Do you ever look at the lives of fellow Christ followers and marvel at what they’re doing for God? You can get into a form of hero worship when you see the impact others are having for the Kingdom. It’s easy to rejoice over the glory God is receiving through their ministry, but at the same time I sometimes get a gnawing in my soul that says I should be doing more. Of course this is often accompanied by the niggling thoughts that I could never do what they do. Forget “I can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13). Apparently, that verse is for a select few according to my thinking in that moment.
Philippians
Playing With Fire
We hinder our ability to live as fully devoted followers of Christ when we allow sin to linger in our lives. We were created in God’s image, to live holy and obedient lives that will glorify our Creator. Every time we sin we are engaging in behavior that is diametrically opposed to who we are. We are spiritual beings living life in a physical body. The more we feed the physical rather than the spiritual, the less we look like Jesus. Our focus must be on nourishing the soul. This is accomplished only by pursuing those things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and morally excellent (Philippians 4:8). In other words, we feed our souls by pursuing Jesus.
Think on These Things, Part 2
In my previous post (see “Think on These Things, Part 1”) we discussed the importance of what we allowed into our minds. I’d like to continue that discussion today. If you recall, we focused our attention on Philippians 4:8, which says, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things.” (HCSB). So what does this look like as we apply it in our daily lives?
Think on These Things, Part 1
I think we all recognize the importance of the food we allow to enter into our bodies. If we eat a lot of sweets or fried and unhealthy foods, we’re going to be fat, lazy and sick. When we eat healthy fruits and vegetables while limiting our intake of the less healthy stuff, we will be reasonably trim, energetic and healthy. Whether we choose to eat the right foods or not is an issue unto itself, but my point is we all understand at an intellectual level what we should eat and the consequences of not doing so. Yet when it comes to what we feed our minds, we seem to be much more reckless and perhaps even unaware of the consequences.
Pursuing Holiness
As you go throughout your days, are you pursuing a life of holiness? Are you consciously striving to be the person God created you to be, a person who is consumed by the love of Jesus? This isn’t a new concept, but it has been brought to my mind in fresh ways through recent teachings by Bill Hybels and David Platt. Not only has God placed a unique combination of passions and skills in each of us in order that we might do the work He created us to do, but He has also charged us to conduct ourselves in a manner that is pleasing to Him (Philippians 1:27).