Tag: Faithfulness

Mother and daughter hugging on a chair with a Mother's Day card and flowers nearby

Honor for Honorable Commitments

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Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and we took the occasion to celebrate moms and all the godly women in our lives. Moms, you play a pretty special role in the economy of God’s advancing kingdom in this world. None of it would work the way it does without you. But your work is hard. Some days it’s really hard. This message is to offer you a bit of hope and encouragement. Your labor in the Lord will never be in vain. Blessings to you!

Honor for Honorable Commitments

Have you ever felt like the work you were doing didn’t really matter? You were trying your best, but you weren’t seeing anything you felt like were meaningful results. There are days that it takes a lot to get up and get moving. This isn’t primarily because we are physically tired, but because we are emotionally and mentally and even spiritually exhausted. We are in such a state because we have been getting up and going over and over again every day without much in the way of rest. But worse than that, we have been doing all of that without much in the way of a sense that we are really making any difference, that our efforts matter. 

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People of various ages and backgrounds warmly greeting and hugging each other at a community fellowship event

Digging in Deeper: Philippians 4:21-23

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“Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you greetings. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Another book down today. If you have been journeying with me on here for very long, we have now covered Mark, Amos, Exodus, Romans, and now, Philippians. Just 61 more to go and we will have worked our way through the whole set. Here at the end of Philippians, we find Paul’s final greetings as is typical of his letters. And, as is often the case, there’s more here than it first appears. Paul was right that all of Scripture—even the parts we don’t expect—is breathed out by God and useful for making us more like Him. Let’s talk about what’s going on here at the end and how God’s people are present even where we least expect them to be.

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Doomsday Prepping

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Jesus had a lot to say about the end of the world. He spoke of judgment as often as the prophets of old. That makes sense given that He was a prophet. He was far more than that, of course, but He wasn’t less than that. As we move forward with Luke in his story of sacrifice, we find Jesus having a conversation with the disciples about the future and judgment that was coming to Jerusalem itself and the world as a whole. It’s a wild picture. Let’s take a look at what He has to say and what it might mean for us with Easter in view.

Doomsday Prepping

Everybody knows the world is going to end at some point in the future. It’s not a matter of if; only of when. And I don’t say that simply as a Bible-believing follower of Jesus. Secular scientists tell us that at some point in the hopefully distant future the sun is going to go supernova, explode, and that’ll be the end of our solar system. Fun fact: that was not always the “common knowledge” that it is today. Used to be, all of the smartest people in the world “knew” the universe was eternal. It has always been here and would always be here. Christians with their beliefs about the end of the world with the return of Christ were so quaint and primitive. Albert Einstein famously introduced a made up fudge factor into some complicated equations he discovered that let physicists describe the universe in very mathematical terms that resulted in their showing the universe was eternal because if you solved them without that, they pointed to a finite beginning point of the universe, and he “knew” that wasn’t correct. Then science caught up with theology at about the same time that we invented weapons capable of utterly destroying the world several times over, and since then, everybody has known the world is going to end at some point in the future. 

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Morning Musing: Philippians 2:14-18

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“Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing. But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the things you learn a as a parent as that there are two ways to do something. You can do it happily or you can grumble your way through it. Well, you don’t actually learn this so much as experience it. Often. This is the kind of thing you expect from children, but adults are hardly immune from it. It is far more common than it seems like it should be for us to forget that grumbling our way along is bad for everyone. When this leaks into the church, it can make a real mess. Paul offers some counsel here to lead us in a different direction. Let’s take a look.

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But Is It Real?

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This week we are kicking off a brand-new teaching series that is going to take us through the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on Easter. For the next few weeks, we are going to be walking through Luke’s Passion Narrative beginning with Jesus’ triumphant ride into Jerusalem. These stories are perhaps families, but there is great worth in giving a fresh set of eyes to an old story. You just might be surprised what we’ll find along the way. Let’s get started with a look at Jesus’ message of judgment and how we need to adjust our lives in light of it.

But Is It Real?

Did your folks ever leave you home alone when you were a kid? Once I was old enough, mine did on occasion. And maybe your experience was like mine. Did they ever leave and by the absence of any departing instructions give you total free reign over the house and what you would do in it while they were gone? Yeah, mine didn’t do that very often either. There’s just too much trouble a kid can get into when left entirely to his own devices. What’s the solution to this problem? Why, it’s to keep them engaged with chores and projects, of course! As a result, when your parents left, you got a list. If you completed the list before they got home, that was good. If you didn’t…not so good. 

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