Have you ever wondered what the secret to a happy and successful life is? Could it be contentment? Contentment is an internal state of being satisfied and grateful with current circumstances.

James describes discontentment as someone who has selfishly focused on the accumulation of wealth and not the blessings of being a generous giver: James 5:1–3 (ESV) — ¹ Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. …³ Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire…

In contrast, Philippians 4:11–12 describes contentment as something that can be learned. (ESV) — ¹¹ Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹² 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.

And finally, 1 Timothy links contentment to godliness. 1 Timothy 6:6–8 (ESV) — ⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain, ⁷ for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

Friend, you can experience contentment by learning to live a godly and grateful life.

One of the most important aspects of the financial services I provide to my clients is to go through an annual strategic review. One of the purposes of the review is to evaluate the client’s investment goals to make sure their portfolio is at the appropriate risk level for their situation, and to determine if we would recommend any changes to avoid unnecessary risk. Another important objective of the review is to update the client’s financial plan to assess if they are on the right track and to check progress on action items from past consultations.

When I speak to the client again, unfortunately, it is very common that no action has been taken from the prior discussion and because of the client’s inactivity, they are no more prepared for their financial future than when we spoke the first time. When I ask clients why they did not implement any of the recommended changes or make any progress our action plan, the most common responses are, “I didn’t have time” and, “I didn’t know if it was the right time.”

Time is a limited resource. Everyone gets the same 24 hours a day, but what differentiates some people from others is how they spend this precious resource.

In Romans 13:11, the apostle Paul states “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now that when we first believed.”

Paul continues in verse 14 “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Ask yourself, is your faith in a slumber of inactivity where you cannot make progress toward your goal? Is your eternal future taking on unnecessary risk?

If so, you need to be reconciled with Christ by being baptized into Him. To avoid the desires of the sinful nature, you need to clothe yourself with Christ and live each day controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit. Then the words of Christ will be in your mind, the love of Christ will be on your heart, and the power of Christ will be behind your actions.

Occasionally a spouse has a chance to be a superhero. One year ago, my wife called me and told me that she had a blowout and needed assistance. My first thought was that GEICO could probably get there sooner than I could. But I realized this is my chance to be a superhero. So, I simply said, “I’m on my way.” Friend, these opportunities are few and far between.

This week we were given an opportunity to be superheroes. As we witnessed the horror unfolding in Texas, we had the opportunity to either display hearts of war or hearts of peace. We had to choose.

Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Mt 5:9, ESV). So, what did you choose? If you chose to lash out and blame, you were displaying a heart of war. But if your words where healing, you were displaying a heart of peace.

Friends, never lose an opportunity to be called by God his child by simply choosing to bring healing instead of division. May God bring peace that transcends understanding to the broken hearts of parents who will never, in this world, be able to wrap their arms around their children.

When we encounter tragedies in life, we are confronted with the ancient problem of God’s goodness and the presence of evil/disaster in the world. Many times, we may just ignore this problem because it makes us uncomfortable. Other times we may choose to trust that it was supposed to happen. Yet, at other times we may grow angry and resentful toward God. How could God let an innocent child die despite praying for that child? God is all-powerful (omnipotent) after all. He allows everything that happens on this earth. I do not have an answer to this problem, and I believe that anyone who says that they do is a liar. However, I do know that we ought to trust God, that he will make everything right and will execute perfect justice, even if we may not experience it in our lifetime.

Yet, we still experience pain, anger, and confusion towards God. All these things are perfectly human and righteous (that is, if done in the right way). The Psalms are full of laments and petitions to God, calling into question his justice and faithfulness. One of the most famous is Psalm 22, which begins, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest” (vv. 1, 2). Does this sound like someone who is stoically accepting the pains of life? This verse actually calls into question why God is not rescuing David or answering his prayers, even blaming God for forsaking him. Through this psalm and many of the other psalms of lament, we see this process of distress resulting in a renewed confidence in God (Contrast Ps 22:1–18 with vv. 19–31). I believe that this is a process we ought to go through in our prayers, both publicly and privately. It helps us to communicate with God even when we are upset with him and gives voice to these very real emotions that all humans experience. Most importantly, they help us keep our faith and renew our confidence in God, that he is both sovereign and good.

Monday is a National Holiday.  When I was a child we called it Decoration Day, I knew we were going to the Cemetery to decorate the graves of loved ones. Memorial Day is always the last Monday in May.  It was a day set aside to honor men and women who died serving the U.S. Military.  Got any plans?  I am afraid many of us have forgotten the true meaning of this time and are happy to get a paid day off of work and realize it is the unofficial beginning of summer.  We take the meaning of the holiday for granted.

Do we also take the privilege of taking the Lord’s Supper for granted?  Do we see it as another part of our worship? What if we only took it once a year, or once a month?  Would you miss it?

The Bible gives us examples of observing the Lord’s supper.  And upon the first day of the week, when the Disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them Acts 20:7. We have the example in Matthew 26 of Jesus giving His Disciples the bread and the cup.

This same bread and cup we take every Sunday is a Memorial of Jesus’ gift to you and me. It is a celebration with Jesus for His Victory over sin and death and the grave.  It is a time of reflection of our faithfulness to the Lord, and to remember our Lord and Savior as He suffered on the cruel cross of Calvary. This Memorial Feast should never be minimized, never be routine, and never taken for granted.

Brothers and Sisters, I am glad to take the Lords Supper every Sunday so I can reflect on what this Memorial means to you and me.  So, I say to you this Sunday, this First day of the week, Happy Memorial Day, as we Celebrate the life of our Lord Jesus Christ!      

This Do In Remembrance Of Me!  1 Cor. 11:25

I was recently visiting with a wretched soul. Because of poor decision-making, this soul was crying uncontrollably. The devil disguised the evil deed as doing good. But it soon turned into lust of the flesh. Now, with the short journey over, the realization of reality rose hotter than the scathing sun in a dry and parched land. Yet the embittered soul refused the repentant road.

The unrepentant soul reminded me of the view from above that the “rich man” saw in Luke 16:19-31. All his life he has poor Lazarus at his door. But never even a single second was spent soothing poor Lazarus. Every second of every day was spent taking care of self. After realizing his own eternal hopelessness, he considers the misery on earth:

²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”

Today we have a saying: The “50,000-foot view”. It refers to the seeing of things from a bird’s-eye perspective, from the most expansive view possible. Friend, what does your “view from above” look like?

As Christians, we ought to derive our identity from the Bible. We are sinners turned saints. We are pilgrims wandering to our homeland. We are rejects adopted by the King. We are warriors fighting an enemy. The Bible also identifies the child of God as poor. Poor does not necessarily mean that we are broke. In Psalms, David often calls himself poor, yet he was king of Israel (Ps 70:5; 109:22). Being poor means that you are lacking and in desperate need of help. While the poor have been rejected by men and have fallen on terrible circumstances, God loves the poor and takes special care of them. God provided laws to protect the poor from injustice (Lev 18:15). He also enacted laws that provided the poor with sustenance in the land so that nobody would die of starvation nor be enslaved perpetually (e.g., Lev 18:9, 10; 25:35–46). In the New Testament, the poor are the ones who will inherit the Kingdom of God (Luke 6:20).

Although being poor seems undesirable, there are many advantages to identifying with the poor. First, it is nearly impossible to enter the kingdom of God as a rich person (Matt 19:23, 24). Second, the poor occupy a special place in the Lord’s heart. He protects them through his laws, but also actively rescues them, “He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap, To make them sit with princes, With the princes of His people” (Ps 113: 7, 8). Finally, these verses also tell us that, while we are poor, God enriches us. Look at the first half of Ezekiel’s parable if you want a beautiful image of our helplessness and God’s graciousness (16:3–13).

We are all poor. Like Paul says in frustration, we know what is good, yet because of Adam’s corruption, we are unable to choose it (Rom 7:19, 20). When we call upon God, he will rescue us and provide us with what we need for salvation. Yet he will not stop there. God will also provide us with a family, his church. He will give us what we need (Matt 6:25–34). He will make us co-rulers with Christ (Rom 8:17).

What are you doing to keep our world safe? For the last year I have been training my attack dog (Ruffels) to find “drugs”. I do that by hiding his allergy medication (drugs) in a piece of hotdog sausage.

God never expected us to train our dogs to “enter the Christian race”. Instead, He wants us to personally get involved. For this reason, after presenting us with a host of heroes to imitate (Hebrews 11), we are asked to consider His Son’s example. By fixing our eyes on Jesus we will see the start and finish of our faith. We will see how He endured the cross by focusing on the joy that would be His. As a result, He is now at God’s right hand.

Friend, how can you know if you are running the Christian Race correctly? Simple … we are given three commands to follow (Hebrews 12:14–15):

1. Strive for “peace with everyone”.

2. Strive for “holiness” (we can’t see the Lord without it).

3. Keep out the troubling and defiling “root of bitterness”.

With the command, “find it”, Ruffels always starts enthusiastically, but after five minutes he looks to me for help. When this is not forth coming his nose starts to work – and soon he finds the prize.

Friend, God has given us everything we need. The world would be a safer place if all Christians were actively striving for the prize.