Philippians 1

As we start this new study on the book of Philippians I will not be taking a whole chapter at a time. It seems like I missed some of the material in Colossians due to this, so I will only be taking small sections of Philippians.
Let me start with an overview of the book of Philippians. Philippians is one of Paul's prison letters. Therefore Paul is in prison for spreading the name of Christ when he writes to the Philippians. Paul's main focus behind this book is "Fellowship". Often in the church today we see fellowship as when ever we get together with someone else to have coffee, snacks, or just have a conversation together. I believe that we will see from Philippians that Paul's idea of fellowship was much more than sharing drinks and food. Paul will teach us that you cannot have fellowship with someone unless you have something in common, and for Christian fellowship, this means the possession of eternal life within the heart. In Philippians 2:1, Paul wrote about "fellowship together in the Spirit," because when a person is born again he receives the gift of the Spirit (Rom. 8:9), also see Acts 2:38-42. Too often we confuse friendship with fellowship, so hopefully Paul will teach us the real difference. Paul starts the book of Philippians by praising the Philippians for their dedication to "spreading the good news about Christ"(Phil. 1:5). Philippians 1:11-"May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation-the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ-for this will bring much glory and praise to God." Notice that Paul said this will bring glory and praise to God not us. Philippians 1:12-14-"And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God's message without fear." Remember that Paul says because of your life in Christ it will bring glory and praise to God. Even while Paul is in prison he continues to share the message of Christ, to where it bring glory and praise to God. Paul even though he is in prison because of Christ continues to preach the "Good News". Yet, we let any little thing keep us from sharing Christ with our friends so that we might be able to fellowship with them. It's something to think about.

Colossians 4:2-4

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Colossians 4:2-4

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Colossians 3

Out with the Old and In with the New!

In the first part of Colossians 3 Paul reminds us that we have been "raised to new life with Christ"v. 1. Paul goes on to remind us of some of the past sins that the church at Colosse were trapped in. I believe that if you and I will read the list of things that the church at Colosse was struggling with we could say to ourselves "is he writing to us?" Paul lets us know that we should not be doing these things because of the new life that we have found in Christ. Colossians 3:10-"Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him." The word that is translated renewed is a present participle reminding us that we should be constantly renewing ourselves. Which I believe is such a reminder that scripture is not only relevant for the past but also today. Paul knew that we would not just come to Christ and never struggle with our sinful nature again. I believe that Paul is saying now that you are new in Christ continue to read God's word and pray to be continually renewed in our commitment to Christ. Colossians 3:11-"In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us." Or as one of my modern day friends waYne waGner put it, "there is no room for racism in Christ". The love of Christ is for everyone. Paul continues and says that the thing that should bind us together is LOVE. Today I pray that people will love one another because of the love of Christ.

Colossians 2:4-7 (Grounded, Growing, and Grateful)

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Colossians 2:4-7

Where's My Head?

I have been working very hard over the past 8 weeks to get my body in shape, as I have been following the P90X DVD's. Now, in no way am I some ripped Tony Horton at this point but I have lost 20lbs and have muscles that I have never seen before. I plan to continue to do P90X after this cycle is complete just because it makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something as well as it just making me feel better in general. I believe that being in good physical shape is something that everyone would like but very few put in the time and effort to accomplish it (that could probably fit the Christian life as well). As I started to work out everyday I thought about people I saw on TV, great specimens of physical fitness. I think about people like those UFC fighters who just are in phenomenal shape and have muscles from every part of their body. Now, what if those huge muscle bound people had no head? They would look really ridiculous wouldn't they? This is exactly what happened to the church at Colosse. They had forgotten their head (Christ). Colosse being a huge travel route, they gained access to all kinds of new world stuff, including new world religion. The Apostle Paul writes to the church at Colosse to remind them that they have lost their Head. It's amazing how God works in our lives. This study of Colossians could not have come at a better time for me. With all the things that life requires of me right now, I had forgotten my Head as well. With all the training that I have been doing to get my physical body in shape I had neglected my spiritual health. As I close this out for today let me share two verses.

Colossians 1:18-"Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body." (NLT)
Colossians 1:22-"Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body, As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault." (NLT)

I realize that we all need to work out physically and spiritually but Colossians 1:22 got me this morning to just imagine that because of the work of Christ I can come before God holy and blameless.

It's Time

I have taken a hard look at my life over the last couple of weeks. I have decided that I and we (as people) allow a lot of things to distract us from what is really important in life. Over the last couple of weeks I have taken notice that I stay up way to late at night, then go to bed and not want to get up in the morning until the kids get out of bed, then head off to the office or what ever the day ahead has in store, get the kids off the bus, spend some time with the kids, fix dinner, help with the kids until dinner, go to a night appointment for church or do some office stuff from home, then watch TV or play Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 (yes I have both consoles but this is not a blog about wasting money). I feel as if I have become complacent with God. Maybe to say it in better terms I have become lazy in my relationship with God. I continue to read the scripture and pray but just because that's what I'm suppose to do, not because of His love for me or my gratitude towards God. I write all of this for you to read because I want to be real. I want the the people that I work with or the students that look up to me to know that, in the words of Steve Harvey "Don't trip He aint done with me yet!" I thank God each and everyday for continuing to use me. The only reason God continues to use is because of His love and grace. Colossians 1:25 "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness". I pray that God will lead me in a spiritual revival of myself in order that I might be able to present the word of God in its fullness. I have decided that I will no longer stay up late and let the distractions of this world keep me from REALLY spending time with God. I thank God each day that He aint done with me yet!