Content and humble

Tuesday, January 5, 2010
3:20 pm @ Austin Chase

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”- Philippians 4:11-12

So I”m at Austin Chase because my new coffee shop that I go to (Cafe Noir) is closed due to plumbing issues so I'm here chilling. The thing that is cool is that I'm spending no money on coffee because I have a gift that the St. Martin's gave me. So I'm sipping on my Chai-Tea, Joanne has me hooked on this. So I'm chilling on my computer looking for a preaching job and Shar walks in with the kids and say's hi. She gives me a card for Cold Stone!! So again I don't have to spend money on ice-cream. In fact I hardly spent any money on my 3 weeks off. I have gift cards for Applebee's and Subway. I crashed The Ormerod's New Years party and Dan gave me a ton of left overs! I have 2 movie tickets also from the St. Martin's. They even bought me a shirt and tie!

I'm not trying to rub this in and gloat. My point is that God is taking care of me through the body of Christ. I'm living on humble means. And I return the favor, tonight I'm bringing dinner to Ben and Becky's place. I try to return favors as best I can, like putting in a water pump with St. Martin that takes 3 days and Marie shows up and just rips it out :) How do we learn to be content? Contentment as used in this passage is an attitude of the heart that comes from another spiritual practice called simplicity. Simplicity is an inward reality that comes from the security of our relationship with Jesus. We sometimes seem to have the desire of more. More possessions, more money. Odd that it seems the more we have, the more we want, and the less satisfied we are with what we have. Christians have the best thing going for them because Jesus meets the desire of our hearts. God wants us to be content with Him, and not to set our hearts on material objects that vanish in a blink of an eye. There are going to be times of pain and disappointment, but that should not be our focus on life. Instead of looking at a rosebush and wondering why it must have thorns, we should see a thornbush and be thankful that it has roses. Instead of going to bed at night and complaining about the next morning, we should get up and thank God for another day of life and service for the Kingdom of God.

Shalom

Hutch