I have always loved the adventures of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh.  I think we can all find ourselves somewhere in that story.  Do you have any Eeyore’s in your life?  You know the type everything is always negative, constantly complaining.  They could win the lottery and complain that it didn’t come on a giant check.  Paul reminds us that as followers of Christ we shouldn’t be grumblers or complainers because of all Christ has done for us.  Let’s look at his words from Philippians 2.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Do you ever walk through life wishing that people would just get along better?  A little less honking and shouting bad words on the road.  Perhaps less fighting and arguing over political issues.  Of course we all wish there was less violence and war.  Philippians 2 spells out the solution to all of this and we can’t fix the world only God can but we can certainly start with our own relationships.  The key is humility and thinking of others before we think of ourselves.  Let’s look at Paul’s words together today. 

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Our natural tendency is always to look to our own needs and interests.  This is why we argue and fight.  We want our way.  If we flip the script in our attitude then our perspective changes.  Maybe it’s not that big of a deal if someone cuts in front of us in line or cuts us off on the road.  Putting others before ourselves is not an easy or simple thing to do but it certainly is a more peaceful way to live.  Find a person who is always calm and peaceful and you will find someone who has figured this out.  It takes a lot to get rattled when you humbly consider others before yourself.  Give it a try.  You just may find it’s the best way to live.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

We all have walked through some difficult challenges in life.  Sometimes during the difficult times everything seems bleak and you can even feel hopeless.  Other times God gives us a glimpse of the rainbow through the rain.  We are blessed to be able to see the good that is happening through the difficulty we are walking through.  The reality is that God always uses our life, through good times and bad to bring about His ultimate good.  Paul went through lots of challenging times throughout his life but God gave him the gift to be able to see the beauty on the other side.  Let’s look at one such instance found in Philippians 1. 

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. 15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Paul is in prison and facing possible execution.  He doesn’t know what will happen but no matter what he sees the good that God can use the situation to do.  If he remains in prison others are emboldened to share the gospel more.  If he is put to death, he gets to be with Jesus in heaven for eternity.  If he gets out of prison he believes that God has more important work for him to do during his time on earth.  I would pray that we might have this type of vision and attitude when life inevitably throws us difficult times as well.  Paul’s attitude makes all the difference.  He sees the work of God as more important than his individual circumstances.  If you are walking through a challenging time today ask God to show you the rainbow through the rain.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Do you ever have trouble making decisions? How do you weigh the pros and cons of a difficult choice?  Many of our decisions are not that significant in the big scheme of things like where should I go to lunch.  Other decisions have more lasting impact for us.  For awhile it was very popular to wear WWJD bracelets and shirts which was a good process to think about what Jesus might do in a particular situation.  Paul prays that we might have discernment so that we know what is best when we are faced with difficult choices in life.  Let’s look at this prayer one more time today. 

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

The thing about this type of discernment is that it comes from knowing God’s word and His will.  The only way we can accomplish that is to spend time with Him regularly.  When you spend lots of time with someone you get an idea what they might do in a given situation.  The only way for us to understand what Jesus would do is to spend lots of time with Him.  When we do that we don’t need a bracelet to remind us WWJD it just comes naturally to us.  I pray that we all would have the type of discernment that Paul is asking for and it would come naturally from the time we spend with Jesus. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

When you were growing up did you do the thing where you have a wall or a doorframe where you teach how tall you are and see how much you have grown?  That was always a thing in the Franklin household both when I was a kid and for my children as well.  It is fun to mark growth over the years and to see what has happened over time.  Paul prays in this prayer for our spiritual growth and in particular that our love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.  Let’s look at this prayer once again together today. 

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

The thing about growth is that there are things we can do to help it along.  With our physical growth we can eat healthy, get enough sleep, and even seek the care of a doctor if things are not progressing.  For our spiritual growth it is the very same.  I grew up singing a song that said, “read your Bible, pray every day and you will grow, grow, grow”.  There are other factors as well like surrounding ourselves with the right relationships that encourage our faith.  Regularly worshipping, and serving by using our spiritual gifts.  These things all contribute to our spiritual growth.  Perhaps we should have “marks” that chart our growth so that we can go back and see the work that God has done in our lives.  I pray that we would all continue to grow up spiritually and never stop growing. 

In His Grip,
APastor Dave

One of Jesus’ primary teaching while on earth was teaching us about loving others.  We are told to love our neighbors as ourselves.  We are challenged to love our enemies and pray for others when they wrong us.  We are asked to live at peace with everyone.  However we are given and even stronger command to love our fellow believers.  This is at Jesus’ very heart and its what He prays the most about in His high priestly prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Paul also talks about the special love that he has for those who share in God’s grace.  Let’s take another look at this passage from Philippians 1. 

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

As a parent it is one of the worst things when your children fight with one another and do not get along.  I often wonder if that is God’s experience is when He sees Christians fighting with one another.  Paul gives us this gentle reminder in his prayer of how much he loves his fellow followers of Jesus.  It is a reminder that we should feel the same love for one another. Instead of treating each other like fighting siblings we should be loving brothers and sisters looking to support one another. Today and every day seek to love those well who share with you in the grace of God. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

What are you confident in?  Do you have a particular talent or ability that you know you can rely upon.  Perhaps you have been blessed with good looks or a particularly sharp brain.  Maybe you always have a joke at the ready and you use that gift to diffuse tense situations.  Maybe you have been blessed with financial resources that give you a level of confidence.  Whatever you may have confidence in it feels good to be confident.  Paul had an uncanny confidence in God from seeing Him at work time and again.  His confidence in this prayer is that God will continue the work He has started in each and every one of our lives.  Let’s look at the prayer once again today.

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

God finishes what He started.  Paul has utmost confidence in this truth and so should we.  Our inheritance waits for us in glory with God.  It is something that we can trust with all confidence.  God’s work in our lives is not a one-time thing.  He continues to work in our lives each and every day.  He has plans for us and wants to use us to share His love and His message.  If there is one thing we can have total confidence in it is God.  I pray that this confidence that Paul has will rub off on us.  God is at work in your life!

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

This week I thought that we might do something a little bit different.  The following prayer found in Philippians 1 will be our text all week.  I encourage you to read the entire chapter or even the book of Philippians but for the next several days we will focus on verses 3-11.  This is one of my favorite prayers so let’s dig in!

I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Today I want to focus on partnership.  When you have a partnership there are people who are working alongside you and pitching in different ways.  I am thankful for the partnership of the people of Advent in the ministry of the gospel as well.  From inviting friends to church, to giving to support the ministry, to serving on Sunday morning, or leading or hosting a small group.  You all play an important partnership role in what happens at Advent.  I often think of all of the different things that come together to make Advent work.  Yesterday we celebrated the retirement of Roberto who has in many ways literally kept this place up and running for so many years through the maintenance work he has done.  I am truly grateful for all of you and your partnership in this incredible ministry.  May we continue to share the love of Christ through God’s strength in amazing ways. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a holiday with food, football, and family.  When I talk with others there are all different versions of how the day is celebrated.  It certainly is an opportunity to reflect and be thankful to God for all He has done.  When I was a child we would always sing Psalm 100 as a Thanksgiving praise.  I thought I would share this brief Psalm today and allow us all to reflect on it. 

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

    Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I have found that throughout the years different parts of this Psalm have struck me.  I have reflected upon worshipping God with gladness.  I have contemplated what it means to know God.  I have thought about the fact that we are God’s we are the sheep of His pasture.  I have tried to be thankful for all of the things He has blessed me with and done in my life.  Recently I have been thinking about the fact that God is good and His love for me is an enduring love.  That means that He loves me through the ups and down of life.  He loves me when I am praising His name and He loves me when I am disappointing Him with my actions.  In the midst of all of his love for me we are reminded that God is good.  Perhaps we take this truth for granted but spend some time today thinking about that.  God is good!

In His Grip,

Pastor Dave

Another day another agricultural reference.  Have you ever thought about a farmer sowing seed?  There is actually a lot of work that goes into sowing a seed.  You must prepare the ground, place the seed into the right spot in the ground.  Then you must water and feed the seed as it grows allowing it to get sun and also keep weeds away and birds away from eating the seed.  Our point today is that there is work that is put in.  Paul wants to ask us all where are we “sowing our seed”?  Are we putting work in to pleasing our own flesh?  Or are we working to please the Spirit within us?  Let’s look at his words together today from Galatians 6.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Paul offers us encouragement to keep up the hard work of sowing to please the Spirit.  He wants us to not grow weary in this task because there is a harvest that awaits.  Just like the farmer that puts in all that work to reap the harvest at the end.  When we sow a life by the Spirit our life will produce the fruit of the Spirit.  We will have lives that build others up.  Lives that are filled with the love of God and others.  We will witness God using us to help others draw near to God and then we will experience generational fruit.  I pray that God would grant guys all this blessing.  Press on and do the work of sowing a life by the Spirit!

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave