Pressing On in the Faith, Part II

Philippians 3: 10 -17 (NIV): I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

Paul knew he wasn't perfect – and he knew he never would be, but his goal was simple: to become more and more like Christ every day. That should be our goal too. Paul could have bemoaned in this letter how badly he was being treated. He could have complained that God had allowed him to be imprisoned for preaching the Word. He wrote this, in fact, as he awaited his sentence and he wasn't sure if he was going to live or die. Instead of complaining, though, he wrote that he had found contentment in any circumstance. He wrote that he could do all things through Christ. He wrote that life was good, but being with Jesus would be even better. Over and over in this letter he tells us to rejoice. He writes that we should pray about everything and worry about nothing.
In this passage, Paul says he was pressing on to be more like Christ no matter his circumstances. He was forgetting what was behind and straining forward like a runner in a race. Paul knew that a runner must not look back. He must forget his past mistakes and put one foot in front of the other as he pushed ahead.
In this passage, he encourages us to live up to the maturity level we have reached. This means we do not back slide or waver in our faith, but we continually move forward. And he encourages us to follow his example. Paul spent a lot of time in prayer. He ministered to others. Paul was a righteous man. He fellowshipped with other believers. He walked by faith and not by sight. He wanted the mind of Christ.
Let us press forward in our faith. Let us leave the past and move into the future knowing that each new day is a new opportunity to press on in our faith.

New Year's Resolutions

1 Timothy 6: 11 – 16 (NIV): But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time – God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

It's a new year and time for new year's resolutions. In this passage we find some spiritual resolutions. First, to pursue righteousness. Paul wrote this to Timothy, a young preacher living in a world full of greed and corruption. Paul warns him to avoid the traps of seeking quick wealth, but to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness instead. I encourage each of us to consider what our year can be like if we use our time and energy pursuing these traits.
How do we pursue godliness? This means to be more and more like God himself. He tells the truth and does not lie. He loves everyone unconditionally with a sacrificial love. He puts others first. Paul points out in this passage that Jesus “made the good confession” to Pontius Pilate. In other words, Jesus stood before him and accepted the death penalty so that we may have eternal life. Paul tells Timothy to hang on to the promise of salvation and let it rule his life until Jesus returns – or he goes to meet him.
Another resolution this year is to walk by faith and not by sight. This is the essence of Christianity. It is impossible to please God without faith, and we will never receive God's full blessings without it. Our faith is reasonable and based on rock-solid evidence, but it is still faith because, as Paul says in our passage, God cannot be seen.
To love everyone is our next resolution. With a sacrificial, unconditional love. Life is so much more joyful when we put others first. What if love truly ruled our community? We can only imagine.
Endurance is a great resolution this year because it means we stick with it and don't give up no matter what. So many of us begin our Christian walk strong and courageous, but few end that way. May we endure in our faith from the beginning to the end of this new year.
Finally, gentleness. Not only are we kind to each other, but we put up with each other's faults, realizing we have plenty of our own. We treat others as we would want to be treated and we forgive each other. How wonderful this new year can be if we will just live by these simple resolutions. Happy new year from my family to yours.

The Christmas Story in John

John 1: 1 – 14 (NIV): In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John says Jesus was the “Word”. In the Greek, this is the word “logos”. This is where we get the term “logo”, a business symbol that represents it. Jesus, then, is the “face” of God – the person in the Trinity that we can see and experience with our senses. He is the essence of God. (Paul also says this in Colossians 1:15). What does God look like? Jesus.

John says Jesus was with God and was God. He is the second person in the Trinity. He is the creator of all things.

John's good news is that God became one of us. He became flesh. He had a body. He was born. John says he “made his dwelling among us” – in the Greek, he “tabernacled” with us. This is the only Christmas mention we find in John, but I believe it tells us something Luke and Matthew leave out – when Jesus was born – during the Feast of Tabernacles. John reminds us that he didn't just hear about Jesus, he walked with him, heard him speak, touched him with his hands, and saw him day after day.

John says everyone who believes in Jesus' name is given the right to become one of God's children. To be born again. The message of Christmas is that God became one of us and gives eternal life to all who believe.