The Deadliest Sin, Part II

Three weeks ago, I posted about the deadliest sin, pride.  Surprisingly to me, but not to God, our pastor at The Vine spoke about pride in our Sundayworship service the following week.  He referenced these verses in James and used it as a springboard for his message.  

 

James 4: 13-16 - Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.  

Our life is but a mist.  It is so insignificant relative to God's overall plan.  We must concede our plans to His and take our rightful place in his kingdom.  Any boasting we do must be boasting in the Lord and boasting of what the Lord is doing in us.  If you are interested in seeing the full message along with some great worship music, click here.

Spoken

I have always enjoyed writing.  It's not always easy for me to get started, but once I do, I love trying to make my words match my thoughts so that others might understand.  I can't say the same for speaking.  I get frustrated when I have to think on my feet, and my words don't come naturally.  The spoken word is a gift, and I admire that quality in others.  This young man takes me to one of my great sins - envy.  His 4 minute explanation of his world view is spot on.  Take a listen.

Wading Through The Water

Our Connect Group from church met last night.  At the end of our study time, we take prayer requests from the group and then pray together.  It is overwhelming to me how much pain we hear about from the people we are closest with.  Health concerns. Financial distress.  Addictions.  Relationship problems.  Turning over all of these over to God is sometimes the only relief.  Kristene DiMarco at Bethel delivered this moving prayer, "It is well."  I hope it provides some comfort to you today.

The Deadliest Sin

Our Connect Group from church is continuing our study of Philippians and started Chapter 2 last night.  We are using a video series by Matt Chandler to help with discussion.   Matt started off last night by claiming that if you took the bible, and wrung it out, the verses that would drip out considering Christian living would be Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."  "Value others above yourself" - seems so simple, but so hard for me to practice if I am really honest with myself.  Pride - the deadliest sin.  Humility - the most elusive virtue.  My work continues.

Shack Renovations

 

Last week, I posted about the upcoming feature film based on the book, The Shack.  The Shack is about a man's encounter with the Trinity after a tragic loss.  I read the book years ago, and remember liking the message.  One of my FaceBook friends posted this review by Michael Youssef, the senior pastor of the Church of the Apostles here in Atlanta.  Dr. Youssef is highly regarded by most people who know him or his work, and I have to say that after reading this article, it made me wonder what I was thinking about when I read the book.  I am anxious to see if I have different feelings now after seeing the movie.  

 

But my prayer is that the movie will trigger discussions about God between people who might not normally talk about God, and that God's glory will be revealed in the process.

Shacked

 

Several years ago, "The Shack" hit the best seller list and stayed there for several months.  The story focuses on a father's encounter with God, but God doesn't look a lot like the man in the paintings with the long white beard.  God looks a lot like the Academy award-winning actress, Octavia Spencer.  I guess when someone decided to make a movie from the book, they were lucky that Ms. Spencer was available.   The movie will hit theaters on March 3rd, and I for one, can't wait to hear and see the story again.

On a mission

Paul was a missionary - one of the Christian churches first church planters. His letter to the Philippians is his only letter that does not include admonishment or correction.  In his greeting, he expresses a strong since of passion and love for the recipients.  This love is more than a ubiquitous love that Christians have for one another.  We have to go back to the book of Acts to see that Paul's connection to the church in Philippi is very personal.  On his first trip there, Paul records encounters with three people.  He met a business woman named Lydia.  Lydia was a wealthy intellect that knew God and knew what He expected of her.  She knew that she fell short of those expectations, and that those sins could only be atoned by a rich sacrifice.  Paul told her about Jesus.   A demon-possessed young girl was harassing Paul and screaming at the top of her lungs incessantly.  Paul called the demon out of the girl making her whole again.  Paul demonstrated to her the full power of Jesus.  Paul was put in jail and bound with shackles for the "disruption" that he was causing.   In the midst of his suffering, Paul chose to sing hymns of praise.  A mighty earthquake shook the prison, threw open the doors, and released the prisoner's shackles.   The guard responsible for the prison prepared to take his own life knowing that he wouldn't have long to live after the prisoners had escaped under his watch.   But he was shocked to find all of the prisoners still there - still singing.  Paul told the guard, and all the guard's family, about Jesus.   So when Paul was writing to the church in Philippi, Paul was writing to Lydia, the young girl freed from demons and a guard whose life he saved - twice.