Embrace the Within no. 210

“Not that I am saying this to call attention to any need of mine; since, as far as I am concerned, I have learned to be content regardless of circumstances. I know what it is to be in want, and I know what it is to have more than enough — in everything and in every way I have learned the secret of being full and being hungry, of having abundance and being in need. I can do all things through him who gives me power” (Philippians (Php) 4:11-13). Am I content regardless of my circumstances? Paul writes he “learned to be content regardless of circumstances”. Paul has known prison and freedom. Paul has known plenty and poverty. Paul has known persecution and acceptance. He has seen the ends of the spectrum and what lies between the poles. And Paul writes that the “secret of being full and being hungry, of having abundance and being in need. I can do all things through him who gives me power”. Am I content regardless of my circumstances?

Paul is not secret about his struggles, “Therefore, to keep me from becoming overly proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from the Adversary to pound away at me, so that I wouldn’t grow conceited. Three times I begged the Lord to take this thing away from me; but he told me, ‘My grace is enough for you, for my power is brought to perfection in weakness.’ Therefore, I am very happy to boast about my weaknesses, in order that the Messiah’s power will rest upon me. Yes, I am well pleased with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties endured on behalf of the Messiah; for it is when I am weak that I am strong” (2 Corinthians (2 Co) 12:7-10). Regardless, he has found the “secret of being full and being hungry, of having abundance and being in need”. And that simple secret is that God allows him, God allows you, and God allows me to “do all things through him who gives me power”. Am I content regardless of my circumstances?

If I am not content, then why? And that is a great question to ask both myself and Him. “For this mitzvah which I am giving you today is not too hard for you, it is not beyond your reach” (D'varim (Deu) 30:11). He will not make following Him difficult because I cannot do difficult things. He will not make my contentment difficult because I cannot do difficult things. Am I content regardless of my circumstances?

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

People are Not Easy to Love no. 28

“So Yeshua said to the Judeans who had trusted him, ‘If you obey what I say, then you are really my talmidim , you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’”(Yochanan (Jhn) 8:31-32). If we want to follow Jesus as his students, then we will become freed by the truth. BUT do we really want the truth? People are not easy to love because they would rather hear a comforting lie than a simple truth.

I was one of those seekers of truth out there in the world. I spent a lot of time trying to find out what was really happening in the world. Why were there so many problems? What was the root of all the inequity and injustice in the world? How can we solve the problems of crime and poverty? Is there a system of a law or a rule or a philosophy that can help us be better? And I ended up right where I began . . . with Him.

I know a lot of folks are afraid of the truth because it can tell us some truly scary things about ourselves and our weakness. The truth can cut like a sword and get right through all the skin and meat to the bone. And that is why folks want to create their own lies and worship them as truth. BUT they aren’t any more true just because they are labeled truth. The Truth is the Truth. And the Truth will set you free.

Once I became convinced of The Truth, I could no longer ignore The Truth. And that is another frightening thing about The Truth. Once The Truth reveals itself to you, no longer can we ignore its veracity. And it is much easier and more gratifying to our desires to just doubt Truth. Or we can bury Truth beneath a lot of mental gymnastics and arguments. We can try as much as we want to put Truth in the grace BUT it won’t stay there. It has this habit of always finding life and spreading light.

That is the one thing about Truth, since it sets you and I free, Truth is always setting itself free as well.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH