When You Finally Have Enough.
Memory Verse: 'Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, '
2 Corinthians 6:17
Sermon Sentence: Jacob’s acceptance that he had enough, led him to give away what he was trying to get his whole life.
2 Corinthians 6:17
Sermon Sentence: Jacob’s acceptance that he had enough, led him to give away what he was trying to get his whole life.
Day 1
Read Genesis 33:1-20
When we first met Jacob, the way the story was told in Genesis, he was clamoring for more from birth. That narrative is important to build up to this point of the story. Some would argue that Jacob was a guy that just wanted his fair share. Some would argue that Jacob was seemingly always out to take all he could from everyone he could. There does not seem to be a character that Jacob comes across that he did not want to take something from them for himself.
This Jacob looks remarkably different and sounds incredibly contrary to his old self. “I have enough.” (verse 11) Do you wonder what it takes to get to that point in life?! We all dream of it, especially here in America. We are geared to always be working in hopes of stockpiling enough for the needs that are maybe coming. The repeated problem seems to be that we spend so much time stockpiling that we wear out and never get to use what we intended for “one day.” But to live in a way that we don’t pay attention to the future seems careless in its own rights as well! We have all of the best intentions for life and helping others, but we see little execution on those ideas. If we could just know where the line of “enough” is. Jacob didn’t measure “enough” by an amount, it was a change of heart that happened to him.
What do you see as enough?
How do you get enough?
Why do we struggle daily with if there will be enough for us?
How do we balance God’s teachings on this?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
When we first met Jacob, the way the story was told in Genesis, he was clamoring for more from birth. That narrative is important to build up to this point of the story. Some would argue that Jacob was a guy that just wanted his fair share. Some would argue that Jacob was seemingly always out to take all he could from everyone he could. There does not seem to be a character that Jacob comes across that he did not want to take something from them for himself.
This Jacob looks remarkably different and sounds incredibly contrary to his old self. “I have enough.” (verse 11) Do you wonder what it takes to get to that point in life?! We all dream of it, especially here in America. We are geared to always be working in hopes of stockpiling enough for the needs that are maybe coming. The repeated problem seems to be that we spend so much time stockpiling that we wear out and never get to use what we intended for “one day.” But to live in a way that we don’t pay attention to the future seems careless in its own rights as well! We have all of the best intentions for life and helping others, but we see little execution on those ideas. If we could just know where the line of “enough” is. Jacob didn’t measure “enough” by an amount, it was a change of heart that happened to him.
What do you see as enough?
How do you get enough?
Why do we struggle daily with if there will be enough for us?
How do we balance God’s teachings on this?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read 1 Timothy 6:1-10
The argument that Paul is making here has the tendency to move around quite a bit. In the sermon, we lifted verses 6-8 to discuss contentment with godliness. The context of the verse is greater than that, although it is not thought that those verses alone don’t do well to make a point by themselves. So let’s consider the context. Paul is writing about the behavior of those who follow Jesus. His argument is always that this changes every part of life, not just church life. So in this section, he is talking about a follower of Jesus that works for another follower of Jesus. In verse 2, he makes the argument that the fact that you are both followers of Jesus means that you serve that boss in a way that is even more considerate of your relationship with Jesus. There is more responsibility to live above bar with those that believe like you do.
Then he begins to tell the story of a type of person that uses their godliness as a means to gain from other people. Have you met anyone like this? They do it in manipulation and arguments of small language changes and so on. The result is a life that is lived nothing like it seems that Jesus was calling us to. Usually this is covered up with the assumption that there is an obligation not to oust a person for these things because it would do great damage to the cause of Christ. Paul is telling us this is foolish. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Those that try to make godly things a way to manipulate people and gain things in life, are to be avoided. This is a devotion, so I will stop this reflection here, because we could certainly go for a long time on this!
How have you seen someone struggling with a version of what Paul is describing here?
How do you handle a situation like this in a church or in the Christian life in general?
Where have you struggled with this in your life?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
The argument that Paul is making here has the tendency to move around quite a bit. In the sermon, we lifted verses 6-8 to discuss contentment with godliness. The context of the verse is greater than that, although it is not thought that those verses alone don’t do well to make a point by themselves. So let’s consider the context. Paul is writing about the behavior of those who follow Jesus. His argument is always that this changes every part of life, not just church life. So in this section, he is talking about a follower of Jesus that works for another follower of Jesus. In verse 2, he makes the argument that the fact that you are both followers of Jesus means that you serve that boss in a way that is even more considerate of your relationship with Jesus. There is more responsibility to live above bar with those that believe like you do.
Then he begins to tell the story of a type of person that uses their godliness as a means to gain from other people. Have you met anyone like this? They do it in manipulation and arguments of small language changes and so on. The result is a life that is lived nothing like it seems that Jesus was calling us to. Usually this is covered up with the assumption that there is an obligation not to oust a person for these things because it would do great damage to the cause of Christ. Paul is telling us this is foolish. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Those that try to make godly things a way to manipulate people and gain things in life, are to be avoided. This is a devotion, so I will stop this reflection here, because we could certainly go for a long time on this!
How have you seen someone struggling with a version of what Paul is describing here?
How do you handle a situation like this in a church or in the Christian life in general?
Where have you struggled with this in your life?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 3
Read James 4:1-10
I feel this part of James could have been pretty helpful to Jacob at some point in his life. Maybe James could have met up with him right after he ran away from home to escape his brother Esau, and had a cup of coffee with him to explain this to him. Or maybe it would have been a good conversation to have after the birth of a few kids when his wives were vying for position and attention. Or maybe when the relationship with Laban finally fell apart, there would have been enough background to fully paint the picture of the fact that everywhere he went, there seemed to be conflict compounding in all directions. Have you ever met someone like that? It just feels like every relationship in their life is marked by conflict and struggle, but they don’t seem to see the common thread.
Seeing our hidden motives deep down inside our good intentions is really a tough thing to do, because it takes the most amount of humility to get there first. There are people that read their Bibles and go to church, but they never seem to get it. It is not because they can’t understand it or are too stupid, please don’t fall into that way of seeing them. It is because there is no way to truly reflect without being incredibly vulnerable, and that is uncomfortable and we will approach it kicking and screaming until we are ready to be broken by what God reveals. True repentance happens when we finally see what is actually happening when the lies we have believed are set aside and the truth shines the real light on our hearts.
Where do you see this passage speaking to you today?
How do you want to respond to what God is revealing and how do you choose to respond?
What are ways you have asked God for something but deep down the intention was to spend it on yourself?
How does this become your prayer today?
I feel this part of James could have been pretty helpful to Jacob at some point in his life. Maybe James could have met up with him right after he ran away from home to escape his brother Esau, and had a cup of coffee with him to explain this to him. Or maybe it would have been a good conversation to have after the birth of a few kids when his wives were vying for position and attention. Or maybe when the relationship with Laban finally fell apart, there would have been enough background to fully paint the picture of the fact that everywhere he went, there seemed to be conflict compounding in all directions. Have you ever met someone like that? It just feels like every relationship in their life is marked by conflict and struggle, but they don’t seem to see the common thread.
Seeing our hidden motives deep down inside our good intentions is really a tough thing to do, because it takes the most amount of humility to get there first. There are people that read their Bibles and go to church, but they never seem to get it. It is not because they can’t understand it or are too stupid, please don’t fall into that way of seeing them. It is because there is no way to truly reflect without being incredibly vulnerable, and that is uncomfortable and we will approach it kicking and screaming until we are ready to be broken by what God reveals. True repentance happens when we finally see what is actually happening when the lies we have believed are set aside and the truth shines the real light on our hearts.
Where do you see this passage speaking to you today?
How do you want to respond to what God is revealing and how do you choose to respond?
What are ways you have asked God for something but deep down the intention was to spend it on yourself?
How does this become your prayer today?
Day 4
Read Romans 14:1-10
'For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. '
Again, when we brought this up in the sermon, we lifted it from its context. So the goal here will be to take it back to its context so that we can better and more fully understand what is being said. In the sermon, we looked at it as a reminder that our lives are not something we can selfishly keep as for ourselves and about only ourselves. There is no way to follow Jesus and live like that. Jesus did not live like that for Himself, but rather lived his life as a sacrifice for other people. His intention was not preservation above all else, but rather it was to bring about salvation for everyone who would come to Him. In this section, Paul is making that point as you continue to read. His reason for pointing this out is more about enduring the struggles of the weaker, more immature followers of Jesus. He is not excusing blatant and rampant sin, but he is allowing room for a person that is still learning and working through what the teachings of Jesus are. He encourages people to endure the struggle of having different beliefs such as what day should be holy and what foods should be eaten in a religious argument. The way you approach this is by not engaging in the argument, not stepping into the traps that could land the relationship into nothing more than a constant battle over words and ideas, but rather to live in a way that you serve each other, even with the disagreements.
In many other places in the Bible, we are encouraged to correct false teaching and to rebuke false teachers. This section, therefore, sets up a tough text to interpret and work through that should be reflected on. The teaching that we are to live in service to everyone because of the gospel, is a very strong and sure teaching that Paul offers up. The question of the details of what other people believe that is different from us, that becomes a difficult thing to navigate that should not be taken lightly. The overall teaching is that the motivation for the way we treat others is found in the example of Jesus.
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Do you have an example of when you wrestled with a belief that was different from yours and how to approach the person that believed that?
Many, many times, when we are interpreting something like this, we will air on the side of what we declare is loving. But please remember, there are many things in the culture that we live in that are argued as not really clear in the Bible because of “interpretation” but really are very clear when you actually read it. Can you think of some examples of this?
The Bible says that if we ask for wisdom, God has plenty to go around. It is strongly encouraged that you actually search the Bible and not just listen to YouTubers or popular heads that share their opinions. Search the Bible yourself and actually read what is written there. Take the time to wrestle with the tough things in the Bible. Sit with people you really respect as Bible teachers and readers and listen to them, rather than trusting a document or a video because it is popular.
How does this become part of your prayer today?
'For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. '
Again, when we brought this up in the sermon, we lifted it from its context. So the goal here will be to take it back to its context so that we can better and more fully understand what is being said. In the sermon, we looked at it as a reminder that our lives are not something we can selfishly keep as for ourselves and about only ourselves. There is no way to follow Jesus and live like that. Jesus did not live like that for Himself, but rather lived his life as a sacrifice for other people. His intention was not preservation above all else, but rather it was to bring about salvation for everyone who would come to Him. In this section, Paul is making that point as you continue to read. His reason for pointing this out is more about enduring the struggles of the weaker, more immature followers of Jesus. He is not excusing blatant and rampant sin, but he is allowing room for a person that is still learning and working through what the teachings of Jesus are. He encourages people to endure the struggle of having different beliefs such as what day should be holy and what foods should be eaten in a religious argument. The way you approach this is by not engaging in the argument, not stepping into the traps that could land the relationship into nothing more than a constant battle over words and ideas, but rather to live in a way that you serve each other, even with the disagreements.
In many other places in the Bible, we are encouraged to correct false teaching and to rebuke false teachers. This section, therefore, sets up a tough text to interpret and work through that should be reflected on. The teaching that we are to live in service to everyone because of the gospel, is a very strong and sure teaching that Paul offers up. The question of the details of what other people believe that is different from us, that becomes a difficult thing to navigate that should not be taken lightly. The overall teaching is that the motivation for the way we treat others is found in the example of Jesus.
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Do you have an example of when you wrestled with a belief that was different from yours and how to approach the person that believed that?
Many, many times, when we are interpreting something like this, we will air on the side of what we declare is loving. But please remember, there are many things in the culture that we live in that are argued as not really clear in the Bible because of “interpretation” but really are very clear when you actually read it. Can you think of some examples of this?
The Bible says that if we ask for wisdom, God has plenty to go around. It is strongly encouraged that you actually search the Bible and not just listen to YouTubers or popular heads that share their opinions. Search the Bible yourself and actually read what is written there. Take the time to wrestle with the tough things in the Bible. Sit with people you really respect as Bible teachers and readers and listen to them, rather than trusting a document or a video because it is popular.
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read Psalm 34
Let me work myself out of a bit of criticism about something meaningless. I struggle with appreciating the Christian music world for a few reasons. Uh-oh…but before you struggle with me, let me explain. There is a lot of music out there. Especially in this modern time, there seems to be an over abundant amount of ability and mediums for making music and putting it out in the world. But there seems to be a lack of originality in that hurried and crowded process. The way I see it, there is a phrase or an idea that someone will put in the lyrics of a song, and within a year or two there are 5-6 more songs recycling that same idea over and over again. Another way to say it is that I struggle with the lack of depth in the lyrics today.
Now that I have said that, let me explain what that says about me. I struggle with my lack of creativity in expressing praise to God as well. I feel that I get caught in one dimensional thoughts that are repetitive and not truly worked through or dwelled on. When I go to the Psalms and read, I get this conviction about the depth that David (who wrote most of these Psalms) clearly had when he meditated on the attributes of God. I feel my time with Youtube videos and busyness so much that I never let my mind dwell on the expanding goodness of God and who He is. Worship is built in the heart through the true thankfulness that is drawn out of dwelling on who God is and what He has done. Stop for a little bit and really get detailed about why God is good.
In this Psalm, what stands out to you in your current situation?
Name some ways that God has been good.
Work out some attributes of God that are hardly ever talked about that you notice from this last week.
How does this become your prayer today?
Let me work myself out of a bit of criticism about something meaningless. I struggle with appreciating the Christian music world for a few reasons. Uh-oh…but before you struggle with me, let me explain. There is a lot of music out there. Especially in this modern time, there seems to be an over abundant amount of ability and mediums for making music and putting it out in the world. But there seems to be a lack of originality in that hurried and crowded process. The way I see it, there is a phrase or an idea that someone will put in the lyrics of a song, and within a year or two there are 5-6 more songs recycling that same idea over and over again. Another way to say it is that I struggle with the lack of depth in the lyrics today.
Now that I have said that, let me explain what that says about me. I struggle with my lack of creativity in expressing praise to God as well. I feel that I get caught in one dimensional thoughts that are repetitive and not truly worked through or dwelled on. When I go to the Psalms and read, I get this conviction about the depth that David (who wrote most of these Psalms) clearly had when he meditated on the attributes of God. I feel my time with Youtube videos and busyness so much that I never let my mind dwell on the expanding goodness of God and who He is. Worship is built in the heart through the true thankfulness that is drawn out of dwelling on who God is and what He has done. Stop for a little bit and really get detailed about why God is good.
In this Psalm, what stands out to you in your current situation?
Name some ways that God has been good.
Work out some attributes of God that are hardly ever talked about that you notice from this last week.
How does this become your prayer today?
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