Category: PASSION Reflections

We Can Have Great Peace in a World of Things

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue Miscellaneous

Paul tells us that he is content whether he faces plenty or hunger, abundance or need (Philippians 4:11-13). He is at peace with a lot or a little. And we too are called to be at peace whether we have a lot or a little. We too are called to be content in a world where there is always more to have. God wants us to be content with what he gives us instead of always chasing, craving, and seeking more and more.

Of course this flies in the face of our culture and our entire economy built on chasing material things. In our country money is god – it is what we trust and what we treasure. Our coins say: “In God we trust.” But for many the god they trust is the coin in their hand, and it is also what they treasure. How can we overcome? How can we find peace in a world filled with things? The answer is that we must learn to trust in and treasure something other than material things. In short, we must learn to trust in and treasure the Lord above all.

First, we must trust in the Lord. Verse 13 is essentially a statement of trust. I can be at peace in all circumstances as I look to him to give me strength. I’m not going to trust in my wealth for security. I’m not going to worry about my lack of wealth. I have a God who is mighty, who is powerful, who is strong to get me through, whether I have a lot or a little. He will give me what I need. I will trust him.

Second, we must treasure the Lord above all. This is found in the entire context of the book of Philippians. To live is Christ (1:21). Life is all about Christ. Knowing Christ is the number one priority – everything else is like rubbish (3:7-11). Christ is the greatest treasure. And if Christ is your greatest treasure than material things won’t mean so much to you. We can be at peace with a little or a lot because we already have the greatest treasure – we have Jesus.

We can have great peace in a world filled with things as we trust in the Lord and treasure him above all.

We Can Have Great Peace in a Life Filled with Trials

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue Miscellaneous

A lot of circumstances can lead to anxiety – that unsettled feeling in the pit of your stomach, that fear in your heart and your mind. But God calls us to peace (Philippians 4:6-7). Indeed he calls us to a peace that surpasses all understanding. He calls us to a peace that guards our hearts and minds, our feelings and thoughts. Through Christ we can have great peace in a life filled with trials. But how can we know this peace? How can we apply this peace he offers to our lives? Our passage gives us three important answers:

First, we must remember the presence of the Lord. Right before we are instructed to be anxious for nothing, we read that the Lord is at hand. We need not be anxious because the Lord is with us. We need not fear even in the valley of the shadow of death because God is with us (Psalm 23:4). We can be strong and courageous because the Lord is with us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9). God Almighty is by your side. Remember his presence.

Second, we must bring our cares to the Lord. We are to bring our requests to God (v6). We cast our cares on Him, knowing that he cares for us (I Peter 5:7). The Psalms are filled with prayers to God in the midst of trials. A regular pattern is that as the psalmists cry out to God, they come to a place of trust, of rest, of peace. Psalm 55 is a good example. The first five verses are a cry to God for help. But as the Psalmist looks to God, he finds a God who hears him (v17), sustains him (v22), and answers him (v16). And so he closes the psalm with a declaration of trust (v23). As we pray to the one who is greater than our problems, one who hears us, sustains us, and answers us, we can trust him and find peace.

Third, we must give thanks to God. In the middle of Paul’s instructions to pray, he drops the phrase “with thanksgiving.” In your trials and struggles that tempt you to worry, count your blessings. Remember the countless ways God has been and continues to be good to you. And give thanks. Our minds can get so stuck on a trial that we forget our blessings. We replay the trial over and over again in our minds like a broken record player. We dig a rut of woe and anxiety. But step out of the rut and get some perspective. The trial is real, and you bring it to the Lord. But the blessings are also real. Remember to give thanks.

We can have great peace in a life filled with trials as we remember his presence, bring our cares to him, and give thanks to him for his continuous blessings.

We Can Have Great Peace in a Church Filled with Differences

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue Miscellaneous

In Acts 16, we get a glimpse of the planting of the church at Philippi. The first members include a wealthy woman, a jailor, and possibly a slave girl. These are very different people – hardly people that would have associated with each other until they came to Christ. But now in spite of their differences, they are part of the same church. And Paul admonishes them to stand firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side, and again to be of the same mind, the same love, in full accord, of one mind (Philippians 1:27, 2:1-2). Paul calls the Philippians to oneness, to unity, to be at peace with one another.

Our own churches include some very different people (I hope). There are different backgrounds, different types of employment, different seasons of life, different opinions, different ideas, and on the list goes. And God calls us to stand firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side. He calls us to be of the same mind, the same love, in full accord, of one mind. God calls us to oneness, to unity, to be at peace with one another.

How is this possible? How can we live in peace together in midst of all of our differences? Philippians provides us with two very important answers:

First, we must center on the gospel of the Lord (1:27). We are to strive side by side for the faith of the gospel. It is the gospel that unites us. The gospel is what brought us together. With all our differences, we became one in Christ. And we are to strive side by side for faith of the gospel. We cling to that faith together. We encourage one another in that faith. We proclaim the faith together. We live that faith together. As soon as we elevate our differences above the gospel, we have problems. As soon as we start chasing after our own pet projects, we have problems. As soon as we come to church expecting things to follow our own opinions, we have problems. The gospel brought us together and it is the gospel that will keep us together as we strive side by side for the faith of the gospel, as we keep the gospel central.

Second, we must walk in the humility of the Lord (2:3-8). There is to be no rivalry among us – it is not about getting my way. There is to be no conceit among us – thinking we are better than others. Instead we are to humbly put others first. We are to look beyond ourselves to the good of the others. It is not about you…or me. Strife is hard to have when we have this kind of attitude. We are to have the same attitude that our Lord had as he humbled himself, coming down from heaven to be born as a little baby and ultimately die on the cross. This is God we are talking about! The King of Kings humbled himself! The only one who can honestly say it is all about him chose to humble himself. And he calls us to follow.

We can have great peace in a church filled with differences as we center on the gospel of the Lord and walk in the humility of the Lord.

We Have a Great Hope to Be Resurrected With Jesus

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue Miscellaneous2 Comments

Today we look at the last of our great hopes from the book of Philippians. As we have already seen, we have a great hope to be with Jesus and to see his return. Today we consider that:

We have a great hope to be resurrected with Jesus. In Philippians 3:20, we read that Jesus will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. We all have lowly bodies. They are perishable and mortal, but one day we will have bodies that are imperishable and immortal (I Corinthians 15:53). They will not get sick, injured, grow old, or die. We will live forever with our Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:10-11 also speak of attaining the resurrection of the dead. Today we will share in the sufferings of Christ, but one day we will be raised with Christ. This is our great hope.

But until then, we must press on toward Jesus. Paul wants to know Jesus (v8-10), and he presses on to know him more (v12-14). He is like a runner straining forward toward the goal – which is Jesus. He is not content with what he has already attained. He wants to go deeper and further into a relationship with Jesus. What about us? Are we pressing on toward Jesus? Are we seeking to grow in our relationship with him each day?

We have a great hope to be resurrected with Jesus. Until then, press on toward Jesus.

We Have a Great Hope to See Jesus Return

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue Miscellaneous

Yesterday, we looked at one of Paul’s three great hopes in the book of Philippians. Today we want to consider the second great hope:

We have a great hope to see Jesus return. In Philippians 3:20-21, we are reminded that our citizenship is in heaven. That is our address, our destination. And from there a Savior is coming. The one who died and rose to save us from the penalty and power of sin is coming again. And this Savior is also our Lord. He is our King whose power enables him to subject all things to himself. He is coming to reign with peace and justice and righteousness (Isaiah 9:7). Image a world with no more strife or wars or crime – a world of peace and justice and righteousness. Jesus is coming, and he will bring such a world. This is our great hope.

But until then, we must stand firm in Jesus. This is Paul’s instruction in the following verse (4:1). Because Jesus is coming, we are to stand firm in him now. As the following verses make clear, that means:

• We ought to strive for unity in the Lord (v2-3). Paul instructs two ladies to agree in the Lord. We are going to agree in heaven, we may as well start learning to agree now. Are you? Do your words and actions enhance or discourage unity in your church?

• We ought to rejoice in the Lord (v4). If our hope is found in him, then he is the place to find our joy. Are you rejoicing in the Lord? Or are you looking for joy in all the wrong places?

• We ought to point to the Lord (v5). We are to be known for our reasonableness or gentleness, our being more concerned about others than ourselves. We aren’t pointing at ourselves. And when the Lord returns, it is clear who we will be point toward. In a world where everyone is pointing at themselves, who are you pointing at?

• We ought to set our gaze on the Lord (v6-7). As we wait for him, we can bring our cares to him. We can keep our gaze set on him in the midst of the trials of life. Where is your gaze?

• We ought to think like the Lord (v8). We are to set our mind on good things – things above instead of earthly sinful things like the rest of the world (3:19). What is your mind set on? What are you putting in your mind?

• We ought to imitate the Lord (v9). Paul says to imitate him, but he can only say that because he is imitating the Lord. Are you following Christ’s example of love and humility and service and…?

We have a great hope to see Jesus return. Until then, stand firm in Jesus.

We Have a Great Hope to Be With Jesus

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue Miscellaneous

In the book of Philippians, Paul gives us three great hopes. I want to look at one of those hopes each of the next three days. So today we want to consider that:

We have a great hope to be with Jesus. In Philippians 1:21, Paul says to die is gain, and v23 makes clear why death is gain: because we go to be with Jesus. That is Paul’s hope: to be with Jesus. He says it is better than life, echoing the Psalmist who said of God, “Your steadfast love is better than life” (Psalm 63:3). Paul desires to be with Jesus. Is that your desire? Does your heart resonate with this great hope to be with Jesus? To be with the one who took on flesh as a little baby for you? To be with the one who died a cruel death on a cross for you? To be with the one who rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and reigns as your King? One day we will be with him. That is our great hope.

But until then, we must live for Jesus. Paul desires to be with Jesus, but until then he says: “to live is Christ” (v21). And as the verses progress, it becomes clear that this means fruitful labor for Christ in serving God’s people for their growth and for the glory of God (v22-26). In other words, until the day we go to be with Jesus, we have work to do. Each of us has gifts and abilities God has given to us to serve God’s people for their growth and God’s glory. Some will teach. Some will lead. Different ones will be involved in different ministries. All of us in our own ways can care for, encourage, and help one another. And we can pray for one another, even when our age and health allow us to do nothing else. Don’t coast into heaven. If you are here, God has a purpose for you. And at least part of that purpose is to live for Jesus serving God’s people for their growth and God’s glory.

We have a great hope to be with Jesus. Until then, live for Jesus.

What We Were Made For

On By BrianIn Identity, PASSION Quotes

ForeverWe were not created for our own liberty, happiness, or fulfillment.  We were not created to find our own way and to discover our own joy.  We were not designed to define what our needs are and to give our lives to meet them.  We were not made to treat the world like an endless buffet of delights for our consumption.  We were made for God, made to live for his glory, and made to find the fullest expression of our humanity in loving, worshipful community with him….  Every day billions of us get up and ignore the love relationship with God for which we were created.  Because we do not love him as we should, we do not have the motivation to please him.  Because we are not motivated to please him, we find it easy, in small moments and big, to replace him with something else.  We replace love of God with a life-dominating love of self.  We replace concern for the glory of God with self-glory….  Inserting ourselves in the center of our world is the ultimate delusion.  Sin not only denies the structure of the world as God made it, but it also denies our very identity as human beings.  We are God’s image bearers.  We were made for him.
– Paul David Tripp in Forever

In Christ, I Am a New Creation, Part 2

On By BrianIn Identity1 Comment

Who am I? In Christ, I am a new creation. The old sinful distorted way of life is past. I have been made new with news desires and a new ability to be like God and reflect God. And yet while I am new, I am also being renewed. I have entered a process of becoming more and more like God, of reflecting God more and more. I am like a prisoner who has been set free. I am free, but I must learn to live out my new freedom. I must learn to live as a new creation. And Colossians 3 gives me very specific instructions on what this looks like:

• God made me to think, and as a new creation I am being renewed in knowledge (v10). No longer conformed to the thinking of this fallen world, I am being transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2). And this takes places as I immerse myself in God’s Word – as it dwells in me richly (v16).

• God made me to love, and as a new creation I must put on love in all its fullness. I must begin to practice compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with others, and forgiving others (v12-14).

• God made me to work, and as a new creation I begin to work heartily as unto the Lord (v22-24). No longer simply trying to keep the boss happy, or thinking only of what I can get out of it, or being as lazy as I can get away with, now I am to work heartily in service to God. My work becomes an opportunity to serve God all week long.

• God made me to rest, and as a new creation I begin to learn what it means to rest. Colossians doesn’t address this, but Jesus does in Luke 10:38-42. While Martha is busy serving, Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet. There is a time to work and a time to rest. And one reason we rest is to simply sit at the feet of Jesus to learn and grow in him.

• God made me to live uprightly, and as a new creation I begin to put off sin and put on what is right. I clothe myself with love (v12-14), which Jesus said is the sum of righteousness (Matthew 22:37-40). And I put off sexual immorality and all that goes with it, anger and all its sisters, and wrong ways of speaking: slander, obscenity, and lying (v5-9).

• Finally, God made me to reflect him, and as a new creation I seek to do just that. In whatever I do, I am to do it in the name of Jesus (v17) – as his ambassador, as his representative. Every word and every deed to reflect him.

In Christ, I am a new creation. May we grow in living out this wonderful new identity.

Also in this series:

In Christ, I Am a New Creation

On By BrianIn Identity

Who am I? God made me in his image – to be like him, to reflect him. But I have become a distorted image-bearer. I am not like God as he made me to be. I don’t reflect him, but rather seek to be my own god. And if this was the end, a miserable end it would be. But God didn’t leave us this way. He made a way for us to become a new creation in Christ.

The promise is given in Ezekiel 36:25-27. God would give us a new heart and spirit – giving us new desires to once again be like him and reflect him. God would give us his own Spirit – giving us a new ability to once again be like him and reflect him.

In the fullness of time, Jesus came – fully God and fully man, God and perfect image-bearer of God. And he died that we might die to sin – our old distorted way of life. And he rose that we might rise to a new way of life, that we might live for righteousness, that we might again live as image-bearers of God (I Peter 2:24, Romans 6:3-4).

So now, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (II Corinthians 5:17). In Christ, I have a new identity. No longer am I a distorted image-bearer, but now I am a new creation in Christ. The old distorted way of life is past. Now I have been made new. I have new desires to love again. I have a new mind to think again. I have a new ability through the Spirit to live uprightly again. In Christ, I am a new creation.

Colossians 3:9-10 puts it this way. I have put off the old self with its practices – the old distorted way of living. And I have put on the new self. I am a new creation. But the verse goes on to say that I have put on the new self “which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” I am new, but I am also being renewed. I am a new creation, but I am not yet perfect. Becoming a new creation means I have entered into a process in which I become more and more like God, in which I begin to reflect God more and more.

I was a prisoner caught in a distorted way of life, but now I have been set free, and must learn to live as a free person. I must learn to live as a new creation. And Colossians 3 tells us how. We are to put to death that which belongs to the old distorted way of life (v5-10), and put on that which agrees with our new identity as a new creation in Christ (v12-17). Tomorrow we will look at some specific ways that we are to do this.

I Am a Distorted Image-Bearer, Part 2

On By BrianIn Identity

Who am I? God made us in his image. God made us to reflect him. Like the moon reflects the light of the sun, so we are to reflect the glory of God. But then came the Fall. Adam and Eve sinned. And we all became distorted image-bearers.

We seek to reflect not God, but ourselves. We try to cover up the reflection of God as we seek to be our own gods. We live for ourselves. Learning, relationships, work, and rest become all about me. And I will determine right and wrong for myself apart from God – just like the devil tempted Eve so many years ago. We all do what is right in our own eyes. We were made to reflect God’s glory, but we all fall short as we seek to be our own gods.  The reflection of God within us has become distorted, twisted, covered.

Not only do we seek to be our own gods, but we follow after other gods – idols. This is inevitable, because if I don’t find my identity in God as his image-bearer, I will have to look elsewhere for meaning, purpose, significance. Since I can’t find it in myself (I make a lousy god), I’ll chase after created things to give me meaning, an identity. And so people seek their identity in all kinds of places. Some look for their identity in their career, their job, their business. Others find their identity in their busyness (I must be significant if I am this busy!). Some seek their identity in their successes. Others identify themselves with their failures, or their suffering. For some, their identity is found in what others think, or in a relationship – a spouse, a child, a friend. Many look for their identity in things – all the stuff they own. Others seek their identity in their looks, their health, their sexuality, or their good behavior. Yet none of these idols can give us the significance we crave, the identity we seek.

So here are some important questions for us:

  • In what ways am I living as though I was god?
  • Where am I seeking my identity? What are my idols?

Also in this series: