Mount Clinton Mennonite Church

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(Sept. 21, 2003)

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When It Rains, It Pours!

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." --Phil. 4:12 (NIV)
Context: Phil. 4: 10-14 (NIV)

Recently, September 18 and 19, Hurricane Isabel came ashore in North Carolina and traveled across Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and on into Canada. Many localities experienced rain, pouring down rain. With the wind, rain and flooding, there came loss of life, loss of electricity, and loss of property. How can one explain this and worse calamities?

That question does not have a nice packaged answer that I know. But the apostle Paul apparently developed a perspective that we would do well to pattern our lives after, being content in all circumstances. In his letter to the Christians at the church in Philippi, just a couple of sentences after the focus verse above, Paul adds: "Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles."

So this attitude has two sides to it. I need to learn to be content in any circumstance that I find myself, and I need to reach our and share with others in their troubling times. This is not fatalism or selfishness; it is trusting in God and letting him work through us for the good of others.

Prayer: Our Lord, help us to really know and believe that you are in control of all of our lives. And help us to reach out, as your messengers, to others in their times of need. In Jesus name and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen!

Richard Bowman

Pastor: Lee Martin (email: mcmchurch@juno.com )
Editor: Richard Bowman (email: rbowman@bridgewater.edu )
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Maintained by Richard L. Bowman (email: rbowman@bridgewater.edu. Last modified: 22-Sep-03.