Hello [Name]! In this issue...

• From the Editor
• Learning Contentment 
• Question of the Week

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM THE EDITOR

I keep having this same theme running over and over in my heart and mind: spiritual satisfaction in Christ, contentment, peace and joy.  There was a time when you could tell the Christians by the joy.  "I can just look at you and see there's something different about you!  What is your secret?  What are you so happy about?" 

When was the last time someone accused you of being "too happy"? Today it seems we're more jaded than joyful, more pessimistic than peaceful. Friends, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  As you will discover by reading this week's article, it has nothing to do with what's happening around you, but what's happening inside you. Let's get back to the One Thing that is needed and re-ignite that old spiritual flame!

I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LEARNING CONTENTMENT
by Chip Brogden

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Php. 4:11-13).

 It is rather easy to be content when things are going well.  So it is especially interesting to note that the happiest letter Paul ever wrote was penned while he was chained to a Roman solider, waiting for a possible sentence of death.  “Rejoice in the Lord always… and again I say, rejoice” (Php. 4:4)!  He says he has learned to be content. 

All of us face challenging and difficult circumstances. So let us look closely at Paul’s experience and see if we can discover the source of his contentedness.

Contentment is not a passive, laid-back attitude that just accepts whatever happens without a whimper of protest.  It is not being indifferent as to whether or not your circumstances will ever improve.  Contentment is not settling for less than you are capable of.

Nor is contentment a gift for those who have unusually strong faith.  Paul was not content just because he was Paul. When he explains his secret he does not reveal anything super-spiritual or super-human about it.  That place of happy contentment is achievable by anyone through very ordinary means:  “I have learned… to be content.”

No one is naturally content when faced with difficult circumstances.  Contentment must be learned, and the only way to learn it is to go through some things that test it. Paul learned to be content.  That means I can learn contentment, and so can you. 

The Greek word for “content” here is only used once in the entire Bible.  It means a sufficiency in one's self, being strong enough or possessing enough to need no aid or support.  It is the ability to live independently of external circumstances.  Elsewhere Paul has confirmed that he is not sufficient in himself, but his sufficiency is of God (2 Cor. 3:5).  And he has just told the Philippians that “we rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh” (Php. 3:3).  So how can we reconcile that with this “self-sufficiency” he now speaks of?

Perhaps it can be explained in this way: there is a sufficiency within us that does not come from us.  It is “in me” but it is not “from me.”  I am sustained from within by something that supplies me from without!  And this sufficiency is so complete that I can live independently of my circumstances – whether they are good or bad!

That is a powerful position to be in.  But that kind of contentment is something that must be learned.  Religion caters to spiritually discontented people with a poverty mentality who are just trying to scrape through from one church service, one revival, or one “great move of God” to the next.   Even after we come out of religion some of our old habits are not easy to shake off.  Christians who relentlessly seek out “fellowship” with other like-minded believers (whether they go to church or not) run the risk of making fellowship with others the foundation of their spiritual life instead of Jesus.  The unintended consequence of this is the opposite of what we want – spiritual diminishment and discontentment!

We need to learn the kind of spiritual contentment that is completely dependent on Christ – not on Christians! How do we learn this lesson?  Paul learned it when “everyone in Asia” deserted him (2 Tim. 1:15).  This would be a serious blow to most people, but Paul had learned something!  Have we learned it? 

“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound.”  Both! Learning contentment is not just figuring out how to make do with little, it is also making do with a lot.  How we respond to having too little says something about us, but how we respond to having too much says something also. “I know both,” says Paul, whether full or hungry, whether abounding or suffering need.  He is independent of his circumstances.  He is the same, whether he has a lot or whether he has a little. 

Regardless of what state you find yourself in today, you too can do “all things through Christ” Who strengthens you.  The greater your deficiency, the greater His sufficiency.  In your weakness His strength is more clearly revealed.  Even in your most difficult moments you will find in Him a rich storehouse of spiritual sufficiency that exceeds all your expectations. There are no quick fixes, easy answers, or instant solutions to all your problems – but there is a Person Who lives in you, One Who has already proven Himself to be Sufficient for Anything and Master of Everything.  Let Him be Enough.

» Click here to post or read comments on this article... http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org/articles/contentment.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Q: What happens to those Christians who fail to overcome; who fail to put on Christ? What happens to the Christian who fails to set aside besetting sins? There is much written about those who succeed in terms of benefits received but what of those who fail to achieve the recommendations set down by Christ first, the Twelve and the rest? I see so little written on the consequence to Christians who simply walk through that first gate and just sit down. What happens to them?

A: As I thought about the answer to this question a still, small voice spoke to me and said: "I am on the side of the underachiever!" Praise God! All of us have sinned and come short of God's ideal. Peter was all the things you describe.  Every one of those disciples forsook Jesus and fled when they were tested.  We would probably write them off as rejects, but Jesus just continues to shepherd them.  He doesn't stop shepherding a sheep just because the sheep becomes unruly; that's what the shepherd is for.

I'm not sure that "what happens to them" is the right question.  It implies that if they don't straighten up God might just decide He's had enough and may strike them with lightning.  Even in the question there seems to be a little fear and guilt at work, which is how religion motivates people.  What happens to them is they are constantly disappointed and defeated, full of guilt and frustration, angry at themselves, ready to give up and feeling a bit disillusioned.  Not a good place to be in.

So I believe a more proactive question is: What can we do to get them moving in the right direction? The specific answer to that has a lot to do with the person involved.  If a Christian fails to overcome the first thing I need to find out is: Are they really a Christian?  Not to condemn or accuse, but to ascertain if they really have an attachment to the Vine. Being religious and "loving Jesus with all your heart" is not enough.  There must be a living, spiritual union with Christ.  He is the only reason anyone can overcome in the first place.  Once that is established then it must be maintained. The failure to grow spiritually is usually the result of poor or non-existent Christ-centered discipleship.  Who is responsible to provide that?  Please don't say your church or your pastor.  That is the responsibility of everyone who is spiritually mature.  You cannot hold a baby responsible for failing to grow if the parents are morons, and most baby Christians have had spiritual idiots for parents (or no parents at all).  Those who supposedly "get it" should be doing what they can for those who still struggle.

P.S. I am very passionate about spiritual growth and maturity in Christ. In the next few weeks we'll announce a solution to the problem of Christians who fail to grow spiritually.  I'm excited about the possibilities.  Please stay tuned to find out more!