Can We Be Content?

Could God's statement, "Godliness with contentment is great gain," have been written for our day and  time? If there has ever been a statement of principle that runs counter to the world's philosophy today, this is it. In our dog eat dog culture the secret to the success many advocate seems to be an unholy discontent. The way to get ahead is by hook or crook. Anything goes as long as it advances one's drive to gain power, popularity and material prosperity.  

In our no holds barred culture, the end does often seem to always justify the means. The rungs of the ladder to the top are comprised of the backs of the less ambitious and less ruthless. Honesty and fair dealing are qualities to be sneered at and pitied in those weaklings who stumble along in an un-enlightened world of principle and integrity.  It seems that success has been defined in the terms of materialism. That the more things a person accumulates the more contentment and happiness will bless his days. Excessive acquisition seems to be the name of the game. Success has somehow become synonymous with selfishness and is symbolized by covetousness. slogans such as "He who dies with the most toys wins." These seem to epitomize the foundation principles of such a culture. All this in spite of the fact that everyone knows that even the richest and most opulent fortunes are left behind when man meets his Maker in judgment. No one takes such seeming success to the scene that's seen beyond the shedding of the shell of this mortal vale. How much does he leave? He leaves it all. After all, have you ever seen a hearse pulling a trailer?  

Could it be that our culture's redefinition of success and the basis of real contentment is a prime factor in the overwhelming increase of moral pollution and social ills we see all around us? Could it be that the tremendous increase of such indicators of .discontent as the so-called sex revolution, drug culture and the terrible youth suicide rate, can be attributed to a great degree to the false concept that contentment can only be found in fleeting popularity and material prosperity?  The greatest challenge in the Christian's life today is to live in opposition to this philosophy. To reject the crass materialism that underlies it. To simply live in Godly contentment. To live in the light of the selfless cross rather than the shadow of the selfish floss and froth of our materialistic world today. To be able to say with Paul, "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."  

Dr. Paul Goodwin in his monograph, "Learning To Be Content," had this to say: "Paul writes of the best of all states, the state of contentment.... He had learned a heart lesson at the feet of Jesus and in the school of experience. Contentment is not found in a place or circumstance nor in a change of places or circumstances. Contentment is of the spirit. It comes from within and not from without. A contented spirit is like a watch which is moved up and down and around but is not disturbed on the inside. Rather it keeps on telling the correct time.”  

The Christian can expect change. We live in a changing world, but we should not live under the changing circumstances. The word translated "content" means to be master of the situation, to be victor, conqueror of the circumstances. Paul lived contentedly in changing and contrasting circumstances. Contentment is one of life's greatest victories. Contentment is not a natural disposition. Paul stated he learned to be content. To be content requires effort and much discipline on the part of the one who wills to be content. We can learn a lesson from nature. Weeds, sometimes undesirable, will grow without cultivation, but flowers require cultivation. Contentment is worth cultivating. One does not get up some morning with a superb education. An education requires effort, intense application and concentration. Likewise, contentment does not suddenly appear in a mysterious and magical way. One does not go to bed complaining and wake up the next morning in a holy state of contentment. Paul learned to be content by working on his discontent. If we are ever to be content, we too will learn to be content.   

Pastor John White

Change For The Sake Of Change?

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the rapid and ceaseless change going on around you? Does all the new technology constantly bombarding our senses and demanding our attention, ever seem just too much for your comprehension or coping capacity? Does the contemporary emphasis upon the necessity of those who wish to be with it to be hooked up and tuned in, sometimes leave you bewildered and bemused? After all, it seems if you are not on-line and surfing, you are missing the main thing in life these days! To those of us whose lives have spanned the eras of the invention and development of most of the major modern technologies taken for granted by their grandchildren, it can all be more than a bit confusing.  But is change for the sake of change necessarily a good thing? Have all the gadgets and gizmos spelled success and happiness for members of modern day communities? 

As we see the cracking of the moral foundations of our society, the functional breakdown of our traditional institutions and the tearing apart of the very fabric of our culture, we are made to wonder if the much heralded blessings of change have become curses instead.  Many recognize that in the midst of the changes designed to attract the attention and procure the patronage of a materialistic consumer society, it is necessary to test, try and prove new products and procedures to determine if they are really beneficial or worthwhile. This is true simply in the sense of getting value for money. If we are going to spend hard-earned money we do not wish to squander it on inferior products of little reputation or worth. For this reason, many of us usually go for the tried and true, especially after we have suffered a few so-called bargains.  If we are to be cautious about change in our secular life, we should be doubly cautious in spiritual matters. 

In our Christian endeavors we are also surrounded today by what many of us feel is change just for the sake of change. It is not just new methodology we must examine to determine it's efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy, but organizations and movements, obviously based upon principles of compromise, are vying for the attention and support of those who once were known as fundamental, Bible-believing Christians.  I tend to want to stick to the tried and true, especially in matters of eternal significance. As the old saying goes, "Give me that old time religion." If it was good enough for Paul and Silas and our forefathers in the faith, it is good enough for me. If I am going to spend my time and energy contending for a faith, I want it to be the faith of our fathers as it was once delivered to the saints. If I am going to pay the price of real committal, I want to purchase the approval of God, not the praise of men. If I going to preach a gospel, I want to ensure I only proclaim the powerful gospel of Christ.  As we examine this proliferation of what might be termed bargain basement type religions, and listen to the extravagant claims that press in upon us from all sides, we must make a maximum effort to examine the scriptural compatibility of their claims and the Biblical basis of their boastings. But how are we to know? In what crucible can we analyze them? In what test tube can we test them? 

In considering the myriad of claims being made today, just exactly what tests will assure us we have the right stuff?  Just one test will suffice. The very Word of God is the only sufficient rod, rule and measure of faith and practice. Only the sharp and powerful Sword of the Spirit has the capacity to dissect and analyze every claim and counter-claim and ascertain scriptural validity. Our standard must always be the grand old Book of the grand old faith.  When Paul tells young Timothy to rightly divide the Word of truth, he uses an expression that implies the need for exhaustive testing and analysis. An analysis based upon the principle of let God be true and every man a liar. It should be thus saith the Lord before we even entertain it. 

When Paul spoke to the Galatians about the determination of the validity of the gospel, he emphasized that neither he, men nor angels be exempted from a scriptural testing of the truth.  John said we should test every teacher and spirit by the Word of God to determine the origin and connection of their claims. So it should be amidst the clamor for change in our so called modern age. - Pastor John G White

God's Practical Joke On The Evolutionists

The Platypus is a small creature unique to Australia. There is not another like it on God's green earth. It lives in freshwater streams and billabongs all over Australia. It seems to be an odd mixture of a reptile, bird, and animal. It is the sort of weird creature that you might think was created by a committee. Although it lives in water, it breathes air. It has webbed feet with which it swims, much like a duck. These webbed feet have claws. Its body is covered with loose fur. It has a quaint duck like bill as well.

These outward features are not as odd as the inward ones. Its heart is that of a real animal, but its reproduction organs are practically the same as a reptile. It reproduces by laying eggs that very much resemble lizard eggs. During hatching the mother broods much like a hen. When her eggs are hatched, she feeds her young by milk, as mammals do, but she has no teats. The babies get their milk by sucking it through the pores of the mother's skin.

This small animal has confounded evolutionists since its discovery by Sir Joseph Banks, who came to Australia with Captain Cook on his voyage of discovery. It contradicts nearly every tenant of the theory of progressive evolution as imagined and proposed by those who deny God spoke this universe into existence. Who knows? One might easily imagine our great Creator God laughing at their confusion! (See Proverbs 1:18:23) - Pastor John G White