Prison or Freedom
I had a divine appointment with a special woman who became one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I responded to a prayer request for her husband who had progressive MS, and it turned out she had ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Becky became the mentor and big sister I never had and she was an amazing prayer warrior. She soon became a prisoner in her own body, barely able to talk or move, still I knew she never stopped praying for me, my family and many others until her last breath and her joy came from her relationship with Jesus.
In Philippians chapter 1, Paul thanks the Philippian believers for supporting his ministry. Paul encourages them by explaining that all of his suffering has been for a good cause. Even better, attempts to persecute Paul have caused the gospel to spread and Paul is grateful. He fully expects to be released, and to see the believers of Philippi again. Whether Paul was free to preach, or trapped in a prison cell, the Philippian believers sent him their love and full support. Many others would leave Paul during his ministry, yet the Philippians remained loyal and faithful.
Even if we are not physically in prison, we can be trapped in a mental prison of anxiety and fear. Or we get stuck in the better days of the past, or the traumatic days. We are looking in the rearview mirror, (going nowhere) or we are worried about the future, and missing joy in the moment.
Paul focuses on encouraging the believers in Philippi and looking forward with hope. We don’t see him wallowing in his suffering, bemoaning his circumstances or any thing we might do in jail, but remembering God’s calling, he presses on . . . “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) Press on means going against the odds to do something; it means despite every obstacle standing in your way you force your way through. It's pushing against the wind.
Are you feeling stuck in some way, unable to experience joy? We care and want to come alongside you and/or pray for and with you. Please reach out by replying to this email or click here and visit Prayer – Emmanuel Faith Community Church.
God remains with the discouraged and hopeful—the skeptics and saints. And we have the gift and freedom of inviting others to experience His joy and faithfulness, too!
Blessings on your day,
Deb Hill
Exec. Assistant to Pastor Ryan
Partakers of Grace
Sometimes people get all wrapped up in a situation because of past mistakes or bad acquaintances, sometimes people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A high school boy entered the restroom and was in the stall with the door latched when a small gang of students entered and began smoking joints and spraying paint on the mirror and walls. He froze in the stall for a few minutes out of fear, but when it didn’t seem like the other boys would be leaving anytime soon, he finished his business and exited the stall. At that moment, a school security guard entered the restroom because he smelled the pot smoke and spray paint in the hall. In the few minutes those boys were in the restroom, they had filled it with smoke and graffiti. From the security guard’s perspective, it looked like all the boys were involved and caught red handed breaking school rules and property. But unbeknownst to that guard, one of those boys had not participated in those actions, he did not partake in the crimes.
Paul accuses the believers in Philippi of being partakers with him of grace. Phil 1:7 “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.”
J. Vernon McGee writes this about that verse:
“Partaker of my grace” brings us back to the word fellowship. It is koinonia with a preposition that intensifies it: suqkoinonous, meaning “being all wrapped up together.” You may remember that lovely Abigail used these words when she talked to David: “... but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God…” (1 Sam 25:29). Paul is saying that he and the Philippians are all wrapped up together as partners in the gospel.
Believers get wrapped up in the partnership of the gospel. This isn’t a burden to be caught in, it is a gift of grace. Believers partake in God’s saving grace and their lives get wrapped up in the mess of defending and promoting that grace. How about you? Would someone who stumbled upon your life accuse you of partaking in the gospel of grace?
Pastor John Riley
Completion
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will
bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
This is just a sentence in the greeting of a letter to a church that existed well over a thousand years ago, yet the principle behind it brings me endless security. It is called the perseverance of the saints, the last tenant of Calvinism, the ‘P’ in the acronym TULIP. It simply means that once we’re saved, we’ll always be saved no matter what we do. Which means we can’t mess this up! That has always been a huge relief because I am safe no matter what I do. Jesus started the good work in me, and he will finish it. Our salvation is based on Jesus’s life and work on the cross, and he never messed up, not even once!
The work the Lord is completing in us is our sanctification. We will be perfect in our sanctification, fully mature and wide awake. We will be newly untainted by sin yet uniquely enriched by our experiences. We will stand with Jesus at our full stature made holy as God foreknew us to be. Honestly, it will be nothing like we could ever imagine.
The Triune God interacts with each of us, playing a role in helping us part ways with our sinful nature. The thing to keep in mind is the gravity of sin itself and the cost of our freedom. The Bible says and illustrates the cost of sin is death, yet we live! We have abundant life through him now and the hope of eternal life with him in heaven. I’d suggest the name “Perseverance of the Saints” should be changed to The Perseverance of God. He’s the one “putting up” with us.
Jonathan Duncan
Partnership
Paul invites us to dwell on why he had so much affection for this group of people. He claims they were ‘partners with him in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.’ (Phil 1:7) Their bond was formed in the furnace of affliction. They had linked hearts, arms, and voices in the declaration that Jesus is King; a proclamation that was likely to get one ostracized from society and eventually imprisoned. It was this partnership that solidified their friendship. In the Scriptures, a shared mission leads to connected hearts. Mission begets community, not the other way around.
I wonder if it’s difficult for us as Western Christians to develop a community because we have lost the impetus and significance of our shared mission. We have Life Groups (which are great!) and several other ways for people to connect, but there is nothing like the bond that forms amongst people who serve and suffer together. Think back to a time in your life when you were deeply committed and connected to a group of people. Maybe it was a sports team, a band, or a club, and I'm guessing the reason you were so close was the common goal you were trying to achieve together. This is what Paul is experiencing and writing about in Philippians 1, and what we've been designed to experience.
The best part about Paul’s affection for the Philippian church is that it stirs in him great joy! Their partnership is a gift to the world, but it’s also a blessing to him personally. Take some time today and think about people who are co-laborers with you. Spend some time thanking God for them and then reach out to them with a text, email, or phone call, and let them know you are grateful for them. Partnership is one of the great joys of the gospel.
Ryan Paulson
Lead Pastor
Paul’s Transformation
Beginning with his dramatic encounter with the risen Christ (Acts 9:1-8), the spiritual journey that transformed Paul of Tarsus from a bitter Jewish Pharisee into Christ’s “Apostle to the Gentiles” was truly unique!
He was thrown from his horse and blinded on the road to Damascus, miraculously healed from blindness, and immediately sought to preach Christ in the synagogues of Damascus (Acts 9:20-21) - and all of that took place in just the first days of his apostleship! In the weeks and months that followed he was rescued from an assassination plot by Jews in Damascus (Acts 9:23-25), feared by the disciples in Jerusalem but befriended by Barnabas (Acts 9:26-28), and then led into the wilderness of Arabia where he experienced further revelation and transformation through the hand of God, before returning to Damascus to minister there for three more years (Galatians 1:17-18).
Finally, after 14 years of gospel ministry in the region of Syria and Asia Minor, Paul received the hand of fellowship from other apostles and church leaders along with their blessing to continue serving as the Apostle to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:1 & 9). Once Paul was called and commissioned to his appointed work, he never lost his heart’s passion as a bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:1).
Chances are that your first encounter with Jesus Christ was somewhat less dramatic than Paul’s, but even so, I hope you will be encouraged through Paul’s story that Jesus Christ also has a specially designed spiritual journey in mind for you! Whatever spiritual gifting and life experience the Lord has for you, I can assure you they are in perfect alignment with the work God is calling you to do for his kingdom!
Whether we’re in the first days of our journey with Jesus or already seasoned bondservants of the Lord, He is faithful to lead us and go with us in each step of this journey. As a unique creation of God, the details of your life journey will also be unique and probably won’t look anything like Paul’s journey. But you can be sure, “that He who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to complete it” (Philippians 1:6). So, like the Apostle Paul, may you be faithful to the wonderful, surprising, and unique calling that God created you to fulfill!
Pastor Dave Korinek
Patient Trust
Patient Trust
By Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
Shared by
Pastor Ryan Paulson
Until You Increase
Throughout the years of the Exodus, the Israelites feared the pagan kingdoms that dwelled in the land that God promised as their inheritance. In Exodus 23:30, the Lord told the Israelites, “Little by little I will drive them [your enemies] out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.” Even after the great victory God gave them against the city of Jericho when they first crossed into Canaan, their effort to occupy the rest of the Promised Land would take many more years, numerous battles, and countless learning experiences for the young nation of Israel. But with each new challenge they encountered, Yahweh increased their strength, courage, and faith.
Many believers experience times of waiting on the Lord when it might feel like God has forgotten them. Yet in those times of waiting God often does some of his best work in preparing us, his children, for opportunities he has yet to reveal. I experienced that in the years after my seminary graduation. God didn’t call me to seminary until I was in my mid-40s but I was convinced God had called me to church ministry. In my final year of seminary, I had the joy of doing a pastoral internship at EFCC. Then for the next 15 years, the Lord took me from church ministry into chaplaincy in the military reserves, hospitals, and other venues providing spiritual and emotional care for hurting people. I could see God’s blessing upon my chaplaincy but it seemed like God had forgotten my hope for serving in church ministry. Finally, an opening came up in pastoral care at EFCC on staff. When Pastor Dennis Keating extended an offer he said, “You’ve worked with enough hurting people that we can use you now!” He was right. Those 15 years in various chaplaincy venues had equipped me for pastoral care ministry in ways that seminary never could. God used that time to increase my compassion, sensitivity, and ability to bring God’s grace to hurting hearts. As I now prepare to retire from EFCC staff it’s clear those years of “waiting” were truly needed for God to equip me for the next step in His perfect plan.
Truly, his yoke is easy and his burden is light if we stay in step with His plan!
Pastor Dave Korinek
Growth through the Battle
Have you ever hated doing something that was good for you?
I can think of lots of things: exercising, eating vegetables, reading my Bible, going to church, visiting a loved one, following through with plans I now regret making, being the first one to say “I’m sorry,” washing the dishes, cooking, cleaning the bathroom, and practicing the piano.
Thankfully, I don’t struggle with everything on the list like I used to. There isn’t a single thing on the list today that I would say I hate doing though I would have said that about all of them at some point in the past. I’ve learned that tackling things that need to be done is good and has helped me grow. That doesn’t mean I always want to do whatever is in front of me that needs to be done. That battle continues.
God grows us through the battles of life. Sometimes those are nation versus nation battles and sometimes they are internal, or me versus me or me versus God, battles. In Exodus 23:30 the prophet writes; “Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.” God prepared the way for his people to take over the promised land, but the people still had to go out, march to, and fight the battle. This made them stronger, helped them increase in number, and over time they took possession of the land.
God grew them through the battle and he grows us as we battle, fight for what is right, work for his purposes, and generally do what needs to be done. Every time we avoid the spiritual and physical battles of life before us, we miss the opportunities God has for us to grow. Let’s pray that all the folks of our church would be willing to face and fight the daily battles and grow to be the church God would have us be.
Pastor John Riley
Jealous for our Worship
This week we find ourselves in the Old Testament, Exodus 23. We’ve spent the past year studying the life of Jesus through the eyes of the poetic apostle John. Or as John refers to himself, the one whom Jesus loved.
Well, John, you weren’t the first guy Jesus loved. The Father, Son, and Spirit have loved and longed for fellowship with humanity since day one in Eden.
When Abraham came along in Genesis 12, God promised a covenantal relationship to Abraham and all of his descendants….the people group who would eventually come to be known as the nation of Israel.
Jumping to Exodus…more than 400 years past the covenantal promise made to Father Abraham. God, through his servant Moses, rescues his people, about 1.5 million descendants, from Egyptian bondage. This army people group, who only knew oppression, miraculously crossed the Red Sea in utter amazement. This story would be chronicled, retold from grandfather to father to son….generation after generation. It was an exclamation point of a message to the Israelites that they were loved and cared for by God, the almighty one. He was faithful, he was powerful, and he was worthy of worship.
In Exodus 20:3-5 God says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God ...”
Three chapters later in Exodus 23, the Lord reminded them again they were going into the lands of foreign people who did not worship him. Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices, instead, worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness and none will miscarry or be barren in your land, I will give you a full life span.
Those are serious promises, if they would do but . . .one…..thing . . .worship. Ultimately that one word sums up the purpose of your life and mine—worshiping the one who is holy and worthy of worship.
In Romans 12:1, Paul urges you and me, given God’s mercy, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—he says this giving 100% of me, my whole being—this is my spiritual act of worship.
He is still worthy. How will you worship today?
Donielle Winter
EFCC Member
Little by Little
I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.
Exodus 23:29,30
God tells Joshua how He plans the invasion to play out. He points out that the entire campaign will take some time. God knows all the practical steps of occupying a new land and has promised to go ahead of them and hand it to them on a platter. People are generally impatient and all but demand things to hurry up. Fortunately, God has never been beholden to our timetables.
One of the most fascinating examples of doing things little by little is Noah’s Ark. God told Noah to build an entire ship and then gave him the specifications. It took Noah roughly 100 years to finish building this thing. That is a huge amount of time to devote to one thing. He would’ve had to spend his time wisely to keep at it for that long. He may have made plans, schedules, and achievable goals. We can do incredible things if we work little by little with the Lord.
Another thing God does little by little is walk with us through our sanctification. We grow more like Christ as we follow Him and subdue and destroy our carnal selves. It is a lifelong process that will not end while we live in this world. If it were up to me, I’d skip to the end and live my life out having been sanctified. What a shame it would be to skip the triumphant love story of our lives. The ups and downs and all the little ways God has delivered life to us on a platter.
Jonathan Duncan
EFCC Member