Philippians

Swimming Lessons

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

None of you should think only of his own affairs but should learn to see things from other people’s point of view. Let Christ himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. Philippians 2:4-5 J. B. Phillips NT

 “He’s touching me dad! Our six-year-old suddenly yelled. Trying not to take my eyes off the road, I shouted back, “What’s going on?”  “He was looking at me!” came the squealing retort from his younger brother, who was smirking, and my wife would roll her eyes, trying not to laugh. Just like that precious memory, most of us have discovered that being a part of a family means more than just giving flowers for Valentine’s Day or taking mom out to her favorite restaurant on Mother’s Day. Being a family includes, putting up with dad’s smelly feet, listening to big brother snore and having to tell someone we are sorry because said something we shouldn’t have (again!) Some days it feels like we are drowning in conflicts, and we decide it is easier to avoid going more than ankle deep into the water. Now today’s verse doesn’t offer us an escape from the ocean of relationships, but it does offers us three swimming lessons!

Photo by Helena Jankoviu010dovu00e1 Kovu00e1u010dovu00e1 on Pexels.com

Lesson one: stop thinking only about our own affairs. Stop telling God, “My brother (or sister) is touching me!” Start realizing that maybe that pesky sibling feels lonely and simply needs someone to pay attention. Maybe that older neighbor who is complaining about all the noise our kids are making, could use a plate of homemade cookies and someone to sit and have coffee with them. Maybe that store clerk with nineteen tattoos and a nose ring, could use a smile, a friendly word, or a moment of eye contact to tell them they have value to someone.

Lesson two: “Learn to see things from other people’s point of view.” Yes, that even includes, Republicans, Democrats, Communists, Muslims, and (you fill in the blank). Seeing things from their point of view doesn’t mean agreeing with their world view, it just means looking out through their living room window. Maybe while we a taking glance from where they sit, we will see ourselves, hear the words we have spoken and walk a little differently down their sidewalk tomorrow. Maybe we will stop shouting, “He was looking at me!” and start really looking at them the way God intended.

Lesson three: Let Christ’s attitude be our example. While Jesus was being whipped in front of Pilate, He didn’t shout, “Father, they are touching me!” While He was being stripped naked and nailed to the cross, He never once complained, “They are looking at me!” And as He died, Jesus didn’t smirk thinking, “They are really going to get in trouble now!” Instead, He cried out, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus didn’t come to earth to get even with us, He came to make us family, and He gave His life to do so. For us to be members of His family we all need swimming lessons, and God in His grace is offering them to us for free!

A Leap of Faith

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Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. 
Philippians 3:12-13 ESV

With tomorrow night being New Year’s Eve, I was reminded of a summer evening back in 1969. That night, a group of us teenagers drove down to a bridge over the Housatonic River we called the “Silver Bridge.” Some of us were excited, while others were secretly afraid of the challenge before us of jumping off that bridge into the water below. That leap of faith had become the local rite of passage standing between the comfort of childhood and the adventure of adulthood (at least we so imagined!) As I stood peering into the dark water below, I knew that once my feet left the bridge deck, there would be no turning back.

When the Apostle Paul wrote the words of today’s verse, he also stood on the edge of a bridge. Though the dangers that awaited Paul while he awaited trial were far more dire than ours, he did not face them with fear. Though Paul knew that the path ahead of him was not going to be an easy walk through the park, he says that he was straining forward with all his might towards the goals God had given him. That word “Straining,” in the Greek means “Reaching out toward something.” Paul was standing at the edge of his own bridge, and he chose to take the plunge, while reaching out for what God had for him. At the edge of our New Year, we also have a choice to make. Either we can stand frozen in place wishing we had courage to jump, or we can take our own leap by faith. To plunge into the river of God’s purposes and plans for the year ahead, then our feet must leave the safety of the bridge deck. If we are to strain forward towards the goals that God has placed before us, then we must decide to let go of the past and things that we cannot hold onto, to take hold of the eternal prize that God has promised to give us through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Hitting God’s Target

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
For if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?                       
1 Corinthians 4:8 KJV

Often in this time when we have the potential to reach a worldwide audience through social media, it is easy to begin chasing likes, followers, or pages read. But God’s purpose for us as Christian writers is to tell the stories that He has written on our hearts and share them in a way that people can understand. Though there is no one way to go about doing that, here are three simple ideas that I have learned along the way.

  1. Focus on God’s Target – When politicians speak, we know that they want to win elections. When prosecutors present their cases, we can be confident that they hope the defendant is found guilty. But when a Christian writer puts pen to paper the first question they should ask is “not, “How can I gain followers, but rather, “What does God want to say?” Every good story we have begins with Him. Our personal beefs, opinions and goals become secondary. But when our hearts and minds are surrendered to Him, He often cracks heaven’s blinds just enough for us to see His target.
  • Accuracy Matters! Did you know that one of the things Jesus said the most was, “I tell you the truth “If accuracy mattered to Jesus, how much more with us! Accuracy means both checking we are presenting things with a solid biblical basis, as well as checking that ALL the details we are sharing, line up with the facts (just how big was that fish?). God will only guide an arrow to the target when we shoot it with the bowstring of truth. Few things have been more disheartening to me than discovering that a supposed “true story” that I read, turned out to be phony, exaggerated, or manipulated for financial gain. But if we tell the truth in all its details with love, then others can be built up, corrected or inspired.
  • Get to the Point! An arrow penetrates its target because it comes to a point. Long introductions on why we are telling our story, along with a variety of rabbit trails simply dull our message. I am inspired by the Apostle Paul writing from a Roman prison to the church in Philippi, tells his friends no less than nine times to rejoice, culminating with “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Philippians 4:4. In his entire letter, Paul didn’t once complain about the food, the cold, or the unsanitary conditions in the jail. If Paul sitting on death row could get right to the point, then why can’t we? So, friends, lets focus on the target, check our details, and let our arrows fly!
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