Christ the King Sunday

Yesterday we celebrated Christ the King Sunday as we walked through the Christian Liturgical Year. Several people have commented that they enjoyed hearing some of those facts.  So I have decided to post below the script that Carole and I read from.  These descriptions were written by Dennis Bratcher and published on the website, The Voice Institute. As you read through them I pray you will be moved and to a deeper understanding of our risen Lord and Savior!
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Introduction
Christ the King Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday before the beginning of Advent that starts the new Church Year. As the last Sunday of the Christian Church Year, Christ the King Sunday is the climax and conclusion of the Church’s liturgical journey through the life of Christ and the Gospel message. Its purpose is to celebrate the coming reign of Christ as King of the Earth and his completion of the renewed creation that marks the fullness of the Kingdom of God. That hope is born from the entire life of Christ and his teachings that have been celebrated in the seasons of the Church Year during the past twelve months. In celebrating the Reign of Christ the King, this Sunday also provides an appropriate bridge to the new Church Year that begins next week on the first Sunday of Advent with an emphasis on hope and expectation, the longing for the coming of the Kingdom of God amid the darkness of a sinful world.

So today we will look back at this past year’s journey with Jesus. But we are also looking forward to our journey this coming year, as we express each week our faith in the transforming power of God at work in our world, and in our Church, and in our lives to restore all of creation to his purposes.

Advent 

The royal color of purple begins the Church Year in Advent, a word that means "coming". We pace this season of four Sundays hearing again the silence of the prophets, experiencing the breathless waiting of the Israelites hoping for a Messiah. We sing the song "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" with longing, not because we seek a Messiah yet to come to the world, but because the Christ has come and we long for him to come to us again. The quiet pace of Advent is in direct contrast to the bustling commercialism of the secular holidays. And so we begin our new year in Advent, reminding ourselves that in the midst of the worldliness of our lives we need to renew our relationship to this King who has come.

Christmas

In the season of Christmas we change the sanctuary colors to White and Gold, a celebration of the purity of the infant who was born in a manger, and yet a King with all the splendor of God come to dwell with his people. Christmas Day is both the culmination of the waiting of the Advent season, and the beginning of twelve days of celebration as we rejoice in the gift of our Savior and the daily rebirth of grace in our own lives.

Epiphany 

Epiphany means "to make known," and in the season of Epiphany we remember the ways and events through which God revealed himself through Jesus Christ. The colors, white and gold, the colors of celebration, newness, and hope mark these sacred days of the church year. In traditions that only observe a single day for Epiphany, the colors are often changed after Epiphany to the colors of green. Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before the beginning of Lent, is once again marked by the colors White and Gold.

As with most aspects of the Christian liturgical calendar, Epiphany has significance as a teaching tool in the church. The Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to the infant Jesus were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as "King" and so were the first to "show" or "reveal" Jesus to a wider world as the incarnate Christ. This act of worship by the Magi, which corresponded to Simeon’s blessing that this child Jesus would be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and that the work of God in the world would not be limited to only a few.

The day is now observed as a time of focusing on the mission of the church in reaching others by "showing" Jesus as the Savior of all people. It is also a time of focusing on Christian brotherhood and fellowship, especially in healing the divisions of prejudice and bigotry that we all too often create between God’s children.

Lent 

With the ashes on our heads after the service of Ash Wednesday, the sanctuary colors for Lent turn to a somber Purple and to Black at the end of the Passion Week. Throughout the six weeks of Lent we pace the length of Jesus’ three years of ministry. Throughout the weeks we relearn the faces and names of people who, like you and me, were sometimes faithful and sometimes selfish; people who heard the good news and responded and others who laughed and scorned; men, women, and children who heard Jesus’ words and watched his life and came hungry and were fulfilled, or who walked away because they could not use him for their own ends.

It is a long season, a season that calls us to stop and take a look at our life in the light of Christlikeness, and humble ourselves before our God who says to us gently, "Come, let us talk this over. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing to obey, you shall eat the good things of the earth." (Isaiah 1:18-19 NJB)

Holy Week

The season of Lent culminates in "Passion Week," from a Latin word that means "to suffer." Starting with Palm Sunday and the joyful entry of Israel’s Messiah-King into Jerusalem, it ends with that very same crowd yelling "Crucify him, crucify him." In between these two days, the week’s events are remembered with various services that pace the Passion Week: A Seder meal, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Tenebrae, and the Holy Saturday Vigil.

Easter

Morning dawns and Mary Magdalene weeps at the tomb until she is told the good news "He is not dead! He has risen!" And that call echoes down through the centuries as Christians around the world joyfully cry out "Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen indeed!" year after year on the highest and holiest day of the Christian calendar.

Easter lilies adorn the sanctuary, the colors change to the brightness of White and Gold to portray the purity and kingliness of our Risen Savior. There is no joy compared to an Easter Sunday after the solemn pace of Lent. Three days before we buried our beloved Jesus; today He lives! We wept with Peter on the night he was crucified, and on Easter we are awed anew by the great news that He Lives!

And the fifty days of Easter ring jubilantly with the new life and new hope that the Risen Savior brings to us, to our world, and to all peoples who open their hearts to him. We listen in on the conversations of the disciples as they struggle to wrap their human hearts and minds around this new revelation. We watch as those who previously had persecuted the people of God now fall on their knees in awe and wonder. We experience anew for ourselves in this season the freedom and joy and the power, strength, and life that is our heritage as the people of God.

Pentecost

The Red of flames is the sanctuary color of Pentecost as we remember the great rushing wind and the dancing flames like fire, and the words of Jesus, baptizing his disciples with the Holy Fire of the Spirit. The disciples and followers of Jesus were one moment huddled in fear in a small upper room. Then the Holy Spirit came in power and they rushed out of the building and into the streets, telling everyone about the good news in ways that all could understand. Today? Well, one day we are ordinary people, the next we are his evangelists, and pastors, and healers, and mercy-bringers, and the Body of Christ, redeemed by his blood, one in ministry to the entire world.

Christ the King/Eucharist

It is Christ the Savior-Shepherd-King who presides over the Eucharist table. At the Eucharist table we can all gather, "neither Jew nor Greek, male or female, slave or free", but one in Christ. Here we can all come freely to experience and to participate in this means of grace that visibly exhibits the heart and mind of our Creator, our Savior, and our Sustainer.

On this "Christ the King" Sunday we are reminded that God is with us through all the seasons of life as the writer of Ecclesiastes so poignantly reminds us. Next time you gather around the table may you feel the freedom, the joy, the strength of Jesus’ presence in your spirit. Remember his words, "Look, I am with you always; yes, to the end of time." (Matthew 28:20 NJB)

Enough: Defined by Generosity 1 Timothy 6:17-19 and Proverbs 11:24-25

Introduction
Two weeks ago we began our preaching series on the idea of discovering joy through simplicity and generosity. We have focused out time looking at how God calls us to find joy and not to be controlled by money or material possessions. Two weeks ago we looked at how dreams can become nightmares, specifically how the pursuit of the “American Dream” can ruin a person's life. Last week we looked at a few practices we can adopt financially to help us find that wisdom and contentment that God desires for us to have. Today, as we conclude this series, we are going to look at what defines our life, how the Bible promises both God's blessings and joy for those who choose to live God's way, and five specific personal goals we can all work toward over the next year.

Would You Give?
As the story goes, the elementary Sunday school teacher wanted to talk about giving with her class. She asked her eight eager 10-year-olds if they would give $1,000,000 to the missionaries. “YES!” they all screamed!! “Would you give $1,000?” Again they shouted “YES!” “How about $100?” “Oh, YES we would!” they all agreed!! “Would you give just a dollar to the missionaries?” she asked. The boys exclaimed “YES!” just as before except for Johnnie. “Johnnie,” the teacher said as she noticed the boy clutching his pocket, “why didn’t you say 'YES’ this time?” “Well,” he stammered, “I HAVE a dollar.

Theology as a Reason for Giving
Giving in principle is easy. Giving in reality can be more of a challenge. However, we are all called to give. God created us with the willingness to give—to God and to others. This design is part of our makeup; we actually have the need to be generous. Yet there are two voices that “war” against our God-given impulse toward generosity, tempting us to keep or hoard what we have.

• One is the voice of fear.

Fear, of what might happen to us, along with a misplaced idea about the true source of our security, keeps us from being generous and leads us to hoard what we have. The truth is that hoarding offers us no real security in this world.

• The other is the voice of self-gratification.

Our culture tells us that our lives consist in the abundance of our possessions and pleasurable experiences. So we find ourselves thinking, If I give, there won’t be enough left for me.

That makes our goal clear. We need to defeat those voices. When we give our lives to Christ, invite him to be Lord, and allow the Holy Spirit to begin changing us from the inside out, we find that our fears begin to dissipate and our aim in life shifts from seeking personal pleasure to pleasing God and caring for others. Although we still may wrestle with the voices from time to time, we are able to silence them more readily and effectively the more we grow in Christ. And the more we grow in Christ, realizing that our lives belong to him, the more generous we become. Because generosity is a fruit of spiritual growth.

Scripture as a Reason for Giving
That theology of giving is just the beginning, the premise. Scripture calls us to give.

• We find more joy in doing things for other people and for God than we ever did in doing things for ourselves. (Acts 20:35)

• In the very act of losing our lives, we find life. (Matthew 16:25)

• Life is a gift, and everything belongs to God. (Psalm 24:1; Leviticus 25:23)

Do you see how these passages not only show us it is a good idea but show us the way to God-given joy? They show us that giving is not something to be feared, but rather embraced, championed, pursued. We were created to give, we are called to give.

The Affect Giving Has on Humanity
And when we give, our hearts are changed. When we are generous—to God and to our families, friends, neighbors, and others who are in need—our hearts are filled with joy. They are enlarged by the very act of giving. When we give generously, we become more generous.

The Affect Humanity's Giving Has on God
This generosity not only affects those we share with, it affects God! From the earliest biblical times, the primary way people worshipped God was by building an altar and offering the fruit of one’s labors upon it to God. They would burn the sacrifice of an animal or grain as a way of expressing their gratitude, devotion, and desire to honor God. The scent of the offering was said to be pleasing to God. It wasn’t that God loved the smell of burnt meat and grain. Rather, God saw that people were giving a gift that expressed love, faith, and the desire to please and honor God; and this moved God’s heart. When given in this spirit, our offerings bless the Lord.

They also cause a reaction from God. Luke 6:38 tells us, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

From the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, when the servants that were entrusted with the numerous talents used them wisely they were told, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!...For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance.”

When you are generous with the blessings given to you by God, and everything you have is from God, God will have you share in God's happiness. But I want to offer you a word of caution here. Many Christians get something wrong here. They say that if you give, then God will give more back to you. But that is not how it works. We do not give to God so that we can get something in return. The amazing thing is that when we give to God and to others, the blessings just seem to come back to us. Of course, there is no guarantee that if you tithe you will never lose your job or never have other bad things happen to you. Nevertheless, when we give generously, the unmistakable blessings of God flow into our lives.

Biblical Guidelines for Giving
Understanding now the reasons to give, the affect our giving has on us and on God, I want us to turn our attention to how we are to give. From the early days of the Old Testament, God’s people observed the practice of giving some portion of the best of what they had to God. A gift offered to God was called the first fruits or the tithe, and it equaled one-tenth of one’s flocks or crops or income. Abraham was the first to give a tithe or tenth as recorded in Genesis. That same book also records Jacob vowing to give a tenth of all that he owned. Leviticus records God's commandments being giving to Moses for the Israelites saying that a tithe of everything belongs to the Lord.

• Giving a tithe.

As Christians who live under the new covenant, we are not bound by the Law of Moses; but we do look to it as a guide. Yet most Christians agree that the tithe is a good guideline for our lives, and one that is pleasing to God. (“Tithing and the Ten Apples.”) Though tithing can be a struggle, it is possible at virtually every income level. If you cannot tithe right away, take a step in that direction. Perhaps you can give 2 percent or 5 percent or 7 percent. God understands where you are, and God will help you make the adjustments necessary for you to become more and more generous.

• Giving beyond the tithe.

Tithing is a floor, not a ceiling. God calls us to grow beyond the tithe. We should strive to set aside an additional percentage of our income as offerings for other things that are important to us, such as mission projects, schools, church building funds, and other nonprofit organizations.

Do not fear the practice of tithing. Malachi 3:10 tells us, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Will You Do It?
I encourage you to take this step of faith. God calls all of us to give. God created us to give. When we act responsibly with our money we are not robbing ourselves of pleasure, we are granting ourselves the opportunity for joy. God does not want you to have to deal with the burden and stress of debt. Take steps now to free yourself, following some of the principles we talked about these past several weeks. Seek God's joy, take steps to experience God's joy. It is there for you!

Bible Challenge 11/21 - 11/27

Greetings All!

This week our challenge has us finish Acts, move through Romans and begin 1 Corinthians. We are reading about the beginnings of the early church and one of our greatest Biblical heroes, Paul.

11/21, Sunday: Acts 20-23

11/22, Monday: Acts 24-27

11/23, Tuesday: Acts 28 - Romans 3

11/24, Wednesday: Romans 4-7

11/25, Thursday: Romans 8-11

11/26, Friday: Romans 12-15

11/27, Saturday: Romans 16 - 1 Corinthians 3

Be Blessed!

Friday Fives

1. Preaching Series - This Sunday brings our final topic in the series: "Defined by Generosity."  What defines your life?  Is it wealth?  Belongings?  Faith?  Some of us live with a scarcity mentality, worried that we must gather and hoard as much as possible, saving for some imagined "rainy day."  Or we focus on self-gratification.  But the Bible promises both God's blessings and joy for those who choose to live another way.  During the service we will take action to change our lives by setting five specific personal goals to work toward over the next year.  Then, we will consecrate our gifts to the ministry of our church for the coming year.  I hope to see all of you there!

2. Jordan Family Fundraiser - I am sure many of you are aware of the five children that lost their lives as a result of a house fire in Citra.  As a means to help this family, Reddick UMC and Chick-fil-A have partnered together for a Spirit Night.  If you go to the Chick-fil-A, located at 3558 SE College Rd, on November 23rd, between 5pm and 8pm, and bring an invitation, a portion of your purchase will be donated to this family.  Invitations are available in the office or if you contact me I can email you one.  Please consider going on this night and helping this family during this very difficult time.

3. Flag Pole Dedication – This Sunday we will dedicate a flag pole that has been erected outside of the office as part of the Eagle Scout project of Tucker O'Neill, grandson of Ed and Elmo Graff.  Tucker has invited everyone, immediately after the worship service, to come to flag pole as we dedicate it in memory to all the veterans who attend and have attended Druid Hills UMC.

4. Salty Service - A few months back I asked everyone to consider joining up together in groups to venture out and visit some of the residents in the many assisted living and rehab facilities around our church. There are many people there that get no visitors, and we are so good with fellowship, I see a need and a spiritual gift that can easily be paired up. I wanted to give everyone an update on how this budding ministry is progressing. We have three members that have reached out and began weekly visits to three different facilities. We also have a group of people that have formed to begin visits with a fifth facility. We have several contacts at area facilities, all we need is volunteers. Many people make light work. If you are willing to spend just a few hours a month visiting with people and sharing the love of Christ please contact the office and we can help you get connected. Please consider reaching out to the people in our area and let them know we care and in the name of Jesus Christ that they are loved.

5. Busy Sunday! – This Sunday marks a very important Sunday in the life of our church.  We will celebrate and commemorate several important occasions.  First, it is Christ the King Sunday and we will walk through all eight seasons of the Christian year during worship and learn why they are significant.  Second, it is Consecration Sunday and we will offer our pledge cards to God to ask for God's continued blessings upon our ministries.  It is also Confirmation Sunday and we will bring in six young men into our membership as they publicly profess their faith.  These are important and exciting times in the life of our church and I encourage all of you to come, bring a friend, and join us for these wonderful celebrations!

Charge Conference

Just a reminder for everyone that our annual Charge Conference is tonight at 7:15pm in the sanctuary.  We are having an individual Charge Conference so it will be a special time for us.  Please make plans to come and support your church as we attend to the business of the church.  I hope to see you all there!

Discovering Joy

We are two weeks into our three week churchwide emphasis Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity.  Last Sunday, our topic was "Wisdom and Cultivating Contentment".  We discussed several items.  First, we looked closely at the biblical principles of money management and learned how they apply to our daily lives.  Next, we reviewed some common pitfalls and cultural traps and discovered how we can avoid them.  Then, we addressed head-on our human tendency to accumulate possessions and wealth, and we discovered how to consciously change our ways.  We also provided two financial worksheets and two items to help you implement these ideals in your personal lives.  If you were unable to be with us, you can find the sermon message right here on this blog.

This Sunday brings our final topic in the series: "Defined by Generosity."  What defines your life?  Is it wealth?  Belongings?  Faith?  Some of us live with a scarcity mentality, worried that we must gather and hoard as much as possible, saving for some imagined "rainy day."  Or we focus on self-gratification.  But the Bible promises both God's blessings and joy for those who choose to live another way.  During the service we will take action to change our lives by setting five specific personal goals to work toward over the next year.  Then, we will consecrate our gifts to the ministry of our church for the coming year.

I urge you to join us this Sunday as we learn how to live a new way - as people who are defined by generosity and who experience true joy.

Enough: Finding Wisdom and Cultivating Contentment Ecclesiastes 5:10-15 and I Timothy 6:6-10

Introduction
Last week we began our preaching series on the idea of discovering joy through simplicity and generosity as we look at how God calls us to find joy and not to be controlled by money or material possessions. Last week we looked at how dreams can become nightmares, specifically how the pursuit of the “American Dream” can ruin a person's life. Today we are going to look at a few practices we can adopt financially to help us find that wisdom and contentment that God desires for us to have.

Don't Count on Luck
A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money. The old guy fingered his worsted wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel. I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents. "The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 p.m. for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I''d accumulated a fortune of $1.37. Then my wife''s father died and left us two million dollars." Now you know the secret to getting rich. Choose the right ancestors.

Where Did All Our Money Go?
But most of us are not that lucky and to bet on that kind of luck we know would be foolish. However, we still spend money, by and large, as if we are all going to inherit that kind of money. We spend without any regard for the future. Remember the parable of the prodigal son? From Jesus’ description in Luke 15:11-16, we see that the prodigal son had the habits of squandering and spending with no regard for the future. The word prodigal does not mean someone who wanders away or is lost. It literally means “one who wastes money.” A prodigal is one who wastes money, who is a spendthrift. Many of us struggle with that habit as well. We’re not worried about tomorrow. We want it today. The problem with that kind of thinking is that, for most of us, the “famine” eventually comes. It comes when we have spent everything we have and even a little bit of next year’s income. So we use the credit card and charge it, and we go a little further into debt. Finally, we come to a place where we “find ourselves.” We have nothing left, not even any credit, and we can’t figure out how we are we going to make it.

So what can we do to help prevent this? Here are a few tips. Now most of us do not go out and just throw away huge amounts of money as the prodigal son did. But how many of us do with small amounts? We waste a dollar on this or that, and we forget where it went. Knowing there are many ways we waste money, I want to focus on two primary money-wasters that many of us struggle with. It is not necessary to eliminate these two things all together, but we should think more carefully about how we spend our money.

One is impulse buying. You know buying on a whim with no thought or consideration. This trap is especially prevalent at grocery stores but is used everywhere now a days. Here are some tips for avoiding impulse buying:

• Never go grocery shopping when you are hungry.

• Shop for what you need only.

• Make a list and stick to it; buy what you need and get out of the store!

• Wait twenty-four hours before purchasing an impulse buy.

Another tip is to limit your eating out.
The issue here is frequency. The average American eats out an average of four times a week.3 By eating out less frequently, we will have more money to save, spend on something more important, or give away.

Who's the Boss?
Can you see how these two little life adjustments can help you begin to eliminate financial stress and increase your chance for joy? We do not exist simply to consume as much as we can and get as much pleasure as we can while we are here on this earth. We have a higher purpose. We need to know and understand our life purpose—our vision or mission or calling—and then spend our money in ways that are consistent with this purpose or calling thereby showing we are in control of our finances and not the other way around. That means being clear about our purpose and calling. The Bible tells us that we were created to care for God’s creation, to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We were created to care for our families and those in need. We were created to glorify God, to seek justice, and to do mercy. Our money and possessions should be devoted to helping us fulfill this calling through the church, missions, and everyday opportunities. Being able to accomplish the greater purposes God has for our lives requires some measure of planning. Taking the time to set goals related to our lives and our finances is crucial if we are to become wise stewards of our God-given resources. I would encourage you to identify two short-term financial goals, two mid-range financial goals, and two long-term financial goals that are aimed at helping you to accomplish your broader life goals. At least one goal in each category should relate specifically to our faith.

Set a Budget/Spending Plan
One way to help you achieve these new goals is to have a budget or spending plan. If you can implement this individually or if you need to turn to a financial advisor, make a plan. A few guidelines to help you in implementing these plans with wisdom and faith are:

• Pay your tithe and offering first. Put God first in your living and your giving. Give your tithe and offering from the “top” of your paycheck, and then live on whatever remains.

• Create a budget and track your expenses. Creating a budget is simply developing a plan in which you tell your money what you want it to do. Tracking your expenses with a budget is like getting on the scales: It allows you to see how you are doing and motivates you to be more careful with your expenditures.

• Simplify your lifestyle (live below your means). This discipline is critical to the success of any financial plan and will be discussed in a moment.

• Establish an emergency fund. An emergency fund is an account separate from checking or long-term savings that is set aside specifically for emergencies. Financial Advisor, Dave Ramsey recommends beginning with $1,000 and building that to three months’ worth of income.4 When you have this amount, you won’t need to use your credit cards anymore.

• Pay off your credit cards, use cash/debit cards for purchases, and use credit wisely. As you are building your emergency fund, begin to pay off your credit card debt and start using cash or debit cards for purchases. Some experts suggest starting with the credit card that has the highest interest rate. Others suggest paying down the smallest debt first, experiencing that victory, and applying your payments from the first card to the second, and so on, creating a snowball effect to pay off the cards as soon as possible. Cut up your cards as you pay them down so that you are not trapped or leveraged by your future for present-day pleasure, as the prodigal son was. If you must use a credit card, such as when traveling or making purchases online, be sure to pay off the debt monthly. If you are unable to do this, then it is better for you to cut up your cards and stop using them altogether.

• Practice long-term savings and investing habits. Saving money is the number-one wise money management principle everyone should practice. We do not save merely for the sake of saving. There is a word for that: hoarding. Hoarding is frowned upon in the Bible as the practice of fools and those who fail to understand the purpose of life. Saving, on the other hand, is meant to be purposeful. There are three types of savings we should have: 1) emergency savings, 2) savings for wants and goals, and 3) retirement savings.

Are You Content?
All of these tips are meant as a means to help you find wisdom. They are practical ideas that we can apply to our lives so that we can find joy through simplicity. One reason we struggle with this wisdom and why we have trouble applying it, is that we tell ourselves we are not content and some people are even perennially discontent.

• When Discontentment Is a Virtue. There is a certain discontent that God intended us to have causing us to seek the only One who can fully satisfy us. We are meant to yearn to know God more, to cultivate a deeper prayer life, to pursue justice and holiness with increasing fervor, to love others more, and to grow in grace and character and wisdom with each passing day.

• When Discontentment Destroys. The problem is that those things we should be content with are the very things we find ourselves hopelessly discontented with. For example, we find ourselves discontented with our stuff, our jobs, our churches, our children, and our spouses. God must look down on us and feel the way we feel when we give someone we really care for a special gift and he or she asks for the gift receipt. It’s as if we’re saying to God, “I don’t like what you have given me, God; and I want to trade it in and get something better than what you gave me.”

Four Keys to Cultivating Contentment
The Apostle Paul is an excellent example of contentment. In his letter to the Philippians, he wrote of the “secret” to his contentment (Philippians 4:11-12). Like Paul, we can learn to be content in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves. Four keys, which include the “secret” Paul referred to in his letter, can help us to do that.

• Four Words to Repeat: “It Could Be Worse”. This is essentially the practice of looking on the bright side or finding the silver lining. It is recognizing that no matter what we may not like about a thing or person or circumstance, we can always find something good to focus on if only we will choose to do so.

• One Question to Ask: “For How Long Will This Make Me Happy?” So often we buy something, thinking it will make us happy, only to find that the happiness lasts about as long as it takes to open the box. There is a moment of satisfaction when we make the purchase, but the item does not continue to bring satisfaction over a period of time. Many of the things we buy are simply not worth the expense. This is why it is a good idea to try before you buy.

• Developing a Grateful Heart. Gratitude is essential if we are to be content. The Apostle Paul said that we are to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). A grateful heart recognizes that all of life is a gift. Contentment comes when we spend more time giving thanks for what we have than thinking about what’s missing or wrong in our lives.

• Where Does Your Soul Find True Satisfaction? The world answers this question by telling us that we find satisfaction in ease and luxury and comfort and money. The Bible, however, answers the question very differently. From Genesis to Revelation, it tells us that we find our satisfaction in God alone. Psalm 63:1 tells us, “O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you. My whole being longs for you”. Jesus said the two most important things we must do are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). If we keep our focus on these two things, we will find satisfaction for our souls and lasting contentment.

Five Steps for Simplifying Our Lives
Cultivating contentment in our lives, based on the wisdom we spoke about earlier, will help us accomplish something else, simplicity. Contentment and simplicity go hand in hand. Remember this whole series is about finding joy through simplicity. Real quickly I want to give you five ways to find simplicity.

• Set a Goal of Reducing Your Consumption, and Live Below Your Means. For example, use canvas bags when you go grocery shopping and refuse any extra packaging, buy generic when possible, set your household thermostat back when you are away. Do some research, share ideas with others, or have a brainstorming session with your family. Look for ways to reduce use and bills.

• Before Making a Purchase, Ask Yourself, Do I Really Need This? and, Why Do I Want This? These questions will help you to determine the true motivation of your desired purchase. Is it a need, a self-esteem issue, or something else? You may find yourself wrestling with your true motive and decide that your reason for purchasing the item is not a good one.

• Use Something Up Before Buying Something New.  Take good care of the things you buy and use them until they are empty, broken, or worn out. Buy things that are made to last; and, when buying things that have a short lifespan, spend your money wisely.

• Plan Low-cost Entertainment That Enriches.  When it comes to choosing entertainment for your family or friends, plan things that are simple and cheap. You’ll be amazed at how much more pleasure you derive from low-cost, simple activities.

• Ask Yourself, Are There Major Changes That Would Allow Me to Simplify My Life?  Consider selling a car and buying one you pay for in full, downsizing your home, or getting rid of a club membership you don’t use. Ask yourself questions related to your home, possessions, job, and activities to identify some significant changes that will simplify your life. Remember, if you cannot do all the things God is calling you to do and you’re unable to find joy in your life, perhaps it’s time to simplify in some major ways.

Conclusion: Which Tent Will You Live In?
So I ask you, will you live in discon-tent or con-tent-ment? You and you alone determine which “tent” will be yours. You choose it in large part by deciding what life is about by how much self control you use. If you decide that “life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions,” then you are choosing contentment. Choosing contentment means we look to God as our Source, giving thanks for what we have; we ask God to give us the right perspective on money and possessions and to change our hearts each day; we decide to live simpler lives, wasting less and conserving more; and we choose to give more generously. God has a way, a better way, a way for peace, a way for joy. God wants you to be happy, it is now up to you!