Today’s reading is 1 Timothy 6:1-21; 2 Timothy 1:1-18.

“But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Timothy 6:8).

I spend too much of my time wondering when I will get to own an iPad, flat panel TV, the latest Mac, a car that doesn’t squeek or leak, a house with a playroom, an office, and a bed and bath for each family member. I want. I want. I want. In fact, I’m pretty sure it is more than want. I need these things. Then I get into entitlement and resentment. I cannot possibly grow in peace and joy when this is how I approach my life and material blessings.

However, I look at myself and notice that I am clothed. I have a full stomach from eating today. I even have a full fridge which means I’ll eat for the rest of today. I’m worried about tomorrow, but God has taken care of me today, which is the only day I really have. I should be content. God has given me more than enough. If I want to have peace, I need to spend more time today thanking God for what He has given me than complaining about what He hasn’t.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Jude 1:1-25; I Corinthians 1:1-30.

Paul demonstrates one of the greatest lessons about interpersonal relationships in the beginning of his letter to the Corinthians. I need to learn this lesson. I have a tendency to look on the negative side and be cynical. Paul shows a different approach.

Just think about what you know regarding the Corinthians for a moment. They were in huge turmoil. They were messing up the Lord’s Supper. They were in fellowship with one who sinned so bad even the Gentiles wanted nothing to do with him. They were fleshly minded and stuck in immaturity. Yet, read I Corinthians 1:4.

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.”

WOW!

Despite all the terrible, awful, very bad things going on in Corinth, Paul still thanked God for that church. Maybe if we could learn this lesson, we could get along with our congregation better. Maybe if we could learn this lesson, we could get along with each other better. Maybe if we could learn this lesson, we could lose some of our own arrogance. Before we bring railing judgment against others, lets first stop and figure out what thanks we can give God for others.

We should follow this principle in every relationship, from relationships with our brethren to our relationship with our spouse. If we can learn this, we won’t solve all the world’s problems, but we may overcome a few of our own.

***Question: How do you focus on thanksgiving even when it doesn’t seem there is much to be thankful for?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. I wish I had noticed this verse and its implications all on my own. But I have to give a nod to Gary Thomas and his great book Sacred Marriage (beware the associate link or rather, just click on it).

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.”

This quote is usually attributed to Aristotle, though many have copied it. I think most of us would like to be excellent. We would like to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd. We especially would like to do that in God’s presence. I Thessalonians 5:16-18 describes one of the habits of excellence we must have if we want to stand out. In fact, what we learn is if we want to stand out in the crowd, we need to stop standing and start kneeling.

Paul wrote:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (ESV).

When I first studied this passage, I thought the progression we were to notice is from rejoice to pray to give thanks. However, I recognized that these were merely three variations of the same action. I think the part Paul really wanted us to notice was “always” to “without ceasing” to “in all circumstances.”

1. Rejoice always.

The word translated “always” literally means “every when.” Paul is saying that our prayers of rejoicing should be done at all times. He is using hyperbole here. He did not mean literally that our holy hands must be lifted 24 hours a day. Rather, it is much like if I asked someone, “Do you like rock music?” And they said, “Absolutely, I listen to that all the time.” We do not think they mean 24 hours a day. We do not think they mean they are sneaking their mp3 players into the congregational assembly and listening. We understand this figure of speech. They simply mean they listen to it when they can. They listen in the morning, afternoon and evening. They listen to it whether they are happy or sad, whether things are good or bad. This is how we should rejoice–at every when. We do not check our daily rejoicing off the list to make sure we get it in. We rejoice all the time; morning, noon and evening; good times and bad; happy or sad; up or down.

2. Pray without ceasing.

Having a prayer habit of excellence not only means we pray all the time. It means we never stop praying all the time. We don’t let the circumstances of life get in the way of it. We don’t just pray all the time for a week or two because of a sermon. We do it all the time without stopping. Think about Daniel when it was made illegal to pray. He kept up his prayer habit. 

3. Give thanks in all circumstances.

If we want a prayer habit of excellence, we need to make prayer a part of every aspect of our lives. Prayer should be part of our work lives, our school lives, our family lives, our neighbor lives, our hobbies, our recreation, everything. Prayer is not just for “church.” Prayer is for life. It is for every aspect of life. We need to begin everything we do with prayer. We need to end everything we do with prayer. We need to sustain everything we do with prayer.

If we rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances, then we will develop a prayer habit of excellence and we will stand out because we have knelt down.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC