Verse of the Day 12/13

Hebrews 13:5   Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  English Standard Version (ESV)

We are all preparing for Christmas, what we sing of being the "most wonderful time of the year", and it is, it is the time that we celebrate the greatest gift ever given, and in that gift we should find, should have contentment.

All too often, it has been turned  into a season of expectation, not of a return of Jesus but of a certain gift from our "wish list".  Perhaps you can recall being disappointed on Christmas morning in not getting what you had set your heart on.  Perhaps you are a parent who has seen that look or even a tantrum from one of your children or grandchildren.

We need to take  the time to instill in our hearts and  in the hearts of our children, to be content, content with the greatest gift ever given.  Burk Parsons writes, " This is the foundation for true and lasting contentment. It is precisely because the Lord is our Shepherd that we shall not want. But if He is not your Shepherd, expect no contentment. True contentment is not circumstantial, it is relational. It is not based on what happens to us; rather, it is based on who has taken hold of us—the One who dwells within us. If our contentment is based merely on what we have, we will always desire more, but when it is based on who we are in Christ, we will first and foremost desire to know Him more. For if we are to find contentment in all things, we must seek contentment in the only One who can fulfill all our desires—Jesus Christ. "

This Christmas season may we able to cease from striving for more, the obsession for possession,  but instead, strive to know Him more, to be content with what we have here and in what we have in Christ who said "I will never leave you nor forsake you".

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Hebrews 13:1-6The Message (MSG)

Jesus Doesn't Change

13 ^1-4 Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Regard prisoners as if you were in prison with them. Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you. Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.

^5-6 Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote,

God is there, ready to help;
I'm fearless no matter what.
Who or what can get to me?