February
2016
Week 5
IGNITE
Class 10
Inductive
Bible Study (IBS)
Be Content
“Let your conduct be without
covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘“I will never leave
you nor forsake you.”’
– Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)
“Let your conduct be without
covetousness…”
That by itself is a heavy topic, and just this section could be talked about
for a week-long period! First the
conduct; I will be the first to admit that I don’t usually conduct myself very
well in many various occasions.
Fortunately, our God provides the His standard via the apostle Paul, who
lays this out very clearly in Ephesians 4:1-3 “I, therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of
the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness with
long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
It doesn’t get much more clear than that, and as I mentioned before – it’s
not an easy load! But just as James
1:2&4 say, we are to “…count it all
joy when we fall into various trials…that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing.” My walk with
Christ is to be light!! Now to tackle
covetousness…this is a characteristic that has become part of the human nature
since the fall of Adam and Eve, and it will continue to plague the us until
Christ returns and bestows on us eternal bodies. With it only being a day after the
announcements of the teams and locations for our IGNITE field time, this is
definitely a time that I could find myself walking in covetousness – envying
others, be it location, teammates, or who knows what! However, the verse continues and straightens
that thought out right away – “be content
with such things as you have!!” And
just to clarify, I can assure you I am not in the least bit disappointed in the
decisions made – I’m enthralled to see what the Lord will do! That being said though, what I have right now
at this moment is the city of Antigua, Guatemala, and the Lord has placed me
here to do His work and give to these people the gift He has given me – eternal
life with Him. Yes, this can be a
difficult, and I often am scared of exposing my faith along with being nervous
of embarrassing myself while crossing the language barrier. But God.
That phrase…It always cuts me, because I forget God so easily; it also
makes me chuckle at myself as I realize His power and ask – why am I afraid? Of what am I scared of? The end of the verse states it plainly, “For He Himself has said, ‘“I will never
leave you nor forsake you.” I will
be content in the Lord. Joshua 1:9 and 1
Chronicles 28:10&20 come to mind where He reinforces this to me; all three
verses say “Be Strong” and two of them also affirm that God will “never leave
nor forsake” me. And when it comes to
being a witness, I can listen to David’s words to Solomon at the end of 1
Chronicles 28:10 “…be strong, and do it.”
It doesn’t get much more straight forward than that!
Application:
Today, I will set aside some time dedicated to learning and practicing
Spanish (reading my notes and books, then ask to practice with Josh and/or Jack)
so I’m better prepared the next time the Lord presents an opportunity to
witness.
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