God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
Randy’s Nine Personal Guidelines for Contentment (1 Tim. 6:6):
1. Pursue the gold, not the tin – Remember only Jesus Christ is sufficient to bring the fullness of joy that my heart desires. Anything less is not built to bring me the highest satisfaction. God is not in the business of creating idols (Mt. 13:45-46).
2. Be thankful for what you have – Anything beyond hell is a gift of God’s grace (1 Thes. 5:18).
3. Tame those tastebuds – I won’t want what I don’t know is out there (1 Cor. 9:27).
4. Be wary of commercials – The goal of advertising is to breed discontentment to get me to want something I never thought I needed (1 Tim. 6:9).
5. Prioritize your needs, not your wants – Pursue that which God promises, not that which is seldom received or breeds a desire for more. What does God want me to want (1 Tim. 6:7-8).
6. Know when enough is enough – Does a bigger income always need to translate into a bigger lifestyle (Phil. 4:11-12)?
7. No U-Hails behind hearses – The temporary things don’t last in this life and are definitely not transferred to the next. Pursue what I’ll cherish for an eternity (Mt. 6:19-21).
8. The two greatest commandments – The four sins of discontentment, doubt and complaining against God and jealously and coveting against people, will end when I love God and love others (Mt. 22:38-40).
9. Who’s the boss? – Do I own my stuff or does my stuff own me (1 Cor. 6:12)?
The Scriptures teach…that persons have two constituent parts that exist in one unique whole; these constituent parts are called the “body” and “spirit” or the “inner person” and the “outer person.” The two elements may be distinguished but cannot ultimately be separated. Both are an essential aspect of a human being. Christians, therefore, should never discount either the spirit or the body. We do not counsel people to overcome their physical distress with some sort of “mind over matter” willpower. Instead, in harmony with Scripture, we take the body seriously. Scripture affirms that people need food (James 2:15-16), water (Rom. 12:20), and sleep (Eccl. 5:12). Paul affirmed the use of medicinal substances for the body (1 Tim. 5:23).