Saturday, February 9, 2019

God Thoughts February 9th

God Thoughts February 8

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read   Colossians 1:1-8

REMOVE the head coach, and the team flounders; break the fuel 

line and the car won’t run; unplug the electrical appliance, and it 

has no power. Whether for leadership, power, or life, connections 

are vital!     Colossians is a book of connections. Writing from 

prison in Rome, Paul combatted false teachings, which had 

infiltrated the Colossian church. The problem was “syncretism,” 

combining ideas from other philosophies and religions (such as 

paganism, strains of Judaism, and Greek thought) with Christian 

truth. The resulting heresy later became known as “Gnosticism,” 

emphasizing special knowledge (gnosis in Greek) and denying 

Christ as God and Savior. To combat this devious error, Paul 

stressed Christ’s deity—his connection with the Father—and his 

sacrificial death on the cross for sin. Only by being connected 

with Christ through faith can anyone have eternal life, and only 

through a continuing connection with him can anyone have 

power for living.

Tyndale. Life Application Study Bible NIV (Kindle Locations 103616-103618). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. 

Prayer: God grant me the serenity 
To accept the things I cannot change; 
Courage to change the things I can; 
And wisdom to know the difference. 

Living one day at a time; 
Enjoying one moment at a time; 
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 
Taking, as He did, this sinful world 
As it is, not as I would have it; 

Trusting that He will make all things right 
If I surrender to His Will; 
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life 
And supremely happy with Him 
Forever and ever in the next. 

Amen.


Friday, February 8, 2019

God Thoughts February 8th



Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read  Philippians 2:19-30

Pain isn't the worst thing.  Being hated isn't the worst thing.  Being separated from the one you love isn't the worst thing.  Death isn't the worst thing.  The worst thing is failing to deal with reality and becoming disconnected from what is actual.  The worst thing is to trivializing the honorable, desecrating the sacred.  What I do with my grief affects the way you handle your grief; together we form a community that deals with death and other loss in the context of God's sovereignty, which is expressed finally in resurrection. . .

We don't become mature human beings by getting lucky or cleverly circumventing loss, and certainly not by avoidance and distraction. Learn to lament. Learn this lamentation.  We're mortals, after all. We and everyone around are scheduled for death (mortis). Get used to it.  Take up your cross.  It prepares us and those around us for resurrection.  (Eugene Peterson Leap over a Wall; earthly spirituality for Everyday Christians.  New York Harper Collins 1997), 120,121

Prayer: God grant me the serenity 
To accept the things I cannot change; 
Courage to change the things I can; 
And wisdom to know the difference. 

Living one day at a time; 
Enjoying one moment at a time; 
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 
Taking, as He did, this sinful world 
As it is, not as I would have it; 
Trusting that He will make all things right 
If I surrender to His Will; 
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life 
And supremely happy with Him 
Forever and ever in the next. 

Amen.


Thursday, February 7, 2019

God Thoughts February 7th

God Thoughts February 7

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read  Philippians 2:12-18

The Word "Therefore” in verse 12 ties this verse to the previous section.  The previous section was Christ great example left for us all to strive toward.  When Paul writes; “Work out your salvation” in light of the preceding exhortation to unity and Christ, it may mean that the entire church was to work together to rid themselves of divisions and discord.

Some people believe that Christianity only needs to change what    
we believe. The "Way" the early community of  Jesus followers changed not just their dogma, but how they treated other people.”  The book of Philemon from last weeks sermon reminded us of the implications of the good news of Jesus is extremely personal but never private.  I recently heard it put this way; "the theology that matters is not the theology we profess but the theology we practice.

Gayle Gresham is leading a study on Wholehearted living, using the book Gifts of Imperfection which says; "I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship."  Philippians 2:5 states: " In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus"

Following the mindset of Christ enables us to find a connection in forgiveness and love.  The mindset of Christ also frees us from shame and judgment, for his sacrifice has paid for that.  That is why the early church community was known for its supernatural love for one another in Christ. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. I John 3:16.  Love well today!  And know there is nothing you can do to make Jesus love you less.  There is nothing you can do to make Jesus love you more.  The laying down of His life for us is the perfect expression of love. 

Brown, BrenĂ©. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are (p. 19). Hazelden Publishing. Kindle Edition. 


Prayer:  Jesus your life, death, and resurrection is the divine connection we all need to be assured we are seen, heard and loved.  Amen

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

God Thoughts February 6th

God Thoughts February 6

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read  Acts 19:32—41 

Paul sought others to help him in his work. Jesus also sent workers out two by two. (Matthew 10) On this occasion, his traveling companions were Aristarchus and Gaius. Paul wanted to go to the amphitheater to defend his companions, but the other believers wouldn’t let him go, fearing for his safety.

When God calls us into a relationship with himself, he joins us to a community.

Not surprisingly, recent findings in neuroscience confirm these truths. BrenĂ© Brown summarizes one researcher as follows: “In his book Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships, Daniel Goleman explores how the latest findings in biology and neuroscience confirm that we are hardwired for connection and that our relationships shape our biology as well as our experiences. Goleman writes, ‘Even our most routine encounters act as regulators in the brain, priming our emotions, some desirable, others not. The more strongly connected we are with someone emotionally, the greater the mutual force.’ It’s amazing—yet perhaps not surprising—that the connectedness we experience in our relationships impacts the way our brain develops and performs.”1 The biblical term for “connection” is community. When Jesus came to earth, he entered as part of a family and then gathered twelve disciples around him when he started his public ministry. He is rarely seen apart from community. In addition to the disciples, we read in the Gospels of significant relationships with Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Mary Magdalene, “the tax collectors and sinners,” Nicodemas, and Zaccheus. Jesus is almost always seen relating to people—whether healing their diseases, confronting their distorted beliefs about God, or proclaiming the kingdom of God to the multitudes. One of the most damaging ideas in recent Christian
theology is that it is holier to be in solitude than to be in community.  (Nelson, Heather Davis. Unashamed (p. 42). Crossway. Kindle Edition.)


Prayer:  Jesus your way is the way of connectedness to other children of God.  Holy Spirit open my eyes to those I am connected and need my connection.  Father, thank you for the church, the community we have been joined by the blood of Christ.  Amen

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

God Thoughts February 5th

God Thoughts February 5

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read  Acts 19:23-31 

Verse 23 refers to “The Way” those who followed the way of 

Christ disciples of Jesus.  What a reminder that following Christ 

is not about me getting my way-but working to establish 

His Kingdom.  Verse 26 is a reminder that little "gods" made by 

human hands are not the One True God.  His "way" will prevail!

Paul's day is interrupted by an unplanned riot in Ephesus, his 

response was to attempt to walk into the violence and preach the 

Prince of Peace.  Gaius and Aristarchus, his partners were also 

seized.  The Way of Jesus is one of doing life in a community.

My Paul was a campus minister named Greg.  New to Christ I 

interrupted his world and turned it upside down in 1985.  We 

painted his house together, we studied scripture together and he 

has been an influence for Christ's way in my life for over 30 

years.  God's ways are often unplanned interruptions.

Yesterday, in the middle of writing my devotion;  my phone rang 

with a number, I did not recognize.  I groaned mightily inwardly, 

"Do you ever do that?"  When the number rang a second time, I 

called back fearful it was an emergency,  I called back.   And 

found it was God's "way" of renewing old Koinonia with my friend 

Greg.

To walk in the "way" of Christ we have to treat the riots and 

interruptions the same as opportunities to bring Jesus, to this 

distracted world.


Prayer:  Father; praise to Creator of the world, whose ways are always good.  Jesus, praise to the Way, who lived the way perfectly and gave us a way to follow.  Holy Spirit, nudge us along the way until we are able to use all our moments for His glory. Amen

Monday, February 4, 2019

God Thoughts February 4

God Thoughts February 4

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read  Colossians 4:7-18


As you read today's passage you have a living example of Koinonia, that we talked about 

Sunday.  An example of navigating life together in Christ.  Colossians 4:7-18 Paul tells 

how;  Tychicus, Onesimus,. Aristarchus, John Mark, Justus, Epaphras, Luke, and  

Demas, bled together through experience of prison, planting churches, travel and serving Jesus.  

It is a reminder that the good news of Jesus is extremely personal but never private! One of 

the most damaging ideas in recent Christian theology is that it is holier to be in solitude 

than to be in community.  (Nelson, Heather Davis. Unashamed (p. 42). Crossway. Kindle 

Edition.) 

A contemporary Song that helps me with the concept of doing life together in Christ, is 

the Song "What Susan Said" by Rich Mullins here are the lyrics:

Two lonely-eyed boys in a pick-up truck
And they're drivin' through the rain and the heat
And their skin's so sweaty they both get stuck
To the old black vinyl seats
And it's Abbott and Costello meet Paul and Silas
It's the two of us together and we're puttin' on the mileage

And we both feel lost
But I remember what Susan said
How love is found in the things we've given up
More than in the things that we have kept
And ain't it funny what people say
And ain't it funny what people write
And ain't it funny how it hits you so hard
In the middle of the night
And if your home is just another place where you're a stranger
And far away is just somewhere you've never been
I hope that you'll remember I was your friend

Two full grown men in a huddle of kids
And they're trying to help them to believe
What is too good to be real
But is more real than the air they breathe
And it's Wally and the Beaver, David and Jonathan
It's the Love of Jesus puttin' on flesh and bone

And we both feel lost
But I remember what Susan said
How love is found in the things we've given up
More than in the things that we have kept
And ain't it funny what people say
And ain't it funny what people write
And ain't it funny how it hits you so hard
In the middle of the night
And I remember what Susan said

And ain't it funny what people say
And ain't it funny what people write
And ain't it funny how it hits you so hard
In the middle of the night
And if your home is just another place where you're a stranger
And far away is just somewhere you've never been
I hope that you'll remember, I was your friend
I hope you'll have the strength to just remember
I'm still your friend



Who are you doing life within Christ?  No-one?  Why not?

When has someone met you in the midst of trials, suffering, or shame with words or actions of grace?




Prayer: Father, when you made us in the garden, your words still echo true, it is not good for man to be alone.  Jesus, praise to the Lamb that was slain.  You died birthing the church and raised to sustain it.  May we bring new life and sustain the church today through our prayers, words, and action as we do life together in Christ!  Amen

Sunday, February 3, 2019

God Thoughts February 3rd

God Thoughts February 3

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read 1 Timothy 6:1,2

“Paul’s letter to Philemon serves as a model of Christian compassion. In many ways, it 

parallels Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, which captures the gospel in a nutshell. The 

letter speaks of failure, the need for intercession, returning, forgiveness, and 

restoration. When we read it side by side with the letter to the Colossians, we learn that 

getting relationships straight is just as important as getting doctrine straight. If we are 

genuine disciples of Christ, we will relate to our fellow believers with grace, forgiveness, 

and encouragement.

The atrocities committed by Hutus and Tutsis against one another in Rwanda and 

neighboring countries during the last decade of the twentieth century are horrific and 

difficult to fathom. A surprising statistic makes the holocaust even harder to 

understand: “Ninety percent of Rwanda’s people are professed Christians.” John D. Roth 

shares that an InterVarsity leader in the region explained that “missionaries preached a 

gospel about having a right relationship with God but not necessarily right relationships 

with one another. ‘This is why we can be 90 percent Christian yet kill in the name of 

ethnicity,’ he says.”56 Philemon helps us put things in proper perspective with its 

extraordinary emphasis on[…]”


Excerpt From: David E. Garland. “Colossians, Philemon.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/colossians-philemon/id398992905?mt=11