From Mark Copeland... The True Circumcision Of God (Philippians 3:1-16)

                    "THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS"

                  The True Circumcision Of God (3:1-16)

INTRODUCTION

1. Throughout his ministry as an apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul had to
   contend with certain Jewish Christians
   a. Known today as "Judaizers", they  were false teachers who often
      followed Paul wherever he went
   b. They would try to bind the act of circumcision and the Law of
      Moses itself upon Gentile Christians - e.g., Ac 15:1-2

2. Even as he writes this "epistle of joy", encouraging the brethren to
   rejoice in the Lord (3:1), he finds it necessary to warn them of
   these false teachers (3:2-3)
   a. In these verses, we find Paul making a play on words...
      1) He calls the Judaizers "katatome" (mutilation) - 3:2
      2) And refers to true Christians as "peritome" (circumcision) 
         - 3:3
   b. In doing so, he also declares that "the true circumcision" are
      those who:
      1) Worship God in the Spirit
      2) Rejoice in Christ Jesus
      3) Have no confidence in the flesh

3. Using himself as an example, Paul further defines the attitudes and
   characteristics of those who are "The True Circumcision Of God" 
   (3:4-16)

[In doing so, Paul actually does it in an order reverse to what we find 
in verse 3; thus first illustrating "The True Circumcision Of God" as 
those who...]

I. HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH (4-8)

   A. IF ANY COULD, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN PAUL...
      1. He could have boasted in things of a "RACIAL" nature
         a. "circumcised the eighth day"
            1) A genuine Jew from birth
            2) Not a proselyte
         b. "of the stock of Israel"
            1) Directly descended from Jacob
               a) The Arabs could boast of their descent from Abraham
               b) The Edomites could boast of Isaac
            2) But only the Jews could boast of Jacob, who had prevailed
               with God and was given the name "Israel" (literally, "one
               who strives with God")
         c. "of the tribe of Benjamin"
            1) The son of Jacob's beloved wife, Rachel
            2) The only son actually born in the promised land
            3) Israel's first king, Saul, was from this tribe
            4) The only tribe that remained true to Judah when the
               kingdom was divided
         d. "a Hebrew of the Hebrews"
            1) Both his parents were Jews
            2) He was true to the customs of the Jews, not a Grecian or
               Hellenistic Jew
      2. He could have boasted in things of a "RELIGIOUS" nature
         a. "concerning the law, a Pharisee"
            1) A very religious person
            2) Belonging to a sect known for their loyalty, patriotism,
               and conservatism to the Law of Moses
         b. "concerning zeal, persecuting the church"
            1) Illustrates his sincerity and enthusiasm for his religion
            2) Always true to his conscience - cf. Ac 23:1; 26:9-11
         c. "concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless"
            1) Not that he was perfect
            2) But was diligent in fulfilling the requirements of the
               Law (e.g., animal sacrifices)

   B. YET PAUL CONSIDERED THESE THINGS AS "LOSS FOR CHRIST" (7-8)
      1. All these things which could have provided Paul with prestige
         and social standing, he counted as loss
      2. In fact, he lost many things when he chose to follow Christ 
         - cf. 1Co 4:11-13
      3. Yet, compared to the excellence of the knowledge of Christ,
         they were to Paul nothing more than "rubbish" (literally,
         "dung")!

   C. WHAT ABOUT US?
      1. Do we place confidence in our fleshly accomplishments?
      2. Do we take pride in our racial background, religious heritage,
         etc.?
      3. Or do we consider such things as "rubbish" compared to the
         knowledge of Jesus Christ?

[How we answer helps to determine whether we are "The True Circumcision 
Of God"!  But there is more; those who are the "true circumcision"...]

II. REJOICE IN CHRIST JESUS (9-11)

   A. THEIR JOY IS NOT IN THINGS MATERIAL OR FLESHLY, BUT IN CHRIST!
      1. As in Paul's case, he considered fleshly accomplishments as
         "rubbish"
      2. His compelling desire was to "gain Christ" (8)

   B. WHAT IT MEANS TO "GAIN CHRIST" (9-11)
      1. To "be found in Him", which includes...
         a. "not having my own righteousness, which is from the law"
            (not trusting in his keeping the Law of Moses to save him)
         b. "but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness
            which is from God by faith" (experiencing salvation as a gift
            from God through faith in Jesus)
      2. To "know Him"
         a. The word "know" as used here, means...
            1) "to recognize" or "to become acquainted with"
            2) I.e., a personal knowledge, not a theoretical or vicarious
               one
         b. In particular, to know "the power of His resurrection"
            1) The same power Paul wanted the Ephesians to know - Ep 1:18-20
            2) A power that is first experienced in baptism into Christ
               - Col 2:12-13
            3) And throughout our lives - Ep 3:20-21
            4) And ultimately in our own bodily resurrection - Php 3:
               20-21
         c. To know "the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to
            His death"
            1) In his effort to know Christ, Paul wanted to experience
               and share even in His sufferings!
            2) "Such fellowship in the sufferings of Christ includes a
               turning from sin, and the death of self.  It may involve
               much hardship for the sake of Christ.  For Paul it finally
               meant martyrdom." (CHARLES ERDMAN)
            3) We all should be willing to do the same! - cf. 1Pe 4:1-2
      3. To "attain to the resurrection from the dead"
         a. This would be the ultimate experience in "gaining Christ"!
         b. I.e., a personal and experiential knowledge of the "power" of
            the resurrection!

   C. WHAT ABOUT US?
      1. Such was the goal of Paul's life, the source of his true joy!
      2. Can this said about us?
      3. Is our goal in life to truly "know Christ"?

[If it is, then what Paul continues to say will be our attitude also; 
for "The True Circumcision Of God" are also those who...]

III. WORSHIP GOD IN THE SPIRIT (12-16)

   A. JESUS WAS THE FIRST TO DEFINE "TRUE WORSHIP" AS SPIRITUAL
      WORSHIP...
      1. In His discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well - Jn 4:
         23-24
      2. Since God is Spirit, our worship must be of the spirit as well,
         and not limited to particular locations

   B. PAUL DESCRIBES THE ATTITUDES OF THOSE WHO WORSHIP GOD IN THE 
      SPIRIT...
      1. They are never satisfied with their present spiritual condition
         (12)
      2. With perseverance, they press on (13-15)
         a. Not looking back
            1) Resting on past laurels
            2) Or bemoaning past failures
         b. But ever reaching forward, which is a mark of spiritual
            maturity
      3. All the while living up to the standard of knowledge they have
         attained (16)

CONCLUSION

1. Do these attitudes characterize our devotion to God and His Son?
   a. Do we worship God by allowing His Spirit and the Spirit-given Word
      to rule over our complete lives?
   b. Do we consider the relationship we are developing with Christ to be
      our primary joy and focus in life?
   c. Do we place no confidence in the flesh?
   ---   If so, then we are "The True Circumcision of God"!

2. As Paul invites us to do in verse 17, let's be sure to follow his
   example!

How does one begin in becoming "The True Circumcision Of God"?  It
begins when we in faith submit to the working of God in baptism, in
which we experience the "circumcision of Christ" (cf. Col 2:11-13).

Have you had the "circumcision made without hands" (i.e., been baptized
into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins - Ac 2:38)?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Jim McGuiggan... REFLECTIONS ON SIN: Sin and its Cosmic Effects

REFLECTIONS ON SIN

Sin and its Cosmic Effects

 We normally think of the effect sin has within us as individual humans and human communities, which certainly makes sense; its polluting effect on us can hardly be overstated. But sin affects more than the human element in creation because Colossians 1:19-20 says that “all things in heaven and on earth” needed to be reconciled to God. 

Here’s what it says: “For God was pleased…through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (compare Ephesians 1:9-10 on this.)

Whatever we make of the Colossians text it shows plainly enough that with the entrance and presence of sin the whole creation was thrown into some kind of alienation from God. 

The sinful human condition is sign of a wider derangement and chaos. Dachau and Auschwitz say something about distant galaxies and Jupiter probes and Papa Doc’s Haiti says something about a whole creation that groans and longs for redemption (compare Romans 8:18-21 and Ephesians 3:10), The creation and we are under bondage together. 

Pragmatist and psychologist William James who wouldn’t at all have shared the central proposals expressed in this piece, was shaped more than he knew or cared to admit by the Christian faith. He thought life was worth living, from the moral point of view, since it is what we make it. So he thought our moral struggle had profound worth. He goes on to say this:

          For my own part, I do not know what the sweat and blood and tragedy of this life mean, if they  mean anything short of this. If this life be not a real fight, in which something is eternally gained for the universe by success, it is no better than a game of private theatricals from which one may withdraw at will. But it feels ike a real fight, as if there were something really wild in the universe which we…are needed to redeem.

      All things have been restored and “re-created” in Christ who is the representative of the new and true humanity (the last Adam, the image of God—Colossians 1:15, Genesis 1:26 and 1 Corinthians 15:45). Whatever else we should say about all this, this much is true: our sin in some way unhinged the creation or it wouldn’t have needed to be restored or reconciled to God. Sin affected the farthest star. We’re reminded of this when nations like Babylon, Edom or Judah sinned and God’s response is “uncreation”. In literal fact “uncreation” didn’t take place with the judgment on these nations but the description of undone heavens, an unformed earth, birdless skies and fishless seas points us back to the original loss of life and destruction of the world which relates to our original fall (Genesis 3-11). In principle our sins are the same as those that dragged the creation down. When we sin an individual sin we are simply filling up the cup of all our fathers. This single massive network and narrative of sin is the sin for which Christ came to atone and in atoning he liberates the creation from sin and the curse! [See Isaiah 13 & 14 on Babylon; Isaiah 34 on Edom; Jeremiah 4 on Judah for pictures of “uncreation”.] 

The True Measure of Sin

The cross claims that the true measure of sin is not how we feel about it or how repulsed we are by it or even how much agony it has cost us when others have sinned against us. As I see it, this is one of the places at which the cross appears in its most scandalous light.

God does not hold us responsible for not being God. And when he teaches us (as he does throughout the Bible) that he sees sin more clearly than we do he does not hold us in contempt because that’s true. He understands we can’t know it as he does because no one is holy as he is holy and it is only the holy one who truly sees sin for what it is. So when we feel and speak against it as we do—limited though our sense of it is—he is pleased with the genuineness of our renunciation. Just the same, he insists on our believing that the true and full measure of human sin is seen only in the cross of Christ.

But see how difficult that is for millions to believe. Let me focus on the astonishing evil that exposed itself during the Hitler years. There must be a thousand books that rehearse the crimes that leave us speechless until we feel we must say something if only to keep from saying nothing. And who can forget the images that we’ve seen on television and the moves? Haven’t we at times been on the verge of rising to stick our boot through the television set in irrational fury? And haven’t we once or twice shouted at God, “How could you let this go on?” This is how we who are spectators feel, so how must it have been for those who were actually enduring it.

Now try telling those people that the true measure of sin is not the crucifixion of the Jews and other nations by the Nazis at Auschwitz, Dachau, Buchenwald, and elsewhere. Tell them that the true measure of sin is revealed in the crucifixion of a young Jew on a cross outside Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. Tell them that and see their response!

Tell that to those who know what has happened in the gulag prison system down the years where on Solzhenitsyn’s conservative figure, 68.7 million people have died after prolonged crucifixions. Tell it to the multiplied millions who lived in the dark nights of Stalin, Papa Doc, Pol Pot, and numberless oppressors ancient and modern. Tell them that that the New Testament teaches that the comparatively humane death of Jesus Christ is the true and full revelation of sin. In unison they will tell you that you’re deranged.  And they’ll feel insulted beyond measure because it will look like you’re minimizing the awfulness of their loss and the twisted malevolent evils that confound adequate description.

But that’s not what the New Testament is doing. That’s not at all what the cross of Christ does! It doesn’t make less of human suffering—it makes more of it! We see all that as moral evil and the cross says it’s more than that—it’s sin! When my child is raped or my family tortured I want you to tell me that my feelings matter and that my pain is a measure of the sinfulness of sin. But I want you to tell me it’s worse than that! I want you tell me that God thinks it’s worse than that. I want you to tell me that there aren’t enough words in the entire world or enough passion in the whole of humanity to damn it with. When my personal pain is multiplied by tens of millions and we stand in speechless rage and utter bewilderment at the sights and sounds of it we want someone to say, “Yes, the eternal God agrees with you. It’s as bad as you feel. Your devastation and your ceaseless fury-filled protests are a measure of it all. But it’s worse even than that.”

That’s what Christians mean to do when they say the cross of Christ is the true measure of sin. Minimize the world’s hurt and the oppressor’s wrong? God forbid! And the cross forbids! When Judas betrayed Christ that night something more profoundly serious had happened than a friend turning against a friend. A “world spirit” was defying eternal holiness. Spiritual hosts of wickedness were weighing in against holy love. Cosmic corruption and pollution was showing itself and coming to focus in that specific moral crime and in that specific person. That’s what Luke meant when he said Satan entered Judas! At the cross it was more than religion and politics and realism in a deadly mix doing away with an innocent man (as they have so often done). It was sin against God himself. It was human evil as part of a corruption that reaches beyond the stars. The monster that swelled in the nineteen thirties and forties in Europe until it blocked out the sun is beyond our comprehension. As inexpressibly vile as these crimes are, they are only the ulcers generated by a galactic predator that has ravaged worlds seen and unseen. Sin!

At Calvary, Christ was saying to every sufferer down the ages, “What has happened to you is more sinister than you know. It is part of creation’s self-destruction; it’s part of creation’s sinful alienation from its God and you in your awful agony have exposed its hind quarters.” But we could never have known this except via the cross of Christ for that is where the alien power fully exposed itself. We could stutter something legitimate about moral evil but we couldn’t see it as “sinful” because the word “sin’ only makes sense when God enters the picture.

Make less of our astonishing cruelty and inhumanity? No, Golgotha is Auschwitz and Africa and Cambodia and every other hell-hole seen through the eyes of God. We don’t mean to diminish evil and savagery when we speak the cross. We have another agenda in mind. So while we pile up the phrases and pour out the rhetoric, we live out and speak out and act out-in our ordinances—the cross of God. We catch the sparks that fly from God’s confrontation with Sin and our eyes are opened a little to what it is. 

Here’s how Thomas Guthrie described it in his Gospel in Ezekiel:

Look now at Sin; pluck off that painted mask, and turn upon her
 face the lamp of God’s Word. We start, it reveals a death’s head…
 It is a debt, a burden, a thief, a sickness, a leprosy, a plague, a poison,
 a serpent, a sting—everything that man hates it is; a load of curses and
calamities beneath whose crushing, intolerable pressure, “the Whole creation groaneth.” Name the evil that springs not from this root—the crime that lies not at this door. Who is the hoary sexton that digs man a grave? Who is the painted temptress that steals his virtue? Who is the murderess that destroys his life? Who is the sorceress that first deceives and then damns his soul?—Sin. Who with icy breath blights the fair blossoms of youth? Who breaks the heart of parents? Who brings gray hairs with sorrow to the grave? Who…changes sweet children into vipers, tender mothers into monsters, and their fathers into worse than Herods—the murderers of their own innocents?—Sin. Who casts the apple of discord on household hearts? Who lights the torch of war and carries it blazing over happy lands? Who, by divisions in the Church, rends Christ’s seamless rob?—Sin. Who is this Delilah that sings the Nazirite asleep, and delivers up the strength of God into the hands of the uncircumcised? What Siren is this, who, seated on a rock by a deadly pool, smiles to deceive and to lure, kisses to betray and  flings her arms around our neck, to  leap with us into perdition?—Sin. Who petrifies the soft and gentlest heart? Who hurls reason from her throne, and impels sinners, mad as Gadarene swine, down the precipice, into the lake of fire?—Sin. Who, having brought the criminal to the gallows, persuades him to refuse a pardon, and with his own insane hand to bar the door against the messenger of mercy? What witch of hell is it, that thus bewitches us?—Sin. Who nailed the Son of God to that bloody tree? And who, as if it were not a dove descending with the olive, but a vulture swooping down to devour the dying, vexes, grieves, thwarts, repels, drives off the Spirit of God? Who is it that makes man in his heart baser than a beast and him who was once but little lower than an angel now little better than a devil—Sin. Oh! Sin. Thou hast insulted his holy Majesty; thou hast bereaved him of beloved children; thou hast crucified the son of his infinite love; thou hast vexed his gracious Spirit; thou hast defied his power; thou hast despised his grace; in the body and blood of Jesus, as if it were a common thing, thou hast trodden under foot his matchless mercy. Brethren, surely, the wonder of wonders is, that sin, is not that abominable thing which we also hate. 

The Relational Nature of Sin

It can’t be said too often that reconciliation is not a legal matter. It is not the restoration of a person to a status though to use such speech is legitimate. It is the restoration of a person to the Holy Father. And it can’t be said too often that sin is not a legal matter even though it involves the breaking of what we sensibly and rightly call moral law. The moral law—despite Biblical use of court and juridical metaphors—is the law of a Father. Since atonement deals with sin in order to restore a broken personal relationship we need to get the relational nature of sin clear in our minds.

It’s right to insist that the Holy Father is a judge but it is never right to say that when he acts as judge he has ceased to be the Holy Father. God’s judgment is real and his righteousness is as genuine as any earthly judge’s but it is always a father dealing with his (wayward)) children. God certainly punishes when he sees the need to do so but it is always as a father dealing sternly and in holy love with his (wayward) children. And the man or woman who doesn’t know the difference between how a judge functions as an officer of the court and how he is as a father at home needs to spend time either at court or at home or both! God didn’t create mere “creatures”. He created us as sons and daughters (Luke 3:21, 38 and note Acts 17:24-29) so when we rebelled and “left Home” it wasn’t a court judge we were leaving or a code of ethics we were abandoning, it was our Father.

When we rebelled it wasn’t a set of rules we turned against it was a Holy Father. When we broke his commandment we broke his law and so in a sense we committed a “legal” crime but that isn’t the real nature of it. Sin is relational infidelity. In scripture when he speaks to us in juridical terms and metaphors: God isn’t misleading us; he is using familiar categories to get through to us. He also expects us to get “the big picture”. No father that we have any respect or affection for speaks of his child’s misbehavior at home as “breaking the law”. It isn’t “illegal”; it’s something else, something that goes down to deeper roots. The child hasn’t done wrong against a set of rules nor is she facing an officer of the courts, a stranger who is somehow unrelated to her. This is her father for pity’s sake! Family relationships are not to be reduced to “law abiding” connections. 

What difference does it make if we see sin as legal or relational? It has profound ramifications for how we see the atonement and reconciliation. If sin is a legal matter then atonement must have a legal character and reconciliation also. Believing these things are legal issues, our atonement theory and the result of the atoning process is a legal process and a legal result has consequences. Status rather than relationship is what we talk about and relationship becomes a matter of bookkeeping. Because juridical speech and metaphors have been given center stage for centuries it isn’t surprising that our dominant atonement theory is legal to the core and retributive justice the primary motif in explaining the cross. Atonement is to reconcile and restore persons to a personal God and the way in which personal relationships are restored is by a relational atonement process.

Have we got rid of sin when we call it relational rather than legal? Why would we even think that? Does wrong committed against the family disappear because we won’t call it “legal”? Are hearts and relationships less wounded because we deny that they are “juridical”? And in our fight against it, do you think we’d fight harder against the betrayal of our beloved or the breaking of some law? Would we feel more or less remorse if we broke a law that mattered or broke a heart that mattered? Can we generate more passion to keep laws or to honor and serve the beloved? And anyway, how much do we care about a law that we think doesn’t have the welfare of persons behind it?  Our law will always remain only a law until it becomes the heart’s desire of someone we’re devoted to! Seeing sin (and righteousness) as relational will affect how we understand reconciliation and give added strength in our ongoing brawl with sin.

It’s important that we see the other side of the coin. Righteousness is not conformity to a code of ethics though uprightness and moral rectitude are involved. Righteousness is relational fidelity;it is personal! It’s the way people respond to their personal relationship with God. It has nothing to do with law-courts or legal status. Moral law has no independent existence though what we mean by “moral law” is profoundly real. But moral law has its source and shape in the personal Holy Father—it is a profile of God. However limited, it ultimately reveals God himself as he relates to his children and when we “obey the law” we are living in the image of God as his beloved children. And that’s million miles from courthouses and juridical categories. See Ephesians 5:1-2.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com

From Ben Fronczek.... No Matter What Your Situation, Serve Jesus

No Matter What Your Situation, Serve Jesus

In our study of the Book of Acts, we now come its final story after the Apostle Paul arrives in Rome. I sure he gained the respect of the Roman guards who accompanied him on his voyage to Rome, but he is still a prisoner.

Acts 28:17-31  ¹⁷ Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. ¹⁸ They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. ¹⁹ The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people. ²⁰For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”

²¹ They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. ²²But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.”

²³ They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. ²⁴ Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. ²⁵They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶ “‘Go to this people and say,
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
   you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
²⁷ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
   they hardly hear with their ears,
   and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
   hear with their ears,
   understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’^[a]

²⁸ “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” ^[29]

³⁰ For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. ³¹ He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

At this point, Paul is still under house arrest. He is still in chains for a crime he didn’t commit. And he’s awaiting trial before the wicked emperor Nero. And he would be imprisoned for two years. To some it may have seemed as though his life and mission was over. And Paul could have thrown in the towel. And said, “Lord, I’m done.” But that’s not what Paul said. Instead, he said, “Lord, your grace is sufficient for me. And I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. And I’m going to take advantage of my situation. And bring as many people to the Lord as I possibly can.” While in that Roman jail Paul wrote what we know as this prison Epistles, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. 

Listen to what he writes to those in Philippi:

 “¹² 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 guardand 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.” 1:12-14

We see the Gospel was advanced as a result of Paul’s imprisonment: 

#1) The palace guard was being evangelized, and  

#2) It helped boost the confidence of other Christians and caused them to be braver about sharing the Gospel  to others.

I believe Paul was a great missionary because he was willing to be one every single day of his life. No matter where he was or what he was going through. In fact, everyone who accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior is accepting a missionary responsibility. How do I know that? Because Acts 1:8 says “you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth!”  And that was the very theme of this entire book. 

Every Christian in this room has a story and is has witnessed  things that God has don in your own life.  You are witnesses to the power and mercy of God and we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it. I recently read about a woman by the name of Myrtie Howell. She was a devoted Christian woman. But she had lived a hard life. Her family was very poor. When she was 10, she quit school and went to work in a steel mill for 10 cents a day. She married at age 17. But in early 1940, her husband was killed in an accident. And when that happened, she lost her home. And she had to go back to work to support herself and her three kids.

Years later, her declining health forced her to move into an old, high rise nursing home. A few weeks later, her youngest son died. And that’s when she fell into a depression. She said, “Lord, what more can I do for you? I’ve lost everything that ever meant something to me. And now I’m stuck in this dark, dreary room. I have nothing left to live for! I want to die! I’ve had enough of this prison. Take me home.” But then God spoke to her as clear as possible. He said, “I’m not through with you yet, Myrtie. I want you write to prisoners.” So she wrote a letter and sent it to the Atlanta Penitentiary. And this is what the letter said: “Dear inmate. I am a grandmother who loves and cares for you. I am willing to be a friend. If you’d like to hear from me, write me. I will answer every letter you write. A Christian friend, Grandmother Howell.” The letter was given to the prison chaplain. And he gave her the names of eight prisoners she could write to. Prison Fellowship gave her some more names. Soon, she was corresponding with up to 40 inmates a day. She became a one woman ministry reaching into prisons all over America. Later she said, “I thought my life was over. But these past few years have been the most fulfilling years of my life! I thank Prison Fellowship! And most of all, I thank Jesus!” Myrtie Howell became a great missionary for God out of a one room apartment.

No matter where you live. Or what your situation is like. God can still do wonderful things through your life. As long as your heart is still beating, and your blood is still pumping, Jesus Christ is not through with you. Some of you may be thinking, “I’m still waiting to find God’s will for my life. If he would only tell me! In a dream. Or in a vision. Or in a moment of inspiration.” Here’s your moment of inspiration: God’s will for your life is right here in Acts 1! Be a witness for Jesus Christ wherever you are and whatever you’re doing!

There are 3 things you should do if you are ready to be a missionary for God.

#1: Be available: In Acts 28, Paul calls together all the Jewish leaders. And basically says, “Guys. I just want you to know that I’m available! I’m a Christian. And I’m able to talk more about it at your convenience.” Well you may be thinking, “Well I’ve tried but the people I talked to did not respond.” Well are you any different than Paul here? How many time did people reject his teachings. For that matter how many rejected the words of Jesus himself?  The simple fact of the matter is, many will not want to hear what you want to say…… but some will.

#2 We should be hospitable. In Acts 28:30 it says that Paul welcomed all who came to see him.” He wasn’t prejudiced against any race or any religion. He welcomed everyone! We talked a lot about this in the last lesson.

I believe there are a lot of people out there looking for something and many of them don’t know what they are looking for. Our Love and Hospitality will help them find what they are looking for.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 Paul wrote to them saying:

 “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but OUR LIVES AS WELL!”

People’s lives are rarely changed because of a sermon or a visit to church. But they are often changed by Christian people who live out the truth of those sermons every day of their lives. You have a chance to become a neighbor like that!   And to become a great missionary for God.

So be available. Be hospitable. 

#3, you have to be biblical. In Acts 28:23, it says that from morning till evening, Paul tried to convince them about Jesus. from scripture. It’s good to be nice,  and neighborly, and compassionate. But at some point, you have to say something. The name of Jesus has to come up in conversation. We should not be afraid to use God’s word at the appropriate time. Do you remember that God’s word is sharper than any double edged sword… it can even cut right down into the heart of the strongest man. Most scholars believe that Paul was set free after this first imprisonment in Rome to continue his mission for Christ. Many believe that this first imprisonment took place between the 60 to 62 AD. After being released he Returned to the Aegean area. And sometime between 62-66 He wrote his Pastorial Epistles of 1 Timothy and Titus. He was again arrested in Rome in the years of 67 where he wrote 2 Timothy and then was Martyred in Rome in the year AD 68. Do you want to know what Paul was all about? Well he lets us know in his writings.

In Philippians 1:21 Paul writes:

 “²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²² If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!”                                                                                                                                  

In Philippians 3:7-13 he writes: 

 “⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ 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 on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. ¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

But then in his final letter to Timothy he writes just before his death, “⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)            

If the Church is going to grow in our generation, we’ll need more men and women like Paul. My encouragement this today is than we do not forget our Christian mission, and that is to share the good news about Jesus with those we come in contact with. Like Paul, it will help to be available, to be hospitable, and us the Word of God at the appropriate times.

(Based on a sermon by Dr. Marc Axelrod)

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Gary.... Run with it!!!

Okay, Okay, I know I have been posting a lot about dogs lately; its just that this photo evoked an emotion in me.  That little dog has found something he wanted and runs with it.  To me, this says happiness!!!  And today I am a happy man.  My Linda is scheduled to return home in about a week AND I CAN'T WAIT!!!  Now, I have known her for almost 50 years and I know she isn't perfect- Who is??? She has faults, but she loves me and that's enough for me.  In thinking about this I remembered this chapter from my recent daily reading....

Proverbs, Chapter 31

 1 The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him. 
  2 “Oh, my son!
Oh, son of my womb!
Oh, son of my vows!
  3 Don’t give your strength to women,
nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
  4 It is not for kings, Lemuel;
it is not for kings to drink wine;
nor for princes to say, ‘Where is strong drink?’
  5 lest they drink, and forget the law,
and pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted.
  6 Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish;
and wine to the bitter in soul:
  7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty,
and remember his misery no more.
  8 Open your mouth for the mute,
in the cause of all who are left desolate.
  9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
and serve justice to the poor and needy.”


  10 Who can find a worthy woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
  11 The heart of her husband trusts in her.
He shall have no lack of gain.
  12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
  13 She seeks wool and flax,
and works eagerly with her hands.
  14 She is like the merchant ships.
She brings her bread from afar.
  15 She rises also while it is yet night,
gives food to her household,
and portions for her servant girls.
  16 She considers a field, and buys it.
With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard.
  17 She arms her waist with strength,
and makes her arms strong.
  18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp doesn’t go out by night.
  19 She lays her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
  20 She opens her arms to the poor;
yes, she extends her hands to the needy.
  21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household;
for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
  22 She makes for herself carpets of tapestry.
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
  23 Her husband is respected in the gates,
when he sits among the elders of the land.
  24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and delivers sashes to the merchant.
  25 Strength and dignity are her clothing.
She laughs at the time to come.
  26 She opens her mouth with wisdom.
Faithful instruction is on her tongue.
  27 She looks well to the ways of her household,
and doesn’t eat the bread of idleness.
  28 Her children rise up and call her blessed.
Her husband also praises her:  29 “Many women do noble things,
but you excel them all.”
  30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain;
but a woman who fears Yahweh, she shall be praised.
  31 Give her of the fruit of her hands!
Let her works praise her in the gates!

Here's the thing; this is written by a mother to her son; aside from the references to drink, this is about her idea of a "worthy woman" for a wife.  Sounds to me like Mama wants to keep her son all to herself, doesn't it?  Well, my Linda qualifies for the title; not because she does ALL the things listed here, but rather because she really cares and does the best she can. This is a concept that I can grasp and run with- and I am HAPPY THAT SHE IS COMING HOME. I feel like the dog in the picture, with my feet off the ground.  Who knows, when I finally get to see her again, I may actually run to greet her!!!  Well, maybe not, but I will go as fast as my little feet will carry me!!!!