Contentment

Prov 15:16
16Better is a little with the fear of the LORD
Than great treasure and turmoil with it.

If we have the fear of the Lord, what good is the worlds treasures if there is turmoil with it? Our goal in life is not riches but an honest heart with God. With the fear of the Lord we will have the true rewards.

Luke 3:14
14Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages."

Are we content with the money we make? No one really is. In my reading and in my life experience I have found that there is never enough money. This is not only in secular realm but also Christian. People always want more. Contentment takes away that want. Contentment frees us to work according to God's purposes and not mans.


1 Tim 6:6
6But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

People teach riches from the gospel. Yes there are riches promised in the Bible in many places. There also is persecution promised. Are the people that preach riches preaching the persecution? If they aren't are they tickling our ears? We should be honest with God, ourselves and others. To accept one side of the teaching of the Bible while completely ignoring the flip side of the same question is to present an illusion.

With contentment we have great gain. There are many tests in life. Do we fail the tests because we refuse to see Bible truth?

1 Tim 6:8
8If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

Do not work for the things which perish but for what will last for eternity!

Heb 13:5
5Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"

If we are content with Jesus then the world has no hold on us.

2 Cor 9:8
8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

Grace brings abundance. Seek God and His grace. With God's grace we can be about the good deeds God has for us.

Phil 4:11-13
11Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
12I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
13I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
One of the most famous Scriptures is Phil 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The context of this verse is contentment. There are listed here

1.In whatever circumstance I found myself in.
2.Humble means
3.Prosperity
4.Being filled
5.Going hungry
6.Having an abundance
7.Suffering need
8.Nothing is impossible through Christ

Paul is content in each of these instances. He has learned how to live this way by going through them. Our contentment should not be based on our circumstances but on Jesus Christ who lives within our hearts. When Jesus is with us then the circumstances don't change our inner contentment.

Then the question is asked, “What causes contentment?” Contentment should come from Jesus not what we have or don't have. When we have Jesus in our heart and can talk to Him there is nothing the world can do to us.

The world can't take away our money because its Jesus money not ours. Satan can't take our health because Jesus healed us at the cross. We can rest in the promise of God that He will heal us. For it says so multiple times in the Book.

If we are separated from our loved ones then God will comfort us in our loneliness.

If we are living in humble means we are content with that because God is our source. Or if we are living in prosperity we can use our abundance to help others

We can live in contentment when we are filled by using the energy of this to work hard for the kingdom of God.

If we are hungry we can use the desire to fill our bodies as a reminder of other Christians and their dire needs around the world and pray for them with earnestness.

2 Cor. 12:9,10 “
9And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

It is through many tribulations we enter the kingdom of God. Acts 14:22

Contentment should not be based on our comfort. Base your life on serving God and you will have a satisfactory life.

Boast of weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions, difficulties for when you do the power of Christ will come. Does the power of Christ depend on our attitude? Do we waist our sorrows if we have the wrong attitude? Using each thing life throws at us will make us stronger as we rely on God in all that comes our way. Trials are productive when they are looking to Jesus and not our circumstances.

Hebrews 13:5 “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

Isaish 30:15 on my Web page

I have put my Isaiah 30:15 articles on my web page.

Trial of Faith

This is my notes from an article by Seth Rees in Herald of His Coming February 2010

God builds strong character for service. 1 Peter 1:7

Paul went thru many trials continually 1 Cor 4:11,13 and relied on weakness for power 2 Cor 12:9. To be a soldier for Christ is to accept the rugged way. 2 Tim 2:3,4

1. Hardship reveals our true character.

2. Trials reveal God's resources.
WE can't do it ourself, we need God.

3. Trials push us towards trust.
There is no faith if there is no need.

4. Trials send us to prayer.
God is our source not ourselves.

5. Trials give ruse to patience
We complain and fail or have patience and succeed.

6. Trails allow courage to be expressed.
WE face the trial and give advice to others from our experience.

7. Trials put to death the world
We either choose God or the world during trials.

8. It is during trials that we look for Jesus to come.
It is not easy. When we are looking for Jesus we are being purified.

9. Crown given to those who go thru trials James 1:12

Divine Healing and How to Keep It

by A B Simpson - A tract from Pilgrim tract society

Keep right with God

Keep Reckoning
Live by faith not by sight. Don't watch your symptoms but trust the Lord and His Word.
Live by dead reckoning. (sailor takes reading from sun and goes on a bearing during many weeks of clouds)
We take God at His word even when we don't see anything.
Col 2:6
Keep out of yourself and keep expecting the Lord to come through for you.

Keep receiving
Abide in the Lord and His Word
Keep drawing on the life of the Spirit

Keep out of Yourself
Don't watch your feelings
Don't note the up's and downs of your case
Get saved from your body and feelings

Keep Sweet
The joy of the Lord is your strength
Anxious thoughts hurts soul and body.

Isaiah 30:15 # 6 The Struggle for Willingness

Isaiah 30:15
“For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
'In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.'
But you were not willing.”

The Struggle for Willingness

One of the first steps of being willing is to have a humble heart. The opposite of humble is pride. We must realize there is nothing good in our heart.

Psalm 16:2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You." "

1 Peter 1:22 shows a way to purify a heart to serve willingly.

Philippians 2:13
“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

Moses was reluctant to go back to Egypt but he did with the help with his brother Aaron. He used Aaron as a spokesman in confronting Pharaoh.

2 Chron 16:9
God desires to support us as we trust Him but the problem is that we want to rely on ourself and others who we can see rather than God who we can't see. But what we do for ourselves is not perfect. What God will do is perfect and He can be trusted.

Are we willing to follow God? Willingness is tied into obedience. The obedience of faith comes at a price of prayer and Bible Study and meditation and service to others.

One of the main reasons is there is no other opportunity.
Another way to have the willingness to follow the ideas of Isa 30:15 is to realize that is the way the world works. When we come to the realization that is the way we relate to God then it should not be hard to accept it as matter of fact. But it is contrary to the way of the flesh. We like to be busy in doing

The apostles were willing to leave everything to follow Jesus. They were not poor people. Some worked for Peter as fisherman. Matthew made good money as a tax collector. But they left these positions and the wealth that came from them to spend time at Jesus feet learning from Him.

Willingness can come from a heart that is plowed as Hosea talks of in Ch 10

We don't have willingness because there is a dryness in our life and are unwilling to trust.

Unwillingness may stem from a belief that God is inactive in our life and will not do anything for us. Zeph 1:12

Where Isaiah 35 is the opposite and shows the joy and excitement of expectation. This chapter is a chapter of encouragement. Encouragement brings hope and hope will allow willingness.


Psalm 84:5-7
1.these scriptures is the strength is from God
2.Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring.
Baca is a valley of weeping. You don't approach God on a self righteous basis but on a humble basis which involves repentance. Repentance brings the willingness of follow God as He leads.

Psalm 84:5-7 Going to God with a heart weeping over our weakness and the need that people is a step in humbleness in approaching God. Then this weeping turns to joy as God touches our heart. With the rejoicing comes the flow of the Holy Spirit. We become strong in the joy the Holy Spirit gives. Neh 8:10 Go to heaven on the highway of holiness.


Baca could refer to Bochim of Judges 2:1-5
Where they are weeping for their sin.
Note if there is no joy go back to Phil 4:6 and pray for God to bring a since of peace to your mind. God will give peace in time as we cry out to Him. Some may look at Christianity like we do fast food. Just walking in and ordering the food and getting the answer in a minute or less. God of course may not work that way. But He wants us to continue to pray for the answer. He wants us to seek Him for the answer.

Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring. This weeping causes God to move in response to their prayers. The Spring refers to refreshing water that comes from God. We are unwilling because of the dryness in our lives and the lack of answers to weak prayers. But turning the valley from a valley of weeping to a valley of springs comes from God and His answer to our prayers.

God will send the rain or bring the rain to our lives.
Ps 107:35 He changes a wilderness into a pool of water and dry land into springs of water.
Psalm 105:41 He opened the rock and water flower out , It ran in dry places like a river.
Psalm 114:8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water and the flint into a fountain of water.

The impossibility of the situation is not an obstacle to God. In fact God likes to work when there seems seems to be no way. Continue to look to God for the answer even when there is not a way known. Our weakness is an opportunity for God. Then He will get the glory not us.

Has God spoken? Do we have a promise from God? Then there is hope in prayer.

Making the valley of weeping into a highway to heaven (Zion) comes from the an attitude of praise.
In whose heart are the highways to Zion. Our heart goes to God when in need and when at rest. We are God focused and self focused. To move from one to the other is to realize that God is the source and not us. To realize that

Worship moves life from a valley of problems to joy.

So willingness comes from hope in God moving in our life. Waiting and quietness is the faith/hope in God to speak life to our hearts. It is the spoken word of God to us that brings life.

Isaiah 30:15 #5 Trust

Isaiah 30:15
“For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
'In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.'
But you were not willing.”

Trust – Is He Worthy of Our Trust?

1 Is God who He say He is?
2 Does He mean what He says in the Bible?
3 Can He be trusted to help us today?
4 Will He fulfill His promises to us?
5 What about life experience that shows He does not fulfill His promises?
6 Does God have the power to back up what He says?
And if He does have the power, will He use His power to back up what He says, or will He ignore us and not do anything?
7 Is God asleep and does not engage Himself into the day to day activities of life?
8 Is the Bible and Christianity really true and the promises it claims or is it meant only as a lullaby to cause us to feel good in hard times?
9 Are the grandiose claims of the Bible have any validity at all or are they put there so we sill stay out of trouble?
10 Can God be trusted?

Hudson Taylor's Discovery
On June 25 1865 James Hudson Taylor at 33 came to the great crisis of his life. The locale was Brighton beach on the South coast of England. There on a quiet Sunday morning he took a step of faith in response to a simple spiritual principle he had just discovered. He was surprised that this truth had so long eluded him. “If we are obeying the Lord, the responsibility rests with him not with us!” Months of struggle were over, and the way ahead was clear. To obey the Scriptures and trust God to be faithful to him pledged Word was not rash.
Throwing caution and tradition to the winds, Hudson Taylor formed the China Inland Mission.

First off I think it is important to consider Jesus. He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped. Phil 2:5,6,7 But came to serve us and not to be served and give His life a ransom for many Mark 10:45

Jesus does not ask us to come to Him on just an intellectual basis. He lived and was tempted in all aspects of life. Heb 2:14 Then suffered a trumped up charge and was executed on a cross which was a horrible death. This alone shows that there is more to the claims of Christ then just good intentions. This suffering for us shows a love that goes beyond what we could expect anyone to do for us. And we did not deserve this. We all are sinners and rebellious in nature. For while we were yet sinners Christ died for us Rom 5:8

Now this love shows God is not just giving us some mush to keep us in line. But that is not all we have to go on. After Jesus died he rose from the dead the 3rd day. This shows there is power to go along with the teaching Jesus has given us in the Bible. So the question can God back up what He says is answered easily, you betcha. His power is so great, we have not seen anything yet.

But can we count on Him to use this power for us in the situation we find ourselves in? One thing we have to consider is the fact that God is not a vending machine that gives out answers when we put in our dime. Yet still, some pray and nothing happens and they seem to be nice people not using God but wanting to live a good life.

God wants to answer our prayers but there are conditions to His promises that we need to look into and not ignore. We sometimes take the verses that we like and ignore the hard verses we don't like. That is not being honest with God or with ourselves.

God is looking for disciples that will follow Him wherever He goes. This journey is not free for us. Just as Christ gave up all to give us the opportunity for eternal life. We are asked to give up our old life of living for ourselves and live a life of faith.

Turn it around, if we don't trust God who do we trust? Ourselves? There is no sure way to get what we want. Trusting God is reacting to life as it is. To not trust God is to deny reality and try to live life in a way that we are not made for. Many say living by faith is not natural and should not be tried. Yet we were made to live by the directions of God. Following the life of faith in Christ is rewarding and exciting.

Why do people go to movies read books and watch sporting events. They hunger after excitement. God has that life for us. He will guide us and provide as He leads us in a life of fulfillment in faith and trust in the almighty God who wants to give us life abundantly. Our abundant life is not measured by Wall Street or Madison Avenue. For these standards have a weight of concern that we could never please.

The life of faith Jesus is calling us to is a life of abundance of the fullness of the Holy Spirit of service according to the will of God for our lives. Eph 2:10



Trust brings strength along with quietness. Our strength is in the Lord and not our own efforts. When we trust our own efforts we are limited in what we can do and how far we can go. With God all things are possible. This strength comes from our lack of strength not along with our strength.

When we come to the end of ourselves in an effort and turn to God in prayer. We can call upon God for help. We have no other recourse because we have come to the end of ourselves. To trust God walk trusting His intervention in our work.

The foundation of worship, repentance, quietness that have come before give us a foundation to trusting God. As we have been quiet we have heard from Him in what we are to do and have received from Him the strength to continue in obedience the way God is leading us. Our trust is in His leading us. Our trust is in His speaking to us life.

Isaiah 30:15 # 4 Don't Shun Quietness

Isaiah 30:15
“For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
'In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.'
But you were not willing.”

Don't Shun Quietness

How does one begin to be quiet? Habakkuk presented his petition before God. IE pouring out his heart then he waited for God to speak.

Elijah went from Beersheba to mount Horeb in 40 days to listen to God. Traveling and hard work enables us to quiet our soul to listen. 1 Kings 19:3-19
Mt. Horeb's location is not known but it could be near Mt. Siani or some even say it is the same mountain. Traveling from Beersheeba to Mt Horeb was a journey into the wilderness. Elijah was likely familiar with this type of travel


The Psalms talk of rising early to be with God. Early morning present a quiet time where we won't be disturbed. A mind and heart undevided and focused on the Lord is what is needed. I personally find going into the woods will present many opportunities to quiet my soul to hear God and rest in His presence.

Strength comes from waiting on the Lord. Isa 40:31 and the next verse Isaiah 41:1 Says Coast lands listen to me in silence and let the peoples gain new strength. This quiet waiting is essential for Christian vitality. Yet in this world we have mp3 players, radios, computers, cell phones, TV''s, cars, and much to keep our life busy with the hustle and bustle of life. It is shunning these things and allowing out heart to reach God in the quiet times of life that bring strength.

One of the things brought to my attention about this quietness pursuit was the way Jesus sought out times of prayer. He would look for places to pray. And would go there and the disciples would look for Him and find Him praying. It would do us well to follow this example of looking for places to pray and be quiet before the Lord. I am now coming to see the wisdom in this attitude.

Steps to quietness:
Set aside time to be quiet before the Lord
If there is something bothering you, and you can't put it aside then pray over that till there is peace. This is what I call praying through. Philippians 4:6-9 explain this. We are asked (commanded) to pray about what is bothering us. Don't ignore what is bothering you. There are not shortcuts in the spirit. If we try short cuts, then the problem will fester and will have to be dealt with at a later time and more likely it will be worse.
First kneel or present yourself before the Lord in a humble way.
Second Talk to God and tell Him you are here and are waiting before Him to listen to Him.
Third as your mind starts to wander think of a verse that promises God speaking to you. And thank Him for it.
Fourth just worship God with quietness.
Move back to being quiet each time your mind wanders. The issue is not being perfect but available. Sometimes it is good to ask God a question. Then be quiet to listen to the answer.

An idea may come during this time that might be from the Lord. Don't accept anything you hear without testing it with Scripture. Jesus won't be put out by this. He knows our frailty and weakness of spirit. We are to examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good. 1 Thes 5:21

WAIT ON THE LORD
Some would say take courage. But how do you take courage? Ps 27:14 Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage, yes wait for the Lord.

Waiting for the Lord is the way to let your heart take courage.
Ps 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined to me and heard my cry.

Waiting involves crying out to God.

Waiting patiently signifies that He does not always answer instantly.

Living with right attitude means living with an attitude of waiting!
What does living with an attitude of waiting consist of? Having an expectancy! Saying, "What is God going to do?"

James 4:7-11 Crying out to God and humbling yourself before Him. Is a way to seek Him. I am doing it in the truck while I drive. I want to have my mind on Him all the time. Or to put it another way, put my mind towards Him each moment that is available. There are times for mourning before Him, and then there are times of being thankful. I will go with what I sense.

Submit therefore to God. Be ready to obey. Why wait for God if you aren't going to do what He says? There is strength in obedience. Obedience can move us into love.
Forests wait for spring before springing into growth. The conditions must be right for them to start. Our waiting before God will give us the conditions for growth. If a tree puts out growth too soon those new shoots will die back in late frosts. If we start before God's ability our works will be cut back. Waiting seems to be a waste of time but with wisdom we learn it's worth.

For many the place of waiting would be going to church often. For others with more growth, it would be times of quietness before God.

Woods after a snow. Quiet, a few birds flew through trees. All quiet in the forest. Forest waits for spring. The randomness of tree branches. All buttoned up for winter.


There is one thing about waiting on the Lord, you never know when or how He is going to show up. I was sitting in my work truck doing paperwork. A resident asked me if I would clear his street of leaves. I did it for him and that is all I needed to fix my plow. It was not raising up like it should after a recent snow. It saved me from taking it to the shop for repair. A simple solution of driving with the plow down caused the hydrophilics to work. I think God sent that man to request help to disclose the simple solution I needed.

What was I doing? Going about my normal day. I hadn't even prayed about the problem. But I was in prayer.

If I don't set a time to seek God then it is passed by. For me one of the best times to seek God is after family devotions. Many would suggest early in the morning. For me, Being awake and getting ready for work sometimes hinder my time to seek God. I am learning to have a plan for devotions each morning.

Hiked to Hidden Valley outlook. Why am I here? I am here because I need God? If God gave me strength I wouldn't be here seeking Him. Why then should He give me strength? I need to obey God before I can expect His strength!

Walking along a soggy trail from melting snow, my boot slipped in the mud scarring the ground. Scarred ground in the winter will stay scarred until growth comes to heal it. Wait on God, for you will not be healed until He comes.

Woods prepare for winter, by divesting themselves of work, (dropping their leaves), and wait for warmth of Spring.

Have you ever had a job where there was nothing to do so your boss handed you a broom and you swept the floor more than once just to stay busy. How much of our Christian activity is busy work? We could be waiting on God in prayer and have real assignments to do! I pray that what I do is not busy work. Am I just being busy to show others that I am an honorable Christian?
Do we neglect our responsibilities in order to wait on God? No.
Do we shy away from trying in order to wait on God? No.

Wait for basic direction. Be about these activities. Then wait for further input from God.

It seems to me that if you don't have basic direction you should really push hard on waiting before the Lord.

Take vacation time. Look for spare moments. Do what you got to do to get to God.