The Secret to Being...

Recipe for contentment: Remember the day’s blessings, quickly forget the day’s troubles. – Anon

The apostle Paul said he ‘knew’ the secret to being content in all things. It was his new attitude in Christ. Hmm!

We spend a great deal of our time, resources, and efforts chasing after the seemingly elusive ‘zone of peace.’ The bible does tell us to seek peace and pursue it, but it never said it was in the things made by man. The only true peace comes from being rightly related to God and not straining or taking the relationship for granted. Since we alone choose what to allow our hearts and minds to dwell on, in Christ; contentment, peace, and happiness are just a mindset away. As the day unfolds what it cooks up will be up to us.

Until Monday…

Pastor Botts

"I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be on my lips...." - Psalm 34:1

Content In Him

Contentment is destroyed by comparison. – Anon

James identified himself as a 'servant' of Christ rather than his brother. Wise indeed!

“And they lived happily ever after!” Yes it’s a fairy tale ending, but in truth it is an ending we all tend to seek. We all seek after a peace that fills us, satisfies us, validates us; and that peace can only come from our being perfectly aligned with God and His will. There is no other source that can fulfill that inner longing – we were made for communion with God. The problem we have is we consistently compare our livelihood, our possessions or resources, or even our actions to that of our fellow man, and that robs us of our true identity and contentment we should have with God. God is not so much concerned with what we have as He is with ‘who we are’ and ‘how are we.’ When the answer to these two questions begin and end with Him, contentment is not far away. So we need not look around, we only need to look heavenward.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves they are not wise.” – II Corinthians 10:12

Resource or Lifesource?

When money is in your hand, that’s good, when it’s in your heart, that’s bad. –W. Smith

The rich young ruler came oh so close to salvation and missed it only because he didn’t know what ‘riches’ truly were. Hmm!

Resource or lifesource? Tool or trademark? Oftentimes, for many of us we get the 2 issues confused, particularly when it comes to money. Money and wealth in and of itself, is not a bad thing. God wants, of all people, his children to enjoy His blessings, however when money captures our heart, is our only motivating factor, and we will stop at nothing to have more of it; it replaces the very God who gave it as our 'lord and master.' And God said, “thou shalt not have ANY other gods before ME!” I pray you master it before it masters you.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

"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.” – I Timothy 6:6-10

Down Time's A Good Time

We are so busy doing everything that we have no time to be anything. – V. Havner

Jethro’s advice to his son-in-law Moses, was not only sound, it brought times of refreshing to him and the people. WOW!

From covered-wagon to SUV’s, steam-locomotives to bullet trains, trans-atlantic ships to around the world flights, one thing is for sure, we have progressed technologically. These are all great God-given ideas to make life easier, but I’m not so sure God meant for them to speed our lives up. We were created to have ‘complete’ cycles of down time as evidenced when He put Adam to sleep to create Eve. We were also created to have ‘complete’ cycles of time alone with Him as evidenced when He and Adam walked alone in the Garden. God offers us a peace that surpasses our understanding, but many of us are moving so fast it can’t catch up to us. We have our Smart-phones/PC’s, Smart-TV’s, Smart-cars, we virtually live on-line, and have Apps for every need all at our fingertips – just press and go. But life has a God given pace (it’s not always faster, quicker, right now) which when found is almost worry free. Enoch found it as he ‘walked’ with God, and Paul found it as he learned ‘contentment’ in Christ. Today, God has said “it’s your move.”

Until tomorrow….

Pastor Botts

“….This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it…” – Isaiah 30:15

Today's scripture reading: Proverbs 30

Today's scripture reading question: Using verses 18-19 as a reference: What are 2 or 3 things about God or His creation that are too amazing for you fully understand?

How's Everything Coming Along?

No matter what the game is, there is always a scoreboard! - Anon

When Hezekiah showed off his kingdom to the king of Babylon, Isaiah let him know it was not just a simple gesture. OUCH!

As kids we played games for fun, exercise, and to pass the time. And though they offered all these things the one often overlooked benefit was they taught us rules and conduct. Every 'game' has its own rules and its own definition of what it means to win, whether it be points scored, profits made, course completed, etc. And no matter what the game was there was a scoreboard. To know if your game plan was working and where you stood you had to look at things in light of that scoreboard. Why, because our game plan was what we wanted to happen, but the scoreboard tells us what is happening. God has given us His Word and His Spirit to live by, to be Jesus with skin on, that's our game plan. Godliness and our impact on the world, that's the scoreboard. The question we each need to ask ourselves is 'how are we doing, and can we do better?'

Until tomorrow.....

Pastor Botts

"....But godliness with contentment is great gain...." - I Timothy 6:6

Don't let it destroy your contentment

Contentment is destroyed by comparison. – Anon

James identified himself as a 'servant' of Christ rather than his brother. Wise indeed!

“And they lived happily ever after!” Yes it’s a fairy tale ending, but in truth it is an ending we all tend to seek. We all seek after a peace that fills us, satisfies us, validates us; and that peace can only come from our being perfectly aligned with God and His will. There is no other source that can fulfill that inner longing – we were made for communion with God. The problem we have is we consistently compare our livelihood, our possessions or resources, or even our actions to that of our fellow man, and that robs us of our true identity and contentment we should have with God. God is not so much concerned with what we have as He is with ‘who we are’ and ‘how are we.’ When the answer to these two questions begin and end with Him, contentment is not far away. So we need not look around, we only need to look heavenward.

Until tomorrow….

Pastor Botts

“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves they are not wise.” – II Corinthians 10:12

The Secret Ingredient in Peace

Recipe for contentment: Remember the day’s blessings, quickly forget the day’s troubles. – Anon

The apostle Paul said he ‘knew’ the secret to being content in all things. It was his new attitude in Christ.

We spend a great deal of our time, resources, and efforts chasing after the seemingly elusive ‘zone of peace.’ The bible does tell us to seek peace and pursue it, but it never said it was in the things made by man. The only true peace comes from being rightly related to God and not straining or taking the relationship for granted. Since we alone choose what to allow our hearts and minds to dwell on, in Christ; contentment, peace, and happiness are just a mindset away. As the day unfolds what it cooks up will be up to us.

Until tomorrow…….

Pastor Botts

“Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, ‘It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and my father’s household.’ The second son he named Ephraim and said, ‘It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.’” – Genesis 41:51-52

Who do you love?

When money is in your hand, that’s good, when it’s in your heart, that’s bad. –W. Smith

The rich young ruler came oh so close to salvation and missed it only because he didn’t know what ‘riches’ truly were. Hmm!

Resource or lifesource? Tool or trademark? Oftentimes, for many of us we get the 2 issues confused, particularly when it comes to money. Money and wealth in and of itself, is not a bad thing. God wants of all people his children to enjoy His blessings, however when money captures our heart, is our only motivating factor, and we will stop at nothing to have more of it; it replaces the very God who gave it as our 'lord and master.' And God said, “thou shalt not have ANY other gods before ME!” I pray you master it before it masters you.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“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.” – I Timothy 6:6-10

A Day Granted in Love

One of the greatest keys to contentment is to realize that life is a gift, not a right! - Sparks

Stripped of all he owned and his health, Job still held his integrity for God.  His love was rewarded. AMEN!

Today is upon us. Most people will enter it without much thought, as if they deserved it, and if events don’t flow smoothly they become disgruntled and unhappy. But the truth is God has granted us this day, He has granted us our life to this point, not because we deserve it or earned it, but because He loves us. When we look at it from this point of view life can’t get any better. As you make your way through Today, problems or not, unwrap your gift with care.

Until Monday……

Pastor Botts

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him?” – Psalm 8:3-4

Watering the Dry Spells

When we cannot find contentment within ourselves, it’s useless to seek it elsewhere. – F. de la Rochefucald

Saul didn’t hear from God so he consorted with the Witch of Endor. He still didn’t like what he heard. OUCH!

Often, if we’re not careful we’ll find ourselves taking on the characteristics of the world in our faith walk. For instance, when teams have a losing streak they call it a dry spell. Sometimes we say the same when we feel we’ve not heard from God or experienced Him working in our lives. But how can that be if the “fountain of living water” (Jesus) resides within? There should never be ‘dry spells’ in our Christian walk. When we hit those arid moments it should provoke us to look at what we’ve become focused on other than Jesus. Spiritual dryness occurs when we supplant our relationship with Christ with activities and busyness. Sometimes it just takes coming back to the ‘heart’ of worship.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” – Jeremiah 2:13

Real Contentment in God

Contentment is destroyed by comparison. – Anon

James identified himself as a 'servant' of Christ rather than his brother. Wise indeed!

“And they lived happily ever after!” Yes it’s a fairy tale ending, but in truth it is an ending we all tend to seek. We all seek after a peace that fills us, satisfies us, validates us; and that peace can only come from our being perfectly aligned with God and His will. There is no other source that can fulfill that inner longing – we were made for communion with God. The problem we have is we consistently compare our livelihood, our possessions or resources, or even our actions to that of our fellow man, and that robs us of our true identity and contentment we should have with God. God is not so much concerned with what we have as He is with ‘who we are’ and ‘how are we.’ When the answer to these two questions begin and end with Him, contentment is not far away. So we need not look around, we only need to look heavenward.

Until tomorrow….

Pastor Botts

“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves they are not wise.” – II Corinthians 10:12

Walk With

We are so busy doing everything that we have no time to be anything. – V. Havner

Jethro’s advice to his son-in-law Moses, was not only sound, it brought times of refreshing to him and the people. WOW!

From covered-wagon to SUV’s, steam-locomotives to bullet trains, trans-atlantic ships to around the world flights, one thing is for sure, we have progressed technologically. These are all great God-given ideas to make life easier, but I’m not so sure God meant for them to speed our lives up. We were created to have ‘complete’ cycles of down time as evidenced when He put Adam to sleep to create Eve. We were also created to have ‘complete’ cycles of time alone with Him as evidenced when He and Adam walked alone in the Garden. God offers us a peace that surpasses our understanding, but many of us are moving so fast it can’t catch up to us. We have our Smart-phones/PC’s, Smart-TV’s, Smart-cars, we virtually live on-line, and have APP’s for every need all at our fingertips – just press and go. But life has a God given pace (it’s not always faster, quicker, right now) which when found is almost worry free. Enoch found it as he ‘walked’ with God, and Paul found it as he learned ‘contentment’ in Christ. Today, God has said “it’s your move.”

Until Monday….

Pastor Botts

“….This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it…” – Isaiah 30:15

Contentment: Focus on what's important

The optimist says the cup is half full, the pessimist says its half empty, the child of God says, “my cup runneth over.” – Anon

Paul traveled all over the country on a tentmaker’s salary. How?  He trusted in a God who had unlimited resources. Hmm!

So far as I know, no bird ever tried to build more nests than his neighbor, no fox ever fretted over having only 1 lair in which to lay, and no dog ever lost sleep over not having enough bones buried for retirement. Though important to them, these things in and of themselves caused them no grief, gray hair, or stressing out. But often, we as people of God put emphasis on the wrong things, and worry needlessly over things beyond our control. If God does truly care for the sparrow that falls to the ground, will he not care for us? He’s asking us to trust Him and see!

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet our heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?...But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:26, 33

Remember the Blessings

Recipe for contentment: Remember the day’s blessings, quickly forget the day’s troubles. – Anon

The apostle Paul said he ‘knew’ the secret to being content in all things. It was his new attitude in Christ.

We spend a great deal of our time, resources, and efforts chasing after the seemingly elusive ‘zone of peace.’ The bible does tell us to seek peace and pursue it, but it never said it was in the things made by man. The only true peace comes from being rightly related to God and not straining or taking the relationship for granted. Since we alone choose what to allow our hearts and minds to dwell on, in Christ; contentment, peace, and happiness are just a mindset away. As the day unfolds what it cooks up will be up to us.

Until tomorrow…….

Pastor Botts

“Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, ‘It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and my father’s household.’ The second son he named Ephraim and said, ‘It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.’” – Genesis 41:51-52

God's Scoreboard

No matter what the game is, there is always a scoreboard! - Anon

When Hezekiah showed off his kingdom to the king of Babylon, Isaiah let him know it was not just a simple gesture. OUCH!

As kids we played games for fun, exercise, and to pass the time. And though they offered all these things the one often overlooked benefit was they taught us rules and conduct. Every 'game' has its own rules and its own definition of what it means to win, whether it be points scored, profits made, course completed, etc. And no matter what the game was there was a scoreboard. To know if your game plan was working and where you stood you had to look at things in light of that scoreboard. Why, because our game plan was what we wanted to happen, but the scoreboard tells us what is happening. God has given us His Word and His Spirit to live by, to be Jesus with skin on, that's our game plan. Godliness and our impact on the world, that's the scoreboard. The question we each need to ask ourselves is 'how are we doing, and can we do better?'

Until tomorrow.....

Pastor Botts

"....But godliness with contentment is great gain...." - I Timothy 6:6