"I know both how to be abased,
and I know how to abound:
every where and in all things
I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Philippians 4:12,13

Only "Things"

Paul accepted what Jesus had to offer!
He learned the secret of being content in every situation,
whether well-fed or hungry,
whether living in plenty or in want.
He trusted in Jesus, Who gave him strength!

People today are sometimes foolish.
They look for life and peace in "things,"
but Jesus says that we can have life and peace
and joy with or without "things"!

Let's look at Jesus while he had been in the desert
for 40 days and 40 nights.
Without food, He must have been extremely hungry
when Satan approached Him!
(By the way,
always expect Satan to tempt you in your weakest moments.)
He said to Jesus,
"If you are the Son of God,
tell these stones to become bread."

Jesus failed to respond to this temptation,
so Satan attempted pride.
With another failure Satan "upped the ante"
and offered Jesus greater "things" than food.
He offered the world!

He said, "all these things will I give You,
if You will fall down and worship me."
With this statement, Satan finally arrived at the real issue:
"Fall down and worship me!"

All sin stripped of its glamour and laid bare
is the dethroning of God
to make some "thing" (living or non-living), a god.

Satan can offer you only "things" ~ nothing more!
Jesus offers you abundant life ~ life to its fullest!
The life Jesus offers us has promises for both the present life
and the life to come.
(read John 10:10; 1Timothy 4:8)
"Things" cannot bring life and happiness because they are temporary.
Only a foolish person spends their life acquiring "things"
to the neglecting of the life Jesus offers.

If you will get your Bible out and read Luke 12:16-21,
Jesus tells of such a foolish man,
who acquired so many "things" that he had to tear down his barns
and build bigger ones.
And then, with a sigh of relief, he said,
"Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years;
 take it easy, eat, drink, and be merry."
But then God said of him:
"then whose shall those "things" be which you have provided?"
The man's life was required of him that night.

"Things" have an end ~ but eternal life is forever.

The things Satan offers us are in no way certain
because he is a liar!
Jesus tells us, "There is no truth in him." When he lies, he speaks
his native language, "for he is a liar, and the father of it."
Satan cannot offer you anything without telling a lie.

On the other hand, Jesus is truth!
Jesus cannot promise you anything that He will not or cannot fulfill.

Just as Satan offered Jesus all these "things",
he offers them to us today.
Are we accepting his offer?
If your day-by-day life is consumed in acquiring "things",
you have accepted.
Satan is saying to you, "All these "things" will I give you"
but I believe Jesus' estimation of Satan:
You are being lied to!

We most certainly came into this world nude, without "things!"
And we can rest assured, we will be leaving in that same manner
when our life here on earth is through,
taking no "thing" with us!

Think on this thing:
Bless others in sharing some thing God has blessed you with.
Some people out there are less fortunate than you may be.
After all, you really can't take it with you!
   
    
 

"Lord Dictated Them"