Devotions from Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul

Have you noticed how market forces manipulate us by trying to convince us that their products will give us the contentment for which we search? Advertising tries to make us believe that our lives would be so much better if we purchased their product. If we aren’t grounded in the message that our identity and contentment come from our souls that belong to God, then we can easily be persuaded that we can find identity and belonging by what we consume.  Marketers try to get us to be loyal to their product and we are often walking advertisements of their products as we wear their labels. Even children are manipulated. Let us not forget who we are. We are souls! As souls we are created to enjoy that which is free and simple, and we have worth and dignity as those who belong to Him.

Devotions from Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul

“Contentment is found in the arms of God”.   Contentment is found when we cease from seeing ourselves as a soul that belongs to our own self and instead belongs to God, who made us and loves us. When we know we belong we can hold life, relationships and possessions loosely, have open hands, and live in a place of quiet joy. God is the source of our life, freedom and contentment!

Ever since the Fall, we have been prone to separate the body and soul, usually paying more attention to the care and pleasure of our body. “True freedom, according to Augustine, is the ability to choose to do what is right because body, mind and soul are fully aligned in a way that honors God, bringing us joy and contentment. The body and soul are not in competition but together move us ever deeper into the ‘vast environment’ of God and creation.”

 More tomorrow

Devotions from Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul

For some people the art of savoring life comes very naturally and for others we have to learn it. We need constant reminders that our contentment is rooted in the work of Christ and to be experienced here and now. He wants to transform our lives and give us joy in obedience to Him. But full contentment will never be complete until our heavenly existence. We are people who live in between Eden and heaven and hold the hope that what our soul longs for will be satisfied one day. Living with this hope helps us to accept suffering and disappointment with the knowledge that God is with us and will heal our wounds.  We can be content because our hope is in something yet to come. We don’t need to try to escape our struggles but embrace them. May we walk gently, to live as Jesus would live, mindful of all life. May we remember that “contentment is rooted in a God who loves us and calls us to be present to our earthy, physical existence as we journey toward shalom”.

Devotions based on Lisa Graham McMinn’s boo, The Contented Soul

St. Augustine wrote, “O Lord God, grant us peace, for you have given us all things. Grant us the peace of quietness, the peace of the Sabbath which has no evening.”  All of us are surrounded by simple pleasures. Contentment is waiting for us and invites us to savor each moment, and as we do this it honors God who gave us life.  But many focus on what they don’t possess or pursue and therefore are never satisfied. Too often we live unexamined and disconnected lives.  Paul on the other hand had learned to be content in every living situation, whether it was plenty or little. ( Phil. 4) Jesus life, death, and resurrection were his source of contentment and also the foundation of ours. Contentment can grow deep within us when our soul has been reconciled to God. Even when we go through troubles He will not leave us.  “We can welcome a life tapestry woven with threads both painful and joyous, because  we are loved and held by a personally present God.”

Devotions taken from Sacred Romance book by John Eldridge

We Are Lovers

“The Scriptures employ a wide scale of metaphors to capture the many facets of our relationship with God. If you consider them in a sort of ascending order, there is a noticeable and breathtaking progression.

Down near the bottom of the totem pole we are the clay and he is the Potter. Moving up a notch, we are the sheep and he is the Shepherd, which is a little better position on the food chain but hardly flattering; sheep don’t have a reputation as the most graceful and intelligent creatures in the world. Moving upward, we are the servants of the Master, which at least lets us into the house, even if we have to wipe our feet, watch our manners, and not talk too much. Most Christians never get past this point, but the ladder of metaphors is about to make a swift ascent. God also calls us his children and Himself our heavenly Father, which brings us into the possibility of real intimacy- love is not one of the things a vase and its craftsman share together, nor does a sheep truly know the heart of the shepherd, though it may enjoy the fruits of his kindness. Still, there is something missing even in the best parent-child relationship. Friendship levels the playing field in a way family never can, at least not until the kids have grown and left the house. Friendship opens a level of communion that a five-year-old doesn’t know with his mother and father. And “friends” are what he calls us.

But there is still a higher and deeper level of intimacy and partnership awaiting us at the top of this metaphorical ascent. We are lovers. The courtship that began with a honeymoon in the Garden culminates in the wedding feast of the Lamb. “I will take delight in you,” he says to us, “as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will I rejoice over you,”

so that we might say in return, “I am my beloved’s and his desire is for me.”

(/The Sacred Romance /

Devotions from Henri Nouwen’s book, Spiritual formation

Often our cups are so full of our own opinions and speculations that we miss what God has for us now.  In spiritual formation we need a constant discipline of prayer so we can move from darkness to light. This transparency will change us  in relationship with nature, time, and with people.  We will no longer view property to control but a gift to be received and shared. Time is no longer a random series of events but an opportunity for a change of heart and peace in the present moment.  When people are no longer just interesting characters to meet or exploit for our own purpose, they can be loved, understood, and protected. So contemplative prayer helps us remove our blindfolds and see the world as sacramental- connected and constantly revealing to us the great love of God. Let us have eyes to see and ears to hear and receive God’s truth, beauty and wisdom.

Devotions from Henri Nouwen’s book, Spiritual Formation

When Henri talks about Spiritual formation, he is not giving steps or stages on the way to perfection. Instead it’s about “The movements from the mind to the heart through prayer in its many forms that reunite us with God, each other, and our truest self.” He thinks of prayer as standing in the presence of God with the mind in the heart, where we are one within ourselves, with God and with others. He names some practices that help fashion our hearts for God.

1. Reflection on our own hearts and times.  Our spiritual lives are lived in the midst of pains and joys of here and now. So we need to look at the way we think, speak, feel, and act to become aware of our hunger for the Spirit.
2. Lectio  divina. Lectio means to read the Bible with reverence and openness to what the Spirit is saying to us in the present moment. We read not for information but of formation. It is a sacred book to nurture us and to unify our hearts and minds.
3. Silence. Without silence the Word of God can’t bear fruit or become our inner guide and speak to us.  It is not an easy discipline but when our minds and hearts are filled with words, there is no space for the Word to descend from our mind into our hearts where it can become flesh and blood in us.
4. Outward journey to community. “Prayer in the spiritual life leads to community, and community to prayer.” In community we discover our own woundedness, but it is also a place of healing.  It is in community that we

       learn what it means to confess our weaknesses and to forgive each other.

Spiritual formation is the way of the heart and the way to freedom. We are set free to enjoy life in all its fullness.

Devotions from Fil Anderson’s book Breaking the Rules

Religion is the self-absorbed search for a way to be in control of our own well-being, says Larry Crabb.  It uses rules to keep us in line and rituals to remind us of our failure to live up to the rules. Shame and guilt compel us to strive to improve our performance and keep up our appearances. But it leaves us lonely and isolated and robs us of our contentment and joy.
But we were really designed to live in intimate union with God. Our part is to open up to Him, to be done with legalism and to enter a deep relationship with Him. It’s not about image and how we look to other people.  God hates when we put on a religious show and turn around and ignore the things that matter most to Him.  We cannot love Him apart from surrendering to His will. “Abandonment to God’s love is the way we find the home for which our souls most deeply yearn and the power to touch the lives of others in a healing way.”

The most remarkable thing is to see the transformation that occurs when His love touches a willing heart! When we walk with Jesus and observe how He does things, no rules are necessary. Let us pray, worship, ponder Scripture, and offer service to others until they become so natural to us that we no longer need rules.