Devotional using scripture, quote from John Calvin and thoughts for the day each day- on the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth.
"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. Ihave learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Philippians 4:11b-12)
Calvin: Even poverty, if it be judged in itself, is misery; likewise exile, contempt, pirson, disgrace; finally, deaht itself is the ultimate of all calamities. But when the favor or our God breathes upon us, every one of these things turns into happiness for us. (3:8.7)
Thoughts: If you go to Philippi, you can still see the first century jail in which Paul was imprisoned- they had built a huge church on top of the sacred sight. For it is the jail where Paul and Silas sang, and that dungeon turned into a temple- where the jailer was baptized. I just got back from Iquitos Peru where a large number of people- at least 80,000 do not have eletricity or clean water. Of course, Calvin didn't either- even the very wealthy didn't in Calvin's day. Is it possible to be happy without all the comforts this world offers? Yes. Joy comes from God. In a recession in which so many have lost the ability to have as much as they did have, it is even more important to recognize our happiness is not in things. If we miss things too much, it takes away from the joy the Lord gives us.
Prayer: Teach us, O Lord, as you taught Paul to be content in any and every situation. Help us to find our joy in you- our strength.
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