We Brought Nothing--We Take Nothing

"But Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." 1 Timothy 6:6-7

I love how simple yet powerful this is; it's very matter of fact and to the point. 
Let's break it down a bit:
Godliness: (from our good ole buddy Webster) "The quality or state of being spiritually pure or virtuous"
Contentment: "A state of happiness and satisfaction"
So, being content with where we're all at in our faith journey is "great gain". Now, that doesn't mean we're Mary Poppins and "practically perfect in every way" but to find contentment IN GOD brings satisfaction, joy, and great gain. I may still be going through very painful situations, hard times, or trials...but that doesn't mean I can't have joy too. Pain and joy are not mutually exclusive, they can live within one person at the same time. It's not bad for me to be in pain in the midst of joy, nor is it wrong for me to be joyful in the midst of great pain. Contentment--satisfaction--realizing that even when we have "nothing", in God we have everything.
This is my favorite part, so blunt, so in your face--"For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." BOOM. 
Easy peasy right? We knoooow we can't take anything with us when we die (except secrets of an alternate life as a spy) but how often do we try anyways? I mean seriously...we go to school (if we're so blessed to be able to), go to college (again if able), and then get some high paying job to have all of the toys we want, to provide for our family, to get a nice house, etc. etc. etc. Sound familiar? American "dream". We are such "entitled" people as a whole, not just in America but around the world (but let's be honest, in America it's evidently in your face). NOTHING we do, say, accomplish, create, or save makes us worthy of anything. "We were dead in our trespasses..." DEAD, not "we weren't great people, but doing good things made us 'good people'" No. We.were.dead. It's ONLY by God's grace that we are alive let alone "good" and that's only because of HIS sacrifice and HIS mercy towards us and HIS love. Making us sound pretty pitiful, eh? Because we are. All of us, every single one. From the "do-gooders" to the "bum loaders" doesn't matter, we were all dead and are dead without God's grace in our lives. "For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." SO, rather than 'heads down muddle through' mentality, let's pause for a moment, take a breath, and look for God's little and big blessings around us and how WE can bless OTHERS. 
Kapeesh? Kapeesh.

No Fear of Drought

Jeremiah 17:7-8

New International Version (NIV)

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

    whose confidence is in him.

8 They will be like a tree planted by the water

    that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

    its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

    and never fails to bear fruit.”

So, I don't know about y'all, but I ain't no tree, nor do I have fruit growing off me. Well, obviously not, but I mean in relation to ^ passage. I remember growing up with a very large oak tree in our back yard, I loved that tree. I spent countless hours in that tree overlooking fields and roads and homes and the vast expanse around me. It is still there today, just as strong as ever, though the house has changed many owners hands, though many bitter winter storms have passed through, it is still there, still strong, unmovable. I am no tree. 
Let's backtrack a bit...like way back...like Junior High. *Shivers* No one wants to go back there, but for you, I will. 

So, there I am...standing confidently wearing the latest fashion forward clothing whilst acknowledging everyone who is gazing in wonder at me as they pass by....by that I mean, sitting in a corner or against a wall somewhere wearing an over sized sweatshirt and jeans with some worn out tennis shoes and little to no makeup on my face with, just-rolled-out-of-bed-limp-noodle hair. Paint a pretty clear picture for you? Thought so. Welcome back to Junior High. Now, who of you was the most popular and confident person in the world in junior high? *scans the crowd...no raised hands....oh wait there's one...awkward eye contact* Well, for most of us peasants, junior high was no "glory days" time of life. I have successfully blotted out most of it in my memory, actually. In junior high we are on think we're on the cusp of greatness, that our extreme awkwardness will fade away (along with the chubbiness and pimples and greasy face and hair)...really, we were just unaware that life would hit us even harder in high-school and then as an adult. Though my family heritage roots were strong, my personal ones weren't as grounded and spread out. All to say, I was no tree. I would like to say that back then, all growing up, and even now that I was and am strong and immovable, but that's just not the case. Sure, in some situations I am, like in the fact that, for most situations, a 0.5 point is by far better than a 0.7 or 0.9. Or the fact that cookie dough is one of if not the best ice cream topping, or that the San Francisco Giants is the best baseball team...ever. You see, I can say all of those things with gusto, as absolute facts.........for myself. They are all subjective and because we as humans are so subjective, we bend, sway, move, and uproot easily. So, when those convictions are tested through storms or great fires, they can easily waiver and move. The passage above is using great imagery to say, only God is immovable, only His Word is absolute truth, not those of created creatures (including humans...and yes yes, I know that Scripture was penned by men, but it was GOD-BREATHED...that's the point). If we root ourselves in the Lord and in His unwavering truth and character, no matter the size or intensity of the storms to come our way, the heat of the fire, the appeal of the temptations, we will not be easily moved or shaken...we can and will, through the power of the Lord, stand strong. We will be like trees, flourishing, growing, deepening our roots, bearing fruit. Storms WILL come, but in Christ, we will stand.

Ever-Present Help In Trouble

Psalm 46:1“[Psalm 46] For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Being a musician, writer, and artist myself, I love this, “a song”. The great thing about music back then, is that it was used as a catalyst, a way to keep up with the times, to hear the latest news and chatter, it was truthful. I love music and I appreciate many artists and genres, but to be honest, much of today’s “most popular” “artists” are really quite shameful and uninspired in comparison to song writers and music creators of old. I love hymns, and I’m not really talking about the sometimes monotone and repetitive melodies, no (although there are some nice melodies), I’m talking about the words. Hymns are so rich with theology, many based directly off of scripture. I love taking the words from old hymns and re-vamping the melody to make it something new and relevant while still holding to the absolute and unwavering truth of God. In many of those hymns it talks about God being our “Refuge and ever-present help in danger” or a “stronghold”, one comes to mind specifically, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”. Okay, enough of the spiel, but take some time to think about how God has blessed you today and been your ever-present help not only in danger, but in joy, sorrow, pain, grief, monotonous days, etc. Coram Deo.

Accountable

 

James 5:16“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Something we miss so often in the Christian community, well in any community, is accountability. Since when did it become wrong or a hurtful thing to hold someone to their word or claimed convictions? Yes, it needs to be done in a loving and respectful way, let’s not miss that. However, we just brush over it all and say “oh everyone does it” and then don’t evoke action or change, we don’t encourage one another. If done in a loving and respectful manner, this can be one of the biggest catalysts for change in our personal lives, communities, and eventually, world.

What We Ask of Him

1 John 5:14-15“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

This passage so often is taken out of context and twisted to say that whatever we ask of God in confidence we will be given. Missing one large part though, “according to HIS WILL”. Here’s a cool thought, the more we seek God and dig into Him, the more our hearts will be aligned with His and want what He wants, and therefore what we ask WILL (for the most part) be according to His will and will come to pass. Mind you it may look different than expected, but one of the coolest things about God, is that He’s God…His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.

Faith=Belief that something is True

Hebrews 11:6“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Interesting that people say they have “faith” but don’t believe God is who He says He is, at all times, in all ways. We don’t truly have faith if we don’t truly believe God, now let me make it clear, it’s not wrong to question, God can handle all the questions you got, take Lee Strobel for example, devout atheist who searched and studied and wrestled with questions and with God, and finally came to a point where he personally thought himself foolish if he did not believe in God, and to believe in God, it takes faith. There will be an element of everything that will take faith to completely believe and for us to believe they are true. There is not a thing in the world that without at least an element of faith can be completely trusted by our human minds and hearts because we don’t know everything and even the most brilliant of minds are limited in wisdom and knowledge. Sometimes we need to stop complicating everything and have faith like a child.

Speak the TRUTH in LOVE

 

Ephesians 4:15“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

This verse is SO important to us as believers today. So many times if one of us is stumbling, others around us either don’t address it at all, brushing it off, or when they do address it they sugar coat it and say, “oh everyone struggles with that”. Yes it’s good to relate, but when we leave it at ‘relating’ and don’t push or spur each other on towards Christ and towards change, then those stumbling will just be caught in the ugly cycle again and again and again. When we speak the truth in LOVE and NOT condemnation, there is respect in that, respect for the other person saying, “I love you so much that I can’t let you stay in this cycle” and I don’t know about you, but I would hope someone would do the same for me. It might sting at the moment, but I would rather someone put stinging, healing medicine on my wound rather than let it sit and leave a scar later.