Philippians 2:12-13

"So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and work out His good purpose."

Verse 12 definitely has been confused for many years. I can't claim ultimate authority on it's theological meaning, but I do have my own thoughts based on mild research and what I know about God. I don't think this can mean that someone works to achieve their salvation. That would go against what Paul teaches elsewhere. Based on my experience today, and verse 13, I can't help but the think it means that we should strive to achieve the works God has uniquely planned and gifted us for with fear and trembling. 

In my neighborhood there is a man who walks his dogs whom I see regularly. He's got a big dog and a little chihuahua, so they kind of stick out. The guy also looks cool to me. He's older so his hair is gray and balding, and his beard is almost white, but groomed well, and he's always wearing shorts and flip flops, looking really casual. He looks like the laid back kind of guy I hope to be one day. I randomly saw him at Starbucks one day, and worked up the courage to introduce myself as someone who sees him around the neighborhood. While waiting for his coffee, I learned his name and a brief summary of how long he's been in the area. He then got his drink and we parted ways. I have felt that this is the beginning of a potential way to build a relationship with someone in my neighborhood. He may be a Christian, or he may be completely off the deep end spiritually, but I think God wants me to pursue this relationship regardless for some good work He might have me do in this guy's life.

Therefore, I have started trying to think of ways to run into him beyond the chance encounter at a local store. Knowing he walks his dogs, and he lives along the route I take to drive to our clubhouse gym, I decided to start walking to the gym instead of driving. It takes all of five minutes, so no big deal. About four times a week for the last few weeks I pray and hope that he'll be out walking his dogs as I walk to the gym, but I never see him. Until today, when I saw him coming out of a house to get something out of his car. He was a little too far away to have a casual "bump in" conversation, so I would have had to call out his name to get his attention. This would have, in my opinion, completely ruined my casual "oh hey, aren't you that guy I met a few weeks ago?" plan, so I let the moment pass- and kicked myself over and over for not taking the opportunity. 

I know what it's like for God to "enable" me "both to desire and work out His good purpose." I want to build this relationship, and God provided an opportunity, but I sit here "trembling" spiritually at the fact that I blew my chance. 

I desire to achieve the works God has for me, and what He's enabled me for through my salvation, and I will continue to pray that God gives me more chances to follow through. 

Proverbs 13:10

"Arrogance leads to nothing but strife, but wisdom is gained by those who take advice."

A lot of Proverbs cuts right to the heart. There are so many concise bits of teaching that I think it's impossible for anyone to read without seeing themselves and their flaws reflected in the text. 

Arrogance is a real struggle for me, which is weird because I spent a lot of time getting made fun of in my younger years. For various reasons, I was a target for light to moderate bullying. Although never physically assaulted, guys in my grade found it easy to tear me down with words, and it wasn't until junior high that I found a safe space with some close friends. In this friend group, I grew in confidence, and during high school, with all the advanced classes, I slowy was able to get away from the bullies, all of which were not intelligent, and therefore not in the bulk of my classes. From there, I started finding the activities I was good at, and ignored those things in which I did not excel. Thus, I grew in confidence, knowing I was better than many at the things I put my effort into. 

At some point, I guess confidence became arrogance. Rarely do I think someone has a better idea than me, and for a while, it was difficult to accept advice. I don't think I have trouble accepting advice that is clearly wise and applicable, but I don't often think someone's suggestion is better than what my ideas are. I'm not sure if I'm right, and my ideas are actually better, or if I'm just blind. 

Either way, this bit of wisdom about taking advice is vital. In a weird way, I think taking advice has actually made me arrogant. I am a sponge of wisdom, and learning from those better than me is my favorite thing to do. Once I learn though, my confidence from good training can quickly become arrogance. It is a fine line that I must walk. And the bit about strife is dead on. Arrogance does nothing but cause friction in a relationship. It is not a characteristic that moves a relationship forward, so a healthy marriage, friendship, or work environment hinges on defeating arrogance, and excelling in humility. 

Exodus 36:29

"So the Israelites brought a free will offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts prompted them to bring something for all the work that the Lord, through Moses, had commanded to be done."

God commanded Moses and the people to create a place for Him to meet with His people. For whatever reason, God wanted a specific location to interact with them. My assumption is, without Christ as intercessor, the guidelines for interacting with God had to be very clear, and adhered to with great care. 

Regardless, God told His people to create this place with very clear instructions. However, only those whose hearts were prompted obeyed the command, and they did so willingly. The Creator asked, and those creations who adored Him, helped out willingly. 

This makes me wonder about the whole tithe principle. You can't argue that the idea of tithing is in the Old Testsment, but I wonder if God's true goal for us is to give to His kingdom willingly. A tithe is a good amount to give, but is my motivation from the heart or from the law? I think at this point in my Christian walk, I tithe willingly, but I don't doubt that many Christ followers give because they feel like they have to. I wonder if obedience for the sake of obedience is pleasing to God? If so, is it possible for Him to be more pleased when we reach the place where we give because our hearts prompt us?

I tithe willingly because I love God, but I'm hoping to get better at giving beyond 10% of my money, time, and ability to God's Kingdom work, specifically beyond the four walls of the building we've mislabeled as the "church." God is prompting my heart to give more towards making Him famous in the world, but I need to follow through with His leading. 

God has made many commands of us through Jesus; I'm hoping to continue to progress towards the goal of being a man that is completely prompted in my heart to obey. Right now, I more often obey because that's what I feel like I'm supposed to do. One day, I hope to have a love so strong that I can't help but obey out of adoration for my Creator. 

John 7:18

"The one who speaks for himself seeks his own glory. But He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."

Jesus was speaking of Himself in this verse, but I think the mindset is one of the many things a Christ follower is called to emulate about His life. The validity in Jesus' teachings was most evident in the fact that He was seeking glory for God, not for Himself. A multitude of other religious leaders throughout the years have sought primarily to make much of themselves. Christ was clarifying that a person's motive is a clear indication of their truth.

I struggle to do anything for God and not for my own glory. It is an almost constant battle to make much of God and little of myself in my preaching, sense of humor, intelligence, and every other aspect of who I am. It's like I'm constantly seeking the pleasure of positive attention. Not only does this negate many of my efforts to make much of God, it makes me sin even more when something happens to take away from my glory. I point fingers, downplay offenses, and fail to own up to mistakes. Almost any humility I put on display is false or obligatory. I don't take pleasure in making little of me and much of God, and this is the opposite of what Christ did.

It's hard to call myself a Christ follower when something so innate about His character and ministry can barely be found in me. If it weren't for grace, I definitely wouldn't deserve to be counted among His children, or to be part of His work in the world. Fortunately, perfect motives are not necessary for God to work, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't strive for them.

Exodus 23:29

"I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you."

The Israelites had just been given a new land; unfortunately, that land had current tenants. Their immediate thought was probably that God should clear the riffraff out so they could move in, but He made it very clear it would not happen on a timeline they would have created. If He simply came in and cleaned shop, the Israelites would not have been large enough to take over the land before the animals moved in, creating another issue for them to overcome.

I would say that I'm guilty of getting frustrated with God's timing. We talk a lot about how perfect it is, but it's often incredibly inconvenient to wait on His time frame. Obviously, with a big picture vision I would be fine waiting, but with my limited scope, it's really frustrating. 

This story of the Israelites reminds me that waiting on the Lord is more than just a spiritual saying, but a prudent choice for the future. I used to work for a guy that was crazy intentional about everything he did. His choices often seemed random, but as I came to know him better, and as he let me into the decision making more, I realized that his purpose was always clear. Things that made no sense whatsoever to me ended up being incredibly logical and prudent once he showed me the thought process. After a while, I started trusting more and doubting less. Simply asking for his thought process behind his choices made all the difference. I came to trust an imperfect man with decisions that often didn't make sense on the surface, so you figure it'd be easy to trust my perfect God with how He lays things out. He won't always reveal to me the reasoning, but I suspect that in eternity I'll see how incredibly prudent and logical this seemingly random God has actually been throughout my life. 

Job 36:15

"God rescues the afflicted by their affliction; He instructs them by their torment."

This is probably the most mature way any person can view a trial, struggle, or consequence. To realize that difficult times are given to us in order to shape our maturity and decision making is beyond some people, regardless of age. This is also something that's easy to believe when you're not in the midst of a trial. 

Right now life is good for me. I don't know if it's because I'm currently making good decisions, or if God is just heaping blessings on me, but life is simple. I did obediently follow God's leading to move across the country for a ministry position, so maybe my life would be terrible if I had been disobedient. All I can do is speculate, but the bottom line is that it's easy to view trials as loving discipline when I'm in the midst of an easy season.

I'm not so certain that I will have such a mature and humble mindset the next time God uses affliction to discipline me and to save me from further issues, but I hope so. I think this would be the mark of a truly mature disciple of Christ, and I hope that when the trials come, I'll have the maturity necessary to accept the discipline, and see God mercifully saving me from further issues by using perceived torment to set me straight. 

2 Corinthians 5:9

"Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him."

Previous to this verse, Paul articulates that our eternal dwelling is our home, and in our current state, we are away from home. Our true place is resurrected with Christ, but whether we are earth bound or living in eternity, our goal is identical; we must be seeking to please God.

When I teach teenagers about God, I find myself struggling sometimes to articulate why we should resist sin when our eternity is secure. What's the payoff for fighting sexual urges, desires for popularity, and all other momentary pleasures when we know that these things will have no bearing on our eternity? Of course, I understand that just because I can sin doesn't mean I should, but even I struggle sometimes with wondering what is the point of fighting so hard against sin?

This verse, among several others, points out the primary reason for struggling to pursue godly actions- it pleases God. God is pleased when we refrain from sin. I would assume this would be similar to a married couple with vows. Let's imagine that a married couple's vows are more than just conditional promises, but honest to God, till death do we part, binding agreements. If vows truly were unconditional, each person would be free to do as they like, not taking into consideration how their choices may impact the other person. I truly believe my vows with my wife are unconditional. However, I don't take pleasure in hurting my wife. Seeing her reaction when I have done something to harm her is reason enough to avoid the same action in the future. I'm assuming because we can't see God's displeasure, it's easier to slack off in the fight against sin. However, scripture and prayer reveal that God is pleased when we seek to eliminate sin. 

My motivation for fighting sin is not for my salvation, but for my God. The joy He feels when I actively flee from sin and run to Him is real, although I don't get to see it. Whether I'm at home, or away, I must seek to please Him by not only avoiding sin, but pursuing godly actions, words, and thoughts. This aim does not change from this life to the next. However, once I'm home, I get to see first hand His pleasure at what I do, say, and think.