one word makes in the sentence.

Many people recognize Jesus as Lord, but they don’t really KNOW Him in a personal way.

2.He considered everything else rubbish

Rubbish: something that is worthless or nonsensical

This a good start to really knowing God…

Do we really count all as worthless or nonsense when it comes to knowing Christ?

Consider Paul here and the transformation that took place in his life. Before he became a Christian he was persecuting them. Do you think that he became a Christian and everything was easy....I don't think it was. He really knew the effect of losing it all for the sake of knowing Christ.

I hope you will take some time and really think about how this verse applies to you life.

Listen to this song...the words are very powerful!

Learning Contentment

As I was reading recently, I came across a great scripture. I think that Philippians 4:13 is a pretty well known verse, but what caught my eye was right above it.

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for 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 of hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

~ Philippians 4:11-12

We live in a world where bigger is better.

A world where money defines your importance.

A world where he who dies with the most toys wins...isn't that how the saying goes...

Let's face it, we live in a world where contentment is pretty much non-existent. We quickly buy into Satan's lie that, that new thing will buy us happiness and we will finally reach a state of contentment.

I would be happy if I could...buy that car, have that home, get a new job, get out of debt, buy that new outfit, go on that vacation, find a spouse...and the list goes on and on!

That "thing" may buy happiness for a brief moment, but once the newness of that "thing" fades we are left even more uncontented, still in search for more.

The struggle is different with everyone, but if you haven't found the joy in learning contentment, I guarantee you it is a daily internal battle. We compare ourselves to others. They have more money than us. They are thinner than us. They are prettier than us. They have a bigger home than us. They drive a nicer car than us...and the list goes on. Listen around you and I am sure you will hear those words spoken everyday.


Can we ever settle this internal struggle and become content with who we are,where we are, and what we have in life?



Well, Paul wrote that he learned to be content. That is good for us, since obviously contentment isn't something our sinful nature comes by naturally...we have hope. We can learn contentment!

I have spent a lot of time thinking about contentment. Here are some steps I think will help us learn contentment in our own lives.



Steps to Learning Contentment:



1. Take a look around at the good things in your life.

Make a list of all of the good things the Lord has blessed you with if you need to. I guarantee that will be a good start...we all should have a long list...and I know the good will outweigh the bad...



2. Stop looking to "stuff" to bring you happiness..."stuff "is always short lived.

There is always something bigger and better coming out to trump what you have.

Next time you think you really need something, take some time to think it over and make sure it isn't a "happiness purchase".

"The eyes of a man are never satisfied."-Proverbs 27:20



3. Kick negativity to the curb, both spoken and unspoken.


The thoughts and words we speak are greatly underestimated.

Continue with your stinkin' thinkin' long enough and you will really start to believe those negative thoughts...and remain in your uncontented state.

When your thoughts start to drift to thinking negatively, get yourself in check...stop the habit.
(Maybe even enlist a close friend or spouse to remind you when you start to become negative?)

Plus, do I even need to mention, nobody wants to be around someone who is always negative...it is very unbecoming.

4. Remember your purpose

We weren't placed on earth to compete in a life long race of who has the most in the way of worldly goods.

We are here to honor and glorify the Lord. We are here to love others and share the saving, life-changing love of Christ with them.

If we can't show the world through our actions that we have something different, something that leaves us content and even happy, why would they ever want to experience salvation?

Faith of a Foodie

I am amazed that the more I read in the Bible, the more "favorite" verses I have. I thought I would share one this week...

"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, Great is Your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:22-23

What encouraging verses these are. If it were not for God's mercies and compassion on us we would have no hope. Jeremiah wrote here that His mercies are new every morning. This is not something that is a one time deal...it is each and every morning...God is so faithful to us.

What is your favorite Bible verse and why???