President returns to White House. President Obama today delivers remarks at the VFW National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona before the first family returns to Washington after a four-day Western trip that included visits to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon.
President Obama was in Montana Friday and Colorado Saturday for health care town hall meetings. He denounced news media emphasis on scenes of angry protesters at town halls held by members of Congress on health care. "What you haven't seen on TV," he said, "and what makes me proud are the many constructive meetings going on all over the country."
If you stumble, they'll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.
You'll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path. (The Message)
"Were we to judge indeed by mere appearances, the children of God are far from being thus borne up aloft in their career; often they labour and pant with exertion, occasionally they stagger and fall, and it is with a struggle that they advance in their course; but as in the midst of all this weakness it is only by the singular help of God that they are preserved every moment from falling and from being destroyed, we need not wonder that the Psalmist should speak in such exalted terms of the assistance which they receive through the ministrations of angels."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
"The Desire for Riches"
1 Timothy 6:9
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. (ESV)
"Discontent is one of the most powerful shaping influences in our society." What a great statement that is. And true. All you have to do is watch televesion for 20 minutes, and the 10 minutes of commercials you see will prove that. Even our politicians thrive on discontent. Remember the big catch-word in the last campaign? "CHANGE!"
Anyone content with the "change" we've seen?
What happens when discontent is the driving force in a life? Affairs, massive piles of debt, distortion of Biblical truth to make the message more popular...Paul warns us in today's passage that the discontentment previously spoken of, combined with a desire to get rich, can result in some very dangerous and senseless desires that "plunge people into ruin and destruction."
Please notice that it is not being rich that is the cause of these things. Wealth, in and of itself, has no evil quality. The warning is against letting the desire for wealth be the end that justifies any means. Having luxuries is not to be condemned, but lusting after them is always sinful. People who worship gold and silver will eventually find that their bank accounts cannot save them.
"The First Last, the Last First"
Matthew 20:13
But he replied to one of them, �Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? (ESV)
This verse is taken from the parable of the generous landowner, and is sandwiched by two almost identical statements by Jesus: "But many who are first will be last, and the last first" (Matthew 19:30), and "So the last will be first, and the first last" (Mathew 20:16).
I agree with the author here, who says, "I believe Jesus is asserting the sovereign prerogative of God to dispense His favors as He pleases." There is often no correlation between what one deserves and what they receive. And this whole series of parables from Jesus was in response to Peter's statement, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" One author summarized what Peter said this way: "The more we do, the more we earn, and the more God owes us."
"If we're to succeed in living by grace, we must come to terms with the fact that God is sovereign in dispensing His gracious favors, and He owes us no explanation when His actions don't correspond with our system of merits." We have no grounds for grumbling about what we receive, or don't receive, from God.
I thank you again for the assistance that you provide through angels and any other means. Assistance without which I would not even be able to walk out my front door this morning. I praise you for your hand in my life every day.
I pray, Lord, for a spirit of contentment. I have spent a large portion of my life being discontent, and that needs to change. I pray that it's not too late for me to change in a positive direction.
Grace and peace, friends.