Taking Risks for Jesus

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died....welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ.

Philippians 2:25-27 & 29-30

Epaphroditus was a church member at Philippi. As far as we can tell he wasn’t a pastor or a deacon. He was just a normal guy except for this one thing: he risked his life to serve the church. One of the Greek words the passage uses to describe this risk means to throw down a stake or make a venture. It's like saying Epaphroditus gambled with his life for the cause of Christ.

How exactly did he do that? Epaphroditus traveled from Philippi to Rome to deliver a love offering from the church to Apostle Paul to help meet his needs in prison. This was a trip of over 1,000 miles probably on foot and by boat. It would have been a considerable sacrifice for Epaphroditus. Think about the time away from work and family, the physical exertion, and the danger of travelling with a large sum of money. Unfortunately, his trip was made all the more difficult by illness. Epaphroditus took ill and was near death’s door. We believe this happened during his journey, and yet he pressed on risking his life to deliver supplies to Paul. 

Epaphroditus put his faith into action by volunteering to do this one big thing for the gospel, and when it nearly ended up costing him his life, he pressed on anyway. He wouldn’t put his hand to the plow and look back. 

Epaphroditus almost died for the work of Christ. What will you do? What adventure will your commitment to the gospel take you on? What one big thing is God calling you to? Maybe it's starting a ministry in your community or church. Maybe it's going on a mission trip. God may even be calling you to surrender to a call to the ministry. One thing I know for sure is this. If you're a believer, God does want you to do something. He has a plan for you, and it will involve risk. Aren't you tired of warming a pew? Take a risk for Jesus!

A Prayer Dare (W.o.W. Rewind)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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.

Philippians 4:6-7

The believer being persecuted for her faith stands before her captors with a quiet resolve not to deny her Savior. 

The Christian who just learned his wife wants a divorce finds the strength to look for reconciliation instead of exploding in anger. 

The believing parents who sit by their child's hospital bed are able to bear up under the strain in a way that gives their child hope and strength. 

What single source could make all of this possible? God's peace! His peace is stronger than your worry and it makes no sense from a worldly perspective. It is beyond our comprehension because it is spiritual. This peace is powerful, but you only receive it when you lift your worries up to Him in prayer. 

This is where many of us fail. We lack peace in our hearts because we lack prayer. But why do we lack prayer? Is it because we think prayer is boring? Or because we don't know what to say? Maybe we think prayer just doesn't "work for me."

If you are like me, then you need more peace. That means we desperately need to learn how to lift our requests up to God. So let me introduce you to two approaches that have helped me find joy in prayer.

The first is praying Scripture. If you ever find yourself praying the same things over and over again, or if you just don't know what to say at all, then this method is for you. It's very simple. God's Word is chocked full of prayers and songs designed to help believers pour their heart out to Him. Pick a psalm or some other passage of Scripture and begin reading. As you read, simply let Scripture give you prompts for things to pray about. You will often find that the Bible leads you to pray for things you would have never thought to pray about yourself.

Let me illustrate. I am choosing Psalm 149 at random. As I write this I don't know what that psalm says. Turning to it I read the first verse. "Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people." So I stop to pray the following.

Lord I do praise you. You are good beyond my ability to understand.  I praise You for Your goodness, wisdom, love, power and grace. There is no god like You. You alone are worthy of praise.

All you do is read Scripture and pray about what it brings to mind. When you come to a verse that makes you think of something to pray, then stop and pray about it. When you are done praying for that, simply continue reading until something else jumps out at you. My experiment led me to praise God. That's something I probably wouldn't have prayed on my own. I normally don't get around to praise when I pray, but the Scripture commanded me to praise so I did.

The second approach can help here too. I have been aware of the ACTS prayer method for a long time but have only recently started using it regularly. It has really been a blessing to me. ACTS is an acrostic that stands for Adoration (praise), Confession (repenting of sin), Thanksgiving, and Supplication (making requests). When you pray, simply take a few minutes to focus on each of these four different areas of prayer. Spend several minutes in prayer telling God how great He is and how much you love Him. Then take a few minutes to examine your heart and life. Repent of the sin you find and ask for forgiveness. Thank God for His forgiveness in Christ and then continue on for several minutes thanking Him for any of the other gifts He has poured into your life. Then take time at the end of your prayer to lift up each of your needs to God and ask for help. Pray over everything that concerns you, all the things that make you worry. Don't be afraid to ask God to meet your needs. He is a God who hears and answers prayer!

Test God in this and see if you are not met by His peace. If you need to, pick one of these methods and set a timer. Commit to spending five or ten minutes in prayer. All of us can spare five or ten minutes. I bet you will find that what you thought would feel like an eternity is not nearly enough time to cover all you want to pray about. And once you have tasted the goodness of God's presence again, you will want to make this a regular part of your daily routine. Try it. I dare you!

*Donald S. Whitney has written a helpful little book called Praying the Bible that is worth the read. You should consider checking it out. 

A Servant of Christ Jesus

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:1-2

Paul is writing to a church he planted in the Roman colony of Philippi approximately 12 years earlier. As he begins his letter there can be little doubt that some who will read it are old friends. Men and women he brought to faith in the Lord and ministered to. For them this greeting is a reminder of who Paul is and what he is about. Others who will read this letter have never met Paul and for them this is an introduction. 

Notice how Paul introduces himself. He doesn't say, "I'm Paul, the great missionary who planted your church." Nor does he say, "I am Paul the great apostle who was converted on the road to Damascus by a special revelation of Jesus." No. How does he describe himself? I am Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ. Paul saw himself as a servant of Jesus. Nothing more and nothing less. 

Indeed, being a servant of Christ is a high honor, for there is no greater master one could serve, but it is also a lowly place of service. Paul is fine with this. He has laid himself on the altar. He no longer cares for his own life. He writes these words from house arrest in Rome where he will stand trial. He knows he could be executed. Yet, look at verses 20-21. "...Now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."  

See how pervasive his servant mindset is. Paul is no more. He has been swallowed up in His Savior. Jesus has become his all in all. So much so that he doesn't even care for his own life. Life or death, either way is gain for him. Life means more service to Christ, but death means to depart and be with Christ. He has completely surrendered to the service of his Lord. 

Are you a servant of Jesus? If you are a believer then you are. All of us have been called into service and sent out with his powerful Spirit on mission to advance His kingdom and share the good news. I dare you to make these verses a goal for your life. Let service to Jesus be the main identifier by which people know you. Let Him be your all in all, so much so that you will live to serve Him and when your time comes be willing to die for Him too.

God is the I am

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

Exodus 3:14

How interesting that God chooses to reveal Himself to us as the "I am." He knows that one of our greatest struggles will be doubts over whether He exists, so He reveals Himself to us as the great I am: the God who is, who was and who will always be. 

Make no mistake God exists not to satisfy your doubts but by necessity. God must exist. And Hebrews 11:6 tells us that if we are to please Him, we must believe He exists. 

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

But believing in God is sometimes difficult... even for the believer. Many days I find myself living as though God were not real, or at least as though He had no meaningful impact on my reality. It is so very easy to let the things of this world, the things we can see and touch, take up all our time and attention. We need to be reminded, even as believers, that God is real. 

So today let's start with a firm conviction that God is real. Lift your eyes off the demands of this world and cast them on Him. God is big enough for your doubts and questions. He sees them coming, and He has the answers ready. But you must believe that He is the I am and seek Him in order to find Him.