A Shining Example

"But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I may also be encouraged when I know your state. 20 For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state." v19-20                           Philippians 2:19-24    NKJV

It's surprising to read that Paul had no one that he could trust more than Timothy. Paul considered Timothy to be his son in the faith and knew he was an extension of his ministry. Paul commended Timothy for his faithfulness; they worked together well, in fact, when Paul wasn't with him, Timothy became Paul to the people, rather like Paul was Jesus to everyone when he met them. Timothy loved the people as did Paul and, it was obvious to one and all, that he had had a good mentor. Tony Evans writes in his commentary to this piece: 'Timothy serves as a wonderful example of human servanthood.'

What a wonderful testimony to have as a person of God. How do we accomplish this? Well, one of the ways is to have a self less attitude, and we do this by putting others first, We let ourselves down by seeking approval from people when we have done a piece of work. The only approval we need is God's. If we have God's approval, then that is good enough.

Paul had mentored Timothy well but, a lot of it was down to Timothy as well. He had to be willing to listen and learn and he also needed to be willing to take second place, allowing others to do their work before he could step up to do his own. There is a time of waiting when we are at this stage; we must be willing to give the reins to others until we are considered ready to serve. This is where the self less attitude fits in.

To be a shining example, we need to allow people to notice that there is something different about us. People are desperately seeking something but, they are uncertain what it us. Therefore, they experiment with drugs, booze and wild living but, mostly they don't find it. If they can see you managing your life well they might, just might ask you how you do it. You will then have the opportunity to tell them and be Jesus to them.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Take a look at Jesus

"Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus" v5     Philippians 2:5-11    CSB 

If you want to be like Jesus, take a look at His attitude and His attributes:

V6  He never puffed Himself up. Let us not forget, He was fully God - the Son, who was there at creation and died on the cross. He never, sang His own praises or had the attitude of, 'Look at Me'.

V7  He emptied Himself of who He was and took on the role of a servant by becoming human. He didn't empty Himself of His deity, he didn't stop being God. Rather, He poured out His deity into His humanity taking on Human flesh. He came to this world as a man - the Word made flesh John 1:14 and walked humbly among us.

V8  He knew His mission yet, His flesh struggled because of His humanity, but He never sinned. He even asked God the Father, to take the burden of the cross from Him, 'If You are willing, take this cup away from Me - Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done' Luke 22:42.

Therefore God exalted Him because of His humility - 'Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.' Matthew 23:12. This is something that we all need to take on board. Jesus was exalted and given the name that is above every name V9. There is power in the name of Jesus, this is why we should always use it in prayer. At the sound of His name, every knee will bow in heaven, and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. People who don't know Jesus and have no intention of either, will have a shock when this happens.

As we have seen, Jesus poured out the fullness of His deity into His humanity. In other words, He emptied Himself V7. When this happened, Jesus was fully God and also fully man. This is known in theology as the hypostatic union - two natures in one person.

With all that Jesus did, He was secure in who He was. He knew His Father; He knew His mission and, He knew what the cost would be but, He still went and did it for each one of us.

Are you secure in your relationship with Jesus? Are you fully sure that, if everything went drastically wrong, Jesus would be right by your side? (Psalm 23). We need to be secure in our relationship with Him and also feel secure in ourselves, knowing with Jesus, you are unstoppable!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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You are accepted

"This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - and I am the worst of them."    1 Timothy 1:15    CSB 

We have times when we feel so unworthy of God's love and acceptance. Why would He care to give us a chance in life? What have we ever done to deserve such love? We could never earn it; many people in the world, go to great levels of service  in an attempt to gain the attention and acceptance of another. We could never do this with God, we could never buy our way into His attention and acceptance and, thank goodness, we will never have to, thanks to Jesus who took our place on the cross at Calvary, declaring us, 'Not guilty'.

Paul felt like this occasionally and wrote in 1 Timothy 1:12-14, 'I give thanks to Jesus Christ our Lord who has strengthened me because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry - 13 even though I was formally a blasphemer, a persecutor and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance, in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus'.

If you are in Christ Jesus, you are accepted and loved and will inherit a place in Heaven when you die. You are not a misfit - a square peg in a round hole, type of thing. You fit into Jesus - perfectly. In the world, you may have to try very hard to be accepted into something. People may make you feel unwanted and unloved, don't let them, you are a child of God.

At school, college or Uni, you may have failed miserably, but in Jesus, you are top of the class. You may have been told that you will never amount to anything. This is a lie from the devil, Jesus says you are a light of the world in Him John 5:14. Someone may have said that you will not achieve anything. However, scripture tells us, 'I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.'  Philippians 4:13.

You are accepted by the King of kings - Jesus Christ your friend  John 15:15

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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If they preach Jesus, that's all that matters

"Some, it is true, are (actually) preaching Christ out of envy and rivalry (toward me) - for no better reason than a competitive spirit or misguided ambition; but others out of goodwill and a loyal spirit (toward me) v15       Philippians 1:15-18   Amplified Study Bible 

At the time of writing this Epistle to the Philippians, Paul was in prison awaiting his trial. He began hearing stories about people preaching who didn't belong to the brotherhood. The protestors were concerned but Paul, despite his surroundings, remained calm and controlled about it all. 

Let us look at what was happening; some were preaching out of love, loyalty and goodwill but, others for Selfish gain? Insincerity? Selfish ambition? and Self promotion? I have written these accusations down with question marks so that you can decide if they were in the wrong or were right.

Take today, for instance; we have TV Evangelists and Prosperity Preachers. They are often suspected of lining their own pockets from the 'Tithes and Offerings' that they ask for. The evidence, we are told, is their fancy lifestyles - living in mansions and having their own airlines etc. But is this wrong? What does Paul say about it all? Read in v16:

'What then (does it matter)? So long as in every way, whether in pretence (for self promotion) or in all honesty (to spread the truth) Christ is being preached, and in this I rejoice.'

To paraphrase this, it would probably read, 'as long as Jesus is preached, this is all that matters.'

At the end of the day, God knows people's hearts and their motives; if they are in the wrong, He will know about it and deal with it accordingly. However, if Jesus is preached and people are saved, this will go a long way with Him too. We have to be wise, yes, but we need to be careful that we are not in judgement over them. Paul rejoiced, as long as Jesus was preached and souls saved, this was ok with him. Leave the rest to God.

Sometimes, we may not like the look of someone who preaches; perhaps they have tattoos, ear rings and have long hair. Perhaps they may crack jokes whilst they are preaching. However, if they are preaching Jesus, so be it. They may be very young; they may be very old. but, God is not into ageism - He is into Jesus and this is where we should be too

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Love welcomes people

"Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face because he was to be blamed, 12 for before, certain men came with James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision."                                        Galatians 2:11-13   NKJV 

We read in Acts 10:9-16, that God showed Peter in a vision, that there should be no segregation between the Jews and the Gentiles. It was ok to eat and fellowship with them, it would not make the Jews unclean. Let us remember, that Jesus spent a considerable time with people who were unacceptable to the hierarchy of the temple. Peter had to face opposition about this, as Jesus had done, but he went ahead and did this. 

However, when James visited, Peter changed his mind because of the fear of being ridiculed and opposed. For this act, Paul rebuked him face to face. All Christians are equal no matter what others may say or think; there should never be any racial distinctions (Galatians 3:28).

Peter was actually displaying double-standards. He was also showing prejudice by trying to save his reputation and look good to others. This is why Paul rebuked him; and sadly, this still goes on in the church today.

Some churches along with other establishments, are prone to have cliques - those small exclusive groups that give off the impression that other people are not welcome (Matthew 23:6). As we have seen, all Christians are equal but not all are welcome in some places. I know of one pastor who had a homeless ministry, one where people from off the streets may have had some type of addiction. He was asked by his regional superintendent if he would consider having separate services so they didn't have to be in the same service as the normal congregation. He told the regional superintendent that he would do this if he could show him in the bible, where Jesus would have done it. This ended the conversation.

Many people don't fit into the mould that people feel a Christian should be in; however, Jesus loves and accepts them. He expects us to do the same.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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He sees you, walks towards you and has complete control

"Take courage! It is I (I AM)! Stop being afraid"     

                                                                       Mark 6:45-52   Amplified Study Bible

Following the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus sent the, baffled and confused disciples, over to the other side of the water. He went up a mountain to pray and no doubt intercede for the disciples. He knew a windstorm was imminent and would develop whilst they were at sea.

It was about the forth watch (3am-6am) when the storm hit and He saw the disciples straining to keep the boat moving and safe. It is so comforting to realise that He has our back, praying and interceding for us; we would never make it alone.

He walked towards them - on the water. He not only intercedes but also walks towards us and beside us. He does this to ensure that all is well. In fact, He is constantly watching over us. He walked near to the boat but, acted as if He was going to walk by. Why would He want to walk by them when they were in peril? Two explanations could be (1) He may have been checking that they were ok and if they were, He wouldn't have wanted to humiliate them; don't forget, some of them were experienced fishermen and boat handlers. (2) He may have been wanting to encourage them to exercise their faith, after all, they had just witnessed a might miracle with the feeding of the five thousand.

Whatever the reason, they were terrified when they saw someone walking on the water towards their boat, wouldn't you have been? I mean, it's not an everyday experience is it? They thought He was a ghost as they didn't recognise Him and wouldn't have expected to see Him out there if they did. They cried out. Now this may have been another explanation why He was going to walk by. Could He have been wanting them to cry out to Him for help? This is what He wants us all to do when we're in peril. He told them to 'Take courage! It is I (I AM)! Stop being afraid." With that, He got into the boat and the storm calmed down, demonstrating His power and complete control over His creation.

 Jesus says the same to us too. He wants us to be full of courage, I AM is in the boat with us, there is no reason to be afraid at all. He sees us, walks towards us and has complete control over everything. Take this on board and enjoy your day

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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SUDDENLY!

"Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over how God had prepared the people, for it had come about suddenly."                                2 Chronicles 29:36    CSB 

In preparation for the Passover, King Hezekiah ordered seven bulls, seven rams and seven male goats to be slaughtered and their blood sprinkled all over the Temple altar. The carcasses were then prepared to be burnt on the altar as an offering to the Lord. Can you imagine the scene and the mess this would have made? There would have been a lot to clear up in preparation for the Passover. not forgetting the re-consecration of the priests and Levites. Amazingly, it was done in no time at all - suddenly, they were ready.

The word, 'Suddenly', has an exciting feel to it. You may have been struggling with something and getting nowhere, when, 'Suddenly' God turns up and the situation is changed. Remember Jesus' words in Acts 1:8 'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.' Jesus had commanded the disciples not to leave Jerusalem but, to wait for the Father's promise - the Holy Spirit. So they were together waiting in the upper room wondering what it was all about. Then, 'Suddenly' - POW! The Holy Spirit turned up and changed their lives forever.

This is what He does. Have you ever been waiting for God to do something, wondering if it will ever happen? Of course you have; then without warning, power enters the situation and you are blessed beyond words could ever describe. In fact, some of you are waiting for God to do something for you at this time. Humanly, the situation is impossible, there is no chance of change taking place. This is thinking out of the box but, Jesus is in the box and when the time is perfect, He will do something amazing and you will be left God-smacked. Words will not be able to express how you feel; you will just be blessed!

The 'Suddenlies', usually come when you are least expecting them so, until they arrive be like the disciples and wait, pray and read your bible.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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