Be Content In Marriage And Money

⁴Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ⁵Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," ⁶so that we confidently say,
"THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.
WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"

(Hebrews 13:4-6)

As I read this passage, I noticed that the Lord is asking us to live with a sense of gratefulness and appreciation for what we have. Along with that spirit of thankfulness, we need to also practice delayed gratification as well.

We live in a fast food, instant gratification world. It is such a luxury that we can jump into our cars and purchase anything under the sun whenever we like with only a piece of plastic instead of carrying around cash. If we want to be entertained, our movies are fed straight to our big screen TVs over high definition (or our everywhere internet connected smartphones). It's an awesome thing - luxuries no one could have even imagined just 20-30 years ago.

As great as these things are, that attitude of instant gratification cannot carry into our married life or our finances. Perhaps more than anywhere else in our lives, God needs to reign in us when it comes to those two things.

I am so glad for my wife. We are such different people and that can lead to great complementary aids, or great disagreements. But through everything, she is a loving support for me through tough times. Marriage has also been the toughest test for me in my entire life. The concept of "two becoming one" seems romantic when you're single, but when actually doing the process in real life, it can also be like surgery. For others, there might also be times when it can seem mundane because you see a person everyday. Either way, staying the course in marriage isn't necessarily easy.

It can seem attractive to bail out and to find someone new in order to rekindle excitement or somehow feel validated or "manly". But, we are called to be pure and loyal in our marriages. It is a sanctioned contract under and before God, where we swear to live our whole lives serving our spouses.

The reward for us is the supernatural miracle of two persons truly functioning as one unit. Each supporting the other in different ways and creating a solid foundation and shelter from which to raise the next generation for Christ. There is deep joy in being able to share one's life with another and to lean on them in times of need. We were made to live in marriage (other than those who are called to be single to serve God fully), and when we are able to live out the journey of life through the journey of marriage, we are fulfilled to the depths of our souls.

Money on the other hand is a trap for us. Money's threat is to replace our sense of security in the Lord with the security of a full bank account. In addition, it feeds our greed to obtain and collect things - focusing on material acquisition rather than the fruits of the Spirit.

Making purchases feels empowering. We are drawn to possession and it makes us feel validated. We judge a person's social status and rank by the type of things they have, where they live, the car they drive, and the clothes they wear. God doesn't judge on any of those things. Not a single one.

It is not wrong to be rich. God desires for us to be successful. But, we cannot worship things and compromise ourselves in order to obtain things. We cannot compromise our faith, or our relationship and assignment from the Lord in order to drive a nice car or live in a nice house. Instead, we know that it is God that is our ultimate provider - not our bank accounts. We need to worship the giver and not the gifts.

Be content with what you have, says the Lord. God knows our characters and when we give our lives over to Him, we are submitting to His provision and His timing. He knows us better than ourselves and knows whether we have the characters to live with more or less. Since money is not a factor in God's success, the level of money in our lives has nothing to do with whether or not God believes in us or loves us. He simply has called us to live with a certain amount of funds.

The world is littered with lives that have been destroyed by the love of money. Relationships, one of the greatest treasures that we can have, are severed by jealousy, envy or greed all rooted in the love of money. While it is necessary to live and function, it is meaningless to God's Kingdom.

Lord Jesus, thank You for reminding me about the power and gift of a pure marriage, and warning me about the dangers of the love of money. One is possibly the greatest treasure during our lives here on Earth, and the other is completely worthless in the whole scheme of things. Thank You for being the provider for our family, helping and encouraging us to grow little by little. At the same time, please protect our marriage and help us to grow more and more into the one unit that lives for You alone. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Perils of Isolationism

"A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.

A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart." (Prov 18:1-2)

Our heart - we are told by society to "follow our hearts". It is a common theme. Even Christians sometimes rationalize decisions as a "burning of the heart".

The Lord is really illuminating the wisdom of Jer 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?". This verse really struck me because the world and even the church at times asks us to follow our heart and our desires.

The verses in Proverbs however, shows the foolish effects of doing exactly that type of thing. When a man pulls back from the body and isolates themselves they are primarily stewing in their own intellect and their own ideas of the world. God's Word becomes less and less meaningful and is supplanted by that man's sin nature because unless we work to maintain our faith, our faith will atrophy and backslide. Left unchecked, it will lead to apostasy.

Sin is sometimes (but not necessarily) a key part of this trend. One of my favorite Christian singer-songwriters abruptly left the industry several years ago to my great dismay. I loved her voice, her music and her songs. After effectively disappearing, she has recently resurfaced with a brand new non-Christian album. The reason for this is because she has been in a same sex relationship and has been living isolated from the church. Essentially, she didn't want to follow the scriptures against homosexuality and ceased fighting against this sin. She mentioned that life is better now because she no longer considers homosexuality a sin to be struggled against. She no longer sings most of her old songs - songs which were about Jesus and redemption. In her case, the desires of her heart were more important than following scripture and she has isolated herself from the church and from any contrary advice to her personal opinion.

That is precisely why we need to have the body of Christ. The Word of God is not convenient. It isn't something that is easy to follow and that is precisely why Jesus said that "narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Mt 7:14) Our sin nature rails against the Word. Speaking personally as a man, left unchecked my own desire to fornicate would run rampant. As men, we are tasked to rein in our physical desires by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not impossible because men do it everyday.

The job of Scripture is to convict us. It is supposed to hurt. Hebrews 4:12 likens Scripture to surgery - it is living and active, sharper than any doubled edged sword it penetrates to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the attitudes and thoughts of the heart. The Word judges us and helps us to see our areas of improvement. It humbles us, but at the same time it strengthens us to become better, living a life of goodness.

We are not to run away from the conviction of God. Yes, we might feel bad and it might be difficult to overcome the specific sin that we are prone to commit, but if we isolate ourselves we are only headed down the path of ultimate destruction. We may feel good that the weight of the struggle is done, but we are no longer walking with the Lord. We will turn to find that we are only walking with ourselves - the voices of wisdom from the Lord have been shut out.

There is one perspective shift that is necessary to make however, and personally I realize that it is quite useful. Traditionally, it has been the church's position that we need to focus on the fight against sin, but I think that makes it a negative thought process. It makes it seems as if we are missing out on something. Instead - I believe we are called to walk in God's path. We must choose to forego sin and to follow Him. We are no longer losing the chance to sin, but we are replacing those actions with righteous behavior and the goodness of the Lord's ways. We have not lost, but we have replaced.

Lord Jesus, I never really knew how twisted our thinking is in our modern world. We stand in direct opposition to You because we desire the easy route where we no longer fight our sin natures, but instead cave in to our personal desires. Sometimes it is a struggle, but let us not consume ourselves with our sins, but instead choose to walk in obedience to You. Let us fill our minds with thoughts of goodness and righteousness and let our behaviors match that intention. Help me to replace any sinful desires with Your good ways. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Forgetting What Was Behind

"Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain." (Gen 19:17)

In Genesis, God saw the sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah and planned their destruction. The only thing that He desired to do is to get the righteous Lot and his family out of the path of destruction. In this famous story, we know that Lot's wife looked back as they were fleeing and was turned into a pillar of salt.

I really don't judge Lot's wife harshly because she was leaving all that she had and knew. Lot was a rich and prosperous man and they must have lived a charmed life. However, all of that was nothing compared to the urging of the Lord to go.

We rarely know why God will call us to move from this place or that, and it can all seem very confusing and deflating emotionally. However, based on this example, we need to simply trust God and move according to His direction. And as we move, keep focused ahead on the path in front of us instead of dwelling on everything that is in the past.

It is easy to reminisce and glorify the things that have come in the past. Sometimes it can seem so very charming and easy, especially during times of intense trial and stress in our walk with God. However, the path that we are on is chosen by the Lord for our good, and we must not give Satan a foothold upon which to prey upon us and lead us astray. Once we open the door to discontent, Satan will twist that into a desire to seek after an easy way, a way that ultimately leads to eternal hell.

As I am still in the midst of struggle and trial, this is a key verse for me. Obedience to the Lord hasn't been easy and I know that my career has suffered mightily because of it. But, the words of Paul ring true to me when I am tempted to look back and wish that things had been different: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ...but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3)

The moment I made a decision for Christ, I laid down my previous life, the world and its aspirations. It is no wonder that as a consequence, I am asked to do something different which would forego worldly gain, status and comfort. But in return, I will move ever closer in my goal to fulfilling the call of Christ on my life - a life that He will ultimately not waste, but will use to further His kingdom.

That is all that I dream. That when I stand before His throne at the end of my days here on earth, I will know that my calling was fulfilled and my duty as a soldier for the Lord was completed in full. All else will simply fade away into obscurity.

Lord Jesus, help me to keep my eyes and thoughts focused ahead on what You have called me to do. Thank You for saving me and my family that we may worship and walk with You always. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

The Folly of Trusting Our Hearts

"He who trusts in his own heart is a fool" (Prov 28:26)

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jer 17:9)

We live in a world that commonly says, "Follow your heart", and the message is constantly pounded into our brains. Consequently, we have a tendency to make snap decisions based on the whims of our emotions rather than on Biblical wisdom or consultation with the Holy Spirit. The result over time becomes a lifetime of destructive choices and haphazard living resulting in the culmination of nothing.

Ultimately, our lives will be judged on one simple question, "Did you believe in Jesus Christ, and accept His gift of salvation by making Him Lord of your life?" There will be many who will say, "Lord, I believed in you...but I was too busy following the whims of my heart to truly make you Lord of my life. I believed, but never altered my lifestyle to conform to your Word." And there is no salvation for such as those because even demons believe in Christ Jesus, but they are damned because they refuse to worship and follow Him.

Why do we live? Is it merely to follow our own lusts and fulfill our wants? Or are we preparing ourselves for an eternal kingdom under the throne of God? What good is all that we gather or even create during our lifetimes, if we end up living the type of life that destroys ourselves for eternity and destroys others in the process?

By the above statements, you might think that I think so highly of myself and believe that my life is righteous, but it is actually the complete opposite. Every day of every moment, I am reminded of how vile and wicked my heart is. No man is above the temptations of this world, and they are a continual pull - of which my heart is easily a willing partner. Many times I fail to check my temptations, but I pray that for life's major decisions and choices, that I do have the wisdom to stop and be measured in my decision making (not that I have never failed in this regard either).

Despite myself, I do know that my heart is for the Lord. The Christian life is not devoid of failures, but rather it is one that strives to be bettered by them while conforming ourselves to be more like Christ. Because we love Him, we want to be like Him. Not that our actions have any saving power, but rather the willingness to change and submit is just an indicator of the fact that our hearts are given to the Lord. He ultimately has done the salvation work on the cross, and His resurrection reflects His power over death.

So what I'm reminded today is that I need to fill myself with God's word and meditate on the scriptures constantly in order to make God's ways the default system within me. Otherwise, I would always be pulled this way or that way by my wicked heart. Every commercial or advertisement would be an easy sell for such a state of mind, and I would ultimately be sold off piece by piece to all the shiny baubles of this world.

Lord Jesus, I know that my heart has been in desperate need of reformation as I have been stagnant and in a state of atrophy in regards to my faith and in the knowledge of Your wisdom. Whatever happens in my life is secondary to living out a life in submission to Your Lordship. Please help me to do that daily, to live in conformity to your wisdom and not by the flighty whims of my heart. By the unchanging power of Your name, AMEN.