By David Phillips
— Adapted —

What is the real issue when it comes to modesty? Why is it such a hard topic to discuss and for Christians to come to an agreement on? Is the question really what to/not to wear? Is it defining specific limits on coverage, fit, style, etc.?

In our hearts, we know it isn’t. it’s a standard of behavior, not a standard of dress that is ultimately missing from our lives when we fail to be modest. Our attitude towards God, and what is pleasing to Him, or a lack thereof, is most critical when trying to rationalize modesty in our minds. Is our ultimate goal to fully please God or do we try to see how close to the “proverbial line” we can get and still be acceptable? Are we “all in” or are we trying to be what we consider “close enough”?

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By David Phillips 

Flesh vs. Spirit #2

Throughout scripture, we are warned about many spiritual impossibilities.  James 1:7 tells us that it is impossible to receive anything from God if we pray with doubt.  Matthew 7:3-5 warns that it is impossible to correct someone else’s faults when we have big ones of our own in the way.  In 1 Corinthians 3:3 Paul shows the impossibility of proper spiritual growth while harboring jealousy and strife in the local church.  Revelation 3:15-16 warns of the impossibility of pleasing the Lord while characterized by lukewarmness.  In the text we considered in Thoughts…Number 45, Paul calls our attention to another of those impossibilities.  …the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:7-8).  Before and until a person obeys the gospel of Christ, he or she is in the flesh, or living according to the flesh, having the mind set on the flesh.  The end result of that life is [eternal, spiritual] death, vs.6.  So the bottom line of Paul’s argument here in Romans 8:5-8 is that only those who obey the gospel have hope of eternal life, for only those who obey the gospel can be said to be living according to the Spirit (vs.5), only they are in the Spirit (vs.9), they alone are in Christ (vs.1).

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By David Phillips

In the first five verses of 2 Timothy 3, Paul gives Timothy a listing of Who’s Who among despicable characters of the last days:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (ESV).

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By David Phillips

 Flesh vs. Spirit

If you missed Tom’s lesson Sunday night (July 19th), you should go to the website and watch the video.  He had some well-presented comments on a portion of Romans 8.  During Tom’s lesson, I realized that I need to read that chapter more often, because it contains some details that sometimes get missed in the shadow of some well-known verses about God’s providence (v.28), and the fact that we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us (v.37).  The details I’m referring to are those pertaining to the matter of walking according to the flesh as opposed to walking according to the Spirit.  Note Romans 8:5-8:

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By David Phillips 

Thirsting for God, Psalm 63:1-4

I’m thinking you never realized how complicated “thirst” was.  Until now, that is, and I’m about to fill you in.  Thirst is something we don’t have to understand much about to be very familiar with.  How could you live in the South and not experience a lot of thirst?

Thirst is “an essential mechanism involved in fluid balance.  It arises from a lack of fluids or an increase in the concentration of certain osmolytes, such as sodium.  If the water volume of the body falls below a certain threshold or the osmolyte concentration becomes too high, structures in the brain detect changes in blood constituents and signal thirst”, (Wikipedia).  I’d say those physiological facts indicate a much better designed system than could develop through evolution, wouldn’t you agree?  When David wrote Psalm 42:1-2, he probably didn’t know anything about osmolytes and brain sensors, but he no doubt had been thirsty and he surely had seen a thirsty animal, thus As a deer pants for the flowing streams, so pants my soul for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

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By David Phillips

In 2 Thessalonians 3:2, Paul asked the Christians in that place to pray …that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith (NKJV). Vine says the word translated into the English word unreasonable means literally out of place or perverse. Certainly those of a perverse mindset could do serious harm to the efforts of one promoting the cause of Christ, as Paul was. Remembering back to when the church in Thessalonica was established in Acts 17, you may recall how a group of unbelieving Jews who were motivated by envy, gathered a mob and set the city in an uproar against those who were obeying the truth. The brethren there sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, Acts 17:5-10. Paul was possibly recalling that occasion as he wrote to those faithful brethren later, using terminology they could relate to.

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By David Phillips 

Mid-Week Reminder and then some. 

In Sunday morning’s sermon, we looked at the danger of being kidnapped – spiritually.  In Colossians 2:8 Paul said, See to it that no one TAKES YOU CAPTIVE through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.  In that verse, Paul gives us a very strong warning: See to it…  It is a very simple warning: Don’t be led astray.  It is a very universal warning, even though many people obviously think that nothing like this would every happen to them, the warning needs to be heeded by everyone.

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By David Phillips 

Selfish Prayer? 

As Christians, can we pray for ourselves?  Are personal requests seen by God as selfish, and therefore displeasing?  Considering the importance of prayer in the life of the child of God, this is a very significant concern, and one that we should feel compelled to get the right answer to.  Let’s view this from a few different approaches, each with a Biblical angle, to make sure we get it right.

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By David Phillips

One of the points we’ll observe in the sermon this morning is the prevalence of the idea that “I don’t fall away, everyone else does.” I know that’s a vague generality, an oversimplification, but the fact is that it is always easier to see the failures of others than to recognize our own. The dying tree illustration in last week’s bulletin article probably found some folks overlooking their own bad spiritual health to point a finger at another who needs to be restored. Part of what we’re talking about in today’s sermon is the great danger we ALL face. None of us is so strong that we don’t need to be constantly guarding against going astray.

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I’ve been watching one of the pine trees in our yard die. It’s about 15 inches in diameter, standing about 40 or 50 feet tall, and makes a great looking tree in a yard that’s surrounded by flat pasture – except that it is dying. Slowly, the needles are turning brown and falling off, more each day. I don’t know what’s wrong. Nothing in its environment has changed this year. No disturbance of the ground around it. But it’s dying, and it doesn’t seem that there is anything I can do but watch.

I’m hopeful that something will change, that it will revive, survive. But right now, it’s not looking good.

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