Showing posts with label Philippians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippians. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Philippian commentary
This link may point you in the right direction for starting a more in depth reading on the book of Philippians. It's a commentary by Gordon Fee, one volume in the IVP New Testament Commentary series. It's a bit older, but you may recall from previous posts that I had read a great book called "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, which was co-authored by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. I was a fan of that book, so Fee's commentary on Philippians seemed like a great place to start!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Old habits
Well, it's certainly been a while! Whoever said old habits die hard was wrong - either that, or this daily bible reading habit was not an old one. I must admit, I've been struggling to keep up with the regime we created back in September. Granted, I have been quite busy lately, but that's not much of an excuse.
Here's the latest news flash - since the bible reading plan was so successful, at least in keeping us on top of reading the bible, I've decided to do another plan of sorts so that we can still try and stay accountable in studying the bible.
The next plan is to study Philippians. That involves more than just reading the text. We're going to look more heavily into the history of Philippi, read some commentaries on this book, and find out what others have said about Paul's letter to this church. We won't be reading large chunks of it at a time, like with the previous reading plan, so there likely won't be a daily post. That's not to say you shouldn't check back here daily for more news! As you read along in Philippians, feel free to leave your own comments on this book, and how Paul's words to them may be affecting you.
Here's the latest news flash - since the bible reading plan was so successful, at least in keeping us on top of reading the bible, I've decided to do another plan of sorts so that we can still try and stay accountable in studying the bible.
The next plan is to study Philippians. That involves more than just reading the text. We're going to look more heavily into the history of Philippi, read some commentaries on this book, and find out what others have said about Paul's letter to this church. We won't be reading large chunks of it at a time, like with the previous reading plan, so there likely won't be a daily post. That's not to say you shouldn't check back here daily for more news! As you read along in Philippians, feel free to leave your own comments on this book, and how Paul's words to them may be affecting you.
Friday, May 6, 2011
A Good Measure
Key verses
Philippians 4:4-7 - "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 everything, 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."
Luke
Luke 6:38 is another clear example of generosity. "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Jesus said that. Doesn't it sound great? And the idea of giving abundantly sounds wonderful. God just needs to help loosen the grip we have on our time and money, doesn't he?
Just a side note on Luke 6:39, where Jesus talks about how a blind man can't lead another blind man. Every time I hear that phrase, I think of John Kenneth Galbraith's line in his book The Affluent Society: "The bland leading the bland" (p. 4). I'm not too certain if we should be drawing links between the two meanings, but it is an interesting use of the phrase.
Philippians 4:4-7 - "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 everything, 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."
Luke
Luke 6:38 is another clear example of generosity. "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Jesus said that. Doesn't it sound great? And the idea of giving abundantly sounds wonderful. God just needs to help loosen the grip we have on our time and money, doesn't he?
Just a side note on Luke 6:39, where Jesus talks about how a blind man can't lead another blind man. Every time I hear that phrase, I think of John Kenneth Galbraith's line in his book The Affluent Society: "The bland leading the bland" (p. 4). I'm not too certain if we should be drawing links between the two meanings, but it is an interesting use of the phrase.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Citizenship
Philippians 3:20-21 - "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."
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Righteousness through faith
Philippians
I have copied below a passage from today's reading in Philippians. It is a powerful passage because of the strength of the language Paul uses to describe worldly accoutrements versus heavenly treasures. It really puts life into perspective, for me. Consider the verses below and just see what you can learn from them.
Phil 3:7-11: "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
*I included verses 10 and 11 even though they are in tomorrow's reading simply because you can't stop at verse 9!
I have copied below a passage from today's reading in Philippians. It is a powerful passage because of the strength of the language Paul uses to describe worldly accoutrements versus heavenly treasures. It really puts life into perspective, for me. Consider the verses below and just see what you can learn from them.
Phil 3:7-11: "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
*I included verses 10 and 11 even though they are in tomorrow's reading simply because you can't stop at verse 9!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
God works in us
Key verse
Luke 5:32 - [Jesus said,] "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Philippians
Phil 2:13 - "... for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
Sort of stemming from yesterday's post on considering others better than ourselves, which is a hard thing to do, this verse brings some good news. We aren't in it by ourselves! Not that we can sit back and enjoy the ride, as we do have to bring 100% effort to the relationship, but what we lack, God brings. So when we set our minds to following his purposes, He'll jump in and help us out! That's awesome.
Luke 5:32 - [Jesus said,] "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Philippians
Phil 2:13 - "... for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
Sort of stemming from yesterday's post on considering others better than ourselves, which is a hard thing to do, this verse brings some good news. We aren't in it by ourselves! Not that we can sit back and enjoy the ride, as we do have to bring 100% effort to the relationship, but what we lack, God brings. So when we set our minds to following his purposes, He'll jump in and help us out! That's awesome.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Consider others better than yourself
Philippians
Phil 2:3 - "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."
There's not much to add to this verse; it pretty much says it for itself - we've got to get rid of self! That's tough to do; for some reason, we were hardwired to love ourselves a lot, and it takes a lot of work sometimes to put other people ahead. I'm going to work on that today!
Phil 2:3 - "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."
There's not much to add to this verse; it pretty much says it for itself - we've got to get rid of self! That's tough to do; for some reason, we were hardwired to love ourselves a lot, and it takes a lot of work sometimes to put other people ahead. I'm going to work on that today!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Praying in lonely places
Key verse
Philippians 1:21 - For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Luke
One verse that struck me in today's reading was Luke 5:16 - "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." I thought of that story in another gospel where the disciples were trying to heal a boy who was demon-possessed, but they couldn't. Then Jesus came and healed the boy, and told his disciples "This kind can only come out by prayer." Jesus had simply rebuked the evil spirit, and it came out. But I believe the reason he was successful whereas his disciples weren't was because he spent a lot of time in prayer, as we can see in Luke 5:16. Jesus was always on the 'same page' as his Father. He knew what was going on in the spiritual world. The disciples weren't at the same level of communion with God at that point, and so could not rebuke demons as easily as Jesus could.
I think we should follow in Jesus's example here. How often do you pray, and how often do you do it in quiet places where you can focus? I know I should be praying more. Let's work on that!
Philippians 1:21 - For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Luke
One verse that struck me in today's reading was Luke 5:16 - "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." I thought of that story in another gospel where the disciples were trying to heal a boy who was demon-possessed, but they couldn't. Then Jesus came and healed the boy, and told his disciples "This kind can only come out by prayer." Jesus had simply rebuked the evil spirit, and it came out. But I believe the reason he was successful whereas his disciples weren't was because he spent a lot of time in prayer, as we can see in Luke 5:16. Jesus was always on the 'same page' as his Father. He knew what was going on in the spiritual world. The disciples weren't at the same level of communion with God at that point, and so could not rebuke demons as easily as Jesus could.
I think we should follow in Jesus's example here. How often do you pray, and how often do you do it in quiet places where you can focus? I know I should be praying more. Let's work on that!
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