Oh, the Love
So....I go on myspace to read my husband's current posted blog and what do I find? A public announcement of all my fears, etc.? Oh- where is the love?
He is correct on many fronts. I am concerned about us both going overseas while our children are so young. Our youngest is only three, I feel there is so much I still have to give and the 'what ifs' do get me sometimes. But...there is also the overwhelming getting ready stuff... And, I was going to go for my COLLEGE graduation but my car died- I didn't have a wreck (that time anyway) so I needed a downpayment for another car.
Plus- I am the resident homebody and Todd is the world traveler. I mean, there has to be balance in a marriage right? I dream of the time when I will go to Africa, to Ireland, and to Greece. I long to see the ancient ruins, castles, and land I read about in multiple books. I look forward to our family ministering to other families in third world countries. I hear about other families and I am struck with admiration mixed with disbelief about all they are doing for the glory of God.
I cling to the verses in Ecclesiates about there being a time for everything, knowing that our time will come. Especially in light of the heart my husband has and instills in our children.
Marriage is interesting. The whole becoming 'one' can be difficult in many ways. You take on the other's struggles, joys, fears, and desires. Sometimes that is easy and at other points you struggle to find a way to meet your spouse half-way. This is one of those times for me.
It also happened after the birth of our first child. My parents called me and told me that they were coming to our house to stay with Parker (who was about 2 months old) so that I could remember that I was a wife first, and a mother second. Todd and I went and had an overnight date. At first, I was angry- but Todd was so excited I recognized the truth in what they were sharing from their own experiences. We had a great time and I came home refreshed- able to be a much better wife and mother.
This is another one of those times, I feel like I am being pushed out of my nest- forced to do something I am not sure I am ready for- but I know in my heart it is time.
Time to broaden my perspectives, to go beyond my comfort zone, to release my stubbornness and to embrace what God plans on showing me.
These feelings can come at any time for any of us. We become so comfortable that we begin to think we are righteous in our own thoughts. Justification is powerful.
What are you missing that God has planned for you? What fears are you holding on to? What perceived righteousness do you need to let God reshape?
This will probably be my only blog- I sneaked it in...
Blessings to you,
Julie
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Dream Trip to Israel part 1
Israel! I’m going to Israel! I've been blessed to travel all over the world but I've seldom been more excited than I’ve been over the past few days as I've been making final preparations for my trip to Israel with my wife! We leave this coming Monday, October 23rd. I’ve been waiting almost since the day I began my relationship with Jesus to go to ‘The Holy land.” Now, the experience is only days away.
My wife, on the other hand, is a bit less enthusiastic. It’s not that she doesn’t want to go. In fact, her parents were going to send her to Israel for her high school graduation but she wrecked her car at just the right (or wrong) time and much of the graduation trip money had to go to cover repairs. So, she’s been waiting over ten years to take this trip. Her excitement is tempered by the idea that we might both die on the trip in some tragic accident and our kids would be left without their parents. This kind of reaction is normal for parents but we can’t allow ourselves to live in (or make choices based on) this kind of fear. Julie, my wife, understands all this intellectually but she is still working through the emotional side of it all. Add to these thoughts the fact that this will be her first trip overseas and she taking a big step. My first trip overseas was to London with my father in the late nineties so it’s been a while since I’ve experienced the mixture of excitement and uncertainty that comes with such a trip.
Julie and I also have certain members of our family and friends who feel it their duty to email us articles of recent car bombings and terrorist attacks that have happened within five hundred miles of our planned destinations. This has been happening to me over the past ten years or so since I began frequently traveling overseas but my wife hasn’t had the pleasure of receiving these kinds of emails until now. I often thanks my friends and family for their concern and then email them an article of the number of recent murders in their own state and this seems to lessen the frequency of the concerning correspondence.
I digress.
The point of my post was not to ask you to pray for my wife (which I’d really appreciate) nor to make light of my friends and family who think we’re less than intelligent for going to “war-ravaged” Israel (although I enjoyed it so much) but to let you know that I’ll be blogging regularly starting Monday about the experiences of our trip. I hope you will all take the time to read my posts because it’s my prayer that you would be encouraged to consider taking a trip to Israel yourself in the near future.
Until my next post…
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
My wife, on the other hand, is a bit less enthusiastic. It’s not that she doesn’t want to go. In fact, her parents were going to send her to Israel for her high school graduation but she wrecked her car at just the right (or wrong) time and much of the graduation trip money had to go to cover repairs. So, she’s been waiting over ten years to take this trip. Her excitement is tempered by the idea that we might both die on the trip in some tragic accident and our kids would be left without their parents. This kind of reaction is normal for parents but we can’t allow ourselves to live in (or make choices based on) this kind of fear. Julie, my wife, understands all this intellectually but she is still working through the emotional side of it all. Add to these thoughts the fact that this will be her first trip overseas and she taking a big step. My first trip overseas was to London with my father in the late nineties so it’s been a while since I’ve experienced the mixture of excitement and uncertainty that comes with such a trip.
Julie and I also have certain members of our family and friends who feel it their duty to email us articles of recent car bombings and terrorist attacks that have happened within five hundred miles of our planned destinations. This has been happening to me over the past ten years or so since I began frequently traveling overseas but my wife hasn’t had the pleasure of receiving these kinds of emails until now. I often thanks my friends and family for their concern and then email them an article of the number of recent murders in their own state and this seems to lessen the frequency of the concerning correspondence.
I digress.
The point of my post was not to ask you to pray for my wife (which I’d really appreciate) nor to make light of my friends and family who think we’re less than intelligent for going to “war-ravaged” Israel (although I enjoyed it so much) but to let you know that I’ll be blogging regularly starting Monday about the experiences of our trip. I hope you will all take the time to read my posts because it’s my prayer that you would be encouraged to consider taking a trip to Israel yourself in the near future.
Until my next post…
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Temptation and Sin Part 4
We live in a world and in a state of being created by God where we have a choice…a choice to live in the spirit or to live in the flesh. Each new day (each moment for the matter) affords us the opportunity to abide in Christ and live according to the spirit or to rebel and live according to our own desires. The results of each are made plain in Galatians 5:16-26:
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
The same Paul who wrote Romans 7 and 8 (from my last post) is the one who helps us understand that we ultimately have two options: live by the spirit daily or live by the flesh daily. Each choice has its own clear and distinct set of evidences as described in the passage above.
SO, what have we learned? How do we deal with temptation and sin? From my posts and the response of many brothers and sisters in the faith we’ve been reminded of some valuable truths:
1.Connecting to a community of believers at an intimate level is essential for victory over temptation. We aren’t meant to battle temptation in isolation.
2.Studying and meditating on the Word of God, allowing God’s Truth to “renew our minds” is also vital.
3.The battle against temptation is a daily, even moment by moment, battle that even the heroes of the faith like Paul battled with daily. But, we chose daily to gratify our own desires or submit to the spirit of God and experience the results of such a choice – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control
So, if you are now struggling with a specific temptation and cannot seem to find your way to purity of mind and deed, then ask yourself which of the three truths above are missing in your life…then pursue that truth with vigor. Christ promises that he will not give us anything that we, under the direction of the spirit, cannot handle. He has given us the Spirit to empower us to live lives of righteousness.
Keep fighting the good fight!
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
The same Paul who wrote Romans 7 and 8 (from my last post) is the one who helps us understand that we ultimately have two options: live by the spirit daily or live by the flesh daily. Each choice has its own clear and distinct set of evidences as described in the passage above.
SO, what have we learned? How do we deal with temptation and sin? From my posts and the response of many brothers and sisters in the faith we’ve been reminded of some valuable truths:
1.Connecting to a community of believers at an intimate level is essential for victory over temptation. We aren’t meant to battle temptation in isolation.
2.Studying and meditating on the Word of God, allowing God’s Truth to “renew our minds” is also vital.
3.The battle against temptation is a daily, even moment by moment, battle that even the heroes of the faith like Paul battled with daily. But, we chose daily to gratify our own desires or submit to the spirit of God and experience the results of such a choice – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control
So, if you are now struggling with a specific temptation and cannot seem to find your way to purity of mind and deed, then ask yourself which of the three truths above are missing in your life…then pursue that truth with vigor. Christ promises that he will not give us anything that we, under the direction of the spirit, cannot handle. He has given us the Spirit to empower us to live lives of righteousness.
Keep fighting the good fight!
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Temptation and Sin Part 3
Paul (a subscriber to my blog and a Frontliner) said,
“C.G. Jung once observed that modern psychotherapy arose partly in response to the void in Christian community left by the Protestant insistence on private confession. We no longer struggle together with our deepest concerns and our most internal battles. Religon, we often hear, is a personal matter between us and God, where we keep our distance from others and relate openly with God. One difficulty with that philosophy is that we end up being less honest with him as well.”
One answer to the question of why we continue in temptation and sin lies in the very fact (as Paul said above) that we have debilitated ourselves by negating true biblical community from our lives. We are meant to “bear one another’s burdens” which we cannot do if we don’t know each other at a deep level. The “one another” passages in the New Testament are numerous and a study of these passages by any believer, especially North American Christ-followers, would be a rich, rewarding and challenging experience.
The other reason we deal with temptation is well explained by Paul (the one in the Bible) when he describes his own battle with temptation and sin:
Romans 7:14-8:17:
14 “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
So, the balls back in your court. Besides our individualized form of Christianity destroying our ability to be the community of faith God called us to be, what is Paul telling us in this passage about our struggle with sin?
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
“C.G. Jung once observed that modern psychotherapy arose partly in response to the void in Christian community left by the Protestant insistence on private confession. We no longer struggle together with our deepest concerns and our most internal battles. Religon, we often hear, is a personal matter between us and God, where we keep our distance from others and relate openly with God. One difficulty with that philosophy is that we end up being less honest with him as well.”
One answer to the question of why we continue in temptation and sin lies in the very fact (as Paul said above) that we have debilitated ourselves by negating true biblical community from our lives. We are meant to “bear one another’s burdens” which we cannot do if we don’t know each other at a deep level. The “one another” passages in the New Testament are numerous and a study of these passages by any believer, especially North American Christ-followers, would be a rich, rewarding and challenging experience.
The other reason we deal with temptation is well explained by Paul (the one in the Bible) when he describes his own battle with temptation and sin:
Romans 7:14-8:17:
14 “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
So, the balls back in your court. Besides our individualized form of Christianity destroying our ability to be the community of faith God called us to be, what is Paul telling us in this passage about our struggle with sin?
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Temptation and Sin Part 2
Temptation and Sin Part 2
Where do we all go from here? Many of us publicly (and many more privately) confessed the temptations and sins in our lives and although a few topped the charts – lust, anger, greed – many others were mentioned as well. Let’s see if I can give us a refresher list of our collective “sins of choice” – sex, money, power, ignoring the Holy Spirit’s direction, fear, lust, laziness (I like the word “sloth” but I’m not sure why), stubbornness, making television our god, lack of trust in God, lust, ingratitude, covetousness, lust, giving while expecting nothing in return, and I believe someone mentioned lust.
As I review the list (and this is a short list of the much larger list of ‘private’ messages I received and respecting their desire for privacy have not included their lists) I’m beginning to get a little depressed. But wait – God promises that he did not “give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and of love and of self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7) From my first post, God also reminds us:
Remember – “No temptation has seized you except that which is common to man.” (1 Corinthians 10:13a) God reminds us here that none of us have invented a terrible new sin. Sin has been with us since the fall and those around you wherever you are reading this right now all struggle with sin – maybe even the same ones you struggle with. But God encourages us when he says, “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13b)
From all this then, we can surmise that we should be emboldened by our faith, self-controlled and confident in the fact that we can escape any and all temptation by a God-ordained gift of a timely and obvious escape route…but, if that’s the case why are we all having such a hard time?
As I always do I’m going to get around to the answer but I don’t want us to miss the opportunity to think theologically about a very practical matter. So, here’s the question for the day – if God’s truth (i.e. the passages I refer to in this post) is in fact true, then why all the temptation…why do we all struggle?
Comment away!
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
Where do we all go from here? Many of us publicly (and many more privately) confessed the temptations and sins in our lives and although a few topped the charts – lust, anger, greed – many others were mentioned as well. Let’s see if I can give us a refresher list of our collective “sins of choice” – sex, money, power, ignoring the Holy Spirit’s direction, fear, lust, laziness (I like the word “sloth” but I’m not sure why), stubbornness, making television our god, lack of trust in God, lust, ingratitude, covetousness, lust, giving while expecting nothing in return, and I believe someone mentioned lust.
As I review the list (and this is a short list of the much larger list of ‘private’ messages I received and respecting their desire for privacy have not included their lists) I’m beginning to get a little depressed. But wait – God promises that he did not “give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and of love and of self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7) From my first post, God also reminds us:
Remember – “No temptation has seized you except that which is common to man.” (1 Corinthians 10:13a) God reminds us here that none of us have invented a terrible new sin. Sin has been with us since the fall and those around you wherever you are reading this right now all struggle with sin – maybe even the same ones you struggle with. But God encourages us when he says, “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13b)
From all this then, we can surmise that we should be emboldened by our faith, self-controlled and confident in the fact that we can escape any and all temptation by a God-ordained gift of a timely and obvious escape route…but, if that’s the case why are we all having such a hard time?
As I always do I’m going to get around to the answer but I don’t want us to miss the opportunity to think theologically about a very practical matter. So, here’s the question for the day – if God’s truth (i.e. the passages I refer to in this post) is in fact true, then why all the temptation…why do we all struggle?
Comment away!
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net
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