Philippians 4:10-13; Treadmill

“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.  (11) I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. (12) 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. (13) I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

This passage was written for me.  I am selfish.  I am greedy.  I am discontented. I overlook the amazing blessings that I have and focus on the few things that I don’t.  If I were to rewrite the end of this passage for me, it would read more like:

“I have learned the secret of being discontent in any and every situation, whether well fed or even better fed, whether living in plenty or even more. Never be satisfied with what you have and always want more.” 

Discontent destroys joy.  I see it in Wren and Levi all the time – they are perfectly happy with their stuff until they see an awesome toy that their friends have. Immediately their dozens of toys and games are not worth playing with anymore. They want THAT toy and nothing else will do.

I feel so sorry for my children because they inherited that trait from me.  Just like I inherited it from my parents and so on and so on.  Discontent is a function of our broken humanity.  We know there should be more than there is.  Deep down we know we are missing something.  And that is true. 

In Genesis it talks about God walking with Adam in the garden during the cool of the day.  That is what we were created for; uninhibited access to and relationship with God with nothing in the way.  Since sin entered the world, that easy intimacy is gone.

While our relationship with Christ reopens the line of communication and brings salvation, healing and grace, we still struggle with sin and live in a world bound by sin.  We get moments and mountain top experiences, but the consequences of sin keep those experiences from being easy or full time. 

That leaves a hole that needs to be filled.  We can fill it by pouring more and more into Jesus. That slowly grows our capacity to live according to his will which brings more intimacy and contentment. That is the smart, effective thing to do.

But that takes a lot of discipline and effort and take time. We want contentment NOW!  So we buy things that we want. We take vacations because new experiences really fill the void – at least till you get home. We pour into ourselves instead of God and it feels great until the next want arises. And then you have to chase that one and the next one and the next one. Not smart or effective.

It’s like trying to run a marathon on a treadmill.  You are working really hard, but you will never get anywhere.  You will end up tired and bored and unfulfilled.  Your life will be one big sigh of frustration.  Does this ring a bell for anyone?  This is right where I live – like all the time!

Contentment is never attained, only accepted.  Allow me to say that again: Contentment is never attained, only accepted.  If you cannot be content right now, you will never be content in the future.

Fulfilling your every want and desire will not bring contentment. Acquiring things or chasing experiences will not bring contentment.  Only Jesus brings contentment.  So get off the treadmill and start moving toward Jesus – I guarantee contentment will follow! 

“It’s not having what you want; its wanting what you’ve got.” – Cheryl Crow, Soak up the Sun

Philippians 4:10; Encourage Always

^“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.”

Paul knew that the Philippian church loved him and cared for him.  He had wonderful friends and deep, meaningful relationships with these people. They had become more like family than just some people at a church. Paul KNEW that these folks loved him.  But even though Paul knew all this; it meant the world to receive a care package from Philippi while he was in prison. A physical representation of care and concern is a powerful thing!

A personal example (not set in prison): Some of you know that I wrote a column for the Christian Camping magazine last year.  I sent in six articles every other month and then each were published in the magazine two months later.  It was a great challenge and experience for me – I loved it! 

Unlike speaking, with writing you don’t get a lot feedback.  You finish it, email it, and that’s it.  But I know that God’s word never comes back void and I know that he uses everything we say or do or write in His name for His glory.  So I was perfectly content with my series and very happy with the whole process.  After I sent in my final article; it was all over as far as I was concerned. 

Then, a week before Christmas I received an email from a camp director thanking me for one of the articles. He said my article was exactly what he needed to hear and that it was very helpful.  And that was it – short and sweet.  But I cannot tell you how encouraging that was to me.  Even though I KNEW God would use those articles – it was super encouraging to hear it firsthand. 

Because of that experience, I sent an email to the author of a book I had recently finished and told him, “Thanks for writing this book!  It really encouraged me and is helping me in my walk with Christ.”  It took like 10 minutes, including Google search time.  No big deal.

I received an email back from that guy the next morning thanking me for thanking him.  This guy is a successful author and pastor and he took the time to send an email to a complete stranger.  Why?  Because we all need encouragement.

The takeaway?  Tell your friends and family that you love them.  Thank those who have been a blessing to you.  Write a note to your pastor.  Send a care package to a friend.  Send a Facebook message, email or text to a Sunday School teacher.  It will make their day and will encourage them to do the same.  Encouragement is extremely contagious!

I challenge you to send a note of some sort to at least one person by the end of the week.  Even if you don’t hear anything back – you will be glad you did.  Encouraging others encourages us too!

“Instruction does much; but encouragement (does) everything.” – Goethe

Philippians 4:9; Imitation

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you.”

What is your initial reaction to that statement?  Mine is: “Wow, Paul is pretty arrogant.”  I know myself too well to say, “I have this Jesus thing figured out – do what I do and you’ll be good.”  Yikes!  I hope there are better examples than me out there. That is my first reaction.

But as I think a little deeper, Paul wasn’t prideful. In fact, just the opposite.  In Romans 7:14-25, Paul articulates clearly his struggle to obey Christ.  He ends that passage with this very non-arrogant phrase, “Who will save me from this body of death?”  Paul is the last person who would say, “I’m perfect, follow me.” 

So on what basis is he saying, follow me?  In the Christian life, it’s not my ability that counts; it’s my ability to allow God to use me.  Role models and leaders are people who in spite of their faults say, “Follow me” because they know it is Christ who does the work in them. 

When they succeed – they praise the Lord because they know the success came from Him.  When they fail, they humble themselves and ask forgiveness – and praise the Lord for His grace.  It isn’t about us – it’s about Jesus!  Role models and leaders know that…and cling to like a lifeline.

Charles Barkley once said, “I am not a role model…just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”  And in one sense, he is right.  Being a basketball player doesn’t mean he signed up to be a role model.  But you don’t get to opt out of having someone look up to you.  You can be chosen as a role model whether you apply for the job or not. 

You can be like Chuck and deny your responsibility to those around you.  Or you can understand that someone looks up to you and seize that opportunity to be a Godly role model.  Paul knew that the church in Philippi looked up to him, so he embraced that responsibility and committed to lead them.

Being a role model isn’t about your perfection. It means that you have drawn a line in the sand and committed yourself to Christ and can say like Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” 

Our culture and our church desperately need people willing to say, “Follow me!  I am not perfect, but I’m following Jesus the best I can!” 

Are you ready to make that stand today?  If not, why not? 

“Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God.  Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.” – Hebrews 13:7

Philippians 4:8; Attitude

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

Why do we spend so much time worrying, complaining and being angry about things that we have no control over?  Seriously, take a moment and think about that.  How much energy do you waste on things like the weather, the actions of others, traffic, and other uncontrollable things?  If you are like me, far too much of my energy goes to things I can’t control.

I remember being upset and angry for hours because my team lost a big football game.  I remember it so well because it was on Saturday!  And then I get angry because I know I am being stupid for being angry which just makes it worse – I’m a basket-case.  Being disappointed is one thing, but I was several giant steps beyond disappointed.  So ridiculous.

But I digress…while there are lots of things we can’t control, there are some things we can control.  And the greatest of those is this: we can always control our attitude.  We can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to the things that happen to us.  Just go ahead and jot this down:

Your ability to control your attitude will determine your ability to enjoy life.

You really have two options. You can choose to focus on things you can’t control: terrorism, gun violence, ISIS, the lack of morality in our culture, cancer, fear, disease, and all the negative aspects of life. Or, you can choose to focus on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. 

Which of those two people would you rather hang out with?  Which of those two people would you rather be?  You can be.  If the Bible tells you to do it, Christ will give you the ability to do it.  And it starts by disciplining your mind to look past the temporary reality around us to the permanent reality that resides within us. 

In the face of really terrible things, we can set our minds on the excellent and praiseworthy because Jesus overcame the world – and He lives within us.  Being a follower of Christ doesn’t make all the hard things in life go away, to the contrary, sometimes they get worse!  But knowing Christ allows us to rise above our circumstances and live joyfully in midst of challenges. 

And I don’t know about you, but I want to be a positive, encouraging, and thankful kind of person.  And the way to do that is to follow Paul’s command to set your mind on things that are true, noble, and right.  It is not easy, but it is good!

“We become what we think about.” – Earl Nightingale