The House You're Building

[12] Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. [13] Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. [15] Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. [16] Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Philippians 3:12–16  (ESV) Human reality is in constant flux.  No state in our present experience is ever permanent.  In the good times, this is a negative characteristic.  Contrastingly, in hard times it is often a benefit to realize that your current circumstances aren’t always going to stay the same.  This has led to a saying “this too shall pass.”   This truism does not come from Scripture, though the...

    Orient  John 8:31-59 This passage introduces an argument thread between Jesus and those that “believed in Him” from the first teaching segment of chapter 7.  Eventually, the listeners show themselves to be counterfeit as they pick up stones to kill him.  As we learned last time, many commentators believe He is still teaching publicly at the Feast of Booths.  This week’s passage contains many contrasts, and as typical of his dialog with the religious leaders, misunderstandings of spiritual truths taken literally; look for themes about slavery and genealogy.  Jesus continues to connect Himself with the Father’s approval and plans and uses Abraham to persuade the Jewish leaders of His authority.     Introduction Whenever a new baby is born, it’s natural to analyze their physical characteristics to see if they look more like their mother or father.  The resemblance can change with an expression or adapt as t...

  Orient   John 3:22-25 John the Baptist Exalts Christ    Beginning with a transition of travel, the story interacts once again with John the Baptist defending Christ, this time to his disciples.  We learn more about the superiority of Christ and his ministry over any human agent.  Starting in verse 35, scholars dispute the origin on the teaching starting in verse 31, is John the Baptist still speaking or is John the author of the book and apostle interjecting? Checking the quotation marks in your translation will indicate what the editors of your translation believe.  This section contains teaching about our role in ministry in comparison to Christ and the validity of the testimony of Christ in representing the Father.     Introduction In the age of social media, envy is a vice on the rise.  Constantly we are bombarded with perfect images of beauty, fashion, home decor, meals, and trips.  No matte...

How often do you think about your patterns and habits?     Is it only when something is going wrong or like many, do you become contemplative around the transition to a new year?     I’ve been thinking about my lifestyle for about 3 months now, so though December is winding down, and January is quickly approaching, the words I share with you aren’t a new thought in my mind.  Yet before God highlighted this passage as I was reading, I couldn’t quite put into words the cause of my disquiet:    You have sown much, and harvested little.  You eat, but you never have enough; you drink but you never have your fill.  You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm.  And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. Haggai 1:6 (ESV)   In a word, I’ve been weary.  At Christmas, the hymn [1]  tells us “the weary world rejoices” which sounds fantastic except I’m not rejoicing—I’m just tired. ...

    Family.  It is a word that stirs feelings of affection to some and memories of pain for others.  One of the reasons I love the church is that God has always provided spiritual mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers.  There is a kinship among the gathered body that transcends blood--a bonding that comes when people house the Spirit inside them.  The outside world looking in doesn’t understand why the church must meet, as those who have found joy in fellowship understand the connection that occurs in the physical presence of those who have the same Father.     Unfortunately, just like our families of origin are the cause of heartache, the church can duplicate the experience.  So much division would be avoided if we would live out Peter’s words to the church in chapter 3 verse 8 as we interact with each other.     Unity of Mind To have unity of mind means to be focused on the same goal, be around ...

Prepare Your Heart: Spend some time meditating on Psalm 131.   It is a short Psalm, one that is easy to recite.   Remember biblical meditation is filling your mind with God’s truth, not emptying it.   Repeat it slowly and thoughtfully, asking God to take away pride and rest your soul in preparation for today’s study.   This year it was my first year to host Thanksgiving.   It was a very nice time.   Simple.   No TV but a big puzzle.   Sitting around chatting and eating pie.   Ending the day cleaning the kitchen and drying the dishes with my husband was the perfect way to end the day.   I got on the internet later to check for an email via facebook and saw a lot of posts about people’s plans for shopping and all the stress they were anticipating.   My pastor commented on a mutual friend’s status that it’s too bad that Black Friday has to follow a holiday like Thanksgiving.   And he’s right…it’s almost like the celebr...