Day 19 - Serving, Comfort and Converts

Today's reading is the book of Philippians, Paul's letter to the city of Philippi.  This is a fairly short letter and I only made 3 notes, so this should be a quick journal.

Serving
It's only recently, over the last year or so, come to my attention that I need to be serving the community more.  Not just the community, but I need to be serving my friends more, too.  This can be a difficult thing for me to do, since I already have so much that I "want" to be doing that to make time for something that I "need" to do is a conflict of sorts.  The following verses takes it a step further.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2:3-4

The verse says "in humility value others above yourselves".  The dictionary defines humility as "the quality or condition of being humble".  The dictionary defines humble as "low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc."  So what Paul is telling us is that we must put the interests of others at a higher rank, high importance, than our own interests.  If someone else's interests are of a higher importance than my own, then those things should be what I "want" to do.

My mind set has softened to this over the last couple of years and I've done more serving in that time frame than maybe my whole life, so I can at least see where I am improving in this area.  But there's always more work to be done.

Comfort
I came across four verses in today's reading that I don't think I've ever read before.  These verses are so comforting that I am surprised I haven't heard of them.

"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 every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

How encouraging and comforting is this!

Converts
In the closing verses of Paul's letter to Philippi, he sends greetings from the fellow believers.

"All the Lord's people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household." Philippians 4:22

I figured that Paul wrote this part to show the people of Philippi that Paul's mission was still successful even though he was confined to prison.  But I wanted to see if there was anything else.  I found one study that gave a little additional information about this verse.  I've included the closing statement/challenge of the study as well.

"It must have been an encouragement for the Philippians to know that through their giving and support of Paul there were converts even in Caesar’s household.  Paul could have meant the Roman Christians in general, but there are documented men who had become Christians in Nero’s court because of Paul and other Christian witnesses in Rome.  John Gill mentions that there was “Torpes, a man in great favor and dignity in Nero’s court, and Evellius his counselor, who both suffered martyrdom under him, according to the Roman martyrology.”Jamieson, Faucett and Brown say that there were “slaves and dependents of Nero who had been probably converted through Paul’s teaching while he was a prisoner in the Praetorian barrack attached to the palace.” 

Paul gives praise to God from prison.  This whole book is a lesson in humility, grace under pressure, contentment, standing firm in the Lord, and Paul’s confidence that the Christians at Philippi would stand with him to the end. The question is--will we stand firm to the end?"

http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/philippiansstudy.html

Wrap it up!

That's all from the book of Philippians.  It's NT40 Day 24 and this journal was for Day 19.  Any day now I'll be all caught up on my journaling, right?

Day 18 - Faith, Not Understanding

Today's reading covers Ephesians and Philemon.  A lot caught my attention during this reading.  For such a short book, I sure made lots of notes.  Once again, Paul gives great insight and instruction to the church.

Faith, Not Understanding
So much bad stuff happens all around us in this world.  How could that be?  Is it God teaching us a lesson?  Is it an attempt by the enemy to further separate us from God?  We burn for this understanding.  But maybe we were not made to understand, but to have faith regardless of these things.

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory." Eph. 1:11-12

That verse said "everything". Not "everything good", or "everything holy".  "Everything", even the bad.  He will work it all out "with the purpose of his will" so that we can praise Him.  I've witnessed this time and again through deaths and trials.  I don't pretend to understand who makes these things happen or why they happen, but I do choose to believe that God will work it out for His glory, which is rightfully deserved.

The Enemy, aka...
While reading I came across a verse that references a "ruler".  It sounds like Paul is talking about Satan, but I had to underline to make sure I went back and did my research to find out if I was right.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." Eph. 2:1-2

A few versions of the bible have "devil" in this verse.  Since the devil does have power over this earth, I guess calling him the "ruler of the kingdom of air" isn't too far fetched.  I had just never heard the enemy be called this before, so it caught my eye.

Do Your Part
I came across a verse that made me think "Am I doing my part?" So I'll throw that question out to whoever is reading this, too.  Are you doing your part?

"From him [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." Eph. 4:16

So I thought about what this meant.  Is my part to go to church every Sunday and be a nice person?  I think it's far more than that. I believe my part includes serving, both at the church and outside the church.  Tithing.  Bringing the good news to those who don't know, or have little faith.  Being a good example to my wife and children.  I need to work on ALL of this.  I need to do my part.

Quick
Ok. I'm going to admit to something that I'm am ashamed of myself for. I'm also going to give myself and excuse, which really doesn't hold up at all, but I've been using it for some time.  Over the last couple of years, I have lost a lot of my patience when it comes to my family.  I am quick to snap, quick to put on a mean face, quick to raise my voice, and I really don't like that about me.  I've told myself that the stress of "needy" children over all of these years has just worn me down to where if one thing goes wrong it is just another straw on top of the camels back that has already broken.  This is an area of my life that I have recently acknowledge as a problem area.  What's funny, is that I've never handed this problem over to God.  I've only mildly asked him for help in prayer.  This verse made me think more about this problem and something that Clark had said a couple of weeks ago helped me come to the conclusion that I needed to be asking God for more help in this area.

"In your anger do not sin" Eph. 4:26

Starting Sunday, I have been praying A LOT about this problem of mine.  It's only been 3 days, but in those 3 days I don't think I have been "quick" with my children at all.  So my plan is to keep praying, keep relying on God, until NOT being quick with my family becomes my new second nature.

More Change
There are two verses in this book that challenged a part of who I've been all of my life.  I've always been a joker.  I like to "kid around" with people. Oh boy, I'm going to be ashamed of myself again.  Depending on who I'm around, some of my humor is questionable.  Not offensive or colorful, but more "inappropriate", I guess.  This is another area of my life that I've been working on over the last couple of months.  Here are the verses:

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Eph. 4:29

"Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." Eph. 5:4

I need to find the right balance between funny and inappropriate.  Like I said above, this is really only a problem when I'm around some people.  The answer might seem to not be around these people, but if I'm not around them, how can I witness to them.  So I believe the answer is for me to change myself.

Love and Respect
"However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." Eph. 5:33

Ev and I just started a class at Journey Church called "Love and Respect" this past week.  Our first class went over how true it is, in most cases, that Men want respect and Women want love.  I just wanted to put this verse in my journal for the day as a reminder of what we are learning in this class.

A Little Scary
It's not often that I look at the Bible as a scary book, but this verse really made me think about the realities of our struggle and just how scary they are.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph. 6:10-12

Optimistic Paul
A quick note here.  In Paul's letter to Philemon, he calls himself a "prisoner of Christ Jesus" (Philemon 1:9).  This stood out to me because he didn't say a "Prisoner of Rome" or a "Prisoner of Caesar" or a "Prisoner of Sinners".  Instead, he looks at his imprisonment as Gods will.  He accepts it and he makes the most of it by still spreading the good news to the guards and sending encouragement to the community through his letters.  This should serve as a reminder to me that even in the midst of my "troubles", I need to persist in my faith and continue doing Gods will.

Pushy Paul
In Philemon, I underlined a verse that seemed out of character for Paul.  I wanted to try to understand it better.  In speaking about Philemon accepting his slave Onesimus back as a brother in Christ and to cancel all debt that Onesimus has, Paul seems to be a little pushy, throwing his weight around and being sarcastic about Philemon not owing anything to Paul.  It was this verse that made me feel this way:

"I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self." Philemon 1:19

I looked on-line for some commentaries regarding this verse and at first came across a few that were really no help at all, but then I found this:
 

"The connecting thought may be expressed, “I assume this obligation in order not to insist on your great personal debt to me.” Or there may be a suppressed thought thus, “Accept this pledge that I may not insist on my rights as to your great personal obligation to me.”

George Clarke - Commentary on Philemon (1906) - "Designed for Pastors and Sunday Schools"http://www.archive.org/stream/galatiansephesia09clar#page/489/mode/1up

This book was preserved by scanning the pages of a book from 1906 and putting them on-line.  The scans look really good, but you can see the authenticity and age from them.

I thought this commentary expressed what Paul might have been thinking best.  It was not so much that Paul was being pushy, but that he was saying "I believe that you will have faith enough to do this so I won't get pushy."

The End!
So it's NT40 Day 24.  I'm caught up on my reading, but obviously still behind on my journal.  It is also my birthday!  And I thank God for my life and all of the blessings he has poured out on my from that day 34 years ago to this day, and for all of the blessings he will continue to pour into me going forward.  How great is our God!

Day 17 - Ageless Encouragement

Today's reading is from Colossians, another of Paul's letters.  This book is very short, but I did make a few notes.

Ageless Encouragement
All of Paul's letters are very encouraging.  These two particular verses jumped off the page for me today as Paul speaking these words of encouragement to us believers through the ages:

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Col 2:6-7

The last 8-9 months I've been "overflowing with thankfulness".  God has moved so much in my family's life that it's been just amazing.

Change Your Mind Set
"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Col 3:2

I feel this is always the biggest challenge facing believers, especially me.  I look at my priorities and what comes before what on my list of things to do.  The world has so many temptations to take me away from where I really need to be focusing my attention that it is really scary.  So how do we keep our minds on "things above"?  The first thought that crossed my mind was "Certainly not by just going to church on Sundays."  While that's a start, it's only a few hours of the entire week!  If we're really going to deprogram ourselves and get away from all of these temptations, we're going to need more than an hour every Sunday.  Daily prayer is a good start.  Reading the Bible daily is even better!  Joining a small group is incredibly helpful. Serving the community on the week nights or on Saturdays is a good way to keep that mind set.  And one real easy one that some people miss is to hang out a lot with other believers.  This is very encouraging and helps to stay focused on what's important.  At the very least, it will minimize the amount of temptation you are subjecting yourself to.

More Instruction
Paul provides some more good instruction in this letter to the church in Colossae.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Col 3:12-14

Man! Just reading through this list of virtues I see so many areas I HAVE to work on.  Really, re-reading the five listed above, I have to work on ALL of them!  I know that my initial reactions are sometimes completely opposite of these.  Man, I pray that God will do a work in me.

That's All Folk!
Day 17 wrapped up!  I've noticed that this whole weeks worth of readings are fairly short.  Day 18 is Ephesians and Philemon. Day 19 is Philippians.  Day 20 is 1 Timothy.  All of these are short books.  But you know me! I can ramble, so I'm sure I'll have not shortage of words for my journal on those days!  Until then...

Day 16 - Grafted to the Root

I found this second part of Romans to be full of wisdom.  Almost everything that I underlined could fall under the "Words to live by" category.

Sent to Preach
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:14-15

When I read this I thought, "this would be a good wall poster."  To me this is encouragement to be the one to spread the good news.  The verses are laid out in reverse chronological order.  God sends us to preach. Those we preach to hear. Those who hear will believe. Then those who believe can call on Jesus.  More and more I feel like one who has been sent to preach.  Maybe not occupational preaching, but at least being a witness for other people, believers and nonbelievers alike.

Grafted to the Root
Romans 11:16-24 relates our relationship with God to that of being branches on an olive tree.  We can be fully supported by the root, or we can be cut off completely.  If we were never a part of the tree, we can be grafted in.  The part that caught my eye was this:

"And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again." Romans 11:23

This was speaking to those who had already been cut off.  I know at some point I had cut myself off of that tree and to know that God can graft me in again is so amazing!

Instructions
Some of my favorite verses are the ones that give you plain instructions on how to act.  Romans 12:9-21 has a ton of this advice.  I linked it there in that last sentence, if you want to open it up.  There is really too much there for me to touch on each verse, so if you haven't read it I encourage you to do so.  Here is the first and last verse from that section:

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." Romans 12:9

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

To the Weak of Faith
In Romans 14:1-3 and 15:1-4, Paul provides guidance on how to treat those who are weak in faith.

"Accept those whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters." Romans 14:1

"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. We should all please our neighbors for their good, to build them up." Romans 15:1-2

In today's terms, these people are our "target audience".  These are the people that we need to give some attention to.  These are the people that need to be saved from an eternity separated from God.  These are the people that need us, whether they know it or not.

Wrap it up!
That's all my notes for Day 16.  It's day 18 as I write this.  I am BEHIND in my reading!!  To get caught up, I'm going to have to read and journal for Days 17 & 18 today.  Then read and journal for days 19 & 20 tomorrow.  Not an impossible task, but a hefty one!