Contentment

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the truth and pierced themselves with many griefs." - 1 Timothy 6:6-10

The dog laying in the mud at the Taos Pueblo was a picture of blissful contentment in spite of poverty, although perhaps not of godliness. The tourists, on the other hand, had wandered in from far and wide to tweak their curiosity at great expense. How long will the satisfaction last? Does this lead to godliness?

Fred gave us a sermon on Sunday from Philippians talking about contentment. The apostle Paul had nothing but poverty and imprisonment, yet he was content and full of joy. Christians so often profess to have similar values while we pursue luxury and entertainment. Contentment - with respect to our worldly wealth and position - is not the end. Instead, Paul gives Timothy a command of what to pursue instead:

"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your confession in the presence of many witnesses." - 1 Timothy 6:11-12

And so we have a command to not be content, at least with respect to our spiritual lives. One of the benefits of pursuing these spiritual goals, is that the worldly ones become less important.

HIGHLIGHTED PRAYER

Pray that God would show us where are worldly priorities are awry, and turn our hearts to spiritual priorities. We do need to be diligent in our work and studies, but when our goals are to become wealthy or to gain social attention, things are getting skewed. When we think of the things that leave us most discontent, do spiritual things show up on the list? Talk to the Lord about it.

PRAY FOR OUR CONGREGATION

Praise God for a great Prayer Summit! Out leaders reflected on 2008 and prayed for 2009. Two of the biggest themes that the Spirit seemed to lead our prayers to were bringing our unchurched friends and family to Christ and growing closer and deeper as a church community. Please join us in those prayers!

Our Winter Retreat is coming up next month. Pray that it'll be a catalyst for spiritual and community growth. Pray for more folks to register to be part of this work of God.

Please pray for those among us who are being negatively affected by the economic downturn. Pray that they will have faith in God and that God would provide for them.

PRAY FOR THE REST OF OUR CHURCH

The Mandarin group is planning a "Welcome New Comers" party for January 25th, 2009; pray that new comers will come and get to know more about God.

The Cantonese congregation is planning a neighborhood outreach/evangelism event for February 7th. Pray that the Lord's hand would be with them.

Praise God that the remodeling has begun. Pray for wisdom and a good relationship with the general contractor, along with a smooth construction, inspection and approval process.

PRAY ABOUT HOW GOD IS LEADING YOU ON HIS MISSION

PRAY FOR THREE (3) OF YOUR UN-CHURCHED FRIENDS/FAMILY

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Amen