Today is Memorial Day, a day we remember the men and women who "wrote a blank check made payable 'To My Country' for an amount 'up to and including my life.'" Similarly, we are said to have given our lives to the One who first gave His life for us. But is our "check" really blank? And do we really trust the One to whom we've written it? These are questions to sit on, questions to ponder. Our answers will determine whether we truly live a gospel-centered faith marked by rejoicing, thankfulness, prayer, and peace. This week, Paul and Matt brought us back to the basics, the foundation of our faith, and Kathy Miles went right back there with them. Let's join in on the discussion by considering Kathy's response to this revolutionary lesson in Gospel 101.
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| "…we want new revelation while at the same time we refuse to be obedient to what we already know. We demand to be taught something new. But it makes no sense to graduate on to an advanced class when we've never cleared the basics. In biblical terms, what we call the basics of Christianity - the gospel of Jesus Christ - is in reality both the beginner's level and the advanced class!" ("To Live Is Christ, To Die is Gain," pg. 132) |
Chapter 8
Centering on the gospel: Matt tells us of our desire for new revelation, but the gospel of Jesus Christ will continue to give us depths of wisdom and new insights every day throughout our life. We do not need new “light” but new “ sight” - to dwell on what Christ has done for us and who we are in Him. He gives us three practical examples to center on the gospel: discipleship, remembering our citizenship, and anticipating heaven.
Our identity: how easy it is to think of my identity in the usual terms- I am a wife, mom, mom mom and nurse - to go “outside” of Him, as Matt describes to find our identity. My identity may be determined by earthly things - “my” things - and this is not what God’s word tells me. My identity is based on what Christ has done. It is about what is inside of me, not the outside, and what is inside of me is Jesus. I have found that there is a conflict within me at times. I know that every good gift is from the Lord and is treasured by me, but that I must always remember that He is the greatest treasure.
This leads me to Matt’s discussion on anticipating heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven, not here on earth. Yes, we are here for awhile, but passing through and when we think of eternity, our time here is very short. The book we are reading really describes this, "To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain" (Philippians 1:21). Do I live each day this way - trying to keep my eyes fixed on Him, being obedient to His commands, resting in His sovereign will? Do I feel at rest that, when I die, I will spend eternity with Christ my Savior?
I confess that I do not always live this way each day. My son shared a Tim Keller quote with me, and I share it with all of you, "Everything you’ve EVER longed for will be multiplied by a trillion in your heart in that first second before God."
Chapters 9-10
"Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice" (Philippians 4:4). Matt brings us to this command and notes that "rejoice" is said two times in the same verse. I know this is God’s will for us to rejoice in all things. But in everything? Yes, of course we rejoice when the sky is blue and we are at peace with our world. What of the days when everything goes wrong - sickness, death, tragedy, financial issues, divorces, addictions? Yes, we are told to rejoice. How can this be possible? Matt points us to God’s word in Philippians 4:5 which tells us, “let your reasonableness be known to everyone because the Lord is at hand." Then Deuteronomy 10:14 which tells us, “Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heavens of heavens, the earth with all that is in it." The Lord is at hand, close to us and sovereign over everything. It is He who created the heavens and earth. When life is completely out of control, He is not. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and we can rejoice in knowing this. A sermon I once heard spoke of Romans 8:28, the well known verse that says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose." The pastor called this verse “ the pillow on which the troubled believer may lay her head”.
It seems to come down to trust. Are we able to rejoice in the Lord during our easy and hard days having this knowledge within us? I know that I do not always feel completely at peace when very upsetting events occur and that brings me to chapter 9 which Matt titles: No worries. Oh boy, I come from a long line of worriers and I know this is a recurring issue for me. I love the verse in Philippians 4:6 that speaks to us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God." I love how the Lord tells us to not be anxious, but that is not the end of our instruction. He tells us how we can stop our anxiety - to cast our cares on him - prayer. We can pour out our love, confession, concerns and needs to Him. Hebrew 4:16 tells us, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." We give Him our anxious thoughts. We are also told to pray with thanksgiving. Matt tells us this should be a humble type of thanksgiving - knowing Jesus hears our prayers when we cry out to Him. Again, I believe trust is at the essence of this because every spoken prayer is not always answered in the manner that we may hope. His will, not my will. Back again to remind myself that every breath I take is under His sovereign control, and that Jesus is always good, merciful and just.
This blog post could go on for awhile, but I will end with verses from a well known Gaither song:
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future
and life is worth the living just because He lives…
***
Hmmmm… somehow the basics, the beginner's level of the gospel seems revolutionary when taken out of fantasy land and applied to the real stuff of everyday life. Really trusting God means giving God our lives, our children's lives, surrendering our will, and centering all of our hope on God and the promise of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. It may be Gospel 101, but it isn't easy. In fact, its impossible to do apart from a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Kathy raised so many thought-provoking questions in her discussion of our reading this week. What about you? How did you respond to the challenge of a truly gospel-centered faith that is marked by rejoicing, thankfulness, prayer, and peace? Please take time to share your comments or questions with the group. It is so encouraging to read what God is stirring in each of our hearts.
This week, we are finishing up the book with Chapters 11 & 12! Can you believe it?!
For those of you planning to join us for our upcoming study, time is running out! Please order your workbook and mark your calendars! "Children of the Day" is starting, Tuesday (not Monday!), June 3rd. Here again is the link to order the workbook for our next online study, "Children of the Day" by Beth Moore:http://www.lifeway.com/Product/children-of-the-day-1-2-thessalonians-member-book-P005600950?intcmp=COTDA-MTX-Text-Member-20140421
Be sure to keep each other in prayer throughout the week, and then check back next Monday to discuss our final two chapters!
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ… Philippians 3:20, ESV
3 comments:
Hello All,
Matt refers to the word “supplication” in Chapter 10, page 174. He says “Supplication prayers are ‘help me!’ prayers. I have read Phil. 4:6 many times, but never understood it as “help me!” That is so often my state of mind and spirit when I am in prayer and that interpretation gives me comfort. It’s amazing how God finds ways to speak to us!
Phil 4:8 has had a true impact on me here. I, like many others, had challenging teenage years and often I would focus on the things that were negative during that time. Upon studying this verse this time and reading Matt’s example on page 179, God has been finding ways for me to remember many of the good, true, excellent things that did occur during that time and it has been wonderful. I have a choice of whether to focus on the bad or the good and it is by staying prayerfully in the Word that I can find the discipline to focus on those good things. Again, it’s amazing how God works!
Connie Hill says:
I like when Paul says people in church should dwell together in unity of the gospel and build up each other in love, providing soil for the roots of joy. Another point is how Jerimiah says nothing is too hard for the Lord and everything is the Lord's. I worry a lot so reading the no worries chapter helped me remember ..."do not be anxious about anything". "Trust in the Lord."
Chapter 8 really hit me when I read it. We looked at the three means of gospel centeredness: 1) discipleship; 2) remembering our citizenship; and 3) anticipating heaven. For whatever reason, God chose to really speak to me on the issues of remembering our citizenship and anticipating heaven. In fact, I haven't really stopped thinking about this since I read it. I was actually trying to work on my post for the final two chapters this week, and I felt that I couldn't continue until I came back to these chapters and put into words some of the mystery I believe He's been showing me...
Our citizenship is in heaven. (Phil 3:20) Repeat that sentence a couple of times. No, seriously. Repeat it. Our citizenship is in heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven.
How about this one: For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6, NLT) Mull that one over in your mind for a minute and then tell me the truth - does anyone else wanna ask, "Huh?" We are SEATED (presently?) in the heavenly realms united with Christ Jesus. Huh?
I don't know… you know me. I'm still very much at the beginning of this puzzle. I don't know how this all fits together. But track with me for a minute… In Hebrews 2:14-15, we read that Jesus took on flesh (a limited physical body) so as to defeat death and set us free. But that body didn't change the fact that Jesus was/is God. What about us? We've got a body - a body that gets tired, gets sick, gives birth, works, sleeps, eats, is limited by time and space. But does that change who we are spiritually? We have the firstfruits of the Spirit of God within us!!! We are just waiting on the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23) We need our bodies to work together with our Spirit, yes. But really, our bodies are just a dying shell awaiting redemption. As children of the Living God, we are confined to this weak vessel. But this is not our hope.
Satan wants us to doubt who we are, to disproportionally care about the comforts of this dying body, to hope in what we CAN see, and to doubt what we cannot see. But hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:24-25)
Satan called into question (and I believe (if possible) wanted Jesus to doubt) that He is the Son of God (Matthew 4:6). He wanted Jesus to jump off a cliff and kill his own body! But we all know - Jesus wouldn't do it. Jesus gave His life to do the will of He who sent Him (John 6:38). His life belonged to His Father. And Jesus's death was the same. His death was also submitted to His Father's will.
I'm not sure how it all works out. I don't understand how God uses my limited, weak, living body to bring Himself glory. I don't know what redemption this body from death will be like. But I believe all the more that my citizenship is in heaven, and I'm eagerly awaiting it. To live is Christ, to die is gain.
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