A Prayer about Stuff and Contentment

I like this prayer by Scotty Smith asking God for a heart of contentment:

Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. (Prov. 23:4-5)

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. (1 Tim. 6:6-8)

Loving Father, we continue to live in a difficult economic season. Some of us who thought we’d be retired in a couple of years are now thinking it’s ten, if ever. Some of us have lost jobs, even homes. Some of us are selling stuff and downsizing out of necessity, not choice. Some of our marriages are being stressed to the point of breaking. Some of us are actually being tempted to steal for the first time. Lord, we need wisdom, we need a work of your Spirit, and some of us really do need jobs.

Father, we look to you. Give us the perspective and power of the gospel as we make hard decisions, and reflect on our relationship to money and “stuff.” Free us from an attitude of entitlement and place within us a Spirit of contentment. When did we first assume the right to excess? When did abundance get relabeled as need? Why did we think only first-century disciples of Jesus would ever actually have to pray for daily bread?

In our “iWorld” of new gadgets and cool widgets, help us ponder the fact that over half of the population on the earth exists on three of our American dollars, or less, a day. Free us to share with others from the much or little that we have. Help us to raise our children not to love money as much as we have. Don’t let us grow bitter, shame-filled or fearful.

Father, if we would wear ourselves out for anything, let it be to become rich toward you (Luke 12:20-21)—to have the gospel so penetrate our hearts that we cry out with spontaneous joy, “Who do I have in heaven but you, O Lord, and being with you I desire nothing on the earth . . . You are my portion, sovereign Lord.”

Lord Jesus, you who were immeasurably rich in all things became incomprehensibly poor for us, so that we, who were desperately poor in sin, might be made inconceivably rich in grace. We worship and adore, with humility and gratitude. We thank you for the daily bread of both wheat and the gospel. So very Amen we pray, in your holy and gracious name.

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TRUE KING

Based on Isaiah 6, this is a spoken word piece by the hubby called "True King" set to music and video. Just thought I'd share because I ♥ it :)

 

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Spurgeon on a Stupid Way to Read the Scriptures

From Charles Spurgeon’s 1867 sermon “A Song at the Well-head”:

You are retired for your private devotions; you have opened the Bible, and you begin to read.

Now, do not be satisfied with merely reading through a chapter. Some people thoughtlessly read through two or three chapters—stupid people for doing such a thing!

It is always better to read a little and digest it, than it is to read much and then think you have done a good thing by merely reading the letter of the word.

For you might as well read the alphabet backwards and forwards, as read a chapter of Scripture, unless you meditate upon it, and seek to comprehend its meaning.

Merely to read words is nothing: the letter kills.

The business of the believer with his Bible open is to pray, “Lord, give me the meaning and spirit of your word, while it lies open before me; apply your word with power to my soul, threatening or promise, doctrine or precept, whatever it may be; lead me into the soul and marrow of your word.”

Also, it is not the form of prayer, but the spirit of prayer that shall truly benefit your souls.
That prayer has not benefited you, which is not the prayer of the soul.

You have need to say, “Lord, give me the spirit of prayer; now help me to feel my need deeply, to perceive your promises clearly, and to exercise faith upon them.”

In your private devotions, strive after vital godliness, real soul-work, the life-giving operation of the Spirit of God in your hearts.

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"Need of Grace"

Puritan prayer video:

Need of Grace

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The Cross and Criticism

I stumbled across an EXCELLENT essay called "The Cross and Criticism" by Dr. Alfred J. Poirier on how Christians should receive, give, and view criticism... the biblical way. I highly recommend reading it - you will be convicted, rebuked, challenged, encouraged and comforted all at the same time. Here's a small excerpt:

In light of God's judgment and justification of the sinner in the cross of Christ, we can begin to discover how to deal with any and all criticism. By agreeing with God's criticism of me in Christ's cross, I can face any criticism man may lay against me. In other words, no one can criticize me more than the cross has. And the most devastating criticism turns out to be the finest mercy. If you thus know yourself as having been crucified with Christ, then you can respond to any criticism, even mistaken or hostile criticism, without bitterness, defensiveness, or blameshifting. Such responses typically exacerbate and intensify conflict, and lead to the rupture of relationships. You can learn to hear criticism as constructive and not condemnatory because God has justified you.

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Are you a FAKE, a FOUL, or a FAITHFUL friend?

Kevin DeYoung, writer of "DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed" blog, has some insight on what the Bible has to say about friendships.

Read the full article HERE. 

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Only One Right Person

Joshua Harris on a day we all look forward to: “Everybody else in heaven will be wrong in a million different ways about a million different things. The Bible tells us that only those who trusted in Jesus Christ, who turned from sin and believed in him, will be in God’s presence. But on a host of secondary matters, we’ll all discover how much we got wrong.”

 Read the full blog post:

Only One Right Person

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Date Night Photos!

The hubby and I had 3 minutes to get some photos in before we rushed off to our movie (we saw "The Rise of the Planet of the Apes"... it was actually really good!) I decided to get all dolled-up for our date - I usually don't wear this much makeup, but I was in the makeup mood this time! Here are a couple of shots we got (some cute and some crazy)!! {:{:{eNjoY}:}:}

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Will We Protect the Little Ones?

John Knight: “Prenatal tests are not the problem. The problem is the bias of our culture against the lives of little ones born with Down syndrome. Our culture does not think that these littles ones should be given the opportunity to live.”

Will We Protect the Little Ones?

(click to read)

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My Summertime Flower Crochet Earrings

My first pair of crochet earrings... free-handed with no pattern. I made these several months ago, but for some reason never had to chance to upload the pics. So here's the finished result!

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How Big Is the Universe?

The universe has always fascinated me. The sheer beauty and enormity of it has never ceased to leave me speechless. As a matter of fact, I've wanted to be an astrophysicist since my early years in elementary school. I remember asking my parents if they would buy me astronomy books (and not the ones for kids, but for adults!), posters of the galaxy and stars to hang up in my room, and even glow in the dark star stickers to place all over my bedroom ceiling. Whenever I'd watch television, I would search for anything space-related as my top choice of program. Most frequently, they appeared on PBS, NOVA, or the Discovery Channel (thank God for these TV channels)!  In college, I was privileged with the opportunity to take an astronomy course, and to this day, I have all the text books and notes from that class - it was by far my favorite course.  I was drawn in by the mystery and transcendence of it all. The only reason why I'm not an astrophysicist today is because I didn't want to have to take all of the higher levels of calculus and physics just to get to the really cool stuff. I felt like it would strip me of my passion for the limitless skies I so adored since childhood.

So, naturally, when I came across this blog post by Tim Challies, I got super excited. Take a minute to read it HERE, and let your mind be amazed by the vast power, absolute authority, and majesty of our Creator.

The Hubble Space Telescope peered deep into the universe and spotted a bunch of galaxies, each containing hundreds of billions of stars!

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"Man's Great End"

Puritan prayer video:

Man's Great End

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