Philippians 2 examination

I have been memorizing Philippians 2:3-9(ish) and I am feeling some need to personally dissect the verses. I do not do this very often. Usually I just read memorize and move on, but these ones are sticking me a little.

3: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yoursleves. This is so counter intuitive to the way that humans think. We want to look out for #1 and make sure that everyone knows who is in charge. But Paul is telling us to drop this notion and actually value others more than yourself. And there is no limitation on who these "others" may be. They may be people that you actually do consider more significant than yourself (parents, husband, respected authority figures, childhood heroes, most of my work relationsips :). Or, they may be people that you don't necessarily respect or admire (my students, my president, some of the bosses I serve under people I meet randomly). The question is, what do I need to do with this?

4: Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of yourselves.  This verse is actually somewhat of a comfort to me. Maybe I am seeing this in a selfish way, but in the back of my mind I always considered my faith to be an "all about others" kind of thing. Which is true, don't get me wrong, but this makes it sound like the emergency plan that airplanes use where you are supposed to secure yours first before anyone else's. If you don't...you may not make it!

5: Have this mind among you, which is yours in Christ Jesus, It is mine because he generously gave it to me. If only I would link in with it. It is truly the only way that verses 4 and 5 can be accomplished, because humans are not born with the mindset of servants.

Judges 18

1: No inheritance was was given to them because they did not take care of business a long time ago and drive out the heathens who lived in the land that was to be theirs. I guess that this is a case where the sins of the father does pass on to the son.

6: yeah, God sees what they are doing, that doesn't mean that he APPROVES of it.

18: I wonder if the Levite was scared (there were 600 armed men, after all) or if his attitude was slightly aloof. The Danites did not take him by force but they could have, it was in their character to take what they wanted. Hard to say if the Levite felt any loyalty to Micah, after all, he seemed to be a man of comfort and ease.

27: "Quiet and unsuspecting" people are often the victims of such crimes. It is so easy to take advantage of someone who does not have a voice or does not have help at hand. This is a good reason to make sure that you have a good support system behind you, lest the enemy take you by surprise.

Distracted

My mind goes in 20 different directions at once. How am I supposed to slow down enough to pray, meditate on the word, and generally just "be still" when my brain is going 90 mph in ANY other direction.

I know that the human brain is fallible (especially mine), but I have always found it amazing that I cannot even sit for 30 being still before God before I am thinking about what I am going to eat after this or the fact that I should organize my sock drawer (oh yes, it has happened).

It makes me feel slightly hopeless, Yet, I know that this is an issue for me, and I have spoken to many others (most everyone I speak with on the topic) who have the same issue. We need to keep going and not forget what our prize is. :)

Judges 17

3-4: The mixing of religions. Micah's mother thought to honor God with her actions here, but in actuality she was committing a grave sin. How many times are false actions performed with good intentions justified in the eyes of man? When does this happen in my life?

6: This is never a good sentence.

13: What an I compare this to? I know that I will be blessed because...I have a job that pays well; I go to church and am a good person; people envy me. Just because the requirements seem to be there (a levite is your priest) that does not mean that you are moving in the direction that God wants you to go (this Levite WAS NOT ordained by God). God may want you to work in another place where you can be a great light for him; you may not be saved; you may be incredibly unhappy on the inside because you are focusing too much attention inward instead of outward.

God blesses as he chooses, and he blesses those who honor him and follow after him closely, Oh Lord, please help me to seek you wholly and make you first in my life.

Been a little...sluggish lately

I have been slightly unavailable lately, and by that I mean that I have not allowed myself enough time to slow down and actually HAVE bible study and prayer time.

IF I read it is very uncommitted. I do not put my whole mind into it, or I do it too late.

And when I pray it is mainly going through the list. I have not been allowing myself to sit quietly and reflect on the day or pray the words that come to my mind, which is how I often find faults in my character or attitude.

It has been busy in my life in between work starting up again and Emmett demanding most of my time at home. My evening quiet times often get shoved too late in the night to really be productive. I don't have the awareness that I would have if I had had enough sleep the night before and/or if I had started reading and praying an hour or so earlier.

My small group is doing a study through our church about recognizing personality character traits within yourself that hold you captive somehow. This week we went over Narcissism. Examples:

• Exaggerated view of self (obviously) 
• Grandiosity 
• Lack of Empathy
• Being unimpressed by others
• Refusing personal accountability

I have not listened to the sermon yet, so I will listen to it when it is released and hopefully get a better idea of how we are supposed to apply this. I was a little confused at group. Obviously, you do not want these characteristics to define you. It is not the way that Jesus taught or lived.

I couldn't say at group which one that I identified with most, but now that I have time to reflect, it may be "exaggerated view of self". I often feel that the privileges that I enjoy somehow make me superior to others, or the decisions that I have made, make me better. My decisions DO make me the person that I am today, but I am no more valued by God than anyone else. 

The verse that was given with this study is Philippians 2:3-8:

• Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,1 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,2 being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

This will be my new memorization verses for this week starting with three, and we'll see how far I get.

I will continue my Judges study in the mean time. Learning about the decay of a culture and a God who loves.

Judges 16

1: He seemed to be quite the ladies man.

9: I will never understand the stupidity of Samson. You tell her something that you expect her to keep secret and the next thing you know she is putting what you said to the test, implementing the very thing that you told her would be your downfall. Why do you stay with such a woman? I guess the whole relationship is based on the lie of lust anyway. This "love" of his is very superficial. Still, I will never understand the person who will stay with another when they know that they are a lier and a manipulator. Ignorance is not bliss.

16: "vexed to death" Does the bible exaggerate?

20: How many chances did God give him before he left him. Seemingly 3 strikes and you are out (he broke all 3 of the Nazarite rules), yet there were numerous other chances for Samson to change and he refused to do so.

27: In his death he killed more of the enemy than he ever did when he was alive. Yet when he asked God for the strength, It was for personal gain and not for the "glory of God" or the "will of God". God decided to grant Samson's prayer because it was what God willed. We pray for many things, but in the end, God's will will be done.

"Ask and it will be given you..." may be true, but not if it is not the will of God. Lord, help me to seek you fully and completely and make my words become so aligned with yours that we may be one. That sounds very good, but I am really just praying for help to pray well.

Judges 15

1: I am confused, I thought that Samson's wife was given to his best friend in the last chapter, and I thought Samson knew about it.
   

3: ...Why does Samson think he will be innocent when he does harm to others?
     Our actions are always our own. His anger he feels is justified, but it doesn't make it right. 

10-11: Do the people of Judah know that Samson is their judge (for that matter, does Judah)? For a people who are slave to another nation, they act very much like they do not want to be freed.
     One does wonder after such an interaction. It is a sad place to be in: contentment in slavery, yet so many people live in sin and relish it.

The slavery of sin runs deep within us all, and we do not want to give it up. Like the dirty nasty baby blanket of Linel(?) in Charlie Brown's story. The more you hold on, the more dirty and nasty it gets. Judah bound Samson soundly, but he broke free with ease. And though his story is not ideal, like his story, we can break free from our bonds just as easy. Lord, help me find the deep in-grained sins and break away from them.

Judges 14

4: God decided to use this seemingly vain, impulsive young man to fulfill his plans. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of Samson and God places in his path the tools needed to steer him in the right direction. It is just sad that God cannot use Samson from his obedience. This is what makes the end of Samson's life so tragic.

6: The only reason to keep something from your mother and father is if you are not proud of the actions or decisions you have made.

9: Disgusting.

11: "They brought 30 companions to be with him." What manner of men would consent to be another's companion just like that? Does it not take time and energy to truly be another's companion?

God will choose whom he will to fulfill his plans. What he has chosen for me I pray that I would be brave enough to do willingly. Otherwise he will either find someone else or turn me into a tool rather than a loved daughter.

Judges 13

5: From previous study, I know that the vow of the Nazarite was generally one that someone chooses. Why would God command Samson to be a Nazarite, even before he was able to have conscious thought? Isn't this a bit like infant baptism?
     I suppose that this could be a type for the average person who rejects God. We are all called to a higher purpose, whether or not we fulfill it is another matter.

12-14: The angel never answers Manoah's question, nor does he answer his other questions later in the chapter. Why so mysterious?
     I know that this is very common, God gives instructions but does not answer the elusive question "why?". Sometimes he wants us to learn from the experience and the journey through it is necessary for growth. It could also be that the man would not perform his task well if he knew what lay ahead. Only God really knows, and we need to trust him. Oh Lord, help me trust you though I do not receive the answers that I feel I deserve.

Judges 12

1: Such pride. Wanting to share in another's glory (really this is God's glory) will result in bad relationships, and ultimately, ruin for yourself if you continue in that pattern. You will have no friends because none will trust you or even desire to be around your prideful spirit.

     And apparently, this is true for Ephraim. They will never again play any important role in Israel history after the civil war that erupted from their rash words.

4: Why are the Gileadites fugitives of Ephraim?

     Aparently,  Gileadites were reckoned both by the western Manassites and Ephraimites as outcasts- the scum and refuse of their common stock. They ran away from their countrymen and dwelled in a land by themselves.

1-7: What is the take away from this passage?
     This Ephraim people once mighty, were brought low. Their arrogance and pride was stripped away from them in one fail swoop. They got away with their sins for many years, but it caught up with them, just as it will with us, should we choose to live in our sin and refuse to repent. Oh Lord, convict me of my unseen sins.

9: The only notable thing said about Izban was about his sin...the beginning of another downward spiral for Israel.

Judges 11

1-3: Doesn't sound like a good start for this Judges cycle.

6: For the first time, the people chose their deliverer, not God, this will not bode well. People look at the outward but God looks inward, at the character and will. Only God can choose a true leader.

11: However, at least Jephthah is communicating with God, which is more than we can say for the previous "king" of Israel.

26: You know, it's kind of odd, this debate reminds me of other people groups who claim injustice years after the fact. American Indians pop to the top of my mind, however, the difference here is that the American people actually did perform horrendous acts to this people group. Even if the violence was mutual. I haven't done enough history reading to really know who was the more violent or just in their actions, but I do know that American Indian groups still point back to the things that happened 200 years ago and ask for compensation.

30-31: It seems that Jephthah is using traditional pegan practices and applying them to the one true deity. Human sacrifice was strictly forbidden for israelites (Lev. 18:21).

35: And then instead of repenting, he does not even come to the Lord, he goes ahead and does this evil deed.

Good intentions can turn very, very bad. Have the courage to admit when you have made a wrong decision, ask for forgiveness, learn from it, and move on.