Tag Archives: righteousness

The Secret to Contentment

Are you content? Is your house big enough? Is your work meaningful enough? Are your children good enough? Does your spouse do enough? Do you have enough?

Contentment is an elusive term, and even more of a difficult attitude to cultivate. We can tell ourselves we are content all we want, but deep in our hearts dissatisfaction lurks. We want more.

Search for Satisfaction

To be content is to be satisfied with what one has and not want more or anything else (dictionary.com). Contentment is being thankful for what we have, not always on the lookout for what we don’t. The root of contentment is satisfaction, and when we seek it from the wrong place, we come up empty, dissatisfied, and wanting.

Dissatisfaction is universal, but we Americans are grossly guilty of it. As a culture, we are materialistic, spoiled, and demand the best in all things. “The American Dream” has long represented riches many only dream about. Yet we are still deeply discontent and always looking for the next thing, relationship, or experience to make us happy.

Christians aren’t immune to it either. Dissatisfaction leads us to move from church to church in search of the “perfect” experience. It leads us to gossip about our sisters and brothers to tear them down and build ourselves up. It leads us to jealousy and fake smiles when another receives something we long for. Dissatisfaction leads us to sin.

Paul’s Secret to Contentment

As in all things, Scripture provides us with the tools and knowledge to find and cultivate contentment. In Philippians, Paul thanks the church of Philippi for supporting him financially. However, amid his thanks, he gives us a beautiful nugget on contentment.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 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. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Phil. 4:11-13

Paul didn’t have a cushy life. In fact, much of the American Church would shrink away from the suffering that came with Paul’s obedience to the Lord.

 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;  in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

2 Cor. 11:24-28

How could Paul, after enduring all those things, say that he was content and satisfied? His secret to contentment is this:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.

God isn’t asking us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and muster up satisfaction all on our own. Like willpower, whatever satisfaction we conjure up for ourselves is fleeting. Popular self-help books tell us to “believe in ourselves” and “you are enough”. Scripture tells us this isn’t true. Only dependence on God and his strength will lead us to contentment in plenty and in need.

Our Ultimate Satisfaction

God offers himself as the key to our ultimate satisfaction and joy. He knew our deepest need, the need for a right relationship with him, and sent his Son Jesus to die on a cross for our sins. He defeated our greatest enemies, sin and death, to give us abundant life in Christ Jesus.

When we follow Jesus, his righteousness is transferred to us. We stand before God pure and clean, and he brings us into a relationship with him as a beloved child. Our greatest need is met in Jesus, therefore no matter what we face in this life, we can be satisfied and content. Our darkest day on earth is the closest we’ll ever get to hell. And not only that, but Paul goes on to say,

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Phil. 4:19-20

God is a good father who loves to give good gifts (Matt. 7:7-11). He will provide for your needs in his perfect time.

Fight for Contentment

The battle for contentment is difficult, but necessary for Christians. How do we fight? Consider these action steps if you’re struggling to capture elusive contentment:

  • Ask God to show you the root of your dissatisfaction.
  • Repent of any sin that is stemming from your dissatisfaction (control, unbelief, impatience, critical spirit, etc).
  • Remember the Gospel and rest in the knowledge that your deepest need has already been met in Jesus.
  • Pray and ask the Lord to give you his strength to find satisfaction and contentment in your current circumstances.
  • Memorize scripture to fight for contentment when your wandering heart tries to return to dissatisfaction.
  • Share with an accountability partner.

God loves you and wants to satisfy your heart-of-hearts in Jesus Christ. Don’t try to find contentment in your things, relationships, or experiences. He knows you. He loves you. He will satisfy you.

The Sneaky Sin of Annoyance

Are you often annoyed? Recently I found myself discontent with my job, and as I dug deeper, I realized that I was working from a place of annoyance. I started my day anticipating annoyance, I became annoyed, then brought my annoyance home with me. 

Annoyance is often swept under the rug as a “little sin”. It’s not in the sin lists in 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians, so it must not be a big deal, right? Everyone gets annoyed. We’re human. We live in a broken world. It’s part of the deal. 

Yet as followers of Jesus, we must submit every part of our hearts to Christ. 

To annoy is to disturb or bother a person in a way that displeases, troubles, or slightly irritates (dictionary.com). You know the feeling. We stiffen our shoulders, furrow our brows, and bend our mouths in a frown. Our hearts grumble and groan in irritation, even if we manage to govern our body language.

What do we do when that bubble of annoyance rises in response to the day-to-day issues? 

Sin has Roots 

With my job, I was annoyed by the disruption of my schedule and the unpredictability that arose out of it. My annoyance was rooted in pride. I want to be in control, I’m not, so I’m annoyed. 

With behaviors like annoyance, it’s helpful to examine what the reaction is rooted in and where that particular sin is leading. 

Where would my job annoyance lead? I would descend into anger, discontentedness, and harshness towards others as I try to control and order my world according to my desires. 

If you are habitually annoyed about something or someone, take a moment to contemplate not just the source, but what sin your annoyance is rooted in and where it’s leading you. Sin always drags you deeper into the darkness. When you allow “small” sins to flourish, your flesh will take it one, two, or three steps further than you ever intended. 

Kill your Sin 

We must never be content with our pet sins. Christ died for our sins, yet we sometimes we pick and choose which ones we want to crucify and submit to his lordship. 

God wants us to walk in righteousness in all things. We won’t be perfect this side of eternity, but this is a battle we must fight as believers. “Be killing sin or it will be killing you” (John Owen). 

Let’s be honest. “I’m annoyed” is a more acceptable way of saying “I’m mildly angry”. Anger can be righteous (Scripture tells us that both God and Jesus were angry at times), but our anger is rarely righteous. Our anger is most often rooted in pride and selfishness. 

Scripture has a lot to say about anger. Wisdom literature is rife with examples of anger leading to sin and strife (Prov. 14:29, 29:22, Ecc. 7:9). 

Paul instructs is in Ephesians: 

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Eph. 4:26-27

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Ephesians 4:31

James also speaks to us about anger: 

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

James 1:19-20

Annoyance also leads us to grumbling and complaining. Paul says in Phil. 2:14-15: 

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. 

Recalibrate your Response

When annoyance comes (and it will), consider these practical steps:

  • Take deep breath to calm your body.
  • Think through the sin-root of your annoyance and where it will lead. 
  • Confess sin (unbelief, pride, selfishness, etc). 
  • If you follow Jesus, remember God’s promise that you are forgiven in Christ. If you don’t have a relationship with God through Jesus, check this out.
  • Choose a scripture to memorize and meditate on to set your mind on Christ instead of yourself. 
  • Share with accountability partner(s) for prayer and support. 

Don’t let sneaky sins trip you and tear you down from the joy-filled, righteous life Christ purchased for you on the cross. Walk in freedom. 

Did Jesus Really Need to Die?

The smoky bustle of a cafe swirled around my friend and I as we talked. I sipped mint tea from a small glass as she stirred several packets of sugar into tiny coffee cup, a direct, the equivalent of a latte. We were talking about religion, a normal conversation in this Muslim country. Today we were discussing Jesus. When I mentioned his death, she stopped me. “No, Jesus is alive.” She beamed, reassuring me. I blinked in surprise as she went on. “He never died. Someone who looked like him died and God took him to heaven.”

While living among Muslims, I heard two things consistently: the Bible is corrupt (read this to address this claim) and Jesus didn’t die. I was always willing to talk about this, because truly, on these two things hinges the Christian faith.

Jesus’ death is more than a small historical detail that might’ve been smudged by time. It is only because of Jesus’ death that we have forgiveness of sins and salvation. The mercy of God is displayed in Jesus Christ. Without his death, Christianity loses its very essence.

Blood and Forgiveness

From the very beginning we see the act of substitution in God’s plan. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God (Gen. 3), they immediately realized their nakedness and were ashamed. They sewed fig leaves together to hide their naked shame. God punished them for their actions, casting them outside of the garden of Eden. However before they left, he made them clothes from animal skins. With the shedding of blood, he covered their shame.

Abraham was instructed by God to sacrifice his only son (Gen. 22). In obedience Abraham took his son to a mountain, trusting God was even able to bring his son back from the dead (Heb. 11:19). As Abraham raised the knife to sacrifice, an angel from God stopped him. God provided a ram to die in this son’s place. Again, an animal’s blood was shed in the place of a man.

Moses came and was given the law by God (Ex. 34:27-28, Deut. 31:9). Detailed instructions were given about the sacrificial system. The only way people could attain forgiveness from God, atonement of sin was to shed the blood of an animal, a sacrifice (Lev. 17:11, Heb. 9:22). Only blood could wash away the ugliness and stain of sin.

Prophets came and went, and one, Isaiah, promised that God would send a final, perfect sacrifice (Is. 53). Then God fell silent. 400 years passed. Where was this perfect lamb?

The Final Sacrifice

Then came Jesus. When the prophet John saw him, he declared,

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!…And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” John 1:29, 34

Jesus. Oh perfect, spotless Lamb! He chose to lay his life down in obedience to the Father (John 10:14-15, Luke 22:42). He did no wrong, yet he died a criminal’s death. He was crucified on a cross, a painful, slow, humiliating end. He was spat on, mocked, and beaten, yet he never opened his mouth. He who was perfectly righteous took on all our sin and shame, bearing every ounce of wrath from a holy God, the righteous judge. He was the final and complete sacrifice.

Jesus breathed his last. He was taken down from the cross and buried in a tomb. His body lay dead, empty. The Son of God, slain by men for men and the glory of the Father.

On the third day the ground shook. The pangs of death were loosed! He rose from the grave, alive forever, amen!

“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Cor. 15:55

Hallelujah!

Believe in the Lamb

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:21-26

This! This is why Jesus needed to die! If Jesus was just a good man, or just a prophet, we would be lost. Every one of us fall short of God’s standard of holiness and righteousness. No amount of good works will outweigh the bad works. As we see with Adam and Eve, just one sin is enough to cast us out of the presence of God.

We need a sacrifice. We need a perfect, flawless lamb to die in our place to get forgiveness of sin. Jesus provided that. He says,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

There is one way. Jesus. The Bible says that you need only believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and you will be forgiven (Rom. 10:9). The righteousness of Jesus will be transferred to you, not in the future, not in the last day, but now. Today.

If believe in Jesus, rejoice! Don’t lose the wonder of the cross. May familiarity never cloud our thankfulness and awe of what he did on our behalf!

If you are not a follower of Jesus, I invite you to him. Don’t linger at a distance. Salvation awaits. Don’t wait another moment, as we aren’t promised anything beyond the breath in your lungs at this very moment. Come. Marvel. Repent and believe!

*I took this photo on my trip to Israel a few years ago. It is the garden tomb where some believe Jesus was buried. Check out this leaflet to learn more!*

Tomb-deathwhereisyourvictory

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