Glorifying God

Greetings All,

     Today's 'thoughts' come to you from Thomas Watson (1620-1686), and are found in a recent devotional book containing various selections from his writings. The book is entitled "Glorifying God - A Year Long Collection of Classic Devotional Writings by Thomas Watson."  It was complied and adapted by Patti M. Hummel.
     Watson was an English Puritan who was widely read in days past, and both inspired and mentored (through his many books) the great Charles Spurgeon.  In fact, what Spurgeon says of one of his books could summarize most every one he wrote: "This is a happy union of sound doctrine, heart-searching experience, and practical wisdom."  Today's selections have to do with glorifying God by being cheerful and delighting in Him.  Enjoy. 

"Serve the Lord with gladness."  (Psalm 100:2)

     "It brings glory to God when the world sees a Christian who is cheerful in the worst times; who, with the nightingale, can sing in the dark of night as well as the light of day.  The people of God have many reasons to be cheerful. They are justified and adopted, and this creates inward peace, and makes music in their hearts, whatever outer storms may be buffeting them. If we consider what Christ has done for us by His blood, and wrought in us by His Spirit, it is a reason for great cheerfulness, and this cheerfulness glorifies God.

     It reflects upon a master when the servant is always drooping and sad. It speaks of his life being hard because his master does not give him what is fitting. When God's people hang their heads, it looks as if they do not serve a good master, or have fallen from their choice to follow Him, which reflects dishonor upon God.

     As the gross sins of those who claim to be believers bring scandal on the gospel, so do the uncheerful lives of the godly.  Our service to God does not glorify Him unless we do so with gladness. A Christians cheerful looks glorify God.  Our Christian faith does not take away our joy, it refines it.  It does not break our violin, but tunes it and makes the music produced by it even sweeter."  

"Though you have not seen Him, you love Him..."  (I Peter 1:8)

"God is a delicious good. That which is the chief good must ravish the soul with pleasure. There must be in it a rapturous delight and quintessence of joy. There is certain sweetness about God's person which delights, even ravishes, the soul. God's love drops such infinite sweetness into the soul that is unspeakable and full of glory.

     When we delight in God even though we see Him only by faith, what will our joy be when we see Him face to face? If the saints found so much delight in God while they are suffering, oh what joy and delight will they have when they are being crowned!

     God is a superlative good. He is better than anything you can compare with Him. He is better than health, riches, and honor. Other things maintain life, He gives life. Who would weigh anything on a scale opposite the Deity? Who would weigh a feather against a mountain of gold? God excels all things more infinitely than the sun outshines the light of a candle.

     God is an eternal good. He is the Ancient of Days, yet never decays nor grows old (Daniel 7:9). The joy He gives is eternal, the crown does not fade way. The glorified soul shall forever comfort itself in God, feasting on His love, and sunning itself in the light of His countenance. God is the chief good, and the enjoyment of God is the highest contentment any soul is able to know."

     The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, along with its answer, are well-known to many. Question: "What is the chief end of man?  Answer: "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

     Yet John Piper is well-known for changing two words in that answer and suggesting it should instead be: "To glorify God by enjoying Him forever."  In fact Piper goes on to suggest: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." Who could disagree? It fits perfectly with Watson's thoughts.

     We glorify God most fully when we show the onlooking world that God fully satisfies our soul. And in keeping with that, what better visible expression is there of that satisfaction of soul than a cheerfulness that radiates from our countenance?

     Of course, we are not to fake smiles, or pretend to be cheerful when we are not -- for that would dishonor God as well.  Likewise, Watson and Piper are not suggesting we will never have down days where we must work through sorrow or disappointment. But I believe they are suggesting we should not get stuck there.

     In fact, when we find ourselves there, our aim should be to seek His face with all our hearts, reflect on all He has done for us, bask in His comforting presence, call to mind all His infinite perfections, and feast on the Gospel truth of His incomprehensible and irrevocable love for us in Jesus. We are to let the remembrance of His great grace toward us warm our hearts, stir our souls, and dispel the gloom that can overtake us when we focus on our circumstances, instead of our merciful and wise Father in heaven who loves us and grows us through them.

Blessings on your day, Pastor Jeff

Learning the Secret of Contentment

Greetings All,

     This week's 'thought' comes to you from a daily devotional I've been using called, "Once a Day Devotional {Walk with Jesus}."  There is no stated author, but three editors -- Mickey Hodges, John Hoover and Paula Kirk.  If you are looking for a good solid devotional, this one fits the bill.
     Today's selection is actually the one that's dated from yesterday morning -- August 26 -- and it's entitled: "Learning the Secret of Contentment."
     Contentment is a hard inner state of mind and soul to either attain or maintain in a culture like ours, where every message that comes at us from the advertising industry tells us that what we have is insufficient, and what we need (if we want a better, happier quality of life) is what they are selling.
     All we need do is flick on the TV, or read a magazine, to be told we all need to be thinner, stronger, happier, have a better self-esteem, have fuller hair (or for balding men, more hair), whiter teeth, more stylish clothes, bigger houses,  better cars, healthier bodies, sexier bodies, drugs for gaining more sexual stamina and more energy, condiments for tastier food, faster iDevices, and the thrill of saving more money if we shop for everything at ___  ____.  And on and on it goes ad infinitum (or I should say, ad nauseum)!

     Contentment is one of the things we crave the most, but one of the last things our culture would ever really want us to experience. (It would kill the economy and the propaganda industry we call advertising.)

     Yet both attaining and maintaining contentment is possible, even in such an environment, and in today's thought A. W. Pink tells us how. His advice is well worth heeding. Enjoy!

Learning the Secret of Contentment

     "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."  Philippians 4:11

     "Contentment. It's rare in a world in which people are searching for more money, more power, more status. But God has a different perspective: 'Better a little with the fear of the LORD, than great wealth with turmoil' (Proverbs 15:16).

     It's a viewpoint shared by Paul in Philippians 4.  And as A. W. Pink observes, once you know God, you have more than the world could ever give.

Walk with A. W. Pink

     "Contentment is the product of a heart resting in God. It is the soul's enjoyment of the peace that passes all understanding.  Contentment is the outcome of my will being brought into subjection to the divine will. It is the blessed assurance that God does all things well, and is even now making all things work together for my ultimate good.

     Contentment is only possible as we maintain the attitude of accepting everything that enters our lives as coming from the hand of him who is too wise to err and too loving to cause one of his children a needless tear.

     Our final word is this: Real contentment is only possible by being in the presence of the Lord Jesus. Only by cultivating intimacy with the One who was never discontent, only by daily fellowship with him who always delighted in the Father's will, will we learn the secret of contentment."

Walk Closer to God

     Paul had ample reason to complain about his circumstances: hostile audiences, misunderstood motives, physical abuse. Instead, he chose to 'rejoice in the Lord' (Philippians 4:10). His life radiated the very words he wrote to the Philippians: 'Whatever is true...noble...right... pure... lovely... admirable... excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things and the God of peace will be with you' (Phil. 4:8).

     Like Paul, don't be content to settle for less than God's best.  And that 'best' includes the contentment found only in him!"

     Nancy (my wife, for those of you who do not know!) once had a poster hanging on the wall of our house that said, "Joy is not in having what you want, but in wanting what you have." That is also one of the "secrets" of contentment -- really appreciating and wanting what you already have.

     Although, if you lack Jesus, even that isn't enough to bring the inner sense of contentment of which Paul speaks. In fact, neither is the advice of Philippians 4:8, advice, which being written to Christians, already presupposes they have come to be joined to Him -- the only true giver of contentment -- by faith. A. W. Pink was right: "Real contentment is only possible by being in the presence of the Lord Jesus."

     With earnest prayers that we will see Jesus, not as the means through which we get other things, but as the gift that surpasses all that we could want...  Pastor Jeff

Learned to Be Content

Greetings All,

This week's "thought" comes to you from Beth Moore. I was visiting my mother's house in Massachusetts two weeks ago and Moore's book "Voices of the Faithful - Inspiring Stories of Courage from Christians Around the World," was sitting on a counter with a little piece of paper marking this entry.

Out of curiosity I picked up the book, opened to the marked page and started reading. I was struck by the truth of her words, and thought I would like to pass them on to you. It has to do with the rare Christian virtue or art of contentment. I trust her words may resonate with you as they did with me. Enjoy.

"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 or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:11-13)

"I'm about to talk to you about contentment. It's not that I'm not content. For crying out loud, I ought to be content! My bird dog lives better than most of the world's human population. It's just absurd talking to you about it in the company of the people who will address the subject [from across the globe] in the next month.

I've noticed on a number of occasions, however, that God doesn't mind if I feel like an idiot... So here's my shot at a subject I know virtually nothing about. My inexperience with more extreme challanges of contentment stems from the fact that I've never really lacked...

To inhabitants of most Third World countries, Keith and I are rolling in cash. So are any of us in America literate enough to read this book. Most Western Christians don't know the first thing about biblical contentment. Then again, perhaps that's why in some ways we should be pitied. We are as addicted to more stuff as a cocaine addict is to his next snort. The more we have, the more we want. What we can't fit in our homes, we move into storage. What we can't pay for, we borrow. Relatively speaking,

we have more and give less than any people in the world. And we -- Western believers -- are arguably the most discontented Christians in the world...

Christians like me cannot say with the apostle Paul that we 'have learned to be content whatever the circumstances' because most of us have been less content with plenty than we are with less. Ironically, excess only increases discontentment. Why? Proverbs 13:12 offers a perfect explanation: 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick.' (NIV)

In other words, we set our hope on the lie that if we could only have this or that, we will be content. If we get it (or him, them or there), we are astonished to realize that it still doesn't cut it. Our hope that we'd finally be happy inevitably defers, and our hearts are left sick. At least with less, we still have the fantasy. Those with more and more attend one funeral of expectation after another.

So would poverty make us content? Hardly! ... Miserable 'have nots' make miserable 'haves.' Unhappy singles make unhappy spouses. Contentment has little to do with what

we have or lack. It is a state of mind. One that is far more often learned than suddenly attained, by the way.

Check out the apostle's wording again: 'I have learned to be content' and I have learned the secret of being content.' The original Greek word comes from the same word as 'disciple.' Paul explained that Christ had used circumstances to disciple him in the art of contentment. Discovering the power and presence of Christ in every circumstance was the secret.

Both 'haves' and 'have nots' alike need discipleship in contentment. How can 'have nots' learn to be content? I would not insult you by suggesting I know. I'll let some missionaries who have earned the right tell you. But how about the 'haves'? How can those among us with plenty -- who find ourselves addicted to more by a billion-dollar advertising industry -- learn a little contentment? Two suggestions: Practice saying no to ourselves if just for the satisfaction of Spirit-empowered self-

discipline. Second, give! Nothing brings the satisfaction of giving. If I'm feeling especially selfish, I know that I haven't been giving enough.

I lost my mind recently and wrote a check for a suit that was way over my price range. The salesperson hesitated just long enough for me to ask for the check back. I can't describe how good I felt walking out of that ridiculously expensive department store empty-handed. Had the discipleship lesson stopped there, I alone would have been helped. The next day I sensed God leading me to give away the money I was going to spend on that suit. I squirmed, then I submitted. Then I learned a secret."

May the Lord disciple our hearts as well -- especially as we come up on the holidays.

In the Bonds of Christian Charity, Pastor Jeff