Tag: Trust (Page 1 of 2)

Embracing Contentment While Trusting God’s Providence (Luke 9:4)

In the opening verses of the ninth chapter of Luke’s Gospel we see Jesus calling, equipping and commissioning His apostles to minister to the cities and towns of Galilee (Lk. 9:1-2). After telling them to basically leave and go only with the things they had in their possession in that moment (vs.3), He told them:

“Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.” (vs.4)

In Matthew’s Gospel we can see some additional caveats and instructions that Jesus gave them. He said that when they entered a city or a town they were to inquire who in it was worthy (Mt. 10:11). This likely meant that (a) they should see who in that town was known for showing kindness and hospitality, and (b) perhaps implicit in the statement of worthiness was the idea that they were to find men and women who were waiting for the kingdom of God.

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Learning To Be Content (Phil. 4:11)

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content (Phil. 4:11)

In the previous verse, Paul, having recently received the gift delivered by Epaphroditus, rejoiced in the Lord that the Philippians’ care for him had flourished again (4:10). Although the church loved the apostle dearly, it had been a while since they were able to send him an offering (cf. vs.15-16). Don’t forget, in those days they couldn’t simply wire the funds to the apostle Paul’s bank account. Not to mention, Paul’s journeys were both frequent and many, which made him a difficult man to locate. Whatever the exact circumstances were Paul said they “lacked opportunity” (vs.10).

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Pray: “Lord, increase my faith”

When was the last time you prayed that prayer?

I think there is, for many Christians, sometimes, a sense of aversion to praying like that given the great abuse of the subject of faith in ‘television evangelicalism’. People hear well-polished, self-help gurus posing as evangelical preachers saying things like, “Believe that God has abundance coming your way”, “believe God is going to get you that bigger house and that nicer car”, “believe that you will get that promotion”, and they think, “These ‘faith-guys’ are saying ‘believe this and that’ as a guise for inciting materialistic cravings in their hearers! They don’t preach through the books of Scripture. They don’t focus in on the glories and excellencies of the Savior. Rather, every week it’s the same thing: “God wants you to have more”, “Give Him permission to bless you by believing Him”, “Don’t settle for just enough when you can have an abundance”. Thus, the rampant abuse of the subject of faith has inadvertently lead many to forget how important of a subject it is beyond its quintessential role in salvation.

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Seeing the Attributes of God in Genesis 13

Restorer. Notice how the chapter begins: “Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South” (vs.1). And so the dismal days of unbelieving, lying, self-protecting behavior that earned Abram a reprimand from an ungodly king were behind him. Interestingly, it’s as though the geography reinforces that idea. After all, Abram went – now watch how the text describes the locale – “to the place where his tent had been at the beginning” (vs.3b) and “to the place of the altar which he had made there at the first” (vs.4a). In back-to-back verses that specification is given. These historic reminders bring us back to Genesis 12:8 – the place where Abram built an altar and worshipped the LORD before going to Egypt. In one sense, yes, it was ‘back to square one.’ But it’s also as though Abram was getting a fresh start since he was back at the place where he was before he failed. Even though he faltered he would still become ‘the father of the faithful.’ A spiritual slump in Egypt didn’t send Abram into early retirement. You could say that here in Genesis 13 we get a kind of hint of what we would see so vividly displayed later on in redemptive history in the life of Peter – God is a restorer. Although sin is serious, it does not indefinitely sever a believer from usefulness. Peter, for example, was called to strengthen his brethren and feed the flock post his thrice denials (Lk. 22:32; Jn. 20:15-17). So there is indeed good news for failures like Abram, Peter, and us – God is a restorer. He can restore years (Joel. 2:25-26), nations (Jer. 30:17), joy (Ps. 52:12), and all things (Acts 3:19-21; Rev. 21:1-5) – including faltering patriarchs and stumbling saints.

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The Story of Caleb, Othniel, and Achsah (Jdg. 1:12-15)

Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.” And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. Now it happened, when she came to him, that she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” So she said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. (Judges 1:12-15) 

 

I think most people who have read through the Bible, even if they haven’t read through all of it, have at some point looked at a passage and asked the question, “Why is this here?” In some cases a person might scratch their head and wonder why God decided to include such a narrative in the canon. But hopefully such head scratching recognizes that there is no issue with God’s eternal decision to reveal what He has willed to reveal. The issue is always with us. After all, our finite minds fall well short of God’s infinite wisdom. But with that being said, it wouldn’t surprise me if the passage above has prompted some to ask something like the aforementioned question. Hopefully this teaching can provide some clarity to replace any potential confusion.

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