DT commentary for 1Sam21-31_2sam1-15.doc

DT_Eph1-2a_Nov5-Nov10_2012_v3

Commentary_Luke3-13_Psalm55-59

Commentary_Joshua6-24_Luke1-2_Psalm50-54

Commentary_Deut16-34_Joshua1-5_Psalm 45-49_20130228

DT commentary for Deuteronomy 1-15

DT commentary for Numbers

10:1–3 Nadab and Abihu, the eldest of Aaron’s four sons, capriciously took censers of their own, put incense in them, and offered unauthorized fire (lit., strange or foreign fire; see ESV footnote) to the LORD. The offense lies in their doing it their own way instead of in a way authorized by the Lord, and as a result they were instantly killed. (This probably also involved entering—or trying to enter—the Most Holy Place [cf. 16:1–2] after drinking alcohol [cf. 10:8–11].) The point of the story is that God will not allow his holiness to be violated, not even by members of the high priest’s family. And Aaron held his peace. He raised no vocal objection against God’s justice in the death of his sons; perhaps he was simply dumbfounded.

10:16–20 The incident described here takes place on the final day of the installation of the priesthood. Moses discovers that Eleazar and Ithamar have not followed the regulations of sacrifice given by God (v. 16). It is dramatic because it follows so closely on the offense of Nadab and Abihu (vv. 1–3). Moses voices his anger; Aaron, however, intervenes on behalf of his two sons. He argues that the events of the day have been so exceptional as to show that it is too dangerous to perform the ritual. Aaron’s defense displays his fear of the holiness of God, which Moses is glad to see in his brother.

[Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008). 228.]

Here are some for Leviticus:  Leviticus_HRBBB

We will be excerpting from the following resources (which might be good to have on your bookshelf):

• How to Read the Bible Book by Book (Fee & Stuart)
• ESV Study Bible (these are pretty much the same, just different size/style/price):
  • Paperback “Global” Edition ($14)
  • Hardcover “Student” Edition ($25)
  • Original Study Bible ($31)

Christ in the Tabernacle

This pdf is adapted from the following resources (retrieved 2/1/13):

• http://media.hhbc.com/pdfs/oneyearbible/tabernacle-christ.pdf
• http://www.cfcindia.com/web/mainpages/articles.php?display=article23

Below are additional pictures from Logos Bible Software: (click on the image for a larger version)

1. DT_CoreValues_Dec24-Dec31_2012_v5

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year? What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

• Sharing God’s heart for the lost
• Creative and effective evangelism here and abroad
• Compassionate service to the needy

Matthew 9:36-38

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸ therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

In this past year, I’ve grown in sharing God’s heart for the lost. As we were preparing to reach out to a new class of college students this Fall quarter, there was a night where we gathered together as a church to pray for the new students who would be arriving on campus and to get equipped for how we might effectively meet them in order to share the gospel with them. Steve gave a short message to remind us why we were doing what we were doing, about how God’s heart is for us to seek and save the lost. One thing that really helped to drive the point home was the imaginary scenario that if his son Micah were missing one day, Steve would drive all over town looking for him and would go to any extent to get his son back. He would not stop searching until he found him, not give himself any rest, because of his great love and concern for his child. And he would hope that those who knew him and cared for him would also have the same heart and concern for his lost son. This illustration helped me see and feel God’s heart for the lost, who are also described as God’s lost children. I was reminded that this is how God views and feels toward those who don’t know Him. They are every bit as precious and valuable to Him as a missing son to a father, and God would go to any extent to find His lost children, even going to the cross to demonstrate His love and provide a way back to Him. And so as school started, this was my heart as I met people and started to build relationships so that I could one day have an opportunity to share the gospel with them so that they can be reconciled with our loving heavenly Father. Evangelism is about meeting people who may be lost, harassed by sin or the lies of Satan, helpless against the temptations of college life, addicted to some destructive behavior, and ultimately separated from their heavenly Father. Whether they’ve never heard of the good news of the gospel, or they’ve been burned by a bad experience at church, or they’ve got reason to be wary of organized religion, they are missing the amazing, unconditional love of God for which they were made. God grieves over them because the reality is that apart from Him, they are lost in their sins and headed toward an eternity apart from Him. So He wants them to experience the gospel, which offers them a chance to be saved from death, forgiven of sin, restored to God, and given eternal life. Remembering the truth about people’s greatest problem (sin) and their greatest need (the gospel) gave me a different perspective during welcome week: that each person was a precious son or daughter of God whom He wanted to save and invite into a personal relationship. And this motivated me to want to reach out to these students so they could have a chance for God to find them and welcome them home.

–

Submitted by Jenny C. from Gracepoint Riverside Church

One area I experienced growth in was sharing in God’s heart for the lost, as He taught me to lift up my eyes from the tasks and small dramas of my life and onto the people He wanted me to care about. This would happen when I least expected it, often when I felt stressed about preparing for life group prayer meeting, for course 101 discussion. I’ve gone into a meeting with someone not knowing how they’ll respond to the content I’ve prepared, unsure if they’ll understand the points I want to make, uncertain of how the conversation will go. I’m often feeling nervous and focused on the task at hand, trying to lead that time, and I can only pray that somehow the Holy Spirit will be at work in that person’s heart despite my inadequacy and lack of wisdom. I remember at a life group prayer time in which I was meeting one of the students for the very first time. I was still sick with a cold that had lasted for over a month and feeling weary. I contemplated having one of the other staff take over–after all I wasn’t fully recovered and it was just two students who were planning to come, but in the end decided to push through and make it, though my focus was just on making it through that time. Yet through the course of that prayer time, the person opened up really vulnerably about her past burdens and current struggles and I ended up being able to lift her up in prayer about those issues. God used incidents like this to increase my burden for people, and to realize with new sharpness that there are so many people out there who are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (cf. Matthew 9:36). Though I could hide behind excuses of why I should not be the one ministering to people (i.e. I’m not feeling well, I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t have what it takes, etc.), the reality is that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Rather than just being relieved that the meeting is over, I get hit with a renewed sense that God’s desire is to seek the lost, bring back the strayed, bind up the injured, strengthen the weak (cf. Ezekiel 34:16), and He has somehow brought this person into my life so He can do those things through me.

Another way I’ve grown in sharing God’s heart for the lost is through hearing the stories of lives changed by God. Earlier this year, I had the chance to witness some of our students get baptized at our first Riverside baptism service. Their testimonies of where these brothers were before they met Christ and before they came to our church brought me to tears, as I heard them recount how alone they felt or how they believed they were worthless. Yet God had a purpose to bring them to our church, to bring them to life and salvation in the gospel, and it would leave me wondering–what if we did not start this church plant? What if we had clung to comforts or gave in to fears and never came? It was indeed God’s heart to seek and save the lost that He brought them into our midst and used us, even as the broken, struggling, imperfect people we are, to show these brothers His great love and compassion for them.

In which of the above areas do I want to experience growth in this coming year?

I want to engage more creatively in reaching out to people. This year, more than ever, I feel a greater hurdle in relating to younger people in my ministry. I think this has to do in large part with me becoming a mom, as it seems to take more to relate to the college freshmen who only a year ago were in high school, and who don’t really know what it takes to raise a child, the demands as a parent. Also as I get older, I feel more removed from what it’s like to be in college. Yet in 1 Corinthians 9, Apostle Paul says he becomes all things to all people for the sake of the gospel, so he can share with people in its blessings. In my context, this means I need to get into the mindset of being a college freshmen again – to revisit the days when I lived in the dorms, what kind of concerns I had, what my relational world was like, what my motivations were. Rather than sticking to things I’ve done before and assume what’s worked will work again, I want to try new things in order to meet them where they’re at. This means I have to devote more of my time to thinking about each person with care and intentionality, just as a good shepherd would take care to examine each of the sheep in his care.

Another area I want to grow in this coming year is being a person who will be able to teach and raise up others. 2 Timothy 2:2 says “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful menwho will be able to teach others also.” I still see many ways in which I still need to mature so that I can become this faithful person who can pass down gospel truths so it will shape people who come after me. This is particularly true as I think about our current upperclassmen, who will graduate in a couple years, and some of whom may join our team at that time. I have this responsibility over them and I owe it to them to grow and mature myself so I can properly teach and train them. This means that I have to step up the ownership I have over our ministry and over my own spiritual life. I cannot defer decisions to my leaders, or expect things to happen because my leaders are there to make them happen. It means not shielding myself from the hard things in ministry–taking risks with people to speak truths to them; being intentional to think through and anticipate each person’s issues; being mindful of our students’ view of our church. It means being proactive in my relationships and myself first living out our core values (connecting with God, living it out, giving it all, getting close, etc.) with greater intensity and conviction before I can pass down the values of our church to this next generation. The way I live my life is what our students are looking to for the example of how to live as an Acts 2 church–and thinking about this brings to me a heightened sense of the enormity of this task.

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year? What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

• Doing life together in all its ups and downs
• Having open homes and open lives
• Relating to each other in love, commitment and honesty
• Creating and sharing memorable moments

In our society, what you often see is that one is accepted to the extent that they are adding value. In many places, it is even more merciless because not only does the person need to be making a positive contribution, they need to be worth more than the cost of keeping them in their position. If there is someone could replace that person and do a better job, then that person will likely be gone at the next opportunity. This happens all the time, both in the workplace as well as in peoples’ personal relationships.

Thankfully, the church does not operate this way. The church was never supposed to be an organization made up of interchangeable, expendable human resources. Instead, we are “one body in Christ (Romans 12:5).”  We are each a member of one body and therefore members of one another. It’s not possible to switch out one part of your body for a different one just because it is underperforming. The only reason that anyone would ever amputate a part of his body would be if it were cancerous. But short of that, people learn to live with what they have. If one part is weak, then the other parts work to compensate. Of course ideally, the weak part would be rehabilitated and eventually be able to do what it was created to do so that the other parts of the body can do what they were created to do. But in short, giving up on or cutting off a member of the body is just not an option.

This past year has been one of the toughest years in my walk with God. It’s been a year of taking time off my typical ministry schedule to really rebuild my relationship with God. Throughout this time, I’ve often felt guilty that I was not serving at the same capacity as others around me. I felt insecure because I wondered whether others should just give up on me and focus their energies on other people who could yield more “return on their investment.”

Throughout this time, I found hope to know that Christ actually commands us to “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).” It assured me that I’m not banking on my merit or even on others’ big heartedness, but I am banking on the fact that God commands the members of the body of Christ to stay committed to one another.

It is through being in this position that I have come to more deeply appreciate that we really are a church committed to doing life together through all its ups and downs. My leaders did not give up on me, but continued to minister to me and guide me back to God’s heart. Others in the ministry took on the responsibilities that I had so that I could focus on my relationship with God. My peers continued to be committed to me, prayed for me, and encouraged me through timely conversations. In the end, I was able to get closer in many of my relationships as I saw how unconditionally committed they were to me.

In which of the above areas do I want to experience growth in this coming year?

In order to get close, we have to relate to each other in love, commitment and honesty. As I get older and my life gets more complicated, there are different barriers that I have to overcome in order to relate in this way. As my life gets busier, I am tempted to operate out of a desire to go through my checklist of tasks as opposed to focus on genuinely connecting with the people whom God has placed before me to love. As my obligations and responsibilities grow, I am tempted to feel overwhelmed and excuse myself from committing my time and energy to others’ needs as they present themselves. Finally, as I am now one of the older ones in the ministry, there is the temptation to keep up the perception that I have it all together instead of being completely honest with where I am at.

The trend in society is that guys my age slowly become more and more isolated and lose their close relationships, no doubt partly due to the factors above. I pray that I can fight against each of these things that destroy relationships, and instead to relate to the people God has placed in my life with love, commitment, and honesty.

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year? What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

• Living a passionate and sacrificial life
• Generosity in giving time, money, talent and energy
• Working hard and doing our best

One area I’ve grown is in a passionate and sacrificial life. I’ve found myself in the very obvious position of needing to mature, to get out of myself, to give of myself for others, to expand my scope of concern as several older staff left to help serve in our other churches, ministering to a fairly sizable life group with people of diverse needs and the start of our new Praxis ministry.

This past year was filled with challenges from the Word of God, from Jeremiah’s complete giving of himself to live out and preach God’s message, to DTs and Bible studies through Apostle Paul’s epistles demonstrating his passion and heart, that were always so timely for me.  The DT that stood out for me the most, and that continues to bring me back to my identity is 2 Corinthians 5, the amazing fact that God gave me—lazy, selfish, grumpy, full of failures me—the ministry of reconciliation, entrusted me the message of reconciliation, and has me as an ambassador for Christ, God making his appeal through me.  That was the motivational speech of the year, a “What on earth–” moment.  I saw how in every way, God has incomprehensibly entrusted me with such lofty roles and responsibilities, and I just couldn’t understand why.

Yet, as I reflected over it, I saw this as actually not so surprising when I looked at just who God is.  He’s demonstrated His love and grace in that while I was a sinner, Christ died for me.  He’s a God of grace, and He’s the one who does it all, and calls me to go along with Him, to follow Him.  How can I not respond with humility, gratitude and passion?  When I see all that God has entrusted to me–this precious ministry, the people in my live, I desire so much rise up to the task for which He has called me, to grow up, to give more of myself.  In response to this message, I’ve found myself becoming a lot more passionate about people, thinking not only of their immediate issues that they may present to me, but often being unable to sleep, thinking about how better to minister to them, take them to the next step in their walk with Christ, pull some out of the mud and mire in which they’re stuck, be a lot more proactive as I claimed greater ownership (as I should’ve from way back when) over this ministry group.

And if anything, I’ve come to realize that by God’s grace and power working within me, I have way more capacity than I thought I had, and in the coming year, I hope to find the same once again.

In which of the above areas do I want to experience growth in this coming year?

The area in which I need to grow is in the area of working hard and doing my best.  Though in the area of ministry, with the people entrusted to me, whom I’ve been called to love, serve and disciple, I’ve grown in understanding my identity, my role in their lives, and have come to realize that there’s still way more room in my life to give of myself in love, Acts 20:34-35 speaks of Apostle Paul’s total blamelessness in all that he does, striving in every way to be a blessing and not a burden to those around him.  He worked hard, not only in “spiritual” ministry, but the scope of his ministry was such that, in every way, his life would bless others.  He supported himself financially, so as not to burden or potentially stumble the church, even though he had every right to be supported by the churches he founded and led.  The fact that he can say, not only in this text but in other text as well, “You know me,” reveals how he never saw “downtime” for himself, but every moment was a ministering moment, a chance to be a blessing, to serve the Lord Christ.

And this is where I need to mature.  This past year, I’ve come to realize, with much shame, that, as CS Lewis had described in Problem of Pain, “They wanted some corner in the universe of which they could say to God, ‘This is our business, not yours.’ But there is no such corner,” there still existed those corners in my life where I did not serve the Lord Christ, but myself.  Those corners which I called “my room” or “my downtime,” where I chose to do was personally comfortable, rather than what would be befitting as a servant of Christ.  I am not my own, I was bought at a price, and I’m to honor God with my body, heart, mind, soul, strength.  Even when Jesus took time to rest, he invited interruptions out of his compassion for others and his clear identity of what He was here for.  My identity has been given me by God.  I’m a servant of God, He’s made me a minister of reconciliation, His ambassador, one through whom He makes His appeal, one who’s been called to love and He’s loved me, called to serve as He’s served me, obedient even to death on a cross.

Lord, may my standards in every area of my life be raised to honor you in greater and greater measures.  May my house be kept as the Levites meticulously kept the tabernacle, that whoever enters through my doors may experience Christ without distraction.  May every minute of my time be a ministering moment, be it with those I lead, my co-laborers, my leaders, my husband and child, or the random encounter.  It is more blessed to give than to receive, and I want to be a blessing to others, a blessing to you.

Reflect on one verse that particularly hit you.

2 Timothy 4:6-7

⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

These are words that I want to be able to say, confidently that I have fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith!  The way I live is still too much like how I was running the 10K last year– run, walk, run, walk, walk, walk, fast sprint the last few yards.  The way I fight is not on the frontlines, but hiding behind others hoping I don’t get hit.  I don’t want to be a coward; I want to fight hard, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus, pleasing my commanding officer.  I want to run as one running to win the prize.  I want to keep the faith that has been given and entrusted to me.  So that when my time of departure comes, I may stand, able to say to my Lord, “I did my very best,” and be able to hear from my Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

–

Submitted by Sarah S. from Gracepoint Austin Church

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year? What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

• Living a passionate and sacrificial life

Looking back at this year, I see that there has been growth in this area of living passionately and sacrificially.  As I get older and life gets more complicated, there is that desire to not do as much or give of myself as much.  As I think of this past year, there were times when I felt that desire to just settle or slow down.  However, I think God knew my default desire to want comfort and ease and placed those boundaries for me so that I wouldn’t give into that temptation.  This year has been a growing year, involving growth in areas that I never felt that confident in such as leading groups on my own or leading a younger staff and growing pains of trying to embrace my role as a spiritual mentor and one of the older staff here in Austin.  After some older staff moved to help out at different ministries, I knew the choice was either for me to retreat and fall into that “little ol’ me” mindset, or to push through my feelings of inadequacy and insecurity and obey God in embracing this role.  Now, without someone older right above me, there is a much greater urgency to take complete ownership over those I’m ministering to.  Yet, even though as the pressure got higher, more responsibilities were placed upon me, and the realization of the gap where I am in my character and where I ought to be has widened, I see that my passion has grown.  It’s not just about tasks and getting things done or just trying to show like I’m doing ok.  I’ve learned this past year that there is too much at stake to operate in this way.  I don’t want to just operate as if I’m a “good staff”, though that strain of performance-orientedness is still within me, but I see that more than that is this deeper drive and motivation of wanting to see people saved by this gospel b/c I know as I’ve been ministering to people especially this year that sin is real, death is real, and the gospel is the only hope we have to give. I think another circumstance that has helped me to grow in my passion and in living a sacrificial life is as I’ve been helping some people go through more serious sin issues this past year, I’m more convicted that there can only be true hope in the cross of Jesus.  This world is so broken as I hear of people who are scarred from the past, from recurring sins, or just finding worth and security in this world as many of the seniors are looking towards graduation.  Although it’s been harder emotionally and often feeling at a loss in how to help people, but the fact has become clearer the only source of hope, of finding healing and renewal is in Jesus.

In which of the above areas do I want to experience growth in this coming year?

• I want to work on experiencing more growth in continuing to live a passionate and sacrificial life.  I feel like the other two areas are encompassed in living a passionate and sacrificial life, and I would only increase in becoming generous with my resources and work hard and do my best as my passion and zeal and sacrifice for the gospel increases.  Although, I know that growing in passion and sacrifice is directly related to how much I’m willing to surrender my own life and preferences and embrace even more suffering.  I don’t know what this new year has in store, but I want to pray and recommit myself to dig deeper in my convictions and guard myself from wanting to settle down especially when it feels harder.

Reflect on one verse that particularly hit you.

I’m hit by Apostle Paul’s description of his life in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29.  Reading this always brings me back to proper perspective about my life, what suffering really is, and challenging me of the standard to which I’m called to live a sacrificial life.  Apostle Paul never shied away from embracing suffering and giving himself to spread this gospel.  I think about the coming year and spring semester, and although I will never have to face the kinds of obstacles that Apostle Paul did, but it hits me again how God gives me a new year in which I can strive to give it my all again.  Yes, there are regrets of having given into my laziness or fears and passivity, I have been given a new year in which I can try to live wholly giving myself to God, just as Apostle Paul did, and not shy away from the opportunities of suffering that God may place in my life.

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year?  What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

Living out scriptural values and mandates in all areas of life:

This past year has been a year of a lot of stretching. It’s like I am a broken record because I find myself saying that every year, but objectively, this year has truly been a lot more intense then years in the past. Being out on a church plant of course is a stretch, and I had experienced that in the first few years here in Austin, but another year brings more people to our church and hence more people to love and try to minister to. This year was the first year where we started up our very own Praxis (Young Adult) ministry in Austin, and Debbie (my wife) and I were asked to head that up. As I was reading through the passages for this first section, living out scriptural values and mandates, I felt like this was a summary of many things I experienced this past year. I remember during my undergrad days, my peers and I would dream dreams about placing our faith in God to lead us, and what we would love to do for Him. And I would look at these types of passages, where people weren’t able to give up their lives and follow God, and I would think “what’s wrong with these people? How come they can’t just go and follow Jesus?” But now as I read these passages, and particular parts about how the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head, or whoever does not bear his own cross and come after him cannot be his disciple, I feel like those challenges come at me every day now as I’m older. That call is not easy to obey, and this past year has been one where God has been pulling me to commit more and more of my life, my time, my emotion, indeed all of myself to him. It has often been the case that I would be fighting with myself, knowing what I need to do, what God is calling me to do, yet the voices inside of myself saying that I need to take a rest, or that I need to take care of myself or my family first, or just that I need to do what I want to do. And these voices come often, since it is every week that I have to prepare some kind of bible study, meet up with various people, plan out events and different things that come up in ministry. And it is spiritual battle at times fighting my own desires to control my life and instead to live out those scriptural values in my life. My flesh is always telling me to slow down a little. But it is my testimony that though it has been a difficult year and a lot of dying has happened to myself, at the same time I have experienced God giving me a rich reward for it. Seeing people change, getting to know God at a deeper level and grow in their faith, that is the fuel that gives me the drive to keep pushing myself, to put away my own desires and instead do the will of God. This past semester has been one of the most rewarding one-half year in my whole life! I have been able to see God work in so many lives, how they have come to terms with values that they need to change, how they have struggled through difficulties trying to live their spiritual life and how some of them have come back from a very misguided understanding of who God is. And how is it that I could experience that kind of thing? It is because I struggled against my own desires to preserve my life, struggled against my laziness, struggled to try and live out the things that the bible mandates for the followers of Christ.

Yet, it isn’t really “me” that is doing all of that, because I know that there is no way I could have held on if it weren’t for the church, for the other people around me who were also striving and pushing on, denying themselves as well. It is through our collective attempt to form that biblical community, that is what gives me the encouragement and accountability to struggle at living out the spiritual values in my own life. It is because it is “all of us” doing this together, that is what helps me along, because I do not have the willpower and discipline to do it myself, not when my body is pushed and my emotions are stretched. I need help during those times. And that is when the church has really come in, because I know I am one of the many building blocks of this community. I experience what it says in Acts 2 often. It’s often the case that I will see various other members of our church every day of the week! And that is what helps me to push forward, helps me keep my identity and maintain my spiritual disciplines. And even within the church, there is the real life “great cloud of witnesses” right here next to me, and they spur me on (often times without even knowing it!). I have people that I can follow, people whom I can look at with my own eyes and see that they have also given up just as much as I have if not more, they have pushed themselves, and that gives me courage to keep pushing on. So these parts kind of all play together. This year has been one where I struggled trying to deepen in my devotion and commitment to scriptural values and mandates in my life, but I did it through the church as we see in Acts 2 and other passages, that helped me through those difficult times. And I know that this stretching will not end with the end of this year, YET I also know that God will also give me the means to “live it out” as I move on to 2013.

In which of the above areas do I want to experience growth in this coming year?

It is difficult to separate those areas out as they are so intermingled. For sure I know that God still has a way to go before he is done with me in the realm of living out scriptural values and mandates in all areas of my life, especially giving over control of my life to God. But also this year we will be another year older, and that means that, as I am one of the oldest members of the Austin church, I really need to live a life that is worthy of emulation for the younger ones. As our church gets older, more and more we will need people who are examples, who have lived a bit longer and have learned how to struggle through issues and help others. I really want to push hard this upcoming year so that I would grow into that kind of a person. I know it is a high calling for me to be someone that would leave a spiritual legacy, because I know all the different shortcoming and sins that are so much a part of my life still. But I do not want to be a stumbling block or road-block as our church groans another year, as we get another year more mature. So, together with the stretching that God will do in the upcoming year, along with my desire to continue to build the church that God built in Acts 2, I want to grow into being a person who will leave a spiritual legacy at our church, who can be a light on the way for many of the younger ones. That is what I commit to, what I want to struggle towards and become.

Reflect on one verse that particularly hit you.

It was referenced in the first section/question, Luke 9 and 14, about the need to take up my cross, and not having a place to lay my head. There were many times this past year where I felt like finding a place to “lay my head,” to take a break, to not have to think about the worries or about what I need to do, a reprieve from ministry.  But these passages say it clearly, that to people who are seeking to live like that, to have that escape, they are not ready to follow Jesus. Following Jesus is not easy, that is never a characteristic that Jesus nor his apostles offer up. It is hard work. But this year has also been one of the most fulfilling/rewarding ones of my life as well. And that is no coincidence. Those two go hand in hand. Jesus was able to save the world because he denied himself and took up the cross. It is going to be no different for me. To the degree that I can take up my cross and follow him, to that degree will I be able to experience the salvation work happening around me and also in me. That is the encouragement helps me keep going.

–

Submitted by James C. from Gracepoint Austin Church

Living it out

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year?  What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

• Living out scriptural values and mandates in all areas of life
• Being an active member of a biblical, countercultural community
• Honoring and emulating exemplary Christians – historical and contemporary
• Leaving a spiritual legacy for the next generation

One way that I grew in “living it out” this year was in submitting myself to meet the needs of the Gospel and increasing in the sense that my life is about the Gospel and loosen the hold on my own time and life. Even though as a Christian these are things that I’ve committed to before, but for me the concrete step of being on a church plant really helped me to deepen in this sense. Through being in the San Diego church plant, having a much smaller ministry team partly meant that there are less people to help out with the ministry needs and in a way more falls onto each team member to contribute. I found myself having to be in a better position to see the needs of the church and to meet these needs. One particular way was with the outreach week and welcome nights that we have typically at the beginning of each quarter. I tried to help out in whatever ways I could. Each opportunity to sacrifice a bit of my time, sleep, money—they became moments for me to remember why I had joined a church plant in the first place. Not that they were great sacrifices in any way, but these small steps to obey helped forge that sense of my identity as someone engaging in ministry of the Gospel as the most important thing, and that I will prioritize this before other areas of my life. Although this was not something new in my life, but through the concrete circumstances of being on a church plant, and even those small decision moments to volunteer myself and actively give my time really helped to deepened this identity.

Looking back, these experiences came at a time as I am in a season in life where I’m getting older and now building a family and with my career in a more stable place, and these can cause people to slow down in their devotion to God. These really helped to combat the tendency to settle down, and provided concrete opportunities for me to make clear, even to myself, what my life is about and what are the highest priorities of my life. When I heard about the needs in our church in Austin and had an opportunity to join, even though it meant another set of changes in my life, it actually wasn’t so hard to make the decision to respond to the needs and move out to Texas. Knowing that I am such a risk-averse person who tends to make decisions slowly after weighing the options and wanting a great sense of control over the situations, I was really surprised at how I was able to make such a decision fairly quickly, and I think the time in San Diego really was an important time that helped me to be clear about my life’s purpose and provided many opportunities to loosen my hold on my life.

Reflect on one verse that particularly hit you.

Acts 2:46-47  46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

These verses from Acts 2 describe what the early church community was like, and how it was such a powerful and dynamic community. For me as a non-Christian back when I was a freshman, seeing Christians live in this way at our church was really such a powerful sign that there is something different and something special here. I saw church members meeting together and sharing life together, people over at each other’s homes, people getting together to study the Bible, to celebrate what God has done. All of these things made such a deep impression on me, and really served as one of the main things that sparked my interest to learn more about Christianity even though I had so much intellectual bias at that time against Christianity and knew almost nothing about it. Seeing this a community of people living like this really served as a key indicator that these people are serious about God and what they believed, and that turned out to be such a turning point in my seeking of God.

Now years later, I find myself in such a community and having experienced it for many years, and sometimes it feels as though this was just how things are. But as I read this verse, and think about my experience as well as the experience of so many others, I am reminded that building such a community where together we live out values so contrary to the world and where we value each other and strive together for God really is one huge way that we live out our faith. Even though sometimes I can take relationships and community for granted, as I step back and think about it, what we have here is so rare in this world where people are so isolated and people are defined more by entertainment common higher purpose. And it is also through our community as we co-labor together to build the church and even as we live out the vision of how he wanted us to relate to one another and to him collectively that we experience God drawing people to him and saving them. All the more, I just feel so privileged to be given such a community and an opportunity to be joined together with others so that others can come to know God.

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Submitted by Margaret C. from Gracepoint Austin Church

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year?  What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

• Living out scriptural values and mandates in all areas of life 

In the past year, I think that I have grown in being able to live out scriptural values in all areas of life.  Situations arose in which I had to exercise my faith and what I knew to be true through practical action regardless of how I felt.  One of the things that stick out to me from Luke 9 and 14 is how the call to follow persists as strongly as ever even in the midst of understandable personal circumstances.  To the one who wants to care for their father first and the one who desires to say farewell to their home first, the force of the call to respond is not diminished.  The dead are to bury their own dead and no one who turns back is fit for the kingdom of God.  In Luke 14, Jesus plainly states that anyone who follows Him must hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even his own life.  Jesus’ description of discipleship illustrates to me perfectly how total discipleship is.  Discipleship cannot be lived out in 80% or 90% of me.  There is no place in my life that I can hold back or excuse from God’s call to follow.  Even those parts of my life that I think surely I might understandably bide my time with – I see how even these parts of my life God claims as belonging to Him to be controlled by His timetable and not my own.  As I went through some personal struggles this past year, I think the hardest part was not so much coming to grips with who I was because I always knew I was a sinner, but more so trying to obey God’s command to follow Him in the midst of all that I was going through.  To not let even understandable hardships in my life overcome the greater thing of all, which is to follow God and to do His will each day.  For these would-be followers, they each had a hold on arguably legitimate things that kept them back from fully responding to Jesus’ invitation – their family, parents, and close friends.  For me, those legitimate things recently have been my personal struggles.  Oftentimes, I feel weak and as though I don’t have what it takes to meet the needs that are all around me.  There have been many times when I felt so painfully the gap of who I am and what I needed to do as well as times when I did things out of sheer obligation because I knew that I had to do it for the sake of others and myself.  In these moments, when it is painful to give of myself because of the inadequacies that I feel within, I know that in a small way, I am trying to live out Jesus’ call to follow Him despite how I might feel and despite the inner struggles I am going through.  I can come up with all sorts of excuses why the call to follow might be too extreme given my particular situation just as many of the people in the crowds who accompanied Jesus perhaps could, but in the end, Jesus calls me to follow in the circumstances I find myself in.  One basic thing I am reminded of from Luke 9 and 14 is that the circumstances of life will never be ripe for me to follow God.  Like it says in Luke 14:27, to be a disciple is to bear our own cross.  It would be nice if all my personal struggles could be resolved first, but the call to follow is independent of what good or bad things are going on in my life.  Moreover, in the end, I know that the invitation to follow is an invitation to turn from death and enter into life, which is why I think Jesus was so confident and insistent in his invitation to follow Him.  One thing that I cannot deny is how since I made my decision to follow Jesus, I have been experiencing transformation and life at the fullest.  As I look to a new year, I pray that I would trust God and refuse to let the things I am personally going through overcome the greatest command God gives me to follow Him wherever He may lead.

In which of the above areas do I want to experience growth in this coming year?

• Honoring and emulating exemplary Christians – historical and contemporary 

One area that I would like to grow in would be honoring and emulating exemplary Christians historically as well as those around me today.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been so individualistic and independent thinking that I self-generated in many ways.  It wasn’t until I became Christian that I began to see myself as such a dependent being.  One thing I have learned this past year is how connected we all are and how all that I have and am has been received rather than earned.  With some struggles I have been going through, I know that I would not have made the progress I was able to make had it not been for each part of the church functioning with one spirit and mind.  It has really made me appreciate the many people who have gone before in history as well as the many people presently in our church who have labored tirelessly, putting down their lives, so that people like me could live and know the love of God.  I cannot deny how I am here only because of so many people who took their identity as Christ-followers seriously and sacrificed for others leaving a spiritual legacy behind that has empowered future generations like me to reap the benefit.  Thinking about my own personal leaders even and the love I have received from them and to witness them laboring to build up the church and minister to people first before their careers or families, I know that I am here because of them and so many others like them.  Ever since I started serving church on a more full-time basis, I have been able to witness at a closer level the work, sacrifice, costs, stress, and burden that my leaders have been going through all along and it has opened my eyes that much more to how my life truly is surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.  My default is to see myself as self-made, but I realize how wicked this line of thinking is.  As I look to another year, one thing I pray I can hold onto is the truth that I am the product of a great cloud of many witnesses all connected together.  I can’t do anything to pay them back but I know that one thing I can concretely do to honor them is to lay aside every sin that clings so closely to me.  To run the race with perseverance and to count it as a privilege to serve God in any small way possible rather than shrink back because of my fears or to preserve myself in any way.

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year?  What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

• Being faithful in spiritual disciplines
• Maturing in godly character
• Growing in love and service for others

Galatians 5:13-14

• ¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

One of the areas that I have experienced some growth in this past year is in the area of growing in love and service for others.  Thinking back to the beginning of the year, while I was serving in ministry, I think there was a subtle sense of assurance knowing that there was a life group lead above me who was ultimately responsible for the spiritual progress and maturation of students in the life group. However this past semester I was placed in a position to lead my own life group, and this forced me to expand my heart and range of concern with a sense of awe and trepidation, knowing that the buck stopped with me this time.  This caused me to take greater ownership over the ministry plans for each week, actively engaged in reviewing the life circumstances of each person in my group to determine what ministry activity would be appropriate for that week.  This caused me to wonder a lot more about my students, thinking about what I needed to do to help them move to the next step spiritually.  Thinking back on this year, I realize how I artificially limited my range of concern simply because of position, and how contrary that is to fundamental core of the gospel, which calls me to be an imitator of God, as a beloved child.  Now looking back on this past semester, I see how foolish that kind of attitude is, as there is a spiritual war raging on all around me, and people falling to the lies of satan, relationships broken and hearts scarred by sin.  There is so much work to be done, and I recognize that God has given me a tremendous opportunity to make a spiritual impact on students around me.  I see now the frustration of people artificially limiting their heart and concern just because of some title or lack thereof.  Through this past semester, I had to push myself to embrace more people’s needs, concerns, having more challenging conversations, doing life group prayer meeting for the first time, thinking about the needs of younger staff for the first time, managing a house full of guys for the first time, thinking about their needs, the needs of the house, how to improve various aspects of their experience living there.  I experienced the diminishment of my “free time,” but now as I look back, though it was tiring, I am thankful that God pushed me in these various aspects of my life, pushing me to be spent for Him, as a safeguard from being idle and allowing my heart to wander.  God filled my life with people and opportunities to think about their needs and to grow in my ownership over them and ownership over the life group – indeed this is God’s blessing and way of helping me to grow up to become someone who is able to help others grow in their spiritual journey.

In which of the above areas do I want to experience growth in this coming year?

One area that I want to experience growth in this coming year is delighting on the law of the Lord and meditating on it day and night.  When things get busy, and that is often the case most of the time, it is easy to treat God’s word like a chore to be completed during DT times, understanding its value but still approaching it with a sense of duty and task orientedness.  I am called to “delight” in the law of the Lord.  The word of God is a balm to my soul and sharper than any double-edged sword, and has the power to demolish spiritual strongholds in my life, struggles that imprison me and hinder me from becoming what God intended me to become.  I know that the growth I have experienced in the past is directly a function of prolonged meditation and reflection over the word of God.  The freedom from selfishness, fears of rejection, voices of insecurity, and temptations of this world have been the direct result of God’s word combatting the lies and the deception that satan throws at me, and so all the more I want to fill my mind and heart with the word of God, as it reminds me of the heavenly reality, that I have a Father in heaven who calls me his son, that I don’t need to rely on my meager resources to run this race, that I have been well equipped through His truth to face every challenge and difficulty that comes my way.

Reflect on one verse that particularly hit you.

2 Tim 2:15 “¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved.”  As I think about this verse, I realize that this is really the antidote to treating ministry and relating with God out of obligation or moral duty.  It starts off with “do your best.”  It implies that serving God is something exciting for which we need to do our best.  Like when I was younger and wanted to do my best to do well in school to please my parents, as a beloved child of God my heart and attitude should be the same – to strive to do the best I can to please God and to honor God for the immense privilege of serving Him.  The very language and tone of the passage speaks to a fundamental relational underpinning and foundation that serves as the basis for which I ought to do my best and to present myself as a workman approved by God.  This attitude of doing my best is a far cry from the heavy-laden, minimalistic, dreary attitude that serving out of obligation results in.  I am convicted once again to return to the gospel message over and over, so that my awe over this gift of salvation and forgiveness of sins would never wane, so that my excitement and zeal for the Lord would only increase, and so that I may never approach ministry and people with a heavy heart of moral oughtness, but with the amazing privilege I have been given to do my best to present myself as one approved.

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Submitted by Joyce L. from Gracepoint Austin Church

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year?  What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

• Being faithful in spiritual disciplines

I have been able to experience growth in the area of spiritual disciplines this past year – in my daily devotions and prayer.  Overall, in this past year, I have felt a lot more desperate for God’s wisdom, God’s strength, His Spirit’s working through various situations, and it has caused me to really turn to prayer and turn to His word for guidance.  As I personally felt inadequate and lacking throughout the year through leading the Soph/Junior class, directing skit for Glive, overseeing Interhigh, being a LIFE group lead, ministering to the students, helping them with various issues that came up, etc., these things caused me to be desperate for God’s word, his wisdom and guidance in each of these situations.  I felt the need for God’s word to lead me, his Spirit to teach/guide me in the words that I needed to speak in ministering to various people God placed under my care.  And there have been many instances in this past year where I experienced His word being so perfect, timely – for myself, and in regards to leading others, and that has caused me to be more hungry for God’s word.  And through the many times of feeling weak, and inadequate, yet the task/responsibility was entrusted to me, I’ve been able to pray a lot more, whether it’s before a conversation that I am going to have with someone, through crying out for people, various requests, and even the many health prayer requests throughout the year, I have been able to pray more diligently especially through having experienced prayers lifted up for my family the past couple years in regards to my mom and the kind of strength/encouragement that was to us.

• Submitting to the vital role of spiritual leaders for discipleship

The role of my spiritual leaders has been vital to my discipleship this past year.  Through the one-on-one meetings that we have had, the staff meetings, mentor’s meetings, I have gained so much ministry wisdom that I didn’t have, receiving their guidance on how best to minister to people were they are at, learning concretely what loving each person thoroughly looks like through their example of how they live out that life of love, the amount of creativity and forethought that is displayed that always challenges me in my discipleship. In addition, these times have been used to address various issues in my life, ways in which I haven’t been faithful or proactive, ways that I didn’t take ownership over our church, etc… Especially through the entrustment that was given to me and my husband to be leads, ministering to those younger, I have learned much about myself through the guidance of my leaders, through their speaking truth into my life.  Submitting to their role, opening myself up to receiving their wisdom and guidance has allowed me at the end of this year to see much more of myself, to have an accurate picture of where I am, not being deluded in my own thinking, and through their guidance, prayers, presence in my life, and I have been able to engage in struggle for holiness and obedience in my own life.  I have been able to experience my leaders being people who keep watch over my soul, as people who will have to give an account – as they hold me to a higher standard than even myself, and I see and have experienced their desire for me to become mature so that I can be a person that can build up the body of Christ, that can go out and disciple others.

In which of the above areas do I want to experience growth in this coming year?

I want to experience growth in terms of love and service for others this coming year. As I look back at this year, there are ways/times that I have been hindered in terms of fully loving and serving others – and it has been because of the way I have allowed sin to sabotage the work that God desires to do through my life.  There are ways in which I have allowed my own insecurities to keep my eyes focused on myself – which means that time and energy was taken away from being able to think about others, and thoroughly love and serve them.  I want to experience much growth in the area of love and service to others in my life – in all of my relationships, whether it’s my husband, co-workers in Christ, interns and students that I’m ministering to – so that as I take my eyes off of myself, I can fully invest myself into thinking about others, to give of my heart and energy fully, so that God can somehow use my life to be a source of blessing to others.  I also want to continue to experience growth in the area of spiritual disciplines.  I see that it has been the lifeline for me over this past year, and the thing that has kept me anchored and persevering through the challenges of life and ministry.  As life gets even busier as I get older, and the responsibilities grow, rather than shrink back in terms of giving, refusing to grow up, I want to experience going to God, and through His word, through times of prayer, receive His strength and wisdom, be replenished through daily times with God in devotions and prayer, that I can continue to obey God and give of myself fully to His work.  I want to experience growth in terms of my own personal love for God’s word, dwelling in God’s truth longer, letting it fill my mind, so that through whatever I may face, difficulties of life, ministry, struggling with my own sins, feeling stretched beyond what I feel like I can handle, my sense of security and confidence would come through the gospel and God’s promises in His words.

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year?  What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

• The Bible as God’s word and as our highest authority
• Personally experiencing and testifying to God’s saving grace
• Depending on God through prayer
• Doing all that we do as acts of worship unto God

As I think back on this year, I am so thankful for the ways I’ve experienced the Word of God as my highest authority and as the lamp unto my path. As I’ve encountered some esp. tough ministry scenarios this year, I’ve experienced the Word of God giving me clarity and direction in the most crucial moments. I had a front row seat as I saw the tender, yet piercing ways God’s word would cut through some deep cynicism and hopelessness in people and patiently lead them back to a place of trust, hope and finding their purpose in God again. Many a times I felt so helpless as I helped someone through their struggles, but as I lifted them up in prayer, God literally would show me what to say or how to process something through that next day’s DT passage. And as I brought His words to others, I saw God literally breathe life/hope/trust back into His people. The net effect has been that those same people gained just enough desire and strength to remain on this path of discipleship and recommit to trust in His promises again, that He will redeem all things. When I look back, I think the net effect these experiences have had on me – of having experienced the total authority of God’s word over all situations in mine/other’s lives reminds me of something I heard in a recent bible study which was that “those of us who are in Christ and have the bible no longer need to guess through life.” How true that is as I have the Word of God at my complete disposal to be used, to be shared, to be preached, to hold onto in times of fear, uncertainty, in need of comfort, to receive insight as I look out onto the world and understand people, etc. I want this to increase with greater zeal in this coming year.

I think had I not had daily devotions this past year, I would’ve literally missed out on an abundance of wisdom and actual words to share with others, which God made available for me on a daily basis. Truly, God is always at work and is always speaking to lead and guide us. And it is my job  as His servant to listen and be attentive. I shudder to think if I had neglected this basic spiritual discipline, how much I and those I minister to would’ve really missed out on hearing God’s words of hope and forgiveness that were crucially needed.

Another area of growth that I’ve experienced is testifying to myself and to others “God’s saving grace”. There were several people who I ministered to who could cognitively understand the love and grace of God and at some point could testify to it, but through recent struggles, were now in a difficult place and unable to claim this powerful truth as before.  But through the bible studies in Romans and DT passages in 2 Corinthians, God not only reminded me of His saving power and grace, but also, gave me ample opportunities to proclaim this message multiple times throughout the year and the net effect it’s had upon me is a greater appreciation for the Gospel, upon seeing how the message of God’s saving grace could resuscitate the most callous of hearts and I have been left in frequent awe at the scandal of the cross in response to my sin.  The significance of Christmas cannot come at a more appropriate time as I pause in the midst of much preparation for the year-end and stand amazed at my Savior’s birth knowing that the cross was what His future held and yet, He still came. I pray that God’s saving grace would be what gets testified most of all through my life in 2013.

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Submitted by Jessica C. from Gracepoint Austin Church

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year?  What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

§  The Bible as God’s word and as our highest authority

§  Personally experiencing and testifying to God’s saving grace

§  Depending on God through prayer

§  Doing all that we do as acts of worship unto God

I think I’ve grown in the area of doing all that we do as acts of worship unto God.  One circumstance that led to growth in this area would be moving into a duplex that is right next door to Pastor Manny and Sunny’s place.  People come in and out freely, our kitchen is used for cooking Sunday meals, and our downstairs and upstairs areas are used for babysitting during all weekly church meetings.  Opening up our home has been one way I’ve been able to surrender our home as an act of worship unto God.  Our church’s value of open homes has always been something that I believed and valued, but at the end of the day, I was able go back to my home and that was my personal space where I could have my privacy.  However, I do not hold such a view with our home in Austin, because our duplex home is essentially our church’s headquarters building.  Going into Austin, I knew that I really needed to have a shift of mindset to not see our home as “mine.”  I think one way in which I was better prepared for this was seeing how Pastor Daniel and Sarah’s house in San Diego was the church’s headquarters building there.  During our time in San Diego, I saw how they opened up their home for all and any church needs—food prep, various meetings, babysitting.  Unemployed people or those of us who didn’t work spent our days at their house.  I knew that it was a sacrifice on their part to open up every square foot of their home, but it was done as an act of personal worship onto God, to let go and surrender all.  Therefore, as we moved to Austin, I prepared myself for this and committed to doing the same, knowing that John and Kelly (who lived there before) also surrendered their homes in the same spirit.  It’s been 5 months now since we moved to Austin, and I have had multiple times throughout the week when I was able make that personal connection to God, as weekly I cleaned and set up our house for babysitting, and welcomed the kids as they walked through our doors.  These have been ways in which I’ve learned to take our home and surrender it to God as an act of worship to Him.

In which of the above areas do I want to experience growth in this coming year?

I want to experience growth in seeing the Bible as God’s word and as my highest authority.  It’s not that I had issues with the Bible and what it said.  But I recognize that there’s still a part of me that has a hard time really believing the truth of God’s words.  How I really am God’s beloved, and that nothing can separate me from His love.  Nothing can threaten my standing before Him as one forgiven and redeemed.  How I no longer have to operate under the old law, because through Christ, I was set free from the punishment of sin.  While I believe and know this to be true, I see how I need to grow in this area to not just cognitively believe this, but really consider this to be true and trust in God’s words to be the highest authority over other voices that I hear.  These voices tell me that if I do not perform well, if I’m not able to do much or show much results, then I will lose favor with God, that God will love me less and be disappointed with me.  These are the ways in which I still consider my thoughts and voices to have the final say and the ultimate authority, and reveal how I don’t really trust in God’s words.  Therefore, as I look to next year, one thing that I want to grow in is my understanding of God’s great love for me, and how this can happen as I really consider His words as my highest authority, instead of listening and believing other voices that challenge His words.

Reflect on one verse that particularly hit you.

Ephesians 2:8-9

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

This verse reminded me that my salvation was something that was totally and completely done by God.  My salvation wasn’t dependent on my works or performance.  There wasn’t anything that I did that earned or merited my salvation.  Rather, it is by God’s grace that I’ve been saved, and the faith to believe this—that God was pleased to give me this priceless gift.  As I think about how I want to grow in the area of really believing God’s words and living out the truth of His words as my highest authority, I was reminded through this verse that I really have to fight against turning Christian life into a works-based faith.  My salvation came not as a result of works, but it was given to me as a gift from God.  I didn’t deserve it nor did I do anything in order to earn it.  But it was freely given to me, because I desperately needed it.  This was how my Christian life started—it started with grace, and even now after 12 years after becoming Christian, the story needs to remain the same.  That 12 years since becoming Christian, I am still a product of God’s grace, and I must not boast of any “works” of mine that I could use in order to deem myself as deserving of His grace.

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Submitted by Judge H. from Gracepoint Austin Church

Which of the following areas have I grown in this year?  What are the circumstances or what acts of obedience led to growth in this area?

• The Bible as God’s word and as our highest authority

Looking back on the past year, it’s amazing to see how God has challenged my heart to see His word in a new way and used it to connect my heart with Him in a fresh relationship. In the midst of growing in responsibilities as part of our staff group and transitioning to working life from school, I experienced anew the power of God’s word to shape me with truth and conviction.  I had to struggle with my desire for comfort and my convictions about how I was going to use my time, energy and money, whether for myself or for others, and many times in the midst of those experiences I would come face to face with truths from God’s Word that pointed me down the proper way. And often, it was only after the fact that I saw how right and true the Word was, how God’s way provided the best possible outcome and having gone down the other way would have just led to more power for sin in my life and a colder, darker, more shriveled heart. These were not comfortable moments, being confronted by God’s Word, but in the times when I submitted and followed I found it to be the path to life and a deeper relationship with God.

• Personally experiencing and testifying to God’s saving grace

This past year has been one where I’ve had a lot of opportunity to minister to guys in a much more direct and personal way than ever before. I used to think I could develop the skills and knowledge I needed to be a good minister and competent in sharing the Gospel and that as long as I was practiced enough and competent, they would always respond. That was a pretty brash and arrogant assessment, because it relied on my skills alone and assumed I could be everything on my own. But this past year has shattered that picture and I’ve come to see that ministry is, in one way, sharing about what God has done in my life and taught me, and passing that on to people. So much of how God has worked in me this past year is just sharing what He’s done in my life, testifying to His grace and mercy in my life and passing on a little bit of wisdom from how He’s led me. I want to look ahead to this next year and pass it on more, because this is how He is going to be able to use me to touch peoples’ lives.

• Depending on God through prayer

This past year has also given me much opportunity to reflect on my prayer life. I never had much of a consistent prayer life, and when I did pray mostly it was for my own needs, my own struggles. I think a large part of my lack of prayer life was my own confidence and prayer in my own ability. I would pray, but in the back of my mind I usually just trusted myself to be able to accomplish whatever I needed. But this past year God has allowed situation to arise where I had absolutely no control. There were family issues I had to deal with which I could not solve as well as issues in students’ lives that seemed so desperate and impossible for me to do anything. God broke my proud heart this past year and showed me how much I really need to rely on Him in prayer, both this past year and how I should have been every year past. I’ve come to know some of the peace God promises, a peace I didn’t have before and my faith and trust in God has grown as I’ve learned to rely more deeply on Him in prayer. He’s shown me my weakness but His power at the same time, and it gives me greater reason to press on and follow Him.

In which of the above areas do I want to experience growth in this coming year?

• Doing all that we do as acts of worship unto God

As I look ahead to what God is going to bring in 2013, I can already see many chances to apply this truth. Our church is growing and this means many new opportunities to serve, in starting new areas of outreach, spreading out around to various elements and people in the campus that we haven’t reached, and expanding into new areas of service. There are so many people left to reach on UT campus alone, let alone everywhere else God will lead us, and much of the work in the year ahead may be the sort that isn’t very glamorous, doesn’t get noticed much, or doesn’t seem to bear fruit right away. On top of that, we are starting our Longhorn Lodge project, and this will be a lot of work. I want to tackle everything God brings with this kind of attitude, with a  vision for how He can use it and for the ways that laying the foundation, of a ministry or of a house, or the Gospel in someone’s heart, can one day be built up to God’s glory. This is my hope and for 2013, that I can respond to whatever God brings and give it my all, knowing His name will be glorified.

Reflect on one verse that particularly hit you.

1 Corinthians 15:58

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

On my own, I can often be pretty pessimistic or cynical, and when this attitude gets transferred to ministry and serving people, it can be deadly. It would mean giving up on loving someone because they aren’t too responsive or interested, or not wanting to try something new because it doesn’t seem likely to succeed or will be a lot of work. This attitude can really stifle God’s work, and I’ve painfully seen how it’s hobbled me in the past. I don’t want it to have a foothold in 2013. I want to take hold of God’s promise in this verse, that He is faithful and sovereign and will not let my work for Him go on in vain. It will produce fruit, in me and in people, no matter what. And in light of this truth, I want to abound in every way, giving myself fully to whatever and whoever God brings into my life. He is faithful and trustworthy and can use any challenge He brings for His glory and to bring life to a dying people. I want to grab hold and take Him up on this promise in 2013!

1. DT_Phil2b-4_Dec17-Dec22_2012_v4

Philippians 4:1-9

In this passage, Apostle Paul addresses joy (v. 4) and peace (vv. 7, 9), and exhorts the Philippians to do some things in order to experience this kind of joy and peace that transcends circumstances.

• Why is it important to pray “with thanksgiving,” especially when I am feeling “anxious”?

It is important to pray “with thanksgiving,” especially when I am feeling “anxious” because when I pause to pray with thanksgiving, I am able to look at my life as a whole, and not just the thing I’m feeling anxious about. There are many times when I’m anxious about something, and I come to God in prayer and I focus on what I’m feeling anxious about – relational problems, a concern I have over someone, a mistake I made and I’m not sure how it will affect others, an area of uncertainty regarding my future. I quickly feel discouraged or overwhelmed, or unsure of how I am to process this or deal with my anxiety. But if I pray with thanksgiving when I am feeling anxious, I am able to shift my focus away from my anxiety and I’m able to zoom out on my life and able to lift up my eyes. So prayer isn’t just bringing my worries, cares and anxieties to God, but prayer is approaching God with an attitude of thanksgiving and trust, acknowledging who God is and how he has already blessed me, how he has already been at work in my life. In that context, I can come to him with my anxieties and ask for his guidance, ask for his strength, ask for his provision. And rather than being overwhelmed by anxiety, instead I remember who God is, I remember who I’m praying to, I remember how I have experienced God in similar situations, or even if not in similar situations, how I have experienced God in my life.

• What are some concrete ways I can direct my mind as described in v. 8?

Some concrete ways I can direct my mind as described in v. 8 is through journaling. When I take the time to journal before I do DT, I have an opportunity to think about what is true in my life – what I’m really thinking and feeling, why I did or said what I did yesterday, why I responded the way I did, etc. – and I can then process it rather than just gloss over events and incidents in my life and be disconnected from myself.

I can direct my mind to things that are excellent by reading good books, especially as it’s winter break. I can read books like Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and try to put together the logic and flow of the arguments rather than just read the book. I can direct my mind to people who are commendable – to people who are doing ministry in different parts of the world – by remembering them and praying for them.

• What are some things I have “learned and received and heard and seen” in my leaders that I can “practice”?

Some things I have “learned and received and heard and seen” in my leaders that I can “practice” are being others-centered and relational. Ever since my freshman year, back in 1997, I have been the recipient of care and concern, prayer, many Bible studies and messages, many talks and conversations. Though I was standoffish, though I stiff-armed them during my first few years at our church, my leaders continued to care for me, to teach me God’s Word, to pray for me. And not just being on the receiving end, but I have learned and seen a lot about what it means to be relational, what it means to put yourself in the other person’s shoes as I have seen my leaders do that with different staff, different students, and as they teach me what it means to be a person of love. I can “practice” this by opening up my heart to people and letting them occupy my heart, noticing other people’s needs and doing something about it, changing my schedule for other people. I can practice what I’ve seen my leaders do in opening up their homes, not holding tightly to their plans or agenda or expectations.

Philippians 4:10-23

• To what extent can I lay claim to the “secret” that Apostle Paul describes in vv. 11-13? 

To be honest, I have a long way to go in laying claim to the “secret” that Apostle Paul describes in vv. 11-13 – “for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content… I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” The different circumstances in my life aren’t related to plenty and need in terms of money or material things, but it’s related to my personality, my character, my abilities, my skills. In terms of my life circumstances, I have nothing to complain about and in fact, I have a lot to be thankful for – I have plenty in many ways. But I was challenged by how Apostle Paul says, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” I can’t say that about myself as I so easily become discontent about my situation, about the resources or skills I have on hand. I often wish that things were easier, that things worked out smoother. I’ve never been in need in monetary or material things, but even when it comes to my “need” in terms of intangible things, they aren’t areas of real need, but just based on my perspective of what is a good or easy life. I need to grow in this area of being content in whatever situation I am in – to recognize what I have already received and how I have already been provided for, and to learn to receive and accept the lot I have received in life, to claim and trust that the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.

• How did the Philippians distinguish themselves from the other churches with respect to their relationship with Paul?  What kind of relationship did Paul have with the Philippians as a result?

The Philippians distinguished themselves from the other churches with respect to their relationship with Paul by having concern for him, partnering with him in giving and receiving, and sending help for his needs once and again.

As a result of their concern for him and their commitment to him, the Philippians had a relationship of partnering with Paul where they came alongside him and supported him in his ministry. And as they expressed their concern in concrete ways, they brought him help and support he needed, as well as brought him joy that they were committed to him and to the gospel so that they would back it up with financial support. Apostle Paul describes the partnering as “giving and receiving” – they were able to have a close and open relationship with Apostle Paul where money issues or their own need didn’t prevent them from giving to Apostle Paul and the need that he had or the churches had. Apostle Paul could trust and rely on their commitment to him and the gospel as they showed it concretely through their support.

Philippians 4:14-19

“The verb sygkoinoneo [to share] is a com­pound of the verb also translated ‘shared’ in v. 15; equivalent nouns are used in 1:5 and 7 (‘partnership’ and, lit., ‘fellow participants’). The fel­lowship of those in Christ involves sharing with one another at all levels: The Philippians have shared Paul’s distress, just as they shared with him ‘in the matter of giving and receiving’.” [Leander E. Keck, "Philippians," The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. XI (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000) 544.]

• What does it mean for those who are in fellowship with each other in Christ to share with one another at all levels?  How can I concretely practice this in my life?

For those who are in fellowship with each other in Christ to share with one another at all levels means to have a partnership in the gospel that goes beyond just agreeing about the gospel and having the same beliefs, but it means to labor together for the gospel, to share in one another’s distress and concerns, to share whatever means or resources we have with each other as we all seek to share the gospel. The different levels of sharing that happens is sharing in the same heart and vision, sharing the same purpose, sharing emotionally in one another’s lives, sharing materially with one another as others have need and not holding onto your possessions or resources as your own. It’s to have an attitude of – what’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine – not just in terms of belongings, but in terms of concerns, in terms of burdens, in terms of working together to share the gospel.

I can concretely practice this in my life by opening up my heart to people – to their cares and worries, their burdens and distresses. This is one growth area for me as I often try to keep things easy for me emotionally. At times, I don’t even deal well with issues in my own life because I don’t want to have to deal with the mess, the problems, the potential ramifications. And this comes out in my relationships with people – where they mention something to me, or a thought occurs to me to ask about how something is going, but I don’t act on it, I don’t try to dig deeper, I don’t try to put myself in their shoes and think about what challenges or struggles they might be facing. But to have fellowship with others in Christ, I need to open up my whole life to people and open myself to others opening up their whole lives to me. People won’t be able to have fellowship with me if my heart is closed to them because I’m afraid of being disturbed, afraid of being overwhelmed by their troubles or their distresses. I need to concretely live this out by talking more with people, and asking more questions – getting into their lives and getting into the details of their lives. I need to concretely live this out by acting on different things I notice, or different promptings I have to move towards people and to ask them something or to offer them help.

Personal Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me that you are a faithful, trustworthy God. I often focus on my lack, my worries, my fears, and I forget the bigger picture of my life of how I have already received so many spiritual blessings.  I have many things to give you thanks for as I have leaders who through their lives have shown me how to navigate through different ups and downs, as I have a community with whom I can fellowship with in you and in the gospel. My life is so full and so rich, and I can be content in whatever situation because of my security in you. Please forgive me for the ways that I feel discontent because of my situation or because of my inadequacy or because of difficulties I face. Please forgive me for the ways I focus on myself and my situation rather than on the bigger picture of my life, and rather than focusing on things that are true about my life and about you, on things that are excellent and praiseworthy that will lift my eyes off of myself. I commit to lifting my eyes off of myself by lifting my eyes to others – to open myself up to fellowship with them on all levels, and to embrace the people in my sphere of concern. Thank you for this reminder of the kind of life you have blessed me with, and the kind of life and relationships you want me to have.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

–

Submitted by Roy L. from Gracepoint Minneapolis Church

Philippians 4:1-9

In this passage, Apostle Paul addresses joy (v. 4) and peace (vv. 7, 9), and exhorts the Philippians to do some things in order to experience this kind of joy and peace that transcends circumstances.

•                Why is it important to pray “with thanksgiving,” especially when I am feeling “anxious”?

It is important for me to pray with thanksgiving because often what drives me to prayer is not wonderful circumstances that produce a natural sense of gratitude, but difficult or challenging circumstances that produce frustration or anxiety.  So when I come to God with these situations and requests, I need to be particularly careful about my heart and attitude towards Him.  In my anxiety I am quick to rattle off a wish list to God of things I wish He would do for me, to solve my problems, to get me out of a mess.  But when I pray without a conscious effort first to give thanks, I end up treating God like a cosmic vending machine, even as I ask for things supposedly in his name.

And even as I ask God for something, I must not forget to thank Him for what He has already given me.  Indeed, many of my prayer requests are “issues” for which I ought to be thankful.  For example, even as I pray about someone who I am trying to lead but is not responsive or interested in the Gospel, I ought to thank God that He caused this person to cross paths with me in life, so that I have an opportunity to build a personal relationship with him and intercede on his behalf.  It could have been that I never met this person, and today I would be unaware of his spiritual plight, much less trying to do something about it.  Or, as I pray for God to help me prepare for Bible study, I ought to always thank God for the astounding fact that I get to teach Bible study!  What an amazing turn my life has taken, that I now have the privilege of proclaiming the faith I once tried to mock and tear down.

• What are some concrete ways I can direct my mind as described in v. 8?

Apostle Paul advises the Philippians to meditate on whatever is excellent or praiseworthy.  Unfortunately, the media outlets of our age are not so interested in these things.  Thus, I need to make a conscious effort to find that which is excellent and praiseworthy for my mind to dwell on, so that my mind is not instead filled with the garbage that passes for entertainment in the world.  In addition to DT, I am thankful for the weekly staff Bible reading times, which help me fill my mind with scripture that I would not otherwise have the discipline to read on my own.  I am also thankful for Bible Teachers Training and the challenge of having to teach Bible study every week, because I need to be familiar with God’s word myself before I can talk about it with anyone else, and it has forced me to think about God’s word and his truths throughout the day, as I drive or stand in line somewhere, and also think about how it is relevant and applicable to daily life.  I am also trying to be more alert and reflective when I read the news, and pay attention to conversations and events in my life, because I never know when a really good message illustration can pop up that illustrates something true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, or commendable.  I myself am blessed as I think about such things, and motivated to try to imitate them.

•                What are some things I have “learned and received and heard and seen” in my leaders that I can “practice”?

I am thankful for the close community we have in a church plant setting, when I get to see everyone pretty much every day, and I am in the home of my leaders every day as well.  Due to this constant exposure, I have learned, received, heard and seen a lot.  I’ve learned and received much wisdom and advice, as I ask them for their thoughts on how to approach an issue in ministry and listen as they help me think through the implications involved in making a decision.  I’ve also received from them the benefit of their decades of ministry experience, and can learn the easy way by listening to how they made mistakes and learned the hard way.  I can put these things into practice by being humble and taking their advice seriously, and also trying to pass it on to younger staff by being interested in how they are handling ministry and life, and seeing if I can help or encourage them in some way.

I have also heard and seen my leaders’ way of life, how they really deny themselves daily to take up their role as the top leaders of our church, whether it means staying up long nights to finish the budget, or talking again for the Nth time about details like room reservations for next semester, or pouring out their hearts praying for and counseling the students and staff.  Even though I’m not faced with the same kinds of pressures they face right now, these are all things that I can and must imitate in my ministry, as God has also entrusted me with people to love and care for.  I can put into practice their heart of love and perseverance that refuses to give up on anyone, that is not daunted by challenges or setbacks, that never despairs but always hopes and trusts in God.

Philippians 4:10-23

•                To what extent can I lay claim to the “secret” that Apostle Paul describes in vv. 11-13? 

I can lay claim to the “secret” of Apostle Paul to the extent I have experienced circumstances of hunger and need, of being brought low.  I have never suffered true hunger, but I have been in some times of need, or have been brought low in the eyes of the world, like when I was unemployed and dealing with my parents’ rejection and disappointment over my commitment to serve God instead of catering to their expectations and desires.  It was not a pleasant time, but looking back I am thankful for it because it forced me to struggle with this very issue, whether my relationship with God would be enough for me to be content, even when life is not turning out the way I wanted it to.  Through this time, I did experience the power of this “secret”–my relationship with God–filling me with a sense of peace and purpose, as I struggled with the truths I found in the Bible and through prayer to affirm the basic facts I’ve known all along–that God loves me, that God is for me, that God is watching over my life, that God has secured my eternal destiny in Christ.  I have not yet suffered privation and lack to any significant extent compared to Apostle Paul, but when such times come, I know that I can see them as an opportunity to be better acquainted with this secret, to experience the sufficiency of God’s love in all situations, and to be able to be at peace during times when the rest of the world would be filled with anxiety and despair.

•                How did the Philippians distinguish themselves from the other churches with respect to their relationship with Paul?  What kind of relationship did Paul have with the Philippians as a result?

The Philippians distinguished themselves from the others by being the only one to enter into partnership with Apostle Paul in giving and receiving.  As a result, their relationship with Apostle Paul was such that they brought him great joy (v.10), and Apostle Paul loved and longed for them, calling them his “joy and crown” (v.1).  They shared a relational closeness available only to true partners in the Gospel, who have thrown in their lot together and committed to a common destiny of serving Christ.  I’ve experienced this with the Minnesota team, who I barely knew before coming out here 2.5 years ago.  As soon as we arrived, we knew we had all thrown in our lots together.  As we met for our first staff meetings and looked around the room, we all knew we were together with one another for the foreseeable future, for better or for worse.  And that common commitment helped us forge a bond and sense of oneness in a much shorter time than I expected.  I feel like I’ve known my fellow co-laborers for much longer, even though we’ve only survived two winters together.

Philippians 4:14-19

•                What does it mean for those who are in fellowship with each other in Christ to share with one another at all levels?  How can I concretely practice this in my life?

At the most basic level, sharing with one another means not holding on to the time, money, and other resources that God entrusted to me as if they were my own, but to recognize that God gave these to me for the common good.  It means using my money wisely, spending less on myself and living a simple life so I have more to share with others.  It means being diligent with my time, learning to do things quickly and efficiently so I am more available to meet up with people or serve in other capacities.  It means putting my other talents and assets to work in ministry, whether it’s giving rides or giving a Bible study.

Sharing with one another also means taking up each others’ burdens through prayer.  Thanks to the Gracepoint Prayer List (GPL), each week I can share in the burdens of hundreds of brothers and sisters throughout our churches by lifting them up in prayer.  There are many brothers and sisters who are in need or brought low by life circumstances, and I ought to share their burdens to fulfill the law of Christ.  I myself have been the recipient of this kind of love from my leaders, peers, and the whole church, and I’ve experienced how strengthening it is to know that the entire body of Christ is lifting up my concerns in prayer out of love for me.

Finally, sharing with one another means that I take on my share of the burden in the ministry of our church.  Each of us may shoulder a different part, but there’s plenty of labor of love to be done, and especially as I see my leaders really denying themselves for the sake of the Gospel, I ought to share in their burden for our ministry and take more ownership.  This means I must not be content with being passive, just a good trooper waiting for orders, but sharing in their heart to improve our ministry, having more personal concern for each person who walks through the door, learning how to assess a situation to see what is lacking and how I can improve it.

Philippians 3:1-11

·       In contrast to these legalists (“those who mutilate the flesh”), Apostle Paul gives a picture of the true Christian – those “who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (v. 3).  In what ways does my life resonate with this description?

The picture of the true Christian that Apostle Paul describes here highlights the fact that my worship and relationship with God is not based on what I do or some spiritual pedigree I can place my hope in, but through my connection with God through Jesus Christ. What is not described is the fact that through Jesus Christ, I have received God’s grace, forgiveness, and salvation – and none of this is by any deed that I have done, but rather, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and by what God has done for me. God has forgiven and I have been united with Christ and adopted as son and heir with Him. That is the basis that I live my life, not some list of spiritual deeds and I have done and can check off on a list of what a Christian ought to do. It is absolute folly to think that my relationship and connection with God has anything to do with some legalistic list of spiritual deeds, because when I look at my life, I am an absolute failure and stand guilty and fall short of the standard that God sets for me. I still struggle with my pride, greed, and ego and list of sins that characterize my life far outweighs anything that I do that can be considered ‘good’. I think there was a point when I was younger when I did think that through my effort, I can somehow get ‘better’ and earn some credits with God. But reality of my sinfulness has only confirmed what is written throughout the Bible – that there is no way that I can approach God with anything except guilt and failure. I thank God that He receives me not based on what I can do or have done for Him, but because in Jesus Christ, He has adopted me as a son and I don’t have to base my acceptance by God or my life on what I have done. I cannot place any “confidence in the flesh” because by that criterion, I am hopeless. Nevertheless, because of God’s grace and love for me, I still strive to be faithful and do what is right before God, but the spiritual disciplines and acts of service I do through ministry and serving at church, I do out of my desire to please God and to seek to do what He desires me to do. But thank God that He doesn’t base his acceptance of me on what I do for Him because I can only stand guilty and as a failure.

·       What is the relationship between counting “as loss” worldly sources of confidence and “knowing Christ Jesus”?

The worldly sources of confidence is in conflict with “knowing Christ Jesus” because the more sources of confidence someone has in worldly sources, the stronger the temptation to place his hope and trust in the world. In the end, the worldly sources of confidence indeed become a “loss” because it hinders me from “knowing Christ.” This speaks so personally to me because the desires for the glitter of the world has pulled my heart away from God throughout my life, especially when I was younger, and it pulled my heart in opposite direction from knowing Christ and trusting that He has my life under control. The glitter or worldly sources of confidence for me was to rise up in my academic field and become an accomplished expert, respected by my peer and publishing in top journals. Yes, it’s the desire to be top nerd among other nerds, but nevertheless, the pull to have this sense of success to fall back on pulled my heart away from God and conflicted with the call for me to fully place my hope in “knowing Christ Jesus.” I remember being counseled a few years back, that despite giving 90% of my life to God, the 10% I was holding back was making me miserable and preventing me from getting closer with God and the people of God. This was so true and that conversation always come back to me when I examine my life or when I feel that I need to accomplish more – because it’s so true how the worldly sources of confidence is truly my loss in knowing Christ Jesus and growing in my trust in Him.

·       What are the things I have deliberately lost for the sake of Christ since becoming Christian?  What does this reveal about who Christ is in my life?

The things that I have deliberately lost for the sake of Christ since becoming Christian are my own ambitions for successes, letting go of the control over my career and the comforts that I desired to attain through doing what society around me told me how I ought to live – that is to take the best job possible, move upwards, relocate if I must, and that the number one priority is my career and perhaps family. More recently, I had the privilege of actually living out my commitment to go where I’m called to go, by joining our church plant here in Minnesota. Not that I had attained or could have attained huge success and I was giving up a lot, but the societal pressure and to a certain degree, my own insecurities, urged to me to continue securing a certain level of comfort and security in the Bay Area. And this desire and taking actual steps to fight my own worldliness is what I got to set aside to follow Christ. And this pull towards the world was what was pulling me away from knowing Christ or becoming Christian earlier on in my life. But as I let go and experience greater freedom from ambitions, desires for comforts, and moving up in the world, I experience the freedom and peace that comes through Christ, who not only rescued me from death but also from my never ending greed for the world.  Jesus Christ reminds me that He knows what is best for me and that He has and continues to provide for my family and for me.

Philippians 3:17-21

·       Note the different characteristics of those who “walk as enemies of the cross of Christ” and those whose “citizenship is in heaven.”  What difference has my identity as a citizen of heaven, and hope of resurrection (“transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body”) made in my life?

Those who “walk as enemies of the cross of Christ” end in destruction, their god is their belly, glory in their shame, and set their minds on earthly things. But those of us whose citizenship is in heaven “await a Savior…who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” The clear difference that I see are those who see that their beginning and end is this life only, and they seek to maximize their pleasure and fulfillment now vs. those who trust in God and await heaven and the resurrection as the fulfillment of their hopes and desires. Apostle Paul exhorts us here to be like him, despite the difficulties and even persecution of this life, to set our eyes in heaven because that’s where our citizenship is and our hope lies in that resurrected life. For me, this challenges me to look beyond the slight discomforts and challenges I face in living my life and to embrace the call I have received to be His minister and servant. I don’t have to filled with insecurity or uncertainties about my social standing or whether I am secure in my work or whether I’m doing well according to the standards of the world because I’m not here to earn their praise. When that day comes, I hope I can say that I’ve lived my life to be faithful and had lived with hope in life in heaven, not for the comforts and pleasures of this life. As I reflect on this, I’m reminded of a younger brother who set aside a prestigious career in law to work full time in ministry. His father’s response was ‘what a waste’ but our heavenly Father must have been so pleased with that decision of faithfulness. I pray that I can be as bold and faithful as God continues to lead me and I can place my hope not in this life but in heaven.

Personal Prayer

Father, thank you again for reminding me that you called me out, to live a life of faith, and that my hope is not this life now but in heaven. As I face different temptations and challenges, help me to always to see clearly that I’m not here for temporary pleasures or accomplishments but to share your gospel message with others.  Help me to set aside all that hinders me from following you faithfully and trust in your guidance, even when it may be hard or difficult or foolish in the eyes of those around me. But may I seek to live a life that is pleasing to you. -Amen

–

Submitted by Kaitlyn L. from Gracepoint Minneapolis Church

Philippians 3:1-11

·       In contrast to these legalists (“those who mutilate the flesh”), Apostle Paul gives a picture of the true Christian – those “who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (v. 3).  In what ways does my life resonate with this description?

This passage challenges me to look beyond the external things and assess my Christian life with painful honesty to see whether I am really responding to the Spirit of God in the day to day decisions.  Today the surface issue that gives rise to false confidence would no longer be circumcision, but in a similar way, I can look to church attendance, showing up at all the expected meetings, even serving in various capacities, or even pointing to my spiritual disciplines – as a way to feel confident about my Christian identity.  But Paul says we can’t put any kinds of confidence in the flesh because that will inevitably lead to a self-boasting, godless religiosity.  To worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus means I need to be honest and responsive to what the Spirit is prompting me on a day to day basis – which is often the things done (or not done) in secret which the Spirit convicts me about, how I choose to respond to some sin or mistakes I’ve made, whether or not I choose to be selfish and demanding in the subtle decisions.  When I choose to be honest and respond to God, which often means humbling myself and admitting my sins in its various forms, that’s when I glory in Christ Jesus because it is only by the power and mercy of Christ that I am saved and continuously given mercy in the sanctification process.

·       What is the relationship between counting “as loss” worldly sources of confidence and “knowing Christ Jesus”?

Unless I count “as loss” the things that give me some confidence in myself, I won’t really “know” Christ Jesus fully because the message of the gospel is so fundamentally ego-devastating.  When I think there is something that I have done (academic achievement, title at work, services at church) or something about me (my personality, talents) that makes me a better person, more likable, have something to offer, it’s because I haven’t yet fully embraced the depth of my bad-ness, that’s been curbed by circumstances.  The truth is that there is nothing good about me, and if the circumstances were changed, there would be no depravity that is beyond me.   Unless I see this, that the real me is not the decent church-goer, law-abiding citizen, mostly loving wife and mother that’s only been an accidental result of the good fortune and gracious protection and circumstances that God’s given me, I’m not going to appreciate the enormous and completely undeserved grace of the cross.  I’m going to think that I have some hand in being the “okay” person that I am, when my true self is probably more horrific than I can ever truly comprehend.

·       What are the things I have deliberately lost for the sake of Christ since becoming Christian?  What does this reveal about who Christ is in my life?

One thing I’ve had to deliberately lost, and it’s still something I struggle with, is my sense of being a fundamentally decent person.  Growing up, I had an easy life, with a mild temperament, was the only child, the jewel in my parents’ eyes.  This meant I didn’t have any need to rebel in any dramatic way, I had no one around me to elicit any intense jealousy or envy, and it meant I grew up with a deep-seated self-understanding that I’m generally a friendly, easy-going, good person.  So even after becoming a Christian, it was easy to isolate my sins as individual incidences rather than letting those reveal the truth about who I am as a person.  Through the help of people who were willing to speak the truth in love to me, I am able to honestly confront who I am a bit more.  I’ve learned that the façade and demeanor I put on of being a “nice” girl is just a very thin façade, as life gets more demanding and complicated, I’ve learned to not quickly excuse or push aside the instances when the true, not so nice, not so generous, not so pleasant self erupt, but to see those as glimpses of the raw self inside.  Through this process, I’ve had to deliberately lose my desire to put forward a certain image before others, my desire to hold onto my pride and ego.  Even though each time this is still very difficult for me, I am appreciating more the grace, mercy and unconditional love I receive from Christ, because I see that with each additional layer that is peeled off and a more horrific “self” emerges, God doesn’t recoil or put his foot down and say “enough is enough,” but he covers me with more grace and assured me over and again that his love never changes.

Philippians 3:17-21

·       Note the different characteristics of those who “walk as enemies of the cross of Christ” and those whose “citizenship is in heaven.”  What difference has my identity as a citizen of heaven, and hope of resurrection (“transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body”) made in my life?

The difference is that the unbelievers are living for this world only, and are ruled by the desires of the flesh and the things of this world, and ultimately facing destruction; but the believers are looking forward to a world beyond this one, when Christ will finally fully transform us to become his glorious image, which is not simply a solution to death, but it’s a full restoration to become what God has intended for us to become.

As I grow as a Christian, my identity as a child of God and the vision that God has for me have also grown and become more real.  I once was living for the dreams and pleasures of this world only – my dream was just to have a comfortable, indulgent life, being able to travel to where I wanted and buy what I wanted, to have the people in my life pamper me.  And like those who lived as enemies of the cross, I knew what I was facing was ultimately death and I knew if I had to give an account of my life to God, I would have a lot of sins of omission and commission to answer for.  But though I knew all that, I could not will myself to live a different, nobler life because I was enslaved by sin.  After I became a Christian, slowly and with many ups and downs, God’s slowly changed my tastes and aspirations.  I used to never think that I could live like one of the staff, but now I actually want to because I’ve tasted and experienced the joy of giving myself to the one who is worthy of worship, I’ve experienced the freedom and joy of no longer clutching onto my life but offering it up to God and seeing God multiplying my meager life and actually using me to be a source of love for others.

Recognizing that I am a citizen of heaven and one day God will complete the work he started in me, also gives me courage to continue living out my Christian life despite the many failures I face.  I know that though in this world I stumble along and my motives are often mixed and it feels like three steps forward two steps back, but that my identity as a child of God is secure, that in this life, it is God’s faithfulness which will guide me along, and that finally in heaven is when God will completely restore me.  This gives me hope to persevere and not get overwhelmed by what I perceive as a lack of progress.

Personal Prayer  

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for always being a God who insists on the truth and for desiring that genuine, personal relationship with me.  Please forgive me for all the ways I place false confidence in the external things, things that I do, when I refuse to confront the truths that you are prompting me to face and own up to, when I refuse to “lose” the foolish and false badges I cling to rather than choosing to really know you and be known by you.  Would you please give me the courage to lay down all my filthy rags again, to come to your cross empty handed, guilty and contrite, and to be amazed all over again by your compassion, mercy, grace and love.  Please help me to live as a citizen of heaven, knowing that this life is fleeting and temporary, and not to be afraid to set my mind on the higher, better, more secure things of heaven, knowing that again, it is not by my own effort or merit, but it’s by your faithful promise to me.

–

Submitted by Michelle Y. from Gracepoint Minneapolis Church

Philippians 3:1-11

•                In contrast to these legalists (“those who mutilate the flesh”), Apostle Paul gives a picture of the true Christian – those “who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (v. 3).  In what ways does my life resonate with this description?

The legalists were the Judaizers who found confidence and false righteousness in being circumcised and following the law.  Apostle Paul said that those things do not save you or make you right with God.  Instead he says that the true Christian is the one who worships by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—in the things you can do.  It wasn’t about doing a bunch of religious things to earn righteousness with God, but Apostle Paul was adamant to point out that righteousness with God comes through what Christ has already done for us (namely, death on the Cross) which is why he says that all that he had gained (his credentials and successes) are counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  He understood that true righteousness came only from God.

Over the years, I see more and more that being a Christian isn’t about the things that I can offer, what I can bring to the team, what I can do well, how much I can accomplish, but being a Christian is about relating to God and understanding His heart.  Being in ministry has really helped me to see this truth of what it means to be a Christian as I see over again that often I make mistakes, often I can say the wrong things and do the wrong things, but thank goodness my salvation and righteousness does not depend on what I can do, and laws that I can perfectly follow.  Rather, it’s about God’s grace and what Jesus has already accomplished for me through the Cross so that I can say being a Christian is about worshipping by the Spirit of God and glorying in Christ Jesus (that through the Cross I am considered righteous before God) and putting no confidence in the flesh (do not rely on works to earn my rightfulness with God).

•                What is the relationship between counting “as loss” worldly sources of confidence and “knowing Christ Jesus”?

It’s impossible to hold on to worldly sources of confidence and to also know Christ Jesus.  Apostle Paul says, “whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (verse 7) and “I count everything as a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”  It’s evident that the relationship here is such that to know Christ, there will be a “loss.”  Knowing God is more than just having a personal relationship with God and feeling his presence.  In the commentary it states, “To know God in the biblical sense is also to be aware of his will and to be willing to obey him…especially living in faithfulness to God and his word day to day.”  Thus, in order to really know God is to faithfully obey God’s will and put aside my will.  My will that is so much dictated by the “worldly sources of confidence” found in approval from man, social status, skills/abilities, titles, and outward image.   These are sources of confidence that I am inclined to invest energy and time into because it gives me that seemingly secure notion that I am in a “good spot” in my life and in my relationship with God.  However, as I recount on how I once lived driven by these worldly sources of confidence I can attest to the truth that it was impossible to obey God’s will and live in faithfulness to God.  I was trying to follow what it meant to be a “good” Christian and turned that into a little act of trying to find righteousness of my own.

•                What are the things I have deliberately lost for the sake of Christ since becoming Christian?  What does this reveal about who Christ is in my life?

I remember when I first became a Christian my junior year in college, there were many things I immediately cut off and “lost” because I knew that they were displeasing to God or a waste of time for me especially as a Christian.  One of those things I “lost” was my Facebook account because it had become one of the centers of my life.  I remember always checking my status about every 15 minutes and comparing how many “friends” I now had compared to other people I knew.  It felt good to see that I had many connections and “friends” on Facebook.  However, when I became a Christian I was convicted that it was a time sink and that I was meant to relate to people face to face and enjoy life-on-life fellowship with other Christians and live in real community.  I could not do that if I was content with my Facebook friends list and wasted time browsing people’s Facebook pages, so I disabled my account and spent time investing in my peer relationships and in volunteering in the church.  And I am glad I did that because I got to experience the thrill of being able to participate in something larger than myself with people who shared the same heart and vision.  So that through the latter half of my college years, I really experienced what it meant to be a disciple as my peers and I had opportunities to outreach to the freshmen and be a part of a seeker small group where one of the students became Christian and is co-laboring with us today.  I would have missed out on this if I was still living in my little Facebook world.

I also “lost” my shopping online activity as I saw how that was another time sink and it took my heart away from more important things in life such as using my money to benefit others and setting my heart on heavenly things and not worldly things.  These were some small things that I lost for the sake of Christ, but as I grow older in my Christian walk with Christ I do feel God calling me to let go of greater things.  For example, volunteering to be a part of the church plant team here in Minnesota was a difficult decision because I was holding on very tightly to comfort, familiarity, and my own plans as a young person in my early twenties.  It was a struggle to “lose” all of this for the sake of Christ as I thought about all of the plans I’d had to forego, the familiar faces I would no longer see on a day to day basis, the comfort of being physically surrounded by a lot of brothers/sisters who share the same heart for the gospel, having my peers around, having leaders who ministered to me since my freshmen year and finding encouragement from knowing that they are only a few minutes away.  However, as I reflected on my spiritual journey and what the leaders of our church “lost” (career advancements for Pastor Ed as a lawyer, Kelly as a software engineer, Pastor Jonathan as a chemistry professor, Pastor Timothy as a mechanical engineer, to name just a few—all of these people could have become very successful people in their respective fields, but they “lost” all of that) for the sake of Christ so that someone like me (a wayward, hollow, and broken girl chasing after the false hopes in this world like academic GPA, romance, materialism, approval/recognition, respect and social status) might find living water and be reconciled with God, I found encouragement.  The decision to “lose” the comfort, familiarity, and whatever plans I had for my life to come to Minnesota and be a part of the team that builds this church to be the same beacon of light and hope for so many students made the decision to “lose” my life easier.

I see that the more I lose for Christ’s sake, the bigger and more real God becomes in my life.  Of course, I still have a lot to work on and there are certain things in my life that God is asking me to let go of but I find that as I release more and more for Christ’s sake, I have greater confidence in God.  And these things that God calls me to “lose” initially seem like such big things, but in the end they are incredibly rubbish compared to knowing God and finding true fulfillment and real joy that comes in obeying God when He calls.

Philippians 3:17-21

•                Note the different characteristics of those who “walk as enemies of the cross of Christ” and those whose “citizenship is in heaven.”  What difference has my identity as a citizen of heaven, and hope of resurrection (“transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body”) made in my life?

The characteristics of those who “walk as enemies of the cross of Christ” are: their end is their destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.  They are focused on instant gratification, the here and now.

The characteristics of those whose “citizenship is in heaven” are: awaiting the return of Jesus our Savior, with hope that he will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, with the same power that he will use to subject all things to himself.

In the NIV commentary it notes, “Citizens of a Roman colony were expected to promote the interests of Rome and maintain the dignity of the city.  In the same way, citizens of heaven ought to promote heaven’s interests on earth and lead lives worthy of heavenly citizenship.”

A citizen is someone who promotes the interests and maintains the dignity of the city.  There are times when I find that I am tempted to promote my own interests because of selfishness and pride.  After a long day of teaching (which are many), I want to be physically and emotionally comfortable and just keep to myself in a little bubble where I do not have to be concerned by others.  When I see that I should lovingly point out a truth, I don’t want to do it because I’d rather not rock the boat and keep things in “peace.”  When a truth is pointed about me, there’s the initial desire to push it away because I don’t want to deal with the hideous reality of my heart’s condition.    I see the same recurring sins and how I fail to love people because of my impatience and lack of empathy.

These things can easily tempt me or discourage me but as I find myself alongside the brothers/sisters here who are my fellow citizens in heaven, I am reminded of my identity and the great reality that I am a citizen of heaven.  Leading a freshmen girl’s life group this past semester really pushed me to take my eyes off my own interests and invest in promoting heaven’s interests to the girls as we met up weekly.  Over the course of a semester, I got to see some participate in the freshmen discipleship class, take Course 101, or become more opened to the Gospel; and there are some who are also going to attend our Winter Institute in January.  I see them opening up their lives and getting more comfortable with each other even within such a diverse group of girls.  It is really amazing to me that I find myself here as a citizen of heaven, where God lives, and that I get to promote God and the truth that is able to set people free and transform lives.  I saw that as I embraced this identity as a citizen of heaven and let go of my own interests, I found greater joy and encouragement as I got to experience all the ways that God worked and is working in people’s lives which far outweighs what I would have experienced if I held on to my own little life.

Apostle Paul also says to have hope in the resurrection—when my lowly body will be completely transformed and be like Jesus’ body, sinless.  It goes back to what God has already done through Jesus and what Jesus’ death means for every believer.  I am encouraged by what Apostle Paul says in verses 12-16, that he hasn’t been made perfect, and he has not taken hold of it, but he forgets what is behind and strains toward what is ahead.  He presses on forward because of what awaits him ahead—the prize which God has called him heavenward.  Apostle Paul’s main goal is to know Christ; not to impress Christ or other Christians, not to find reasons for boasting when he finishes, but to know Christ when he reaches the finish line.  It is that desire that fuels Apostle Paul to embody his citizenship in heaven and gives him hope.  It is this same goal that I commit to investing my energy in, instead of turning to my interests and discouragements.

Personal Prayer

Father God, I am thankful that my righteousness is not based on what I can do, offer or contribute, but simply in the truth that I have been made righteous through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  I confess that there are times when I am tempted to find my own righteousness.  I am thankful for the clear reminder that false righteousness is rubbish compared to knowing You and experiencing the fullness of life and joy that comes from knowing You.  I confess that sometimes I am tempted to not fully embrace my citizenship in heaven because of my own selfish interests, but I thank you that I am surrounded by fellow citizens of heaven where I am reminded of who I am and the joyful work that I can partake in because of the Cross, which enables my citizenship and is the hope that I have.  I commit to embracing my identity as a citizen of heaven and holding on to the hope that I have, with greater energy and zeal.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Philippians 2:19-24

• Reflect on the description of Timothy.

I find each of the phrases that Apostle Paul uses to describe Timothy to be so challenging and inspiring:

“I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.”:  Timothy’s concern for others was without parallel. We read in Acts 16 that Timothy was there with Apostle Paul when they first planted the church in Philippi, so he had personal history with the Philippian church. It seemed like Timothy never let those relationships deteriorate over time but kept up his concern for the Philippian church members. As Paul points out, this kind of genuine concern for others is very unusual (“I have no one like him.”). Typically people look out only for their own interests. How was Timothy able to have such genuine and selfless concern for people? Apostle Paul correlates it to Timothy seeking first the interests of Christ. Because Timothy was a person who put Christ first, it naturally caused him to be others centered in this way.

“You know Timothy’s proven worth”:   It’s not just Paul who can vouch for Timothy but Paul was confident that the Philippians will be able to vouch for Timothy’s proven worth. It’s easy to be caring towards a select group of people who we get along with, and click with.  But it’s another thing to be able to say to an entire church congregation, “you know Timothy’s proven worth.”  That’s a testament to Timothy’s consistent and uniform care towards all people.

“How as a son with father he has served with me in the gospel“:  This frequent description of Timothy by Paul really challenges me and has long been a source of encouragement for me. I look at the portrait of Timothy in the New Testament and seemingly opposite description of Paul in Scriptures.  They seem like polar opposites when it comes to temperament and personality. Paul was bold, courageous, and intense.  In contrast, Timothy comes across as timid, sickly, and unimposing. Yet despite their external differences, they were so alike when it came to their commitment to Christ and their heart for the gospel. In terms of personality and temperament, I can identify with Timothy lot more than I can with Apostle Paul. But through Timothy’s example, I am always reminded that I can still strive to be like Apostle Paul. That my innate personality cannot be an excuse, nor disqualifies me from being able to serve God as zealously and faithfully as Paul did. Timothy is a great example of how insignificant those externalities are.

Philippians 2:25-30

• What kind of man would risk his life for the work of Christ?  Why is it appropriate to honor such people?  Who are the people in my life I ought to honor for their labor for the Lord? 

A person who would risk his life for the work of Christ is very much like description of Timothy. It is someone who prioritizes Christ and genuinely takes interest in the welfare of others. Epaphroditus was very much like Timothy in that way.  Paul describes Epaphroditus as “my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier.” What an incredible compliment and praise that was!  It is appropriate to honor such people because they are genuine and rare heroes who demonstrated the life that I am called to live. Even among professing Christians, it’s rare to find Christian who fit the kind of descriptions that Apostle Paul uses for Timothy and Epaphroditus. And when there are Christians who live such lives, it’s only right that I honor such people.  And the best way to honor such people is striving my best to follow their example. That’s the least that I can do.  I am thankful that my life is full of such people, both those who lived in the past and those who are living in the present. I think about the cloud of witnesses who have gone before me such as C.T. Studd,  Hudson Taylor, George Muller, and Apostle Paul himself.  They really demonstrate what it is like to put others’ interests in front of their own. In addition to these ancient cloud of witnesses who have gone before me, at our church, we had the privilege to meet modern day heroes like Chuck Colson, Marilyn Laszlo and others who have proven over and over again, their willingness to put concern for others and interest of Christ above their own.

• Paul’s emotions are closely tied to the welfare of those he loves.  Do I have people in my life who cause me to rejoice and grieve?  How can I cultivate this level of closeness in my relationships?

Yes, I am thankful that I have many such people in my life. Even as I write this, I see this as such a testament to God’s blessing and work in my life. For I know that naturally speaking, I am not relational nor people oriented. Without Christ, I would have been a total loner living a pretty isolated and lonely life. Yet because God intervened in my life, now I am part of this spiritual community where I have literally hundreds of brothers and sisters in Christ. And their lives are pretty much intertwined with mine.  And I can honestly say that I rejoice and grieve depending on what happens in their lives.  I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such relationships. One way that I can cultivate this level of closeness in my relationships is to do what Paul demonstrates in the opening of Philippians. I can remember them in my prayers, thanking God for their presence in my life and lifting up their needs as I become aware of them.

Personal Prayer

Lord, thank you for the challenging and inspirational examples of Timothy and Epaphroditus. They are such beautiful examples of those who put others’ needs and the gospel above their self-interest. And because of that they were such a source of strength and encouragement to Apostle Paul and the Philippian church. Lord, I pray that I might be able to follow in their footsteps. Lord, please help me to become a person who can strengthen and encourage those around me, because I put their welfare and gospel above my own interest. In Jesus name, Amen.

–

Submitted by Mark L. from Gracepoint Minneapolis Church

Philippians 2:19-24

• Reflect on the description of Timothy.

The apostle Paul points to Timothy’s “proven worth” as the reason why he is sending him to the Philippians.  It isn’t the fact that he possessed some kind of innate abilities, great speaking skills, ministry success, or the fact that he is some kind of great project manager with great logistical skills.  It is simply because he is someone who is “genuinely concerned for [the] welfare” of others.  What makes him stand out from other people that the Apostle Paul might have served with or people that he was considering was that Timothy would never place his own interests above others.  As I think about the confidence that he had in Timothy because of his selflessness, it’s a striking contrast to the way I assess my “proven worth.”  It’s often worldly as it relates to whether I’m progressing as a minister, being given more responsibilities in ministry, whether there is ministry “success” on my watch, and so forth.  All of the concerns center on me and what my interests are.  This is so contrary to the interests of others and the interest of Christ.  I myself have been on the receiving end of Christ’s interest in my welfare, namely to reveal himself to me so that I might be saved.  And in so many other concrete ways I have been the recipient of God’s love through people’s sacrifice and the concern they had for my spiritual welfare; I am where I am precisely because of the interest that my leaders, as well as people who weren’t in the same ministry, had in my spiritual well-being.  It’s really challenging to read how Timothy is described in this manner and it’s kind of selfless heart that I want to embrace going into 2013.

Philippians 2:25-30

• What kind of man would risk his life for the work of Christ?  Why is it appropriate to honor such people?  Who are the people in my life I ought to honor for their labor for the Lord? 

In Epaphroditus’ case, verse 26 provides a clue as to what kind of man would risk his life for the work of Christ.  His distress was on the account that the Philippian church had heard that he was ill.  In other words, even though he may have been bed-ridden as a result of physical exhaustion and not being to function normally, he somehow had the room in his heart and enough of his mental faculties to process the fact that they had heard he was ill and be distressed.   It shows the capacity of his heart and the kind of selflessness that is able to have this kind of concern even though he is the one who is ill.  When it comes to one’s personal well-being and needs, he must have been someone who would always place the needs of others above his own needs.  Such a person who is selfless and whose concern centers other people would be the kind of person that would risk his own life for the work of Christ.  Our church was really blessed to have such people visit and share their testimonies.  I remember when Ajith Fernando coming to our church.  What made his messages and testimony so powerful was simply by the fact this was a person who could have chosen to live a very comfortable life as a scholar in America but instead chose to stay in his war-torn home country, Sri Lanka, to serve his own people.  No one would have really blamed him if he had left in order to insure the safety of not only his own life but his family as well.  There are also two missionaries from Central Asia who serve as a constant reminder as to how I should be defining the notion of what it means to suffer for Christ.  The personal struggles and hardships as well as dealing with many obstacles outside of their control have served as a constant reminder not only the cost of serving Christ but the joy and the resulting praise to God in seeing such examples of sacrificial love.  Here at our church, there are the leaders Pastor Ed and Kelly, who have not only tirelessly gave it their all in leading our church but have done this on a consistent basis, day in and day out, putting the needs of others above themselves.  I’m so blessed to have examples of those who have denied themselves and risked their lives for the work of Christ and see that I would be the poorer person for it if I were to fail to honor such people.  To honor such people in my life would be to recognize that all of the spiritual blessings that I have received in my life, including my salvation and to follow the examples of people living in full trust and faith in God.  Without such awareness, it would be impossible for me to be filled with awe and gratitude towards God.

• Paul’s emotions are closely tied to the welfare of those he loves.  Do I have people in my life who cause me to rejoice and grieve?  How can I cultivate this level of closeness in my relationships?

I have had the privilege of leading small groups and am very thankful for the people that God placed in my life to love and to lead.  Ironically, it was those who have caused me grief that I feel closest to and am able to rejoice as I see where they are at today in terms of serving God.  This was possible because of the fact that I had to confront them on certain glaring issues in their life in which they needed to struggle over.  And as I look at where they are right now, I’m very thankful and able to rejoice and marvel at how God has worked in their lives.  The way I need to cultivate this level of closeness in my relationships has to be centered on truth, honesty, and trust.  Naturally, I’m someone who doesn’t want to stir the waters by avoiding any kind of emotional discomfort in relationships.  It’s a tendency where it regretfully has manifested in some relationships in the past.  For all of the people that the apostle Paul knew, I’m sure it was not without any risks involved.  With some, he must have had to confront them on a glaring sin issue and risked being misunderstood and having the relationship severed.  In other relationships, he must have experienced heartaches by trusting that his fellow workers would be by his side during his most trying moments and then finding out that they had deserted him.  For every Timothy and Epaphroditus in his life, there must have been plenty more who may have deserted or severed their relationship with him.  So why would anyone bother to go through such a process if that is what it will take to develop the kind of closeness displayed in the apostle Paul’s relationships?  It’s because we were designed and meant to be in a set of relationships, especially within the context of serving God and building up his church.  It is precisely the kind of close relationships seen here with the apostle Paul and Timothy and Epaphroditus that not only could potentially bring grief but at the same time, there is rejoicing on many different levels, including seeing people change towards repentance and having suffered together and overcoming difficulty in serving God.

–

Submitted by Andrew I. from Gracepoint Minneapolis Church

Philippians 2:19-24

·       Reflect on the description of Timothy.

Apostle Paul thought very highly of Timothy and viewed him like “son” who has “served with [him] in the Gospel.” Timothy was someone who has proven his mettle in serving along-side Apostle Paul for the advancement of the Gospel, and the father-son relationship really captures this. I’m sure in this simple statement, there must be stories and examples of Timothy and the suffering and sacrifice he had to face, alongside Apostle Paul, in order to proclaim the Gospel. It is clear that he is one in heart with Apostle Paul and so the physical and emotional sufferings that we see in Apostle Paul throughout his Epistles also probably existed in Timothy’s life as well. Apostle Paul doesn’t hold back his appreciation of Timothy as he goes on to say that he has “no one like him” in partnership with him in the ministry. Apostle Paul views Timothy as his faithful right-hand man, someone he can depend upon in the difficulties of ministry and building the early church. He knows that he and Timothy share the same heart for the Gospel message to go to the ends of the world. And he is fully appreciative of this fact, that he has Timothy at his side and shares with him the burdens of the Gospel. He thinks so highly of Timothy that he wants to send him to the Philippians because he is confident that Timothy will be genuinely concerned for the Philippians’ welfare and to put the interests of Christ ahead of his own. And he sends Timothy not only to be a benefit to the Philippians, but also to exemplify everything that he has been exhorting the Philippians to do. In Phil. 2:3-4 he challenges the Philippians to consider others more important than themselves and to put the interests of others ahead of themselves, and that is exactly how he describes Timothy. And Apostle Paul is wise because he knows that the Philippians know this aspect of Timothy as well! The Philippians knew “Timothy’s proven worth,” and so could they all could look up to Timothy and respect him and learn to follow in his example. Timothy had already proven himself to the Philippians in this way and so he would have been the perfect person for Apostle Paul to send to them at this time.

As I think about the description of Apostle Paul has of Timothy and the way he views him, I am challenged to become more like Timothy. I can be more “Timothy-like” for my leaders here at the church plant in Minnesota. It’s difficult to be the top leaders of a church and it can feel lonely and tiresome trying to handle and deal with all the aspects of the ministry. At times, it can feel like they are the only ones pushing the ministry along as they try and handle the big picture of our church. And into that situation, I can be a source of encouragement by pushing alongside them and by sharing their burdens and concern for the Gospel and the ministry. Many times I think about how I can love my leaders and I think that I need to do something directly for them, serve them in some way, give them something, etc. But being a “Timothy” for them in this ministry can be another way that I can show my care and love for them. How does this play out concretely in my life? It’s by being proactive and taking initiative in the ministry, thinking about different things we can try and do, trying to solve problems that I notice, taking ownership over an aspect of the ministry, volunteering for different tasks, and being as zealous and passionate in all that I do.  As I show genuine care and concern for the church and the ministry and look to the “interests” of Jesus Christ, they’ll be strengthened and encouraged knowing that they do not bear the burden on their own. And in this way, I can be like a “son” to them as I serve “with [them] in the gospel.” I’ve been entrusted with the responsibility and calling to share the Gospel message not only verbally but also with the life that I live here at Minnesota. As I am serving at our church plant, I have been called to be “genuinely concerned” for the welfare of the students we meet at the various campuses and to put the interests of Christ ahead of my own. This is something that I need to continue to challenge myself and grow up into. It’s hard for me to be genuinely concerned for others and to put Christ’s interest ahead of my own because I am a selfish and self-centered person. I want to take care of my own things and to prioritize my own life. But remembering the entrustment and calling that I’ve been given as a church planter helps me to struggle with those feelings and to put them aside.

Philippians 2:25-30

·       What kind of man would risk his life for the work of Christ?  Why is it appropriate to honor such people?  Who are the people in my life I ought to honor for their labor for the Lord? 

Epaphroditus was a man who was willing to risk his life for the work of Christ. He was willing to do this because he knew that his own eternity was guaranteed in heaven and wanted to pour out his life so that others could be saved as well. He did not consider his life worth anything to hold onto, but was willing to let it go if it could attain something that was genuinely precious. He saw his life as something temporary and transient, but he saw people’s salvation (i.e. the work of Christ) as eternal. In the same way, I need to consider my own life as temporary, and take on the challenge to risk my own life for the work of Christ. It’s hard and difficult to consider my life not worth holding on to because I am selfish and sinful and it’s the dominant reality of my life. And that’s why I need to have faith in God’s word that tells me otherwise, that heaven is real and that souls are eternally more precious than the body. It’s hard and it’s a daily struggle for me and that’s why it is appropriate to honor such people who are able to do so and are willing to sacrifice themselves and their bodies for the Lord’s labor. I think about some missionaries that our church knows and the kind of labor they do for the sake of the Gospel.  They are sacrificing their bodies trying to love people that can be hard to love and trying to build up a ministry in a country that is hostile to Christianity. They are willing to risk their lives and to give up their comforts for the sake of the Gospel and they clearly deserve my honor because I know how hard it would be for me to try and live like that. And even closer to home, there are people in our church who have sacrificed things in their own lives in order to labor in the Lord. And as the year ends, I’ve specifically been thinking about the various pastoral/lead couples of all of our churches and ministries as people that I can honor by sharing my appreciation for them for what they do and by praying for them and their needs. I’ve been given a glimpse of the kinds of things they endure as I’ve served along side some of them and hear different stories of their experiences. They are definitely people who sacrifice a lot as they serve God. They are constantly thinking about others, putting other people’s interests ahead of their own, sacrificing their own personal time and energy and giving it to others. They are definitely people who lay down their lives for the sake of others and set an example for me to follow and so are worthy of my honor and respect.

·       Paul’s emotions are closely tied to the welfare of those he loves.  Do I have people in my life who cause me to rejoice and grieve?  How can I cultivate this level of closeness in my relationships?

Yes, I do have people in my life who causes me to rejoice and at the same time grieve, and if I stop to think about it, it kind of surprises me that that is the case. It surprises me because I know that it would not have been the case my freshmen year in college before I became Christian. Back then, I could care less about people around me. All I cared about were my grades and how I was doing and I viewed others only in terms of how they could benefit me. If they were going to be a burden in my life in some way, I would sever that relationship and move on. But now, after becoming Christian, my life has been connected to so many others because of the Gospel and I experience the highs and lows because of that. I am no longer alone in this world, but am connected in a web of relationships. I have been a recipient of love from so many people as well as a channel of love to others in this church and it is because of this that I have people who cause me to rejoice and to grieve. I have so many leaders in my life who’ve sacrificed and loved me, my peers from college with whom I serve alongside with, many others that I’ve served in different ministry groups with, people I’ve served on the mission field with, people that I’ve shared the Gospel and ministered to, and the list can go on and on. If I were to write down every single person that I am connected to now because of the Gospel and this church, it would fill pages and pages! And I would have never imagined my life to be like this when I first became Christian. Indeed, my life has been enriched in relationships because of the Gospel and this spiritual community. I care about people and love them and this is why I can rejoice and grieve with them. I think about my friend right now who is trying to move down to San Diego to help the ministry there. I am thankful for his sacrifice and can rejoice in his willingness to go.  And then there are the joys in seeing people that we’ve ministered to over these past few years coming to Christ! We experienced our first baptisms this past year in Minnesota and it was such a joyful moment as I thought about each of these students and the transforming power of Christ in their lives. There were also many salvations here in Minnesota and as I think about each of them, it brings joy to my heart as well. And at the same time, my heart grieves as I think about different people who have turned their back on the Gospel message. They once were faithful Christians, excited about serving and giving to God, but for some reason or another decided to go back to their old lives. I worry about them as I don’t know much about what is happening in their lives and I can only pray for them and hope that they would come back to the Gospel in the future. I think the best way for me to cultivate this level of closeness in relationships with others is by praying for people in my life, praying for my leaders, praying for my peers, praying for my ministry team members, praying for the different needs of people in our church, and praying for my students.  And in this way I connect to them and am able to share in their burdens and joys.

Personal Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

I thank you for the blessings of the many relationships that I have because of the Gospel in this body of Christ. Indeed, I realize how rich my life is compared to what it would have been had I not decided to become Christian. I pray that I may honor those within the body of Christ, locally and universally, who are willing to risk their lives for Your work. I know how difficult it is for me to surrender my life daily and as I see people who do it more faithfully and passionately, help me to honor it by being inspired and motivated to follow their example and to show my appreciation for what they are doing. Help me also to be faithful in prayer as I think about different people in my life and their needs and burdens. In this small way I can love them and cultivate my relationship with them. Finally, help me to grow into the role of being a “Timothy” to those around me. Help me to see that I can be a source of encouragement to my leaders by being a faithful and zealous co-laborer in the ministry. Remind me also that I am to be an example to those who look up to me and witness my life. Help me to live a life that exemplifies Christ-likeness, being humble and not grasping for my own life, but instead consider others more important than myself by putting others’ interests ahead of my own in love.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Philippians 2:12-18

• Notice the balance between what God has done in Christ for me, and what I am to do.  What can I do to “work out” the salvation that God has “work[ed] in” me?

I can work out the salvation that God has worked in me by knowing God’s word and striving to understand and obey God in deeper ways, making personal connections to what is revealed about God in his word and allowing his word to have personal implications in my life. Knowing the word of God in a personal way leads me to obey God’s word with greater, increasing trust and surrender in order to experience the fullness of a life that has been worked in me through the transforming power of the gospel.

To “work out” is an apt description of my responsibility as a Christian because “work out” denotes a sense of intentional striving for it. Experiencing the richness of the gospel and the fullness of God’s grace and love demonstrated through salvation worked in me doesn’t happen without deliberately working toward it. It happens through choosing to die to myself and my preferences in order to obey his word. It happens through taking costly, even scary steps, of faith in following him. In these ways, as I work out my salvation, putting God’s word through the test through my obedience and finding that they are words of life to me – I can experience how truly rich is the salvation, the depth of grace worked in me.

• Why is it important that I live out the implications and promises of my salvation “with fear and trembling”?

It is important to live out the implications and promises of my salvation “with fear and trembling” because at the end of my life, I have to give an account before God and because of this, it would be important to live soberly and with this day in mind, as Paul says in chapter 3 straining forward, pressing toward the goal. I am most aware of this need to live my life with fear and trembling in the areas of my ministry responsibilities. As I am entrusted as a spiritual leader over people, entrusted with passing down the gospel message – I am all to aware of my own failings and inability to do this, which causes me to work out my own salvation and relationship with God with fear and trembling.

This exhortation to work out my salvation with fear and trembling also serves as a warning about the nature of human hearts that desires to be lax and comfortable, to take the easy road – which I have experienced to lead to a dull, empty way of life. I know that for myself, it’s so easy to be lazy and disengaged, to procrastinate. I know that when I neglect my spiritual life, putting off the word of God and prayer, or failing to connect with God and God’s people, I quickly become dull in my desire for God, desire to struggle against sin, desire to obey. Over time, this would lead to hardness of heart toward God and his word – hearing God’s word but not being personally addressed by it, an inability to align myself to the truth of God, an overall lukewarm heart toward God. It could eventually look like a quiet, self centered life – where life is about me and my nuclear family, centered around frivolous pursuits and mindless entertainment: burdened by sin, uninterrupted by needs of others. But this is a miserable life, of not being able to experience God, of the abundant life he provides. So, this exhortation to live every day working out my salvation with fear and trembling isn’t to make me anxious and nervously aware of a judge who is ready to condemn, as much as a pathway to daily living a life aware of God’s rich grace and love he has in store for me.

Philippians 2:14-16

• Notice the escalating nature of the progression of thoughts in this passage.  How does “do[ing] all things without grumbling and disputing” lead to shining as “lights in the world”?

Doing all things without grumbling and disputing would be nearly impossible to do.  It would go against the mantra of this world that says every man for himself and it would go against your natural pride and ego that tells you to voice and grumble at any perceived inequity or injustice and to fight and dispute when your rights are trampled upon.  As children of God, we can shine as lights in the world, by refusing to grumble and dispute, but rather dying to ourselves, putting others before our own selves, demonstrating that God is trustworthy and sovereign, that God is able to provide and is my protector and defender.  So that I don’t have to fend for myself, or grumble against what I’ve been given or dispute wrongs done unto me.

• Reflect on what Apostle Paul would have considered a failure of his ministry (“run in vain”).  What does this tell me about the fruit of authentic faith?

Paul would have considered it a failure of his ministry if the Philippians did not hold fast to the word of life until the day of Christ.  This challenges the self-focused approach to ministry which centers around me – what is my role and how important is it?  Are people responding to me?  Do they like me?  Is my ministry significant enough?  It also challenges the worldly notions of failure and success – such as if I am experiencing setbacks or difficulties, I deem ministry to be a failure.  For Paul, he had no such notions.  Failure was not about himself, what he gained or lost or what he endured in his ministry – the suffering, the imprisonment, the daily pressure of concern for the churches. But, he would consider it a failure if those he ministered to would not be found to being holding fast to the word of life until the day of Christ.

This tells me that the fruit of authentic faith is displayed in one who holds fast to the word of life until the day of Christ.  In the end, it’s not about what I accomplished or even what I failed to do – but the important thing is, did I hold fast to the word of life until the day of Christ.  Faith is displayed in holding fast because we know that the day of Christ is coming.  This is such a reminder of my journey as a Christian.  As I reflect upon my life since becoming a Christian 20 years ago, there were many ups and downs, many turns in which I could have (and sometimes strongly wanted) to let go and give up.  Sometimes the circumstances and demands of life was really difficult, it was harder still to have to deal with my sins, embrace truth about myself.   It could have been much easier to throw in the towel and deny the words of life – but somehow God gave me the grace to still be here, being addressed by his word, being reminded of his love and grace for me.

And though I have a long way to go, I see the fruit of that clinging on, of holding fast for the last 20 years – which is a testament of God’s grace that enables someone like me to hold fast to him – a deeper understanding of God’s unmerited grace; a security of knowing that I have been shown undeserved loving kindness by God and the people of God; a proven trust in God that leads to greater desire to obey.  I shudder to think how my life would have turned out if I had let go – it would have truly been an ultimate loss and failure.  And this gives me the perspective and hope to keep on holding fast to the words of life in my current struggles and life situations – knowing that the fruit of faith was ultimately outweigh any suffering and hardship I endure now.

–

Submitted by Ray W. from Gracepoint Minneapolis Church

Philippians 2:12-13

• Notice the balance between what God has done in Christ for me, and what I am to do.  What can I do to “work out” the salvation that God has “work[ed] in” me?

Growing up as a skeptical atheist, it really was God who first initiated in searching for me, revealing himself and his gospel to me, and building a relationship with me through his word and people.  When I accepted God’s offer of salvation, it’s not just an one time deal, and God leaves me alone.   My heavenly Father wants to shape the sinful me into someone like Christ as his son, and he wants me to takes steps of faith in trusting him as He leads me daily.  He’s not settling for anything less.  At our church, I receive much exposure to the word through bible studies, the DTs, and messages, and one way I can work out my salvation is take God’s word seriously and to respond in kind.  Many times God’s word will be uncomfortable because it is truth, and the truth is I am a sinner so there’s always going to be some painful moments of confronting who I am as God works to shape me.  I can easily let all the chances to engage God slip by, especially if uncomfortable truth about myself is exposed.  I find that as I get older, there is a stronger temptation to not face painful truth about me, because I think I shouldn’t be this way by now as an older Christian.  Rather than letting it slip, this the chance for me to “work out my salvation” by reaffirming the big picture again that God is God, that he died for me while I was a sinner, he loves me, he knows me through and through so there is nothing to hide, and God knows what He is doing.  There is a good end in mind.  Therefore I can face the truth with this assurance from God and embrace any practical response I need to carry out whether it is to repent, apologize, love someone, let something go, or persevere.  When I obey, I later experience God’s word being true and giving life not only to me but also others, then my confidence in God, his presence, and trust in his good character will increase.

• Why is it important that I live out the implications and promises of my salvation “with fear and trembling”?

To approach the implications and promises of salvation with fear and trembling means to take them with seriousness, weight, due diligence, and awe that salvation from God rightfully deserves.  The gospel and reality of God is not just head knowledge.  It is true and therefore can be lived out.  Salvation is not static.  As I live it out, bank on it, take risks trusting in God and his truth, my experience of God will become more true to me and my confidence in God will grow.  Naturally I will trust God with greater things in the future.  I will also experience the greater wonder of how much his word brings real life.  But if I treat them flippantly and don’t obey, I won’t experience this and instead experience the opposite.  There is no neutral ground.  There have been times when I didn’t take God seriously, and I easily start wondering where is God in my life and start to doubt God’s goodness and presence.  In reality, it’s really me that didn’t put in the effort to obey and seek God out, and I end up prolonging an issue or making matters worse.

• What are some ways that I have experienced my will and conduct bending to “work for [H]is good pleasure”?

Along the lines of facing uncomfortable truth, recently a character issue came up that led to some regrettable action on my part that I needed to own up and face.  I was initially defensive about it and didn’t want to face it head on.  At a prayer meeting where the speaker talked about what God’s grace means in light of truth we don’t like to face, God helped me to realize that in God’s love there is nothing I need to hide from, even facing uncomfortable truth, because on the cross, he showed his love for me even when I was a sinner.  God already knows me as I am.  As a result I was able to accept the truth of how I am, and then was able to move on to take real action that can change this character issue.  As I had the freedom to think more about the truth, I saw how this issue had caused me many regrets and grief through my life, and now there is hope of finally changing it head on and being free from it.  I’m sure God was pleased to illuminate and begin to take away this source of pain in my life.

Philippians 2:14-16

• Notice the escalating nature of the progression of thoughts in this passage.  How does “do[ing] all things without grumbling and disputing” lead to shining as “lights in the world”?

Living out your faith starts with small things.  If one is grumbling and disputing, it reveals a self focused nature rather than being centered on God and loving others.  When I grumble or dispute, I am insisting that my view is right. I’m looking at the situation through a narrow lens of me, and I’m trying to push my agenda.  Whereas the truth of the gospel says that I really deserve nothing as a sinner before the holy God.   I am not blameless and innocent.  In essence, I am a hypocrite when I grumble and dispute.  When this happens, there is no way I can be seen as a light in the world.

• Reflect on what Apostle Paul would have considered a failure of his ministry (“run in vain”).  What does this tell me about the fruit of authentic faith?

In the context of this passage, a failure in Paul’s ministry would be when the people he ministered to live a life of grumbling, are not blameless, are not innocent, and are not distinguishable from the crooked and twisted generation.  In other words, failure would be if the Christians he ministered to ended up being all talk and did not live it out.  Then all of his love and teaching would be in vain.  Authentic faith results in genuine fruit, and it starts in every day small things like how I talk and how I work with others.  Christianity is not only head knowledge or just a title or belief.  It is lived out daily in concrete ways as we try to obey God.  With every choice I make I take a step towards becoming a certain type of person.  For example, I can easily excuse myself from helping a person in need, from going the extra step to serve, from taking the time to think of someone or send some encouragement.  I can say I have things to do, I’m busy, I don’t know how, I can do it later, I’ve already done enough in ministry today.  But each of these choices contribute to me becoming either a loving man or selfish man, a stingy or generous person, a caring or cold man and ultimately an authentic or inauthentic Christian.  The person I am becoming with these daily choices is what the world sees, not what I think of myself.  So it really boils down to these small choices I make each day.

PERSONAL PRAYER

God thank you for initiating salvation in me and loving me enough to not leave me as I am.  Thank you for this grand relationship with you where you want me to follow after you and experience first hand the goodness and truth of who you are and your word.  Please give me the courage to face truth so I may be able to work out my salvation in obedience to you.  Please also help me to have the clarity of mind to see that my every day choices matter to you.  God forgive me for all the ways I have made excuses to justify my own agenda.  Help me God to be authentic in moment to moment denying of myself in obedience to you.

Philippians 2:5-11

• Reflect on this passage in light of Christmas, and the incarnation of Jesus.  What did Jesus come to do?

Jesus, the very Son of God, the mighty Creator of the universe, refused to grasp on to His right as the Son of God.  Instead, this very Son of God, the King of Kings, emptied Himself by laying aside His glory and majesty and took on frail human flesh, and entered such a dark, decrepit, and dangerous place as our world.  Even though He had the form of the Almighty God, He chose to enter into this world in the most vulnerable way.  And it was in our world where He was mocked, accused, and criticized, and eventually suffered the most gruesome and humiliating death on the cross.  By human terms, such an act is nonsensical; it is utterly foolish and irrational to the prideful human mind.  And yet this is the truth that has reversed the trajectory of mankind since the Fall.  Jesus came in this most unbelievable way–all because He wanted to deliver us from our sins.  Jesus resolutely came into our world in the form of a helpless baby and as a servant submitted to the cruelest death on the cross.  He took the place we deserve there, and thereby freed us from our condemnation and ushered in forgiveness and reconciliation for mankind with God.

This gospel truth never gets old.  The incarnation of Christ, His suffering and death is truly the most scandalous occurrence in all of history.  I am grateful that each Christmas season I have a chance in a sense, to go back in history and visit the circumstances of when and how Jesus came into our world through our Christmas message series and even through our children who performed at the Joyland Christmas Celebration last night.  Even as the children were adorable and we enjoyed watching them sing and recite their lines and memorize scripture, ultimately the message of God’s love, and how He had this grand plan of salvation all along for sinners struck me once again. Even though I know most of them didn’t understand what they were declaring, I was reminded that the gospel is for everyone, and as these children had a chance to participate in telling the story of Jesus’ incarnation, I prayed that one day each of them will come to understand with clarity and deep conviction what it really meant that Jesus came in the flesh as a baby into our world for them.

• What does this passage say to a Christian about grasping for power and self-exaltation?

This passage teaches me that as a Christian, I am called to life a life completely contrary to a life of grasping for power and self-exaltation.  As a follower of Jesus Christ, I am to imitate His life of release and of surrender, rather than grasping for power and control.  Rather than self-exaltation, I am called to live a life of descending and self-denial.  The idea of surrender, of a letting go, of self-denial is always a very scary idea.  It goes against the natural instinct to preserve and protect myself, which I immediately think is possible only when I grasp, clutch, and hoard.  An area that this passage touches upon for me today is about letting go of such a grasp in ministry.  Since I’ve been sent here to Minneapolis 2.5 years ago to help start and lead this ministry, God has been dealing with me about surrendering the grasping for a sense of power and wanting to feel like I am in control.  Being out here has caused me to face my weaknesses and limitations ever more frequently and starkly, and that has instinctively led me to want to try harder to maintain a sense of being in control, that I know what I am doing exactly all the time, and a desire to avoid mistakes and failure.   However, through leading this ministry and throughout my years of being in ministry, the truth that God brings me back to again and again is that grasping for power and control, and the desire to try to maintain my ego and image before others really goes against the very essence of who He is and ultimately brings greater harm and damage to myself, to others and to His honor.   I am learning in fact, that the greater the responsibilities and entrustment I’ve been given, the more I need to admit my weaknesses, my deficiencies and limitations that lead me to turn to God and trust and submit to His ways and not my own.  Being involved in God’s ministry itself teaches me right away that I really don’t have power or control to see that everything goes smooth and well each time, but in fact, when dealing with people especially, I am utterly vulnerable to anything that can happen.  And when trying to love people, there cannot be any room for me to try to self-exalt and protect my ego.  I am continuing to learn that to love is to allow my heart to be wide open to whatever I may receive and letting go of my pride for the sake of another for them to know and understand the truth of God.

• Verse 5 suggests that it is possible for us to imitate Christ in his humility and obedience.  What would it mean for me to apply these verses to my life in terms of how I view myself, relate to others, and respond to God?

Verse 5 gives me hope that I it is possible to imitate Christ in his humility and obedience.

In terms of how I view myself, I think especially through the recent devotions through the Epistles, I’ve been reminded that I, along with Apostle Paul, have been called to be a bondservant of Christ, just as Jesus came and took on the form of a servant, to serve mankind, not to be served.  When I am able to take on this as my main identity, then I am much more free to love and serve others.  And this identity as a bondservant is something I am learning to embrace more and more of each day as I engage in ministering to others.  In this regard, I can let go of my sense of entitlements more freely.  And knowing that my role is to serve others, rather than to serve myself, I have greater freedom about just being available to whatever needs arise.  It is still difficult to live such a life of surrender, but I see how it has been possible for me as I continue to strive to embrace my role as a bondservant of Christ, with a growing confidence in knowing that it is through His Spirit living in me that allows me to continue to live such a life of surrender.

Philippians 2:9-11

“Christ emptied himself by taking the form of a slave, but he stooped even lower when his human condition and his obedience led him to the cross.  In the world Paul shared with the Philippians, this was the lowest that one could stoop socially.  Crucifixion was the cruelest form of official execution in the Roman empire, and although a Roman citizen might experience it if convicted of high treason, it was commonly reserved for the lower classes, especially slaves.”  [Frank E. Thielman, Philippians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995) 119.]

• Reflect on Apostle Paul’s claims in vv. 9-11 in light of the political realities of his day, and the low regard the Romans must have had for Jesus, who to them was a criminal crucified in one of their provinces.  On what basis can Apostle Paul make such a claim that seems to defy the visible realities of his day?

It took great faith to be able to see beyond his limited human perspective that Jesus, though died the cruelest and humiliating death that, he could declare that God had “highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…” He must have sounded ludicrous and most offensive to the Jews and yet, what gave him this confidence to make such a scandalous claim was that he had met the resurrected Jesus Christ face to face.  He was completely and totally confronted with the depth of his own sinfulness and became a man utterly broken by his sins before the Son of God Himself, and experienced first hand, forgiveness and redemption that he did not deserve.  This truth about who he was as the chief of sinners and yet receiving the greatest pardon from God himself through Christ, completely overrode the visible realities of his day.

Personal Prayer

Heavenly Father, what an astounding thing You have done through Jesus and I marvel again at the unbelievable sacrifice You paid to come to an undeserving dark and hopeless sinner like me.  Jesus, thank you for being our God incarnate–for humbling yourself, becoming vulnerable and taking on human flesh like me, so that You could enter our world to save me and this world.  Please let me never forget the immensity of what You have done, and please cause me to daily follow in your footsteps to live a life humility and obedience to You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

–

Submitted by Mia W. from Gracepoint Minneapolis Church

Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV)

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

• Reflect on this passage in light of Christmas, and the incarnation of Jesus.  What did Jesus come to do?

This passage reminds me of the cost of Christmas. Jesus wasn’t just sent by God and born as a baby in a manger. Even before all of that Jesus, who was with God, who was God, chose willingly to lower himself, to limit himself in order to come and dwell with us. Although Jesus was in the form of God, he did not strive to be equal to God but He emptied himself. He went from being in the form of God to form of a servant–God to servant. That’s a huge leap down and Jesus did it willingly and for what? To come down and dwell with us and become ultimately the final sacrifice for all sin. And that final sacrifice happened on a cross, a gruesome and humiliating death–God in all his glory to a servant crucified on a cross. Christmas in a way is just a snapshot partway in the unfolding of God’s grand salvation plan. I have often thought in the past that Christmas was where it all started and I suppose if you looked at it from a human perspective, it appears that way but the reality of it is that there is a whole lot more to the birth. It’s that God, Creator of the universe, chose to lower himself to become a man and not just any man but took on the form of a servant who would eventually die the death of a condemned man though he himself was righteous.

In light of this, the birth of Christ takes on new meaning. Emmanuel, God with us, takes on new meaning as I think about what Jesus gave in order to be with us in the flesh. The cross and what happened on the cross takes on new meaning as I think about how Jesus set aside his glory in order to die such a death.

• What does this passage say to a Christian about grasping for power and self-exaltation?

Christians have pledged themselves to be followers of Christ and this passage paints a picture of Jesus who did not grasp for power or self-exaltation but rather lowered himself. He relinquished power and chose not to glorify himself. He took the humble, even scorned form of a servant. For the Christian, this passage teaches that to be like Christ is to take on the same identity and form as a servant humbling himself to obedience. A Christian striving for power and self-exaltation would find it impossible to find justification in the example of Jesus. A servant does not seek his own glory or fame or even recognition. Jesus in coming in the flesh let go of his rights as God and in the same way, we are called to let go of our rights, whatever they may be, in being a servant, humbling ourselves to obedience

As a Christian, this passage rebukes and realigns me to what it truly means to follow Jesus. I recognize in myself the striving for power and self-exaltation in the ways I strive to be in situations and positions where I feel in control. One way I seek power in the form of feeling in control is to do only those things I feel comfortable with or know I am good at.

I find that my natural tendency is to avoid new things and when things get hard, I want to quit and run. And because I don’t like doing this, I generally just avoid new things altogether. Looking back, I think I was able to get away with a lot of things because I did this and also got away with having really deluded thoughts about myself thinking I was far more competent than I really was when in fact it wasn’t really competence but specialization. Being in a church plant, we have all had to take on more roles and take on responsibilities foreign to us and in the ways I have responded to brand new responsibilities or tasks I am not good at, I have seen this same pattern of seeking power and self-exaltation. It is essentially my pride that is behind this. The more I see how this takes a toll on others and the church, I see that it is contrary to God’s nature and is something I need to repent of.

Verse 5 suggests that it is possible for us to imitate Christ in his humility and obedience.  What would it mean for me to apply these verses to my life in terms of how I view myself, relate to others, and respond to God?

It means that first I have to see myself as a servant of Christ and I have to be willing and ready to respond in obedience. On a daily basis, this would mean my asking, “What need can I serve right now, in this situation, for this person?” and responding without hesitation and putting the needs of others before my own. Often times even when I do see a need, I hesitate and find myself calculating or justifying why I can’t do what I initially thought to do. But in doing this, I am putting my own needs and comfort before the other person. It is not the attitude of a servant but of a person who thinks she has the freedom and independence to do whatever she wants. One way I can battle this is to just meet the need or to do what I initially thought to do before I tried to talk myself out of it.

With regard to how I relate to others, it means that I consider the needs of others before my own. It means to treat others with respect and more highly than myself. When I am talking to people whether a student or team member or anybody for that matter, I need to be genuinely concerned for the person. I have to be fully there and fully vested rather than trying to multitask thinking about all the other things I need to do. For that time, I have to set aside my plans and give my full attention. For me this is an area I need to especially focus on as many times I am task oriented and fail to put people before tasks.

With regard to how I respond to God, it has to be of complete obedience. For this to be the case, I have to do the hard work of wrestling idols and sins that will cloud my ability to obey on a daily basis. It starts with knowing my weaknesses and areas of temptation. And it’s not going to be a surprise what these things will be. For me, one area is marriage. The desire to make marriage my idol will not go away now that I am married but will only come back in other forms as I have children and/or go through different phases of life or go through life’s ups and downs. Another area is a comfortable life and this is something I have to constantly be vigilant about.

And the way I am going to be vigilant and battle these things is by filling my heart and mind with the Word of God. I need to prioritize times in the Word of God, journaling and prayer so that I am not deluded or blind to what is going on in my heart. And it also means that I have to share and seek accountability from the people of God lest I deceive myself or delude myself into thinking that I am alright. To do this will help me to respond readily to God in obedience.

Philippians 2:9-11

• Reflect on Apostle’s claims in vv. 9-11 in light of the political realities of his day, and the low regard the Romans must have had for Jesus, who to them was a criminal crucified in one of their provinces.  On what basis can Apostle Paul make such a claim that seems to defy the visible realities of his day?

From the world’s perspective Jesus didn’t seem to amount to much. His crucifixion suggests as much. Yet Apostle Paul claims that God highly exalted Jesus and bestowed upon him the name above every name. Apostle Paul’s reality was not that of the world’s, which judges only by externals. Apostle Paul saw the entire reality. He saw that Jesus had come in the humblest of forms, a human baby, to die the lowest of deaths for the sake of sinners condemned to death and undeserving. He recognized that in coming this way, in Jesus lowering himself to this extent, there was greatness and glory and power because Jesus willingly came in the flesh and was willing to endure all manner of humiliation and scorn for the sake of many. It was not something the world would have understood because the world doesn’t understand greatness in this way.

Apostle Paul’s understanding of Jesus came from a personal encounter with the resurrected Christ which changed him profoundly. Ultimately it was as Apostle Paul understood his sins and his wretchedness before God and saw how God sent his only son to be born as a man, die the death of a condemned man, and raised him up that he was able to see the power and greatness of Jesus Christ.

• Jesus transformed the cross from the most shameful and repulsive object into the most widely recognized and beloved religious symbol today.  What happened?

While the cross was a symbol of shame and repulsive to the people of Jesus’ time, it was what happened on Jesus’ cross that changed its meaning forever. On the cross, Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world. He bled and died and with his blood made atonement for the sins of those who scorned, abused, and hated him. With the resurrection of Jesus, the empty cross became a symbol of the forgiveness of sins and the immense, unimaginable love of God.

Never in human history has there been anything that’s come close to what happened on the cross and it is was faith in the resurrected Christ that went on to change the entire world.

It is this that makes the cross a beloved symbol and one widely recognized.

• Reflect on v. 11.  How can I confess today that Jesus Christ is Lord?

“and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Today, I can confess that Jesus Christ is Lord by trusting and obeying Jesus. Whatever situation that arises or that I face, it is to seek God’s ways, to imitate Christ no matter what that might cost me, and in so doing, declare that it is Jesus who is Lord of my life. In all my interactions today, it’s to remember that I am a servant of Christ and am called to imitate him in laying down my life for the sake of others. It is to humble myself in putting the needs of others before mine and it’s to ask myself how I can serve the person in front of me. I can’t just say Jesus is Lord with words. To have Jesus as Lord means that my actions and words are subjected to his direction.

Personal Prayer

Jesus, thank you for your great love and sacrifice in humbling yourself and becoming a man all for the purpose of saving us from our sins. Your love caused you to go from the form of God to the form of a servant. You lowered yourself to be a man in the flesh and limited yourself to dwell with us. We did not deserve the mercy and compassion you showed us in coming to us.

God I pray for your mercy today as I think about all the ways I have sought power and self-exaltation and lived in disobedience to your call for me to follow after you. Please forgive me for the many ways I have done this in the past and to the present time. Thank you for your Word that speaks correction and truth to me. Lord help me to imitate you in humbling myself for the sake of others today as I remember how you humbled yourself in coming to us as a baby all those years ago.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Submitted by Jonathan F. from Gracepoint Minneapolis Church

Philippians 2:5-11

• Reflect on this passage in light of Christmas, and the incarnation of Jesus.  What did Jesus come to do?

Jesus came to earth, stooped down to our level and took on the likeness of man, all to bring us the salvation that we desperately need. I think in all of the holiday bustle filled with lights and songs, what often gets lost is the humble beginnings of Jesus’ life, and the ultimate meaning of Christmas.

Christmas marks day one of Jesus’ story, but in many ways it is all of our stories. It is because of Christmas that we have the gospel message today to share with the world. I heard a song on the radio called Mary Did You Know by Jeremy Camp, and one of the stanzas reads:

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Mary did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

That this child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you.

The last line, especially, powerfully and poetically encapsulates what Christmas marks for us as Christians, and Jesus’ purpose here on earth. It is what makes this day so dear to the hearts of any Christian. Unfortunately, like I mentioned earlier, this truth often gets lost in our society today. I was really saddened to hear about an event that my classmates at school were hosting. I knew for a while that our campus as a whole is very liberal, but it was disturbing to see the name of the event being called “Friendsmas Celebration.” At first, I didn’t think it was anything more than just an attempt at a creative title, but when I realized that their goal was to take “Christ” out of the picture, that really bothered me. Seeing how far our culture and society has strayed from what Jesus came to do 2000 years ago, it was sad and eye-opening at the same time. It was a reminder that all the more it is up to us as believers to be the ones to share the true story of Christmas, and the real meaning behind this precious day. It was the day that God became flesh, all to save each and everyone of us.

• What does this passage say to a Christian about grasping for power and self-exaltation?

Our savior was presented to the world in a state that many of us today wouldn’t even consider to be at our level, but even lower. And in that same vein, as we follow the life of Jesus through the years, we read about how he surrounds himself with the sick, the twisted, and even the wicked. All because he knew that all of us, no matter who we were or what we did, needed to be redeemed and made new in Christ. Never did Jesus get comfortable with putting himself in a position of power or stand on a soapbox.

And as we read in verse 5 that it is our calling and purpose to imitate Christ, we must humble ourselves similarly instead of constantly striving for power, position, and self-glorification. However, that is honestly often a lot harder than I think. Even in my times of being a servant or serving others, I still try and find ways to show my capabilities or “prowess” in certain areas. In that way, making flyers or doing publications can often be a slippery slope. While I can say that I am working late into the night on flyer designs for the sake of Acts 2 Fellowship or Gracepoint, I need to make sure that it is about our event and group and not about me wanting to show off what I can do on Photoshop. This is just one of many examples of how it is so easy for me to even use times of service and doing good for self-promotion or elevating my own status in the eyes of others. But as we read about the life of Jesus, and as I am reminded in the season of Christmas the humble beginnings of which or Savior came from, it is a reminder and a rebuke to me that I am not living my life in a manner that is imitating Christ. It is this dose of reality that I need to keep myself in check. Naturally, I am going to want to twist things to my benefit, so I need to be extra mindful and remind myself that I am not living my life the way I should be.

• Verse 5 suggests that it is possible for us to imitate Christ in his humility and obedience.  What would it mean for me to apply these verses to my life in terms of how I view myself, relate to others, and respond to God?

To apply these verses in my life would mean that like Jesus, I would put others before me. That was Jesus’ mindset all the way until his death on the cross, which was for our sins. So I think about all of the people that are in my life, whether they be my leaders, my peers, students I am ministering to, these are all people in which I need to apply this mindset. And in each case, there is no shortage of opportunities for me to do so. With my leaders, while there will be no temptation to want to be on a power trip, I can still be a humble and obedient person-someone who responds accordingly and promptly. With my peers, I often struggle with being competitive or trying to be on par with what they are doing. This is probably the greatest area for me to put this verse into practice. To let go of those desires to prove myself in their eyes, be submissive and understanding, and being an open ear rather than a sharp tongue. Lastly, as I think about the students that God has entrusted into my care, I need to continually die to myself in any way that God may call me to do. It is something that is often hard to do, but if it is for the sake of seeing someone come to Christ or grow in their walk with God, then it is a necessary step for me to take. For Jesus, he stopped at nothing for our sake, and I need to embody that same mentality with all of those in my life.

Philippians 2:9-11

• Reflect on Apostle’s claims in vv. 9-11 in light of the political realities of his day, and the low regard the Romans must have had for Jesus, who to them was a criminal crucified in one of their provinces.  On what basis can Apostle Paul make such a claim that seems to defy the visible realities of his day?

To Apostle Paul, Jesus’ purpose on earth was extremely clear. As it states in the commentary, this passage holds many parallels to the prophecies in Isaiah 53, and it is Apostle Paul’s convictions and confidence in those prophecies that empowers him to say what he did in v. 9-11. It is confidence that is admirable, and it is confidence that I, too, continually strive to have. To have conviction that may defy the logic and realities of the rest of the world.

• Reflect on v. 11.  How can I confess today that Jesus Christ is Lord?

It was Jesus who saved me from my self-destructive life in my early years of college. I was ready to leave God altogether, but it was His intervention in my life that has brought me to where I am today. Instead of a life of rebellion, dead ends, and broken relationships, God has given me a life filled with loving relationships, purpose, and meaning. And at this juncture, as I see where I am at and what I have been called to do, giving my all to Jesus is the least I can do for all that he has done for me. That is why each and every day of my life, I need to be faithful in what God has called me to do, I need to be obedient to His Word, and give control of every aspect of my life to God. To live not for myself, but for Him. While my nature is to be very selfish and often lazy, I need to fight against those innate temptations I have knowing what is at stake, and what God has in stake in me for His Kingdom’s work. The battle has already been won, I have been given the greatest gift that I could ever receive, and it is my purpose and my goal to share that gift with others who may not know who Jesus Christ is, who does not know what was done on their behalf, and need to experience Jesus being Lord in their lives as well.

Personal Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

I thank you so much for your Word today, and how in the Christmas season I am reminded of what you did for each and every one of us 2000 years ago. As I see your humility from day 1, I pray that it would be a challenge to me to embody that same humility each and every day of my life as I serve you. That I may be obedient in response to you, humble in front of my peers and leaders, and humble to all those who you have placed in my life. It has never been easy for me and I know it wont be easy for me looking forward, but I pray that you would give me the strength and the clarity of mind to remember you daily. What you did for us. That this may be what drives me to live my life for you each and every day.

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