by David Peake | Blog
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 This is the attitude and conviction that the Apostle Paul had, what are our attitudes?
Paul begins by saying, “I can do all things,” but we must not confuse this with self-confidence. That is not to say that self-confidence is altogether bad, it just isn’t Paul’s message. Surely we can see that Jesus is at the center of Paul’s message, but the individual is also important.
We know that we can do nothing to save ourselves with our own wit, wisdom and strength. The same is true in our efforts to see others saved. We do not possess the power to save others from within ourselves … but in Christ and through His message, we can accomplish all things that are according to His will.
Where would Paul have been if he had relied on his abilities alone, even as formidable as they may have been? In Philippians 4:13, he acknowledges that it was through Christ that he accomplished great things for Him.
Even so, it seems we must recognize that Christ needs for us to act on His behalf. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Isn’t this true? If this were not true, perhaps the Holy Spirit would have led Paul just to write, “Christ can do all things” … which of course, is also true.
I do not understand this passage as merely a confession of Paul’s faith in his personal life; instead, the Apostle Paul is imploring us to have the same faith in our lives. If we put our faith in Jesus, with never a doubt, we can through Him conquer sin, change our lives, introduce change to the lives of others, and be certain of our home in Heaven.
It would be good for everyone to memorize Philippians 4:13 and when we each have trials in our lives, recall the words as a source of strength. Placing God’s Word in our hearts and minds is one way that we gain strength from the Lord. The Psalmist writes, “Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you“. Psalm 119:11
We all ought to live our lives saying “… through Christ who strengthens me.“
by David Peake | Blog
Imagine that is was illegal to be a Christian.
In many times and places this has been the case. Early Christians were killed for their faith. Even today there are many places where it is not lawful to be a Christian with common beheadings and even crucifixions.
It is not illegal to be a Christian in the United States, but let us imagine that it is … Could any of us be convicted in a court of law as a Christian?
Is there enough evidence in our lives that a jury of our Non-Christian peers would convict us or would they acquit us based on “reasonable doubt?” What might they find?
Would they discover that we regularly attend Sunday worship and behave in a moral, upright fashion? Should this be enough to convict us or would it be too little circumstantial evidence?
If they dug deeper, talking with many witnesses from our family, friends and members of the Church … would they learn that we seldom read the Bible, pray only at meals (if then) and spend little time with other Christians apart from when we are assembled for Sunday worship?
It is reasonable for people to examine our lives in this way. Paul teaches that we ought to be examining ourselves:
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified. 2 Corinthians 13:5
And again he says:
But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. Galatians 6:4
Would we be convicted? If not, what will we do about it? Peter has great advice for us:
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8
When I do, finally, stand before the Judge … I want to be convicted and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant … enter into the joy of your Lord.” Matthew 25:21,23
What is the case against you? Let us be convicted!
by David Peake | Blog
Hebrews 12:2 begins “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”
Reading this reminds us that the origin of our faith is Jesus Christ. Our faith is not of our own design. We do not bring our own version of faith to Christ as a bridge to Him. This may seem obvious to most, but consider the great division that exists in the world over Christianity.
Listen to what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13:
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
“Is Christ divided?” he asks. This is why Paul writes the following to the Ephesians:
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:4-6
Too often, since Christ presented the Gospel to the world, man has attempted to fashion Jesus after his own liking. We continue to see this today. Is Christ divided? Is Christ different for each of us? Paul says, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.“ 1 Corinthians 9:22 By this, however, he is not suggesting that his character changed or the substance of what he taught varied by his audience. Instead, he is saying that he was able to identify himself with whomever he was speaking (read 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
In this way, we may all experience Jesus differently. Some of us first meet Jesus on the cross, some find the compassionate Healer and others the Creator of all that surrounds us. Whatever attracts us to Him, for all of us, He is our Lord and Savior and He is “the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
So, let us consider Him and conform our lives to Him — “looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”
by David Peake | Blog
Please consider Luke 19:1-10 …
Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
What might we learn from the story of Zacchaeus?
Perhaps, first, we should note what we know so far:
- Zacchaeus was not a perfect man. Who is? Like all of us, he had sin in his life. Essentially, as a tax collector, he was a thug for the Roman government. In fact, he was the chief tax collector for his region … and was rich because of it.
- He wanted to know who Jesus was, but because of his size and the crowd, he had to climb a sycamore tree to see Him. It is reasonable to assume that just seeing Jesus from a safe distance was satisfactory … for him, not for Jesus.
- Jesus said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” Jesus did not merely invite Himself to Zacchaeus’ house … He invited Zacchaeus to be with the Savior.
Isn’t this the invitation that Jesus makes to us all? Do we sometimes believe that we satisfy this invitation in being in the worship service? This article is intended to challenge this thinking.
Imagine that the assembly is our own sycamore tree. If this is as close as we get to Jesus, then we are keeping ourselves at a safe distance. While our corporate worship is pleasing to God and according to His will … He expects our relationship with Him to be much more personal.
Let’s look back at our last week … after we left the assembly last Lord’s day:
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