Can’t Get No Satisfaction: Exodus 2:21

Exodus 2:21 reads “Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.” 

As you read the following, you’ll have to hum the tune and imagine Mick Jagger’s voice singing the chorus from one of The Rolling Stones’ greatest hits:  “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (lyrics below courtesy of http://www.lyricfind.com)

“I can’t get no satisfaction, I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no”

The gist of the song is one familiar to most people.  No matter how hard someone tries in their own power, they can’t get the satisfaction they crave.  Whether it be power, money, fame, influence…it’s all in vain.  Solomon spoke of this in Ecclesiastes “All is vanity (vain)”.  I mused about the word “content” one day not too long ago.  When one thinks of being content or contentment, I think of the image of the sheep…content as long as it has food, water, and protection.  I felt led to research the word “content” in the Holy Bible and see where and how it was used. Now, this is not every use of the word, but the ones I felt led by God to think on.  So I hope He blesses you in these thoughts and that…you’ll be content. 🙂 

So, let’s start with Exodus and the story of Moses.  After he had been banished by Pharaoh and had wandered the desert, he came to the aid of some Midianite shepherd women.  When they told their father of what he had done, he bade them go get him and bring him to their house. Exodus 2:21 reads “Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.”  Moses had gone from regal surroundings to bare survival, and now had found welcome by this man’s family.  He now had food, water, shelter, and even a wife and later a son.  I think I’d be happy, too, to come off that roller coaster better off than how I’d been.

How about you, Christian?  Are you happy with what God has given you?  No matter the quantity, all we have comes from the Lord Himself.

Something to think about!

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Proverbs 29:8-9

verse 8: “Scorners set a city aflame, But wise men turn away anger.”

If you search for “Vancouver riots 2011 news”, you will still find plenty of information on the aftermath of the NHL Vancouver Canucks’ loss to the Boston Bruins in the 2011 Stanley Cup finals. Unfortunately in the last several years, we have seen scenes of the winning team’s fans going nuts in the streets, prompting some police arrests. However, the Vancouver riots were from the losing team’s fans! There were some accounts as well that some general anarchists and hooligans used the loss and the fans’ initial rioting to engage in mayhem as well. Scenes from Vancouver of violence and fires seemed to fill television and Internet news programs. Local residents were appalled at the behavior and saddened at the “black eye” it gave the city of Vancouver.

The term scorn, according to Merriam-Webster online, means:
1. open dislike and disrespect or derision often mixed with indignation
2. an expression of contempt or derision
3. an object of extreme disdain, contempt, or derision : something contemptible
( See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scorn)

I can see examples of that daily in the news as we enter the national presidential campaigns, as we hear the saber-rattling of nations against other nations, as we see the receding of calm discussion and debate give way to the yelling “sound-bite” of the moment. More than ever, this is when we need cooler heads to prevail. Solomon, the wisest man in the world at the time, recognized this. Always remember, too, that above all the din…God is still in control. Pray that our leaders would seek His wisdom to keep the city from being set aflame, so to speak.

Something to think about.

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Proverbs 1:1-6

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the beginning of the study on Proverbs. This study will be much like the one I did for 1 and 2 Corinthians…we’ll read through chapter by chapter, and, with God’s guidance, I’ll share some insights on verses He points out to me. So, on with the book!

verses 5-6: “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.”

There is one rule about “helping Daddy” that I always tell my sons: “what is the first rule when you help Daddy?” Answer: “follow instructions!” My sons are eager to help me (when they are helping me. 🙂 ) However, they are not going to know what to do or how to do it unless they receive instruction. They might know how to do something…but they might not know the best, most efficient way to do it unless they receive counsel.

Homework, for instance, can seem hard to an elementary school-age child. On several occasions, my sons couldn’t understand what was being asked in math problems. I rephrased the questions in ways they would understand, and thus explain the process of how to arrive at the answer. They grasped the concepts I explained to them, and they understood it. Up till that moment, though, those math problems were undecipherable riddles to them that made no sense.

The wisdom that Solomon had, was granted to him by God. When he ascended to the throne of his father David, Solomon knew he would need God’s help to rule the people wisely, and when God offered him any gift, he asked for wisdom. God still reigns today, and knows all. He may choose to answer a question in a different response than we expect. However the question is answered, it’s not because He doesn’t know the answer. God knows better for us than we know ourselves. Remember, Jesus also said in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given to you…” Sometimes, all you have to do to gain the answers…is to ask.

Have a blessed day!

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2 Corinthians 3:4-11

verse 5: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.”

Look throughout the Bible at the lives of kings and rulers over Israel, and you’ll notice something. Those rulers that acknowledged and followed God, and led the nation in following God, were blessed and given much. Those that didn’t follow and acknowledge God, utterly failed miserably and would lead the country down to ruinous times. Do you think Solomon was as wise as he was on his own? No, God gave him that wisdom. Think Moses was a superhero with the power to part the Red Sea? Nope, that was God…Moses was just a tool in God’s hand.

I think about this when I look back at the Carpenters for Christ mission trips I’ve been on, and all that was accomplished due to God. I count it a blessing to be a tool in His hands!

We need to remember in this materialistic society that we live in today, that God owns it all. The old phrase “you can’t take it with you” is true; when we die, all the material “stuff” stays here. Paul is telling the Corinthians, “our adequacy is from God”. The next time you’re tempted to say “look what I did” or “look who I am”…point the way to God and say, “looked what God did” and “look who He is!”

Have a blessed day in Him!

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