Genesis 18:20-21
"And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and
because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether
they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which
is come unto me; and if not, I will know."
Sodom and Gomorrah; two sin filled cities, destroyed by God's wrath. Why did God destroy the two cities? After all they were just brick and mortar, We don't need to look deep in God's Word, it's right in front of us in the second line of Scripture, "because their sin is very grievous." In other words it means their sin was very bad (i.e.) great, and the people there was satisfied with the way they lived and the situation around them, without the thought of some potential danger or defeat. And remember Lot and his two daughters where the only people that God spared.
I'm sure somewhere in our Christian walk we all or most of us has heard a preacher tell his congregation to be content. Is the harmful to say that to your church? I will not give a yes or no on that, but I will say; "that this can cause and encourage complacency instead of True Biblical Contentment."
How can we reach True Biblical Contentment? How can we be content in any and all situations? Apostle Paul has that answer for us. Paul always strived to do what God had called him to do. At the end of the day, he had done everything he could do to be faithful to God's calling on his life. "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing," (Phil. 3:12-16).
My friends, if we want to experience the contentment that Paul describes in Philippians Chapter 4:10-23, we must use all the gifts and talents God as given us through our individual calling to bring maximum return for God. Real contentment is not being satisfied with what you have or where you are in life. It is working diligently to glorify God, serve the common good, and further the Kingdom of God in everything we do. There is no complacency in Paul's contentment, and neither should there be in ours. "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content," (Phil. 4:11).
When we do our best to improve the creation by using the resources that God has given us, we are like the two talent and five talent servants who invested the money their master had given them. Listen my friends; we have something to offer the world. When we use the gifts God has given us, we have the opportunity to create something that can glorify God and improve other people's lives.
Amen!
Reading: (Phil. 3:12-16; 4:10-23)
(Gen. 19:1-26)
Ref: (HG SB)
I'm sure somewhere in our Christian walk we all or most of us has heard a preacher tell his congregation to be content. Is the harmful to say that to your church? I will not give a yes or no on that, but I will say; "that this can cause and encourage complacency instead of True Biblical Contentment."
How can we reach True Biblical Contentment? How can we be content in any and all situations? Apostle Paul has that answer for us. Paul always strived to do what God had called him to do. At the end of the day, he had done everything he could do to be faithful to God's calling on his life. "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing," (Phil. 3:12-16).
My friends, if we want to experience the contentment that Paul describes in Philippians Chapter 4:10-23, we must use all the gifts and talents God as given us through our individual calling to bring maximum return for God. Real contentment is not being satisfied with what you have or where you are in life. It is working diligently to glorify God, serve the common good, and further the Kingdom of God in everything we do. There is no complacency in Paul's contentment, and neither should there be in ours. "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content," (Phil. 4:11).
When we do our best to improve the creation by using the resources that God has given us, we are like the two talent and five talent servants who invested the money their master had given them. Listen my friends; we have something to offer the world. When we use the gifts God has given us, we have the opportunity to create something that can glorify God and improve other people's lives.
Amen!
Reading: (Phil. 3:12-16; 4:10-23)
(Gen. 19:1-26)
Ref: (HG SB)
May God Bless You
And Your Family
Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.
The Cross Life Ministry
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