Wednesday, Jun 11, 2008

TWG - June 11, 2008

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TWG - June 11, 2008
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
Exodus 22; Psalm 33; Matthew 28

Today is June 11, this is time with God, I’m Pastor Dennis - I’ve been waiting here for you. Welcome to our life transforming community. You are part of a devotional community where we put Christ first and our commitment is to spend time with each other and Time with God every day.

Yesterday I eased into things in the office and because of that I immediately fell behind. Marcia stopped in and dropped off a pallet of paving stones for the amphitheater stage. We are going to need some help putting that together if you can. But they do look beautiful. We laid out the first row. Bill and Helen and Todd stopped in to do some clean up around the back. Todd waded into the creek to fish out a few I-Beams we had left there last year. Susan was in the office working on a mailing for church. Ken stopped in for a moment. After work I ran to Roseburg High for a game of tennis with Phil. He just barely edged me out in our tie-breaker game. After dinner I ran to our men’s meeting with Dave, Carl & Ken. We always have a good time. Carl brought a round chocolate cake. Dave can’t live without chocolate! I put a picture of Ken staring at John down by the amphitheater on the blog at timewithgod.mypodcast.com. check it out.

This week’s theme verse is Philippians 4:11-13 …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 everything through him who gives me strength.

I am a slow learner. Some things that I should have “learned” years ago, I haven’t. Sometimes I repeat the same mistakes over and over. Did you notice the wording in the verse above…? “I have LEARNED to be content.” Contentment is a learned character quality, it is not instinctive, nor is it natural. We are not born with the ability or know how to be content. Contentment is not unique to one personality style or another. It must be learned by all! But there is more to it than that. There is a pattern in the verse above that leads to contentment. #1 I have learned… #2 I know how… #3 I have learned the secret… The first step is to learn. This has to do with learning that comes from experience. Some of us can learn from the experiences of others, the rest of us have to learn from our own mistakes! How do you make good decisions? Experience. How do you gain experience? Bad decisions! Unless you go through difficult times yourself, you won’t really know if you have learned how to be content. Difficult times is the school of learning! It’s easy to give advice from the grandstands, but until you are in the arena yourself, you never know whether you can practice what you preach! The second step is the “know how.” The first time you face a problem you learn from it, the second time you have the “know how.” (or at least you should.) Know-how comes with prolonged experience. It is one thing to sit in the classroom and talk about theory, but you’ve got to get some hands on experience if you really want to master what you have learned. The more you go through the wringer, the more experience you have, the more you know how to react to difficult times. Step three is to learn the secrets. Have you ever tried to learn a new skill? Every discipline has “tricks of the trade” that are not apparent to the untrained. That’s what education, trade schools and on the job training are all about. They teach you the tricks. You can work harder or you can work smarter! The same is true for contentment. God’s word is full of insights and truths that will teach you the tricks of the trade. God has gifted individuals who know His Word and who have been through trials who can pass on these tips. But sometimes we are not ready for it until trouble strikes! This is learning that is fueled by some hot motivation. If I teach you survival skills in the classroom, you might yawn your way through the class. But if I drop you off in the middle of the uncharted wilderness with nothing more than the clothes on your back, a canteen and a knife, and give you one last class before you are on your own for a week, suddenly you have some real live motivation to learn! When you are ready, God is ready. Want to learn to be content? It is indispensible knowledge… it is “need to know!”

Dear Jesus. Thank you for setting the example for me to follow. I want to learn from you. You have shown me how to be content even in the most difficult of times. Sometimes I really struggle with contentment. I don’t like what’s going on in my life and I can’t pretend to be happy. But you break through with supernatural strength from your Holy Spirit. That’s what I need. Lord keep me ever in your hand. Teach me contentment.

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 9:48 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

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