I am studying the book of Philippians and want to share some insights which I am learning through this great Book in the New Testament. My Pastor has preached through this book in the past and I have heard others speak on it, but am enjoying studying it for myself. Philippians has been very challenging to me.
First, I want to look at the Apostle Paul, the writer of Philippians. Things I have observed from Chapter One and can learn from Paul:
1. Have a heart for the Gospel. Live you life worthy of the Gospel (Phil. 1:27-30)
2. See life through the lens of Christ.
3. Always seek to honor Christ with my body. (Phil. 1:19-21)
4. I should be in conflict with anything in opposition to Christ.
Next, All things are done for the Gospel! The Gospel was at the heart of Paul's ministry. All of life was to be lived in light of the Gospel.
His imprisonment was-
1. To advance the gospel (Phil. 1:12) How often do we have a "pity party" when something goes wrong in our life, yet it can be viewed so differently. God can use what is going on in our lives to advance His Gospel!
2. To confirm the Gospel (Phil 1:15-16)
He also calls for the Philippians, as well as me-
1.To live a life worthy of the Gospel (Phil. 1:27)
2.To strive for faith in the Gospel (Phil 1:27)
Paul was talking to the Philippians in that passage, but I think that the truth applies to the lives of believers today as well. We should be living lives that make the Gospel beautiful, lives that make God look great. We also should be "striving for faith" with our fellow believers.
Lastly, we will look at joy.
1. Joy comes through prayer. (Phil 1:3, 18b-19)
2. Joy comes through faith. (Phil1:25)
Our circumstances should not steal our joy. Joy is something deeper than where we are in life, it is rooted in our faith!
I look forward to learning more and sharing what I learn.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
What a HUGE Disappointment!
Last night we rented the movie One Night With the King. I had been looking forward to seeing this movie because I love the Biblical account of Esther . It is an amazing story of how God takes care of His people and how He uses ordinary people to do incredible things. So... we rented it. I had not really followed the reviews when the movie first came out and I was not even sure if it would be good. Well, that leads us to the title of this post "What a HUGE disappointment!!"
First of all, the entire focus of the movie was not on God, nor did it follow the Scriptures (they did have some facts, but they were few). I think a more appropriate title would have been Haman and His Revenge or The Jewish Necklace. My choice for these two titles would be for the fact that the plot of this movie seemed to be only about those things. Haman was angry and wanted revenge on the Jews and Esther had a necklace that when it was in the light, it would show the star of David.
I am ok with them adding in some conversations that seem to be relevant. We do not know some of the exact words that were spoken because the Bible does not give "word for word" all of the time. But they completely changed parts of the story that were very important. The movie added characters that were not needed and frustrated me beyond belief!
I do not know why we feel that we need to add or take things away from the Bible. It is jammed full of action, love, failing, victory, battle, romance, truth, evil, good... you name it and it is in the Bible. So why would we need to change any of it. The story I watched last night was meaningless and very heartbreaking to me. The truth that is in God's Word is so amazing. It breaks my heart that they made it seem so trivial and pointless.
So needless to say, I did not like the movie- if you couldn't tell!
I pray that we do not make the same mistake when we read and study God's Word. We need not add or subtract anything from it.
First of all, the entire focus of the movie was not on God, nor did it follow the Scriptures (they did have some facts, but they were few). I think a more appropriate title would have been Haman and His Revenge or The Jewish Necklace. My choice for these two titles would be for the fact that the plot of this movie seemed to be only about those things. Haman was angry and wanted revenge on the Jews and Esther had a necklace that when it was in the light, it would show the star of David.
I am ok with them adding in some conversations that seem to be relevant. We do not know some of the exact words that were spoken because the Bible does not give "word for word" all of the time. But they completely changed parts of the story that were very important. The movie added characters that were not needed and frustrated me beyond belief!
I do not know why we feel that we need to add or take things away from the Bible. It is jammed full of action, love, failing, victory, battle, romance, truth, evil, good... you name it and it is in the Bible. So why would we need to change any of it. The story I watched last night was meaningless and very heartbreaking to me. The truth that is in God's Word is so amazing. It breaks my heart that they made it seem so trivial and pointless.
So needless to say, I did not like the movie- if you couldn't tell!
I pray that we do not make the same mistake when we read and study God's Word. We need not add or subtract anything from it.
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