The Final Goal: The Greatest Turnaround
Read: John 2:13-22 After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered He had said this. – John 2:22 World Cup Finals are often a time for the unexpected. In 1966 the world watched incredulously as the little-known footballing nation of North Korea defeated Italy on the way to a quarterfinal match with Portugal. [...]
ODJ: tossing it back
True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth (v.6).
READ: 1 Timothy 6:1-12
During a Major League Baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals last summer, a man named Steve Monforto caught a foul ball as he sat in the bleachers. Since fans are allowed to keep balls hit into the stands, Monforto handed the prize catch to his 3-year-old daughter Emily. But instead of treasuring the gift, she innocently tossed the ball back on the field!
As fans gasped and laughed, Steve simply hugged Emily and let her know that “she didn’t do anything wrong.” Fortunately for the smooth-fielding father, a Phillies representative brought him a new baseball to take home.
Just as little Emily didn’t see the value in the baseball, you and I sometimes don’t value what God has given us. Paul addressed this issue in 1 Timothy 6 as he implored his young protégé to be content. After warning Timothy about false teachers who are more interested in making a buck than blessing others (vv.3-5), he wrote, “True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth” (v.6). The word contentment in this context literally means “a perfect condition, not lacking anything.”
Does that describe you and me? Instead of being grateful for the gifts our heavenly Father has placed in our lives, sometimes we toss them away and grasp for useless stuff that we think we need. Paul nailed it when he wrote, “If we have enough food and clothing, let us be content” (v.8).
If we keep seeking stuff that “we can’t take” out of this world (v.7), we’ll only end up being “trapped by [our] many foolish and harmful desires” (v.9). There’s only one thing Paul tells us to “hold tightly”—the eternal life we have in Jesus.
Today, instead of moaning about your meager lot in life—tossing God’s good gifts back in His face—thank Him for all He’s given you. —Tom Felten
What’s the difference between being content with what you have and simply being lazy and lacking motivation? How will you work on being more contented with what God has given you?
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Loading ...ODB: a snail’s pace
July 3, 2010
READ: Romans 5:1-5
Tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. —Romans 5:3-4
One of my earliest childhood mem- ories was watching snails in our backyard flower garden. I was fascinated by this little creature with a shell, a slimy little tummy, and tiny eyes that turned like periscopes. But what really seemed unusual was how slowly a snail travels.
How slow does a snail go? One study clocked a snail at 0.00758 miles per hour—or 40 feet in one hour. No wonder we use the phrase moving at a snail’s pace to mean “slow.”
Although a snail does move at a “sluggish” pace, one virtue it does possess is perseverance. The great 19th-century preacher Charles Spurgeon wryly observed, “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.”
According to the apostle Paul, perseverance is a key component in character development. He explained that “tribulation produces perseverance” (Rom. 5:3). And upon that building block go character and hope (v.4). The original Greek word translated “perseverance” means “steadfastness, constancy, and endurance.” It was used of believers who endured in their walk of faith despite many painful trials.
Have setbacks slowed you down to a snail’s pace? Be encouraged. God doesn’t ask for a fast finish. He expects persevering progress. —Dennis Fisher
Great achievement requires great perseverance.
Source: Our Daily Bread
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By Debra Ayis, 20, Nigeria I tried recently to talk to a friend about Christ. It wasn’t the first time. In fact, I had been “preaching” to him for years. But this particular occasion was different because it was the first heart-to-heart talk we’d had since the unfortunate death of his 16-year-old sister. He was [...]
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