"Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's....

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy... He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities...

Bless the Lord, o my soul!"

Excerpts from Psalm 103

I am becoming more and more convinced that daily gratitude and a counting on one's blessings are a sovereign remedy against discontentment and grumbling and all the ills that flow from them. Even when we experience a tragic providence or suffer wrong, we are not being dealt with according to our iniquity. This is true even for the reprobate.

I am ashamed when I think of all the times I have grumbled and have forgotten the good things in life that I enjoy. Do I have sleepless nights? At least I lie on a soft bed while enduring them. Is my house a mess? At least I have a house, and a pretty comfortable one at that. In fact, I live and eat better than kings of old. When I weigh all the advantages that I enjoy in this life against the petty miseries I have endured, I have much to be thankful for.

On another note... Yesterday I heard a sermon on Mark 10:23-27. It was a potent reminder against the sin of covetousness. It is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. It is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God if his trust is in his riches. Money can get you a lot of places in this life, but it won't buy you heaven.

But is covetousness limited just to money and things?

Pastor Greg made the point that if we desire anything above God -- if there is anything we would not give up in this life in order to have Christ -- we are sinning through covetousness. Our faith and our happiness lie not in our spouse, children, friends, family, calling, interests, health, supplements, studies, etc. Our faith is to be in Christ, and Christ alone. I guess the acid test for determining where our heart's treasure is, is to look at the amount of time we spend on anything compared to the time we devote to communing with Christ. If communion with Christ has become a chore, we are in trouble.