It is finished

"It is finished."

Jesus cried out on the cross, "it is finished," before He bowed His head and dismissed His spirit.  The phrase Jesus uttered is one magnificent word in the Greek, tetelestai, which means "paid in full." 

If Jesus' day when a man was put in prison, a certificate of debt would be nailed to his prison door stating his crime and the penalty.  When the prisoner had served his time, the judge would write across this certificate, "Paid in full,"  and give it to the man so he could never be punished again for the same crime.  If anyone ever accused him again, the former felon could produce his certificate and say, "you can't touch me.  My debt has been paid."

So when the devil comes to taunt and accuse you for your sins, you can point to God's word and say, "you can't touch me because this is my bill of deliverance.  The debt for my sin has been paid by Jesus on the cross once and for all."   PRAISE THE LORD!!

Are you content?

"Not that I speak in respect of want:  For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."  -Philippians 4:11

Paul came to a place in his life--not a physical place, but a spiritual place--where he felt divine contentment.  Most people think they know what this word "contentment"  means, but let me tell you what it means in God's Word...."self contained."

In the context of this passage, we learn that Paul was thanking people for their love gifts to him, but he wanted them also to know he was not dependent upon them because God had brought him to a place of sufficiency in Himself alone.  That is, Paul was able to say, "I have learned that I don't need anything or anybody else, but the Lord.  I have Him, and therefore, I am self-contained, not self-sufficient.  I can do all things through Christ."