Daily Reading: Hebrews 13:5-6:
“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
What do you and I have in common as believers in Jesus Christ? We have God as our Father which makes us brothers and sisters in Christ. Be content with having the very presence of God. Another way to look at this and the reason I believe it is connected to money is it draws the perfect contrast. We can be tempted to see the blessing and forgot the Blesser or put stock in the love of stuff, but the real blessing is God’s presence. Being with God is the greatest blessing there is.
The message is not that we shouldn’t be content with the blessings we have- but the message is don’t use any of our material things as a contentment barometer. We can be content with no thing because we already have everything when God is with us. Our contentment is not in things.
In Hebrews 13:5 the word “being content” is arkeō which means to ward off- defend, raise a barrier.
God has promised you His constant presence but are we conscious of His presence every day? Raise a barrier, ward off the love of money when you are conscious of His presence every day, you will experience a peace that gives you rest, joy inexpressible in your spirit and a power that nothing in this world can offer. In fact, you will begin to be peaceful and powerful like Jesus. You will speak and behave like Him. This is because you cannot be in God’s presence without His beauty, love, peace, power and glory rubbing off on you.
The presence of God finds its greatest expression in Immanuel, God with us. God himself comes to save. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, entered human history to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). In his grace, God buys us back in the most unimaginable way possible: God in Christ became a man, walked among humanity, and died for his people.
In this merciful act, Christ reconciles us to himself and re-opens access to the Father so that those who were once exiled from his presence might again draw near to God (Hebrews 4:16; 7:19).
The purposes of the church are tied to the presence of God.
The New Testament calls the church a temple for a reason. The church is the instrument the Lord uses to disseminate his presence to a lost and sinful world.
To be a joyful Christian is to know God’s presence.
A day spent in God’s presence where you are satisfied by His grace is better than a thousand spent elsewhere (Psalm 84:10).