Verse Meditation and Getting back into Philippians

Today on the drive to work I listened to Psalm 1 over and over.

It strikes me just how much Psalms and David emphasized loving and delighting in the law of the Lord. Its such a powerful and not common picture. Its not religious duty, not burdensome, but literally delighting in the Law of the Lord. Finding joy and purpose and direction and hope in meditating on the Word of God.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

I want that more, I think I have this delight in the Word of God. Meeting with some guys here reminded me that is not common and gave me some perspective to realize I really do have a big passion for the Word of God. And I want others to experience the joy of the Word of God even more with me. 

In particular meditation on the Word of God has really been a blessing, its been encouraging and so powerful in my life. I think meditating is really a key part of allowing the Spirit of God to move in power through God's word in our heart. Reading and studying are great and key parts of mediating, but it was something new for me to really allow the word of God to sit in my heart and mind. To have it on my lips and quick to come to mind by memorizing allowed the Spirit to bring Verses I had memorized and been meditating on to come to mind in specific situations or as how I lived revealed my character and contrasted with the Word of God. 

God I really have come to love memorizing and meditating on your Word. Thank you! Help me get back into that rythtym even more regularly and to find great joy in this connection with you!

As Ivanna and I study Philippians and though its been a slow start for me I am really excited to have this big picture view and then to be able to get into verse by verse and really be encouraged and challenged as we memorize and meditate on the word of rejoicing and truth you spoke first to the Philippians through Paul God. 

One of the key verses already for me from Philippians is 3:20
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ

God I pray you would write this on my heart: that my citizenship is in heaven! That my hope is there with you Lord, where I will dwell in your house forever. Its such a great hope and so comforting in the midst of life which is sometimes busy, often confusing, as I struggle to figure out my purpose and try to balance it all. I can't wait to work and rest in your kingdom where all is made right and where I will have a glorious and transformed body! Lord please keep this verse on my heart and mind this week and I claim this promise and pray that it would shape my heart, my character, and my perspective! 
Amen

Refining some Key Life Ambitions in new season: Engineering Career

As my life is about to face a radical change in a different career this coming Monday I want to have some guides to this new path. This is still a work in progress, but here are 7 key Goals:

1. Seek my Lord - His Kingdom and His Righteousness (John 17:3, Matthew 6:33)
2. As a husband love Ivanna as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy ... (Quoted from Ephesians 5:25-26)
3. Godliness with Contentment is great gain - so learn to be content by having an eternal perspective and keeping my hope in eternal life: to Know God and Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 6:6, Philippians 3:20-21)
4. Work at my new job etc with all my heart as to the Lord (Colossians 3:23)
5. Sabbath well by keeping it holy, including honoring my body as a temp of the living God Saturdays/Sundays, rest, fun, hope, trust God, eat, laugh (Psalm 46:10, Exodus 20:8)
6. Community - don't go it alone, lean on the body of Christ, friends and family
7. Look for opportunities to witness and disciple and be discipled 

Lord I lift up these ambitions to you and ask that you direct me to live for you in this life in the hope to know you now and forevermore. in Jesus powerful holy name and the confidence that you will finish what you began in me, Amen!

John 17:3 New International Version (NIV) 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Matthew 6:33 New International Version (NIV) 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Ephesians 5:25-26New International Version (NIV) 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her26 to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, Philippians 3:20-21New International Version (NIV) 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Colossians 3:23New International Version (NIV) 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, New International Version (NIV) Psalm 46:10New International Version (NIV) 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Exodus 20:8New International Version (NIV) 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Getting back into a systematic approach to scripture

I have been focused on memorization and meditation for the summer and it has been great, a lot of comfort, truth, hope and faithfulness has been encouraged in me. But I also think I need to come back and also add in a more systematic approach. If I continue to choose all the scriptures I meditate on I may unintentionally or intentionally leave out crucial things God commands.

So to start I am thinking of finishing 1 Timothy.

Maybe some additional ideas down the road:
Reading Psalms.
Bible reading plan again. - I got a little burnt out because I didn't think I was learning that much or it wasn't in depth enough. But it is fuel for cross references and for having the whole story perspective as I also focus very finely on a specific verse.

So here is the next verse: 1 Timothy 4:12
12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

As Ivanna and I are in transition and getting ready to move and Jonathan and I are transitioning our discipleship how will I continue? Who will I share what I am learning with? Hmm it would be fun to ask Ivanna and share with her. 

Are there guys especially married men I could connect with also in Tucson? 
Brandon
Philip
Jon Philips
Nathan

How else can I be intentional in transition from my support here and rythtms on staff? 
Prayer walking
Witnessing and being light to people around me
Conferences/retreats

As far as 1 Timothy: 
Goal for rest of August and September is 1 verse per week:
by August 30th: 1 Timothy review and ch4v12
by Sept 6 1 Timothy 4v13 and Key commands promises from 1 Timothy
by Sept 13 1 Timothy 4v14,15
Check in on how I am doing Sept 13
Continue from there Sept 20 1 Timothy 4v16 and chapter review

From there maybe go to 2 verses per week and continue into chapter 5. 

What is helpful to keep me on track to this? 
I do best and I am encouraged by meeting and sharing what I have been studying learning and obeying with another friend. 
So then I will set up meeting with someone weekly or start sharing with Connor?

How to live in God's story not mine?

This afternoon I was pondering this question.

How to live in truth of God and His Story and not my own?

A big reality or circumstance in my life is being on the job search. 

I am tempted to ask what difference does it make that God is with me in my job search?

But I think one way to start reframing my life in God's story is to ask different questions like:

What if I asked what difference does it make that I am in job search and transition when God is with me and I will dwell in the house of the lord forever?

Such a simple change of perspective and yet it changed a lot. 

As I tried to answer that question it was actually a little bit hard to answer really. I mean I thought circumstances still matter they are part of our lives and God's story. But it made my circumstance seem a lot smaller. Because in light of eternity and the creator of the Universe the short season of job searching is really short. Even though job searching seems uncertain and like walking through a tunnel not knowing where the end is it will end. As all things in this life do. I am confident even now God is providing for us and will provide work for me to do in time. And so I act making it my job right now to find a job and yet trusting in God. 

The two verses that really help solidify this in my heart right now are:

Hebrews 13 verse 5

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;

    never will I forsake you.”[a]

Psalm 23 verse 6

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

In this life I can hold onto the promise and comfort that God is with me and he will never leave or forsake me and that this whole life is short and passing away and I have the hope that I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!

But sometimes I get wrapped up in my life and my circumstances. But fortunately and strangely my increasing appetite for coffee and lack of any way to make coffee at home has led me to start an almost daily rhythm of walking to a gas station to get coffee. Gas station coffee is the best because I am really in it for the creamer :) haha. But what happens is I walk about 20 minutes and slow down. And sometimes I slow down and pray and that gives me space to connect with my Father and remember these truths. 

Because I need those moments to be still and remember who God is and who I am. 

Psalm 46 verse 10

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth.”

So as my sabbath comes to and end my prayer is I carry these truths with me throughout the week and live by them. This week seems busy and crazy getting ready to move and job searching as hard as I know how in the hope of landing a job in Tucson. And yet God is with me and this is just a moment, a shaping of my character in God's story and I can slow down from time to time and remember God is God and I am his and I will dwell in his house forever! Amen!

What to hope in? God alone

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6 NIV)

This is the eternal hope we have to dwell on the House of the Lord forever!

Yet we live in a world of false hopes that will all fade and all of which are uncertain. From jobs to money and beyond.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV)

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5 NIV)

So help me now God as you say 

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10 NIV)

Verse Meditation Colossians 3v23-24 part 1

Colossians 3v23-24

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though working for the Lord, not for human masters 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 

0. Context 1. Paraphrase: 2. Questions 3. Praying 4. Emphasizing each word or phrase 5. Cross Reference
 6. Relate to my life: Throughout, claim promises, examine call to obedience and my heart

0. Context
We are alive in Christ and his resurrection. Therefore Colossians 3v 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. But not in a way to forget our bodies and this world but to live in this world with our mind set on heavenly things. With our minds set on purity and justice and eternal hope.  Col 3v9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Then it gives some specific instructions based on our circumstance: husband father and slave. This verse seems to be part of a longer specific instruction for slaves. 

1. Paraphrase: 

In everything you do work at it with all your heart as if you were working for Christ. Even if you are a slave or an employee work for Christ not your boss because in the end it really is all for the Lord Christ and whatever we do for human masters will not last. It is his story and how we live for him is what matters. When we work for the Lord we are promised an eternal inheritance. 

2. Questions

• What difference does it make to do everything as working for the Lord not humans?
• How does the context of this being written to slaves shape this verse?
• Is it appropriate to think of this verse in the context of being an employee? 
• What did it mean to be a slave in this context? 
• How do we serve the Lord in specific things our masters ask of us? 
• What does it mean to work at everything with all your heart?
• What is the significance of doing this since they knew they would receive an inheritance?

3. Praying
God today teach me to work at the different priorities with all my heart as through working for you and the eternal life and inheritance I have in you. I am seeking to know our Father and you claiming hold of life eternal and the hope of dwelling in your house forever God.

4. Emphasizing each word or phrase 5. Cross Reference
 6. Relate to my life: Throughout, claim promises, examine call to obedience and my heart

Learning to consolidate

Often I find myself overwhelmed going in too many directions. And then even worse I forget things and drop them entirely. I create files I forget about. I start in a direction and never finish.

Teach me to consolidate and focus on the things that matter the most God!