I have to admit that I have been whining a little the past few days. My faith has been tested with some things that happened the past few weeks. I am doing my best to be the man that God wants me to be. I fall short way too often. One area that I need to work on is contentment. The devotional strikes home once again!
I loved the tag line of the devotional:
"Contentment is not possessing everything but giving thanks for everything you possess."
This is part of the "gratitude therapy" I mentioned in several posts. Being truly thankful for what you have is the first step towards contentment. My joke with my friends is what I call the second step -- being thankful for what you don't have! ha! There are always trade offs. Yes, you could be in some kind of relationship, but being alone is much better than being in a bad one! Having an expensive house could be nice, but there are the responsibilities of upkeep, taxes and large house payments. There are always trade offs.
Appreciate what you have. Appreciate what you don't have. Love God. Serve others. It is not rocket science! ;-p
Lord, thank you for all the things in my life --what I have and what I don't have!
Teaching Tuesday
I had to finish two lessons this week since I got behind last week when I missed class. I finished the reading I wrote about last week -- the first chapter or so of Genesis containing the P creation story. The second reading was the second chapter of Genesis - the JE version of the creation story.
After reading these very different stories again, I can understand why folks question and doubt the Bible. My faith tells me that the explanations in our book make sense. Like any historical event, the perspective of the writer dictates how they write about it. This is the case of the two creation stories. The P writer again takes the priestly and more historical writer role. The stories were probably passed down through the priestly ranks. The JE writer sounds more like the traditional stories passed down through other oral traditions that have the perspective of popular culture. The JE writer tries to explain why some things are the way they are in their time period by shaping the creation story. It is interesting, but confusing at times!
Please remember it is by faith that we believe. We may never know all the answers until we can ask God!
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Bonus entry! hehehe
A friend posted this on Facebook:
God's three answers to prayers:
1. yes
2. not yet
3. I have something better in mind
Let's all remember this when we pray and when we receive God's answers!
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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit - Romans 15:13
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