Tag Archives: Spiritual Growth

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A Beautiful Mess

We are studying through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians at our church right now. Let me tell you, that church was a mess!

Beautiful Mess

A lot of times, I hear people say that they want to get back to the way the church was in the first century. And while the church in the book of Acts is a great model, and definitely something to strive for, the church in Corinth wasn’t living up to that image. In fact, it was pretty messed up.

The believers in the church in Corinth were not behaving as believers should. They were suing each other. They were arguing with each other over petty things. They were disrupting the flow of worship during their services. They were treating others with disregard and disrespect. They were divisive and not living in unity. They were tolerating immoral sexual relationships within their midst. They weren’t tithing. They were no longer preaching the gospel.

They were, simply, a mess.

But as you read Paul’s letter to this new, fledgling, church in Corinth, you see a few things that are stunning in their beauty. And by the end of the letter, it is amazing.

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Memorize Scripture: Philippians 1:29-30

Back in verse 27, Paul encouraged the Philippians to conduct themselves in a worthy manner. In these final two verses of chapter one, the reason for that becomes very clear.

You can see it for yourself in Philippians 1:29-30:

Philippians 1:29-30

The Philippian believers needed to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But why? Paul explains why here. It is because they will experience the same struggles that Paul is facing.

Let’s look at these verses phrase by phrase.

For it has been granted to you – It is no accident that the Philippian believers will experience persecution and suffering. God has ordained it. The word “granted” is rooted in the same word as grace. Paul is making a bold statement here: the Philippian believers have been graced with the opportunity to believe, and to suffer because of it. That indicates that suffering is not something to be avoided at all costs. As uncomfortable as it may be, it serves a very important purpose in the life of the believer, both in Philippi and today.

On behalf of Christ – This identifies the Philippian believers with Jesus, as it does for us. We are not only called to suffer with him, but for him.

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Digging Into Logos 6

Sometimes you stumble upon a resource that is incredibly helpful for life, ministry, and almost every other area of life. For me, that resource is Logos Bible Software.

Logos 6

Let me give you a brief history. I’ve tried Bible software over the years. I have tried several different kinds. At one point, I owned a comprehensive piece of software that came on multiple CDs (remember those days?). This software was so large that I couldn’t install all of the features on my computer. I simply didn’t have the room. As a result, I wasn’t able to use it as effectively as I could.

A couple of years ago, I decided to try Logos. Version 4 was the current edition at that point, and I had several conversations with others who used it. Everyone I talked to loved it. But it was expensive. I hesitated to spend a ton of money that I may or may not utilize very well.

Later, my brother bought and raved about Logos, when version 5 came out. I decided to pull the trigger and buy it. But I went for the basic level, the bronze level. This was the cheapest level that they had available. I used this software here and there, and the companion app for the iPad and iPhone as well.

About a year ago, Logos 6 was released, and I upgraded to it, without much changing in my usage. Until I went to the North American Christian Convention last month.

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Memorize Scripture: Philippians 1:27-28

Paul may be facing the end of his days on earth. But he knows that God may choose to leave him here for a while more. Whichever may be the case, he encourages the Philippian believers to stay strong.

Take a look at this week’s passage in Philippians 1:27-28:

Philippians 1:27-28

With these verses, Paul shifts from talking about his own circumstances and begins to exhort the Philippian believers to stand strong in unity and one spirit. The only way the gospel message could be presented effectively was through a unified stance together. The same is true today.

Paul begins this exhortation with the statement, “whatever happens.” This phrase is a very emphatic marker, bringing the reader’s attention to the next words. What does Paul state next? That the Philippians should conduct themselves “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Remember, this letter is addressed to the community of believers at Philippi, so Paul is not speaking of personal holiness here, although that application can certainly hover as a secondary idea from this and other Pauline passages.

Paul’s primary concern here is for the conduct of the believers as a group, as a community. Philippi was known for their pride in their Roman citizenship. And yet, as Christians, their citizenship is in heaven. Their lives should display this, especially as a community of believers, together.

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Taking The Time To Refuel (ESD)

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How many times have you taken the time to refuel and recharge your spiritual batteries?

I don’t mean taking time on a daily basis and spending time with God. That is necessary, certainly, but I’m referring to something other than that. Something big.

This week, I am attending the North American Christian Convention. This is my first time to attend this conference, and I am looking forward to what this will bring to my spiritual life.

Worship

I am completely committed to the idea of taking a week, at least once a year, and attending some sort of conference or spiritual retreat in order to renew yourself, to refuel your spiritual life.

For the past half a dozen years, I attended Wilderness, a program of Christ In Youth, and went to Colorado each October to reconnect my spiritual life with God. That event was designed primarily for youth ministers, and I enjoyed it while I was in that role, and even for a couple of years afterwards. But this year, I decided to try something different, partly because I am in the lead role at our church now, and need to recharge myself in different ways.

And so, I chose to attend the biggest conference put on by the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ in the United States. The NACC has all the earmarks of being a phenomenal spring board for refueling my spiritual life. I’m looking forward to the week. Plus, I am alone, in a hotel room, in Cincinnati. Last night, I spent several hours going over my Life Plan and spent some significant time in God’s Word, all without distraction. That was incredible.

But why am I so sold on the idea of taking in a conference each year, or even more often if possible? Here are three reasons.

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Memorize Scripture: Philippians 1:25-26

Though Paul is torn in Philippians 1 about whether he should desire to stay on earth or depart to be with Christ, his way is clear, and this week’s passage explains why.

You can see Paul’s decision in Philippians 1:25-26:

Philippians 1:25-26

In the previous passages, Paul seems to understand that his death is near, and that he may soon be a martyr for Christ. In fact, the previous verses seem to suggest strongly that Paul was not long for this world.

But in these verses, he seems to possess a new confidence, knowing that his life would continue,at least for a while longer, in order to serve more.

It is unclear where this newfound confidence comes from. Did God reveal something to Paul? Perhaps a legal decision was made in his favor for his impending trial in Rome? We simply do not know. And from Paul’s suggestion in 2:17, his expectation of continued life may not be certain.

What we do know is that Paul will continue to serve the gospel and Christ for as long as he is able. He may long for a reunion with the people of Philippi. But if that should not happen, he is standing with them “in the faith.” In the meantime, he will “continue” with them, probably a referral to his continued prayers and love for the Philippians as they serve Christ together.

Paul’s desire is that he rejoin the Philippians soon. His presence with them once again will increase their joy. The word for “joy” here can also be translated as “boasting,” or even as “glory.” Paul’s life, especially if released to return to Philippi, would bring something of all of these definitions to the Philippian believers. Their joy would increase. They would have more reason for boasting about what God has done. And they would bring glory to Christ as a result.

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Reading The Old Testament

Have you ever really taken the time to read through the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament? Have you done so recently?

Bible Study

A lot of the time, when I encourage people to read the Bible, they begin with Genesis. That’s a great place to start, and it has a lot of incredible and foundational history laid out through its pages. Once they finish with Genesis, they move on to Exodus. Again, there is a tremendous amount of history found here.

But then they hit Leviticus and Numbers. These books are filled with tedious information about Jewish feasts and festivals, sacrifices and censuses, the tabernacle and the distribution of the Promised Land.

It is easy to get bogged down and lost in these books, and feel discouraged about continuing to read through the Bible.

I encourage people to not give up. There is a lot of incredible information found in the books of Leviticus and Numbers!

At our church, we are studying through the Bible, one book at a time, during our Wednesday evening programming. We just finished Leviticus and have moved into Numbers. But what we discovered as we studied Leviticus, and are finding as we go through Numbers, has been nothing short of amazing.