Transformed Lives Transforming The World

Philippians 4:9

"Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you."

What is believing? Is it some form of abstract knowledge that has no effect on your life?  Or is it knowledge that changes how you live?  When we say that we believe in Christ we are saying that we know him and that knowledge changes how we live and how we act and how we think.  In fact, the true knowledge of God , knowledge that only believers can have, doesn't leave anything unchanged.  Every aspect of our lives are changed.  Does your life reflect putting into "practice" your belief?

(Adam Kareus)

Show Off

If you could show off one attribute of who you are, what would it be?  What do you currently try to show off?  Many try to prove their intellect, always having an answer no matter what the question.  Others try to show off their connections, always having a name to drop or text to send.  What is your characteristic?  What is it that you want to be known by?

In Philippians 4.5 the text says, "Let your gentleness be evident to all."  Gentleness?  Not intellect or humor or financial status, the text says gentleness.  I expect truthfulness or righteousness or power, but the text says gentleness. 

I wonder, are you making your gentleness evident to all?  Do you have strength that is hidden, knowledge that is not apparent, wisdom in reserve, so that your gentleness can be made known? How would the church be viewed if we were first and foremost known for treating people in a gentle way?  How would our lives be different if we could softly apply truth into the lives of people in way that did not hurt them, but instead assisted their lives.  Let your gentleness be evident to all.

(Kevin Thompson)

The mind is a terrible thing to waste

The United Negro College Fund's slogan is, "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste."  While I have heard this slogan before because I've have seen the commercials soliciting support for the United Negro College Fund, I think The Apostle Paul could have used this slogan throughout the book of Philippians. For example, in Philippians 4:8, he encouraged us to know Christ and to use our minds to think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

I think it is important to note how important Paul thinks the mind is in our battle to work out our salvation (to become what God says will be satisfying to us).  If we want to live more like Christ, Paul encourages us to use our minds.  

I want to encourage you to just skim over the book of Philippians noticing how many times Paul, in this one letter, talks about something related to his thoughts or his readers thoughts.  Try it, it will take 10 minutes max. Philippians 1-4

How many references did you find just in the 4 chapters of Philippians? 5? 10? 20? 30?

Living right begins with thinking right...how can something that seems so simple be so hard?

The mind is a terrible thing to waste.  How are you using your mind?

(Mark Kincannon)

Think About It...

            Fill in the blank. You are what you _________. No, not wear; not eat… You are what you think. And don’t say, I thought so; or, I don’t think so. I know, it sounds more fun to be what you eat or wear, but the truth is; you are what you think.

That’s not to say that you are what you think you are… You might think you are a good dancer; but you might not be a good dancer; in fact you probably aren’t a good dancer at all. Few are. Jumping and squirming and flailing do not a good dancer make. You might think you are a good singer; but if only members of your immediate family tell you that, you probably aren’t. You might think you are a good judge of fashion, but if the only guys that tell you they like how you dress are above 40, you’re probably not. It just means you are what you think…

You are what you think… That doesn’t mean every time you have what you think is a good idea that it is a good idea. Adam thought he had a good idea when he thought adding one more piece to his fruit salad was the thing to do; he didn’t, and it wasn’t. David thought he had a good idea when he thought about getting to know Bathsheba a little better; he didn’t, and it wasn’t. It just means you are what you think even if you aren’t sure what you’re thinking, which happens a lot. It’s what you say to someone, or what someone says to you when they, or you, have done the unthinkable: What were you thinking? And you have no idea, because the result does not match up at all with what you thought the result would be. Adam thought he was thinking about being free to do whatever he wanted to do, but what he was really thinking about was becoming a slave to his sin, which is what he in fact did become. David thought he was thinking about a harmless tryst, but what he was really thinking about was becoming heir to an entire family tainted by sexual irresponsibility and disaster, which is what he became.

So you might not be what you think you are; and you might not be thinking what you think you’re thinking; but you are what you think…even if you don’t think you are. Why else would we be advised to turn our thoughts into captives and submit them to God before we let them turn into actions (2 Corinthians 10:5)?

WHO’S IN CHARGE?

The position of Scripture is that we are in control of, and responsible for, who and what we become because we are in control of what we think about.

The imperative mood of verse 8 directs us to “think about” good things; things that are: true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. Did I mention it’s an imperative? I think I did. That means it’s not optional from God’s perspective. It’s not like God is giving us two or three different ways to approach life and saying, pick one. He’s saying, if you’re mine this is what I expect you to do; I expect you to take charge of your life and all that you become, because there’s a lot at stake here and there’s a lot that I’d like for you and from you. But before you can do your part in the story I’ve written for you, you’re going to have to make up your mind to cooperate with me, and to do that you have to learn to control how you think, what you think about, and how to get back on track when your thinking starts stinking…

The implications of this are huge:

·      No one made me mad. They may not help the situation, but I’m in charge of whether or not I get mad. I get to choose. This is true in every situation I encounter.

·      No one made me say anything. I am 100% responsible for everything I say and for the tone, the implication, and the volume. I get to choose…every time. No exceptions. I’m in charge.

·      No one made me do what I did. When I lose my temper and go on the rampage I can’t blame anyone else for anything I do, because everything I do is the result of a decision that I’ve made, and no one can make those decisions for me. I get to choose. In fact, I have to. Nothing happens if I don’t make a decision. It’s a good one or a bad one, but it’s one that I make.

 

QUOTATIONS

“The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” (Victor Frankl, survivor of Nazi concentration camp)

 

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that people can alter their lives by altering their attitudes.” (William James)

 

            The truth is that you can change who you are if you’ll do the hard work of changing how you think. You can overcome prejudice. You can stop lying or exaggerating. You can become an attractive example of our faith. You can be a loving, caring, attentive spouse, a responsible parent and a good kid. You can become a person that smiles. You can become the kind of boss people respect and enjoy working for, and you can be the kind of employee every company dreams of. You can get in shape. You can be healthier. You can enjoy life instead of enduring it. You can become generous instead of selfish. You can have a positive outlook instead of a negative one. Your words can encourage people rather that irritate them. Your can brighten up a room by entering it instead of leaving it. You can become a disciple instead of a hypocrite.

            You can do all that and more…if you’ll just decide to do what God says you can do, need to do, and are obligated to do. Think about it…

(Ed Saucier)

The Longest Shortest Distance

When I was in college I had a friend that would joke about what he called the "longest shortest distances".  This was a list of distances that were physically very short but somehow were not as easily traveled as you would think they should be.  Some distances that made the list were the distance that dishes travel from the sink to the dishwasher, or the distance that clothes travel from the floor to the hamper, or receipts from your wallet to being recorded in your budget, or DVDs from sitting on top of the DVD player to back in the case.  There were some others as well, but I can't remember them. 

I think the distance between knowing and doing should be on that list.  It seems that it should be logical and easy to go from knowledge to practice, but in reality this is the step where I most often get hung up.  Especially in a culture where we have so much knowledge readily available to us yet relatively little accountability to live in a godly way, it can be difficult to actually live out what we know from Scripture.  However, that is what we are called to, so today let's put into action what we know to be right.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.  - Philippians 4:9

(Mike Crain)

Philippians 4:2-3

"I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.  Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life."

What would be important for our community or any Christian community?  Paul focuses on one thing in particular, unity.  We as Christians should be unified in purpose and in love.  We should not argue with one another.  We should be working together, working toward our one common goal.  People are the same in Paul's time as they are now.  They fight and they have disputes.  But our communities should not be characterized by this.  What do you think characterizes our community?  What should?

(Adam Kareus)

Action versus Inaction

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus told his listeners to restrain having anxiety.  His reasoning?  Anxiety does not accomplish anything.  In Philippians Paul tells his readers "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Paul tells his readers to replace a useless activity with one that can make a difference--prayer.

This biblical description stands in stark contrast to how we feel the world works.  Anxiety feels like work. It even has the physical effect on our bodies that actual work has.  To worry feels as though we are actually doing something over the issue.  Yet Jesus says that anxiety is fruitless.  Prayer is what makes a difference.  I normally pray for things that I can't do anything about.  Prayer feels useless. 

Our views on anxiety and prayer may reveal our true beliefs about God.  If we believe He is in control, anxiety is useless and prayer is useful.  If we doubt his existence, prayer is useless and anxiety is useful.  So I wonder, which do you believe is the true action--prayer or anxiety?  Which do you depend on in the midst of uncertainty?  The higher our view of God, the more we believe his description of truth.  The truth is that prayer matters and anxiety makes no difference.   

(Kevin Thompson)

Complex Planning

God's Sovereignty blows me away. His timing for teaching us about him, and his timing for revealing to us who we really are is crazy. Back during the summer we got together to study Philippians 4:2-7. As we did this we had a plan of preaching thru this passage this coming Sunday. I will get back to the timing of this in a second.

One of the things that I have been doing for my personal bible study is to memorize a verse or two each week from the passage that we are going to be hearing a sermon about the following Sunday, which we will then discuss in our home groups. Therefore, Monday morning, I began to memorize 4:4-6, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

This week the moments for discouragement and frustration have shown up more than normal for me personally. For example, in home group this past Sunday one of my friends told me about his dad that has just found out that cancer has come back (to see the sadness in the man's eyes tore me up), Tuesday morning staff meeting was unusually heavy as we discussed ways of helping people in our church family that are hurting (there seemed to be more issues than normal), then we got out of staff meeting and received news that some plans we were hoping would work out are not going to work out.

The reality is that these sort of things happen constantly all around us, but for some reason this week I have been much more aware of them and the tendency to be anxious has been greater than normal for me.

I sat down at my desk frustrated with the last bit of news that I received. I closed my eyes to ask God what's up with this? To ask Him why, and let Him know that I didn't like it. (Does it get much more arrogant)? And just as I began to do that the first part of the verse that I started memorizing early this week flew across my mind. "Rejoice in the Lord always." As I thought of that my response was yea yea yea whatever, then the next sentence of the verse flew across my mind. "I will say it again: Rejoice!" It was like Paul knew I was going to blow his statement off so he needed to repeat it to me because I'm so hard headed. I need to rejoice and just trust Him.

What has really made an impact on me is that God knew that I was going to need to hear this verse in the heat of this very moment of frustration and anxiety at 10:30 am on Tuesday, October the 21st, 2008. And he set in motion the planning of this sermon series months ago and he led us to organize the times in which we would preach each passage, and he led me to memorize this verse all before I ever knew what kind of week I was going to have.

As I've been sitting here thinking about this situation my frustration has moved to comfort because it dawned on me that if God can orchestrate the above situation the way he did, then he is powerful enough to deal with the issues that have caused me to be anxious. I've been reminded by this situation that in the planning all of this, to teach me this lesson, God has a plan. It is a plan that is much greater than I can get my mind around. Therefore I can trust him. God has comforted me with His complexity. "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." God provided the verse that I needed way before I ever need it. It is comforting to know that my God is bigger than my issues, and he has constructed my issues to teach me about Him.

(Mark Kincannon)

Got Stress?

Got Stress? Probably so. It seems like the more we knew about stress the more we’d know how to avoid it. Good luck. Seems to work the other way for me. One of the kickers about stress, so the docs tell us, is that we don’t always even know when we’re stressed; just knowing that is stressful.
Even when you love your job it can be a major source of stress. If you have to go to work every day and you don’t like your job then stress is a sure thing—if not for you then for everyone you work with. Add ‘on-the-job stress’ to the list of heart disease risk factors that your doctor should regularly ask about. According to Dr. Denise Mann, in her Article, Is Your Job Killing You? (WebMD Medical News, August 15, 2001) people who perceive their job as stressful—whether they are secretaries, nuclear engineers, brain surgeons, teachers, or editors—tend to have higher blood pressure while working than those workers who do not feel stressed-out on-the-job… The new findings boost a growing body of evidence suggesting that work-related stress including long hours, low reward, hectic pace, and lack of social support can increase a person’s risk of heart disease by increasing their blood pressure. They also suggest that an “individuals perception of strain should be considered a cardiovascular risk factor.”
How about parenting? How do you ever know if you’re doing it right? Has anyone ever done it right?
What about health? If you ever eat or drink anything…you’re probably going to get cancer or have a heart attack. Thirty minutes of strenuous exercise three times a week is supposed to add a year to your life span…so I do that. I can’t decide if that’s a good thing either because that last year’s usually not so hot. I remember when I was a kid sneaking my dad’s pipe out behind the house for a puff or two. Now I do it with a candy bar.
Does money ever stress you out? Me too. A lot. Too much to be honest. It takes so much these days…this calendar year Shara and I will spend more money on health insurance premiums alone than we made our first year out of college. There never seems to be enough of it. It’s awfully hard to come by and so easy to lose track of. I can’t decide if low interest rates are good or bad—do I want low house payments for the younger generation or high retirement fund returns for my generation? I’m leaning toward the latter…
A study by Ohio State University suggests that people who are stressed about debt tend to be in worse physical condition than folks without money worries. Researchers found that the price of financial anxiety ranges from heart attacks, insomnia and explosive emotions to difficulty doing such simple tasks as climbing stairs and carrying groceries. And the people ailing the most are those with big chunks of their income tied up in credit card bills. Debt-to-income ratio is significantly associated with higher levels of impairment (Killer debt: Is your credit card making you sick? By Libby Wells, Bankrate.com).
I did a quick online search and found that AOL alone lists over 4 million sites that deal with stress. A few of the more interesting ones are: Kitten Therapy—if kittens didn’t turn into cats I’d try this one; Acu-yoga—That just sounds all wrong; Magnet Magic—bracelets, rings, necklaces, joint braces, shoe inserts, girdles, belts, pillows, mattress covers, hat bands, mouth pieces, etc.; and Body Treatments—oils, lotion, fragrances, piercing/mutilation, cleansing, as well as breathing for health.
Our generation didn’t invent stress, but it does seem that we’ve perfected it. There’s got to be a better way to live. I think there is; it’s a three-pronged philosophy that I’ve adopted from Philippians 4:6, and I'd like to pass it along for your consideration: Worry About Nothing, Pray About Everything, Thank God in All Things. Think it might help? I'm thinking about giving it a try. Want to join me?

Philippians 4:5

Let your gentleness be evident to all. - Philippians 4:5

Back in the day when I was in high school I worked at Target. I was a pretty big teenager, and I was quite a bit bigger than the most of the guys I worked with at Target. Also, only a few of them were Christians.
One day at work I received a strange compliment from one of my non-Christian co-workers. It was after the store had closed and we were both restocking some merchandise. I forget the exact context of our conversation, but I remember that at some point he said to me, "you're the nicest big guy I know." That comment struck me as strange, but it is also one of the greatest compliments I have ever received. I guess he was used to bigger guys picking on him or abusing their size advantage. When he pointed out that I did not take advantage of my size in order to bully others around it gave me a great opportunity to tell him about why I was the nicest big guy he knew. Having a gentleness that was evident to all opened the door for me to share Christ with my co-worker.
(Mike Crain)

Philippians 3:18-21

"For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things."

Does it break your heart? When you look around and see people living lives that are leading to destruction, does it make your heart cry? There are so many people all around us that are only thinking of earthly things. What is going to be your response to these people? Are you going to turn a blind eye toward them and act like they don't exist? Or are you going to try to show them Christ?

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

As Christians, we are aliens here on this planet. We are strangers in a strange land. We are citizens in a different land and a different kingdom. As such we do not look like and act like the citizens of this earthly place. Our model for how we are to act and live is from above, it is found in our true home, heaven. We live in this land, but we are not of this land. How have you been living?

(Adam Kareus)

Press On

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (3.14)

Two simple words and yet one big meaning--press on.  They describe what Paul is doing and the example he wants the church at Philippi to follow.  They give us direction in the midst of uncertainty.  Don't know what to do?  Press on.  Don't know how to respond?  Press on.  Don't know how to react?  Press on.

It seems a simple command, yet few things could distinguish a Christian as different as following this command.  In a world that gives up, makes excuses, starts whining, starts complaining, or stops acting, a person who can press on can also stand out.

Of course it is important to make sure we are pressing on toward the right goal.  To continue to press on in the wrong direction would be disaster, but when we don't know what to do--press on toward Jesus.  Press on toward knowing him.  Press on toward become like him.  Press on in obedience.  Press on in love.  When everything tempts us to stop, just press on. 

Most of the old creeds use a word that the church doesn't use much any more--perseverance.  It is a characteristic of a true Christian.  It is the difference between a short faith and a lasting faith.  Perseverance through all of life shows that the gospel is real.  The church needs to regain that word.  We need to be characterized by it again.  Perseverance is the result of a heart that chooses to press on. 

Are you tired?  Are you tempted to give up?  Read the text, heed the command, and press on.

(Kevin Thompson)

Can you say what Paul said?

Philppians 3:12-4:1 will be our passage for Sunday. In this passage Paul has expressed how he has yet to take hold of knowing Christ as he should. Yet he is going to press on to take hold of knowing Christ and experiencing the resurrection from the dead. He has admitted to his short comings, and with this in mind he makes a startling statement in verse 17. "Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you."

Paul says, Follow me. For most people I think that would be hard to say. I know I have a hard time having the confidence to say to someone else, "follow me." Didn't Jesus say something like, it is better to have a stone tied around your neck and you be thrown in the water than to lead a young person astray. Basically drowning is better than leading someone the wrong way. Leading is always a huge responsibility. Despite the gravity of the responsibility Paul says that people should be following his example.

Now, it is one thing to tell people the right thing to do. There are a lot of know-it-alls, but it is entirely another thing to BE the example people should follow.

Paul can say follow me because he knows what the goal is that he is pressing on towards. He knows that he doesn't have his heart set on earthly things. He knows he is not perfect, but he also knows that he has his mind set on knowing Christ, not selfish ambition, not legalistic righteousness, not worldly pleasures. Even if it means he must suffer he will press on to follow Christ. Paul knows what he states in Romans 8 that those God predestined to be in Christ (the saved), will be glorified (obtain perfection through Christ in heaven) therefore he knows since he has been called that he will arrive and if people are following him towards his destination they will arrive with him.

What is your goal? Can you and wll you say follow me?

God Help us.

(Mark Kincannon)

This and That

Philippians 3:12-"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

Normally, when I see or hear the phrase "this and that" I tend to think that the phrase was used to be vague and therefore it isn't extremely important. Now, I know that Paul doesn't use the phrase exactly, but the use of these two words can get lost in this verse.

This is a verse that is somewhat familiar to those that have studied the Bible very long. As I was reflecting on this passage I immediately thought I know what this passage is about. We are usually reminded that this verse teaches us that we are to continue growing in the faith as long as we live. Even the Apostle Paul, possibly the greatest Christ follower ever, admitted that he was still striving to be more of what Christ wanted him to be towards the end of his life. He says he hasn't obtained perfection but he presses on towards it. As I continued to think about this verse I had to admit that I didn't know what Paul was specifically referring to when he said, "not that I have obtained THIS." What is THIS that he was trying to obtain? Then what is the THAT the he was pressing on towards?

Don't just skim over the this and that in this verse. Go back up to verse 10 and 11 and notice what it was that he was trying to press on towards. Then pray that God will give you the same desire that Paul had.

(Mark Kincannon)

I Like It

"Only let us live up to what we have already attained" - Philippians 3:16

This is one of all my all time favorite verses, and here is why:

- It is deep and noble. In the verses preceding this Paul talks about having a righteousness that comes from faith, the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ, and the joy of being found in Him (vv. 7-11). He goes on to talk about how the righteousness that he lives out daily does not yet match the perfect righteousness that God has bestowed upon him through Christ, and how he will forget about about past failures and press-on toward Christ-likeness (vv. 12-14) That is all so rich in meaning, and now Paul encourages us to live up to the high standard that God has laid before us.

- In this verse grace meets calling. "What we have already attained," speaks of the right standing before God that has already been given to us as a free gift through His grace. We don't earn our righteousness. At the same time, this verse clarifies our calling to live righteously in reflecting Christ and becoming more like him.

- It's simple. I love when a command begins with only, because it means that I can focus on one thing. That one thing is living a Christ-like life as a response to God's amazing grace.

- It's always applicable. This verse will always be pertinent to me because I will never reach perfection this side of heaven. There will always be areas of my life that can be transformed to be more like Christ.

(Mike Crain)

Philippians 3:9-11

Verse 9--"...and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith."

This is something that we always need to remember. We have no righteousness from what we do. Our righteousness comes from having faith in Christ, and Christ's righteousness covers us. This is the great gift from God, that He sent His son to die for us and in so doing to cover us with His righteousness. Praise be to His name!

Verses 10-11--"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

What do you dream of? What do you wish to know? Paul wished to know Christ and all that entails. Do you? Before you say yes, look at what comes with knowing Christ. There is the hope of the resurrection, the great hope of the Christian faith. But there is also the "fellowship of sharing in his sufferings." Do you really want to know Christ now? Do you want to know what it means to suffer for Christ?

(Adam Kareus)

Modern Day Circumcision

"Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh." (Philp. 3.2)

In the Old Testament circumcision was an unmistakable sign of difference.  God called his chosen people to set themselves apart from the surrounding culture and that was symbolized by a physical difference via circumcision.  It was a sign of things to follow--a day would come in which God's followers would have their hearts transformed by the power of the gospel.  They would be set apart by the Holy Spirit.

Thousands of years removed from the Old Testament, people still long for an outward sign over an internal change.  There is an appeal for outward signs.  They are verifiable, visible, and easy to judge.  Internal changes are not so apparent.  They are much harder to judge.  Because they are harder to identify, we are tempted toward outward signs instead of internal change. 

The day of circumcision being the sign of Christian belief is long gone.  However, there are forms of modern day circumcision.  There are outward signs that we quickly identify as Christian indicators, which actually have little influence on internal change.  For some it is walking an aisle, saying a prayer, attending a certain church, voting for a certain party, refraining from certain words or drink. While these actions may flow from an internal change, standing alone they in no way indicate the work of the Holy Spirit. 

Paul made it perfectly clear, we do not boast in outward actions.  We do not base our faith on an outward sign.  Our faith is based solely on the work of Jesus.  What some take pride in--some outward sign--we consider a loss, compared to the greatness of knowing Jesus.  The only thing to which I can point to prove that I'm a Christian is the cross of Jesus Christ. 

In what outward signs are you tempted to place your trust? 

(Kevin Thompson)

Surpassing Greatness

As I have been looking at Philippians 2:19-3:11 this week my mind has been stuck on 3:7-8, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things..."

I have so much joy in my life...I have a great wife that loves Jesus, and loves our two sons and wants them to know Jesus...She is an unbelievable servant...She reminds me a lot of the Proverbs 31 woman...I have a little daughter that will be here before I know it, and just the idea of her one day saying, "I love you daddy" makes me tear up...When I get home from work and my two loud little boys see me and they yell and run up to me at the same time and start climbing on me it doesn't get any better...I have a great place to work where I believe in the mission and love the people I get to work along side of to accomplishing that mission...I have friends and family that love me and support me...I have a nice comfortable home.  I have way more than my share of joy in life.   I know that the Bible tells me that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father and I recognize that they are truly gifts that I don't deserve and have not earned...

Here is what gets me about this passage...Pauls says that he "considers everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."  I don't know Christ that good...I want to know him so that all of those joys I mentioned pale in comparison to knowing Him...but currently I don't.

I pray often that I wouldn't love His gifts more than Him.  I ask him regularly to gaurd my heart and mind so that that I might be strengthened to love Him not just the gifts he has blessed me with.

The surpassing greatness...is what gets me.  I have a hard time with the idea that there is a greatness that surpasses the joy that I described above.  It is hard for me to concieve of something like that. 

I will fight the natural tendencies that come with being human, those tendencies to consider the knowledge of Jesus as less great than the blessings of this life.  I will fight for the fullness of joy that surpasses the great things in this life.  I will continue to go to the Word and to God in prayer until I hopefully one day will be able to say as Paul did that he considers all things a loss compared to knowing Christ Jesus.

I hope you will fight this battle with me.

(Mark Kincannon)

When I Grow Up I Want To Be...

We’re all becoming something, and there’s a pretty good chance that any similarity between what you’re becoming and what you thought you would become is pure coincidence, because when we start out most of us don’t have in mind becoming what God wants us to be…not really. We often think, I think, that God wants us to be rich, and if not rich at least well off or semi-successful, moderately prosperous, and other things of similar nature that are more illusion than anything else.
We know God doesn’t want everyone to become those things, but that’s probably what he wants us to become…because our parents have been telling us that’s what God wants us to become since we were small children. Interestingly, that’s not what the New Testament tells us God want us to become. If you do become any of those things along the way I don’t think he minds so much, as long as you don’t lose sight of what he really wants you to become…he wants you to become like his Son.
Until we understand that God’s personal dealings with us, his concern with our welfare, his response to our prayers, his manner of relating to us are all part of this purpose, the single purpose to which he is more committed than he is to any other thing, it’s going to be increasingly hard to keep from being confused about life. We’re going to want things he can’t let us have. We’re not going to want some things he knows we need. We’re going to resist a lot that he wants us to learn, and we’re going to get way too wrapped in a lot of stuff he’d rather we ignore. Life’s first and greatest lesson is get it settled that his first concern, maybe his only concern, his ultimate goal, and his predestined purpose for each of us is to make us more like Jesus.

(Ed Saucier)

Connected

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. - Philippians 2:25

Epaphroditus played a variety of roles in Paul's life and the two of them were bonded in several ways. They were family; as sons of God they were brothers. They worked together, sharing the daily successes and trials of their labor. Their common fight to advance the Kingdom of God as soldiers of the gospel also brought them togehter. Furthermore, Epaphroditus was Paul's link to the Philippians, because he was the line of communication between Paul and the church at Philippi. In addition to all these bonds, Epaphroditus was also to be Paul's care taker. Everytime that Epaphroditus's life overflowed into Paul's life it was because they were both servants of Jesus Christ. The lives of Paul and Epaphroditus touched at so many points because they both had Christ as their top priority and they had genuine concern for each other.

Are we sharing our lives with other Christians? Are we sharing in other peoples lives as well? Paul said of Timothy, "I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare." Can the same be said of us?

(Mike Crain)

Philippians 2:17-18

" But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me."

"Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the work of another believer--to pour out your life sacrificially for the ministry and faith of others? Or do you say, "I am not willing to be poured out right now, and I don't want God to tell me how to serve him. I want to choose the place of my own sacrifice. And I want to have certain people watching me and saying, 'well done.'"

"It is one thing to follow God's way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming a "doormat" under other people's feet. God's purpose may be to teach you to say, "I know how to be abased..." Are you ready to be sacrificed like that? Are you ready to be less than a mere drop in the bucket- to be so totally insignificant that no one remembers you even if they think of those you served? Are you willing to be poured out until you are used up and exhausted-not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work while maintaining a saintly attitude, because they feel such service is beneath their dignity."--Oswald Chambers

So are you willing?

(Adam Kareus)

Work It Out

Salvation is one of those words.  Its in the family of vestibule and tithe.  Its churchy.  We use it, but often forget what it means.  When I hear the word salvation I'm reminded of a prayer I prayed on my bed when I was in third grade.  It was a honest, sincere prayer in which I recognized my sin, accepted God's gift of forgiveness offered in Christ, and promised to live the rest of my life following him .  To use the language of my tradition, that night I got saved. 

The problem with the word salvation is that in our culture it has come to reference a prayer I prayed twenty years ago, when the Bible uses the word in a much different way.  Salvation in the Bible is more than a prayer in the past, it is a continuing action in the present.  Salvation has a past connotation, but also a present and future connotation.  Salvation as exclusively a past event is not Biblical.  If some individuals had experienced salvation from God in the church at Philippi, they now needed to continue to work out that salvation in their present circumstance.  They needed to continue to obey and in that obedience God would continue to transform them. 

While salvation is never a past event only, reading this phrase does make me remember that prayer so many years ago.  It makes me grateful for what God has done in my life.  It makes me wonder, have you been saved?  Has there been a time in your life in which you recognized your sin, prayed a prayer accepting God's forgiveness, and promised to devote the rest of your life to follow him?

If you've experienced salvation, thank God for what he has done for you.  Remember the stories and tell them to your children or a friend.  If there hasn't been a time in which you have recognized and accepted God's work on your behalf, how about now? 

Paul tells the church to work out their salvation.  It's hard to work on something you don't have. 

(Kevin Thompson)

Let Me Shine

Philippians 2:14-16 "...so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life..."

As we were studying this passage I kept singing this song to myself. Part of the chorus says, "let me shine brighter than the stars in the sky." As you listen to it maybe God can use it, as he has with me, to remind you that we are to stand out in a depraved world. We are to shine in the darkness, proclaiming the greatness of Christ with our lives.

">Let Me Sing...

Sing it and live it all day...
(Mark Kincannon)