One hot west texas day, I found the litter of kittens hiding behind my neighbor's grill, they were all about 5 weeks old. I had someone help me get them out and I brought him (Milo) in along with two of his brothers. We were able to find the other two homes but without much success in giving Milo away we ended up keeping him and loving him.
He is now 3 months old, super crazy and disobedient. He has a very spirited personality. A cat who isn't afraid of anything, who is strong and strong willed. But despite needing to pay for a hefty pet fee, despite ruining our window blinds, or despite the scratches left on our skin, we love him...
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| Milo proudly standing next to the window blinds he chewed off. |
I'm reading Philippians, slowly, trying to soak it all up. I'm now on chapter 3 and I've decided to start up the blog again.
What is Paul talking to the Philippians about here?
vs 2-4 "... beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh I more so"
We need to be aware of those who preach false doctrines and who say physical works is the way righteousness is achieved.
Instead, true circumcision comes from the heart "for we are the circumcision..." This is the circumcision we have from our sin! Paul says above that there are three aspects of circumcision of the heart:
- "worship God in the Spirit" (we worship God for who he is, through the Spirit within us)
- "rejoice in Christ Jesus" (we rejoice in our salvation that comes from Jesus through his death)
- "and have no confidence in the flesh" (there is nothing we can accomplish in this life, no matter how good we are, that can bring us to God.)
- Everything we see as gain (wealth, success, health...) actually can pull us further from God.
- Everything is worthless compared to Christ. There is no greater gift than our eternity, which was given to us.
It's like, Milo. I bought him countless of toys. I'm offering him to live with me and my husband for the rest of his life. Do you think he had to earn his way here? Do you think he should have to go catch me birds or go make money to earn the toys I loved to give him? No, even when he acts all stubborn I still love him. I hate the scratching but I love him. It would give me joy if he acted good because he respected us... but thats not what got him here in our house.
God is offering us the gift of eternal life because He loves us, hates our sin, but loves us. We do things to please Him but there is no way we can pay the debt of our sins by doing good works. And there is no works we can do to make Him love us more, He just loves us.
God is offering us the gift of eternal life because He loves us, hates our sin, but loves us. We do things to please Him but there is no way we can pay the debt of our sins by doing good works. And there is no works we can do to make Him love us more, He just loves us.
So how do we have righteousness then if we can't work for it?
vs 9, "and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith"Through faith, which is believing that through Jesus' death, who was innocent and without sin, we have been forgiven of our sins.
So why should we still do good if our works doesn't save us?
Because like milo, when we really know God's character, how much He loves us, how much we need Him and etc., we want to please Him. We also know that being filled with the Spirit we will see things change within us that make us want to respect and please Him. As well as knowing that we're an example of His love for the world. Phil 1:9-11, Phil 2:12-16 *note vs 12 says work out (meaning producing) not work for (meaning earning).*
It's really hard to understand this sometimes because we feel the need to work for our earnings. Most parents understand this love. Of coarse I'm no parent but I have a cat and despite his crazy disobedient ways I love him a lot... and that helps with understanding what Christ did for us and what this chapter is trying to say.
Love,
Tamara
2 comments:
Beautiful pictures of Milo! I love the topic of God's righteousness in Christ vs. us trying to create our own (which would never pass muster with God). This understanding was the difference between spiritual life and death in our family! Two of my favorite quotes: Romans 5:18-19, "So then, as through one transgression (Adam), there resulted condemnation to all men, even so, through one act of righteousness (Atonement on Cross), there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience (Adam) the many were made sinners, even so, through the obedience of the One (Jesus)the many (who trust in His righteousness instead of their own) will be made righteous." Yeah! Awesome stuff. And another quote, 2 Corinthian 5:20-21, "We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He (God) made Him (Jesus), who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Christ). God is good!!...Mn Mom
Okay, I just thought of another good passage on the righteousness provided by God and its too good to pass up! Romans 9:30-32,10:2-4 "What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as through it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone (Jesus!)...my prayer to God for them (Israel) is for their salvation. For I testify about them (Israel) that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knoweldge. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness provided by God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." (don't mean to hog your blog, just get excited at God's great gift in Christ!). Mn mom, again. :)
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