Cycle of Life

Philippians 2:12-13

When I went away to college, my Dad told me he expected a letter a week from me. I’m not sure if he said this because he was going to miss me, or if this was his way to try to control me… or maybe both.

 Paul had a very close relationship with the Philippian believers. Like a parent, he had invested himself deeply into their lives. Now he was separated from them so that all he could do was pray for them and write this letter.

¹² Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.      NLT

Paul had invested himself in the Philippians, and now they were to do the same with others. In a very real way, God’s plan is for you to be involved in this same spiritual cycle. A cycle where God is as much involved as you are.

⁶ And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.    Philippians 1 NLT

 ¹³ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.             Philippians 2 NLT 

The “cycle of life” includes preparing your children for the day when they will leave your home with the intent that they will become an independent, mature adult. Then, possibly someday, they will raise a family of their own.

God has called us to be involved in the spiritual “cycle of life”. The first person He called to this was Abram.

“I will make you into a great nation,

    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.”       Genesis 12:2 NIV

This cycle of life promise is still valid today for you and me. Whose life are you involved in? Who is God using you to bless?

The Big Picture

Ephesians 3:1-3

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%203%3A1-3&version=NIV;ESV

 

You may be familiar with the “parable of the talents” in Matthew 25. A land owner gives one of his servants five talents; to another 2; and to another 1 talent. Each servant

was a steward over the talent(s) they were given.

 

However, you may not be as familiar with the concept of being a steward of God’s grace. Paul was. He wrote about it in Ephesians 3.

 

² …assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, ³ how the mystery was made known to me… ⁶ This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ESV

 

Paul is taking a Big Picture look at his life and his ministry. He didn’t focus on his past, feeling guilty about how he aggressively persecuted the church to the extreme of imprisonment and even death. And he didn’t focus on his current circumstances while writing this letter in prison potentially feeling powerless or sorry for himself.

 

Instead, Paul focused on the calling he had from God to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. Paul was a steward of all that God had given him which included his calling.

 

In the same way, God has given each of us, you and I, a calling on our life. It is up to us

to look at the Big Picture, not the past or the present, and to be good stewards of His Grace.

 

In looking at the Big Picture of your life, ask yourself, what are the “talents” that God has given you to be a steward over? How can you use those “talents” to spread the Gospel of Christ? To build the Kingdom of God? What desires has He given you to touch the lives of others?

 

Paul concludes his look at the Big Picture in Ephesians with a powerful prayer for the Gentile believers. His prayer is just as powerful for you and me today.

 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power,

together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.                       NIV

 

 

Good Job Joe Boy

Matthew 3:13-17

The last football game that my Dad ever saw me play I wanted to make him proud. It was my senior year of high school, but my parents were moving to Kentucky while I stayed in Michigan. This was it; my final chance to win his approval; to make him proud. My last chance to hear him say, “Good job Joe Boy”.

With those four words he could have sent me on my way ready to tear down walls. After all, this was going to be a big change for me. I wouldn’t be living with my parents anymore. The people who had raised me, provided for me and made my life secure were moving, leaving me behind. Fear, insecurity and the anxiety of the unknown all waited for me like a dark closet in my bedroom.

Imagine how Jesus might have felt as he approached his cousin John about baptizing him. He was about to set out on his earthly ministry. We don’t know how much of the specifics Jesus knew of what awaited him, but for sure he had at least an inclination that a painful, sacrificial death would end his life. That by itself, would be more than enough for fear, insecurity and anxiety to stop him in his tracks.

 ^16-17 “The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”                       MSG

With these words, God affirmed His son. He gave Jesus the strength and courage to go forward. He gave him the love and affirmation to face an unknown future that promised to hold both miraculous events and painful ones. He lifted Jesus up to prepare him for three years of high-intensity spiritual battles.

I never heard my Dad say those words to me: “Good job Joe Boy”. But every time that I read God’s word, He says them to me. Every year when I celebrate the birth of His son, He says them to me. Every Easter when I remember the risen Christ, He says them to me. Every worship song that I sing, He says them to me.

 He says the same message to you. “You are my Son, my daughter, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” By saying this, He gives you the courage and strength to face your fears, insecurities and anxiety of an unknown future.

What Will Your Next Step Be?

Ephesians 2:1-10

 

Have you ever felt like God was calling you to do something?

 

There are numerous stories of people in the Bible who were called by God to action. Abram was called to go into a land he had never seen. Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt even though he was an escaped criminal. Gideon, while hiding in a wine press, was called a Mighty Warrior to lead the Israelites against the Midianites.

 

One of my favorite stories is Isaiah being called by God in the temple. It was filled with smoke and the foundations shook from the voice of the seraphim as they called out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” When Isaiah sees the holiness of God he also sees his own sin and repents. It was only then that he responded, “Here am I Lord. Send me.”

 

Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “All of us also lived among them (the disobedient) at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

 

Like Isaiah, Paul recognized his sinfulness and that only God’s mercy and grace could save him. But to what end? Paul wrote, ^“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Like Isaiah, Paul responded to God’s saving grace by saying, “Here am I. Send me.”

 

As believers, we are called to ministry. “You are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do.” He has brought people and experiences into your life that make you uniquely gifted to share his love and the Good News of Jesus Christ with others.

 

Like the stories in the Bible, we have been called to step outside of our comfort zone and go into a land we have never seen. We have been called to do things that we may not feel qualified to do. We have been called as a Mighty Warrior to battle even when we feel powerless and afraid.

 

God has gifted you, prepared you and brought you to where you are today. Now it is time for you to take the next step. What will it be?

 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202%3A1-10&version=NIV;NASB
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Eph.2.1-Eph.2.10