Word for Today, Tue, 1 Mar 2005: Getting Our Right Perspective

#1 · March 1, 2005, 2:42 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on March 1, 2005, 2:42 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Tue, 1 Mar 2005: Getting Our Right Perspective

Dear friends,

Here is an honest message. I have to agree with John, there have
been too many times in my own life that I have been way too
haughty, thinking that I could somehow provide answers, fix
things, fix myself, fix others. How wrong I have been!

It hasn't been all that long that I came to a similar realization
that today's writer, John Fischer, discovered. Like John, I was
also quite familiar with this passage. In fact, the book of
Philippians has long been one of my favorites, and two of my
favorite passages within the book are Philippians 2:1-11 and
Philippians 4:4-9. Some of you may have seen me quote both of
them MANY times.

I always liked Philippians 2:1-11 because it reminded me of the
willingness and humility of Jesus Christ. It has reminded me to
be humble myself, but I have come to realize that I need a much
bigger does of humility than the one that I had been willing to
accept.

God has been incredibly patient with me on this, but He has also
been working with me on this, too, little by little, chiseling
away major flaws in my attitude. To even suggest that my
attitude is right now would be equally haughty, but at least God
has gotten my attention in this matter and is gradually refining
me.

The Good News is that God is faithful. If He can work with
puffed up attitudes and disobedience, He can work with anything
and anyone.

If you have areas of your life that you know (deep down inside of
you) that need work, give them over to God.

What gives me hope is that I have consistently seen that God has
not given up on me ever. Even when I was deeply mired in sin, He
simply waited for the opportunity to confront me with my sin. He
didn't even bash me or harass me in any way, He simply waited
until I finally cried out to Him. When I stopped my crying and
started my listening, He spoke. When I stopped listening, He
stopped. Never any pressure. Always great patience.

Based on my own life experiences, I suggest that it is NOT God
who limits what we can do, it is our faithfulness and obedience
to God that limits who we are and what we can do. That very same
book of the Bible, in Philippians 4, says that "I can do all
things through Christ who gives me strength".

That begs the question, if you or I cannot do all things, why is
that? The answer ought to be equally clear - it is because we
are not doing what we do through Christ, that is, we are not
obedient to Him.

Dear Lord,

I pray that these words, which might even sting us to apply them
to ourselves, may yet heal us and draw us ever more closely and
personally to You. We cannot ever be Your equal - that is the
fatal mistake that Satan made. We can be Your precious and
treasured children. Be patient with us, forgive us in our
selfishness, and gracefully draw each of us to You, in Your time
and in Your way. I ask all of these things in the Precious Name
of Jesus and for His sake. Amen.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

=============
March 1, 2005

God Came Down (But I Didn't!)
by John Fischer

"Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble,
thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out for
your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though
He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to
cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the
humble position of a slave and was born as a human being."
(Philippians 2:3-7)

I have considered these verses before in these writings but just
recently I saw something I had never seen before. This
observation comes in the form of a confession that is almost too
painful to record.

I have suddenly realized that all the while I have been
interpreting this verse for myself, I have been identifying with
Christ. You can see why it would be easy to do, since it starts
out: "have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had," but the
similarities stop there--in attitude, not in the position. My
problem is: I assumed the position. I assumed I, like God, had
something to give up when I served. When the example went on to
show how Christ left his place as God, and stooped to take on the
form of a human being, I applied that to myself as well. It was
somehow important for me to get down off my high and lofty place
and become a human being. Well, hello... what was I before that?

This realization has served to show me how I have thought of
myself as somewhere up there with God--with a lot at stake here
in this servant thing. God and I... we'll get down off our
thrones here and go to work. Okay God, I'm ready. If you can do
this, so can I. (Gag me with a spoon!)

When Christ came down, he took on the form of a human being,
which is where I start. The only place to come down from is the
place I built for myself. A nd I need to do more than come down
off it; I need to kick it over. I need to make sure it doesn't
exist anymore, because it is a lie. There is only one God. That
God came down to me in the form of Jesus Christ. I'm the one He
stooped to meet.

This may be an obvious thing to most of you, but to me, it's a
revelation of how skewed my thinking has been. I don't bend down
to serve anyone. I am already down. I just need to wake up to my
place and the attitude God wants me to have.

Most of all, I need to remember who God is, where He belongs, how
far He has gone to reach me, and why He deserves my worship.

John Fischer is the Senior Writer for Purpose Driven Life Daily
Devotionals. He resides in Southern California with his wife,
Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children,
Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular
speaker.

2005 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

Miss out on one of the Daily Devotionals? View the online
archives at: www.purposedrivenlife.com/devarchive.aspx

Have questions regarding the Daily Devotionals? Browse our
Frequently Asked Questions at:
www.purposedrivenlife.com/absolutefm/afmtopics.asp

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Purpose Driven Life | 20 Empire | Lake Forest, CA 92630

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
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Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Here is an honest message. I have to agree with John, there have
been too many times in my own life that I have been way too
haughty, thinking that I could somehow provide answers, fix
things, fix myself, fix others. How wrong I have been!

It hasn't been all that long that I came to a similar realization
that today's writer, John Fischer, discovered. Like John, I was
also quite familiar with this passage. In fact, the book of
Philippians has long been one of my favorites, and two of my
favorite passages within the book are Philippians 2:1-11 and
Philippians 4:4-9. Some of you may have seen me quote both of
them MANY times.

I always liked Philippians 2:1-11 because it reminded me of the
willingness and humility of Jesus Christ. It has reminded me to
be humble myself, but I have come to realize that I need a much
bigger does of humility than the one that I had been willing to
accept.

God has been incredibly patient with me on this, but He has also
been working with me on this, too, little by little, chiseling
away major flaws in my attitude. To even suggest that my
attitude is right now would be equally haughty, but at least God
has gotten my attention in this matter and is gradually refining
me.

The Good News is that God is faithful. If He can work with
puffed up attitudes and disobedience, He can work with anything
and anyone.

If you have areas of your life that you know (deep down inside of
you) that need work, give them over to God.

What gives me hope is that I have consistently seen that God has
not given up on me ever. Even when I was deeply mired in sin, He
simply waited for the opportunity to confront me with my sin. He
didn't even bash me or harass me in any way, He simply waited
until I finally cried out to Him. When I stopped my crying and
started my listening, He spoke. When I stopped listening, He
stopped. Never any pressure. Always great patience.

Based on my own life experiences, I suggest that it is NOT God
who limits what we can do, it is our faithfulness and obedience
to God that limits who we are and what we can do. That very same
book of the Bible, in Philippians 4, says that "I can do all
things through Christ who gives me strength".

That begs the question, if you or I cannot do all things, why is
that? The answer ought to be equally clear - it is because we
are not doing what we do through Christ, that is, we are not
obedient to Him.

Dear Lord,

I pray that these words, which might even sting us to apply them
to ourselves, may yet heal us and draw us ever more closely and
personally to You. We cannot ever be Your equal - that is the
fatal mistake that Satan made. We can be Your precious and
treasured children. Be patient with us, forgive us in our
selfishness, and gracefully draw each of us to You, in Your time
and in Your way. I ask all of these things in the Precious Name
of Jesus and for His sake. Amen.

Yours in Christ,
Brian

=============
March 1, 2005

God Came Down (But I Didn't!)
by John Fischer

"Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble,
thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out for
your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though
He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to
cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the
humble position of a slave and was born as a human being."
(Philippians 2:3-7)

I have considered these verses before in these writings but just
recently I saw something I had never seen before. This
observation comes in the form of a confession that is almost too
painful to record.

I have suddenly realized that all the while I have been
interpreting this verse for myself, I have been identifying with
Christ. You can see why it would be easy to do, since it starts
out: "have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had," but the
similarities stop there--in attitude, not in the position. My
problem is: I assumed the position. I assumed I, like God, had
something to give up when I served. When the example went on to
show how Christ left his place as God, and stooped to take on the
form of a human being, I applied that to myself as well. It was
somehow important for me to get down off my high and lofty place
and become a human being. Well, hello... what was I before that?

This realization has served to show me how I have thought of
myself as somewhere up there with God--with a lot at stake here
in this servant thing. God and I... we'll get down off our
thrones here and go to work. Okay God, I'm ready. If you can do
this, so can I. (Gag me with a spoon!)

When Christ came down, he took on the form of a human being,
which is where I start. The only place to come down from is the
place I built for myself. A nd I need to do more than come down
off it; I need to kick it over. I need to make sure it doesn't
exist anymore, because it is a lie. There is only one God. That
God came down to me in the form of Jesus Christ. I'm the one He
stooped to meet.

This may be an obvious thing to most of you, but to me, it's a
revelation of how skewed my thinking has been. I don't bend down
to serve anyone. I am already down. I just need to wake up to my
place and the attitude God wants me to have.

Most of all, I need to remember who God is, where He belongs, how
far He has gone to reach me, and why He deserves my worship.

John Fischer is the Senior Writer for Purpose Driven Life Daily
Devotionals. He resides in Southern California with his wife,
Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children,
Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular
speaker.

Miss out on one of the Daily Devotionals? View the online
archives at: http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/devarchive.aspx

Have questions regarding the Daily Devotionals? Browse our
Frequently Asked Questions at:
http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/absolutefm/afmtopics.asp

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Purpose Driven Life | 20 Empire | Lake Forest, CA 92630

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
mail.yahoo.com