Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song, images, and lyrics from The Vagle Brothers singing … Sweet Hour of Prayer … poignantly singing of how we, as Christians, have God’s prescription for handling the discontentment or anxieties of life … and that is prayer.
Heathclliff and his "FOMO"
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Highlight Verse[s]: Philippians 4:11 [ESV] ... 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
… Paul had been thru a lot in life and had learned to be content in all circumstances; and he wanted other Christians to have that trust in God.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Philippians 4:10-19 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Paul shows us that we need to learn that God ALWAYS wants us to have what we need in life.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 139:23-24 [ESV] … 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
… A great prayer to begin every day …
Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.
… If we truly trust in the God Who desires our best, even when we’re experiencing the worst, we’ll be content that He’s leading us in the right direction.
Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 12:9 [ESV] … 9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
… When are we going to learn that God’s grace is always sufficient for Him to meet our needs, (see Phil. 4:19).?
Reference Passage : … Philippians 4:6-7 [ESV] … 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
… God’s prescription for peace when we’re discontented or anxious. …
Reference Passage : … 1 Peter 5:6-7 [ESV] … 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
… And our God, Who cares deeply for us, wants us to humble ourselves and bring our cares and anxieties to Him …
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Monica LaRose, uses a story about her cat to illustrate our human tendency toward discontentment. … The ODB author wrote: Sometimes I suspect my cat Heathcliff suffers from a bad case of FOMO (fear of missing out). When I come home with groceries, Heathcliff rushes over to inspect the contents. [see photo] When I’m chopping vegetables, he stands up on his back paws peering at the produce and begging me to share. But when I actually give Heathcliff whatever’s caught his fancy, he quickly loses interest, walking away with an air of bored resentment.
But it’d be hypocritical for me to be hard on my little buddy. He reflects a bit of my own insatiable hunger for more, my assumption that “now” is never enough.
And the Apostle Paul, … to fellow Christians in Philippi (and to us in the Phil. 4 passages above) was trying to show how he had learned - and how we CAN learn - to be content, trusting God (see Prov. 3:5-6), no matter what the circumstances of life.
In other words, Paul trusted that God’s grace was going to supply what he (or we) might need … ALWAYS (see Phil. 4:19); … and that we could find God’s peace when we’re feeling “FOMO,” … by taking our anxieties to God [Phil. 4:6-7]. So, Perhaps it would be a good idea - RIGHT NOW - to pray David’s prayer of Ps. 139:23-24, like I do every morning; … because, as Peter charged us in 1Pet 5:6-7, we serve a God Who cares deeply for His children.
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for always providing me with the grace and providence for life … no matter what the circumstances.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to seek God’s grace to handle any discontentment we might feel right now. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>
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