Ephesians 4:25

Ephesians 4:25

 

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”  NIV

 

Words are such gifts… but we handle them so loosely… sarcastic, cutting, negative, suggestive, hurtful, vulgar, selfish, sly, deceptive, false… priceless words, tools to encourage, build-up, edify turned into weapons of mass destruction.  How does this happen?  My grandmother used to say that out of the mouth came that which was fed in… feeding in sarcasm, suggestive, deceptive … no wonder much of the language today smells like vomit from a vile source.  Lord help us feed/eat purely so that we might produce words that encourage our fellow man.

 

Posted by Chris Stull, Executive Pastor

Philippians 1:2

Philippians 1:2

 

There is something nice about having things distilled down to just a few words. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, is trying to encourage the Philippians not to be discouraged by his imprisonment and that some are preaching Christ with unrighteous motives. He understands their concern but wants them to maintain focus in the midst of the challenges they are facing.

 

This desire leads Paul to summarizing Christian life in one phrase. In Philippians 1:2, Paul says: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” God’s desire is that we would have an all encompassing, all consuming desire to know Christ and serve Him fully here. And if we are to die, the joy of meeting the one who we have cultivated this relationship with would be the one we would first meet face to face.

 

Oh that I could join in Paul’s heart desire to know Christ so well and live; in word and deed, in such a way that Christ is made know to the whole world.

 

Posted by John Shapiro, Minister to Young Adults

1 Timothy 2:1

1 Timothy 2:1

 

Paul is giving instructions to his “son in the faith” Timothy about worship.  Coming before the Lord in an attitude of total surrender when he writes, “I urge,  then first of all, pray…” (1^st Timothy 2:1).  The Greek translates the word “first” in the strongest terms, to beseech or beg, first in priority as your first job.  There are some wonderful attributes that a person who prays regularly receives; a less stressful and anxious life, a stronger marriage and relationships, a healthier emotional balance to list just a few.  However, the one benefit of regular prayer is that it changes the one who is praying.  The more you pray the more you will see the church, the world, and those around in a clearer set of lenses.  We have many responsibilities as a person who confesses Jesus is Lord.  None can be more important than to “first of all, pray”.  Have you prayed today….no, I mean have you “stood in the gap” and really prayed until you have prayed?

 

Posted by Randy Morlan, Minister to Senior Adults and Pastoral Care

Ephesians 5:8-10

Ephesians 5: 8-10

“8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord.”

. . . and find out what pleases the Lord.  The only way to find out what pleases someone is to get to know them.  We can know what pleases God by getting into his word and by doing what he has told us to do.  Are you striving to please others or are you striving to please God?  Which do you think will bring true satisfaction to life?   

Posted by Harry Beverly, Minister of Family Life

1 Timothy 6:7

1 Timothy 6:7  

 

“For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.”

 

Don’t forget this simple verse!  You can’t take it with you and it won’t give you joy if you can buy it!  

 

Posted by Grant Byrd, Minister with Students

Ephesians 1:18

Ephesians 1:18

 

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…”  This poignant picture located smack in the middle of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians speaks volumes of the power of God in bringing us to Christ.  I am reminded of the footage that I saw sometime this past year of a young deaf boy receiving a cochlear implant and is able to hear for the first time in his life.  The boy’s, eyes, his face, his smile, his soul lights up like a New Years sky as he hears the voice of his mother speaking his name.  It still gives me chills to think about it!  Likewise, Paul is praying that God will breathe new life into our spiritual senses…that they eyes of our very soul would come alive…that we may hear the father’s voice for the first time, catch a glimpse of who He really is and who we really are in him. 

 

Posted by Ben Gazaway, Associate Minister of Worship & Arts

Galatians 2:20-21

 Galatians 2:20-21

 

The repentant heart needs a divine model (v. 20-21)

 

God knew that his people couldn’t uphold the law completely and needed something different.  That “something” was Jesus Christ.  Jesus was the only way that God could correct the lawlessness of his people.  We were made righteous through the sacrifice of Christ.  That righteousness battles with our carnal and sinful nature that rages within us.  We need a model in Christ’s life and the Holy Spirit to assist us in living the way we ought to. It is not I who lives, but Christ who lives in me!  Take advantage of that! 

 

Posted by Joey White, FMNorth Campus Pastor

 

 

Galatians 2:17-19

 Galatians 2:17-19

 

Salvation requires a repentant heart (v. 17-19)

 

Verse 17:  Our salvation frees us from the bondage and eternal penalty of sin, but the presence of sin in our lives remains.  This doesn’t mean that we should continue to sin or think that Christ overlooks future sin. 

I have been saved from the penalty of sin.

                        I am being saved from the effects of sin.

                        I will be saved from the presence of sin.

Verse 18-19: Paul begins to show how absurd it is for one to believe in this Judaism.  His use of the mental picture of one rebuilding something that he destroyed is great!  We can be a silly people.  We profess Christ, but yet we find ourselves clinging to meaningless methods of “Christian living.”

 

In verse 19 Paul says, “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.”  He isn’t condemning the law as most of his critics would point out.  His critics would say that Paul is mocking the Lord in completely defacing the importance of God’s commands.  Instead what Paul is saying is that the Law demonstrates how useless it is for us to attempt to live up to the Law’s statutes.  If it meant that we were to uphold every law to receive God’s grace we would be in a world of hurt!

 

Posted by Joey White, FMNorth Campus Pastor

Galatians 2:15-16

Galatians 2:15-16

 

Salvation occurs through Christ (v. 15-16)

 

Paul uniquely addresses the Jewish Christians here.  He points out that they of all people should know that salvation is found in faith in Christ and not in observing the Law.  In modern terms, those of us raised in church know that faith alone in Jesus Christ saves us from death not merely living out the traditions of our upbringing.

 

Posted by Joey White, FMNorth Campus Pastor

Ephesians 4:29

Ephesians 4:29

 

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

 

Your words are powerful—and you can use them to encourage or tear down.  Determine today that you will use your words to build someone else up. 

 

Posted by Michael Curl, Associate Student Minister