Day 6

<sup>Philippians 1

27</sup>Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, ³⁰engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

I love the first line of this passage. One of the most quotable lines in the entire Word, I think. I actually like the Holman translation even better: "Just one thing: live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." In a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Worthy of the gospel. If Christians would focus on doing just this one thing, trying to live a life worthy of the gospel, instead of focusing on not doing what we're told not to do, how much differently might the world look? Rather than focusing on not sinning we should focus on being as much like Christ as we can be. Rather than asking, "What can I get away with and still be called a Christian?" we should ask, "How much like Christ can I become?" Legalism is focusing on the "do's" and "don'ts"; Love is the gospel.

Day 5

Philippians 1

To Live Is Christ

   Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

I can't get away from this passage. Maybe it's because of how positive Paul is in his circumstances. How many of us, languishing in an ancient prison, would say that, "It's all gonna work out for the best"? Maybe that's because our definition of best is "what we think is best for us at the moment" and not "what God knows is best for us in the long-term" or "am I right where God wants me to be?" Sometimes I complain (don't we all?) but my complaints are never really that good. I complain about the weather or how busy I am and forget about all I've been given; all the ways God has blessed me. I think it's later here in Philippians that Paul says (paraphrase) "I have learned to be satisfied in every situation." How many of us are able to take that kind of comfort in God's providence? How many of us can really say with peace "whether I live or die, Christ will be glorified."
I think a lot of times I miss the forest for the trees. I get hung up on something that seems really important at the time (job) and neglect all the other areas in which I'm called to be Christ's ambassador (really being there for my family, students and friends). How many of us miss the higher calling on our lives because we're so caught up in the here and now. It's a great time to think about that, what with "wars and rumors of wars" and "earthquakes and famines" (Libya, Tripoli, Egypt, New Zealand). I really believe the end is very close; Jesus is coming soon - sooner than we think. How many of us would be so caught up in the trivia of our own lives that we would miss the coming of Christ (not possible, I know, but...).
God, open my eyes. Help me to look past the things that clamor for my attention and see You. Help me to fix my eyes not on the fleeting goals of this life but on the eternal goals of the life to come. Amen.

Day 4

It's a cold, overcast, dreary winter morning. I hate winter.

Philippians 1

To Live Is Christ

   Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

February has got to be one of the worst times to be a teacher. It's that long third quarter that has no end in sight with state testing right around the corner. What's worse, it's winter. On cold, melancholy winter days like this I long for home. Not my house...my home; the one I'm waiting for when this life is over. It's kind of strange when you think about the Christian's relationship to this world: be in it but not of it; live in it but be seperate from it. In terms of our physical lives we want to be healed and live a long time...sort of. Then again, the quicker this physical man dies the sooner this spiritual man can really "go home". This has got to be one of my absolute favorite passages of scripture. Paul hits it right on the head. Even in the Christian life there are those things you want to do and the things you know you should do. This most quotable line, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain" emphesizes that while we are to enjoy the work He has put us here to do, we recognize that the best is still to come; that one day we'll shake off the fetters of this life and rest one day in our eternal home - the place we really belong.
It probably seems peculiar to people of this postmodern period (ah aliteration). Not that we wait anxiously for our death, but that we don't spend ourselves in efforts to preserve our lives. At least we shouldn't. I don't think some Christians have totally caught hold of what Paul is talking about here. We live in a culture that works feverishly trying to stretch out this life as long as possible and spends all of its time, money, and effort making this life as long and as happy and as comfortable as possible. Some Christians have been infected with this same attitude and thus get their eyes fixed on the temporal (i.e. Prosperity Gospel, "God wants you to have everything you ever thought you wanted: cars, houses, money...). Why do so many of us sell out for the cheap junk this world has to offer? The Bible tells us this life is trash compared to the eternity that God has prepared for us. How, then, should we act?
Kamikazes. But not for death; for life. Not for hate, but love. We need to learn again what it is to not fear death; to be anxious to give our lives, whether living or dying, for Christ and His gospel. It's only in learning how to die that we learn to truly live. In the words of the ancients, "Come, Lord Jesus."

Revelation 21
¹ Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

"When the shadows of this life have gone, I'll fly away!
Like a bird through prison bars has flown, I'll fly away!"

Day 3

Well...not actually day 3. More like "didn't post over the three-day weekend so this is my third day posting". Anyway...

Philippians 1


¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

This beginning chapter of Philippians has got to be some of the most optimistic stuff Paul ever wrote. I'm not sure that I could view my imprisonment the same way he does: as a good thing intended to advance the gospel. I'm pretty sure I'd be complaining about how bad I had it, unless of course I was in an American prison which could easily be mistaken for a Hilton hotel. But I digress. Here again in the latter half of the passage he talks about the people who have begun preaching the gospel in response to his imprisonment. Notice that Paul says the only difference between these two groups of people is their motive: some out of love, some out of rivalry (with Paul I assume). Paul's response here is truly noble. He says he is just happy the gospel is being preached.
I have a hard time with this. I'm one of those who is guilty of trying to judge people's motives. Is that Christian music artist really a humble servant or does he do it for his own glory? Is this minister really turning the spotlight on Christ or is the spotlight fixed on him? Paul says it doesn't matter, as far as all of us are concerned. God will judge the motives, and that will be between the man and God. Paul could see the bigger picture. He knew that it wasn't about who followed "Paul" but who followed Christ.
I get frustrated sometimes with the efforts of some Christians and some Churches who seem to have serious short-sightedness. They work hard to get people to come to their church or their Bible study. I've heard statistics before that said most new members to a church aren't new converts but people who came from another church. I live in a town that has over 20 churches. The number of the churches doesn't bother me so much as the fact that they seem to rarely coordinate their efforts to reach the community. Often it seems the excuse given is that "we don't really agree with what that church teaches". Are we lacking Paul's community-minded or maybe Kingdom-minded approach? I don't mean to trivialize doctrine, but sometimes we must push aside these small (usually unimportant) differences of opinion, stop questioning the motives of other Bible-believing churches, and work together if we're going to see people saved. Paul recognized that he wasn't, not could he be, a one-man show. That if the world was going to be reached with the gospel it would take all kinds of people. Most of those people will have pure motives, others won't. According to Paul, the only thing that matters is that "Christ is proclaimed".

Day 2

Incredible. Two days in a row. I think they say it takes 30 days in a row to make something a habit... 

Philippians 1:12-18

The Advance of the Gospel

 ¹²I want you to know, brothers,^[e] that what has happened to me has really^(X) served to advance the gospel, ¹³so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard^[f] and^(Y) to all the rest that^(Z) my imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold^(AA) to speak the word^[g] without fear.
 ^15(AB) Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶The latter do it out of love,^(AC) knowing that I am put here for^(AD) the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷The former proclaim Christ^(AE) out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

How many of us would really be willing to do what Paul did "to advance the gospel"? How many of us really "speak the word without fear"? I can't even speak the word to people I work with sometimes. Security can be as much of a curse as it is a blessing. We refrain from doing things we feel God has called us to do for fear of the unknown and thus miss the blessing of drawing closer to the God who is constantly calling us. Security is also such a lie. We take such comfort in what we've built for ourselves; in our material possesions. We come to believe that the worst thing that can happen in this life is for us to "lose everything". What does "everything" mean? We usually mean all our stuff. If the sum of our existance - our "everything" - is stuff, how shallow have our lives become? Is that a life really worth living?
I often think on people who have "lost everything, some for the sake of the gospel, others not. Corrie ten Boom for example: Dutch Christian Holocaust survivor who helped Jews escape Nazi Germany - went to the camps for it. Or Jim Elliot, missionary to Ecuador who was martyred by the Indians he was trying to save. And then, of course, there's Job. Not that I desire to "lose everything" but what I do long to lose, and long for the Church to lose, is the false sense of security that we build up around our lives. We put more trust in ourselves and in our feeble abilty to provide than we do in the Maker of all things, the Sustainer of the universe. Screwtape has cunningly decieved us all.
O that we would see our lives as You do, Lord. That we would recognize that the only real security we have in all of existence comes from You. God, bring us to a place where you are our "everything". May we, like Paul, be willing to "lose everything" - even these temporal, mortal lives - for the sake of the gospel, in the hope that the lives of others might be eternally saved. Amen.

Day 1

Philippians 1

Greeting

 ¹Paul and Timothy, servants^[a] of Christ Jesus,
   
   To all the^(A) saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the^(B) overseers^[b] and^(C) deacons:^[c]
 2(D) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

 ^3(E) I thank my God^(F) in all my remembrance of you, ⁴always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ^5(G) because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶And I am sure of this, that he who began^(H) a good work in you^(I) will bring it to completion at^(J) the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you^(K) in my heart, for you are all^(L) partakers with me of grace,^[d] both^(M) in my imprisonment and in^(N) the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For^(O) God is my witness,^(P) how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹And it is my prayer that^(Q) your love may abound more and more,^(R) with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰so that you may approve what is excellent,^(S) and so be pure and blameless^(T) for the day of Christ, ¹¹filled^(U) with the fruit of righteousness that comes^(V) through Jesus Christ,^(W) to the glory and praise of God.

Thank God for those people around you who help you-encourage you to be what you ought to be; your friend who encourages you to go work out when it's the last thing you want to do; my wife who pushes me to roll out of bed and pray and read my Bible when all I want to do is get 30 more minutes of sleep. I feel like I've been in prison for the last few years - not like Paul in that I'm suffering for the gospel but rather like a prisoner to all the other demands on my time. I've had such a hard time in the last few years making myself commit time to prayer and Bible study. Fortunately, I've had several people around me who have kept me focused and thus I've done ok keeping a very menial spiritual existance going.

I know I'm not alone. I know there are others out there who have as hard a time studying and praying as I do. I think it's mostly an American phenominon. We're so busy doing all the things we think we need to do that we don't have time to do what we were designed to do: spend time with the One who made us. Only in America do we commit this kind of spiritual suicide by starvation: we neglect to feed our spiritual man, or we feed him very little, then we can't understand why our spiritual existance is pathetic. The worst part is most of us don't realize how pathetic our spiritual life has become: an exercise more in how I can get what I want from God when I want it rather than truly knowing the God of all the universe.

This is a call to all those spiritually anorexic people out there. Don't starve anymore. This is my attempt to not only get myself back into quality Bible study again, but also to bring some others along for the ride. Even if no one follows me in this exercise, one man will be better for it. Let's hope that man has the discipline necessary to keep up with this new commitment, and that it impacts others around him along the way.