Photo of the Week: August 17, 2016

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Don Merritt

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Great Advice

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Don Merritt

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:8-9

There is a principle in these two verses that I think people tend to miss, one that is critical to healthy and happy living.  These two verses are quoted often, I’ve even heard them quoted to “prove” that we shouldn’t use bad language, but to me, that sort of thing really misses the point. Let’s see if we can find a little more than meets the eye here.

Notice that verse 8 begins with the word “finally.” This should clue us in to the fact that Paul is summing up everything he’s been teaching in the letter, and this should tell us there is a larger context here.  Paul tells us that we should take note of whatever we find along our life’s path that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy and think about them.  Notice that excellent and praiseworthy are set apart so as to sum up the others. Notice also the way he says we should think about them: “Think about such things.”  This tells us more that we should be focusing on these kinds of things, which rather expands the focus from the specific instance, to the category at large.  To put it another way, we are to focus our minds and attention to things that are excellent and worthy of praise, rather than on things that are not.

Don’t rush through this, for it is very significant advice.  Ask yourself what is not included in this, and I think you’ll end up with a list of things that we usually think about; our problems, our feelings about things, our little resentments, our little hurts and things that aren’t uplifting. Surely the kinds of things Paul wants us to be thinking about wouldn’t include our circumstances, illnesses and pains, but would instead include the kinds of things that would inspire us to greatness, and to service of humanity. Now you can see how Paul has been able to have such a positive attitude in his imprisonment.

He wraps up with this statement:

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

This is one of those “if – then” statements. Put into practice the things Paul has taught and God will be with you.  By implication, if you don’t put them into practice, you’ll likely find yourself far from God. Now if I was to make such a remark, your eyebrows would surely rise for who am I?   But by the time he was writing this, Paul had proven himself as the Apostle of Christ, the things that he has taught the people have been from God and for the sake of His purpose; they are the things that will put each of us firmly within God’s purpose and will. Paul has taught us how to be in fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ, and when we dwell in this place, His presence and peace are surely with us.

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Jesus: God’s Word

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Don Merritt

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Hebrews 1:1-4

Here we are at the beginning of a tour of a new book from the New Testament, my very favorite book of all, a book that will show you how the Old and New Covenants come together, a book that will both challenge and encourage each one of us.  I sure hope that you will have the time and inclination to be fed and encouraged on our tour: Here we go!

The book begins with a bang in these four verses!  Take a minute to drink them in; they are simply amazing.  Look first of all at the contrast between God’s former ways, and His ways now.  In the past, He spoke through the prophets.  Now, He speaks directly by His Son.  Can you see the difference?  In the Old Testament, there is always an intermediary, but in the New Testament, God speaks directly to us by His Son; this is a paradigm shift of massive proportions.  This Son by whom God speaks is not just some kid, He is not only heir of all things, He is also the one by and through whom God created the entire universe.  When God spoke the words “let there be light” it was the Son’s lips that were moving… Just let that sink in… This is a huge statement. There’s more coming, catch this one:

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. The “radiance” of God’s glory!  Jesus Christ is the radiance of God’s glory, and God sent Him to be with us, to teach us, to have relationships with us… and to die for us.  It’s one thing to be amazed at God’s unending love for us in sending His Son to die for us, but when you combine that kind of love with just exactly who this Jesus is… WOW!

Jesus is also the “exact representation of His being”:  Jesus is in fact God. This is what Jesus meant when He said “the Father and I are one.”  WOW! If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. If you want to know what God thinks, look at Jesus. If you want to know if God loves you, look at Jesus on the cross.

“…sustaining all things by his powerful word.”  Ever wonder why the planets don’t just fly off into space?  Ever wonder why the seasons keep coming at the right time after all of these years?  Ever wonder who made up the laws of physics, of nature, of right and wrong? Ever wonder why your head doesn’t explode?  The entire universe is sustained by His Word!  Ever wonder why so many people seek to denigrate the Bible? Now you know why; it is His Word. It is so powerful that it could call the universe into existence.  It is nothing to be trifled with, as so many philosophers have found out. It is a force that we cannot even begin to fathom, and God sent Him to give us direct access to Him.  If this does not inspire you, then maybe you need to see if you can still fog a mirror!

After He finished His work on the earth, He was returned to the glory from whence He had come, superior to the angels, yes. Superior to all living beings everywhere? Yes. This is our Savior, with whom we have a relationship.  I wonder, do we value that relationship as we ought?

Hebrews is simply an awesome book. I think you’ll see as we continue going through it, that it is like no other.

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Rejoice in the Lord Always

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Don Merritt

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7

The final chapter of Philippians is largely personal in nature, and I like to think of it as taking place at a certain stop on a longer journey; Paul is giving some last instructions before heading off, and we are getting set to head off on a different road.  In a way, that’s what was really happening at the time. Paul was going into the final stretch before heading home to glory, but the Philippians still had a long trail ahead before they would cross the river.

These verses comprise another very memorable bit of advice from Paul, one of his last to Philippi, and they are as full of significance today as they were almost 2,000 years ago. As we head off in our journey, Paul reminds us to rejoice in the Lord always.

For emphasis, he repeats his admonition; I can only imagine how that struck the Philippians, aware as they were of Paul’s situation. If Paul can rejoice in his situation, how can we not rejoice in ours?  Then this man who was awaiting the judgment of Caesar that would send him to the executioner’s block tells the Philippians to be sure that their gentleness is evident to all; amazing.

He reminds us that the Lord is near, so we shouldn’t be anxious about anything, and sends us right into His presence as he encourages us to be in prayer. We are to present our prayers and petitions to God with thanksgiving, and the peace of God that “transcends all understanding” will guard our hearts and minds.  I just can’t help but think that this would have made a big impression to the Philippians, as it has to so many ever since.

I would like to suggest that we all spend a little time reflecting on these words while remembering the circumstances that Paul found himself in when he penned them, and to ask our Lord to show us where He wants us to go next on our journey through this life.

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The View From Up Here

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Don Merritt

Sometimes I like to go to a high place and look down; you can see a lot from up here.  Down there on the streets of town you can see the details, but it’s hard to take in the whole thing… your view gets blocked by the buildings, the traffic, the people…

Up here you can see the whole town at once and how it fits into the terrain, you can see the hills, the river and the railroad tracks, and you can see how everything is laid out… a little like looking at a map but with the rooftops plainly in view.  I wonder what goes on in all of those buildings, how old they are, who went inside a hundred years ago…  The view from up here makes me think about things, and it also helps my mind to wander outside of the everyday kind of stuff…

…And after that you can look to the side and get some perspective on the scene; remember that your feet are still on the ground; the view is wide and high, but reality remains.

In a funny way, these kind of views are a lot like the Bible; you get an eternal view but your feet are still on solid ground.  God’s Word contains the wisdom of the ages, but remains entirely practical.  You can find out what people did thousands of years ago and come to realize that little has really changed.  You can also discover that like the town in these pictures, the Universe and our lives were laid out with a plan; everything is in its place and relates in a logical way with everything else… and you can also see that God has a plan for each one of us.

Just like the town, the people don’t always follow the plan, sometimes people do the wrong thing, that’s why the town has a jail and a court… and in our lives sometimes we don’t follow God’s plan and we come to wish we had followed it…  And of course, we discover in the Bible that God’s plan covers a lot more time than just our lives; it’s eternal.  It’s a lot like this little town.  It’s been there for a long time; it was the home of General Grant before and after the Civil War.  It will be there long after I leave… It might be a good idea to get with the plan!

Yep, I really like to visit high places, it really helps to get my head screwed on straight.

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Paul’s Plea

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Don Merritt

All of us, then, 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.

Philippians 3:15-16

Following his great rallying cry of verses 12-14, Paul will make a plea to the Philippians and by extension to us, to continue forward in Christ. He begins with these two verses.  This is a transition into his exhortation for us to follow his example. You can see that by the way he links the two sections with the first sentence, yes; we who are mature should take the view that he has expressed, and if we find ourselves disagreeing on some point, don’t worry for God will sort things out.  I sure wish more Christians in our time would take this view!

Notice he goes on to urge us to live up to what we have already attained, which moves us to his larger exhortation. Before we get to that exhortation, maybe we should ask ourselves what it is that we have attained. By our faith we have entered relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and received forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. In chapter one he urged us to be “worthy of the gospel” and now he urges us to “live up to what we already attained”.

Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Philippians 3:17-21

Here is the exhortation; Paul is urging the people to follow his example, and the example of others who live as he does.  Because of this, it is quite clear that he is talking about the way we all live; follow the example of the way he and certain others live. This is an important distinction, for many say all of the right things and live quite differently.

Pay careful attention to verses 18 and 19: Many live a different kind of life than Paul does a life that leads to destruction.  My first question about this would be, “Just exactly who are we talking about?” My first impulse is to assume that he must be talking about unbelievers, to make a distinction between Christians and non-Christians; some might even want to toss in the concept of phony Christians or fake Christians, or Christians who aren’t “really” saved.  I’d prefer to leave that kind of speculation to others; they are probably much smarter than I am if they can make such judgments. I’ll ‘play it safe’ and stick with the context.  Since Paul is sending this message to Christian believers, I must infer that he thinks it is possible for Christians to follow the wrong path, thus the warning; otherwise the warning is pointless and sent to the wrong people. Are there Christians that we might know of (or be) who live for the things of this world and neglect the heavenly priorities of Christ? If so, we should not follow their example.

Our citizenship is in heaven! Our priorities must be on heavenly things. As citizens of heaven, we must concern ourselves with the mission that Jesus has given us, to love others, to put their interests ahead of our own in true humility, and to share the awesome gospel of Jesus Christ, for this is the way that will lead us to our reward. It is also the reason that Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians.

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As a new day begins…

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Don Merritt

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…each of us will face its challenges. There will be circumstances that develop, circumstances over which we may not have any control, circumstances that we simply cannot fix or that are bigger and stronger than we are. Some will surmount those situations and circumstances; others will be swept up by them which will it be for you?

There were two boats sailing in the bay. A stiff wind swept into the area blowing in the direction of the rocks and away from the harbor. The pilot of one of the boats was taken closer and closer to the rocks, its pilot having great difficulty controlling his course as the wind blew him closer and closer to disaster. Yet the pilot of the other boat adjusted his sails and set his course against the wind toward the safe harbor, for he knew that a good sailor can use the same wind and still sail against it. The minutes went by as one boat approached its end on the rocks and the other approached the safe harbor…

When all was said and done, the first sailor was lucky to have survived, and the other wrapped up an enjoyable day of sailing.

As we approach this new day, we can either be wrecked on the rocks of our circumstances or we can let God direct our course into the safe harbor of His loving arms, for just as two boats can sail in opposite directions in the same wind, we can move in opposite directions in response to our circumstances. In the case of sailing, the difference is training and skill. In the case of our life’s circumstances, it is seeking God’s presence that makes the difference.

Which way will we sail today?

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Be strong in grace

Posted on August 14, 2016 by Don Merritt

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Even in the most difficult of times

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Don Merritt

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Onward!

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Don Merritt

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, 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.

Philippians 3:12-14

In the verses we covered in the last section, Paul was telling us about giving up his past to follow Christ to salvation and eternal life, and you will recall that he called all of his past accomplishments “garbage” in comparison to what he would gain as a follower of Jesus. Now, in some of the most memorable verses in the whole New Testament, Paul tells us that he still has a way to go before he will reach his goal. Before we get into these verses, I would like to remind you that he is still speaking in the context of being “worthy of the gospel” which is a theme he began back in the first chapter.

Verse 12 is quite telling: Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. If we aren’t careful, we might misunderstand this verse. At first glance, it would seem to mean that Paul hasn’t yet arrived at Christ-like perfection, and that would be true. However, is that what Christ took hold of Paul for? Is that what He took hold of you for? Is that why Christ died on the cross? No, it clearly is not why Christ “took hold” of Paul or any of us, for in order for Christ to take hold, He first had to die, so we need to take the cross into account. As I see it, the key to understanding this lies back in verses 10-11: I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.  Why did Christ die on the cross? It was for forgiveness of sins, that we might receive the gift of eternal life (John 3:16). What was Paul’s goal in all of this, and what is he urging us to embrace? The same thing (Phil. 3:11). Paul has not yet attained the goal of eternal life; he is still alive in the body, so there is still work to on this earth.

Let’s be careful that we don’t stray too far from the path here; it isn’t that Paul is seeking to earn his salvation, for that is assured through grace by faith.  Paul is still in this life concerned with his response to salvation, and that’s where being Christlike comes in.  Paul’s goal is eternity, his journey to eternity is by imitating Christ and spreading the gospel, and by the way, that’s our journey as well.  See how all of this comes together?  Simple!

Brothers and sisters, 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.

Philippians 3:13-14

Thus, Paul ties this together for us with a rallying cry that has spanned two millennia, thrilling the followers of Jesus, encouraging all of us to strive to take the gospel to the nations, and moving us to minister to one another in His love.  This is where Paul takes his stand, and this is where we stand with him for the cause of Christ.

In the next brief section, Paul will call upon the Philippians to copy his example, and bring glory to God in the process, but for that we’ll have to wait until next time.

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