July 3

 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Timothy 6:6

Godliness is God-centeredness, having the Lord at the centre of all aspects of life, or as Poole puts it: “…the exercise of a true faith in Christ, conjoined with a holy life…”! The outflow of all we might call ‘true religious piousness’, the practice of holiness, along with the serenity of the sufficiency which is found in Jesus, is truly great riches! Those who have built this level of relationship with the Lord are satisfied individuals, people who will not need much else in life. The truth and depth of the text before us, escapes most believers. All too often godliness is taken to be a burdensome chore, an unwelcome imposition on mind, heart and time. Unholy, disgruntled and discontented ‘Christians’, are merely church-going, pew warmers! That is not at all the life to which Christ has called us to follow! He is the King Eternal and His riches are our great gain, if we but partake of the kind of life He wants us to live. It is a life of holiness, faithfulness and love; a life filled with new discoveries of truth and life principles, freshly delivered to us by His Holy Spirit every day! It is a life that fulfils, contents and satisfies beyond anything which we ever experienced prior to knowing the Lord! The key is living it the way Jesus wants us to live it, according to His word and in His Spirit. It is like having a very specific recipe which when followed will yield the desired result. Obviously if we choose to change the values, contents or method, in the recipe, we cannot expect the same outcome! Yet foolishly so many think they can manipulate God’s precepts to suit themselves and still retain a contentment in Christ, a fulfilling joy or a sense of real purpose, direction and growth! 

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion